Guilt-free Rewards for a Job Well Done

One of my problems with it comes to weight loss is struggling with the idea of rewarding myself for a job well done. It could be that I finally finished a long, arduous project or that I finally did 4 workouts this week. The first thing that I think is: I should reward myself, time for a Coke. Or, a chocolate bar. Or ice cream. 

Well, that just damaged the good chore that I finished. So, I took some time to make a list of guilt-free rewards to give myself for a job well done. I know I am not the only person thinking about this so I will share it with you.

Some of these options require finances but some are also free. What you could do is while you are working towards a goal, decide on the reward that you want to give yourself. Then put aside money for it while you are working towards the goal. For example, as a reward to myself for finishing a large project at work I can save money on the side to get my hair done at the salon. Once the goal is reached, then I can go for a morning of pampering and not worry about the finances.

• A long bubble bath with a yummy scent and candles, perhaps my favorite music in the background
• A mug of steaming hot apple cider or a hot chocolate with marshmellows (the diet kind)
• One uninterrupted evening of doing an activity that I secretly love (like writing)
• Talking on the phone with a best friend or on Skype
• Throw a party with all of your friends -- perhaps a pot luck, movie night, etc.
• One uninterrupted evening (or afternoon) of starting and finishing a project
• Watching a new movie at home. This could mean renting it then giving it the full new movie treatment (for me, this is turning out the lights, stopping all projects and just watching a new movie). 
• Going out to the theatre to see a new movie with friends (or with my husband)
• Have a nice meal at a new restaurant
• One uninterrupted evening of browsing my favorite websites
• Buying and reading a new magazine
• One evening of planning an upcoming event (like Christmas) and planning all of the items that I want to make to decorate the house or give as gifts
• If it's summer, one afternoon sitting and tanning under the sun with a nice book or great music
• Signing up for a class in a topic that I want to learn about (like yoga, knitting, or a language of choice)
• Crossing an activity off of the bucket list (skydiving, rockclimbing, running a 5K, etc.)
• Digging out the old "To Do" list and tackling one of the older ones that you've always said will never get done (ex. organizing the filing cabinet). 
• Reading a new book (or, one of your old favorites)
• Take on a new knitting project or spend an evening knitting
• Take the dog out for a walk in a new area (or put on rollerblades and run with the dog) or to the park
• Learn a new hobby from a friend (or teach a friend how to do one of your hobbies, if they are interested)
• Have a game evening on the Wii, Xbox or whatever you have with the family. See who will win. 
• Return to a hobby that you love but haven't done for a long time (for me, that would be genealogy or cross-stitching)
• Try a new recipe out of a magazine for supper
• Spend an afternoon at the local bookstore -- not buying anything -- but sitting with a coffee, paging through some books to see what is new and checking out the ones that you've always wanted. 
• Spend a lazy afternoon on the couch doing a hobby, snuggling with the kids and the pets
• Watch a movie that was your childhood favorite (perhaps even introduce it to your kids or your husband)
• Trying something new with your significant other (I don't think that I need to elaborate on this one)
• Go for a massage or spa treatment. 
• If you are a woman, try a new makeover on yourself or go and get one at Sephora or another store with that option. 
• Go to bed early or sleep in. Get your significant other involved in this to make sure that you are able to sleep in (or go to bed early) without any distractions. 
• Spend an evening researching a topic that interests you but you've never had time to think about it (like a historical event, a famous person, etc.)
• Get your hair done with color, highlights or a perm. Ask for the full treatment with the scalp massage and special conditioners that most salons do for free and enjoy the trip.

10 things I learned from my wedding

Well, I just got married and now I have lots of interesting tidbits to share with you. Some of you will laugh at this, but I thought that all I had to do was walk down the aisle and smile. I learned some new things on that day. This is for all of you girls who want to get married some day!

