About Me

I’ve been cooking whole life. I did the math one day and discovered I’ve been at the stove for forty-one years at the time of this page update. Wait? What? How old am I? And how did I get here? Side note: My husband retired from his job after 33 years. What is wrong with this picture? Thankfully he helps, a lot now, so I’ve been able to concentrate on other things, like writing my memoir, Steel Town Girl.

I grew up in W.Va. and because none of the women in my life worked outside the home, it was considered the woman’s “job” to cook, not just everyday, but three meals a day. After my parent’s got divorced, at age nine, I learned to make food for my little brother and myself from a box or a can and later graduated to browning meat for Hamburger Helper or making buttered spaghetti noodles and calling it dinner.

My husband certainly doesn’t consider it my job, but cooking for my family is one of the ways I learned to love and care for others. It’s one of the best ways to show someone you care. I cook a lot less than I ever have in my life now and because of that, I’ve felt enormous guilt. But, since I started this blog, my life has changed big time and continues to change rapidly. I’m learning that focusing on me and my needs is also equally important as serving others. I still try to make the best possible choices when dining out, or ordering in, and therefore this blog is not nearly as active as it used to be, but sometimes you’ll see a new recipe pop up here and there.

As you’ll see from post to post, I try to walk a fine line between being that country girl raised on all the rich southern foods I love and trying to be a healthy “foodie” that thinks about every little bite I take being healthy and whole. And because I’m not a fan of depriving myself, you’ll hear me refer to exercising in more than one post. We learned about lots of dietary allergies in 2015, so many of my old recipes here have been remade with dairy-free nut milks and/or have been made gluten-free.

Please note that any recipe I use will be linked back to the original poster with credit given to them but I will use my own photo. And of course, all photos on this blog are take by me with my IPhone camera, so please don’t steal. If you use one of my recipes, please link back to me, thanks.

If you don’t see me here, look over here, on my author blog where I’m sure I’ll be more and more as my book becomes known, read, reviewed and I work to expand my blog about my life, book, and the self-publishing process. It’s in its infancy so be patient, we all start somewhere.

Thanks! See ya ’round!