a simple treat

I was in the gym this morning for an hour of cardio, and I'm not going to lie, it was tough. My problem with cardio is that I never get lost in it. I'm always acutely aware of every minute creeping by and despite my best efforts, my eyes inevitably wander back down to the clock every few seconds or so. There were multiple times I wanted to quit during the hour (thinking to myself that if I managed to leave at just the right moment of SportsCenter, Jason wouldn't notice I was gone.) But I kept at it.

By the time it was all said and done, I was on such a high that I had powered through those weak moments and managed to burn over 500 calories that I wanted to treat myself. I know, I know, not the best mentality to feel the need to reward myself every time I don't quit at something - it's hardly a momentous occasion - but it has been a particularly trying week with little sleep and busy to-dos and I wanted to celebrate that it was Friday. Now my normal go-to "treat" used to be Starbucks (and I still give in and make a trip every now and again) but given my recent healthy-living changes, I'm trying to avoid the liquid calories and sugar that the Bux inherently brings.

Once I mentally scrapped Starbucks, this image crept into my head of enjoying my morning oatmeal with a huge bowl of a colorful, fresh fruit salad. I'm a self-proclaimed fruitaholic and something about that image just made me feel happy. I know it also seems silly to say that a fruit salad is a "treat," but the treat was more in the break from monotony. Every morning I have the same bowl of oatmeal as I check my email, and I knew that a fresh fruit salad would require a trip to the grocery store plus the twenty minutes or so to cut up all the fruit. Just that simple switch up from my routine was enough of a reward.

So that's what I did. I bought whole watermelon, pineapple, grapes, blueberries and strawberries, and slided them up to my liking making two heaping Tupperwares of fruit salad that Jason and I can enjoy for the week. A silly reward? Perhaps. But it was just the thing to put me in a good mood today.

Sometimes happiness really is as simple as a fruit salad on a Friday morning.

// Do you have any "treats" that you reward yourself with? Are there any simple things you do for yourself to set your day on the right track? //

Had to include the lovely sunflowers and lilies that Jasol bought me a few days ago. One lucky lady.