1. That wedding dress is HOT: Ok, if you are getting married in a poufy dress like I did, you will be very warm under that dress. It felt like I was wearing four wool sweaters over my legs the whole time. I wasn't cold at all despite the fact that it was a Fall day.
2. You will cry: I kept saying that I wouldn't cry at my wedding and I couldn't understand why brides did. Well, I did. Almost the whole evening. I cried that the food was so good, or during the speeches. I cried during the slideshow and during pictures. I laughed so hard that I cried.
3. Your wedding dress will not be clean: seriously, just try keeping that dress clean. It is impossible. People step on it and leave their shoe marks, you drag it on the ground and the flower petals leave stains on it. Your dress will not be clean unless you have walk around with a personal dry cleaner.
4. Bring food to the photo session: in all of the rush, we forgot to bring food with us and there was five hours between the ceremony and the reception. I regretted that in my post on what I would have done differently. Seriously, bring food. Everyone is hungry.
5. Your reception list will change: I had to submit a head count for my reception but even then, some people cancel at the last minute or some decide that they will go after the fact. 
6. Do all of the fun stuff at the beginning of the reception: when you plan a reception, do all of the fun stuff during the first two to three hours. We had our meal and then had the speeches, attendant gifts and a slideshow. At that point, anyone who went to bed early or had to go home to their kids left but still had a fabulous time leaving the rest of us hooligans to dance and mingle around. We all had fun, but don't plan the fun stuff at 11pm.
7. You will not sleep for days - before and after the wedding: I seriously couldn't sleep for two days before the wedding because my brain would not shut off, then (surprisingly) I couldn't sleep for two days after the wedding either! It was such a big event that my brain was still processing everything that had happened during those nights.  
8. Expect the unexpected: I thought that I had planned everything but my wedding started 15 minutes late because we were waiting on some very important guests. Just go with it. Everything still turned out fine. Expect a few bumps and don't take it personally.
9. Nothing will be perfect, either: don't expect for your make-up and hair to still look perfect 5 hours later, that is, after the ceremony and photo shoot. Some things won't stay in place (like bobby pins or your veil) and some things you'll just have to take off (like your shoes). I went barefoot for the entire reception.
10. It is the busiest, most stressful, and most enjoyable day of your life: I have never had such a good day in my life. I had the most fun anyone could ever have in a single day. I laughed, I cried, I jumped for joy.

10 Things I wish I had done on my wedding day

Well, we all look back and say, "I wish that I had done that!" or "I wish that I had thought of that!". Perhaps these tidbits will help anyone who is about to get married so that they might not forget these things and learn from my mistakes.

1. I wish that I had brought food to the photo session: I feel really bad about this one. One of my matrons of honour was 38 weeks pregnant and she couldn't eat until the reception because I forgot the food in the fridge. We were all a little hungry, but she needed to eat.
2. I wish that I had painted my toenails: I totally forgot that for the garter toss that my dress would be lifted up a bit, that is, enough to expose my toenails. I wish that I had painted them! I thought that I wouldn't need to. No one noticed, but I did.
3. I wish that I had reapplied my make-up before the reception: I didn't reapply the make-up and come the end of the night, my lipstick was gone. I didn't take a look at my hair either. I wish that I had. Not that any pictures didn't turn out right, but I'm a girl. I just want to look good.
4. I wish that I hadn't worn pantyhose: man, I was so happy to get those off. My dress had a built-in corset so that combined with pantyhose did not make me a happy camper. Word of caution: just break in your shoes more.
5. I wish that I had charged my camera battery: the battery was gone taking a picture of me getting into the limo to go to the church. I wish that I had charged that battery, and even had a second one ready (also fully charged) for someone to take pictures at the ceremony, photo shoot and the reception. That sounds like doubling the photographer pictures, but I had to wait 6 weeks for photos from the photographer so at least I would have something on my camera.
6. I wish that I had drank more water that day: along with the wish to bring food, I wish that I had brought water as well. Everyone was so thirsty that day and we really noticed it the day after the wedding.
7. I wish that I had forced myself to get more sleep: as I mentioned in another post, I didn't sleep for two days leading up to the wedding and two days afterwards. I wish that I had taken sleeping pills or something for those days because it really caught up with me the whole week after the wedding.
8. I wish that I had finished a few things well ahead of time: for example, we had a slideshow. I wish that we had finished that (along with some other crafts) at least a month before the wedding instead of at the last minute. It was a stress that we didn't need.
9. I wish that I had spent more time with people at the reception: don't get me wrong, we had an absolutely fabulous reception, but I wish that I had mingled more with guests before the slideshow. Some people had to leave early before we got a chance to sit and talk with them and I feel like I didn't really see them or spend time with them. I'm glad that they were there though!
10. I wish that I had a glass of water at the ceremony: we're only in the church for 30 minutes, right? Well, I had a coughing fit and no water! My mom passed me a cough drop but I had a hard time keeping the cough down and paying attention to the priest so I really wish that I had brought a bottle of water with us. If I didn't use it in the church, I could have referred to point 6 of this list.