If you have read a newspaper or magazine or watched TV news or national daily shows like Today or Good Morning America in the last two weeks, you can't escape the stories on resolutions for the New Year.

Every January, we see stories on getting physically fit and more organized. Physical fitness experts show us the best exercises to do to get six-pack abs. Consumer Reports, January issue is devoted to health and fitness and rates the best exercise machines.

The Today Show brings out editors from Real Simple magazine to show us how to organize our closets, our home offices, our kitchens. You can't walk more than 10 feet in Lowes without seeing a display for organizers for your Christmas ornaments, flat plastic bins that slide under your bed to store clothes or shoe racks for your closet.

In the bookstores, the sections up front are devoted to self-help books to assist us in these endeavors. Oprah's fitness guru has "Bob Greene's Total Body Makeover" to help you lose weight. Sure, he helped Oprah look great, but most of us don't have money for a personal trainer to dog us everyday to keep us in line.

In "The Perricone Promise." author Nicholas Perricone says that following his program will help us look and live younger in three easy steps. Really, just three easy steps? Hmm, I need to look into this; even I could handle three easy steps.

And the ever-popular Dr. Phil has several books of advice covering a wide variety of subjects. The amazing Dr. Phil can help us lose weight, have more self-esteem, be better spouses, be strict-yet-fair parents and get more money from our bosses! He sure seems to have all the answers (and all are available to us for just $16.95 for each book).

So with all these choices to better myself in 2005, what will I do? I do want to get in better shape, as do most people I guess. I attempted to get back on my treadmill last Friday. I used to do 30 minutes on the treadmill five times weekly, but I got out of the habit and need to get back on track.

I headed down to the basement to use the treadmill. First I had to unfold it. Then I had to move a chair, crawl around on the floor and unplug the boys' PlayStation 2 to plug in the treadmill. OK, now I put my new Ray Charles CD in the stereo and pressed play. Nothing happened. I fussed around with it for 10 minutes and still couldn't get it to work. I guess I could watch TV while I walk instead.

Then my cell phone rang. Someone needed a question answered; no problem. I was just about to turn on the TV, when my cell phone rang again. This time, it was something that needed my immediate attention. Head back upstairs and fix the problem. By now, I had wasted the entire 30 minutes I had planned on for walking and time was up.

There are some flaws in my exercise plan that I need to work out. First, get every thing ready for exercise BEFORE I actually walk. Make sure that every electrical apparatus is plugged in and working. Leave the cell phone upstairs. This process worked best when I did it from 7 to 7:30 a.m. every day, so I will attempt to stick to that time frame. (If you need something from me, please wait until 7:30 a.m. to contact me).

I would like to get my home better organized. I started by purchasing a holiday ornament organizer at Lowes and I love it. Next year, all of my holiday decorations will be ready to unpack in two plastic tubs instead of the dozen or so bags I normally use. I also bought a wrapping paper organizer for just $2 and now all of my rolls of paper are in one container instead of having to search through three cardboard boxes for the birthday paper with the dogs on it when I need it. I even threw out all of the scraps of leftover paper that you think are big enough to use again, but in reality they never are.

My next step will be organizing my closet. It looks like pirates have ransacked my closet looking for buried treasure. I have boxes on the top shelf that have not been unpacked since we moved in almost a decade ago. If I haven't needed that stuff in 10 years, do I really need it at all? The floor of the closet is strewn with bags of books and clothes and mismatched shoes.

I have several photo albums in there, too. I think I put them there after I heard an expert say that you should put your photo albums in a location that in case of a fire or natural disaster, you could grab them and run, because they are the only truly irreplaceable items you own. (They neglected to tell you that you should keep your closet neat in case that situation arises.)

After I finish the closet, I'll start the basement closet and storage shelves. That should take up the rest of 2005- and maybe some of 2006.

I have a few resolutions that aren't the standard ones. I vow in 2005 to not be so obsessive about checking my e-mail. Since we moved the computer to a central location in our home, it is too easy to take a few minutes and check my e-mail. I waste too much time doing this everyday. The e-mail will still be there if I don't check it every 15 minutes. (Besides, George Clooney never e-mails me back anyway.)

I resolve that all of the time I save from not obsessively checking e-mails I will put to good use. I will not waste it watching 1970s reruns of "Ryan's Hope" on SoapNet or reading the National Enquirer. I will use that time to walk Malcolm; that way we both get exercise. I will spend it talking with my husband and sons (won't they be thrilled!). I will spend time with people whose company I enjoy.

I also vow in 2005 that I will laugh more, sing more, dance more. No matter what Mr. Perricone promises about a longer life, our life on this planet is short and we should enjoy it while we have it.

My mailbox is lonely. I'm looking for recipes for healthy foods, Super Bowl parties and Valentine's Day. Email to laruediane2000@yahoo.com or mail to Diane La Rue, 25 Dill St., Auburn, NY 13021.

This week we're featuring a few recipes for those who have resolved to get fit in 2005.

This first recipe is from www.diabetic-recipes.com for

Cowboy Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 pound baby red potatoes, scrubbed

3 cloves garlic, peeled and cut in half

about 2/3 cup skim milk, heated

2 teaspoons minced picked jalapeno chiles

salt (optional)

freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

If potatoes are larger than 1 inch in diameter, cut in half or quarters. Drop into a large pot of boiling water along with the garlic. Cook until tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 minutes.

Drain potatoes and begin mashing potatoes and garlic with a potato masher or electric mixer. Add hot milk and continue mashing until potatoes are desired consistency.

Stir in chiles and season with salt (if using) and pepper. Serve immediately.

Nutrition Facts:

Amount per serving: Calories 95; fat 0 g; cholesterol 1 mg; sodium 39 mg.

This is a good way to cook pork chops from www.recipezaar.com

Baked Pork Chops

Ingredients:

1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard

1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 cup catsup

1 cup water

1 1/2 pounds pork chops, cut about 1 and 1/4-inch thick

Instructions:

Combine mustard, flour, sugar and salt.

Add vinegar, catsup and water and mix thoroughly.

Pour over chops in a baking dish.

Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1-1/2 to 2 hours

This recipe came from www.goodhousekeeping.com.

Breadstick Knots

Ingredients:

1 egg white, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon poppy seeds

2- 11-ounce containers refrigerated breadstick dough (8 breadsticks each)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease large cookie sheet.

Separate breadstick dough from 1 container into 8 pieces. Tie each piece into a knot and place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.

Brush knots with some egg white, then sprinkle with half the poppy seeds. (You can also sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese)

Bake knots about 20 minutes until golden.

Repeat steps 2 and 3 with remaining container of breadstick dough, egg white, and poppy seeds.

Serve knots warm. Or, if not serving right away, cool on wire rack. Store in tightly covered container to reheat before serving.

Nutrition Facts:

Amount per serving: Calories 100; fat 2 g; cholesterol 1 mg; sodium 235 mg.

When I was a kid, I was very happy when mom made butterscotch pudding for dessert. This recipe is from www.applesforhealth.com.

Butterscotch Pudding

Ingredients:

2/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon all purpose flour

2 egg yolks

2 cups lowfat (1% or 2 %) milk

2 teaspoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

Combine first 3 ingredients in a heavy saucepan. Combine egg yolks and milk and stir into dry ingredients. Heat over medium high heat, whisking continuously until mixture just comes to a boil. Remove from heat. Whisk in butter and vanilla until butter is melted. Transfer to a serving bowl. Press plastic wrap over pudding surface to prevent skin from forming. Serve warm or cold.