5 Minutes.

Well, dear readers, Nancy said that I should force myself to blog for 5 minutes a day, so I am forcing myself to take her advice. I have been quite blocked as of late, for reasons that I fully recognize are quite ridiculous, so I have decided to find out if her advice is sound or not. So here it goes: I'm starting my iphone timer right...now.*

I just got back to my luxury flat (I love calling it that) from a long jaunt around my new neighborhood on foot with Ayodele. We stopped at Robeks (smoothie mecca) on the way back on this very humid day. We did so because I was choking on the pollen fluff that kept getting sucked into my mouth as we were chatting. I kept making a hacking coughing noise and couldn't seem to rid myself of the awful throat tickle. I laid eyes upon the sign and we gratefully trotted over. I am mystified by these protein shake/smoothie establishments, though I love me a good smoothie when I get the hankering for one. Nevertheless, I entered the oh-so-green (in every sense) shop with confidence, though I know that I'm not a member of the Cool Kids Organic Nutrition Club.

I was feeling proud of myself for knowing that I wanted a "Strawnana Berry" when it was my turn to order, but then the very friendly teenaged employee (wearing way too much makeup) asked me what I wanted my "nutritional boost" to be and just like that.... I was naked in the spotlight. It became glaringly obvious that I am not a health nut. I felt judged, if only slightly (read: insecure) and as I stuttered and admitted I had no clue what a boost was, I felt like a lazy junk food lover in the midst of a healthy Utopia. Then, my sense of self-worth returned and I realized that these boosts are quite ridiculously named and entertaining. I have no idea if any of them actually work, but the idea of a "trimbek boost: chromium and thermogenic herbs to increase metabolism and burn fat" is fantastic. Is this shit for real? Can one of these boosts actually do that?

I doubt it but I'm game to give it a shot. I was also intrigued by "kidbek" and "intellibek" for Sophia (daughter, 9) as these are designed to boost memory and "essential support for growing kids". I can't decide if all of these healthy alternatives that have sprouted up everywhere are designed to fleece all of us out of more money...but they are compelling. I'm going to try to find the time to give this a bit of study, but if one of you knows something on this topic and can save me the time, please post a few compelling facts.

In the meantime, my smoothie was delicious.