I'm an active 36-year-old mother of two (a boy, age 12; a girl, age 14) who works a full-time government job. Although I have a great career--it doesn't leave me much time for cooking during the weekdays(I must own about 5 "30-Minute Meals" cookbooks!!)! I've been cooking on my own since I was about 18 yrs old. I am self taught and would cook a big meal everyday if I had the time! I love cooking for parties, holidays and special occasions. I like to cook just about anything, although I'm not big on baking cookies, pies, etc. I do love to grill--steaks, veggies, seafood--you name it. I love to experiment with different things. Every Christmas Eve we get together at my sister's house where she celebrates a different culture every year. We all bring a native food of the country that they would be eating around Christmas time. We've had some very interesting Christmas Eve dinners!! I made Beef Wellington from this site for the first time (I never even tasted it before) for my mom for Mother's Day (it is her most favorite). She said it tasted better than the restaurant she normally goes to. Her, my father, my husband AND even the kids LOVED it. When I was in my early 20's, I wanted to invite my parents over for dinner. They had never really eaten my cooking before, so I planned something easy, yet delicious in the slow cooker. I did everything right--planning to impress my parents--and we all went out for the day, planning on having a good dinner when we all returned. However, when we got back, I realized I forgot to turn the slow cooker ON!!!! Needless to say, we went out to eat that evening!