I grew up as a marine corps brat in a family of 6, and I now am an Air Force wife. I started cooking at a young age, and as time has gone by, my interest has developed into a passion. I enjoy cooking and baking, and one of my recent ventures has been into the arena of cake decorating. I find cooking and baking a very worthwhile activity to pursue -why spend the money eating out when you can prepare an elegant meal at home. I view baking and cooking as a labour of love. I enjoy reading recipes and imagining what they may taste like, long before I even have finished cooking the item. I enjoy creating my own seasoning mixes, and sharing them with others just to see if they enjoy it as much as I do. While I do enjoy "tweaking" recipes, I will always make it as originally stated, it really amuses me when people "massacre" recipes and then rate them so low, so I make it a point to always try the recipe as written the first time around! I currently host a blog (same as my allrecipes use I love cooking, especially with herbs, thus Italian food is a favourite of mine especially lasagna! I especially love making a red velvet cake, the vibrant red colour is so exquisite when topped with the traditional butter roux frosting -I've been called a "red velvet snob" as I always refuse a red velvet cake that has been frosted with (gasp) cream cheese frosting! One of my favourite traditions is one where we make a birthday cake (red velvet cake) for Jesus on Christmas day. Developing a recipe for chicken enchilada's that does not use onions! I'm allergic to onions, so I am quite pleased with this recipe! I made a custard pie once, and guess I must have used to much of an ingredient, because my pie crust ended up "floating" to the top of my pie!