Let's talk about one of my favorite subjects...

REWARDS! I don't know one single person who doesn't like to be rewarded for their efforts big or small. Parents start rewarding their children at very young ages for jobs well done. You picked up your playroom all by yourself? Good for you, we'll spend the day at the swimming pool together to show you my appreciation. You learned to tie your shoes all by yourself? Great job! Why don't we go to the shoe store and you can pick out a brand new pair? Good grades on your report card? Well here's that new bike you wanted. You passed your drivers test? Here's the car keys for Friday night for some time with your friends (have it back by midnight!).

As an adult the desire to be rewarded doesn't die off. You still like that warm fuzzy feeling that you get when somebody notices you've done something and done it well.

When you graduate college or pass a certification test it's still OK for your mom to fawn all over you and tell you how terrific you are. She can even take you to your favorite spa for mani's and pedi's if she really wants to, you won't mind.

When you work your arse off on a project that brings a new client or big money to your company you like to be rewarded with a raise, a better office or an extra weeks paid vacation... anything that shows you, hey, your effort is acknowledged!

Weight loss is no different than any of those instances above. It's a hard job. It's difficult work. It takes time and dedication. It takes changes... not just small changes but big life altering changes. It forces you to make difficult decisions. It makes you step back, take a look at your life and have the courage to change it. It's not easy!

Losing weight deserves a new pair of shoes for Pete's sake. Or at least that's the conclusion I drew after a conversation with my husband yesterday. I haven´t had a carrot dangling in front of my nose to make me run since my brother´s wedding in April. No dream to chase other than my big goal of losing 100 pounds. I had no reward in mind for when I reach my little milestones (if you consider the 75 and 90 pound mark little).

So my rewards thus far have been pretty good ones. When I reached my first 30 pounds I got a gym membership. That's been invaluable. It's really the gift that keeps on giving through this whole thing. Great reward.

When I reached 50 pounds I had a nice relaxing massage. That may not be everybody's idea of a great reward but I loved it. Massages are definitely my "thing". It was a great motivation.

When I left for the US in the end of May at 66 pounds in the negative I bought myself a fantastic new dress (and almost an entire new wardrobe). Again, it's a gift that just keeps on giving.

So now I need some new rewards. One for 75, 90 and of course the big 1-0-0.

For my 75 pound (34 kilo) reward I have decided that momma needs a new pair of shoes. I'm a shoe-a-holic. I'll admit it. I just come from the school of thinking that I can never own too many pairs of shoes. I will confess that most pairs I can only wear for short amounts of time before blisters pop up, the balls of my feet ache and I am hobbling around complaining that my feet are killing me (just ask my friends Keith and Josh about 4th of July a few years ago and the "trading of the shoes". If they are brave enough to tell the true story you'll get a good laugh) but that doesn't stop me from popping into every shoe store with hopes that this next pair is gonna be the pair that I can wear for more than 3 hours at a time.

For my 90 pound (41 kilo) reward I may have to go with another massage. I'm not fully decided on that one yet.

For my big 100 pound (45.4 kilo) reward I wanna go big, huge, enormous...really out there (for me anyway). I've tossed some ideas out there to Marco and yesterday he actually said with a straight face "Isn't being healthy reward enough?" HA!!!!

Yeah I'm totally excited to be healthy. I'm thrilled for the great things I'm actually doing for my body and my life but not celebrating this huge feat in a more spectacular way is not what I had in mind.

Can you imagine being in the audience of The Price is Right and having your name called out to be a potential contestant? You run down screaming to contestants row, shaking in your shoes. You may faint. You then bid $1 for the toaster oven to learn that everybody else overbid! You won! You run screaming to the stage, trip up the stairs and finally get to kiss THE BOB BARKER on the cheek!

Out comes one of the lovely ladies pushing along a putting green. You get to play the golf game! You manage to win a few boxes of Rice-o-Roni, a couple of mountain bikes and a new rug for your living room. Those are pretty decent prizes but the best is yet to come!

You're spinning the big wheel on the Price is Right, you get closest to a dollar (and bump your head on the sign displaying your dollar amount while jumping up and down), you're going to the show case showdown!

Barker's Beauties come out, the curtain drawns back and your showcase, which was passed to you by the snot nose college punk next to you so he could get a vacation and new car in his showcase, is displayed. Imagine your horror as you learn your showcase is nothing but some multi-vitamins, a health insurance discount, a DVD of the show you were on and the knowledge of knowing you won on TPIR.

The knowledge of knowing I won?!?!? What the hell kind of prize is that?

THAT is what losing 100 pounds and not rewarding myself is like to me. Yeah I got all the little prizes along the way but I don't want a crappy showcase. I can buy my own damned vitamins. I want to CELEBRATE!!!!! I don't want all of this hard work, this excitement, the whole buildup of losing 100 pounds to be met with a handshake and a blender. I deserve better.

I want a "Last Minute Deal" vacation for me and my husband to some Spanish island. I want a diamond stud earring (just one) to wear. I want a new dress from one of the high end fashion boutiques in the city. I want to own, wear and look smoking in something that says "Ralph", "Prada" or some other equally as expensive incredible label (even though I am usually not a label monger in the least). I want something that I'm going to remember for a long time to come.

I still have a few months to keep thinking about my personal hand picked showcase. I already know the magic number to bid (100) all I need now is for Barker's Beauties to come out and show me something 100 pound worthy.