I had a very productive morning! Last night, my swim buddy calls me and says, "Hey, instead of swimming at the park district pool, do you want to join a few of us at the really nice fitness center up near me? They're having a free open house weekend." I say sure, and join them there at 7:00 this morning.
OMG, is that place terrific! Everything from the locker room (fancy marble-like tiles! which match the benches! steam room and small whirpool in the locker room! shampoo, conditioner, soap, and shaving cream available in each shower stall! free towels that are actually nice!!) to the pools (both outdoor and indoor big workout pools, and a smaller lap pool that is kept 2 degrees cooler, and two more whirlpools inside and one outside), a spa with attached salon, a cafe with excellent berry protein smoothies, a child care area for parents who want to have a workout, classes galore that are all included in the monthly fee, and you can sign up on a monthly basis, no contract required.
However, the cost per month is $70, which is how much I'm paying for the annual pool membership at my park district. I couldn't possibly justify that cost, especially since the building is, depending on traffic, anywhere from 20-40 minutes from my apartment. It is open 24 hours, though, which is much better than my park district facility. I'm debating that maybe I might sign up just for the month of December, which is when my pool will be shut down a lot for the holidays and classes there will be spotty at best. Maybe I'd be able to get in some nice workouts and get $70 worth out of the place, but not until then.
Then, after we all went our separate ways, I headed over to one of the local farmers markets. The one in Deerfield is much bigger than my own town's (which just started this year, so they don't have many vendors at all). I restricted myself it just a pint of cherries and a 1/4 pound wedge of Midnight Moon cheese, which was oh.my.god delicious. I had been sampling several of her cheeses when another customer came up and asked for Midnight Moon to take home and a sample for his friend. So, I asked for a sample for myself, and after I finished plotzing over how fabulous it was, she said, "So, how much do want? Because I can see you've decided on this one." Definitely! It's a goat cheese, which I don't remember if I've ever tried before, but it's fantastic. And expensive--the 1/4 pound was just under $10. Ouch! Definitely a very occasional indulgence.