Today’s lunch was a bowl of secret sauce with whole wheat ziti, broccoli and meatballs (no picture since I assume you guys are over all the saucy pics and I was feeling lazy).
Instead I thought I’d present you with a new smoothie recipe since I made myself a delicious smoothie for a snack around 10 a.m.
In the mix:
- 2/3 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup milk
- Splash of half & half for creaminess
- 1 cup frozen strawberries
- 1/2 packet vanilla Instant Breakfast
- 1/4 pint raspberries
This one was a winner! Definitely not substantial enough to constitute a meal, but it was a great snack.
Bob Barker
It’s no secret on this blog that Sadie cracks me up every day. Her antics never cease to amaze me.
A lot of my laughter stems from Sadie’s lack of courage. She’s easily spooked by the most random things.
Her current arch nemesis is this little guy that’s floating around in our pool.
She hates him and is convinced he is going to cause her serious harm.
We named the sunglasses-wearing shark thingy Bob Barker, in reference to Adam Sandler’s line in Happy Gilmore where he says, “I hate that Bob Barker,” since we’re pretty sure that’s what Sadie says every time she sees him.
Occasionally I’ll let Sadie out on the porch when I’m right inside the kitchen and inevitably, within five minutes, she’s barking up a storm, clearly trying to rip Bob Barker apart with her nasty words and trash talk.
Apparently I should put her in a Thundershirt every time I let her on the porch.
Irrational Fears
Sadie’s fear of Bob Barker got me thinking about some of my irrational fears.
I am claustrophobic.
I’ve never particularly liked small, enclosed spaces, but I didn’t realize just how much enclosed spaces affected me until a trip to Epcot with Ryan a couple years ago.
(Throwback pic! Tram ride to Epcot in 2007.)
The first line we waited in at the park was for Mission Space, a motion simulator thrill ride. I saw signs warning riders about motion sickness as we waited, but nothing about small spaces.
We got into the little “cabin” (I don’t what what you’d actually call it) and were strapped in as the screens came in close to our faces (closer than in the below picture).
The side doors locked us in completely.
The ride didn’t start. I started to feel trapped. I couldn’t get out of my seat and I began sweating and breathing heavily.
“I want to get out,” I said to Ryan.
“It’s okay. It’s going to start in a second,” he said.
It didn’t. It was delayed.
“Seriously, I need to get out of here. How do I get out?” I said, my voice becoming breathy and more panicked.
Ryan knew then that I was serious. He told me there was an emergency exit button he could press.
“PRESS IT!” I yelled.
“Okay, there isn’t a button, I just told you that so you’d feel better. I don’t know what to do.”
(We laugh hysterically about this now, but at the time I was freaking out.)
Right after that, the ride began and air started blowing in my face. I closed my eyes and breathed my way through the experience.
I honestly couldn’t shake the feeling for the rest of our day at Epcot. I knew I was acting completely irrationally, but I just couldn’t stand feeling trapped in such a small, enclosed space with no way out.
I now really hate most small, enclosed spaces and really dislike elevators. When they take too long to start, I feel incredibly antsy. (It doesn’t help that my sister and I got stuck in one for a few minutes during our trip to Europe.)
I think this fear is similar to the ones certain people have with heights or flying in an airplane. You know in your head that your fear is irrational and logically you know you have no reason to be scared, but you just can’t talk yourself out of your panicky feelings.
Question of the Afternoon
- Do you have any irrational fears?
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I really hate crowds! I think it’s the fact that I’m only 5’1″ and my face is at “elbow jab to the nose” height. (it’s happened more than once…) I have gotten really good at the whole “dodge, dip, duck, dive, and dodge” thing. 😉
Crowds also make me very claustrophobic because I can’t see my way out of them!
I have a huge irrational fear of heights, but only when there’s no railing or barrier between me and the drop. I’m fine in a rollercoaster, but when I get anywhere NEAR a cliff or ledge, I freak out.
I have a few irrational fears. I’m deathly afraid of needles and honestly, most hospital equipment, smells and noises. Seriously, don’t bring me if you’re ever in a medical crisis. Chances are, I’ll pass out faster than you. Lord help me if I ever have children!
I’m also insane about people touching my armpits. I can’t stand it. When I was little, I hated to be picked up because I didn’t like that people put their hands in my armpits. Ugh…gives me the willies.
