{a day in the life} Around My Family Table

Today’s “a day in the life” is Wendy of Around My Family Table. Wendy has loads and loads of fantastic recipes on her site, including gluten-free and egg-free recipes. Make sure to take some time to browse her site and maybe find something for dinner tonight!

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Tell me about yourself and how you started food blogging.

I started Around My Family Table in June of 2010.  My family and friends were always begging for my tips and recipes, so in order to only have to write something down once I started AMFT.  My early recipes are most of my family favorites with horrible pictures.  LOL!

I wasn’t new to blogging, though.  I had a family blog where I shared pictures of my kids for family that lived far away.  I wrote on that for about 5 years before finally putting it to rest.  AMFT started taking up more time and most of my family had joined Facebook.

I am married to my high school sweetheart (15 years this summer) and we live in sunny Arizona with our two kids.  I cook mostly from scratch, raise chickens, have a small orchard, and used to grind my own grains.  That is until I was diagnosed with a severe dairy allergy along with wheat and eggs.

So AMFT is taking on a new personality of an allergy friendly blog!

Take me through your day.

• 6:00 AM: Wake up, Bible time with coffee, think about working out
• 7:00 AM: Get the kids up, make lunches for hubbyman and oldest, make breakfast
• 8:10 AM: Out the door to take my daughter to school.
• 8:30 AM: Feed the animals, get the laundry going, layout supper, clean up breakfast dishes
• 9:00 AM: Social Media time
• 10:00AM: Play with my little guy, chores, errands, etc
• 11:30 AM: Make lunch, eat, clean up, keep laundry going
• 12:30 PM: Make a new recipe, photograph it, and/or write blog post while little man plays
• 2:45 PM: Pick up daughter from school
• 3:10 P M: Homework, Supper, Family time
• 8:00 PM: Kids in bed…alone with Hubbyman til we crash around 10:30 or 11

The exciting life of a stay at home mom.

What is your one must-have kitchen tool or gadget?

My slow cooker!  It’s my bff!  I have like 6 of them and use them constantly.

What is the most important part of your day? Why?

Cuddling with each of my kids.  Either first thing in the morning or right before they go to bed.

What is your favorite part of your day? Why?

My favorite part of the day is early in the morning before the kids or hubbyman is awake.  Even though I am NOT a morning person, I love how  quiet and still the world is first thing in the morning.

If you could choose one room in your house to spend the WHOLE day in, which room would it be? Why? 

My bedroom.  We just bought “grown-up” furniture and added a big love seat recliner to the room.  I just love it in there.  Hanging on my comfy couch talking to kids or to a friend on the phone.

 

If you could choose one room in your house to remodel (on an unlimited budget!) which room would it be and why?

Why do I have to pick only one room?  Besides the obvious answer of kitchen, I would pick my backyard.  My kitchen isn’t huge, but it works for what we have and I just re-designed it.  So, I would move out to the backyard.  It has so much potential, but with ½ acre there is just so much that I want to do to make it an extension of my kitchen.

What is your favorite day of the week? Why?

Saturday.  I love spending time with my family.

If you had to choose one place to travel to every year over and over, where would it be? Why? Have you been there before?

Victoria on VanCouver Island, BC.  Hubbyman and I vacationed there about 10 years ago for our 5 year anniversary.  We both said we would retire there if we could.   It is absolutely beautiful!

If you could travel anywhere in the world for free, where would you go and how long would you stay?

Ireland.  I would stay as long as I could.  Hubbyman and I are both Irish, but have never been to Ireland.  I would love to see the history of our families and visit everything I could.  Of course, there would be several pub stops on our journey.

What is your favorite quote or verse?

I have a Bible verse I try to live my life by.  Micah 6:8 says, “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

What is your favorite cookbook?

I love the America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook!  So much goodness in there.

What recipe on your blog are you most proud of?

Pomegranate Lemonade Cupcakes…they won the grand contest with PomWonderful.

What recipe on your blog do your readers seem to love most? 

Nutella Blended Coffee Drink

What is your guilty food pleasure that you’re embarrassed to fess up to? Kraft Mac & Cheese? Spagetti-o’s? Canned cheese? We promise not to judge!

Spicy Chicharrones…aka pork rinds.  Don’t judge!

What have you learned since you began blogging?

I have learned so much about photography.  I’m not even close to where I’d like to be, but I’m learning and getting better every day.

Is there anything else you would like to tell the world about yourself?

I hate artichokes, sour cream, and mushrooms.  LOL!  And my last meal would be Chicken Fried Steak and Mashed Potatoes covered in cream gravy with a site of fried okra….and a large, iced-cold Coke!

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Thanks Wendy! My husband and I will join you and your husband on your pub-crawl through Ireland. 

You can also find Wendy on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Google+.