Jelly Beans Helped Me Too ~

Now that it's President's Day, more on me, Reagan and our Jelly Bean Habit ~

Reagan started eating jelly beans when he gave up smoking in the early 1960's.

On his first day as governor of California, candy maker Henry Rowland gave Reagan a big jar of jelly beans, which Reagan put on the Cabinet Room table. That was the beginning of a long tradition of passing out jelly beans during Cabinet meetings.

"We can hardly start a meeting or make a decision without passing around the jar of jelly beans," he told Rowland.

When Reagan was elected President in 1980, Henry Rowland told reporters, "There will be jelly beans in the White House, that's all I can say."

True to form, Reagan kept a crystal jar full of his favorite jelly beans (Jelly Belly's) for Cabinet meetings and encouraged his department chiefs to eat them when they needed energy.

Guests at Reagan's 1980 inaugural parties consumed 40 million jelly beans --- almost equalling the number of votes he received in the election.

Jelly Bellies also was instrumental in helping me quit smoking 589 days ago. In fact, a very good friend of mine bought me the jar pictured and offered to keep me supplied in Jelly Beans as long as I needed!

Other sweet treats like hard candy, suckers, candy kisses also helped as well as a lot of walking to help with my anxiety.

If you're still new at the quit smoking thing, let me say the candy is great but nothing will help as much as exercising!

Good Luck & Happy Valentines Day!