I used to love blogging.

Well over a decade ago, I had a little blog called This Sweet Journey about baking, my kids, house projects and recipes. It was so fun for me, back when we were building our first home and having our babies, to document the progress and events of life and share it with the handful of family and friends who followed along.

Creating blog posts brought me joy. I like to take pictures. Always have. It clearly had a hand in my undergrad degree. Mass Communications with a photojournalism emphasis. I thought I’d work for National Geographic or Better Homes and Gardens one day. Dream job – either one of them. Somehow, I ended up in law.

Adam was so tolerant of my step-by-step photos that went with every project or recipe. The ingredients lined up nicely on the counter or the “before” photo prior to starting any home improvement project. It was a way of life to document what we were doing and it went on for years until my career and our kids took over and I couldn’t keep up. I still wanted to be blogging. It was something I truly enjoyed doing, but it was no longer sustainable with three little kids, my own law office and a husband doing shift work.

I’ve been writing ever since Adam passed away. Even on days I don’t feel like it or think I have nothing to say, I sit down and write for a few minutes. It makes me feel better. I figured I may as well share it and see if blogging can spark a little joy in my life once again.

So here, like my blogging days of old, I'll share what comes out of my kitchen. My attempts at dinner, tried and true dessert recipes and the birthday cakes I love making for my kids each year.  But please be aware – I don’t know how to cook. Adam was our family chef. He cooked 99% of the time.

I was the baker. I made all the treats, bars, cookies, cakes and banana bread. He was fine with it. I could whip up a salad or open a canned vegetable as a side dish all day long, but dealing with meat? Ew. Thanks to Adam, I never had to. I baked corn bread and apple crisp when Adam smoked ribs. I sliced up fruit and whipped the potatoes when he smoked his famous meatloaf. Adam loved food and our family ate well.

I now fully appreciate the memes that poke fun at adults recognizing the worst part of every day is knowing you have to prepare dinner EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. FOREVER. Feeding your family is a never-ending task and one most get few thanks for. I’m learning this the hard way. I have shed a few tears in the meat aisle staring at all the intimidating cuts and kinds of meat that I have no idea how to cook.

I say all this as a disclaimer – this is NOT a food blog. Prepare to be underwhelmed by the recipes I post and any cooking tips I share. They come from a middle-aged novice, painfully learning how to feed her family every single night, all by herself, for the first time. I know many wonderful cooks who make it seem easy. Like they don’t have to think about it at all to whip up fabulous meals. For some of us – it does not come naturally.  I am one of those people. But I am trying and I know there’s value in having recipes available at a click. So, I’ll continue to share what comes out of my kitchen and take a little comfort knowing that even if dinner sucked, my kids will still have great desserts.