This is the FIRST MONTHLY update in a series, following the launch of BlogHer's 2008 Good Health-a-thon. Sign up (and get your blog badge) here. Betcha thought I forgot.

This is the third update in a series, following the launch of BlogHer's 2008 Good Health-a-thon. Read about how it began and how you can set goals you can actually attain here. I don't know about you, but it feels to me as though the month of January has lasted approximately two years. It is just dragggggging on, as though to say, "I know you are trying to make lifestyle changes, so I am going to test your resolve! I am going to make this month last an eternity! Bwahahahaha!" Because I guess January has nothing better to do than taunt all of us and our New Year's resolutions. The trouble is, if you have your sights set on some major goals (as I do), getting there seems to take forever. For. Ev. Er. Which is why I have to remind myself again and again that setting short-term goals is really quite necessary. Otherwise, I'm going to feel discouraged. So here is what I'm going to do, and where being a BlogHer is going to make all the difference in the world:

Before I started going to the gym, the prospect intimidated me. It was the same feeling I experienced when I thought about public speaking, or going on a job interview – I was afraid of looking stupid. It wasn’t the cardio machines I minded so much; they’re pretty self-explanatory. It was the weights.

Looking fantastic isn't all about what you wear; how you feel is even more important, really. If you are well rested and hydrated and healthy, it will show in your skin and hair and demeanor. Your health is worth committing to, and the first step to a successful exercise routine is to have the right equipment. Let's talk about how to gear up for walking, running, and yoga.

My name is Catherine Morgan and I am a Sugar Addict. Yes, I admit it. Isn't admitting you have a problem the first step towards recovery?

Even though I don't do resolutions myself, that doesn't mean I don't see benefits to making good, healthy resolutions - like "resolving to eat breakfast". You should totally do that and so should I but it's one of the healthy eating rules that I just can't seem to get into. I'm good at eating breakfast, or an early lunch, on weekends but during the week - not so much.

It's a new year, and chances are one of the things you've promised yourself is that THIS year, you will exercise more. Whether you've committed to training for a marathon or taking a daily walk around the block, having the right workout clothes can make it easier to stay committed to an exercise routine. Let's start with what NOT to wear to work out: gigantic over-sized anything. Our default when we know we're going to sweat is typically to put on the most worn out, ill-fitting casual pieces we own. But if the goal of exercising is to feel good in your body, why wear clothes that make you feel big and frumpy when you ARE exercising? Instead, choose pieces that fit properly and that allow you to move freely and easily.

There are many good reasons for a mom to get herself and her family organized, of course.  We all know that life runs more smoothly when you have a plan, when you remember where you put the kids' spelling lists, and when you don't run out of milk at 7:45 on a Monday morning.

While surfing some family blogs for a topic this week, I came across many, many on resolutions. Throw a rock (a virtual bloggish one, that is) and you will find ways that many people are vowing to make 2008 a great year for themselves and their families. It was then that I came across a post that really got me thinking. Over at My Semblance of Sanity she wrote about boiling your resolution down to one word. ONE word? That is craziness for a chatty woman such as myself. Seriously?

I thought there would be more fanfare with this. I thought that I would meticulously plan out my personal finance and career goals in an excel spreadsheet so that I could start the New Year off right and with the perfectly planned budget. Apparently this will not be the year of unfettered organization.

If green gifts were on your holiday gift list, green deeds must be in your New Years' resolution list!

This week everybody is writing about New Year's Resolutions; the crafty blogger is no exception. Like everyone else, the evaluations of last year's resolutions find us all lacking; and the list of resolutions for 2008 sound remarkably similar: Finish projects that have been started and are idling; Work more from our stash. (use what is on hand); Limit our acquisitions in the new year; Learn some new technique. Yawn. No wonder people who make these resolutions fail.