When Christ made me he threw in creative juices and a handful of nuts! I love my life. I am a wife, a daughter, and a best friend. I love to bake and I am finding myself learning a lot when it comes to cooking. For me, baking and cooking are ways for me to relax, meditate, and escape the everyday monotony. I love experiementing with unsual ingredients...even if it leads to disaster. My husband is my biggest fan...men are normally easy to please...give em' food and they give you their hearts! I love baking anything that includes sugar, butter, or chocolate! I normally just cook for my husband and I, so I like looking for healthy recipes or slow-cooker recipes. When Fall is here and football season hits my house like the Steeler's defensive line...I look for recipes that make game day more fun & of course keep the boys hunger pains at bay. My mother never really cooked. As a single parent she just wanted to make sure I had a balanced meal, how it got on the plate was less of a concern :-). After getting married I started some "new" traditions,from Christmas cookies, apple crip on the first day of Fall, and homemade German chocolate cake on my hubby's birthday. Thanksgiving 2008! I cooked the ENTIRE meal. I wouldn't let anyone bring a dish. I was bound and determined to prove to my mother-in-law that was a darn good cook and I could cook everything with perfection. So I did it...from the 221b turkey, to the sweet potato casserole, and the cranberry-apple stuffing. The best part of the experience was when my mother-in-law turned to me after clearning her plate and said..."That was amazing! You really outdid yourself. Everything was delicious." VICTORY! :-) I haven't had too many horrible tragedies, but I have had some close calls. Going back to Thanksgiving 2008; I had never made a turkey before and I had a 22lb bird to conquer. I looked that little stinker in the eye, lathered him up with gravy and butter, and stuck his butt in the oven. I cooked him overnight on low heat then woke up around 5:30 to check the progress. He was looking good so I turned up the heat. About an hour later my husband yelled out for me...turns out the pan I had the bird in was a bit unstable and grease had poured onto the bottom of the oven. Then it began...a grease fire!! My house was overcome with smoke and as my husband and I opened windows and doors in between hysterical laughter, I tried to save our Thanksgiving. In the end, my bird came out great...tin foil a bit scorced but meat was tender and juicy. It was truly a memorable Thanksgiving.