Snacking, snacking and more snacking

These are items you will probably find with me at all times. I can no longer be like an average person and eat three normal meals per day...oh no, I need to eat around eight small meals every day if I don't want to pass out. That's because at the beginning of this year I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia--low blood sugar. Fun stuff! I also, much to my sister's amusement, get these weird muscle spasms in my legs if I eat too much sugar, and they hurt like a biotch! (Don't tell my nutritionist, but I still splurge and eat sugary treats, and just bear through the spasms.)
I guess the point of this post is to say that there are some really yummy snack and protein bars out there. I personally am a huge fan of the traditional PowerBar. Some dislike its texture, but I actually really like the texture. Odwalla makes some delicious flavors (like chocowalla) and use all non-gmo products and many organic ingredients. Clif Bars have the best texture out of all the bars I have tried. They have some really unique flavors, too, like carrot cake and banana nut bread. Tiger's Milk is alright, and is very inexpensive, which I appreciate as a college student (45 cents at Winco). And my favorite recommendation by the nutritionist: a jar of peanut butter. So that's what comes with me to classes every day, just in case I feel like I'm about to lose consciousness.
I was pretty sure that eating so many times per day would make me gain weight, but to my surprise, I have actually lost a little...not enough to take back what I gained my freshman year, but a little. I guess it's because my body doesn't have to wait for more nourishment, so it doesn't slow down it's metabolism like it usually does if there are hours and hours between meals. Pretty neat!

You Look Like a Cow...Sorry, but it's True

I have a really odd pet peeve. I hate it when people chew gum. I think it makes them look like a cow. The whole idea of chewing on something you are not supposed to swallow weirds me out--big time. Even worse is when people sit there and play with their gum, and then stick it back in their mouths. Are you freaking kidding me!?!?!? DISGUSTING! It is just as bad as chewing with your mouth open, or talking with food in your mouth! It is a sign of poor manners in my opinion.

I get it...some people chew gum to get rid of bad breath. There are better alternatives. Mints for example. They freshen your breath, do their job, and then are gone. Perfect. There's also ginger. It takes all smells away and leaves you feeling refreshed, even better as it doesn't start tasting gross and stale. Or you could actually be hygienic and go brush your teeth! Are we really so lazy we can't take a moment to brush, REALLY!
And as for a way to release nervous energy...try getting more exercise. And if that doesn't help, don't eat so much sugar! For goodness sake, do you know how much sugar is in an average American's diet? Too much! Or if you really have am anxiety disorder, don't mask it by chewing gum and getting on everyone else's nerves...get some help and give your jaw a break!
Lastly, chewing gum to whiten your teeth! Bull-oney! If it really whitens your teeth, it probably has some sort of chemical which you will swallow because of all the saliva excreted from all the incessant chewing. That can't be a good thing. If you really need to whiten your teeth, use those strips, or trays, or even better, get a professional to do it.
I see no legitimate reason to chew gum except to look like a cow. So if that's your goal, have at it, cow-ey McCow cow!

I'm a big 'fraidy cat

You probably see this picture of a cat and think it is cute, that it is a friendly companion animal. You are wrong. Cats are frightening. Here is a list of other things that frighten me:

• eighteen-wheelers
• driving on ice
• walking over man-hole covers
• cooked green beans
• infants, toddlers, and small children
• strap-less bras
• dead fish that still have their heads
• guns
• jumping into water
• falling down waterfalls
• prosthetic eyes
• big houses with partially pulled blinds at night
• getting lost
• toilets overflowing
• making other people mad or disappointed
• swimming with my face in the water
• war, fighting and arguing
• public restrooms
• one of the gardens at Belknap Hot Springs
• really crowded places
• really muscle y men who slather themselves with oil
• prescription medications
• waking up with one or more extremities completely asleep
  
• getting all tangled up in my blankets and waking up unable to move
• throwing up
• birds
• touching live fish
• overly aggressive and confrontational people
• making phone calls, even if I've known the person for years
• money issues
• southern baptist bible thumpers
• a whole chicken in a can
• backing cars up my driveway

So I think this sums it all up, I am afraid of a lot of random things.

My new [dangerous] love

So, if you know me, you know I am soft-spoken, shy, and non-confrontational. I don't like to be aggressive and I like to be safe. But that is starting to change thanks to my new found passion for POLO!!!
For those who think it is a simple sport where you idly sit upon a horse and swing a stick at a ball, you are sadly mistaken. There is a lot to the game: handling high-strung horses, keeping on the correct side of the line of the ball, watching where your team mates are and where your opposition is, remembering which way your goal is, out running others to the ball, being able to hit from either side of the horse in either direction, neck hooks, rear hooks, catching other's mallets, foul shots. But my favorite part of the game, and this surprises people who know my personality, is riding off, or bumping. This is where you literally run into a player, horse's shoulder to horse's shoulder, in order to move them away from the ball. You can get pretty physical and aggressive, and if you get your knee right in front of the other player's knee, you can check your horse up and force them to slow down, too.
The polo ponies are absolutely amazing athletes, too. They are so eager to follow the ball, and seem to enjoy riding off as much as I do. They do spins on the haunches at a canter on a dime with change to spare. They put up with the new riders getting their shots figured out and take a few strikes to the legs like champs. They are by far some of the most fun horses I have had the opportunity to ride.
Of course there are dangers to this game. You can get squished between another rider and the wall. Or you can get hit by someone else's mallet or the ball can whack you in the face. I recently had a horse get squirrelly with me and go too fast around a corner. His legs went one way and his body-with myself attached-fell the other way. I've been healing my sprained ankle since then.
Despite the dangers and aggressive nature of the sport, I love it so much, and am looking forward to playing for the OSU JV team this term, my first match being at Stanford in a few weeks!

Some of you may be aware of my most recent obsession--SQUIRRELS!
Over winter break I found a good way of passing the time, watching the squirrels in the backyard frolic about. I named two of them, Lucy, a dainty little one, and my favorite, Jim, a big fatty. I even left walnuts out for them, well for Jim as he ate as many as he could and then hid the rest from Lucy. This whole obsession began on a blustery day when Jim was minding his own business on the fence, just chillaxin, when suddenly a big gust of wind swept him off the fence. What indignity for a squirrel! But I was instantly enamored by him.
I realize I will probably end up living in the woods with squirrels as my friends, but I'm fine with that, they only ask for nuts.

~Namaste~

Oh my good golly gosh I am blogging!

Well, my sister, Shauna, has always been very influential in my life (mostly in a good way) and now she has convinced me to start a blog. So here goes nothing! This will be a peek into my glorious (or not) life as a poor college student. Hold on tight, I guarantee it'll be riveting...actually I can't promise you that, but I'll try.

~Namaste~