In September, Hammock Publishing made a pledge to help the folks at Louisiana Cookin’, a New Orleans-based magazine heavily impacted by Hurricane Katrina. One of our efforts to help culminated in a CD of all the magazine’s mouth-watering recipes from 2005. New subscribers receive the CD as a bonus with their first issue.

And what a bonus. Louisiana Cookin‘s crawfish jambalaya, creole pralines and zydeco grit cakes will make you say goodbye New Year’s resolutions and hello Mardi Gras!

To subscribe to Louisiana Cookin’, visit www.louisianacookin.com

It comes quickly. Here we are just 24 days into the new year and already were supposed to be depressedreally depressed. According to a British psychologist, Jan. 24 is the most depressing day of the year. Here in Nashville, we love to sing songs about feeling blue, but some of us around the office dont agree with the British shrink. Were a pretty happy bunch, despite the gray days, freezing nights, and pasty faces. Here are some reasons why Jan. 24 makes us clap our cold hands together:
I love taking walks in the evenings when it’s not to cold but you can still smell the lingering odor of wood burning fireplaces. It reminds me of childhood.
-Patrick R.
This is a great time of the year for doing things like cleaning our barn, cutting dead limbs and clearing fencerows. Mainly because creepie-crawlies are at a minimum, and it’s cold, so you don’t get weary from the heat. It’s also great sleeping weather. I do get depressed when it’s wet and miserable and cabin fever sets in.
-Bill
Because Jan. 27 is my half birthday!!!! It’s a joke, people. I’m not THAT obsessed with my birthday. (Note: the box decorated with balloons next to my desk is for presents).
-Lena
I love wearing sweaters, and since they are dry-clean only, I can wear them a couple of times (at least three) without doing lots of laundry!
-Emily
I am NOT a winter fan. It’s cold and rainy, and there aren’t any fresh tomatoes to be had for months. The only good thing about Jan. 24? Just 23 days til pitchers and catchers report.
-Laura
Summer weighs in from Austin, Texas, where it’s 70 degrees today. We have no sympathy:
I love this time of year because the warmth of the sun and the cool bite of a soft breeze make for a perfect afternoon walk with the dogs. January also brings chocolate Italian cream cake to our house. We have several family birthdays in January (a couple on Cole’s side, a couple on mine), so we all get together for a day in Gruene, Texas, for some live music, good food and great conversation. And the leftover cake always makes it back to our house!!!
Today is special because ten years ago, we adopted Neyland, our dog. Despite his muddy paws, he is a great way to cure mid-winter depression!
-Barbara
I hate this time of year. Or maybe I’m just down because the bill for my New Year’s trip just came due. But to be a good sport, I love this time of year because it’s movie award season and you know how much I love going to the movies.
-Jamie
I love cold weather in general. But there needs to be sunshine. I don’t care how cold it is, as long as it’s sunny.
-Allison
I love this time of year for its silence–the calm after the storm called Christmastime. And I can start counting down the days to my birthday (only 115 days left!!)
-Megan
I love wearing turtlenecks and eating chili. It just doesn’t taste as good in August.
-Shannon
I like the way the silhouettes of leafless trees looks against a winter sunset.
-Susie

The ancient Babylonians reportedly were the first to start making New Year’s resolutions some 4,000 years ago, with the most popular being to return borrowed farm equipment. Though people all over the world have been breaking their resolutions ever since, some of the Hammock crew decided to give it the ole college try.
Bill: I resolve to take my first rides in a helicopter and on a Jet Ski, and to enter a dance competition. UPDATE: I entered my first (and maybe last) dance competition Jan. 21. Won a few rounds, too, and got some ribbons. Kinda like taking first place in the county fair pickle contest.
Barbara The Production Director: Mine is to use clipless pedals on my bicycle and not to fall with them. So far, I’ve done three rides without falling. Plus I’m cutting back on sweets.
Shannon: To call my grandmothers more often.
Natalie: To stop cursing.
Laura: I normally eschew New Year’s resolutions but last year I tried a couple and they worked out great. So this year I’m going to resolve to choose colors and get my house painted. And hey, while I’m at it, I’ll resolve to keep my house as organized as it is right now, after being at home for a week.
Megan: To get rock-hard tasty abs. (OK, so I got that idea from a Tenacious D song.) Oh, and to finally fix my old clamshell iBook.
Rex: To get rock-hard tasty abs. No, wait. Megan said mine already.

