Weekend of Ups and Downs

This weekend brought many ups and a few downs for Dan and I - I'll start with the happy times so that I don't fall short on the events of the weekend.

Friday night after the work week Dan and I went to see Oz The Great and Powerful and loved it! I highly recommend that you head to the theater to see it if you have the chance. Oz the Great and Powerful is the prequel story to the Wizard of Oz and enchanted us for the entire 2 hours and 7 minutes in 3D. The Wizard of Oz is a classic film that you couldn't imagine being enhanced upon but this was creatively made and so well cast that without knowing you'd honestly believe that it was made before the 1939 classic.

1. Spring has sprung - the cherry blossoms are blooming in the neighborhood and I stopped to take twenty photos on my Saturday run

2. Dan scored 9th row Blazers tickets to their win vs. Detroit on Saturday night with Club level tickets <3

3. I baked a shamrock cake on Saturday - you'll see it tomorrow!

4. There were $2 Guinness cans at work on Friday as employee appreciation for St. Patrick's Day so my work team took advantage.

5. The Blazers scored 100 points in their win, so we got a Chalupa coupon which can be used at Portland's best food cart KOi Fusion as well!

6. Friday night ended with spontaneous margaritas at Dan's suggestion while we were driving home. His best idea in a while!

We finally caved and treated ourselves to the real deal - the Shamrock Shake from McDonald's.

You can see the excitement and surprise that Dan had when the following things occurred:

1. I wasn't having anxiety going through a drive-thru A story for another day

2. Was agreeing to the drink since I've been re-creating healthier versions and pushing them on him

I wish that this is where I could wrap up my weekend update, but I need to share the real, the sad, the human part of the weekend that sours the joy we had.

Saturday I heard the news that my 98 year old grandmother had a fall that broke her hip and sent her to the hospital in an ambulance. Her health has been declining recently and as you'd imagine of any person that age her bones are fragile and her mind has been wandering for a few years. It was sad to see her on Sunday afternoon laying in a hospital bed, helpless, seemingly gasping for oxygen and only comforted by the medication and the breathing assistance she was receiving from modern medicine. It was heartbreaking to see my aunts standing by her bedside, and especially seeing the emotion on my dad's face knowing that this was a sign that she's near the end.

We are wishing her a comfortable and peaceful week - hoping that she is able to eat, rest and enjoy the company of family members at her side.

Hug your family and friends love them with all you have.