I am a Wife, Mom and Graphic Designer. I have all kinds of varied interests including design of course, online gaming (MMORPG variety), arts and crafts, ets. I grew up in a small town in Iowa and now live in Iowa's capital city. It's still not big city life but it's big enough for me. I love trying new recipes. I enjoy many different types of food from lean dining options to fat-laden home cooking. I love it all and I like adapting existing recipes to my own taste. Right now I am trying to learn a bit more about Japanese cooking and there is quite a lot to learn. I grew up around lots of baking and cooking. My mom ran her own cake/catring/gingerbread house business out of our home so she was always busy making something. She also liked to make lots of chinese food at home and try out other international styles of cooking. This was good exposure for me as a child because there just weren't many international food tasting opportunities anywhere around where I grew up. This must have inspired my brother as well because he went on to go to culinary school and is now an executive chef. Though I don't cook or bake professionally, I've toyed with the idea of someday rekindling my mom's home baking business. Maybe someday - we'll see. I consider any time I make something new that my whole family enjoys a triumph. Well, I tried to make a diet version of a shepherd's pie the other night - it was just horrible. lol