Upsides to the Down Economy/ Guilty Pleasures

Last night on Dancing With The Stars it was Guilty Pleasures night. Guilty Pleasures being music you like but are ashamed to admit. Overlooking the fact that watching DWTS is a Guilty Pleasure in and of itself, I started wondering what my Guilty Pleasure in music is. People listed ABBA and Journey as guilty pleasures, but I'm OK to admitting I listen to that on my I-Pod. I have been actually liking Justin Beiber's Baby a lot lately, and that definitely can be seen as a guilty pleasure since I'm over 50 and he's a teeny bopper. So here's some more of my guilty pleasures, just for fun. What are yours?

1) Justin Beiber

2) Reading Us Weekly.

This is actually a REALLY guilty pleasure. Number one, I'm reading trash. Number two, it's actually my stepdaughter's subscription so I steal it from the mailbox and run upstairs to read it before she gets home. Dear God, save my soul!

3) Pork Rinds

Gross, I know, but sometimes when I'm at the grocery store I see a bag hanging on a display and HAVE to have them. I usually finish them before I reach the check out line. I do pay for them.

4) Naps

Mmm... Love them. One afternoon, not long ago, after a tough tennis match I took a shower, slipped into my luxurious white sheets and conked out. 20 minutes is all I need but it feels like heaven.

5) Facebook

I probably do not have to elaborate on that one.

6) Truffle oil on popcorn

A newly discovered guilty pleasure, inspired by a recipe in an Ina Garten cookbook, but hers is with truffle butter. Now that's a seriously guilty pleasure!

7) MC Hammer Can't Touch This

This always gets me running. Luckily, I've gotten rid of my harem pants.

8) The Flying Nun

Yes, I ordered the TV series on Amazon. It doesn't hold up as well as I Love Lucy, but on a bad day is just the thing to cheer me up.

9) Dirty Dancing

Nobody puts Baby in a corner!

10) Starbucks Caramel Machiatto

Hard to justify the calories and cost, but sometimes I just do it!

11) Getting a mani/pedi

Hard to justify the cost and time spent, but it feels so good and is calorie-free. Read an Us Weekly while getting one, to really ramp up the guilt.

12) Massages

I crossed this off my list because I believe massages are therapeutic and good for your physical and mental health, but since I'm usually reluctant to tell my husband where I'm going when I get one, I figure it's got to be a guilty pleasure.

13) Chicken Fried Steak

This was one of my Dad's favorite meals and I get it on the two or three times a year I go to Cracker Barrel. Must be served with mashed potatoes and gravy for full guilty effect.

14) Eggs Benedict

Hard to justify the cholesterol and calories, but when I slice into that perfectly cooked egg with hollandaise sauce, I am happy as a clam. Why are so many guilty pleasures about food?

15) Peeps

You know, those marshmallow little chicks that appear around Easter time. I prefer the classic yellow color and even wrote them into a NYPD Blue spec script I wrote in Grad school. Recently tried chocolate covered peeps and they rock!