I am a stay-at-home-mom, or rather, drive-around-in-the-minivan mom to DS7, DD6, DD5 and DS1. DH is lactose intolerant so I have learned to work around that in my recipes. I started baking cookies and such when I was about 9, and cooking daily suppers when I was 13 so I have been in the kitchen for a good percentage of my life already. It's a good thing that it's my favourite place to be! My favourite appliance is a rice cooker, with the Kitchenaid mixer running a close second. DH bought a Traeger wood pellet barbecue for Mother's Day a few years ago and it is amazing. I almost always wear an apron in the kitchen because I'm a sloppy cook and stained too many shirts. My favourite is from www.ashtongreen.com, a Canadian website that sells great kitchen stuff.