The greatest mom dilemma

Tuesday morning, while on my way to work, I stopped in the local Walgreens to pick up a prescription. 

Crystal Lindell

On a retailing note, I have to say, that if you haven’t been to a Walgreens lately, you should stop inside. There’s fresh fruit by the entrance. Its new rewards programs give you like a gajillion points for pretty much walking through the door, and all its employees are constantly telling you to “Be Well.”

Anyway, so as I’m on my way to the pharmacy in the back of the store — walking past all the bright aisles right out of a Walgreens commercial — I grabbed my all-time favorite breakfast, a Snicker’s bar. Figuring the peanuts count as protein, I call this a win.

But I blame my mother for this habit.

She once craved peanuts in caramel and nougat covered in chocolate so much that when there was just one Snicker’s left in the house — and my dad was expecting to eat it when he got home from work — she used a steak knife to cut it up into little pieces on a paper plate so she can have some.

We are all destined to become our parents after all.

Although, I have yet to follow her into her chewing gum habit. Time will tell I suppose.

You see, she’s a pretty heavy user of Orbit Sweetmint Sugarfree Gum. Not Orbit Spearmint. Or Orbit Peppermint. Or even Orbit Wintermint  But, Orbit Sweetmint.

It’s like a smooth mint flavor with a hint of chocolate and my mom would seriously buy it by the case if they sold it that way. She keeps some in her house, in her car, in her purse and I swear I even find the stuff in my coat pockets after she visits for the weekend.

Like any good mom, even though I’m just shy of 30, she’s still introducing me to new things. The sad thing is, she’s doing it in my chosen field of specialty — candy.

Just a couple weeks ago, she was at my house for the weekend, and I had completely failed her as a daughter by having zero chocolate samples from work for her to try. So she took matters into her own hands and brought home a bag of Hershey’s Nuggets Milk Chocolate with Almonds.

I was skeptical of what I thought was just an ordinary candy at first. But then, one minute later, I tried one. And I remembered that my mom always knows best. Because these weren’t just any Hershey’s Chocolate with Almonds. They also had little bits of toffee in them and they were immediately addicting. I ate seven of them.

With a mom that great though, you can understand why she’s impossible to shop for this Mother’s Day.

She’s been especially amazing this past year, as I’ve endured some health issues over the last few months. Always willing to make the two-hour drive to see me on a moment’s notice, no questions asked. When she arrives, my mom even claims she actually enjoys doing my laundry, washing my dishes, and vacuuming.

She prays for me. She never nags me. And she pays for me pretty much every single time we go out to eat. 

Crystal Lindell's mom, with three of her four children.

Basically, she’s perfect.

So I guess I need to step up my game. My ever-amazing Editor-in-chief Bernie Pacyniak recommended I buy her some L.A. Burdick Chocolate, which has a fantastic collection of Mother’s Day treats this year. Including, a Breakfast in Bed Collection.

Featuring chocolates, a cookie assortment, and even “a 3-inch Mother’s Day Bee Round, (chocolate Honey Bees with honey ganache and almond wings, a Bee Truffle topped with an edible gold bee, and rosehip tea bonbons), a tin of tea and Burdick's signature cup and saucer,” it sounds pretty amazing.

But at $56, it also sounds a little bit over my budget. Sorry mom. You’re great and all, but what kind of daughter would I be if I just blew $56 on candy, when I get so many samples for free?

Moving along. Let’s see. Our intern Amanda Gajdosik recently wrote about Chuao Chocolatier Mother’s Day offerings, including their Breakfast in Bed collection, which sounds promising.

The collection includes: Java, a rich coffee buttercream in dark chocolate; Maple Bacon, maple bacon caramel and bonfire smoked sea salt in milk chocolate; Orange Bliss, caramelized orange peel, orange liqueur and dark chocolate ganache; French Toast, a cinnamon buttercream, toasted Panko breadcrumbs and maple syrup in milk chocolate; and Rose Garden, a rosewater caramel in dark chocolate.

Still high end, but available in a $12.95 box. I could probably swing that. For my mom, anyway.

Don’t worry. I’m also planning on getting her something else that’s really, super amazing and awesome in addition to that. I just can’t tell you what it is because she my biggest fan and I don’t want to ruin the surprise! I love you mom!