Meet my nemsis

*sigh* just look at it... sitting there all peanut buttery and coated with the ever so slight layer of milk chocolatey goodness.

Honestly, if I were to be stuck on a deserted (dessert?) island and could only have one food, it would be peanut butter. What's not to love? It's got a nice ratio of fat, protein & carbs (ok, a little high on fat, but still) and will keep you satisfied while you're building your tree house. And when you combine it with chocolate... It's like you can hear choirs of angels singing.

Ok, I'm being a bit melodramatic, but seriously, my all time favorite candy in the whole wide world is this: Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs. The original - not the trees or the pumpkin, or the heart - the classic egg shape. Now Reese's Peanut Butter Cups come in a close second, but with egg, it's like the perfect proportion of chocolate to peanut butter that makes it a little bit sweet, but not over powering, which means you can suck down about 3-4 of these bad boys before the sugar rush hits. Mwaahahahaha.

::ahem::

Why the obsession? It's easter, and the eggs are out-a-plenty. And these are one thing that makes me waiver ever so slightly from the goals and plan I have so carefully crafted and set out before me.

It is my kryptonite.


It also brings back a memory from, well, half a lifetime ago (which makes me feel really, really old), from my first serious work at losing weight and getting fit. I was... well, younger than now, and when Easter came around, I had made a lot of great progress. I was exercising about 30-ish minutes a day, watching my portions, all that fun stuff. I'd have my treats here and there and wasn't overly concerned with the upcoming holiday.

Now, in my family, we do Christmas stockings - always has fun pressies! - and we do Easter baskets. I had a blue basket that always had the plastic green "grass" that the obligatory jelly beans (mom /always/ got the black ones... blech! I'd usually pick out the red & purple, and dad would eat the rest. :) would all get stuck in. I'd usually have a chocolate bunny that would get a few bites taken out of it, and live out it's remaining days in the door of the fridge (next to all the left over Halloween candy) till mom tossed it - usually a few weeks before the next Easter arrived. As you can see, not much of sweet tooth in general. I enjoy it, but not a big driving force.

Well, this particular Easter, I awoke to find my basket filled with the usual treats, a few non-food gifties (probably a Moody Blues or Duran Duran CD :), and ::cue dramatic music... dun dun duuuuuuunnnnnn:: a 6-pack of the heavenly, fat, calorie and sugar laden Reese's Eggs!!!

Oh the humanity! What had I done to earn this kind of sabotage!?!?!

I probably did something seriously bratty like use my out loud voice to proclaim my displeasure when I saw them, and then pouted, then gave in and had one... I decided that there was a place for them in my life, and I allowed myself one every 1-2 weeks. I carefully avoided them, tried not to think about them sitting there, taunting me... and I have to say, when I did finally have one on the designated week, it was delish! I think I made it through 3-4 before I took pity on my dad and let him have the rest. (he's as much of a PB fiend as I am! Oooh, must make him the peanut butter crepes during the next visit!)

What brings all this up? On Friday, I wondered into the break room at work, like I do, to discover a pile of about a dozen mini Reese's Eggs sitting there. Now, the rule at work is, if it's sitting out on the table, unguarded, and unmarked, it's free game. Hence that's usually where most of the stuff I want to get rid of goes (hey, when the baking bug hits, you gotta share!!) I normally am unphased, but this stopped me dead in my tracks.

I stared down the gleaming pile of gold & orange wrappers, and I blinked first. I took a deep breath, said a silent "thanks" to the person who left them - because it saved me a trip to the store to get my annual sacrifice - and picked one up.

It's currently sitting on the counter in my kitchen. I'm still biding my time for when I'm going to enjoy it.