This photo, taken just a few hours ago, is the sales gang of MyBusiness Magazine out for a post-dinner (photos from dinner, here) stroll in our nation’s capitol where we are having a sales meeting. (That faint glow in the background is the White House.) A good time is being had by all. (But I guess that may be obvious.)

In honor of Benjamin Franklins 300th birthday, American Spirit editor Jamie Roberts baked a cake for us at Hammock to enjoy. We were so eager to celebrate, in fact, that several of us couldnt wait for this photo to be taken before digging in. Which we guess is in keeping with his aphorism, Eat to live, and not live to eat.

Meet Megan Goodchild, one of Hammock Publishings newest employees.
Megan was born in Evanston, Ill., and grew up in Des Plaines, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, where, she says, We often thought the planes were going to land on our house instead of at OHare!. She moved to Murfreesboro, Tenn., about 20 miles south of Nashville after graduating high school in 1997; her family still lives in the Chicagoland area.
Megan received a B.S. in journalism and Spanish from MTSU in 2003, with an English minor. I currently am working on my masters in mass communications at MTSU, which should be complete by 2008, if it doesnt kill me first, she notes. She worked her way through undergrad as a Lead Certified Pharmacy Technician at CVS in The Boro. After graduating, she took a job as a Spanish interpreter for the Rutherford County Health Department and also as a pharmacy tech with Middle Tennessee Medical Center (both in Mboro). In May 2004, she was hired as the Marketing Coordinator for MTMC, where she wrote various articles, news releases, and dabbled in graphic design.
Megan lives in Murfreesboro with her boyfriend, Ian (in our first house!), and their three cats (BK, Finnegan and Evil Twin).
Tell us about your hometown and your family.

Evanston is so vibrant  I think it is to Chicago what West End is to Nashville (Except, I guess, that its its own city). But when I was born the school system was not so great, so my parents moved us to Des Plaines, which is about 10 minutes from Chicago. As ghetto as it is, technically its a suburb so our schools had books, teachers and heat.
I love my mom and sisters to death. Were all pretty close. I was 12 when my youngest sister, Emily, was born. My mom went to work at night, so after school I came home to care for Emily and Katie, who is four years my junior. I continued to do this through high school.

What attracted you to Hammock Publishing?

Several things, including the fact that I was going to be surrounded by Mac-users. (For quality of life reasons, I won’t take a job where I cannot work on a Mac.)
When I learned that the position combined writing with the Web, I was instantly intrigued. I am addicted to technology, and am starting to believe that some day the Internet is going to either save or destroy the world.
There were a few omens, too, that led me to believe Hammock was where I was supposed to be. For instance, about a week before I interviewed for the job, I was sitting in my office at the hospital and had an epiphany that to maximize communication among my colleagues, we could use IM. I ran down the hall in excitement to the other offices, but they just looked at me like I was nuts and said it would never work. Ha!

Tell us a bit about your job here.

I am a writer for NFIB.com, but from what I hear Ill probably be tapped to write a little for other clients, too. Since Ive only been here a few weeks, Im still figuring out my day-to-day job. But its great to be in such a creative atmosphere.

You have a significant commute from Murfreesboro to Hammock. What do you do to keep from having road rage?

Lots of cussing  just kidding! I load up my iPod with good music and give myself about an hour and a half to get here. Usually I make it with plenty of time to spare, except for Wednesday, when it took me over two hours because of a wreck.

What are your hobbies?

I love playing video games, and Ian (my boyfriend) and I play NTN trivia with friends every Tuesday night at a bar in Murfreesboro. Also, I try really hard to be a good photographer, but in the winter I usually just end up doing photo shoots of my cat. Ian would say my worst hobby is collecting Macs (I have four at home), but I dont see anything wrong with that!

