I may have made some resolutions last New Year’s about adopting healthy habits. My body and subconscious mind have been keeping up this campaign in various ways in the months since. I regularly get twinges when I am about to race out of my apartment to drive on an errand when I could easily walk. More often than not, I rethink transportation and choose a different pair of shoes. Recently, a book I haven’t touched for years seemed to call attention to a health issue I have been thinking about. It extols the benefits of maintaining an alkaline-acid balanced diet. It almost jumped off my bookshelf.

So, I asked myself, how should I follow up on this little message from the universe? A juicer, I thought. I’ll get a juicer and smoothie my way to better health.

I checked out Craigslist and did some general web research to see if I could pick up a used one at a reasonable cost. Then I decided, for this kind of appliance, new was the way to go and I kept scouring the net. On the Jack Lalane website, I saw a special promotion. Buy a Power Express juicer and get one free. Oh goodie, I thought. I could gift a friend a high powered carrot pulverizer when I got mine.

After I received my email confirmation, I experienced a few moments of buyer’s remorse. I remember thinking, “I sure hope for $169.96 (the second unit was free but the shipping on it wasn’t), the appliance wouldn’t end up, untouched, on top of my refrigerator or in the back of some kitchen cabinet.”

I imagine everyone, at some time in their lives, has bought an exer-cycle, or ab-arranger, or some Ronco-Popeil device that ended up in a garage or closet. Getting started with a new appliance can be intimidating. You have to read the instructions, sometimes even look at black and white diagrams. Excited about the idea of juicing if not the reality of shopping for and stocking fresh fruits and vegetables in my house, I paid $9.00 extra for express processing.

As it turned out, I did not open the appliance box until five days after the men in brown dropped it off. I briefly looked at the recipe book. It featured attractive photos of berry margaritas and recipes covering cool muffins you could make with residual pulp. I also decided to watch the “helpful hints” video on their web site. But I was still afraid to actually touch plastic and keep my hands safely away from sharp blades – and read anything that resembled “instructions.”

When I finally opened the box, I disassembled, rinsed, and reassembled the four main parts as I saw in the video. Then I tossed some cantaloupe and honey dew pieces down the feeder tube. The motor hummed easily under my touch. I poured the oddly colored gray-green concoction into a glass.

“Oh my God,” I thought. “Is this good!!!” My Power Juicer was not hard at all to operate, or, I discovered soon enough, to clean. Next time I make cantaloupe and honey dew juice, I decided, I’ll throw in some fresh ginger too. I started looking excitedly through the recipe book again.

Just about the time I ordered my juicer, I tested out my online shopping skills with another purchase. Last Christmas, I gave my 25 year-old niece a Target gift card. A big fan of slow cooking, as anyone who has sampled my jambalaya would tell you, I suggested she use it to buy a crock pot. “I really planned to buy a slow cooker,” she told me just the other week, “But, when I go to Target, I always end up buying paper towels and cleaning supplies.” So, inspired by my juicer madness, I bought her a well-rated, four quart model online, to be shipped directly to her in Knoxville where she is attending grad school.

While I continued to peruse my Jack Lalane Power Juicer recipe book, aroused by the unusual combinations of fruits and vegetables they recommended for cold soups and salad dressings, I thought about her opening her package and seeing how easy it will be for her to make pulled pork or crock pot meatloaf, or something else she’s wanted to try. I got giddy about the experience we were sharing.

Enjoying something right out of the box is no small thing.