I also agree with the previous poster about the insanely high overpasses here in TX. All I can envision is my car falling off of them! Yikes!
I’ve been on that ride! I was having a panic attack the whole time. It was horrible. I don’t do small spaces either.
I also recently re-developed my fear of flying, which is awesome since I have 2 “travel seasons” at work where I’m basically flying somewhere every other weekend. I know that turbulence is perfectly normal, but it still scares me to death every time we hit a bump.
I’m glad to know I’m not the only one with these irrational fears.
Heights, flying, elevators/escalators, high bridges, snakes & bad thunderstorms/tornados ~ can Sadie loan me her thundershirt? 😉
Oddly enough I went to Epcot this past June with my fiance and we loved that ride…but I can TOTALLY understand how freaky it would be if I was scared of tight spaces. I guess my irrational fear would be large bugs…I absolutely HATE them and I know that I am bigger and I can just step on them but something inside of my totally freaks me out and makes me panic. I am also slightly afraid of the dark….
you should never visit ocala if you hate large bugs. i tell ryan the bugs here are MUTANTS.
I have this weird fear of muscle shots like tetanus. I can give blood all day long and see the needle go into my vein and I barely flinch, but when it comes to a needle going into my precious muscles….FORGET IT!
Dogs. No, seriously. Most furry animals, but especially dogs. I’ll rid your home of snakes for you, but dogs scare me stiff.
sadie loves you, though! 🙂
I too am extremely claustrophobic!! I discovered this when I went to get an MRI done and was enclosed in the machine. I was perfectly fine but as soon as they shut me in I freaked out!! I started squeezing the little emergency thing they give you and just started crying hysterically! They pulled me out immediately and I was so embarrassed with how I reacted. Yeah can’t do those anymore.
To add to my phobia… the elevators at my work are ALWAYS messing up and getting stuck. I have had a few incidents in which I have been stuck in them and with in seconds I feel a shortness of breath. Worst feeling ever. Gladly they don’t get stuck for long… but I’m sure if it did I would be clawing my way out. LOL.
I am making mental note to not go on that Mission Space ride whenever I go back!!
ah! yes! when i needed an MRI i had to drive waaay out of the way to a place where they had an open MRI option. it still wasn’t pleasant, but i can’t imagine an enclosed MRI. eeek.
used to be aracnophobic, now most bugs, worms and snails ever since the day I was about to eat a small packaged torrone, only to discover there was a worm on it inside the wrapping…It really freaked me out.
Sometimes, when I am unlucky, I am the one that has to put the trash in the dumpster (now that I live alone, that is all the time).
My most irrational fear during those times is that a squirrel who is eating dinner or something will leap out at me when I go to put my trash in the dumpster and ATTACK!!
I’m pretty certain that wouldn’t happen, but the slight possibility gets my heart in my throat.
Love your blog Julie, your so cute!! I am afraid of birds and I know it is so ridiculous. I have been afraid for my entire life. Now that I am an adult my friends and my family and I try to laugh about it and I try to keep my cool, but if its just me and my husband and people are feeding birds at the beach I will totally make us move away from such people! Its a true phobia 😉
my grandma is TERRIFIED of birds. i thought she was the only one!
Getting in a car accident. Seriously. I always expect to have another car crash into mine which makes driving with other people not fun – I don’t worry as much when I’m driving because I’m in some form of control. I’ve been in 7 so it’s something I have dealt with several times and it definitely makes breathing harder while in a car (especially around Boston).
That was not very funny of Ryan, but I am the same way! I close my eyes through all scary experiences!
i have a huge fear of balloons. the anxiety i get is just overwhelming because i’m sensitive to loud noises and the anticipation of the ‘pop’ just freaks me out. it makes my family laugh, but its not funny for me 😉
Yikes.. I am sure it wasn’t funny for Ryan to make up his own emergency exit button at the time.. but it sure is funny, now!
I have a huge fear of birds. I hate them. I think they are going to fly down at me and peck my eyes out. I can’t go near them in pet stores and think people who do those bird things in Europe are out of their minds. Everything things it is hilarious.. and birds tend to swoop down at me like they know….
