# 4 Reconnecting

I wanted to write about number 4 on my list. Reconnecting. Most of the things I have put on my list of things to accomplish before I am 30 are tangible; I can clearly tell you if it has been accomplishment. In fact you could tell me if I succeeded or not. But reconnecting it not one of them. It is something only I will be able to judge and in fact if I accomplished it or not is entirely subjective. It is not the only personal/intangible thing I want to accomplish before I am 30, but it is something I really want to focus on.

So I want to reconnect. I mean this in so many ways. Reconnect with friends who still mean so much to me but who are not a part of my life in a way that I would want to. I want to find ways to spend weekends with friends and stop being so concerned with being home for the weekend. I need to find ways to schedule time in my day-to-day life to talk to my old friends in so many ways influenced who I am today.

As I get ready to move this weekend I have found so many old pictures. The memories that surfaced for me were so vivid, I truly felt like I was living through them again. I miss the people in the pictures who made me laugh, cry and helped me create life long memories. 

I also want to reconnect with B. You see as I wrote about on my anniversary, marriage is not easy. B and I had have had some major ups and major downs in our 3 years of marriage. We have lived in two states, changes jobs, I started grad-school, we went through the loss of a parent, 2 surgeries and even more- and we disconnected! 

This year, I am going to focus on making sure we are creating positive memories, choosing happiness, and living our lives to the fullest.  I want to find things for us to enjoy doing together while still remaining independent and going along with my own routine. I want us to find a balance. I know we will. We are pretty awesome when we put our mind to something.  

And lastly, I want to reconnect with myself. I want to spend time truly reflecting on what I want to do with my life. Where do I see myself professionally? How am I going to get there?

I want to laugh more and find new creative outlets for myself. I want to focus on happiness and living in the present. I can’t stress about the past and I surely can’t predict the future. I need to remember that. I will ALWAYS make time to take care of MYSELF. I realize that I cannot give what I do not have. I will focus on taking life on step at a time. Life is a journey and I need to start embracing it.

So there you have it. Its time to reconnect!

Happy Anniversary! 3 Years WOW

Today B and I celebrate 3 years of marriage. Yay Us! 

If anyone tells you that marriage is easy they are lying. It is a wonderful and amazing thing, but easy it is not. I see it as an accomplishment that we have been married for 3 years and when we fight we can still crawl into bed together. It’s a sign of strong love, devotion and commitment. We have had our own share of ups and down but as we move this weekend (literally) I truly believe this year will bring freshness and a new sense of calmness and happiness in our lives. We continue to learn from each other every single today. I love you always and forever! 

Recipe 8 of 100 - Peanut Butter Cookie Sticks

The same lovely evening that I made the amazing Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies I made these amazing Peanut Butter Cookie Sticks. Friends have been asking for this recipe and I have been very slow in the posting, my apologies.

To say that these were delicious is the ultimate understatement. They were ABSOLUTLEY fabulous! The smooth peanut butter flavor with the rich chocolate is just mouth watering. Here is the thing, make them if you have somewhere to bring them or people to feed them to. They are addictive.

If you get to make these please let me know how you enjoyed!

Peanut Butter Cookie Sticks

Ingredients:

1/2 cup canola oil

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups Gold Medal all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt
(or sea salt)
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
 OR Heath Bar chips
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, combine the oil, peanut butter, sugars, egg and vanilla. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture and mix until well combined. Fold in the peanut butter chips and divide dough in half.

3. On the lined baking sheet, shape each portion into a 15-in. x 3-in. rectangle about 3 in. apart. Sprinkle with chocolate chips; pressing them lightly into the dough.(OKay really just split the dough into two parts and pat them out)

4. Bake in preheated oven for 7-9 minutes. (longer minutes for crispier cookies.) Cool for about 10 minutes. Cut with a serrated knife into 1-in. strips; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

They are amazing with a hot cup of coffee. I imagine that if you are a milk drinker these would be great dipped in a cold class of milk. 

ENJOY!

Finishing the List

I have taken the time over the past few weeks to come up with my final 10 things I want to accomplish before I am 30.  So here it is, the complete 30 before 3 list. I have exactly 2 year and 3 weeks to make it all happen:

The top 10 are my newest additions (11-30 were from my first blog post)

THE COMPLETED LIST:

1. Go to a gay bar/club
2. Do a food truck tour
3. Take a cooking class
4. Reconnect (more to come on this)
5. Go camping
6. Finish my Masters degree
7. Learn to do a fishtail braid
8. Learn to bind in yoga while standing
9. Go to the Cape (yep, I have never been)
10. Improve my Hebrew
11. Run a half Marathon
12. Spend one week without the Internet
13. Take a 14 day vacation somewhere I have never been
14. Cook 100 new recipes
15. Teach a Challah making class
16. Start a blog
17. Write a business plan for my future event planning company
18. Do something with all the pictures I have taken!
19. Take a photography class
20. Go on a vacation with my sisters and mom (sorry dad and Ben)
21. Guest blog on at least two sites
22. Learn to Surf
23. Join a Dragon Boat team in the city I live in
24. Have a four pack - yay for my future awesome abs!
25. Go to Calgary
26. Go to the Ballet
27. Own a really nice pair of Pajamas
28. Grow my own tomatoes
29. Buy a piece of furniture at a antique shop
30. Paint - not sure what, where, or why, just gotta do it!

Finally, I would love it if you'd join me in my journey and come up with your own lists—25 before 25, 35 after 35, 13 before 2013, whatever works for you. I would love to hear from you.  My hope is that my journey will inspire you to take your own journey and we can inspire each other to live in the present and accomplish total happiness.

Recipe 7 of 100 - Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies

A few weeks ago my good friend Al came to visit so we had a lovely girls dinner followed by an excellent evening of board games. My friend Robyn, made an excellent dinner which included a wonderful whole wheat pasta dish with lots of veggies and an avocado salad. The food was so yummy. 

I offered to make dessert to help me get through some more recipes. I made three different desserts - this is just the first. I promise the other two are coming!

The thing I love the most about these cookies is the fact that they have a delicious crispy brown crust on the bottom with a soft gooey inside and mixed in is come chocolate. They are a perfect! 

Check out the original recipe on Liz’s blog and let it be known you will eat all of them - and you will not even regret it.