Dear GGGs, Happy New Year! I hope you ring in the New Year in style, and have all your goals achieved and wishes fulfilled in 2013! You might know that instead of resolutions, I like to pick one word themes for the New Year, one of my words for 2013 is share. What can I share with the world that is authentic to who I am? How can I serve? And it is in just this spirit that I share with you my latest project, a web cooking show called Deb’s Kitchen. Here’s the trailer, featuring my hubby Kevin, baby Elle, and toddler Jacob.

When I speak at colleges and companies, women often ask me about what I eat, how I stay fit and healthy despite my busy schedule (and especially since having two babies in three years!). So, I thought I’d share what I actually eat and my cooking tips in a web show. You all know I’m no chef, but these are fast, healthy meals with a gourmet twist—things I actually cook (or, um, prepare) on busy weeknights. We shot 6, five minute episodes in my actual kitchen (with the babies in the background!). It was an incredibly fun experience, and I hope it’s just the beginning of much more to come. Episode 1 launches January 10th. I’d be so grateful if you’d help spread the word!

You can keep up with the show on its Facebook page, where I’ll be sharing behind the scenes pics and stories, giveaways and more. I can’t wait to hear what you think. If you have any feedback, ideas or suggestions for recipes I should feature, ways to promote/market the show, etc., I’m all ears.

Cheers to an AMAZING 2013, and as always, thank you SO much for your support . . . and keep working it!

She’s the owner of eponymous Rosie Pope Maternity, author of the new book Mommy IQ, star of Bravo’s “Pregnant in Heels” and mom of three young kids. I spoke with designer Rosie Pope shortly before the birth of her third (we were due a few weeks apart!) about her business and making it all work. Here are three great tips she shared with me:

Organize old-school. We have a huge chalkboard in our apartment that’s near the front door. It has information like who’s picking up oldest son up from preschool; supermarket shopping that needs to be done; if anything needs to be turned in for a school trip so our nanny and family members are on same page. Nobody else can touch it! I normally fill out the board on Sunday evenings.

Prepare the night before. I shower and make lunches in the evening. I try to incorporate my sons in basic things I do in the morning—like sit in the bathroom with me when I put makeup on. They end up painting on the walls with makeup brushes. But we’re doing it together, so it’s a bit of quality time.

Surrender to the chaos of motherhood. It took me being pregnant with my third child to let go of the control. Some days we look around the messy apartment and cry. I did just fall over a Tonka truck. There’s icing in my hair. But my kids are smiling and laughing. It sounds so cliché: you talk to people to who don’t have kids and they roll their eyes, and think it’s crazy that I’d rather be playing with my kids in this chaos than sipping a martini in my Christian Louboutins. But it’s true.

Harvard MBA. Fluent in Spanish, German, and French (plus a little Dari). Expert multi-tasker as deputy director of the Council on Foreign Relations’ Women and Foreign Policy program, contributing editor-at-large for Newsweek and The Daily Beast, and mom to a 10-month-old baby. Gayle Tzemach Lemmon is a woman who got up at 4 a.m. to squeeze writing a (NY Times bestselling) book around a full-time job and actually conducted an interview for a Newsweek story from the hospital when her baby was five days old. She’s driven by some wise words her cousin once told her. “He said, ‘Changing your life is supposed to be this hard. If it were easy, everyone would do it.’ In other words, don’t try to go around the work. You have to go through it,” she says. I caught up with Gayle one morning to learn a few more of her secrets.

I believe in having a plan A, B, and C. You can’t say I’m going to “follow my passion” unless you can also make sure the rent gets paid. I learned this because my mom and aunt were single moms who worked more than one job to make rent.

I try to work out six days a week. It really helped me manage the hormone swings after pregnancy. I do a combination of yoga, dance, and classes at the Tracy Anderson studio.

I recently switched to an iPhone. But I miss my Blackberry keyboard! Now it takes me an hour to send one message.

I’ve been a vegetarian since I was little, to the horror of my family, and try to follow a vegan diet. When I’m traveling [to far-off places], I eat a lot of protein bars, especially Think Thin ones. Afghan food is great. Airplane food is not.

I live by the words of strong women in my family. My mother used to say, “On a scale of major world tragedies, yours isn’t even a three.” Meaning, keep it all in perspective. My aunt would say, “After the dance [i.e., once you make your dream happen], they can’t take it away from you.” And my grandma always encouraged me to take big leaps and not dwell on the downside. She reminded me, “McDonald’s is always hiring.”

