Introducing The List30

Anyone who knows me in real life knows that I tend to give things 110%. Unfortunately, this 110% has been off-kilter for work/life balance for the past ... well, too long. I rarely take lunch breaks; I drink too much coffee; I don't often cook (which results in buying overpriced, high-sodium, high-carb meals in the campus caf); and what's more ... I have a really hard time leaving work at work. I've been known to check my work email from my phone first thing in the morning, late at night, and on weekends.

With that, inspired from a conversation that I had over a year ago, I'm reviewing my goals.

A few years ago, I wrote on the notion that what we give our attention to is what we become. To this day, it's still resonating deep down to my core; my list, therefore, is a tangible reminder of what's important to me.

To start, I'm not going to exhaust myself by starting big. I have a small, measurable way to implement each new direction. From there, I'll build out. Stay tuned, or if you're up for the challenge, join me!

• Nurture relationships by spending better time with loved ones. Do one thing weekly with a friend or family member that doesn't revolve around sitting on the couch. Bonus points for combining with one of the below items. 
• Get moving for 30 minutes a day, four times a week. Whether it be just by walking to work, going to moksha yoga, or hitting the gym, getting moving is a key item in my plan due the the bazillion benefits that it provides. Bonus points for breaking a sweat. 
• Try one new recipe a week. I have a penchant for collecting cookbooks but never using them. I love cooking, but never get around to doing it because I'm too busy being exhausted. Bonus points for veggie recipes. 
• Show appreciation to at least one person per day. People just don't get told often enough when they're being awesome. Bonus points for reaching out to someone having a tough day.

What's on your list?

Reflections on 30

Having recently celebrated that birthday milestone that's supposed to turn everyone from rational, youthful, fun-loving twenty-somethings to stress-filled year-counting thirty-something-approaching-midlife-crisis messes, take my word for it: your thirtieth is the same as every other birthday.

Maybe I'm being a wise owl, but freaking out over your age seems so not worth it. There are so many other ways to spend your energy. 

Instead, I've decided to assess where I am, where I'm headed, and when I'd like to get there.  The morning after my birthday last year, I had brunch and life talks with one of my closest friends and then went for a long, long walk around my neighbourhood. I listened to music, and sighed with happiness as I saw everyday things with new eyes.

A dog! Chasing a ball! In a park! *sigh*.Kids! Playing soccer! They're so little! *sigh*
Perfect amounts of sunshine and clouds! *sigh*The leaves on the trees are perfectly autumny! *sigh*

And I came to a realization that day on the sidewalk. In a lot of big ways, my life was more or less the way I'd hoped it to be when I was younger. And that feeling has stuck with me since that day. Partly because it was so great (really, how many people get to say that?!), and partly because I realized that I needed to make a new plan.

So one year and a few days after this wonderful revelation, in typical me-fashion, I'm crafting a list. A post-30 list, just because it's as good a place to start as any. This week, I'm drawing inspiration for list items from a wide variety of people around me. I'm collecting ideas. I'm getting there.

A few years ago, I made some huge decisions and changes to my life. There was a disconnect from where I'd always envisioned myself while in my mid-20's and, to be perfectly honest, it was really far from where I was.

Since then, I've moved to one of my favourite neighbourhoods, scored a job that I absolutely love, made a surprise re-connection with my high school sweetheart and we're now living our little life in Leaside. Yeah, it's pretty alright.

My goal now? To get myself back into the saddle with the things that I'm really passionate about: writing, crafting, stuff-making, adventuring, cooking, and social media-ing. Over the past four years, I've fallen out of the blogging habit; my writing muscles have been flexed in my day job—but it's just not the same.

So without any further ado, I'm ready. Let's do this.

On the flip side of 2013

Welcome, 2013.

I've never been one for new years resolutions - the cynic in me doesn't see the point of them. Why wait for a new year to make a fresh start? Why put off tomorrow what you can begin today (says mister Mark Twain)?

Instead, I'm greeting 2013 as a continuation of my mind-shift from 2012. Giving my attention to the things that I want to become, rather than the things that sap energy and distract me from where I want to be + go. It's a funny place to be, particularly when my instincts often pull me in different directions, but like everything else in life, this slow process is more than worth it, I'm sure. And writing about it helps to keep me accountable.

List30 is doing well. I've filled the busy holiday season with shopping, baking, and visiting with friends and family. I've been hitting up yoga and the gym at least a 2-3 times a week, and I've been much more intentional on the way that I spend my free time. It's not been easy - there have been more than a few occasions when I've had to re-assess what my priorities were and shift plans around from there. It's funny how it can be so incredibly hard to quiet your soul and stick to your guns, particularly when your knee-jerk reaction is to constantly focus on work-related things.

Speaking of work, I'm back in the office tomorrow. These past three weeks have been great for finding a happy balance when there's been no nine-to-five to throw off the equation. The trick for next week, I think, will be to leave work at work and do something completely different when I get home.

What will these completely different things be?

I've been reflecting on the things that I used to do that I've gotten out of the habit of doing for a wide variety of reasons. A few of these have already been included in my List. But there are a lot more that I'm going to try to integrate in as well, over the next few weeks. Getting my creative on will be one of them. Purging and organizing is another. More to come on both of those as they unfold in my brain.

These next two months are going to be good. I can tell.

What changes or projects do you have coming up?

Slow cooker pulled pork on garlic toast

I made pulled pork in my slow cooker on Friday and it was the best thing I've cooked in my kitchen in a long while.

As per usual, I MacGuyvered a favourite recipe from my sister. I was feeling particularly saucy, so I figured I'd like to play around with what she's got to see what else I could do with it. 

(But then again, it's pulled pork. You don't want to mess with a good thing too much.)

Spoiler alert: when I do this with my cooking, I don't measure things. I measure in pinches and shakes. Consider yourself forewarned.

You'll need:

• Half of a spanish onion
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 pork tenderloin (You can also substitute with pork shoulder)
• 4 strips of bacon
• Your favourite smokey BBQ sauce (I used a mix of 3 parts Diana's Gourmet Western Smokehouse and 1 part Canadian Club Hickory Bold)
• 1 can of root beer
• 5 drops of liquid hickory smoke
• A few shakes of smoked paprika
• A few pinches of freshly ground black pepper
• A few shakes of sea salt
• Approximately 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• A pinch of cayenne pepper
• Your favourite buns (I used whole wheat kaisers)
• Freshly chopped garlic
• Mushrooms (if you like them)
• Your favourite cheese (I used Havarti but an old, strong cheddar would also be awesome)

1. Sautée chopped onions with butter; slice the bacon into small pieces and add it into the pan. Once it's started to brown, scrape the contents into the slow cooker; set it to medium. 
2. Add the pork tenderloin, ensuring that it's surrounded with onions and bacon. 
3. Add the BBQ sauce, root beer, hickory smoke, paprika, black pepper, salt, brown sugar, cayenne pepper into the slow cooker. Ensure that the pork is entirely covered (if it's not, add more BBQ sauce).
4. Let it cook for 4 hours on medium. You'll know it's done when the pork pulls apart easily with a fork.
5. Once you can pull the pork apart, drain almost all of the root beer from the cooker; add more BBQ sauce, salt, or pepper to taste. 

Once the pork is ready:  

1. Sautée mushrooms. 
2. Mix chopped garlic with butter and spread it on the buns; put them in the oven with the broiler on until golden brown.  
3. Pile on pulled pork.  
4. Stack with cheese, sautéed mushrooms, and enjoy. 

Bon appetit!