facing fears

i’ve had a lifelong phobia of needles.  no kid likes shots, but as i've gotten older, i think the fear has gotten a lot worse.  i get completely nauseous at the sight of needles... in person, on tv, even just thinking about them.  i avoid getting vaccinations at all costs (i’m probably at least 5 years overdue for a tetanus shot).  getting my blood drawn when i was tested for mono was the worst part of having mono (that’s another story.  i’m still not convinced that i actually had mono, despite the positive test result).  i ended up with huge bruises on both of my elbow pits after getting my wisdom teeth out because they couldn’t find a good vein.  GROSS.

i’ve always wanted to donate blood, in theory, but could never bring myself to do it because of this weakness.  i even tried once, about 5 years ago, but i sat down in the chair and immediately started freaking out.  the staff at the blood bank still gave me a (pity) cookie and juice box and i left feeling defeated.  

fast forward to yesterday, upon dropping off some books at the northeast library branch (so lucky to have this 5 blocks away!) i saw a puget sound blood center truck outside of the library and something clicked.  a spontaneous urge to face my fear came over me and i went inside to ask how late they would be there.  i said would be back, and fully committed myself to doing it.  seth and ashley were happy to accompany me, so a few hours later the three of us are filling out the sex/travel/health questionaire.

how was it?  i made sure i didn't lay an eye on the needle, which i think is really the biggest part of my fear.  seeing it.  and seeing it go... ok yeah just thinking about it is making me queasy.  a lot of deep breaths and chatting with seth and ashley made the whole experience surprisingly calm.  i probably won’t be doing it again any time soon, but maybe doing it once a year would be a good goal.  the feeling of selflessness and personal growth/fear facing is incredibly satisfying AND, in a couple of days, i’ll finally get to know my blood type.

what’s been going on in the kitchen lately?

arugula pesto (eaten first with TJ’s whole wheat gnocchi, sundried tomatoes, and extra parm, and the rest with a quinoa salad with red/orange bell peppers, carrots, avocado, lemon juice, and more arugula)

curried lentils and sweet potatoes (deb never leads me astray)

oh, sweet potatoes, how i love them.  so much nutritional punch packed into a delicious tuber.  current favorite way of consuming them is baked with butter, cinnamon, and freshly grated ginger.  perfect go-to meal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

one breakfast meal i’ve seen pop up all over the food blogs is “overnight oats” which is basically oats mixed into yogurt and fruit, set overnight in the fridge.  i always thought it sounded kind of gross, texture-wise, but i gave it a try and it works!  it’s kind of like cold yogurty porridge?  yeah i’m not really selling it am i? :) my favorite part about it is i can throw it in the fridge the night before and all i have to do is take it out and slice a banana and throw it in.  and getting out of the door in a timely manner in the morning is not something that comes easily to me, so every little bit helps!

happy presidents’ day!

maggie