I have a weird thing about car accidents. Not when I’m driving, but when other people drive- especially when the driver tends to break later than I do. I know we’re safe, but I hate not being able to predict what the driver’s going to do next. My husband hates it. I try not to be rude (when I’m riding with someone I don’t know really well I just try to not look at the road), but my husband can always tell when I’m scared, even if I don’t say anything.
The same exact thing happened to me on Mission Space, as well. We even did the wimpy side and I had no idea that I would be locked in like that, and for so long. I tried asking the couple next to us if they were on it before and if it usually takes this long to start up, but they didn’t speak english. I don’t even remember the ride because I had my eyes closed the entire time. I don’t think I will ever be able to ride it again.
we did the wimpy side, too!
Also, a plethora of past car issues has pretty much made me terrified of driving my car anywhere. I feel SO stressed the entire time and every time I get a whiff of oil or other car smells on the road, I immediately assume it’s my own car, breaking down or on the brink of explosion or something. Needless to say, long road trips make me very uneasy.
I’ve recently realized that I am a bit of a hypochondriac. Every time something feels slightly off or abnormal, I’m on the internet, searching my symptoms, usually coming up with some serious disease I just might have contracted overnight. Take a few weeks ago for example: I woke up and my hands were tingling and numb. After a few hours I started to get worried. I Googled it and saw that tingling and numbness can be a symptom of MS. I seriously began to worry that I had gotten MS out of nowhere. Yep.
I’m so glad you shared this! I recently had to experience my irrational fear. I had an (ex)boyfriend break up with me over it because he thought I was being childish and selfish..haha, its so funny thinking back on it. Here’s the new story: Just last week, my boyfriend and somefriends wanted to go bowling. So I thought “okay, I don’t bowl, but I’ll try to sit and watch”..once we pick up the car keys to leave the house, it starts. I tell him I don’t want to go and that I’m tired so he should just go. But he dragged me in the car..on the way there my throat starts closing up, I can’t stop coughing, and when we get there, I tell him I feel like throwing up. He laughs it off and I try to breathe it out..I’m just hanging out with friends, right? WRONG!! I get in there and immediately close up..I ended up speed walking out of there, throwing up, and coughing for the entire 2-3 hours waiting in the car. I didn’t calm down until I got home and fell asleep!! I didn’t explain or say bye to anybody so they must have thought I was in a bad mood..but man! I just cannot do bowling..nuh-uh.. Unless its wii bowl or on an ipod! 🙂 but I can picture myself bowling..I think I’d be pretty good! It doesn’t look too hard..minus my weird anxiety complex against it..sigh.. 🙂
I’m claustrophobic took! I noticed it at a lot at Magic Kingdom when we rode Mission Space, because the whole thing is indoors and the ceilings are low. I also almost freaked out a few weeks ago when we went on a tour of a cave, and the tour guide stopped to talk when the walls were really tight around us…. I backed up until I was in a larger room and then the lights in that area went out. I freaked. I don’t know why I ever agreed to go on a tour of a cave anyhow… lesson learned.
Okay I apparently can’t type. I meant when we rode Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom. whew.
That smoothie looks fantastic, a snack smoothie? Sign me up!
I definitely have quite a few irrational fears, take-off in airplanes for example. The motion of it just makes me go absolutely insane, I have to close my eyes and put on a sleep mask to get through it.
I have a phobia of ladybugs and butterflies. Just typing those words is making sweat and want to die!!
Oh my goodness, I laughed so hard when reading about how Ryan told you there wasn’t actually a button. Man, I have so many fears. I hate bugs (yes, all of them but particularly spiders and huge roaches). I am a very quiet/shy person but if you get any of those things near me, there will be a scene! I also didn’t know I was claustrophobic until I had to get an MRI. I kept thinking I was in a coffin, which didn’t help matters.
BTW, my kids freaked me out with a huge, thick spider the other week. It’s cute (not really) how kids are not scared of things. They were singing, “Itsy Bitsy Spider,” and I wasn’t paying attention. I was sitting at the breakfast table working on something when a huge spider was shoved in my face. My son was holding it between his index finger and thumb. I FLIPPED out and was so hysterical, he and his twin sister both started crying and he threw the spider in the nearest toy bin. So funny afterwards, but not at the time.
