Growing up in Northern California, I've only seen snow at Christmas maybe twice in my life! I was always jealous of my cousins on the East Coast with their white Christmases.

I once saw professional soccer up there in Seattle, the Sounders. I went and saw that. I'm not a big soccer fan, but watching a live game is unbelievable. And then I went to Italy and saw a soccer match; it's something everyone should do once. It'll blow your mind.

Cooking is like snow skiing: If you don't fall at least 10 times, then you're not skiing hard enough.

When you love the competition, the opportunity to achieve at simple but challenging games, some people are really into it, and I'm one of them.

My mother is a special education teacher but also an artist, and my father an advertising executive. They are about as wacky as you can get without being alcoholics.

I've always known I wanted a family.

I'm an only child, and we're a close family.

My goal was to prove to my family I wasn't a dummy.