Hello Chocolate Lovers!

     Let me introduce myself, I'm Joan, wife of Derick, mama to CJ, Cassie and Grace. We live in a small Georgia town where everyone knows everyone. We have 4 traffic lights, I did say it was small, didn't I? I love it, strangers still watch out for your kids in the neighborhood or at school events. Kids, I think, are better behaved ( if they do something wrong, I'll know about it before they get home). Yes ma'am and no sir are words that come naturally to everyone. And the food, everyone cooks, a lot of the ladies cook from "scratch."

      I am lucky enough to be a stay at home mom. I hold many part time jobs-chief cook, taxi service, homework checker, laundry doer, housecleaner (this one I try to avoid as much as possible), gardener (although if it can't grow without help, I'll probably kill it). 

     My favorite job however is baker of all yummy things! I firmly believe that chocolate makes everything better.  The smell of something baking in the kitchen can completely change an attitude. Knowing that some sinfully delicious dessert is at the end of dinner will make a boring, same old thing, I don't want to eat this dinner (guess what, I really didn't feel like cooking and that's why you have to eat this), worth it. I bake from a box, I bake from scratch, I love to try new recipes, and I love recipes that came from someone else!

     I believe strong family values are built around food. It doesn't really matter the value we are talking about, what matters is that you have them, nurture them, respect them. Food is the binding element. In my house, we have dinner, every night, together, around a table (usually ours) with the television off. (We even ignore the phone if it rings.) We eat and we ....TALK. About whatever. No one can get by with silence, I want to know what's going on in my children's lives, at school, around the neighborhood, with their friends, good or bad, we talk. Growing up, I didn't have this but I wanted it, so...we have it. To be fair, my oldest has just started high school so school events haven't been a big interference in our dinner schedule but we will deal with it when it happens.

     My goal for this blog is to let you, the reader, come along for my baking adventures. It won't be fancy but it will be fun. I'll share some of my favorite tried and true recipes along with testing out new recipes. I have a cookbook collection and this is the perfect reason to try a few of those recipes out that always "looked" good but I just never got around to. You"ll meet the family ( I usually have at least one of the kids in the kitchen with me) and hopefully get a few ideas from me,. If you have great recipes, please share them. I prefer recipes with lots of sugar but will try almost anything.

     Happy baking and lots of hugs!