About Me

Deciding to Start a Blog

I started this blog on my 50th birthday, in October of 2016, after several months of contemplating what my “next phase” in life would look like in our soon to be empty nest. The idea occurred after numerous friends planted the seed…”you should start a blog”, “you should open a bakery”. Yikes. The first one seemed easier. 🙂

The name of my blog is pretty simple. Susie Homemaker was already taken so my husband suggested SueBee, an old nickname that seemed right. It was a pretty “quick” decision with little to no research, aka “fly by the seat of my pants”. Bought my domain name, found hosting, and I was off. My logo is based on the picture above that we took in May of 2016, and explained in my blog post, “Life is a Beautiful Ride”.

My Inspiration

My mom was one of 14 children, nine girls and and five boys. She lost her dad when she was 16 years old, and her brothers and sisters all helped her mother farm and raise the family. They made everything from scratch (homemade) and I grew up watching my mom cook and bake with her sisters. She was active in her church and seemed to frequently be the head of one dinner or another, or involved in the production of a church cookbook (where she did most of the typing). I currently own three versions.

My mom is the inspiration for so much of my cooking. Some of my fondest memories involve sitting in the kitchen while Mom was making three or four things at one time. Her bread making was her art, and she loved spoiling her family with good food.

My mother passed away in April of 2019 from complications of Alzheimers, and I wrote a tribute to honor her. I miss her so much! Norma Jean’s Kitchen is the section on my blog dedicated to her recipes, and I’m so very proud to share them with you.

My Recipe Testers

My husband Mike and I are high school sweethearts, and parents to two young men, Josh and Zach, and to our Shih Tzu, Theo. All three of my boys (plus Tiffany and Kirsten) are my main recipe testers in my kitchen, where I have experienced numerous hits and just as many failures. I’m glad to have them as ‘my people’, as well as honest and hungry recipe testers.

I love trying new recipes, and try to cook seasonal and with as much fresh produce as possible. While I cook fairly healthy, I’m a sucker for a great cookie, or muffin, or loaf of bread, or…well, you get the point. My mantra is “Everything in moderation!”, so the majority of my baked goods go to Mike’s work, our neighbors, friends, or the freezer. 🙂

The boys are growing up (one married and one a junior in college) and we’ll soon have an empty nest. Mike and I are enjoying this new phase of our lives – especially the travel part (not the college tuition payment part). Life is Good, and while we’ve had our obstacles to face, we’re pretty dang blessed.

I hope you follow along on our journey, and try a recipe or two.

A few of my favs and other fun facts about me:

fav splurge: pizza 

most used kitchen tools: food processor and Bosch mixer

fav cocktail(s): red wine, craft beer, and a good margarita

fav TV show: Grey’s Anatomy and This is Us

daily fix: coffee

favorite color: sky blue

favorite childhood memory: Lake Okoboji with my fam

over-used word: so

fav veggie: asparagus

fav emoji: 😀

my love/hate: exercise 5-6 days a week (so I can eat bread!)

avg hours of sleep: 7-8

fav music: oldies

pet peeve: tardiness

fav thing to cook/bake: soup and bread 

dream home: a cute little house on a white sandy beach

fav dessert: brownies and ice cream

what I hate: cancer and alzheimers

biggest shocker: we have a dog!

something you don’t know about me: I used to be afraid of dogs!

fav weekend activity: riding bikes with hubby and drinking coffee or beer (depending on time of day)

dream vacation: Switzerland

food I won’t eat: raw fish

fav movie ever: The Shawshank Redemption

3 things I can’t live without: God, my family, our pup