I am a busy stay-at-home mom to my three little lovebugs and wife to my hubby of 8 years. I am a jewelry designer and sometimes seamstress where I design custom handcrafted jewelry and unique pillow covers: http://www.etsy.com/shop/DesignsbyALY. I love cooking, reading, pilates, yoga, running, the summer-time and I just recently started gardening with some success. I love anything bbq and seafood related. I also love cooking recipes given to me by my mom because it reminds me of my childhood. I'm not such a good baker per say, but I enjoy making desserts - especially anything with chocolate! I like all types of food from all over the world, and I usually try to make a whole dinner (entree, side and maybe even dessert) if I can from a different country at least once a month. Thanksgiving without a doubt is my favorite time of the year. Since I was 15 years old, my cousin and I have made Turkey Day Dinner. Its a time for our parents and grandparents to relax and has become a big "cousin" dinner thing which now includes my two sisters, and an additional 3 cousins plus our spouses (all in our mid 20's - early 30's now)! We usually have about 30 people at dinner and it's always chaotic and crazy but we always have tons of fun planning the menu and trying to out do our excellent meal from the prior year. I remember the first time I made dinner for my family - I must have been 14 or so. I made chicken dumplings and a chocolate cake with ganache icing. My mom still talks about that dinner. It really was fabulous. I lost the chicken dumpling recipe after that dinner and have never been able to duplicate it! Too many to list, but it just makes me better at it the next go round!