I'm a stay at home mom who loves trying out new dishes. I'll try to cook just about anything, but I mostly stick with what I know and often rely on old favorites. My grandmother is a wonderful baker and a constant inspiration and many of her goodies are labled the "best of the best". We really enjoy Asain food and I especially love Mexican, but since hubby's not a huge fan, I'm limited in that dept. I love to grill meats, bake goodies and try out different homemade dressings. Of couse Christmas is a favorite time of the year for us. We always make special goodies including candy, cakes and cookies that we pass out to friends and neighbors. Every summer when we visit my family, it always involves lots and lots of cooking, so I guess you could consider that a tradition. Even though I've been cooking for a number of years, I still rely heavily on cookbooks, magazines and definitely this website. Anything that I make completely from scratch that turns out edible, I consider a triumph. Hmmm...there haven't been any so called "tragedies", but I do make plenty of boo-boo's. Like one time a while back, I was heating quite a bit of oil in a large pot. Instead of laying the food down gently in the oil, I just kind of tossed it in there (i knew better but wasn't thinking), and the oil splashed and got all over my neck. That kind of hurt! Luckily, the red spots went away after a few days, but I definitely try to be more careful now that I know what happens. I'm sure I'll be adding more to this list later on. Check back often.