apples & oranges

From my Flickr:

To take a line from the Sound of Music: “These are a few of my favorite of things…”

My favorite fruit of the moment and my favorite computer of all time. Pictured here: Sweet mandarin orange from Costco and my 24″ iMac.

Before you laugh, this is an entry to celebrate the small achievements. Baby steps, I say. After all, this is only my second day back in society as a nearly full-functioning human being.

An ambitious day: worked a full eight-hour day (woo, we’re on a roll!), went walking, then made a Costco run to spend my $36.57 reward certificate and buy some mandarin oranges. What started out as a run solely to replenish my completely depleted mandarin orange supply ended with much more. But isn’t that always the case when you go to Costco? Here’s what I left with:

seedless grapes
granola snacks
cranberry raspberry juice
canned chicken breast
chicken of the sea
fruit cocktail

…oh, and mandarin oranges.

To be honest, that was a pretty modest shopping trip with a bill that totalled $69.35 with only $32.78 out of my pocket after the reward certificate credit. And, here I was wondering if Costco would give me change if I didn’t spend the entire $36.57 today. What a foolish thought! Where else can you go to buy groceries and spend nearly seventy bucks on a mere seven items — and do so happily; totally stoked about all the money you saved?

Tomorrow will be the third day in a row that I’ve made myself home lunch in an effort to pursue a healthier diet. This must be some kind of record. I usually quickly succumb to the temptations of plate lunches and greasy “Cholesterol Friday” fast food drive-thru runs. I guess the prospect of mothering a child can be quite a motivator. Let’s hope I can keep this up.

Oh, I’ve also sworn off of caffeine and chocolate. *gasp* Staying away from the Diet Pepsi and M&M’s will prove to be a greater challenge than keeping up with the home lunches.

Man, am I tired now. Is it Friday yet?