My husband and I are empty nesters, but between my job and running my own little business, getting healthy meals on the table requires a lot of forethought and organization. My 2010 resolution is to become better organized so that I can cook more meals from scratch at home, taking advantage of food from our small garden and local farmer's markets. Although my sons are far away in college and grad school now, they inspire me with their cooking abilities. While I tend to follow recipes precisely as they're written, they're much better about improvising to suit their tastes. Soups, stews, baked goods, casseroles. I'm trying to cook healthier and usually choose recipes that have 500 calories or less per serving and are low in sodium. My mom was a great baker. We always had a cake or pie for dessert. Because of our German heritage, Christmas included stollen, the only yeast bread Mom made, and butter cookie cut-outs and I really enjoyed and looked forward to those special treats. Little triumphs are good. I'm always happy when I bring something to work or a party and people ask for the recipe. The first year I contributed to our family's Thanksgiving meal I brought a pumpkin pie. However, the first bite revealed that I had forgotten to add sugar. I think we just increased the amount of Cool Whip to compensate for the lack of sugar and ate it anyway.