Favorite sports team?

The Cubs, of course.

Favorite author?

Kurt Vonnegut always cracks me up, but Denis McQuail (a mass communications theorist) really helped me through this past semester of grad school.

Favorite musician?

My favorite band of all time is Barenaked Ladies. They have mastered the art of self-deprecation, and I would totally be a groupie if I had the time and money.

Favorite kind(s) of music?

Usually indie or alternative, though I guess there is no true alternative genre anymore. I also like to listen to some Spanish-language alt/rock bands.

Favorite magazines?

I subscribe to Mother Jones, Newsweek, Macworld and Layers Magazine. Whether I have time to read them all is another story.

Favorite TV show and movies?

Kill your television! The revolution wont be televised! (But I do love CSI: Las Vegas.)

Favorite foods and restaurant in Nashville?

Lately anything with spinach and feta cheese finds its way onto my plate. I love Boscos, but I really need to start exploring more of Nashvilles cuisine. Anyone want to join me?

Chocolate, vanilla or _____?

I cant live without peppermint. Seriously, I think its part of my DNA now.

Morning person or nightbird?

I would say on the weekends Im more of a nightbird than during the week, but I really could go to bed at 9 p.m. and sleep past noon every day.

What three people do you most admire and why?

1. My cousin Sarah, whos the same age as I am and is one of my best friends. A few years ago she battled a rare head/neck cancer, and is one of the most grounded and earthy people I know.
2. Steve Jobs, though I guess its more intrigue than admiration. Hes a great combination of genius and insanity. (And I cant live without Apple products.)
3. People who grow up speaking only one language but are able to achieve fluency in several more.

What new skill would you most like to acquire?

How to build a fully functional Web site from scratch. Or Ninja powers.

What are your guilty pleasure songs?

Billy Joels Only the Good Die Young
Chicagos Hard to Say Im Sorry
And, even though its so uncool, I love Alanis Morissette. Her non-commercial songs really are poetic.

Lost or 24:

Lost, although I didnt get to watch any of last season because I had class at night.

Meet Barbara Greenfield, one of Hammock Publishing’s newest employees.
Barbara was born and raised in Memphis except during her 2nd-5th grade years when her family moved to a suburb of Chicago. She loved the Windy City so much she decided to attend Northwestern for college where she majored in Art History. After college she moved to New York and worked for Sotheby’s for a year in their Fine Arts Department. She then relocated to London for eight months to work in Sotheby’s new office catering to works under $100,000 threshold.
Barbara returned to the States to attend business school at Vanderbilt in the Spring 2002. She entered the publishing world the summer after her first year of grad school in Little Rock, Ark., working for the Oxford American, and continued to consult for the magazine over the next year. Upon graduation she took a job at a Franklin, TN, health care company. “But,” she says, “I soon realized that I missed publishing, which is why I am so happy to be at Hammock!”
Tell us about your hometown and your family.

I am a Memphis girl. My mom still lives there with my stepfather Keith and her beloved pug Gracie. I was born in Memphis one week before Elvis died. My mom claims it was one of the hottest summers in Memphis history.
My mom is a part-time flight attendant for Northwest Airlink. My brother Peter lives in Nashville and works for Colliers. My sister Elizabeth recently moved to Birmingham and is getting married on May 13th at Camp McDowell in Alabama. Elizabeth is in Nashville a few days each month because she is in graduate school at Vanderbilt to become a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner and will graduate in August.

What attracted you to Hammock Publishing?

Two publishing folks I respect raved about Hammock and then once I did some work for you over the summer I was blown away. I quickly realized how much I missed publishing and that I was confident Hammock was the right fit for me.

Tell us a bit about your job here.

My role is to market NFIB and My Business to ad agencies, marketers and other audiences who are trying to reach to small business owners. I will also help coordinate efforts to up-sell current advertisers and establish new corporate sponsorships while also supporting the Elliot ad sales team.

You’ve lived in NYC and London, two of the world’s greatest cities. What, if anything, would you do to Nashville to improve it?

