Have been super busy lately. Last week, I was in Washington, D.C. for a work conference. I went down by myself (i.e. with no husband or children - woo hoo, right?!) and envisioned that it would be a nice, relaxing week, but the conference was mentally very tiring! I did get to spend some time the first two evenings with a very close friend of mine, so that was a very nice bonus. And on my lunch breaks as well as in the evenings, I would scoot down to the mall (walking kind, not shopping kind!), museum, and memorial areas to check things out. It's a nice city but definitely very hectic!
I brought a huge suitcase with me for four nights, and my friend asked why I would need such a large one. To cart all of my special food, of course!! Yes, I brought my chicken feet broth with me! A colleague and I spent some time brainstorming how I was going to pack everything up, and we did a great job coming up with a solution that worked beautifully. I put the broth into plastic containers (an empty seltzer bottle and a Tupperware freezer container) and then put them in the freezer here at home before the trip. When it came time to pack, I put them in plastic bags wrapped tightly around them and tied shut. I used those containers as well as those little freezer packs to keep my other perishable food cold during the trip down. I ended up packing the food and freezer packs into lunch packs and then those in a small soft-sided travel bag and then that in another large plastic bag. (Okay, so maybe I was slightly paranoid about leakage, but seriously, can you imagine the mess of broth leaking all over your clothes during a flight?!) Worked like a charm. So I had my broth, goat's milk probiotic drinks, raw milk cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, coconut water, green tea bags, honeycomb, crackers, granola bars, bananas, clementines, super probiotics, and digestive enzymes. (This was the first time I've tried the digestive enzymes, but I've read a few places that if you have GI issues and need to travel, it's a good idea to take them along.) The only staple missing was the super-incubated homemade yogurt. Since homemade yogurt doesn't like to be fussed with, though, I hoped that with the goat's milk probiotic beverages and the mega probiotics, I'd be fine for one week. I had contacted the hotel in advance about my medical/dietary issues, and they very nicely provided me with a microwave in my room for the week. (The rooms already came standard with a refrigerator.)
I even brought epsom salts with me and one night took a long hot bath with them before bed.
Can you believe that I still actually ended up having some problems?! I don't know if it was due to anything in particular or if it was just a bunch of little things that added up. I do get motion sickness from flying, I did add Bonine to my system, I did eat out one meal every day, I did sit on a relatively uncomfortable banquet chair hour after hour after hour, I did rush around at a very non-leisurely rate when I had free time, etc. Anyway, most of the week wasn't that bad, but on the last day I went downhill rather quickly. When I got home, I slept for a sound 10 1/2 hours, and then I spent the entire next day on the couch - without changing my clothes, combing my hair, or brushing my teeth - just lying as still as possible. All. Day. Long. Altogether, it took me about three days to get feeling back to my new normal.
So was that a successful trip or not? I think it was, just not one with flying colors. In any event, it was important because I really do need to figure out how various things are going to affect me now. My dream would have been for me to not have any problems whatsoever, but alas, it confirmed that I really do have a problem that may well be with me for longer than I'd like.
And just a couple days after arriving home from that trip, I started packing up for the next one. This time to New York City, but I'll write about that tomorrow because right now, I need to go to sleep!
No comments:
Post a Comment