MerrinDonahue.com

One of my very favorite things to make for dinner is jerk chicken. I love the stuff, and I have an *awesome* marinade recipe (hat tip to Kevin, since he actually found the recipe about 10 years ago). Sometime last year, I started using the grill almost as much as Kevin; I’ve found that I really enjoy it, and I have yet to ruin anything that I grill. So, tonight, I made my famous jerk chicken kabobs, grilled zucchini, grilled peppers, whole wheat cous cous (with parsley, cilantro, garlic, lime juice, and tomatoes), and my super-tasty mango salsa (helllloooooo yummy mangos!). The best part is that there is very little salt used in any of those things; lots and lots of other spices, but hardly any salt. And the only oil used for the whole meal is olive oil, and only about two TBS total (not per person, TOTAL).

Who says eating a heart-healthy diet has to be boring?

At least I get to play with Dance, Dance Revolution. I played for 30 minutes today and burned as many calories as I do in a mile-long very brisk walk. The only reason I know this is because it comes with a “Workout Mode” feature that lets you program different variables, such as how many calories you want to burn in a particular session. When you reach your goal, it lets you know. And it’s fun; I mean, time passes pretty quickly while you’re looking like a fool. Plus, it’s air conditioned in my house, and that’s important a) when it’s hot outside, and b) when the skies are filled with smoke from wildfires.

I’ll gladly wait another week for my Wii Fit. I’m beginning to think that the Wii was the best thing we ever bought. Besides the TV and the laptops, it’s the one piece of technology that gets used every single day. If you don’t have one yet, you need to get one.

Update: I spent a total of 90 minutes on it today and, as a result, burned off the 6 oz. tenderloin I had for dinner. Bonus: It wasn’t until I was finished and looked at the time that I realized just how long I’d been at it. Sweet!

No Sugar Added Fudgsicles are the most perfect food ever. Seriously. The best part is that the serving size on the back of the box lists TWO fudgsicles (at 80 calories total). I love these things.

It started out with losing another pound. Then came the trip to the hospital to thank Kevin’s Air Angels in person (really, there’s no way we’ll be able to thank everyone involved in Kevin’s care enough. It’s just something that’s too big). I spent an hour or so in the pool (half working out, half lounging).

The really incredible thing, though, is what’s going on over at Fanblogs. There is a lot of bad shit happening in the world right now, and Kevin wants to do something about it. So he came up with the bright idea to start a fundraiser to help raise money for the Red Cross and a couple other charities. In 36 hours, college football fans have raised over $10,000 to help cyclone, earthquake, tornado, and wildfire victims.

Kevin and I both have a whole new perspective on what’s truly important in life, and helping others is right at the top of that list. So go on over to Fanblogs and get the details on how to make a difference. $10K from a bunch of armchair quarterbacks will do a lot of good.

Last week we saw “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”, which was totally funny. Today, however, we saw “Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay”, and it was laugh-till-you-cry funny. I fully expected us to be the only people in the theater, especially since it was 1:30 on a Monday, but there were several other people (all around our age, thankfully), and they enjoyed it just as much as we did. Definitely five stars for “Harold and Kumar”!

I stopped getting my nails done when we moved to Florida. Actually, I got them done once, but they did such a hideous job with them that it totally turned me off. However, I finally succumbed again today, and I feel like I’m a normal person again. That’s not to say that girls who don’t have fake nails aren’t normal, it’s just that I’m don’t feel like myself without fake nails. I’ve had fake nails for so many years that I just can’t stand the sight of my natural nails. The place I went to today is great, so I’ll be back in two weeks for a fill and a pedicure (holla!). Trivial, I know, but it makes me feel good.

I have a killer tan. There may be something to helping Kevin recover from a heart attack after all.

K: “I love it when babies cuss”.

I think we have a looooooong road ahead of us.

