Thoughtful Thursday

I hope everyone enjoyed the celebration of our Independence yesterday.  We were invited to our friends' home, the B's, who had a great barbecue of burgers, hot dogs, sausages, pork chops, chicken, corn...you name it, it was there.  I didn't get to eat much, since my stomach wasn't feeling at its best.  I've had to accept the fact that I'm not the same person I was, physically speaking, 20 years ago, or 10 years ago, or even 5 years ago.  Things change; people change; bodies change.  I used to sit and drink a tall glass of milk every night before going to bed and not think about it.  Now I'm lactose intolerant; that same glass of milk will give me excruciating pain and bloating.  I was a skinny twig who could eat like it was a competition and not gain a pound.  I loved it back then!  If I try to do that now, well, let's just say the results would be less than desirable.

I've found that I can't sit and eat a large meal like I used to.  It might be because of the gallbladder stones.  It might be that my digestive system doesn't work as quickly as it used to.  All I know is, yesterday afternoon I ate some potato chips before lunch while I watched Poirot on Netflix, then I had a grilled burger with onions, pickles and ketchup, some seasoned fries, and then, just because I wanted to, I had a piece of brownie.  And suddenly, I wasn't feeling so good :P.  My stomach felt like I'd eaten a few bricks and they were swirling in there.  I had to sit for awhile to let my stomach settle (after drinking some bicarbonate of soda) which made us late to the barbecue.  Then I had to eat small portions and pace myself.  I had one Colombian sausage with a scoop of potato salad and a scoop of cole slaw.  Afterwards I had another sausage and a little cole slaw again.  I didn't want to have another burger after the first episode, and I knew a hot dog would be killer, so I stayed away from them.  For dessert I had a piece of dutch apple pie someone brought.  I didn't feel bad after that, but even though we ate at 7pm and didn't go to bed till midnight, this morning my belly feels like it's filled with lead.  I guess I'm gonna have to take it extra easy today.

We were able to see the fireworks display from our friend's house; they live a short ways from a city park that puts on a great show with lasers and everything.  Thankfully we had Off spray because the mosquitoes were on high alert!  We were especially grateful that the evening was much cooler than it's been these last few days and nights.  While the temps themselves haven't been really high, the humidity has been killer.  It was in the mid 80s last night, but there was lots of cloud cover, and the breeze was sweet.  Our days have been in the low 90s but with the humidity it feels like 99 degrees.  The heat becomes unbearable.  I do hope it cools down a bit; we'd like to do some outdoor activities, but in this intense heat it's not possible.

I'm hoping to take our dog Molly today for her rabies shot and to get her license.  We've put it off too long - her license expires on Saturday.  She's not going to be a very happy dog, I'm afraid.  Oh well.  It's for her own protection.

Have a blessed Thursday!