The Calm & The Storm

This weekend was different. I can’t really put my finger on why it was different, just that it was.

Friday night we sacked out on the couch with delicious Rosati’s delivery and watched our recently purchased Fantastic Four DVD. Now, we only have Daredevil and Electra left to get from that Marvel DVD series, since we already own X-Men 1-3.

Saturday, I spent the morning cuddled on the couch watching Murder, She Wrote episodes, eating toast and peanut butter, while Brett scuttled around town trying to get all the errands done before we got the predicted big snow storm in the evening.

When he got home, he showed off his new haircut. I told him I wished he had told me he was getting a haircut, since I desperately needed one, too. My hair was veering most definitely towards a she-mullet (which may be popular on 80’s-era Murder, She Wrote episodes, but not so much in 2007).

So, we decided to go back out to Cost Cutters for my hair cut, and then we stopped by the grocery store to get the buns veggie mix and pick out some groceries for the week.

When I recently got the high blood pressure death talk from my doctor, I decided to check out some American Heart Association (AHA) cookbooks from the library. Try before you buy, that’s what I always say. Since the doc recommended a low-sodium diet, I also checked out AHA’s new Low-Salt Cookbook. I am planning to try out some new recipes this week, and Brett has agreed to be my guinea pig with giving the thumbs-up or thumbs-down.

After we got back from the store, I had this amazing burst of energy! I’ve officially given up caffeine, but so far (amazingly!) I haven’t suffered any ill effects. I hadn’t had ANY caffeine since the Wednesday before, so I’m not really sure where the energy came from. But there it was! I washed and bagged the buns’ veggie mix (a two hour job), cleaned the buns’ cage and our room (another two hour job), and then made dinner! I felt like Wonder Woman!

I rarely cook. And I joke about the reason being that I’m a bad cook. Or, I’ll say that once you learn how to do something (like cook) people expect you to do it on a regular basis. But the truth of the matter is (and Mom and Brett can confirm this) that I’m really a pretty good cook. I’m not bragging, and I’m my own toughest critic, but I really can cook when I put my mind to it.

I just don’t “like” to cook. It’s too much work; it’s gone too fast; and clean up is a you-know-what. But, since I’m trying to lower my heart-attack-waiting-to-happen blood pressure through the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), it looks like I’m going to have to start cooking fresh and healthy on a regular basis.

So, last night, I started cooking. Brett loves it when I cook. It puts him in a great mood. I don’t know what it is about my playing at being the Happy Homemaker that makes him so happy, but it does. I think his dream wife is Donna Reed.

He was all smiles the rest of the weekend.

Church was cancelled due to the snow storm, and I spent most of Sunday going through my cabinets and throwing out all the expired stuff. It was just a little thing but it really did make me feel like I had accomplished something.

I can tell that my new blood pressure medication is working already. I felt calmer and more in control this whole weekend than I did for the last month on the old medication I’m really grateful for that.

This morning, Brett drove me to work and is picking me up at the end of the day, so we can go shopping for more ingredients for tonight’s dinner. He’s really looking forward to it. That crazy guy!

So, the weekend was busy and yet calmer for me than anything has been in a long time.

Peace out!