Sure, Kev isn’t back at work yet, but things are pretty much back to normal here at Chez Donahue. We’ve been watching our diets, and we’ve been walking twice a day every day, and I’ve added some pool time to that. Since Kevin had is heart attack a little over a week ago, I’ve lost 8 pounds and Kevin’s lost 12. I have a feeling that a lot of that is due to stress (on my part) and diuretics (on his). Still, though, I now weigh less than I did when we got married, which is a nice feeling.

We’ll be slowly and steadily increasing our walking time (we did a mile tonight, and I’ve added hand weights to my walks), so by the time we finally get back to the beach, we’ll be the hottest things there. And no, I clearly don’t suffer from any sort of low-self esteem issues.

All in all, I’m pretty proud of us!

Since Kevin will be at home with me for the next three weeks (which is a really long time), it appears that we need a new hobby. We went to the movies today (and, funnily enough, Bed, Bath, and Beyond….it seems there was enough time after all), and we have a couple more outings planned for the rest of the week, but I’m still at a loss for next week. He even drove today (which is normally enough to give ME a heart attack, but he’s calmed way down since his near-death experience).

If anybody has any bright ideas to keep us busy, please, please, PLEASE let me know. So far we’ve got mini-golf and more movies on the books, but it’s still to soon to hit the theme parks. As long as I can fit it in between my workouts (like hell I’m gonna let Kevin lose more weight than me), and as long as Kevin can physically handle it, we’re up for anything.

So now we’re 7 days post heart attack, and there are some big changes going on over here at Chez Donahue. Gone are the bad habits. Yes, I’ve given up all my vices, too, since I can’t let Kevin do this all on his own. To that end, I downloaded a program called DietController so I can track every little thing about our lifestyle. It works an awful lot like MacGourmet, which is a big plus. You can choose from a number of predetermined diet settings or you can customize your own. We, of course, chose the American Heart Association’s diet recommendations, and I have to say, it’s not very far off from what we were doing before. The really cool thing is how it analyzes *every* *little* nutrient which is pretty important to me (I like to know just how much folate I’m getting, and from where). There are thousands of brand-named foods already on file, but it does allow you to add new ones and customize them based on serving size, fat grams, etc.

Also, from a meal-planning perspective, this is a breeze. For example, I’ve already entered in what we’re having for lunch, and after lunch, I’ll plug in dinner. Since I’m a planner, I can easily take 20 minutes every Sunday and plug in what we’re having for dinner each night of the week; that way, all I have to enter each day is breakfast and lunch. The interface is exceptionally easy and quick, and I think it’s really going to help us track EXACTLY what we’re eating, and what we need to change. You can track your exercise, your measurements, and there’s even a journal. I’m really in love with the pie charts, though. There are pie charts for EVERYTHING: meals, individual portions, each and every food….They break down fat, protein, and carbs based on the AMHA diet so you can stay on track at a glance. No group meetings, no judging, just results.

I’m not a big believer in diets, and I will never subscribe to the theory of deprivation. But as long as you can track each thing you pop in your mouth, and you can get an idea of where your empty calories are coming from, it’s easy to adapt. Bottom line: Even if you’re not trying to change your lifestyle, DietController is a really good idea.

So Kevin is pissed at me. Last night I made him walk all the way around the block. Now, it’s not a small block, but it’s not overly large, either. When we were almost home, I asked him if he was mad at me, and he never hesitated when he said yes. When we got back in the house, he looked for all sorts of reasons to support his theory that he shouldn’t be walking this much yet, but, of course, every piece of literature that we got from the hospital was on my side.

Today, though, he did GREAT. He went with me to run a few errands today. He checked out Walgreen’s, Best Buy, and even went with me to BJ’s (although I parked him at the front of the store on that one….for those unfamiliar, BJ’s is like Sam’s or Costco, and a little too big for him to conquer today).

We have another walk planned for tonight, and I told him that by this time next week I expect him to do two laps at a time. Sure, I’m kicking his ass a little bit, but it’s out of total love. Ooooooohhhhh, and Monday we’re doing stairs!

Let’s see…..Maybe a trip to Home Depot, maybe Bed Bath and Beyond…I don’t know if we’ll have enough time. Really, though, we ARE planning a short trip up to either Best Buy or Circuit City so I can pick up a copy of Mario Kart. I figure if I’m gonna be hanging out around the house for the next few weeks, then I’m gonna need something to amuse myself.