I absolutely love Nashville, but I would love it if there were more places within walking distance of work/home. One of my favorite things about living in a big city was the ability to walk everywhere. I hate feeling so trapped by the requirement to get in my car to get anywhere.

What are your hobbies?

Cooking and baking. I often make more than I eat so I will definitely bring in treats. I bought my first road bike last fall and my goal is to finish one Olympic distance triathlon this year.

Favorite sports team?

ummm. well, I saw LeBron James on Oprah last week so I am now crazy about him.

Favorite author?

David Sedaris makes me laugh so hard so I love him for that. I look forward to seeing him in Nashville in April.

Favorite musician?

Dolly Parton. I saw her at the Station Inn a few months ago and now have a HUGE crush on her.

Favorite kind(s) of music?

Hip hop

Favorite magazines?

Real Simple, Gourmet and the New Yorker

Favorite TV show and movies?

I am a Netflix fanatic so I do not tend to watch much TV although I do catch up via Netflix. My recent favorites include Six Feet Under, Family Guy, Entourage and Lost. When I was younger I wanted to grow up to be Gene Siskel or Roget Ebert so narrowing down a movie list is a challenge but here are some new and old good ones: Walk the Line, Capote, Brokeback Mountain, LOTR, Home for the Holidays, The Godfather, Gone with the Wind, Million Dollar Baby, Almost Famous, The Big Chill, ET, Hoosiers, Out of Africa, The Right Stuff and You Can Count on Me.

Favorite foods and restaurant in Nashville?

Margot, Parco Cafe at the Farmer’s Market, Pizza Perfect on 21st, Browns Diner and Copper Kettle

Chocolate, vanilla or _____?

Dark chocolate

Morning person or nightbird?

Morning

What three people do you most admire and why?

My mom, sister and brother because they always forgive me.

What new skill would you most like to acquire?

I took Latin in high school and college so I wish I spoke a modern language I could actually use.

What are your guilty pleasure songs?

“I think we’re alone now” by Tiffany; “Love is a battlefield” Pat Benatar; “Let’s hear it for the boy” Deniece Williams; “Heaven is a place on earth” Belinda Carlisle

Lost or 24?

Lost, although I have only see the first season, anxiously awaiting the second second season on dvd.

1. Jan. 10 is Hammock Day for you. How long have you been with Hammock Publishing?
I started Jan. 10, 2000, so this is my sixth year.
2. What do you remember most about your first day at Hammock?
Well, at the Monday meeting, after being introduced, Will Weaver spilled my coffee and I thought “this is not a good start.” However, later that day our creative director did ask me to retouch one of the covers to Connect magazine. The issue was promoting a show on the Sports Illustrated swimsuit models, and the cover image was a far cry from what I did previously, which was a magazine on business relocation.
3. If you didn’t work at Hammock Publishing, what do you think you would be doing?
I’ve always had a passion for cooking. If I wasn’t an art major in school, then I would have gone to culinary school.
4. What was your favorite cartoon growing up?
The Bugs Bunny and Road Runner show.
5. What CD do you have in your truck right now?
Boston’s first album and Blues Brothers’ Briefcase Full of Blues.
6. What was your most memorable day at Hammock?

I will admit working at Hammock has some GREAT perks. First I would have to say the day that Hammock employees were invited to the Nashville Speedway to participate in the Farve/Jarrett driving experience. Lucky for me, we promoted the school in one of our magazines. I got to drive 10 laps in a NASCAR racecar, and they even had a video camera in the car where they tape you driving. I purchased the tape for evidence. That was a great experience.
A close second is being able to go to the CMA awards at the Grand Old Opry.
7. What’s your favorite reality TV show?
Would you ever participate? The Apprentice. Yeah I’d give it a shot, but I don’t think I’d ever live in New York city though.
8. If you could travel this summer to any country in the world, where would you go?
Well if it was up to my wife and me, we would both say Australia, however, I have always wanted to visit the Emerald Isle, go figure!
9. Where did you grow up?
Westfield, Mass., and yes I do miss a good snow once in a while.
10. If you could switch places with any other Hammock employee for one day, who would it be and why?
Bill Hudgins, because he’s got a way with words.