As a single 20-something living in New York City, I feel like this is the time in my life to be selfish. I don't have many responsibilities outside of going to work. This is quite a stark contrast to my brother: He and his wife (she's my age) live in the burbs in Georgia and already have two children. Many of our relatives wonder how we could possibly have been raised by the same parents.

I never thought much about little kids until I met my nephews. When I held my nephew Reid the day he was born, and he grabbed my finger, I suddenly understood how easy it was to become obsessed over these teeny tiny beings.

As I got to spend time with Reid, who's almost 3, over the holidays, I realized he's actually a tiny person now. I thought, whoa, if I send him a card, he could actually read it, and when I call my brother, I can actually talk to Reid on the phone. I should work on being a better aunt!

Fall 2009 marked the beginning of an era for me. I was graduating college, coming into my own, and most importantly, was due for a phone upgrade. The flip phone was a staple of the beginning of Y2K. Like many of my friends, I had an indestructible throw it on the ground/drop it in the toilet without any problem brick for about five years that had done me well. But let's be serious, it was time for a life change.

I had been looking forward to the BlackBerry for months. The hottest accessory in Storrs, Connecticut next to a North Face jacket, Ugg boots, and a Longchamp bag -- it was a must have. I felt like an outcast with my flip phone. I not only wanted to be part of the craze, I longed for it. And when I got it, it felt good. It felt reeeeeeeaaallll good.

So who would have thought two years later I'd be hoping for a BlackBerry divorce?

As I look outside my home office window at a grapefruit tree, I have to admit that I have yet to eat a single grapefruit fresh from my very own tree. That's my first clue that even though I moved to California nine months ago, I'm not really living here. But in 2011 I'm going to change all of that and go full California. That's right -- all the way.

I'm going to shed my New Yorker'ness and start smiling at people at the grocery store. I'm going to stop fearing driving due to lack of parking, and start using valet if I have to. I'm going to head to the beach on the weekends and then go for a hike. You can do that here because on one side you've got the beach, the other side the mountains. How amazing is that? Before I had the East River on one side, and Gowanus Canal on the other. And I'm not sure if you're even allowed to put your kayak in either one of those bodies of water. 

But most importantly, I'm going for the big three:

While discussing our New Year's Resolutions here at The Stir, I flippantly threw out that I was going to try to be less of a sarcastic jerk when talking to my husband -- you know, for the sake of my kids.

Yes, it's true. I have caught my boys -- even the 4-year-old -- using some of my own special brand of sarcastic quips or passive aggressive phrasings, and it has made me wince. Deeply.

However, when I really started to think about this resolution and dig to its core, I realized there's something more critical at stake here -- my tossing off flippant words and remarks is not only teaching my kids how to behave poorly, but it's teaching them how not to deal appropriately with their real feelings. It's showing them, in fact, how invulnerability works. And probably even more critically, it's working against me and my marriage.

In an ironic twist of fate, my New Year’s resolution for this year happens to be the exact opposite of my resolution from last year. What can happen in 365 days? Why the about face? Here’s what went down:

No more experimental beans and leftovers stewsEvery year I emerge from the holidays stuffed and sick from all the rich, gooey, sweet food I've been eating and vowing to start eating like a Buddhist monk. Brown rice and veggies for the entire month of January! One year I actually made good on my vow and bought a cookbook on Buddhist temple food.

My new cookbook included recipes for the following: edamame soup, soybean seaweed salad, tofu teriyaki, steamed pumpkin and tofu, mashed taro, asparagus and carrot soy milk jelly, soy milk mousse with blackberry sauce.

None of this was delicious. There's a reason why I never became a Buddhist monk.

Which brings me to my 2011 New Year's Resolution: I will eat only delicious food.

Dear Sarah Palin, you'd been out of office for half a year by the time 2010 rolled around. And at no time in 2010 did you officially announce that you were running for, well, anything.

Oh, you hinted. And you threw together SarahPAC to raise money so you could run. And you spent the year papering the country with just the sort of political propaganda that you can use to launch a campaign. And Sarah -- we're both just "folks," so I'm willing to bet you'd let me call you Sarah -- you spent the year taking up too much of my time. So it's with a lightened heart that this mama's new year's resolution is to retract these grizzly claws.

The following is a post from our sponsor Weight Watchers.

You've made the resolution this year that you’ll keep better track of calories and fat. However, you've also resolved not to sacrifice flavor along the way. Can both of these resolutions hold? Actually, they can — with the new Coffee Cakes from Weight Watchers Sweet Baked Goods.