All you need is a Joia

Seriously. The Lord truly knew what He was doing when he "plunked" us down on Eglin AFB. (My boss at Mayo used to use that word ... plunk ... on an regular basis, and I have adopted it as one of my own. It works so well for so many things. At first I wasn't sure it was a word, but it is, in fact, a word, which makes me feel more comfortable using it.)

Speaking of words, my cousin Josh told us for four years that he had invented the word "punctilious" only for me to look it up one day and discover that it is in fact, a real word -- not a fake word at all. Of course now Josh insists that it is in the dictionary because he made it up. WhatEVER.

All right so that paragraph has nothing to do with us being plunked on Eglin. Let me start again.

Seriously. The Lord truly knew what He was doing when he "plunked" us down on Eglin AFB.

I mean first, God got me out of that amazingly cold weather. I mean seriously. Honestly. Could any of you handle me "not complaining" through even one more winter? I tried hard. I gave it a valiant effort. But man Minnesota was cold. Freezing. All the time. Okay you loyal Minnesotans. Go ahead and tell me I am wrong. Tell me about the beauty. But if you do, I'll check back in with you in January and expect an honest answer to "how you are managing" through winter. :)

Anyways, slightly off track again. But God got me out of the cold, and He put me in a place where I can wear shorts nearly year round. Where I can run outside year round. Where the beach is, literally, in my backyard. I feel like I can breathe here! This is where I belong. It's like Kelsey living in the mountains. It's home! The hills ... er ... beaches are alive here!

But there's another reason that I know I belong here. It may not be quite as obvious, but it is still a very good reason.

Those of you who know me well, know I love sweets. Not just any sweets mind you. Forget candy or pies or any of those concoctions. The sweets I love must contain chocolate. Chocolate has a direct line to my heart. You think I jest. Trying doing something very mean to me and then bringing me chocolate. All will be forgotten in mere moments. Trust me on this! (JB knows this secret very well.)

After each of my failed IVFs, JB would bring me home an oreo cookie ice cream blizzard from Dairy Queen. (Speaking of that, I have just learned, via Bethany, that Zumbrota, Minnesota does have chocolate ice cream. Knowing that may mean I'll consider returning there to live. We'll see.) But after one of my failed attempts, JB went out, and realized that Dairy Queens close in the winter in Minnesota! I know. Seriously. We had three of them in our town in Rochester. Once it gets cold, they shut their doors. Am I the only one who can still eat ice cream when it is cold?!

Anyways, JB came home with, like, five different treats. All of them chocolate. When the blizzard fell through, he got completely overwhelmed, and in fear of messing up, decided to cover all the bases. Krispy Creme donuts and a gallon of ice cream from the grocery store were among the top of the list.

But here, in Florida, if I were doing IVF, JB wouldn't need Dairy Queen.

He'd only need Joia. Actually, more specifically, Joia's desserts.

Joia has started a new blog featuring her delectable delights. Check it out HERE. I hadn't been there in awhile. I won't let that happen again. I plan to go regularly and just scroll and pretend I can smell each and every one of her amazing sweets. Here a few photos of some of my favorites:

Oreo, hot fudge, Reese's Pieces. A combo from me dreams.

Oreos in six layers. Enough said.

Brownies. Chocolate pudding. Butterfingers. Seriously. All in one dessert!

Right about now, I bet most of you are wishing you were me. You are wishing that you were plunked onto Eglin AFB just like me and that Joia was in your wifia group. But sorry. She is all mine. This girl's desserts are amazing! (And how nice of her to share her secrets with the world. If only I cooked and would ever try them.)

Today, during our wifia lunch, Joia strayed from the mainstream a bit and did cinnamon rolls as the main dish instead of finishing with a chocolate dessert. While it wasn't chocolate, I'm not sure eating cinnamon rolls for your meal can EVER be a problem!

Good ol' Eglin. Good ol' Joia!