I Want Candy…?!

Really?

Right after Easter?

No, I did not buy Big Binks for McDaniel.
This was a wishful thinking photo.

Did you know that TODAY is National Jelly Bean Day??

My favorite jelly bean colors.

I think that means I should be getting a big bag for free 

since I MUST be their product’s biggest supporter 

(except for the past few months when I took a break--

which probably showed up in a dip in sales).

The knowledge that it is National Jelly Bean Day has inspired me to write about my favorite candies.

 I know how deeply you must care about my candy desires.

My Top 10 Favorite Candies

1. Jelly Beans. Duh. But they must be your run of the mill jelly beans. Not jelly bellies or gourmet or tropical flavors or Jolly Rancher brand. Just jelly beans. I eat only 3 colors and in this order:  white, pink and then purple. [See picture above]. Monte only eats the green, yellow and orange. So we never fight over beans (and that would be a completely justifiable fight.) But we do always end up with a bowl of black and red beans to toss. 

2.  Candy Corn. It is always a happy day when I see the first bag of candy corn being put out in late summer. 

Hello, old friend!

My girlfriend got us a candy corn shaped basket to house our stash 

that remains out from September through November. 

Another girlfriend got me a candy corn necklace that I wear with pride.

Candy corn necklace selfie.

3. Laffy Taffy. This is usually just a traveling candy. Meaning we only buy it when we are on road trips. The not-funny jokes printed on each wrapper are good time passers and more times than not, I can guess the answers. Which says a lot about my sense of humor.

Pick Your Plum, which I’ve mentioned before, is a great website of discount products and they always include a Laffy Taffy in their packaging.

Well, when I recently received the metal monogram I had ordered, there was NO Laffy Taffy!

Cool monogram but Laffy Taffyless.

I expressed my concern to Julie who had also ordered a metal monogram. She sent me this picture to assure me it was JUST ME and they had not abandoned their Laffy Taffy-in-every-package policy.

Julie’s finger pointing all cocky at her Laffy Taffy.

 It must’ve been an oversight. 

If it happens again, I will send a desperately worded email. 

4. Werther’s chewy caramels.  

Yes, just the chewy ones. I have a fear of choking on hard candies and being alone when I am choking on hard candies and then having to rush around, without air, looking for something to ram my diaphragm into so I could expel the hard candy from my air passageway. To avoid all this, I stick with chewy candies.

5.  Reese’s Pieces.  

But only if we have vanilla ice cream. I am not one to just eat Reese’s Pieces plain like E.T. Not sure I can really expound on why but they need vanilla ice cream.

6.  Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. 

Only if they are mini and only if they are frozen. Since I don’t like chocolate, freezing them makes the chocolate flavor more acceptable to me. I prefer they be mixed with vanilla ice cream too.

7. Gum Drops. 

I love the holiday gum drops that are shaped like bells that come out at Christmas time. They come in three flavors:  white, red and green. Again, I am only a white and red fan and Monte eats the green. Except this past holiday season I noticed that I got an excruciating headache every time I ate the red bells. What is up with that?! So now I am only a white bell eater. 

8. Peppermint Nougats.

I love these so much! 

My grandmother always kept a fancy candy dish of these out at Christmas. I don’t think I fully cultivated my love of them until I was an adult. We all love these--including the girls. FYI:  read the packaging closely so you don’t make the horrible mistake of bringing home 2 bags of spearmint nougats. They will make you wipe your tongue with a paper towel.

9.  Saltwater Taffy. 

I do love various flavors of taffy like vanilla, blueberry and caramel. The kind you can get at a bulk candy store, not the kind in a box from a souvenir shop on vacation. Unless you enjoy going to the dentist and getting a crown replaced.

10. Gum balls.

I know, I know, I jacked up my jaw and shouldn’t chew gum anymore. But I don’t everyday like I used to. Colorful gum balls are a rare treat for me. Last summer, I helped Sumita with her daughter’s graduation party and she had these blue and silver gum balls in large glass vases. 

Oh my goodness, the blue ones were amazing! 

As much as I like gum balls, Monte LOVES them. Until earlier this year when the glass dome got “mysteriously" broken, Monte had his own gum ball machine. Truth be told, and not by Monte, the glass dome was broken because he kept sticking his hand inside the too-small opening at the top of the dome instead of putting in a coin to get the gum as God intended. 

Anway, Carisa, Juan, Monte and I were sitting at a table in Sumita’s back yard at the graduation party, chewing on blue gum balls watching Monte spit a piece out, hurl it into the woods behind the house and pop in another. Carisa and I just kind of shrugged and did the same thing. 

More than once. 

Those blue gum balls lose their flavor fast.

A few days later, Sumita’s husband, Mark,  found all our bright blue already-chewed gum wads that didn’t make it as far into the woods as we thought. 

Classy!

What’s your favorite candy?