Ooh, Guilty Pleasures...

We all have them.  Dark chocolate, 80's movies, cheesy pop music, stereotypical romance novels...I think we probably all have several guilty pleasures.

Personally, I see nothing wrong with them.  I would never make fun of someone for taking pleasure in an food, music, or hobby that I might not get.  I mean, after all, I like Hanson.  As in, the trio brother band that sang the hit "MMMBop" back in 1997.  I'm young enough I can say, "Hey, I was 11 when they came out!"  Some might not see it that way.

I also like popcorn flavored Jelly Bellies.  You know, the jelly beans known for having every flavor you can think of?  Including the release of Harry Potter inspired flavors like ear wax, booger, vomit, and spinach.  My dad bought a box one time when we took a journey to Borders.  They always sell them at the register.  He ate ALL of them.  And he vouches, "They all taste exactly as they are named."  I've never had the nerve to try one, although I did take a whiff of my boyfriends breath once after eating Dirt.  It smelled like dirt.  Popcorn flavored, though, are my favorite.  I used to by them by the bag-full in high school, and all my friends HATED me because they claimed they smelled bad.  My English teacher tried one, and immediately spit it out in his hand and claimed I was crazy.  He also wore a T-shirt that proclaimed: "I love animals.  They taste great."  Besides the point, though.  I'm also a sucker for crappy 80's and 90's pop music.  I like silly YA novels, still, and will buy them occasionally just to get out of my "adult" frame of mind.  I still buy CDs every month, despite being able to get them cheaper online.  I like having the physical recording.  Then again, that could just be an addiction...My collection is probably the envy of even the biggest collectors.

While I was at work the other day, one of my co-workers made fun of me and another manager because we liked Hanson.  Or rather, still like Hanson.  I said to her, "What?  Are you saying you don't have any guilty pleasures that other people don't like?"  She is a little older than I am, but I am not so young that I don't remember her generation of music.  She said, "Well if you're talking about when I was younger, I liked New Kids On The Block."  HA!  I am too young to claim I owned any of their cassette tapes (unlike my collection of Michael Jackson), but I DID own pink slippers and I know the words to "You Got It (The Right Stuff)".  And probably several other songs if you played them.  This particular manager now has a three foot black mohawk with hot pink on the sides and dresses in all black.  I'm sure her friends would shun her if she admitted to liking the 80's boy band.

My friend Sheri has an addiction to chocolate- any and ALL chocolate.  Every time she comes over, she immediately has to deposit an entire BAG of candy bars in our freezer to keep them from melting.  She says she can't go on through the day without her fix of chocolate.  I'm not sure if that is an addiction or a guilty pleasure. 

There IS a difference between guilty pleasures and bad habits, though.  Guilty pleasures are usually harmless, non-addictive activities we indulge in once in a while.  Smoking several times a day- bad habit.  Drinking everyday- bad habit.  My mom's intake of coffee- bad habit.  All are also addictions.  My bad habit- I over eat when I get stressed.  Ugh.  No wonder I can never lose weight. 

So, what is YOUR guilty pleasure?  What is your bad habit?  What is the strangest guilty pleasure you've heard of?  What's the WORST habit you've seen?