Living in Colorado allows me to enjoy lots of outdoor activities....camping, hiking, and biking are some of my favorites. I travel frequently for my job and sometimes for extended periods of time but when I'm not traveling, I get to work from home. :O) I love things that are easy AND healthy. Time is of the essence since we both work. Italian dishes are my favorite and I'm always on the look-out for a new twist on something old. I'm trying to learn more about how to use things like flax, quinoa and a few other "super healthy" foods. Christmas holds the most tradition for my family. On Christmas Eve, we make a big batch of chili and serve it over pasta with cheese and homemade bread on the side. We start Christmas morning with Cinnabon. Our lunch is ham and au gratin potatoes with other "side stuff." Dessert is a long-time family recipe, Suet Pudding. My Mom was petrified the first time she celebrated Christmas with my Dad's family and his Grandma talked about Suet Pudding for dessert. Rest assured, it's nothing like the blocks you hang out for the birds. My cooking "almost" tragedy was the first Thanksgiving at our house. I was nervous about the turkey being done completely AND on time so I woke at 8 that morning to get it going. It ended up being done almost two hours EARLY!! Fortunately, I had learned of a tip to take the turkey out, put it on a cutting board, cover it in foil and then put bath towels over the entire turkey/cutting board. It worked....1 hour and 40 minutes later, we uncovered it and we were able to carve a nicely cooked warm turkey.