Missy Frederick, editor at Eater DC

What are your New Year's resolutions, and why?
"I get dorkily excited about setting goals each year, so I always have two lists of 'resolutions' — one of personal goals for the year, and one of kitchen goals for the year, since I'm kind of obsessive about cooking. Last year, for example, a personal one was to do more outdoorsy things with my husband, and a kitchen one was to cook one recipe out of each of my cookbooks (78!). This year, one of my personal ones is to visit a friend I've never visited before out of state, and one of my cooking ones is to make the daunting Momofuku ramen recipe. I think these kind of resolutions are fun and keep life interesting (rather than something super stressful or impossible to stick to), and they make you feel like you accomplished something during the year."

Have you managed to keep them so far?
"Well, given that I've got a year for all of them, I haven't completed a ton of them. On the personal front, I've made some progress on two: Taking pictures of wines I actually like (I have a terrible memory for wine), and working out five minutes more than normal each time I exercise. On the cooking front, I've been doing a low-carb January thing that's been going well, and will check off my 'host a Scotch-themed dinner party with pairings' goal this weekend. Yes, clearly 'drink less' is not on my resolution list this year."

Has anything helped you stick with your resolutions?
"I always write them down and tell my husband so I'm accountable, but that's about it. I'll usually say on Facebook if I've accomplished one (I'm sure no one rolls their eyes when I do that). I shoot for one kitchen goal a month, but I usually end up having a crazy December where I'm doing things like making ricotta and bitters and paté on the same weekend."

What's the biggest obstacle to keeping your resolution?
"Writing goals I'm really not excited about, but sound like a good idea in theory — 're-learn Spanish' the year I was traveling to Spain comes to mind. Those usually don't end up getting done."

Rifle Paper Co. Moss Garden Pocket Notebooks, $10 for two, available at Rifle Paper Co.; Momofuku Cookbook, $22.22, available at Amazon.