Out With The Bad, In With The Yummy

   When I got up this morning, I knew it for sure.  I had caught a head cold.  Still, I am a woman on a mission.  I rolled out of bed, got into my workout clothes, and followed my every day routine.  My husband is on one of his work trips.  Part of me wishes he were here to help.  Part of me is glad is not here to catch whatever I've caught.  It is such a struggle to get going when I am under the weather.  Ugh...When is the weather going to get warm and stay that way?  We have been teased with 78 degree days, then slammed with snow warnings.  Today, they say it will rain.  It is now 45 degrees.  

   Regardless, I saw our son out the door and watched his bus pull away.  Back to the real world.  I had a choice...cuddle up with a warm woobie blanket, a box of tissues, and a big glass of orange juice...or sweat it out.  I chose to sweat it out.  I am out of orange juice anyway.  

   Getting to five miles on the treadmill was a challenge today.  The sweat came much earlier than normal and my bum knee gave on me several times.  I had to hold on and catch myself.  I had to regain my focus.  "The Today Show" got me through.  I am so glad we put the television where I can walk and watch.  For a time, it was on a stand...too low for my height.  All I could do was listen..boring...

   When I finally reached the end, I felt like collapsing on the floor.  Instead, I grabbed my 5lb weights and did 100 repetitions of three distinct exercises.  I moved on to sit ups, then push ups, and finally ended with the butt lifts.  Then I collapsed.  : )  I lay there for a good five minutes before I realized...I could breathe through my nose.  Nice.  Out with the bad.

   I headed downstairs to focus on well, the yummy.  The other day, I went to Costco.  Our family loves Costco, especially our youngest.  He likes to graze on all their samples.  I don't worry.  He is small framed. The doctor actually said to let him eat anything he wants.  When I go there, and don't take him, he gets a little disappointed.  But I prefer to go when there are no lines.  I don't do crowds.
   This time, I went for the sole purpose of buying fruit for my smoothies.  At the wholesale clubs(like Costco, Sam's or BJ's), you can get the best bargains.  Let's face it, it takes a lot of fruit for my smoothies.  The grocery stores can get expensive. Me? I like bargains.  I walked around checking out all the latest stuff at Costco, but I never found my blueberries, my strawberries, or my raspberries.  I was ready to go home, when I noticed a woman carrying a huge container of the most beautiful strawberries I had ever seen.  So, I walked in the direction from which she had come.  Still, no strawberries.  Come on.  No fair.  I was walking at a pretty brisk pace (I do that) when I nearly collided with a very tall man who was standing in the produce section.  I came to halt.  He turned around and smiled.  He was a Costco employee.  "Can I help you?"
   I smiled back, but I know I must have looked pretty frustrated.  "Please tell me where I can find strawberries?"  He turned and pointed, "In the chiller."  It was less than 15 ft away.  I thanked him and walked in.  Kudos to his customer service.  Well, in the produce chiller, it was so cold, I wished I'd had brought a better jacket..and a hat...and mittens.  Still, I was in produce heaven, my heaven that is.  I bought 64oz (4lbs) of strawberries for $7.49, 18oz of blueberries for $7.49, 12oz of raspberries for $5.99, 4lbs of green grapes for $6.99, huge bags of Gala apples (an apple a day, right?) for $7.49 and Clementines for $6.99, and a 1lb tub of organic spinach for $3.99.  I also picked up a 4lb mixed fruit bowl for $12.99 (with pineapple, mangoes, red grapes, cantaloupe, honeydew, and strawberries).  My husband loves mango.  Our youngest loves cantaloupe.  I felt like a kid in the candy store. Then I remembered...goldfish and pistachios for the boys...veggies for mom.  I love Costco.  http://www.costco.com/
   I can remember the days long before fruits and veggies were important to our family, back when the fruit bowl on our kitchen table contained things like chips and cookies.  Nowadays, we are making better choices.  Not to say we don't support the Girl Scouts with their cookie drive.  Believe me, we do.  Our youngest can devour a box of thin mints in no time at all.  I didn't say we lived on fruits and veggies.  Its all about balance.  Ying and yang and all that.  Where do you find the best healthy bargains?