Guilty Pleasures

Everyone has a guilty pleasure...or two....or ten... These are the little things we love to do, eat or watch that we really wouldn't want a lot of people to know about. I am a very casual, low maintenance chick so it doesn't take much to make me happy. Here is my list of the top five guilty pleasures that relax me and elevate my mood...

1. Wine - It's no secret that most women love wine but the guilty pleasure lies in the wine I drink when I'm alone. When I'm at dinner or out in public, I choose dry white wines, usually Pinot Grigio. When I am at home I like Chocolate wine and my favorite brand is Cocoa Vino. A glass of this stuff combines the relaxing effects of wine with the endorphin effects of chocolate. It's $10 a bottle and is the kind of drink that makes a wine snob's head explode.

2. Car Karaoke - This is my absolute favorite way to de-stress. If Ryan and I had a fight. If Aidan is being a pain in the neck. If work is tough or if traffic sucks, finding a good song on the radio and singing every word at the top of my lungs just makes me happy. There is something so therapeutic about singing Cher, ABBA, Bon Jovi or Garth Brooks in the private confines of my car. I have shown up to work on numerous occasions hoarse from "Total Eclipse of the Heart" or "Hey Soul Sister". I really can't carry a tune in a bucket but car karaoke is the only scenario in which off key singing isn't an offensive proposition, unless the windows are down.... to which I plead the fifth.

3. Reality Shows - I have been a big reality show fan from the very beginning. For the first 10 seasons or so, "Survivor" was a religion for me. I taped episodes and watched them over and over even though I knew the final results. I even scheduled my social life around the castaways and was known for hanging up the phone on people who dared to call during the show. I've grown tired of "Survivor" since they stopped casting real people and started using wannabe models and actors. These days, my favorite shows are "Big Brother", "Sister Wives" and "Rupaul's Drag Race". "Big Brother" is the one Ryan and I both watch together. The voyeuristic nature of the show is what makes it so damn interesting. I watch "Rupaul's Drag Race" because I love Rupaul, I love drag queens and I love catty reality show contestants. This show combines all three qualities into one fabulously over the top package. "Sister Wives" has recently become a favorite. I am an atheist, feminist who loves Mormon polygamist Kody Brown and his four wives Meri, Christine, Janelle and Robyn. One marriage is hard enough, so it is compelling to watch Kody try to juggle four. The show, at it's heart is about love and living the way you choose to live your life. Both of those things are very important to me personally.

4. Trashy Romance Novels - The very definition of a guilty pleasure. I love checking my intellectual pride at the door and picking up a cheesy bodice ripping love story. I am accused all the time of over thinking EVERYTHING so I love having an excuse to just "be"!

5. Social Networking Games - Farmville, Gardens of Time and Slingo are the best ways to relax and waste time. They can also be very addictive. I'm currently taking a sabbatical from Farmville because it took much time away from everything else in my life and went from from guilty pleasure to second job! I'd love to write more, but I think my energy just reloaded on "Gardens of Time"...