You know if you can’t find something defined on Wikipedia, it doesn’t exist. Guilty pleasures are real, however, and here’s the definition: “A guilty pleasure is known as something someone considers pleasurable despite feeling guilt for enjoying it.

Fashion and food can be examples of guilty pleasures.”

A while back, at my local RWA chapter meeting, our icebreaker was to confess our guilty pleasures. The confessions were hilarious, and got me to thinking. Dee Ann said, “Music is my guilty pleasure. It’s more of an obsession. I’ll hear a new song and I have to have it. Not necessarily the artists’ entire CD but that one song. Dee Ann has a passion for any song sung by American Idol winner, David Cook. She downloads all songs sung by the sexy Idol. “My realization from writing this,” said Dee Ann, “is that music is not my guilty pleasure. David Cook is my guilty pleasure.” I have David Cook CS too, but I never thought of him as my guilty pleasure.

One of my friends confessed to playing Fashion Solitaire online. I admit I checked it out, but I resisted the free hour. I don’t need any more addictions. I already play Mafia Wars on both My Space and Facebook. Hmmm, another one I share.

Tina Gayle responded: “When I was younger one of my guilty pleasures was wearing my sister’s clothes. I had to be real careful though, and make sure I put it back in the exact same place in the exact same way it was hung. Luckily, I left for school after she went to work and got home before she did. Oh, to have a sister who is the same size as me again.” Whew! I don’t have a sister, so I never picked up this habit.

A writer friend who will remain anonymous (unless she reveals herself here) admitted she keeps a can of chocolate frosting hidden in the back of her refrigerator and eats a scoop while watching Cops. Watching Cops is part of that guilty pleasure, because she can feel superior in that her husband wears a shirt.

The rule: This frosting may only be eaten with an index finger. In case of discovery, the offending finger can then be poked into her mouth.

“What are you doing?”

”Nothing.”

You know who you are.

Okay, I share that chocolate obsession and almost always have a can of frosting handy. I once ate a jar of hot fudge. But thankfully, I don’t watch Cops.

Gee, I do a lot of the same things other people do, but I just don’t feel guilty about it. In order for it to be a guilty pleasure, one must actually keep it a secret from someone and have remorse about the compulsion.

Most of you already know I’m a collector of the highest caliber. I stop at all garage sales and flea markets and antique malls I can find, and I can’t pass a Goodwill without stopping to browse. Do I actually need anything? Heavens no. Do I buy things? Undeniably yes. My family and my husband cringe over these purchases. My family cringes because they’ve all helped us move a couple of times. My husband cringes because he’s always building new storage and display areas. So a real guilty pleasure is that I buy things and then leave them in the trunk until no one is home, then wash them up or whatever they need, and put them away so it looks as though they’ve always been there. And no one’s the wiser. Well, until now. Remorse yet? No.

And here’s another one: Even when we both have to get up the next morning, my daughter Kristin and I often stay up until midnight or later engaged in Boom Blox competitions. When we play several nights in a row, our arms and shoulders get so sore we can hardly move them.

Boom Blox is a Wii game created by Stephen Spielberg. The fiend. Our favorites are the towers you have to slide blocks from and try not to topple them, and also the blocks of towers you do try to knock down systematically. You can play alone or as partners, but most often we compete against each other. And this from me, the person who won’t have games on her computer.

Here’s what Charlene Sands said about her guilty pleasure: “Everyone who knows me, knows I’m a huge Tim McGraw fan. I’ve never belonged to a fan club, ever, not even for Elvis, but I belong to his. I’ll pay outrageous prices on ebay for Very Good Seats to his concert. Thankfully, my good friend, Tanya is my enabler. She loves Tim too and we go together and have a blast! I see every movie he’s in, buy his records, visit his website, know the names of his band members and his children. I’m a die-hard fan.”

Tanya Hansen didn’t confess to the Tim addiction, but she did tell me that in winter she sits in front of the fire with a book instead of doing the things she should be doing, and in summer ditto with walks along the beach. Who can blame her there, eh?

I polled readers to see what their passions were.

Connie in Nebraska says: “I love old movies, especially musicals, and especially Elvis, and if I can watch them while playing with my beads, I am in heaven.”

Cindy said this: “Nancy Drew PC Games are my guilty pleasure. These things are sooooo addictive. Me and my girls sit at the computer for hours playing these things until we finally (usually days/months later LOL) solve the mystery.”

Robyn told me: “My guilty pleasures are my ‘afternoon naps’. I am not napping as much as I did, but when my 2nd one was born, I was under doctor’s orders to nap every afternoon to help keep my blood pressure down. I never gave it up. We trained family and friends not to call or bother me in the 2-4pm range. Even if I didn’t nap, I’d sit quietly and read or watch TV. Just some ‘me’ down time. I still sneak in naps, but my afternoons are still my downtime.

So my questions for you today:
Do you have chocolate remorse? Do you have a favorite Wii game? Do you sneak books home? How about a fascination with a celebrity?

What is your guilty pleasure?