I started with the full culinary school knife roll — seven blades, and over the years that grew to twelve, most of which I barely touch now. After 26 years of home cooking, here’s the no-nonsense guide to the only knives most people actually need, what features matter (and don’t), plus tips for maintenance and sharpening that’ll keep them working for decades.
Train for the Life You Want, Not Just the Body You Miss
Why You Are Not Broken (Even If It Feels Like It Right Now)
Struggling to stay consistent with health or fitness? You’re not broken — you’re just stuck in patterns that don’t work. This honest, practical post explains why extreme approaches fail and how small, committed changes can lead to sustainable transformation. A must-read if you're ready to try differently, not harder.
How to Build Satisfying, High-Volume Meals Without Counting Calories
4 Nutrition Myths That Keep You Stuck (And the One Nutrient That Actually Moves the Needle)
Why Most Diets Fail (and What to Do Instead)
Why Buying Local Produce is Always a Smart Choice (Not Just Because of Tariffs)
Buying local produce in BC isn’t just about tariffs—it’s about fresher, more nutritious food, a stronger local economy, and sustainability. Learn why choosing BC-grown fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy, and seafood supports your health, community, and environment. Discover where to find the best local options and how small changes can make a big impact.
Night Owls and Early Birds: Proven Strategies for Better Sleep
Sustainable Exercise Tips for Weight Loss: Start Your New Year Right
Finding A New Why
From Spartan Races to rediscovering joy in movement, this journey explores overcoming fear, embracing endurance, and confronting burnout after years of relentless competition. With 2025 as a no-race year, it’s a chance to rebuild strength, rediscover passion, and find a new ‘why’ beyond finish lines. A raw reflection on resilience, growth, and the evolving purpose of fitness.
Race Recap: Around The Lake Give'R Take 30K
Read a raw, start-to-finish recap of the 2024 Around The Lake Give'R Take 30K, featuring brutal weather, challenging trails, and mental grit. Join me as I push through fear, anxiety, and pain to beat cutoff times and conquer personal limits. Discover insights on pacing, race-day strategy, and why doing the hard things is always worth it.
Doing Stuff Anyway
I'm facing a tough race with challenging weather and terrain, and I'm not sure I'll make the cutoff. To succeed, I'll need to sustain a pace I've rarely managed before, and there's a real risk of failure or injury. But it's not just about finishing—it's about pushing beyond my comfort zone, testing my limits, and seeing what I’m capable of, even if it scares me. Sometimes you just do stuff anyway.
How Feasting Traditions Connect Us: Mindful Eating Tips for Holiday Celebrations
Exploring the role of feasts throughout history, highlighting how they foster connection, reinforce cultural values, and celebrate abundance, this post examines our evolutionary tendency for overconsumption during feasts and offers strategies for enjoying these occasions mindfully without compromising health. By approaching communal meals with intention, we can maintain balance and celebrate without overindulging.
2024 BTG Baby Barkley Recap
We had a great turnout for the first-ever BTG Baby Barkley this past Saturday, with eleven people participating. The weather was beautiful, and actually was quite comfortable for most of the duration, only getting really hot in the afternoon hours. Read the full post for my recap of my (just under) 6 hours’ effort on the mountain!
My Journey To Ultra - The Obstacle Is The Way
My Journey To Ultra - Baseline (Day 1)
Embarking on a transformative journey in 2024, I'm taking on two monumental challenges: my first 50K mountain ultramarathon and my first Spartan Race Ultra on my 50th birthday. Despite recent health setbacks and injuries, I'm determined to reach peak physical condition. Join me as I document this journey of resilience and self-discovery - it won't be boring!
Brachiation (Hanging Grip / Movement) Training
If you want a good chance of succeeding on the hanging obstacles on a Spartan Race, you're going to have to train your grip and learn to swing like a primate!
While being able to do pull-ups is great, it's not really necessary if you have a strong grip and good technique. It's also less important how long you can statically hang than it is to be able to grip HARD and release over and over again.
Combined with that, it is important to learn how to properly move your body in space while hanging to control your momentum and smoothly load / unload your hands. This can help you to be much more confident in transitioning from one grip event to the next as you move through the obstacles.
Put it all together, and you have brachiation.
My Thoughts After The Spartan Death Race / Race Recap
I Will Endure, I Will Experience, and I Will Learn
With so little time to prepare going into my Spartan Death Race (I fly out in 2 weeks!), I'm not going to be able to do anything to meaningfully alter and train my body for the physical demands of this kind of ultra-endurance event. It's simply not possible. Preparing to take the step up from around where my current conditioning is at to run a multi-day endurance race is usually achieved on the timescale of years (yes, YEARS, plural), not weeks, so I'm just going to have to "run what I brung" to use an old motor-racing phrase.
But I can't help having some real moments of deep self-doubt. Like, literally tears streaming down my face while out on a walk or run, "who the hell do I think I am to attempt this?" and "I am in WAY over my head" kind of moments.
So, knowing that I can't change myself physically, and working through my moments of self-doubt, what CAN I do to prepare?