When I had my miscarriage, Kevin bought me a shiny new MacBook. For his little heart attack, I figured he deserved a little something, too, so he is the proud owner of an AppleTV. We got it all hooked up this afternoon (and it was a group effort, since he’s not allowed to bend down), and he’s playing with it as we speak. I know he’s bored; in fact, I asked him earlier if he wanted to color. And don’t mock me; I like to color when I don’t feel well. Hopefully the AppleTV will occupy him for at least a little while (but not so long that I can’t play Mario Kart).

Yep. It looks like things are getting back to normal pretty quickly around Chez Donahue.

When your 34 year-old husband has a heart attack, there are bound to be a few weird things that happen. Here are a few of the highlights over the past few days:

1) Having 35 different people check out your husband’s groin. Seriously, Kevin’s groin has gotten more action in the past few days than he has over his entire life.

2) Not being able to smooch your husband while his pulse-ox meter is attached. That’s the thing that fits on your index (or little) finger that monitors your oxygen levels. Anything more than a quick peck, and the alarm would go off. This made for an interesting anniversary.

3) Learning how to cuddle in a hospital bed, and playing with the up and down buttons on said bed. In a few weeks, we may seriously have to consider getting one of those babies.

4) Trying not to laugh too much when the medical tape and electrodes that were stuck all over him were removed. Really? Was it that much worse than having your eyebrows waxed?

5) In relation to #4: Watching Kevin almost punch a girl. This is *so* not like him, but I swear, he almost punched the sweet little nurse yesterday when she removed his IVs. And he almost broke my fingers because he was squeezing them so hard.

6) Trying to figure out the puzzle that is a hospital gown. Those things require a MENSA membership or an advanced degree to assemble, especially if you’re trying to prevent an entire hospital ward from checking out your husband’s junk.

7) Ah, lucky number 7. And time for a little seriousness. Watching Kevin be loaded on to a chopper, watching that chopper take off, and feeling more helpless than I ever have.

8 ) /Seriousness. Finding myself actually WANTING to wait on my husband hand and foot. Sure, I pretty much did it anyway, but now I am really enjoying it. At least for now.

9) Navigating the minefield that is the hospital shower. Seriously? If there is anywhere in the world that there should be anti-skid pads, you’d think it would be in a hospital shower. Not so much.

10). Learning to snooze through random beeps, alarms, clicks, whirs, and various interruptions by nurses. It’s totally do-able, and surprising how quickly you can adapt (not that either one of us recommend it).

There are more, and there are definitely some super-serious and stressful moments that we both had this week, but I think it’s about time for a little levity. Because at the end of the day, we’re more in love with each other than ever, and that’s one thing that will never be an anomaly.

That’s right…KEVIN’S HOME!!!!!!! They sprung him a full day early. He came home today around 5:30, and boy, is he ever happy. He’s tucked into his own bed tonight, and he’s doing really really well. He’s tired, but maybe that’s because he spent a good part of the day wandering the cardiac ward and terrorizing charming the nurses. His enzymes look fantastic, he has the blood pressure of a 10 year-old, and his heart rate is slow and steady.

I fixed him a turkey sandwich on wheat for dinner, complete with fat-free chips (yes, they make delicious fat-free chips…look for the Lay’s Light, not Baked Lays). He checked a little email, surfed a little interwebs, and then headed to bed. Tomorrow we’re going to settle into our new routine of, um, doing absolutely nothing for the next few weeks. He’s got a follow-up appointment with the cardiologist in 3 weeks, and from there the doctor will determine whether or not to release him for work or keep him home one more week. Either way, it’s a hell of crappy way to get an extended vacation.

Thanks to everyone for all of your support, well-wishes, emails, thoughts, and prayers. We’ll definitely be making some phone calls over the next few days, and we’ll be responding to emails as soon as we get settled. You guys rock for keeping our spirits up over the past few days!