I am blissfully married, have two sweet and loveable grown daughters, several outside cats and a dozen or so fish swimming around in my living room. I work and I like stability so I have been at the same job for 21 years. I have cooked all my life but only in the past 8-10 years have developed a hobby of it. Fortunately people at my office and my husband's office are willing to be tasters and critics, otherwise my husband and I would both weigh tons. I love this website although I get irritated when people review recipes and rate the recipes (good or bad) based on numerous changes they have made. Or worse yet, rate the recipe without trying it, just because they don't like the way it sounds. Psalm 139:13-14. We all have different ideas and tastes. I love to make desserts, but alas I only get to taste them and then they must leave my house. I am the only major sweet-lover in the house and can't eat them all by myself. (Well, I tried but started gaining weight at a rapid pace.) I also love to cook for special occasions and have learned to cook for a large crowd (25-50)on a regular basis with relative ease. I thrive on thier smiles, compliments and praise. I love the pot luck dinners at church and at the office. We all get to try other cooks favorites and we get feedback on our own efforts. I don't think my little family has any significant traditions until I make a slight change and they call me on it, then I realize there are things that I take for granted that they look forward to. I spent some time awhile back learning to make preserves and jams. I have learned alot about home canning and it isn't hard at all, just time consuming. I recently fixated on yeast breads and have been testing out recipes to find what we like best. I get an ego boost when friends and colleagues ask me to bring them something.......... My greatest tragedy is that for a long period of time I thought I must be a bad cook...nothing came out right, it seemed. Then I got a new oven....the rest is history. All those years I had an oven that did not heat evenly or accurately.