In the beginning.......

So where does one start when they begin their own blog...I have no clue! I figure that it might be smart to tell you a little about myself. It's always good to have an idea who your journeying with, right?

I'm a 35 year old SAHM to three active boys. My boys are 12, 5 and 4. I've been happily married to my husband for 15 years now and I can't believe the journey we've been on! I'm the oldest of four girls, I was born in Dallas, TX and raised in the midwest. I grew up on depression dishes that my mother learned from her mother in law but she never had the patience or time to teach me. My Mom could make a penny stretch farther than anyone I know!

My husband and I started out in Fort Wayne, IN and about 18 months ago moved to Southwestern Michigan. We both needed a change, and boy have we gotton one. Until 5 years ago I was a working mom. You know, long hours, cell phone attached to my head and never enough time to get anything done! We ate out most nights and by the time our oldest son turned five, we were thrilled he could politely order his own food at restraunts and behave. Perhaps we should have been worried by this but at the time, it was just the way life was. I always ordered the cutest cookies from the local specialty bakery for birthdays at school and cakes were ordered from the local grocery. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed cooking and when I had the chance I would try and showcase my emerging culinary skills I'd learned from a marathon Saturday of the Food Network!

Well, in December of 2004 our middle son was born and I became a SAHM. Wow, what a change! Just as I was adjusting to the idea of 24/7 mommyhood, we were blessed to find out we were having baby #3. Yep, 12 months, 2 weeks and about 4 days after boy #2 we had boy #3! I began cooking at home simply because it was tough to take two small children out and due to some health issues one of our children was having, I began to be phobic of restraunts and all the germs they presented. So began my passion for cooking.

In July of 2008 my husband left his long time job and we moved to MI. If you've ever visited southwestern Michigan in the summer it is an amazing thing. We moved into an old converted schoolhouse in the country. To the north of us is a peach orchard, to the west an apple orchard. Drive just a bit south and I can purchase local maple syrup and honey! This area is a plethera of fresh produce!! We met some wonderful neighbors and they quickly gave me the gardening bug. This past summer was my first season of gardening and it was a blast! So, as my life has changed so have my cooking habits. This past year I read the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kinsolver. While I haven't adopted all of the authors admirable talents I have made an effort to use locally grown produce when I can. I attempt to cook based on what's available at my local farm market and I'm always trying new things!

Hopefully through this blog I can share my love of cooking & baking, make you laugh with some stories of my crazy life with three boys and maybe even convinvce you that great food can be fun and simple. Nope, I'm not the Thirty Minute Diva (Though I do love her) and Martha Stewart I will never be! I hate folding laundry and doing the dishes are my downfall too! I just love to cook, I love to eat and I love to laugh!

Simply FAB