After an indulgent holiday season, my favorite New Year’s resolution is almost always to lose a few (or more than a few) pounds. Besides cutting back my consumption of alcohol and chocolate (ugh), this year I decided to try out a new workout plan. I re-joined my favorite gym from home, hired my mother’s trainer and started sweating as soon as I could. The problem? The gym is in Massachusetts, the trainer charged $100 an hour and the beefy Strong Island-types pumping iron were a bit, shall we say, disconcerting. While Island Fitness here in Ithaca offers the same amenities, it’s a bit overpriced, and parking there is a nightmare at any good workout times. — About $50 a month, plus training fees if you want

After seeing the massive ad campaign they launched, I decided to try out EA Sports Active for my Wii system. I figured, given that it was sold out on Amazon.com, it must be pretty popular — and those ads were definitely impressive. The game was fun, easy to follow and fast paced. After every workout, my muscles are sore and I feel as though I just spent an hour with a real, live trainer. The best part? My Wii trainer on EA Sports is right in my living room, making things much more comfortable and saving a lot of time. Of course, the Strong Island types likely won’t benefit from this game, so keep that in mind. — $50

The Verdict: EA Sports Active has everything you need for a good, basic workout.

In this super freezing, wet and dreary weather, one of my favorite things is a nice, warm pair of socks. In addition to keeping your feet warm, socks can also help to prevent the dry, nasty skin that winter tends to breed on people’s feet. My favorite place to buy socks? The Gap. There’s a Gap convenient to just about every place I spend time, and the socks come in simple but cute prints, from argyle to polka dots. The cotton socks are comfy, and at such a low price, you can buy enough socks to really put off doing your laundry as long as possible. — About $7 a pair

On the other hand, my mother decided it would be a good thing to put some fancy socks in my stocking this Christmas. The socks, from Maria La Rosa and available at Barneys, are made of silk, and feel quite nice on the feet. Of course, after a full afternoon of shopping in this socks and a pair of loafers, I could almost feel the silk starting to tear under my heel. While the socks are certainly cozy, I really don’t need socks that only last for a few hours — not to mention that they only come in boring colors, and the price per sock per hour is frankly absurd. — $40 a pair

The Verdict: Silk socks are one of the dumber things I’ve now owned. Stick to plain Gap socks.