I am a stay at home Mom of four who is married to the love of my life. I have always loved food, but cooking has become something I consider myself good at only since being married (8+years)and having to learn to cook for a man who eats like, well, a man. I love gardening and if I could forget everything else, I would spend every waking hour planting and pruning and making the world more beautiful. I love reading, music and spending time at home. I hate shopping and think the greatest thing to happen to shopping is the invention of the internet. I LOVE making desserts and am a chocoholic clear through. I do get tired of cooking for my family so I like to try and jazz things up with new ideas. Forever one to do things my own way, there are very few recipes that I haven't tweeked to suit our tastes. When I was growing up our favorite traditions revolved around our birthday cakes. They NEVER came from a box and they were always delicious. Banana Cream Cake, Lemon Jello Cake and the best yet, Texas Sheet Cake - the cake that wasn't really a sheet cake, was even better for breakfast the next day, and the never-fail end-all of cakes. Anytime that I have to improvise when making a dish with an end result better than the original, I consider a triumph. Substituting on the fly succesfully. Anytime my four kids eat what I make with enthusiasm + "thanks Mom!". When I was 12, a friend and I planned a surprise party for my Mom's birthday. We had run short on time by the time the cake was out of the oven and lacking the patience to wait, we tried frosting the cake while it was still warm. Needless to say, the cake fell apart, the frosting melted and we ended up with an impromptu mess. My friend's Mom saved the day with a store bought cake, but without that Bannana Cream Cake it just wasn't that great. All of my failures in the kitchen have come from going to fast, not alloting enough time and taking shortcuts.