I'm a stay home mom who has a lot of time on her hands for a change. I used to work 12 hour days in a factory. Now, my only job is to be a good wife and mother. And THAT job is way more fulfilling now that I can devote all my time and energy to it. I'm 33 years old and haven't cooked seriously until the last few months. It was always a chore to get over quickly. Now that I'm not always tired from working, I find that cooking is one of the most rewarding things I do. I like to cook anything that doesn't take exact measuring and doesn't involve a lot of babysitting. While those types of recipes can be fun sometimes, I find that I most enjoy cooking when I can improvise and experiment and will still turn out tasty even if I have to step out of the kitchen for a minute. I tend to avoid home made gravy and baking in general. But, cookies don't count. Anyone can bake cookies:)<-----Edit: I typed that silly statement yesterday. That same afternoon I baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies from a tried and true recipe I've used for years. It was awful. They were all flat and almost leathery. They tasted good, just were WAY off! So, I retract that statement with humor. NOT everyone can bake cookies:) I don't have any cooking traditions of my own yet. But, my favorite cooking traditions I 'share' with my mom are her making my favorite chicken and dumplin's for my birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas. She makes her noodles long, skinny and with a bite to them. Not all big and fluffy. They are perfect. And the woman can bake a ham like nobody's business too. Someday, I hope to be able to cook like her. The other tradition at the Miller house during holidays is persimmon pudding. Yum, Yum, Yum. My husband is picky. He's not big on country style home cooking (fried chicken, mashed potatoes, etc.) or leftovers. So cooking for him is a bit of a challenge for me. So my triumphs are those rare occasions when he looks up from his plate and says, "that was good". I LIVE for those moments. I have a system where when I find a recipe I want to try, I scribble it down on a notepad. If and only IF my husband says, "that was good" do I make out an official recipe card for it to slide in the Longaberger recipe basket my mom gave me and therefore making it's way into the regular rotation. That way, one day when my kids are grown, they'll know that that basket will be where all the treasure is. I'm not sure what constitutes a tragedy. If it's just 'failure' then I have plenty of those. Most notably would be the time I made a turkey for my husband and his aunt. I forgot to take the bag of giblets out of the bird. That was embarrassing. Then, at dessert I took the Cool Whip straight out of the FREEZER to put on the pie. What a dummy. I wish I could say this was a long time ago, but sadly it was only four years ago. Happily, I've come a long way and I'm getting better daily!