I'm coming to the end of this year-long journey! I do have a few more recipes prepared to make and share tomorrow and on Monday, but yesterday and today brought nothing new food-wise. I had a ladies' night last night (Day 362) where we went to one of those painting classes. It was a lot of fun! I had dinner with my family first, leftover lasagna, then it was off for a night of artistic fun with the girls! They came over afterward for some mocha brownies. Today has been a day of errands and a bit of relaxation. We're ordering pizza tonight. So I figured this would be a good time to share the "top 10 list." Here are the top 10 most-viewed posts from this blog. The funny thing is, some of the most popular posts were the ones that had little to do with food. I tried to tie all of my "thought" posts to food somehow, but not all of them included a recipe. Hope you enjoy the list! Then read on to see Randy's thoughts on this whole experience...
Top 10 Viewed Posts from "Welcome to my Kitchen"
10. Day 16: Carbonara A very popular dish and easy to make! Check it out if you haven't already!
9. Day 62: A Story Unfolding Here is the story of my first ever catering job! Since that one, I've had a handful of others. I've decided to take a little break for now, and I'll write more about that in a later post.
8. 11 Tips for Vacation with Children This post is exactly what the title indicates. There are also a couple recipes included at the end for sweet delights!
7. Eric Thinks He Can Lift a 4000 lb Dumpster Was it the title that attracted people to this one? haha This post mostly has updates on our kitchen demolition (ah, those days... glad to be over and done with them!) but there is also a recipe at the end for a grillin' meal.
6. Day 11: Spaghetti & Meatballs Classic. Great recipe for sauce, here. This was probably the post I referenced the most in other posts, so I'm not surprised it's so high on the list!
5. Day 2: Chicken Piccata, Mustard-Roasted Potatoes, Balsamic Broccolini Another popularly referenced post!
4. Call me "Shrek": Discovering a Body After Babies Here's a "thought" post--worth the read, I think, if you haven't yet. No recipes, here, just thoughts on body health and body image. Plus a couple good references.
3. Day 33: No Pressure This was my first "thoughts" post, I was a little nervous to publish it. I'm glad it did so well!
2. Day 1: Zuppa Toscana First recipe, I'm sure everyone was curious! This is a great soup! I recently started making it often again since the weather turned cold.
1. Introduction: Why I'm Here I'm not sure how I feel about the fact that my most popular post was the first one. Does that mean the quality of writing went down after that? Or that people got bored? haha I realize that writing a post almost everyday for a year does mean that not a lot of the posts will be as popular as the first--who has the time to read a blog post every single day??? ;)
Other Popular Posts (in random order)...
Letting Go of Supermom
Day 68: Steak Gorgonzola & Thoughts on Feeding Kids "Adult" Food
Day 41: Two Dishes To-Go!
Day 26: Valentine's Day Dinner for Two
Day 20: Turkey Club Supermelts
A word from Randy...
As Bethany nears the end of cooking and blogging over a 365 day period, we both thought it would be nice if I shared how this experience impacted me beyond my expanding waistline (Thanks for that Bethany).
Easily one of my favorite parts of this blogging experience was watching Bethany challenge herself and commit to making so many new dishes and having as few repeats as possible over the course of a year. That's not the answer you were expecting was it? Did you think I was going to say my favorite part was the eating!? This certainly was a great part but not my very favorite. When I think of all the times she had to create a new grocery list with different items on it in order to cook new meals for the first time, it is enough to make a man want to take a nap.
A close second for me was reading the blogs. They became much more than just a food blog, they became a window into our lives. A window into our faith, our relationship with each other, our relationship with our children and our relationship to the world. It was such a pleasure for me to read them. (See Thoughts on Letting Your Husband Minister to Others) Aside from the insight into our world, and her captivating writing style, the blogs were easy to follow. the step-by-step process that included pictures made difficult recipes more accessible to beginners. I couldn't believe all the little time saving tips she knew until reading them. I also loved how all the recipes she cooked were cataloged and given various tags for easy access when in need of a recipe in a pinch. I used the tags multiple times, especially when a coworker needed a recipe they had tried and loved. My coworkers usually made me realize how well I was actually eating. Some may have lived a little vicariously through me.
If you have actually viewed these blogs of hers, I think you would understand why it goes without saying that I have been eating well. This is both a blessing and a curse. Bethany is a gifted cook and I am a gifted eater. I am always telling her when we sit down for "grown-up time" or dinner, that we are so blessed! We certainly have been blessed in so many ways by God. The fact that Bethany is home with our children each day and able to devote herself to the care of this family is a huge blessing. I have to work a bit more, but it is worth it.
This whole experience hasn't been without its frustrations. One of the biggest ones that I eventually got used to was trying to find the camera to take a picture before sitting down to actually eat. Most of the time it was easy enough to locate. Blogging was also a big time commitment for Bethany. It cut into much of our time together during the evenings which kinda stunk. So in a sense, I am thankful this blogging journey is going to relax a bit now that day 365 is approaching. I also remember having to go to the store often and pick-up a missing item. Hopefully I won't have to do this as often. ;)
In the future, I am hopeful that Bethany will continue to blog on occasion and challenge herself with new recipes from famous chefs or even ones she creates. I also hope this could be something that our kids could look at for reference when they grow up and want to know how to cook that delicious dish mom used to make. Who knows, maybe one of them will be inspired to do something similar as well.
I'm so proud of you, Bethany! And I love you!
-Randy
No comments:
Post a Comment