Nice to see you here again!

And man, is your post a good reminder. The weather is warming up, the flowers are starting to pop, and yet the daily stress and the "shoulds" don't go away, do they?

But thanks for a great reminder! I have some "shoulds" today, most of them having to do with writing and housework, but I'm also going to make time for some non-guilty pleasures, like taking a little time this afternoon to go grab an iced tea at Starbucks. :) It's not a brownie, but it is a guilty pleasure because I have to take time to go do it. :)

Sam

This is so true, especially for women. Our duties are trained into us early - be clean and quiet, do for others before yourself, and our pleasures are readily ridiculed - romance, shoes, shopping, gabbing, eating chocolate in all its varied and delightful forms. It comes down to "shoulds" - I should read "literature", eat a salad, go on a diet/lifestyle change, drink more water, be more patient with the kids/parents/dog, put in the OT, etc

I heard this great quote a couple of years ago, and remind myself of it regularly: "Today I will not let anyone 'should' all over me." Romance readers (and writers) unite! Read a romance, eat some chocolate (and a cheeseburger) and revel in it!

I should like there's no tomorrow. What I hate is that even when I do the shoulds, you can only tell for like ten minutes. Then it's back.

I have been making more time to read, though. I'm not sure if I'm calling that a should (I'm taking part in the 100,000 book challenge) or an I want to. A little bit of both. Getting the shoulds done help me think. Otherwise, they clamor and scream and I shut them up with danish. Then I have a whole other should.

But I can work on being less guilty. It would certainly be a step up! Bring on the books!

Dee

Molly, first of all, it was so great to meet you at the NEC Conference!! And I love the cover of your book. I completely understand what you mean about having less time these days. I've been thinking the same thing, lately; my evenings seem to fly past, and the weekends?? Gone.

I actually have a confession--I won an enormous heart-shaped box of Lindt chocolates at the conference but since it was only 8:00 in the morning, couldn't get anyone to share it with me. So I brought it home, shared a couple with the kids, and then put it next to my "writing" chair (which is mostly my "reading" chair), and I've been allowing myself two of these luscious goodies each night, but only after I write 1,000 words.

But I find it's hard to come home after a long work day and jump into writing a love scene, so first (rationalization is a great thing) I read about 20-30 pages of a romance novel (right now, I'm reading The Charm School by Susan Wiggs), and only after I'm relaxed and feeling more romantic or creative, do I start writing. But I find that settling in and reading romance is a perfect way to unwind from a stressful day, and I'd recommend it to anyone--along with Lindt chocolate! Thanks for blogging with us today!

I am SO there.

I'm thinking that if we bake the brownies ourselves
and share a couple pieces with the ones we love,
eating brownies go from a guilty pleasure to a should,
right?
Right?

Now to do the same thing with romance...

There is almost nothing I'd rather do than eat brownies. They are my favorite! I'm actually baking some this afternoon for a bake sale. I'd almost convinced myself to just make a regular batch and donate them all. LOL, not any more! Double batch it is! And maybe after rehearsal tonight, I'll come home, snuggle up with a plate of brownies, a cup of tea and a romance novel. Sounds divine! ;-)

Hi Molly! Glad the self-induced break was helpful, hopefully you're raring to get that next O'Keefe on our shelves. Loved the post - guilty pleasures, one of my favorite things.

Have you ever tried those low-carb brownies? I've eaten them, desperately trying to convince myself they taste yummy. But they don't. They taste crappy and no amount of self-talk is going to make them taste better. Only butter, sugar and real chocolate will do that.

For me, that's just like reading a romance novel. My mom buys me a book every year for Christmas and she usually tries to make it something more "high-brow" than my romances. Every year I start to read her gift to me and am hopelessly bored by the end of the third chapter. I try get through it, just like I try to tell myself a crappy low-carb brownie tastes just as good as a Ghiradelli brownie with dark chocolate chunks. What I want is snappy writing, characters I care about and the promise of a happily ever after.

I think everyone should.

-Tasha

I would have been here sooner, but I was in a class. It was good for me, but not as good as brownie. It's funny that we go from the long time hallway of sixteen through many, many years of "should" and then I think a lot of us ease back to the long time hallway. I am. And it's because the kids are in college. I am reading romance, and writing it, and taking naps and eating brownies. (Okay--I'm sneaking brownies because my husband has us on a healthy diet, lol.) And let me tell you, I am enjoying it, but it took a while before I realized I was allowed to endulge without guilt. We just get programmed to the "shoulds" I guess and don't stop to think about the other options.

Thanks for a great post.

It's good to have a reminder to delight in those things we love sometimes! And to lose the guilt :) Now to choose just one book off the TBR to start... ;)

I agree that brownies can be done without, but reading ,to me, is a necessity.

I did pick up some mini-brownies at the grocery store bakery -- our local store has some nice ones, and I bought them in cheers to Molly. :)

Sam