So, who's tired of being sick?

I tell you what, I am ready to be over this illness and back into my boring, unglamorous life! Yes, I am!

Today, I finally woke up feeling human again and ready to take on the world. But I was careful to take it easy so I don't throw myself into a relapse like The Viking did. He wasn't careful at all and now he has a full-blown sinus infection that has him blowing his nose constantly and coughing like a consumptive.

We also had a scary incident I thought it might be interesting to mention. Two nights ago I was up with insomnia again and heard rapid footsteps on the floor above me heading from the direction of our bedroom to the bathroom. That was not a good sign. I tiptoed to the bottom of the stairs (The Viking doesn't like me to hover when he's ill) and, sure enough, my poor husband was in there. I waited a moment before moving away from the stairs so he wouldn't know I was listening and then he called out for me. He has never done that before.

I ran up the stairs and found my strong, invincible husband, white as a sheet, lying on his knees with his head on the floor, "we're not worthy" style. The thought of grabbing the phone flashed through my mind but first I decided to assess the situation before being rash. He had woken up feeling nauseated and light-headed and when he ran to the bathroom, he almost fainted. He got down on the floor just in time and called me in to help him in case he did pass out (you know, to make sure he had pants on before the paramedics came).

Thankfully, the paramedics were not needed. He managed to make it downstairs to the couch where I propped up his feet, fixed a close eye on him and began questioning him. Interrogation revealed that he had begun taking a new blood pressure medicine two days before. And in true Viking style, he hadn't bothered reading any of the literature about it. And then he downed 400 mg of ibuprofen. And then chugged about a teaspoon of cough syrup. And then enjoyed a glass of wine after dinner.

I know. I've been after him for years to be more conscientious about his medications. He has been known to pop leftover antibiotics whenever he's feeling a bit off, chug cough syrup indiscriminately and has never paid attention to drug interactions. So I had a hunch when I found him balled up on the bathroom floor.

Turns out it was either the alcohol or the other substances he had taken reacting with the new medication. If he had bothered to check, he would have seen that he should have avoided both alcohol and ibuprofen. Whichever it was, it caused his blood pressure to drop a wee bit too low, hence the faintness and deathly pallor. Thankfully, it wasn't very serious, no one got hurt, and, hopefully, my Viking has learned a valuable lesson. Wasn't that a close call, though?

Do you have any idea how good it felt to be (cautiously) out and about in the world today? I was able to strip and remake my bed, launder two loads of clothes and get myself to my very favorite Mennonite/Amish market today! And I didn't feel like crap when I was done! I do intend to run at least two loads of dishes through the dishwasher and make up a weekly menu tonight, but all in good time, my pretties, all in good time!

As for the weekend, I've got big plans for my desk. More specifically, the overly large piles of paper on my desk. Things have gotten way out of hand and those unsightly, messy piles are going down! I've been meaning to take care of them for months now and I've decided their time has come. Let's hope there's a good line up on PBS for me to watch while I'm organizing! I could go for a good Miss Marple of even a few episodes of Rosemary and Thyme. Of course, there's always my Northern Exposure dvd collection of which I've only scratched the surface.

On that note, I must be off. I scored some plump, cleaned and de-veined shrimp for dinner tonight and need to find a good, easy scampi recipe before it gets any later. And, of course, there's the laundry and the dishes...

So glad to be back in the thick of it all!