Little Indulgences. Cynthia MacGregor
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Have your car washed, waxed, and detailed.
Send flowers to the local nursing home—it will make you feel fabulous.
Go away for the weekend. You don't have to go far, and it doesn't have to be expensive. Visit someone special, or stay at a quaint inn. Bring a friend or go alone. What you need is a change of scene, a change of pace.
Buy yourself a bunch of helium balloons and turn them loose all over your house. Have a little fun and bat one around. Then walk through the park and give them away to passersby.
Cook a new food—one you've never even attempted before. It doesn't have to be as exotic as alligator meat, buffalo steaks, or chocolate-covered ants. It could be beef or chicken cooked in a sauce you've never dared to try.
Learn a new computer skill or program.
Learn to belly dance.
Mark a memory. Sit at the computer or curl up with a notepad and a good pen and remember—in exquisite detail—one of the most wonderful things that's ever happened to you. It could be your first kiss, your wedding day, a surprise birthday party that truly was a surprise. Dwell on how wonderful you felt then and feel those emotions returning now.
Get all of your jewelry professionally cleaned.
Plant something special in your yard—a fruit tree, a fragrant bush that blossoms in your favorite color, or some brightly cheerful flowers. Think of the pleasures you'll have from it in the years to come—and how it will improve your property's looks and value.
Decide you're going to learn to play an instrument (another instrument if you play one already). Buy an inexpensive electronic musical keyboard (the kind that simulates any instrument) or rent an electric guitar or even a harp. It's never too late.
Infuse the air in your home with a sweet scent—spray a cool light bulb with perfume, turn on the light, and let the warmth of the bulb spread the scent through the air.
Buy all new bras and panties!
Rent or borrow a convertible on a day when you have a lot of local errands to do or wish to visit a friend who lives an hour away. Put the top down, of course!
Make a cave, or a fort, or a play house.
Drape a sheet over a table.
Put down some pillows.
Crawl in with a good book.
Or a snack.
Or your favorite stuffed animal.
(If your kids are nice to you, you might let them in!)
Have your initials painted on your car in elegant, large letters.
Go to a salon and have your eyebrows professionally shaped.
Host a Recipe-Exchange Party
Tired of cooking the same old dishes? You don't need to buy a whole new cookbook. Call up a group of friends and organize a recipe exchange! Since you're the hostess, you can specify that each guest bring only main courses, or only desserts, or only “sides,” or only chicken recipes—or you can ask each guest to bring recipes enough for a complete meal. Let your guests know how many will be coming and ask them to make that many copies of each of the recipes they're bringing. You could even make the get-together a potluck, with each guest bringing one of the dishes for which she's contributing a recipe.
Put your spare change in other people's expired parking meters. You will smile knowing that in a small way you are someone's guardian angel.
Get your bellybutton pierced, if that's appealing to you.
Start a gratitude notebook. (A small, inexpensive notebook you can carry in your bag works just as well as a fancy journal.) List all the things you are grateful for. Add to your notebook from time to time. And read it over when you feel like life is dealing you a nasty hand.
Rearrange the furniture in one of the rooms of your house. Make the room more practical, workable, or more aesthetically pleasing, or just highlight a piece of furniture you're proud of.
Suit yourself.
Please yourself.
Have fun.
Hire a limousine to drive you and someone special to dinner.
See if you can still play the ball-bouncing games of your childhood, like “A, My Name Is Alice.” If you don't have a Spaldeen (pink rubber ball), a tennis ball will do just as well.
Read some young adult fiction, such as Nancy Drew or Harry Potter.
Give yourself permission to procrastinate.
Learn how to make candy at home.
Go vintage-clothing shopping. Buy a fabulous trench coat or fancy dress.
List all the ways you are a nice (or interesting, or smart, or loyal) person. Now, record this list in your own voice and keep the tape on hand to play back whenever you need that reminder.
Write down the details of your favorite childhood toy to preserve the memory