PJ, I came to baking exactly as you did, learning from my mom. She wasn't/isn't as much obsessed with baking as someone who liked to bake things for events and parties (always home made birthday cakes and fresh brownies brought to the end of my high school track meets) and used it as a fun way to pass an afternoon with her children. She always let my brother and I have the "good jobs" like scooping out the cookie dough onto the sheet, cracking the eggs and putting on the sprinkles while she stood back and washed the dishes and put away the ingredients after they were used. I don't know at what point in my life I went from liking to bake with my mom to becoming an avid baker but over the years it just happened. And now I bake professionally, running my own small cupcake company in Newton, MA. I guess I'm like you, owing my hobby-turned-profession to my mom. Thanks mom! Hey, hope the business is going well do you have a storefront in Newton? I'll have to drop by sometime... Thanks for sharing your warm memories here, Beth. PJH

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