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Home » Life » Life Behind the Scenes

Life Behind the Scenes

Last updated on December 20, 2019. Originally posted on August 19, 2018 By Tania Sheff

Hi friends! I think we should get to know each other better, and since I can't take you out for a cup of coffee/latte, I decided to do the next best thing — create a "LIFE" section on Cooktoria! Thanks for stopping by.

tania sheff

I truly appreciate you taking the time to read this article and get to know me. Below, I'll tell you a little bit about where I come from, my family, and how I became a food blogger.

WHERE I COME FROM 

I was born and raised in Ukraine and migrated to the US in 2009. I come from a rather poor family (especially during my childhood), but I think it was a good thing. I know firsthand how hard it was for my mom to put meals on our table and support three kids. I grew up to be compassionate and self-reliant.

HOW I BECAME FOOD BLOGGER

tania sheff

After I moved to the US, I worked many different jobs. I was a waitress, a hostess, then a waitress again. But in 2010, I started working at a local Starbucks. This job was fast-paced, fun, and had a great team. I was promoted to supervisor, and then store manager. Shortly after, I realized that while working at Starbucks was fun, I had already achieved everything I wanted there, and I needed to find a job that would let me grow and develop. In 2013, after reading One Simple Idea by Stephen Key, I tried patenting and selling a few of my ideas. My attempts were not successful and I still felt like I needed to find my true passion. I was always passionate about cooking, so I wanted to be in that industry. I decided to create a Facebook page where I would share my recipes. I never published that page, or shared it with anyone. I do occasionally visit this page because it reminds me of how far I have come. You know what? I'll share this page with you, too, so we can laugh together: COOKING WITH TANIA. See that cover photo? I actually thought that galette looked good. 🙂

I decided to buy a DSLR camera, learn food photography, and make my own food blog. It took a while to put in all together, but on October 5, 2015, Cooktoria was born. It brought me joy, freedom, and income. My dream came true.

MY FAMILY

In late 2010, I met my husband, Stan. He is my soulmate and my best friend. We both are very like-minded people, and together we make a great team. On June 7, 2015, we got married. It was a very small beach wedding, just like we both wanted. Instead of spending a lot of money on the wedding, we decided to go on a 30-day road trip across the US. It was THE BEST TIME of our lives. I'll tell you more about the trip and the wedding in a separate post. So stay tuned, if you are interested.

In late November 2016, we became homeowners, and a couple of months later, on February 1st, our son, Mark, was born. Now, I am a happy/busy mama and wife, trying to find a perfect balance between family time, work, and travel.

tania sheff

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT ME:

  • I love reading books. My favorite topics are self-development and parenting. The last 3 books I read were: The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy (highly recommend!), Maximize Your Child's Bilingual Ability by Adam Beck (our son is going to be trilingual), Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results by Stephen Guise (currently reading).
  • I am a somewhat frugal person. I don't like spending money on expensive things that add clutter to my life (expensive clothes, accessories, jewelry, new kids toys, etc.) A diamond is the same as a rock on the curb to me (diamonds are so overhyped, it's just ridiculous). I prefer spending money on experiences, necessities, and trying to pay off our home mortgage as fast as possible, to be able to get out of debt.
  • I don't eat fast food. I have never even been tempted to grab a burger at McDonalds or a taco at Taco Bell.
  • I don’t like horror movies. AT ALL. I don't think I ever finished a horror movie.
  • I still struggle with my English. I am not a native speaker and I still struggle with spelling (thanks, autocorrect!), finding the right words, punctuation, etc. I also have an accent.
  • I don't bake or make desserts. I don't enjoy baking and making homemade sweets. I can have the occasional dessert while dining out, but having a batch of chocolate chip cookies at home is something I want to avoid.
  • I don't complain. And I dislike people who do. Even in tough situation, I always find ways to concentrate on good things and be grateful for everything I have.

Share some things ABOUT YOU! I can't wait to get to know you better!

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Comments

  1. Tešky says

    November 12, 2020 at 4:28 am

    Hello Tania,
    I am from Slovenia, being stand-up comedian, ultramarathon runner and charity enthusiast I was invited to Master chef also because of my passion to cook ...

    You seem like a really nice person and I'm soo glad I found your page, serching for new, better, healthy, plantbased recipes.

    Don't stop, the work you're doing is amazing.

    Wish you all the best.

    Tešky

    Reply
    • Tania Sheff says

      November 12, 2020 at 10:54 am

      Hi Tešky! Thank you for the kind words and it's nice to meet you! I do have a passion for cooking and I have recently transitioned to a plant-based diet. So now I am on a mission to get more people to try vegan recipes. 🙂 I also just launched a new site last month, dedicated to healthy, quick, vegan recipes. It's called Eat Something Vegan (eatsomethingvegan.com) Please, stay in touch and let me know if you try any of my recipes. I wish you all the best as well!

      Reply
  2. Fritz says

    September 17, 2020 at 10:51 am

    Hello Tania,
    I'm from Ghana and i love to explore food from other cultures,My search for healthier meals actually brought me to your brocolli pasta recipie

    You seem like a really nice person and i'm soo glad i stumbled on your page.I love how your presentation is straight to the point,clean and easy looking.

    Thanks a lot for the work you're doing and all the best to you.

    Reply
    • Tania Sheff says

      September 17, 2020 at 6:14 pm

      Thank you so much for the kind words, Fritz! All the best to you as well!

      Reply
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