I will admit that my chef/husband and I are a little strange in that we have gone on dates to a grocery store before. (More on that another time.) But this might be even worse that that.
Can I blame this possible obsession on being married to a chef?
I have a lot of other friends and neighbors who are very excited about this new store near us as well. It’s what transpired after my 2nd trip there in 4 days that has me concerned and why I would consider blaming this on my husband’s profession.
Last week a Trader Joe’s FINALLY opened near our home.
If you asked my chef/husband what his favorite grocery store is, he would say Trader Joe’s. He feels very strongly that I should do all our shopping there and he’s been saying that for years.
However, I refuse to drive 35-40 minutes one way to get to the nearest Trader Joe’s.
Now I don’t have to!!
WooHoo!! (This is me jumping up and down with excitement!!) (more…)
Today is my 40th birthday. I think that officially makes me old. I’m not sure how I feel about that. I’ll have to get back to you . . .
This is where I’d like to be today as I celebrate my birthday – on a cruise, sitting next to my husband, watching the kids swim while enjoying a movie and a drink. Instead I’ll be at home, taking kids to school, saying goodbye to my husband as he goes off to a long day at the restaurant. Just another day . . . except now I’m officially old. Yeah!
Today as I celebrate, here are 40 random things about myself that you might not know.
Only 2 people have ever called me by the name “Jen.” Everyone else has called me Jennifer. (Thank goodness!!)
I’m 6’ 1” tall and my last name is Small. Fortunately this was not my last name until I was 20 so I didn’t have to go through junior high and high school hearing jokes about this. Now I love it and it makes for a fun conversation in the grocery store.
I don’t really enjoy reading. (Don’t tell any of my past students.)
I don’t really enjoy cooking that much either. Thank goodness I am married to a chef and never have to cook for myself. (HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!)
I wanted to be a Mom and a teacher ever since the 3rd grade. I became a teacher in 1996 and a Mom in 2004.
I love Butterscotch Krimpet TastyKakes, but live on the west coast and they do not sell them here. Boo! If you live on the east coast, eat an extra one for me today in honor of my birthday!
I LOVE homemade Greek yogurt sweetened with maple syrup.
I am addicted to chapstick and have it with me at all times.
When we started dating, I played the piano better than my chef/husband. I stopped practicing and he practiced a lot. He can now play whatever he wants and I have to practice just to play something easy.
I started working out last year to make new friends. I ended up losing a few pounds, 2 sizes and gaining many new friendships.
Every Thursday and Sunday morning I wake up really sore and wonder why I went to workout class the day before. (See #31)
I used to use coupons but gave up because they don’t make coupons for the food we eat.
We had NO MONEY when we first got married and because of this we ate a lot of Top Ramen. My husband still loves the stuff, but I refuse to eat it. I really hate it!
I have been to 4 different countries. (5 if you count the one I live in.)
I am a horrible decorator. Anything that looks nice in our home was chosen by my chef/husband.
My favorite Bible verse is Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” (See #25.)
It would take me 19 hours of driving nonstop to get my Dad’s house. This is too far. 🙁
I would love to own a motorhome and travel around the United States as a family.
Every month on the 10th day, I grab my camera and capture my day with 10 pictures.
My life as a chef’s wife is not glamorous, as you can see. And yet again, my chef/husband is no where to be found in the pictures as he left the house at 6:30 am and got home at 11:30 pm. Just a nice short day of work for him. 🙁
There are many days I feel guilty about the things I get to do while my chef/husband is at work ALL DAY AND NIGHT!! This was one of those days. While it was not perfect and there were times of frustration with the girls, I was able to relax and enjoy time with our kids and with friends. I’ve mentioned this many times to my chef/husband . . . that I feel bad that he works so hard and I get to have fun with the girls, and his response is always the same – that he wouldn’t want it any other way. What an amazing man I married! (But I still feel bad!)
So with that being said, here are 10 pictures that capture our day on July 10th.
I started off the day by checking on some new flowers my daughter had recently planted. (more…)
I love to eat at my husband’s restaurant (well he doesn’t own it, but runs the kitchen. So you know what I mean.) However, with 3 kids and a 1+ hour drive to get there (without traffic) it doesn’t happen as often as I’d like.
Last week the restaurant rolled their new summer menu. So tonight, I got a babysitter for the kids and headed up to Seattle with a friend for dinner. (more…)
What a month . . . school’s out, the sun is shining, I had pimento cheese for the first time, got some great new clothes, went on a wonderful date with my chef/husband and I discovered this!
There are not many times where I can tell my chef/ husband about something new in the kitchen. Actually, I don’t think there has ever been a time . . . until now.
We drink a lot of smoothies and make a lot of salad dressings and salsas. We don’t have a Vitamix. . . just an ordinary Oster blender recommend by Cook’s Illustrated a while back. It works fine, but when you use a mason jar with it, it is AMAZING!! The smoothies are so much thicker and frothier (is that a word?). You don’t have to take the top off the blender and scrape down the sides. It just works great!! Plus, it’s one less dish to wash since we drink out of mason jars. (Because washing the blender is so much work!) I wish I would have known about this when I was trying to make baby food a few years ago! (more…)
