Pleasures - Guilty or Not

This week's Ten on Tuesday is 10 Guilty Pleasures You Enjoy. The first five are easy.

1.  Animal Crossing - This is a mindless, simplistic video game for the Nintendo DS that is really a waste of time, but its mindless simplicity is why I enjoy it. Oldest son Ryan even got me a DS for my birthday several years ago so I wouldn't have to borrow his. You create a character, build a house, plant trees and flowers, weed, and wander around the town. I don't play often, but it's a perfect way to spend a carefree hour once a month.

2.  Guild Wars 2 - I blame my sons for this one. They both play this massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) and encouraged me to join in when Arenanet recently had a huge 75% off sale. I thought I might get $10 worth of enjoyment out of the game, so I bought it, created my first character, and now amuse my sons when I join their party. I probably won't waste too much time playing because it is so complex (and more importantly, cuts into my knitting and reading time!), but I would like to level up my Ranger a bit.

3.  Cheez Puffs - Although these are non-nutritious, empty calories (and not even really food!) that coat your fingers with orange powder, I still like them. I honestly haven't eaten any for several decades, but that doesn't stop me from thinking about them once in a while.

4.  Using pretzels to eat chocolate ice cream - For some odd reason my parents used to yell at me when I did this as a child ("Use a spoon!") but I love the sweet/salty combination. I haven't enjoyed this combination in years, but my cart just might veer towards the Häagen-Dazs this week.

5.  Binge-watching House of Cards - I could barely tear myself away from the TV when we first got Netflix and I sat down to watch the incredibly evil genius of Frank Underwood. I'm currently rewatching Seasons 1 and 2 (in small doses) in eager anticipation of Season 3, and I enjoy this so much I don't even feel guilty.

And that's really it. I've thought a lot about this, and if it's pleasurable, I often do it without feeling guilty. If I feel guilty that's usually a good sign that it's something I shouldn't be doing, shouldn't be doing so much, or shouldn't be doing now. I have lots of pleasures - spending time with my family, reading, knitting, baking, chocolate, Thin Mints, and sometimes I even do several of them at once. So says Claire Leto!