Have You Any Guilty Pleasures?

Chel Owens

I find guilty pleasures amusing.

Yes, I know those secret sins could involve someone with a very serious addiction, ruining his life behind the back alley of the strip club while his family suffers starvation at home. Obviously I do not find that situation funny.

What I do snicker about is the idea that a person sneaks around for a mild pleasure. You know, something like “Encounter in the Alley,” a story I wrote based off Stephen’s prompt last August.

All right; I may be alone in this.

But humorous or not, guilty pleasures are indulgences we can understand. Maybe we can even relate to them because we have a few of our own…

I have. Most of mine involve food. Like, that one time I purchased a char-grilled hamburger and french fries for just myself and enjoyed every dip of fry sauce while the kids were in school. Or the night I ran to the store for groceries and treated myself to a Reese’s Sticks candy bar. Or when I recently added a $1 frozen pizza to our groceries whilst on bed rest and savored all the crispy badness.

The non-food indulgences are still related to being alone: reading the last dregs of a novel in the closet, writing a blog post in the safety of my car, or snickering quietly over a clever quip I read online.

By myself. Just me. Alone.

So, maybe that’s the secret. Maybe a guilty pleasure is one we feel we ought not to enjoy but do, and therefore indulge in when others are not around to judge.

What do you think? Have you any guilty pleasures or know others who do? Besides the …more disgusting ones, are you willing to share?

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I’m about 16 days behind on reading all my favorite bloggers and have 10 extra house guests this week, but here’s what I accomplished so far:

Wednesday, June 19: Wondered: “Are Food Cravings Always Specific?”

Thursday, June 20: Entered Anisha’s raw poetry contest.

Friday, June 21: Winner of the Weekly Terribly Poetry Contest. Congratulations to Nitin!

Saturday, June 22: Announced the 31st Weekly Terrible Poetry Contest. The theme is the political views of rodents. PLEASE ENTER!

Celebrated the second birthday of this here blog!

Sunday, June 23: “Adult Swim,” in response to Carrot Ranch’s prompt.

Monday, June 24: Shared a quote I read over at C.S. Boyack‘s site about blogging compared to writing a book.

Tuesday, June 25: Nothing.

And, posted “How to Break the Cycle of Abuse Within Your Own Mind” over at The Bipolar Writer Collaborative Mental Health Blog.

Wednesday, June 26: Today.

I also sort-of posted all this week at my motherhood site. I wrote “No One Likes the Dentist, But Some Kids Have Special Needs,” “Where Do We Sleep on a Road Trip with Kids??,” and “The Most Loving Sight.”

 

Photo Credit:
Thomas Kelley

 

©2019 Chelsea Owens

61 thoughts on “Have You Any Guilty Pleasures?”

  1. My guilty pleasures are so normal, but I want to talk about an old boss’s:

    This old boss, as far as everyone knew, only ever drank laxative health teas with his salads coated in zero-fat dressing. Every week for group meeting, someone would bring food in, and he would look at it, shake his head, then sit down and proceed to drink his crazy teas.

    One day, a guy brought in burgers.

    Boss man sniffed the air and asked, “Is that the new 1/2 pound char-grilled bacon Thickburger with toppings prepared your way from Carl’s Jr.?”

    Everyone blinked because he spouted off that ad with zero effort, got a burger out of a bag, shook his head that it wasn’t what he expected, and took it to his desk anyway.

    So everyone learned his guilty pleasure was burgers.

    Liked by 3 people

  2. Mine lately has been either Arby’s curly fries or potato cakes. It’s one of the few vegan options in fast food and one that I like a lot. I haven’t had any in awhile though. Staying strong! 😉😁

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Hmmm, guilty pleasures. Mine is closing my office door and closing out the house noise. I love my quiet but don’t always get it. Of course, there’s a stash of chocolate in here, too. 🙂

    How are you feeling? I hope your’e not overdoing.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Well, besides eating way too much candy and hogging the bacon, about once a week I usually need to sleep in til 9:00 to recover from the weekend. But I don’t feel guilty! So, umm, I don’t know, spending way too long browsing in Goodwill ? 😀 How are you feeling?

