Lynn is my often partner in crime in so many adventures here in Vegas and I look forward to having more shenanigans with her. She spends nearly as much time at my house as at hers and people often ask “Are you sisters?” (FYI – we look nothing alike).

When LeAnne first asked if I wanted to write about my guilty pleasures, my immediate response was to scoff at the idea. After all, I now live alone and I have no one to answer to if I want to indulge myself. It’s only guilty if you have to hide it from someone!

There was a time, as the mother of 2 boys (3 if you count the “was”band), that I had to be creative in stashing a treat just for me. Of course, you never shared that it was even in the house. They all, including the boys’ friends that seemed to have taken up residency, were experts at ferreting out any treat I had hidden for my enjoyment. Moment of truth, I kinda miss those times…but that’s another story!

So…I’ve thought about the guilty pleasure thing and I realize mine has more to do with nature than food. I know that’s surprising to those that know me. For me, a walk in a snowstorm after nightfall; not a Nor’easter blizzard but just a quiet snowfall….when everything is covered and there are no cars on the road. It’s a muffled quiet that’s calm and soothing. When I used to go deer hunting with my Dad and it would be 6:00am (‘cause you had to be there before the deer woke up). I’d be in the woods sitting against a tree and the only sound was that of a mild breeze rustling through the bare branches. It was a quiet and calm found only in the woods. And it has to be first thing in the morning before anything was up and stirring. Many years later when I lived in Key West, I’d to go out and sit on the beach in the morning before anyone got there and I’d listen to the waves lapping on the shoreline. Those were times I would have a feeling of total calm and quiet, free from the little voices of doom and gloom that reside in all of us, and just “be”!!

I no longer live where there are snowstorms (THANK GOD), it’s been more than 30 years since I’ve hunted and I no longer live at the beach…so for me, my guilty pleasure to recapture that feeling of calm and serenity is to take my coffee and sit on the patio first thing in the morning. The best time is Spring when it’s not freezing in the morning but has that promise in the air of a beautiful day. You can hear the birds that you don’t take notice of at any other time of the day. It’s that same feeling of calm and solitude that quiets me and gives me joy….sigh!!!

Ohhh….and ice cream!! Preferably coffee and if it has a ribbon of fudge running through it…pure bliss!!

Saturday will be the final installment in the Guilty Pleasures series. I saved Apryl’s for last because part of her thoughts echo my hubby’s and one of my dear friend’s.

You can follow along with me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and soon MyFab5. All at @GoodforSpooning