Guilty pleasures? Why not?

We all live stunted little lives to one degree or another -- afraid to embarrass ourselves, say something rude or offensive, get laughed at, fail at something we try to do, or what have you.

The social pressures are countless! And I think those fears run so deep that we may not even be aware of how much we are limiting our life experience and our willingness to take risks.

But now and then you have a really freeing experience like sitting in a hot tub naked, or you watch a movie in which really crazy stuff happens, or you meet someone who is just so out there, and you think: why am I so tied up in being careful?

I met that guy. He goes by @blewitt. And he's crazy, and he put out a crazy challenge to admit to all of your guilty pleasures.

Am I crazy enough to do this?

Maybe. Okay yes.

But that's because my guilty pleasures are not that cray-cray. Not like kooky @coruscate who picks her split ends, or @katrina-ariel who watches killer movie soundtracks from her youth, or @anomadsoul who watches children's movies when he could be out partying, as we all know he can!

Let's see what I've got for you!

Guilty pleasure #1: Having a glass of wine while I cook

Yes, it's true. I love to make sauces and cook chicken and pasta and all kinds of wonderful things, with a glass of Chardonnay in hand. It makes me all tingly and happy.

Guilty pleasure #2: Getting up before dawn to make coffee and write

The only reason this is a guilty pleasure is because I'm terrible at going to bed on time, and am a horrible sleeper in general. But I love that pre-dawn time when no one is about and I can completely immerse in my writing. It's so precious to me that I will give up sleep for it. It is the elixir for my soul.

Guilty pleasure #3: The slowest possible binge watching and never actually finishing the series

This is just the absolute dumbest thing. I seem to be incapable of watching multiple shows that are binge-watching material. Even if a show is like 8 seasons, if it's one I really like, I will watch every single episode of every single season until I get sick of it and/or the show inevitably peters out. But I have to see it through to some end point before watching something else. Shows I have watched exclusively without so much as peeking at another show until a) they were done or b) the show started to suck and I couldn't take it anymore include:

• 24
• Madmen
• Dexter
• Nurse Jackie
• Arrested Development
• Downton Abbey

There are of course shows that I have dabbled in, but I didn't get fully hooked, so I didn't have to watch them in their entirety. These include: Orange is the New Black, Ozark, Black Mirror, The Crown, Parks & Recreation.

Guilty pleasure #4: Squeezing every last ounce of time out of every minute

I am a go-er, a do-er, and a workaholic. I'm completely devoted to my family, my job, and getting the most from life. I identify as a writer and am on a complete creative bender these days, but I'm also incredibly social.

I'm in two book clubs, a women's group called "house girls" (we do cleaning and repairs at each other's houses), and a group that gets together to play games every other week.

I love to travel. This year I've been on two trips to California, as well as trips to Florida, Tennessee and West Virginia, Victoria British Columbia, Krakow Poland and Munich Germany. I work 50-60 hours a week, make meals for my family, do most of the housecleaning and pet care, and still eek out some time to write.

I'm not bragging. It's a bit of a curse, and can be rather startling to other people. It makes them uncomfortable, as if somehow my level of activity indicates something about them -- that they are non-energetic or downright lazy. But in fact, it's just how I'm wired. My friends and family used to give me books with titles like "Meditations for Women Who Do Too Much."

Actually, I thought that was a bit presumptuous. Why would you tell someone they do too much, whether by putting that on your book title or handing them a book with that name? That's a value statement. You might as well say, "We all know you do too much, and we do not appreciate it. You need to change." What if I’m happy this way? That does not cross their minds.

Today is a good example of a kind of cray-cray schedule. It went down like this:

• I got up at 5:30 to make coffee and write.
• At 7:00, I made a giant scramble for my high schoolers and then we were off to school.
• I worked a 9-hour day, which included making a dash to Minneapolis for an afternoon meeting with a vendor.
• At the end of the day, I spent an hour and a half working on a story that was due tonight to my writing boot camp.
• After that I went to my annual book club gift exchange. (We also discussed the book, The Keeper of Lost Things.)
• Then I came home and finished my boot camp short story and submitted it.
• Now I'm writing this post.
• Momentarily I'm going to go do my new late night exercise regimen while watching Netflix.
• Finally, I'm going to send my Actifit steps in my Actifit report and go to bed.

To some people that might seem like too much, but for me it's just right. It's how I roll. It's my guilty pleasure!

Well friends, there are more things I'm sure! I'm just not calling them to mind at the moment.

Thanks for reading!! Good luck to all participants, and thank you @blewitt for running the contest. You inspire me!

Much love.

p.s. Image source is Pixabay.