    Liked by 1 person

  7. I’m not sure I even understand the term ‘guilty pleasure’. I suppose some people do feel guilty about liking something or doing something. I can’t recall ever feeling that, though. True, there are things that I don’t share (make known) to some people around me. I know they would tease or make remarks or whatever and I just don’t particularly want to hear it, so I keep them in the dark. I don’t feel guilty, I just don’t want the harrassment of others who ‘object’. I used to do the same thing with my mother once I became an adult. There were things I chose to do that I knew she’d lecture me on or otherwise object, so I simply didn’t tell her and avoided the argument that wasn’t going to change my mind or actions anyway.

    Am I the only one who doesn’t feel guilty?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. 😀 I think that’s a mature attitude, one I tend to see a lot more in my older neighbors. Though, admittedly, I’m not ashamed of doing any of my guilty pleasures where people can see.

      Like

  8. Guilty pleasures hmmm, I have a wine spritzer every night but that is dull. Maybe my horror scenes writing are a guilty pleasure? I enjoyed your post. I am not a foodie, despite my baking so I am struggling with this one.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. As far as food goes, it’s Donuts. Not good for me, but I give myself the opportunity to enjoy some things. I enjoy reading psychology thrillers, with all the dark personality and mystery. I don’t really like that stuff in movies, though. I enjoy Hallmark movies.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I often like books better than movies, not just for the snooty reasons others do. I think word descriptions in a book are deeper and more satisfying than most films.

      And a good donut is definitely worth it!

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Not anymore. I still have the pleasures but not the guilt.

    When I was a student, I lived with a girlfriend and another couple our age. They all had proper jobs so I got home hours before anyone. Students, eh? There was a convenience store across the road and I’d buy a canned sponge pudding, by Heinz. You had to pierce the can top and boil it in the can for about 15 mins. Then I’d scoff the lot (but not the can). On good weeks, I’d get a can daily – they came in several flavours, golden syrup, raspberry jam, lemon curd, and chocolate. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  16. One day many yeas ago, I spotted some delicious-looking millionaire slices in a bakery I bought three – one for each of my children and one for me. On the way home, one of them seemed to be calling out “Eat me!” So I did. It was better than any I had tasted before – something to do with the incredible topping. I couldn’t resist eating another, figuring I could cut the last one in two – the kids would never know. Yeah, you guessed; the children never knew, since I ate that one as well. The next time I wen’t shopping I bought 4 – and ate the lot myself. After that it became a habit – I’d buy four, pretending to myself that I’d only eat two. The kids never got to taste them. (Since I limited the sweet things they were allowed, I wonder now if I was fooling myself from the start – if I ever intended them to have any). The bakery was down a side alley off the High Street. I knew I had a problem when I tried to walk past it without turning left, but my feet took me there. In the end I had to change my shopping habits. For months I avoided the High Street. When I finally thought I’d reached the stage where I could resist the temptation, I walked down the High Street again. Still, the pull was too great; I went down the alley for my fix – and the bakery had closed down. But now the idea was stuck in my head, so I went to another bakery and bought two caramel slices. They were a poor substitute. I was ‘cured’, but 40 years later I still think of those millionaire slices with longing.

    Once an addict, always an addict…

    Liked by 1 person

          1. Ok, so it’s usually covered with melted chocolate. When it sets, it sets hard. That amazing caramel shortcake had a topping which gave when you bit into it. It was dark, wicked chocolate, but had something added to it. Maybe you can come up with the secret ingredient/ingredients (butter? cream?). I never dared try for fear I might OD on sugar 🙂

            Liked by 1 person

  18. If guilty pleasures are those making one feel guilty I’m not sure I have any. I do however, have a secretive pleasure – Bluebell Chocolate Ice Cream! I’ve been known to purchase a half gallon and hide it in the back of the freezer, out of sight from the wife, kids, and grandkids. After they’ve gone to bed I sneak it out of the kitchen and hide out in my office, savoring each bite by the light of the computer screen. This is perhaps the only secret I keep but I feel no guilt whatsoever. By the way, don’t tell my wife…

    Liked by 1 person

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