Oh, sugar...ah, honey, honey...you are my candy girl

I know I've already admitted my addiction to Youtube, and it's true, but that's been a more recent discovery. I have a much larger and more serious problem to admit today, one that's been with me for as long as I can remember. Yes, folks, my name is still Julie and, well, whew, OK, here goes nothin': I'm a candy addict. Seriously sugaring up works for me on so many levels...mmmm.

Sigh.

I've been hooked on the sweet stuff since I was but a wee lass. (Good God, where on earth did that Scottish thing come from? It's not like I was indulging in a tin of treacle or listening to Sean Connery or anything). But really, even when I was just barely up and walking, Mom tells me I was dipping into the candied ginger jar which, for some reason, was at motorvatin'-baby height right on the living room coffee table. (Why it wasn't in the kitchen, especially given that my mom loves the stuff and both cooks with it and eats it, is beyond me).

I ate a lot of it, apparently, which surprised the folks since it's a bit spicy for a mere babe. I still love the stuff and hey, it's great for indigestion and nausea, so next time you're hittin' the cruise ships, bring along a ziploc filled with the crytallized root and stay happy on the high seas!

But I digress.

I love candy, I do, and it matters not what kind (though I have drawn the line at candied bugs...so far). I don't care if it's milk chocolate or dark, loaded with all kinds of nuts and fruit and stuff or just plain. Hard, soft, chewy, silky, sour, creamy, crunchy, powdered, slurpy...you get the idea. I will want it all. It can come from any country, any region, any little remote hamlet or big city. Fruits and vegetables be damned, I love to explore ethnic stores for their candy and will try anything as long as it's not the aforementioned bugs, though I'm sure one day I will indeed pop a few candied crawlies to see if I like 'em or not.

I have found candy heaven in a few candy addict websites, in fact, one is actually called "Candy Addict," so of course I found that one first (www.candyaddict.com). Another fun one is www.typetive.com/candyblog for thorough reviews of all things candy. A recent fun article on Candyaddict.com was the "10 Grossest Candies Ever," with the top grossest being Candy Lick'em Scabs. See, they look like scabs and come in a bandaid-type device that you stick on your body somewhere, preferably within range of your mouth, opening the "wound area" to lick the candy, then closing the "wound area" so as to save your scab for later lickage. They said the candy actually tasted pretty good, so it didn't sound so gross to me! See? I'm a total addict.

Wanna know how the new Reese's Elvis Peanut Butter and Banana cups look and taste? Care to examine the intricacies of Dark Chocolate Three Musketeers Mint? Pining for a look-see into the workings of some odd sugar treat from Indonesia, complete with texture analysis and a rating scale? Or maybe you're wanting to stay current with the latest in candied marketing successes, odd newsmakers or just what the kids are chowing down on these days. Well then, get yourself over to one of these sites and immerse yourself in what you might agree could be your own personal version of heaven, too.

I have come to realize that the only thing better would be to actually get to taste all these babies they write about, so seeing as how I've been unemployed for 2 months, I think I've finally found the job for me. Who do I get in touch with to start the sucrose-laden deliveries?

I don't have to give anything back, do I?