Thursday, June 10, 2010

B.R.A.T.

No, I'm not annoyed with anyone.  B.R.A.T. is referring to the famous diet that you go on when you're sick.  Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast.  Unfortunately, I am supposed to be on a diet right now in which I cannot each bananas, rice, or applesauce... and only cardboard diet bread.  Why am I even talking about this?  Well, last night when I went to bed I was freezing cold.  It's the middle of June, and I slept in socks, long sweats, 2 shirts, a sweatshirt, and camped out under 2 thick blankets... and somehow I was still cold.  I don't even sleep with that much on in the winter!   Hmmm... something is up.  So anyways I woke up this morning, like I have the past few mornings, with a sore throat and stomach ache.  Except this time the stomach ache was much worse, and I just felt sick with absolutely no appetite, for fear of throwing up.  Knowing that my mom (a.k.a. boss woman) had little sympathy for my pain, I just toughed it out and went to work.  As I was sitting at my desk, my head started to hurt a little bit.  All of a sudden, I thought, "Wait. What if this is a migraine???"  Eager to make an early diagnosis, I immediately googled "Migraine symptoms" (as if I really needed to do this - I've suffered from migraines for 8 years now, so I should be able to tell if I have one or not).  Lately, within the past year or so, my migraines have been acting differently though... so I just thought I'd refresh my memory.  My head really didn't hurt THAT bad - not compared to my stomach.  I read a little bit but then felt guilty doing this at work, so I just went back to working on some photo editing.  All of a sudden, a wave of panic ran through my body as I suddenly lost all feeling and got extremely light-headed.  It didn't take much for my mom to quickly realize what was about to go down, by the horrified expression on my face.  Yes, I was about to pass out, at work, onto a hard cement floor.  Excellent.  She ran to me and forced me to put my head between my legs just as I was about to fall out of my chair, and after blacking out for a brief moment I instantly burst into tears - out of adrenaline, pain, and sheer annoyance.  Ah yes, Megan passes out yet again.  You see, the same head "injury" that caused me to now get migraines, is the same injury back in high school that caused me to start passing out more than the average person.... sometimes even accompanied by seizures.  Oh trust me, we've had tests done - plenty of them.  I've had tests done at 3 different hospitals, going through 4 different doctors.  Scans, stress tests, blood work, diabetes test, tilt test, EEG's... those were the things that defined my sophomore year in high school.  It's somewhat ironic that it was my best year in softball - I had been moved up to varsity, was the top hitter on the team, starting 2nd base player and back-up short stop player, and was name the All-Conference 2nd base player.  I could bench 150 lb., which is pretty good for a girl at the age of 16.  I'm not sure how I managed to pull that off... but one thing I do know is that my health issues have stayed with me, while my softball skills and weight-lifting stamina definitely have not.  There are days I wish it were the other day around.  Oh wait... I always wish it were the other way around. 

So here I am, laying on the couch in my living room, going between hot and cold (not a normal migraine symptom for me), feeling light-headed, and cheating on my diet by enjoying a nice slice of cardboard diet bread with peanut butter and bananas on top, accompanied by some chicken broth.   Ithink I might treat myself to a Diet Rite soda, about the only really flavorful thing I am allowed to drink on this diet.  It's not really that good, but desperate times call for desperate measures - a.k.a. - drink the soda.  I'm sick of water.

In other news, it is a beautiful day outside and I get to watch the trees sway in the sun while I lie here.  I've made a list of music suggestions for my friend Bree, and will be sharing a select few with her each week.  I might as well share them with you as well!  Here's this Thursday's music suggestions...

- Copeland album "You Are My Sunshine"
- Priscilla Ahn album "Priscilla Ahn (EP)" and "A Good Day"
- Franz Ferdinand album "Tonight"
- Loudon Wainwright III album "Strange Weirdos: ..." (title is too long)

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Meg's Smoothie Recipe

Meg's Smoothie Recipe:
(Makes 1-2 Servings)

What you will need:
1 cup frozen fruit
      (preferably a berry blend - blueberries/strawberries/raspberries/blackberries)

1/2 cup fresh fruit
      (strawberries, bananas, and raspberries work well)

1/2 container (3-4 oz.) Frozen Light Yogurt
      (in any flavor - Strawberry Banana or Raspberry are my favs)
   - NOTE: Just buy normal light flavored yogurt and freeze it yourself -
               do NOT use "frozen yogurt" 

2 Tblsp. Lemon Juice
1/4 cup fruit juice 
      (I recommend cranberry or pomegranite)


1. Slightly thaw the frozen fruit, but make sure it is still partially frozen
2. Slightly thaw the frozen yogurt, if necessary, just enough so that you
     can crush it up while still in frozen form.

3. Put all ingredients into a blender
4. Blend until you have a nice, smooth consistency.
5. Pour into a cup and enjoy this healthy treat!

*On the Summit Weight Loss diet, this smoothie counts for only 1 1/2 fruits and 1/2 protein (or milk group)!