Hello from New Jersey

Hello! My name is Elissa and I am a novice bread maker. I have a bread machine and have used it many times. I have also made French bread manually wit good results. Now I am getting interested in artisanal methods and baking using starter and leaven. I'm very glad to find this forum to help me figure out what I'm doing wrong! I live in New Jersey in a suburb of New York City and I'm a SAHM to three lively kids.