Weekend Recap:

Friday:
Dwayne worked in the yard and we had leftovers for supper. Later I went to Wal-Mart and then to the roller rink to pick up Ashlyne and Gracie. On the way home I decided to drop by the house before taking them home and they could help me unload groceries. Worked out great, might make them do that each time I pick them up.
Saturday:
Mom and I attended a funeral for Tim Howell.

My cousin, Jeannie Allen's ex-husband Tim Howell passed away on the 26th due to diabetes and heart disease. Even though they were divorced, they remained close friends and supportive parents to their two sons. Their oldest son, Jason did a eulogy in honor of his dad, very sad and touching. Tim's wife, Maricar also gave a tribute to Tim and their love for each other. Tim's brother and his best friend also gave tributes to his life. There were a lot of tears shed but also laughter in remembering their times together.
Funeral Dinner at The Brookshires:

Martha's daughter, Terri and her husband, Ryan hosted the family following the funeral. Despite the sadness of the day, it was nice visiting with family we don't see often. It's times like this we feel the loss of Aunt Ella Mae even more.
At Feeler/Allen dinners throughout the years there was almost always a cottage cheese salad known as pink shit. I don't remember how it got this name, I think my ex brother-in-law. I thought what more fitting to take to the dinner. Apparently Martha's family thought the same thing as Brooke brought it also. lol
Pink Salad:
Container Cottage Cheese Can Crushed Pineapple (drained)
Container Cool Whip Small Box Strawberry Jello
Mix all together and keep in refrigerator.
After taking Mom home I spent the day relaxing (watching Dwayne work in the yard....)
Saturday evening, we went to Mike and Susan's for a get together. Nice seeing our friends after a long winter of seemingly hibernation.
We sat on the front deck around a fire and enjoyed the evening and the nice view. I tried taking a picture of the lake with the lights around the gazebo but it didn't turn out very good. Not use to the new type of camera.

Sunday:
April and I went shopping in Springfield. I found some good buys at Gordman's. It's a good thing we don't have one close to home or I might be buying a lot. We then went the mall. While April shopped, I treated myself to a pedicure. I've only had one other pedicure in my life and it wasn't done very good and I could do a better job at painting my toe nails. Very disappointing. This time was nice. I relaxed in a vibrating chair and got pampered. Since I didn't really need to buy anything at the mall, it worked out great as April got her shopping done I played the "old lady" roll of sitting around!!
We then ate at Applebees and had a good meal. We talked and I thought laughed and had a good time. Apparently the guy adjacent to us didn't think so. As we were leaving, he told April it wouldn't hurt her to smile once in awhile. He was being serious, how rude!!
Judy called and said she was at the hospital with Mom. Her heart rate was up and they were doing blood work, she would call back and keep us update.
The ride home from Springfield was DANGEROUS!! I have never seen that much traffic coming out of Springfield, even when I've come back from taking Mom to the doctor and being in work traffic. The cars were darting in and out and just crazy!! A diesel ran the car in front of us off onto the shoulder of the highway and later a diesel tried to swerve into our lane, good thing April is an alert and conscientious driver and avoided an accident. The traffic remained heavy all the way to Rolla, it did let up a little around St. Roberts.
When we got to Rolla, I called Judy and she said they were getting ready to leave the hospital and Mom's cardiologist in Springfield would look at the test results on Monday. As we were leaving Rolla, Kate called and they hadn't released Mom yet as her heart rate went back up. We went on home and I was going to drive up later. Judy called after I got home and said they were releasing Mom. Jeeze, hospital, make up your mind!!
I was pretty tired and my neck and head hurt so I laid on the couch with an ice pack on my neck, watched Army Wives and went to bed early.
Monday:
I had a doctor's appointment in Rolla and went to work on Highway 63. I usually go back on Highway A to Vienna but today I didn't. When I got to work, they told me to call my sister, Katie about my Mom. (my cell phone was dead) It really scared me and I was stunned to hear Mom had went to the hospital by ambulance. We never use an ambulance, we just load up and drive, it's much faster as we're only nine miles from the hospital. At first, they thought it was her heart and talked about transferring her to Springfield. I was very upset. Judy and Wayne were at the hospital with Mom and Dad. Kate and I decided to stay at work and we would drive down together after they got Mom stabilized to transfer. Judy kept us updated throughout the day. Mom's heart rate was fast and they also wanted to check to make sure she didn't have a blood clot in her lung. (It was just a year ago this month she had multiple blood clots in both lungs) Thankfully, no blood clots. By the afternoon, her heart rate was stable and blood work didn't show evidence of a heart attack. Even more surprising was, they released her yesterday evening. Poor Judy, she has had quite a workout with hospital/doctor visits with Mom and Dad. Mom looked very tired when she got home. Dad came in, put things away, fed and watered the bird and made sure Mom didn't need anything. He has become quite the caretaker.
Mom is to go Friday for an EKG and checkup.

I am so grateful we have been so blessed with the outcome of Mom and Dad's health the past week.