Valentine's Aftermath

Today is one of my favorite holidays: the Day-After-Valentine's Day!

All the stores put their Valentine's suckers, chocolates, gummies, sweethearts, and sugary goodness on clearance. Candy and clearance = two of my favorite things! This is my time to stock up on little boxes of nerds and fun sized candies, perfect for a portable snack or a treat for when my nieces and nephews come to visit. That's what aunts are for right?

I read on about.com that kids receive about 39% of all Valentine's candy purchased, while women (wives, mothers, girlfriends, etc) come in second with 36%. Men get a measly 6%, grandparents 3%, and pets actually get 1% (I guess people buy their pets Valentines???) I did the math and that leaves about 15% left for the rest of us who just go and buy the candy for ourselves. Come on, you know you are one of those 15%...there is no shame here.

Also, this is the best time to buy conversation hearts because they pretty much never expire. Hard to believe that these sugar hearts with quirky sayings were around when Abraham Lincoln was president. They have evolved through the years in shape, production, flavors, and of course the sayings. These always crack me up. The makers of NECCO Sweethearts Conversation Hearts add about 10 new themed sayings every year. My past faves:

"TWEET ME" - I can just imagine giving this one to my grandma & the confusion that would follow
"FAX ME" - who has a fax machine for personal use anymore, or ever for that matter!?
"URA TIGER" - naughty conversation heart, naughty...
"URA QT" - I feel like I saw this on a license plate yesterday
"1 800 CUPID" - that's not even enough digits to be a phone number, come on!
"MY PET" - because everyone likes to be referred to as a dog/cat/fish/gerbil/etc...
"THANK YOU" - but they are missing a "UR WELCOME", maybe next year

All kidding aside, my Valentine's Day wouldn't be complete without these sweet little hearts, so I will buy into the commercialism of Valentine's day and load my basket full of discount candy today and quite frankly, I'm proud of it!

Happy Day-After-Valentine's Day everyone!

Like A Kid In A Candy Store



My "kid in a candy store" moment caught
on camera. This was taken a couple years
ago at a market in Barcelona, Spain.



I love candy. Plain and simple. Love it.

I feel as though I am not alone in this statement, I believe there isn't a person in this world who can honestly say that they've never experienced that feeling of euphoria after biting into their favorite candy. Pure happiness. After all, there is reasoning behind the saying "like a kid in a candy store"

englishbaby.com gives this definition:

"like a kid in the candy store" (expr.) feeling as though all of one's wishes are coming true; feeling as though one has everything in life; feeling that one is extremely fortunate to be in such a situation; delighted because of the wonderful situation one is in; extremely happy because of all the good thing that are happening

Can it really get any better than that??? Being completely happy with the situation you find yourself in. Isn't that what every person strives for in life? I think I can safely answer yes for everyone.

Sadly, it seems that feeling of extreme happiness occurs less & less often as we grow older. The stresses and worries of the world weigh heavy in our minds day to day. Why can't we always feel like a kid in a candy store? There is hope though. That hope lies in passion. Those lucky enough find something that they are truly passionate for and apply it to their daily lives are the truly happy ones.

My passion? You guessed it-candy! Today, Valentine's Day, I truly felt like a kid in a candy store. My wonderful boyfriend, Matt, hit a home run with his gift: two heaping bucketfuls of my favorite fruity candies, Skittles and Starburst (formerly known as Opal Fruits), every flavor that Vermillion, SD had to offer! Which in case you were wondering are: 

• 

  Skittles Originals (Orange, Lemon, Lime, Grape, Strawberry)
• Skittles Tropical (Banana Berry, Kiwi Lime, Mango Tangelo, Pineapple Passion Fruit, Strawberry Starfruit)
• Skittles Wildberry (Berry Punch, Melon Berry, Raspberry, Wild Cherry, Strawberry)
• Skittles Crazy Cores (Blue Raspberry Lemon, Cherry Lemonade, Mango Peach, Strawberry Watermelon, Melon Berry)
• Skittles Sour (Orange, Lemon, Lime, Grape, Strawberry) only very sour!!!
• Skittles Fizzl'd (Berry Punch, Melon Berry, Raspberry, Strawberry, Wild Cherry)
• Skittles Blenders (Strawberry Lime Blast, Green Apple Watermelon, Melon Berry Blast, Tropicolada,  Mango Lemonade Blast) *Matt's advice: "Don't pour the remaining 'fizz sugar' of the giant empty bag into mouth at once, it will literaly fizz out of your mouth"...haha!!!

• Starburst Original (Cherry, Lemon, Strawberry, Orange)
• Starburst FaveReds (Cherry, Strawberry, Fruit Punch, Watermelon)
• Starburst Summer Fun Fruits (Cherry Splash, Lemon-Limade, Kiwi-Banana, Strawberry Watermelon)
• Starburst Tropical (Pina Colada, Mango-Melon, Strawberry Banana, Royal Berry Punch)
• Starburst Sweet Fiesta (Cherry Mango, Strawberry Pineapple, Melon Berry, Peach Guava, Cherry Mango)
• Starburst Sour/Sweet (Sour Watermelon, Sour Green Apple, Sweet Strawberry, Sweet Blue Raspberry)

Yup, pretty much the best Valentine's gift ever (forget the flowers!) Mars/Wrigley Company knows me all to well. Whether I eat them one by one, which I prefer, or by the handful like Matt, I will definitely be "tasting the rainbow" of fruity flavors for the next couple weeks. Yes, this will all probably be gone by the time March rolls around...don't judge.

I love candy. I want to have my own candy store so I can be a kid in it everyday. 

But before I do, I want to learn all about the wonderful world of candy, how to make it, where it came from, and most importantly, how to eat it!! So this Valentine's Day, I'll begin by starting up this blog, eating my Skittles and Starburst, researching the very entertaining web pages: skittles.com & starburst.com, and tomorrow I'll be on to a new candy adventure. I'm inviting you (whoever you are) to come along on my journey to become the eternal "kid in a candy store." Let's go!