I have an irrational fear of open water – even if I KNOW that there is nothing in the water that’s going to come and get me (some sort of animal/creature?!?!?) it still freaks me out so much. I even get the feeling in pools…
Omg, I went on this ride when I was wayyyyy younger, and about 13 years later, I am still scarred! That picture even gave me the heebie jeebies! 🙂
I am scared of those automatic doors at grocery or department stores, I am always scared one will squish me by accident! Bahah….seriously it is scary if you think about it….. 🙂
I have a HUGE fear of beetles. And pigeons. And squirrels. And worms. And frogs. And of all things animal. I feel like a freak, like i’m so weird. I try to train myself, but run away and i beat myself up over it. Sometimes i get good naturedly made fun of, but i know they’re right. 10 years ago, when i was 5, i was scared of buses and trains. Can you believe i was scared of snow?! What little kid is scared of snow? I hated the beach because of the sand ( i think everyone is scared of Coney beach 🙂 ) And i hated picnics because of grass. And the dogs. When i was 8, i was at the beach building a sand castle. All of a sudden a playful dog started running towards me. I was so scared, i did what every person would do. I ran around in circles holding up my little ( not so little?) tushi and screaming like i was on fire. No one EVER lets me forget it! So i had a huge fear of dogs. But guess what? i learned to get over it and now i dog-sit! Though i am over most of the fears (except for the present tense ones), i just wanna encourage all of ya that over time you CAN and WILL get over it! One day you will face your fears- and you will be SO glad you did! But don’t beat yourself for it- try to work it out. Sorry for such a long comment, Julie!
P.S- NONE OF YOU ARE AS BAD AS ME WHEN IT COMES TO IRRATIONAL FEARS- I WAS SCARED OF ALL THINGS NON-HUMAN. CHEER UP!
I have a really random irrational fear…. of submarines. Just thinking about them (or typing that) gives me chills. My friends make fun of me for it all the time haha
this is really ridiculous, but i’m scared of our sink disposal. number one, the sound is terrifying, i feel like i could get sucked in at any moment. number 2, if i think about what i would be sucked into, the abyss of leftover food, it totally grosses me out. i cover my ears and close my eyes when i run it…
I have a completely irrational fear that all bugs (even the littlest tiny things) are going to try and rip my head off and eat me alive if they are near me. It drives Josh crazy, as he loves all animals, but the scare the crap out of me!
And my dad is like you with not being able to be stuck in small spaces. He once had the lock break on him in a bathroom stall once and was stuck in there for hourse before they could get him out and he said it was one of the scariets experiences of his life.
I have made smoothies with instant breakfast before too!! Love them!
I am also claustrophobic and that ride was a horrible experience… I was in tears. My husband didn’t know what to do he was like “Im sorry I can’t make it stop” the people next to us were just staring at me. It was awful. It is a neat idea but you are right warning labels are necessary for that!!
My fear is heights and snakes… and elevators…i couldnt stand the thought of being trapped in one!
I have many irrational fears that I know are irrational, but I cannot shake them. One example is when we went to Yellowstone last summer. My in-laws planned a rafting excursion. I was sick over the thought of it for like a week leading up to it (even though on the website there were 8 year olds doing it!). Once I was on, I was totally, 100% fine, but the thought of it literally made me so stressed out and anxious!
I am afraid of boats! I have never been on a cruise and don’t plan to! I also am a teeny weeny bit afraid of the ocean. Not the ocean where you can stand and feel the waves crash on your feet, but the ocean where sharks live. The dark part! Whenever I am on a very low-to-the-water boat (like a cadamaran) I completely freak out! –Which is why I don’t like boats.
I hate hate hate the take off and landing parts of a plane ride. The jostling and sudden little drops as the plane rights itself in the air and on the ground make me want to cry. My husband always holds my hand, which makes it more tolerable, but last week I flew by myself and had to close my eyes and breath deeply throughout. Not fun!
TERRIFIED of bees and needles. Completely terrified.
It’s ok, phobias are irrationnal, you just can’t explain, it’s not your fault. And besides, Sometimes people have really strong phobias that can be very problematic in their everyday lives. We all have our fears, but it’s part of who we are ^^
Mission Space doesn’t make me claustrophobic but it does make me extremely queasy. Just thinking about my only time riding it makes me want to puke. I have many irrational fears: clowns scare me a lot especially when they have balloon animals, those grates in the ground (I always think I’ll fall through), and pretty much every noise in the middle of the night. I like to think it’s more survival instinct than irrational fears.
