Dogwood, in the clouds and urban cowboy

- The first blooming dogwood tree spotted this season.  Taken from a parking deck overlooking Crescent Avenue in Atlanta, just a few steps away from the spot in which Margaret Mitchell wrote "Gone with the Wind."

- A slightly drippy, overcast morning, just begging for a stop at Starbucks for the luxury of a steaming latte for the trip back to work.

- And after work, an astounding sight on Howell Mill Road, on a busy section of street full of car repair shops near the Atlanta Water Works, a man dressed all in black, complete with black cowboy hat, riding a black horse.

Resolve, I'll be back and delayed beginnings

- I don't like to make steadfast resolutions for the new year, because I hardly ever follow through on them. So this year I resolve to make at least one recipe out of each of these three new cookbooks (on top). I am particularly excited about Around My French Table, by Dorie Greenspan, a gift to myself for Christmas.

- I didn't resolve to lose weight in 2010, but I did lose a few pounds anyway. Hello South Beach Diet, I'll be back as soon as the chocolate is gone. See below. :)

- Favorite resolution quote: I do think New Year's resolutions can't technically be expected to begin on New Year's Day, don't you? Since, because it's an extension of New Year's Eve, smokers are already on a smoking roll and cannot be expected to stop abruptly on the stroke of midnight with so much nicotine in the system. Also dieting on New Year's Day isn't a good idea as you can't eat rationally but really need to be free to consume whatever is necessary, moment by moment, in order to ease your hangover. I think it would be much more sensible if resolutions began generally on January the second. ~Helen Fielding, Bridget Jones's Diary