I have been married for 31 years to a wonderful man. We have four daughters and and wonderful son-in-law and are expecting our first grandchild in October of 2010 (a boy!!) I remember learning to cook as a new wife and making tons of rice. Who would have thought it would expand that much?!?! My mom, mother-in-law and grandmother were wonderful cooks and really helped me along, and I have enjoyed cooking for family and friends over the years, trying out new recipes and even creating some new ones of my own! I was thrilled to find this website. It's wonderful to find well-tested recipes with helpful comments from the cooks who have tried them out, and I enjoy being part of this cooking family on allrecipes! My husband is Italian, and I was blessed that my mother-in-law wanted to teach me to make her delicious tomato gravy and meatballs. My parents and sister's family love when I cook this for them. I especially love baking a special cake for our family members on their birthdays, so I ask them what kind of cake they would like, and then I search for the best cake recipes I can find. We have enjoyed some deliciously wonderful cakes! I also like baking treats for my husband to take to work and share with his co-workers. Nothing is more fun than baking or cooking a meal for others to enjoy. My mom and I would always get together and make food for graduations and family gatherings. I also have a friend, Pat, who I enjoy cooking with. I love that my nieces and daughters are now becoming independent and are interested in cooking, and we're all 'talking food' and sharing wonderful recipes now, which is great fun. One Christmas I gave all of my children, nieces and nephew a recipe box that I painted their names on and designed especially for each of them and put all of our favorite family recipes in them. It was one of my favorite gifts to give. Hummm... So much great food to choose from!! Everything that turns out well is a triumph! I make an "Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli" soup that is always a big hit with our family on New Years Eve that a friend shared with me. We've enjoyed lots of wonderful cakes and pies from this website. Our family especially liked a "Ramjam Chicken" marinade recipe from this website too. One year at Thanksgiving our oven broke, and I wasn't a very experienced cook at the time. I made the mistake of cutting the turkey up and putting it in the microwave. Opps!! It came out like rubber. Never put a turkey in the microwave!! It was a disaster!! My mother-in-law thought that was sooooo funny!! I never quite got to the point where I thought it was funny, but I'm glad she had such a good sense of humor!! :)