Monday, September 24, 2007

A Weekend to be Grateful For

We just had a very lovely weekend. We celebrated Paul's 50th birthday in an extended fashion; his actual birthday fell on the Thursday, so we waited until Friday, when he took a day off from work, to begin. We went to the Chicago Botanical Gardens, one of our favorite places in the world, for several hours on Friday. We saw hummingbirds up close in the "Circle Garden", the model train landscape garden, the fruit and vegetable garden, a heron standing near the water's edge, and the enabling garden (which has all sorts of plants and fountains that are meant to be touched - excellent for Tyler!). We had a picnic too of our usual picnic fare - cheeses, crackers, fruit, and chocolate. I had brought some 100% whole wheat bread and stuck to that, cheese, and fruit, since I am trying to avoid refined white sugar and flour.

On Saturday we had pancakes in the morning (recipe is in my last blog entry). I took care of Tyler while the kids were at their various activities and Paul was doing wood-working in the back yard. It was a very quiet day for me. I was taking it easy because I was in the midst of my monthly migraine headache. The difference this time (and last month) is that I finally have a medication that gets rid of the pain. It's called Imitrex. It makes me somewhat sluggish and tired, but I am so grateful to be rid of that ghastly pain, that used to last for just about 60 hours, that I will gladly take tired and sluggish! In the evening we watched a comedy and ate Italian food (pizza for the family, whole wheat pasta and sauce for me!).

On Sunday we had my cheddar-chive muffin recipe in the skillet. I made it with whole wheat bread and honey this time. It was different, but still good. I had to add extra ww flour, because the honey adds liquid, whereas the sugar I previously would use does not. Then we went to church. After church we finally had Paul's birthday cake (okay, I did cheat and have a piece!). After that, Paul continued on his wood-working project while Tyler napped and the girls and I went for some new clothes for them. We stopped at the brand-new Whole Foods on our way home. It's huge! The girls went about, trying all the free samples they had available. We had dinner, and then Paul and I took Tyler for a stroll and a brief visit to the park, which he just loves. It was such a beautiful evening, and I just felt so glad for the nice time we had.

Because I did not lose the whole weekend suffering in tremendous pain, and accomplishing nothing, I was able to keep up with housework and cooking, so that I was ready to start the week right. And my improved eating habits have given me so much more energy. I went to Bible study this morning. Later, Julie and I were able to take care of her voter registration, details at the office for Tyler's medical insurance, buy him his first pair of shoes, and clean his room this morning. I have started cleaning my room; just took a break to write here for a bit. I feel very blessed that God has given me relief from my pain, and the motivation to eat properly so that I can function as I wish to function as a mom and grandma!

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