I have very relaxed plans for 2008 - declutter the house a bit, plant that lavender along the fence out front, cook more often, order more things online, maybe actually get a better camera, be outdoors more often.

I hope your new year starts off exactly the way you hope it will, and that your resolutions are all good ones.

This is my recipe for making the most boring looking Chex Mix possible:

1. Instead of Wheat Chex buy a second box of Rice Chex since somebody always eats around the Wheat, leaving you with Chex dregs.

2. Forgo the peanuts, they always get lost in the bottom.

3. Fail to find anything approximating a bagel chip in the store.

4. Buy those neat waffle-or-chex shaped pretzels, but discover only after you've gotten home that they are flavored with something calling itself "buttery" but tastes just plain horrible.

5. Fail to have the energy to make another grocery store visit, make Chex Mix anyhow.

Happy Holidays!

Today is the last day to get in on Menu For Hope, there are some outstanding prizes being raffled off this year. If you don't know what it is see the about page: "Each year, food bloggers from all over the world join forces to host the Menu for Hope online raffle, offering an array of delectable culinary prizes. For every US$10, the donor receive a virtual raffle ticket toward a prize of their choice. This year, the prizes include once in a lifetime experiences such as touring the elBulli laboratory with Ferran Adrià , dining on a historic British meal prepared by Heston Blumenthal, or joining Harold McGee on a lunch date to satisfy a lifetime's worth of cooking curiosity."

"This year for the 4th annual Menu for Hope, we are again supporting the UN World Food Programme. With a special permission from the WFP, the funds raised by Menu for Hope 4 will be earmarked for the school lunch program in Lesotho, Africa."

Menu For Hope raises a lot of money for a really good cause. Excellent all around.

You can see all the prizes and enter the drawing here at Firstgiving.