I’ve never really thought of myself as afraid of anything. We just had our second son, and at the time he was two months old. My husband and I had to take a flight to find a new place to live for a transfer with his work and we couldnt’ take the kids on that first trip. While we were taxi-ing out on the runway, I started having this panic attack about the plane crashing and never seeing my kids again. I seriously considered the possibility that my father in law would be the one raising our kids (he was watching them during our trip) and then I started crying – that I trusted him enough to raise our kids, and that I certainly wouldn’t be seeing them again. I KNEW something would go wrong with our plane, I just knew it. And yet, here we are, alive and well (obviously). The crazy thing is that as much as I knew that I was being irrational, I just couldn’t shake it. Mind over matter was not workin out. So I guess I am afraid of some things after all
I think my biggest irrational fear is spiders, I get the herby-jeebies no matter how small they are. But I can’t say I’ve ever gotten panicky about them in the way you described, with the breathing and feeling off for the rest of the day. I get uncomfortable for sure but I’m still able to do whatever I want/need without being disrupted by my fear in any way.
I have a major fear of heights. Not like on a plane heights but on a sitting on a ski lift heights. Lets just say things get interesting come February. And when my brother decides to join me on the chair lift, I dont share his sense of humor when he decides to rock it.
I guess this is pretty common, but I’m afraid of bugs (beetles, cockroaches) … and I do not want to kill them if there are any in my room (or spiders), so I scream around the house and make someone get them out, haha.
Clowns and Disney/any characters that are in a complete costume….I don’t know who is in that outfit and I don’t like it, ha!
I’m deathly afraid of flying. Nothing a glass of wine on flight can’t cure!
Just thinking about that ride made my throat start to close up. I HATE stuff like that and can’t breath any time I start to feel trapped.
I used to be so afraid of flushing the toilet when I was younger. I was deathly afraid of it overflowing hahaha.
Ok, I totally had that one when I was little too! I was too embarrassed to admit it! haha, I’m glad I’m not the only one!! My family still teases me about it 🙂
i’m the same way on rides like that! once it starts i’m ok, but when you’re all locked in and it’s right in your face or pitch black and the seconds are just ticking by, forget it. there’s a few at disney that are in complete darkness, and they do things with smells, touch and sound… i lose my mind! i get weird on airplanes too, i just don’t like being stuck on something when there’s no way out!
OMG I’m so happy I’m not the only one. lol
Sorry that was supposed to reply to the one below. :/
I am afraid of throw-up! I know that sounds really weird but I get super upset and anxious when someone else gets sick. I’m not the type of friend who can hold back your hair and rub your back… I run away crying! I also get crazy upset when I think I’m going to get sick myself. And in movies when they throw-up I have to plug my ears and close my eyes until the scene ends!
I’m really hoping this phobia passes soon before my husb and I have kids b/c those little monsters puke a ton!! EEK!
OMG I’m so happy I’m not the only one. lol
I’m the same way! I just commented about it. It is an actual fear. It is called Emetophobia! And I agree, I’m glad I’m not the only one with this fear. I thought I was some kind of weirdo!
I’m the same way! It freaks me out!
Before you even said what Epcot ride it was I KNEW you had to be referring to Mission Space. I was just in Disney in August & that ride is definitely too closed in! I wouldn’t even consider myself claustrophobic, but that ride was a special circumstance!
I have a fear of horses. I was almost “trampled” by a police officer on horseback at a concert once & I haven’t liked them since. (Although I’m pretty sure “trampled” might be an overreaction?”
Oh GOD!! I am having awful flashbacks of Mission to Puke @ Epcot. That is what we called it after my husband and I rode it last Xmas. All that spinning and closed chamber. Both of us had some serious inner ear balance issues after. I freaked out about being locked in a small compartment and didn’t watch the screen, and husband didn’t watch screen either because he was trying to calm me down. The 10 yr old kid next to us did great however. Had to comment because I am soooooo glad I am not the only one!!! 🙂
Me too!!!! Whenever I wash my face I want to open my eyes and risk getting soap in them to make sure noone is behind me!
opps that was meant for the comment below!