To learn more about Gayle, visit her website. And, check out her fantastic TEDx speech here.

I’m not such a huge fan of New Year’s Resolutions. I tend to believe that there’s never a perfect time to get going on a new goal or project– so it’s better to just start now, where you are, rather than wait for the so-called perfect day to begin.  Case in point, I’ve been lax on my blogging (!) and trust me, even though I was tempted, rather than put it off even more and tell myself “okay, when the New Year starts, I resolve to blog 3 times a week,” I’m just going to post a little something RIGHT NOW. You can only start right where you are.

That said, the New Year is a great time to review your accomplishments of the past year, regroup from disappointments, and brainstorm bigger and better dreams for the coming year. If you want to find a creative way to renew this year and ditch the typical resolution fare (in case you haven’t heard, about 97% of New Year’s resolutions fail!), here are a few ideas:

• Have a family summit. This is more of a goal setting exercise, rather than resolutions (apparently, even the Kardashians do this each year!). My husband and I started doing this several years ago. Set aside a special time to review the family accomplishments of the past year, and think positively about the new one. Pick 3-4 big categories in your lives– career, family, health, money, etc.– and come up with a handful of yearly goals in each department. Choose attainable goals/projects (paint the house, ask for a promotion)– along with a few reach goals. The idea is that you’ll check in with your goals a couple times during the next year.
• Pick a theme. Another new year’s trend is to skip the traditional restrictive resolutions (i.e., quit smoking, lose weight) and instead pick a broad theme to inspire your actions during the upcoming year. This can literally be one word–  perhaps it’s “family” or “gratitude” or “relaxation”. This is a lower-stress way to encourage broader changes in your thinking and priorities throughout the year.
• Do a massive “edit”– from closets to Facebook. We hear so much about spring cleaning, but the new year is a great time to “prune” what’s weighing you down from the previous year. Go through, say, your bathroom cabinets, make up bag or closet and ruthlessly toss the items you haven’t used in months. I plan to finally purge the boxes and bags of makeup samples I’ve had for years (in fact, maybe I’ll do this today!). Also, consider pruning your Facebook friends and even your contacts in your phone. If you haven’t spoken or interacted with contacts (or, you just have people hanging in there that consistently annoy you), just press delete. You’ll instantly feel lighter.
• Think “wants” rather than “shoulds”. The top resolutions are consistently to stop smoking and lose weight–things we all should do to be healthy. Yet the #1 reason for failing to keep up the resolution is lack of motivation. Instead of saying what “should” I do or what do I need to do, ask yourself what do I really WANT to change about my life? To keep up that motivation, you really have to want to make a certain life change. This year, pick a small new year’s goal that sparks passion and fun in your life– maybe you always wanted to take a painting or photography class. Do it!

Ofelia de La Valette always wanted to be a dancer, but after marrying young and having kids, the Cuban native chose a sensible path– insurance broker– and built a successful career. But when she was 34, some stubborn baby weight led her toward the pulse of a dance exercise class, and reignited her dormant passion. One weekly class soon became twelve. In 2004, she opened Atlanta-based Dance 101, a studio geared toward adult dancers that is now the largest of its kind in the country. Here, Ofelia shares three lessons learned during her dramatic reinvention.

Start where you are.

“I began training at an age when most professional dancers are retiring. But, I had mentality that if I kept this up, by the time I was 50 I’d be a phenomenal dancer. I was going to make up the 20 years I lost. It’s never too late to get really good at something no matter how old you are when you begin. The age you start is just your starting point. If you layer consistency and practice, you’ll move forward.”

Chase the purpose, not the paycheck.

“When I started the studio, I had the moral support of my students and family, but nobody was going to pay my bills for me! But, I felt the future is today, and if I don’t follow my dream now I may not get that opportunity. I wanted to do something that got me out of bed and gave my life a deeper sense of purpose. I understood the financial sacrifice that goes with it. It’s hard in the beginning but, having been a businesswoman for years, I knew that it would get better. Now, the studio supports me [financially] at a level greater than insurance did.”

Make friends with your fear.

“Hands down, fear is the greatest deterrent to happiness. It keeps you confined in a box. You won’t accomplish anything if you can’t come to terms with fear. I dealt with fear by welcoming it into my life. I said, ‘Fear, you’re going to be my constant companion. I’m going to acknowledge you– but that’s it. I’m not going to let you talk me out of anything that is in my plan.’”

To learn more about Ofelia (and her amazing dance studio), visit www.dance101.org.