Another New Year...

Image courtesy of  
http://www.theprintblog.com/how-to-make-those-new-years-resolutions-stick/

Well, hello there.  It has been awhile and we have a lot of catching up to do.  First thing is a big thank you to to my longtime readers for sticking with me, and if you're a new reader, a big thank you for sharing your time with me.

 I have finished my master's degree, graduating December 14 and now face the questions about what I am going to do now.  The quick answer is that I'm not exactly sure.  For now I will be focusing on my home life, my blog (and the sister Facebook page), and The Caring Closet because we have grown so quickly and not yet three years old.

Those of you on Facebook have seen all the albums I have uploaded of my food photos and the updates I have posted there.  I have been mulling a name and layout change for the blog, but have decided to keep it as is for now, just changing some photos and doing away with some sidebar clutter.  I have also redone the recipe index, combining the former two into one that is hopefully easier to use.  Hopefully by tomorrow the switchover will be complete and the blog will have its own domain of casaenlacocina.com.

With a new year comes new resolutions.  Although I am already pretty organized, I will be striving for yet more order, and even after obtaining the graduate degree, still need to learn  to manage my time better.  Ben and I have also made the commitment to each other (the only ones who really matter) that we will be changing our eating habits.  Although we have a healthy diet overall, we share a love of food, and even a good thing can be overdone, leaving us both with some weight we'd like to lose.  We have joined Weight Watchers because it restricts nothing, designed for mindful eating.  I won't be boring you here with progress reports or any other such nonsense and this will not become a "diet blog, but I will start including the Points+ value for recipes as I go forward for those interested.

One last update from my absence is that we have realized a long held dream and purchased a second home on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.  In honor of our new "home," I will be focusing more on Southern regional dishes, especially those of the lowcountry.  But not to worry, I haven't lost my love of Latin American flavors to which this blog owes its name.

Until tomorrow, all my best,
Mary