I was born in 67' and I have lived the majority of my life in Alaska. After high school I used to cook for a living, I started out cooking in various restaruants then I got into cooking on the off-shore oil drilling platforms located in the ocean near Kenai, AK. I even cooked on a ship in the Bearing Sea once. After a few years went by I realized that I really liked to cook and I decided to stop doing it for $$$ so now I cook for both survival and recreational purposes. Food is a never ending learning process and I still enjoy everything from purchasing the items until the point when you sit down and enjoy what you've just created. I have friends that still cook for a living after all these years and they don't seem to get the enjoyment from it as I do now days. I am glad that I was able to recognise the importance of it and make that decision at a young age in my life. My 9yr. old son likes to get in the kitchen with me to help and learn so that makes the whole experience even better. I get on different "kicks" from time to time weather it be asian or BBQ or whatever the mood or season brings. I usualy spend a few months or more in each different kick as it takes time to learn different techniques and obtain all the nessecary tools & spices etc. I have two kids and work full time so many nights it is the quick & easy meathod for dinner, I tend to cook meat and potatoes kind of meals and if i can do it in the slow cooker all day thats even better. When I get time though I love to explore new flavors and try to get a little creative. Food is something that should be enjoyed as a pleasure not looked at as a chore. every one loves my Norweigan pancakes, a recipie that I got from my Grandma. I am pretty sure she left something out when she gave it to me but it didn't take me long to get it dialed in. On sunday's my son & I chop veggi's together for a veggi dipping tray and then we munch it down while watching the NASCAR race on TV. After the race you will usualy smell something cooking on the BBQ. I am not sure if this really qualifies to be under this category but it is a triumph to me so I will tell you that if you put a veggi tray and a candy bar in front of my two kids they will reach for the veggi tray. I started having them help me chop veggis for munching on and making our own ranch dip at a very young age and it has stuck with them even into thier teen years.........I consider that to be a triumph! I seem to have a knack for making soups that everyone loves. When I was a kid (about12 yrs old) my friend & I forgot about some fatty pork chops in the oven and they caught on fire and almost burned his mom's house down!