Every time I look at the calendar, I am amazed that we’re in a new year. 2014 just flew by for our family.
Somehow in the midst of the craziness I started blogging. I had no idea how much I would enjoy writing and really wasn’t prepared for all the comments and emails I would get from so many people around the world that could relate to my life!
Today I thought I’d share my 5 most visited blog posts/pages from 2014 and also my 5 personal favorite posts.
You Know Your Dad’s a Chef When . . . Part 2 – Our kindergartner wrote Modernist Cuisine on her homework and I tweeted about it. Modernist Cuisine tweeted back and my site went crazy with visitors! Woohoo!!
Stitch Fix – This has absolutely nothing to do with raising a family with a chef, but all about me falling in love with this company. Who doesn’t love having great clothes show up in a box at your doorstep? I tweeted about this page. Stitch Fix pinned in on Pinterest and people visited. I doubt any of them were chef wives, but you never know. 🙂
My 5 favorite posts from 2014:
Letter to a Young Chef Wife – I loved putting together a list of things I wish I knew 19 years ago when my husband first started working in a professional kitchen.
The Hands of a Chef – I asked for pictures of chef’s hands on Facebook and received such a great response. 🙂 (more…)
My chef/husband and I have had many conversations over the years about his salary. Usually the conversation starts because he’s been working so many hours and he’s on salary. (Sound familiar?)
He jokingly tells me how much he makes an hour, which comes out to be ridiculously low with the hours he works. He’s even said a few times that a server went home with more money than him after working 6 hours than he did after working 16 hours, running the entire restaurant and/or kitchen.
When he was a line cook, he occasionally got paid overtime. But as I have come to learn over the years, that overtime kills your labor budget and often the Sous Chef and Executive Chef work extra hours to pick up the slack to save their numbers (especially if those numbers are linked to a bonus.) (more…)
If you are married to or dating a chef, you know what I mean. It’s not that we don’t like the holidays, it’s just that we don’t see our chefs much or at all during the month of December. So once January 2nd comes around, we are pretty excited!! Things “should” slow down a bit in the restaurant, our chefs will be home trying to catch up on sleep and family time and we can all breathe a sigh of relief!
(Although January 2nd falling on a weekend might mess that up for us this year.)
Whatever the case, I’m ready for the new year.
Now looking ahead to Valentine’s Day . . . just kidding.
We survived the Christmas season as the family of a chef, although it was a very different month for us. Things have really changed in my chef/husband’s career and while the hours were still really long, he was off 3 weekends and Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. That has NEVER happened. The days he was working, his to do list was very long, but it actually didn’t have anything to do with the Christmas season. So it was a different season for us. Good, but different (and not what I had expected at all!!)
With that being said, I have absolutely no idea what the new year will bring. What I’ve come to know as the wife of chef is changing by the day. While I’m excited about these changes, there’s a small part of me that is anxious as well. I’m not a big fan of the “unknown,” but we’ll just take one day at a time and trust in God’s plan for our family. (more…)
One thing I struggle with is finding time for myself and finding time to do the things I would like to do instead of just doing the things I have to do. I believe finding this balance is so important because if I’m a mess, how in the world can I take care of myself and my family.
Before we had kids, this wasn’t a problem. Yes, I worked full-time, but my chef/husband worked more (big surprise) so I always had time in the evening for hobbies (or to watch TV and do nothing).
If I wanted to spend time with friends or go out and do something, I could. No problem. (I might add that I could also afford it as we were both working full time.) (more…)
When was the last time you looked at the hands of your chef?
My chef/husband is at work as I’m writing this, but I can picture his hands in my head . . .
The few scars on them from working in the kitchen for so many years. (One large one that I remember vividly from a catering event he did for my work 15 years ago.)
His left hand without a wedding ring when he’s working, as he gets a big callous when he uses a knife a lot while he’s wearing it. (This doesn’t bother me, in case you were wondering.)
The shiny appearance from being near the oven or stove on the line for an extended period of time.
Bandaged up with a bandaid or krazy glue, whatever worked better at the time.
Gentle enough to not crush delicate herbs.
Steady enough to plate small items intricately.
Holding a chef knife and cutting an onion so fast that my eyes don’t even have a chance to tear up.
Stained from working with beets when he was rushing and didn’t put gloves on.
Occasionally having a strange smell on them after work.
Seasoned to pick up a hot pan without a hot pad or towel.
Top 5 most visited posts/pages of 2014:
