The "I Dreamt About Chicago Last Night", edition.

iPod shuffled to "Heat of the Moment", After 7. The 2 brothers of Babyface look like...his brothers. Lol. I dreamt about Chicago.  I woke up wondering why.  Oh yeah, Brian and I met with his old friend who was in  town from Chicago. They've been friends for over 40 years. As a matter of fact there are 5 friends, including Brian. They were all in our wedding, and the one from Chicago is Shawn's godfather      

:-).   We were discussing old friends.  I reconnected with mine after  almost 50 years.  He and his friends have kept in touch for over 40 years!

I have random kidney disease and dialysis thoughts today. As bizarre as its sounds, there have been several positives that has come out of the kidney disease. Hmmm iPod stuck on Isley Brothers....let me reshuffle...Kashif, "Help Yourself to My Love".  I was doing an internship in Washington DC the summer this came out. I bought the tape for my Walkman. How's that for a memory? Lol. 

Ok so what the heck can be positive about having my kidneys fail?  Well first of all is the weight loss. Granted I'm not a stick lady, but believe it or not I lost almost 100 pounds. Heh. I've gained about 15 pounds back, but my nephrologist and dietician expected it. I had no appetite. Someone described having no appetite and constant nausea as my body telling me it could no longer remove toxins so it wasn't accepting anything in.  Anyway I've stabilized and am slowly losing the 15 pounds I gained. :-)   Walking and swimming, being physically active is helping. 

The 2nd positive is I quit smoking. I probably started consistently smoking in my early 20s. A pack a day. In the final weeks before my body crashed, I didn't want to smoke. You can tell when a smoker is seriously ill if they don't want a cigarette!!  I haven't had a cigarette since mid October. In Vegas the smoke in the casino irritated me!   Color me surprised!! Lol. I can smell remnants of smoke on people and when I pass where a smoker has been. The great news is I have no urge to smoke. :-).   "Crazy on You", Heart.  The guitar intro teases you, you have no clue of the vocals you're going to get treated to. 

Finally, the renal diet has forced me to eat healthier.  We've lowered the salt intake for the entire family. We're conscious of added salt in processed food, fast food and food we're served when we dine out.  I'm into portion control and notice the HUGE portions served in restaurants. I've realized the standard drink size is running 12 -16 ounces. I am limited to 32 - 40 ounces of fluid a day. A single supersize drink could use up my daily allotment ;-(    Lol try and find an 8 oz glass. I dare you. Even your glasses at home run about 12 ounces.  I'm also liking vegetables more. Go figure. Lol

"Diamonds Are Forever", Shirley Bassey.  "Men are mere mortals not worth going to your grave for". Wow , interesting lyric!!   I asked my tech to take a photo of me in my chair.  She was not amenable, but suggested I ask the social worker, the one that has me walking for causes - lol. So I will ask her.  Have a fabulous weekend. Not sure where we'll head for our day trip. Signing off with the Whispers, "I Only Meant To Wet My Feet".  "You got me walking on wall to wall love", <3. (Looking at Brian).