Why is your site called “Forty Cakes”?
Forty Cakes started in October 2009 with a mission–to make 40 cakes in 40 days.
“Impossible!,” you say? Well, unfortunately I have to agree.
I realized about 2 cakes into the challenge that I would never be able to make 40 cakes and gave up on it entirely. (Well, not entirely I still plan to bake 40 Cakes —I am just not holding myself to a firm deadline.)
How has your site evolved?
Once I started blogging and researching other blogs, I realized that there are a lot of really good food/dessert/lifestyle blogs out there with some really good ideas/suggestions/recipes. I became inspired to do what they are doing—cooking beautiful meals with healthy food. I have never considered myself to be a good cook but decided to rise to the challenge and cook. It also meshes well with my desire to eat healthy and local, avoid processed foods, expand my garden and reduce our spending at restaurants. It has only been a few months and I have learned so much (and have added so many things to my “want to cook” list”).
I started cooking and spending lots of time in the kitchen with my camera.
Somewhere along the line, I realized Forty Cakes could be my little segment of the internet where I can write about our adventures in food, travel, family, sustainable living and health–things that mean a lot to me.
And, this brings us to Forty Cakes in its present form—a little home for my recipe creations and attempts, restaurant and hotel reviews, travel re-caps, odd stories about my family, tips and ideas on living healthy and thoughts on living with less impact on our Earth.
So, your blog is about more than just cakes?
Yes, a lot more. I use this blog to talk about my cooking exploits, eating adventures, travel, kids, healthy living, exercise, things I like and don’t like, biographies of my children and more. It is basically a journal of some of the things I think about on a daily basis.
Do you ever go back and reread your old posts?
I do and it is fascinating. There was so much I thought I would never forget about these fun times in our lives and go back through old posts brings back so many memories I did forget. This blog is just as much for me and my family as it is for the new friends I make while blogging.
Are you a professional blogger?
Not at all. This site just started as a fun project for me and I have so much to learn.
I have a full-time professional job, a part-time job as adjunct faculty for a local college, two kids, dogs, a crazy travel schedule, a husband that I never get to see, and fitness and health goals that I have to juggle. Writing Forty Cakes is one of my favorite things to do—so I try to make time for it as much as I can. Even if that means waking up at 5 am to do so.
You seem to move around a lot. Where are you from?
We have moved around a lot. We met in Hawaii, moved to Seattle for graduate school, and then back to Hawaii. Recently, we moved to Southwest Florida so Aaron can attend a prestigious art school. Our families live everywhere too—Seattle, Ann Arbor, MI, Vermont, Hawaii, Florida and the Philippines. I grew up in Olympia, Washington and Aaron was raised in Honolulu.
Anything else we should know?
Everything you need to know about me is probably located somewhere in this little blog. Or, if it isn’t here now, it likely will be in the future. Check out Forty Cakes! Tell me what you like and what you don’t like. Talk to me if you want to contribute. Send me your favorite recipes and your dreams and hopes and goals. And, if you really want a question answered–send that to me too.
