"That's just the way it is, but don't you believe them..."

Eep!

I suppose it’s been a while since I last updated. I’m sorry. It hadn’t seemed like that long, but I guess it was.

So what have I been up to…

Well, October 19th marked the day Ben and I started going out a year ago. Our original plan to celebrate was to do something the following day, like go to a corn maze or something, but our plans got all switched around.

Thursday evening we ended up going to the Mayo Civic Center to see Reggie Dabbs, who was a motivational speaker/comedian who’d done a presentation at the high school. Well, what we didn’t know was that he was just one act in this huge Minnesota Christian youth convention. There were schools from all over Minnesota at this thing. It was pretty spectacular. They had five big screens above the stage displaying the lyrics of the songs a live contemporary Christian band was performing. The band was the Jon Reine Band and I thought they were pretty good. After the band was done, an in-between comic/host did a short act, which was extremely funny, and then presented Reggie’s band. His band played a few popular non-Christian songs and then Reggie began his act. It was one of the saddest things ever. I’d say almost everyone was bawling by the time it was over. The story was the story of Christ, except in a modern presentation. While Reggie told the story of a little boy and his dad who ran a railway-bridge, a silent film of the story was being played on the screens, so you could watch and listen. In the end, the dad had to sacrifice the life of his son in order to save the lives of many oblivious people on the train. It was so sad, but I thought it was a really interesting way of presenting Christ’s story. So even though the story was sad, I still had a great time.

That pretty much wrapped up Thursday. Friday I didn’t do much of anything. I hung-out with Ben for about an hour before he had to go live in a cardboard box city. I went home and called my grandma about helping me crochet hats for chemo patients. This led to me going to a church dinner with my grandma, grandpa, great-aunt and uncle. It was fun and the food was good. Plus, I got to learn how to crochet hats.

Saturday I went to Tweit’s pumpkin patch with Ben and some of his family. Tweit’s was definitely small-child orientated, but we ran around like small children and played on the playgrounds and ran through the mazes. It was a good way to get out for the afternoon.

Later in the evening Ben and I went out to eat at Olive Garden and saw a movie afterwards. We were originally going to see “The Guardian,” but the projector was broken or something, so we went to “Man of the Year.” It was pretty good, though definitely not the best movie ever.

Sunday was dinner at Gma & Gpa Tri’s to celebrate Grandpa’s birthday. We had ham and mashed potatoes. Yum. I ended-up taking a nap while I was there. I always feel so bad about falling asleep at gatherings, but I can’t help it. I really do try to stay awake.
Then the weekend was over and the week started up again. I went to band practice at RCTC, which is always a lot of fun. I love playing in bands; much more enjoyable than playing by yourself.

Tuesday I had blood tests and a visit with a nurse practitioner, instead of one of the oncologists. The blood tests came back with wonderful results. My hemoglobin is now up to 12.4, which is easily in normal range, and I don’t have to get icky, stinging shots anymore to help boost it up. Other good news includes the continual decrease of the tumor-marking enzymes. They still have a ways to go, but they’re definitely getting closer to normal. The only bad news was that I had lost a couple of pounds. I was certain I had been gaining weight since I had been eating more at breakfast and stuff the past week, but I guess I had lost too much while I had my previous round of chemo.

The next day I went in for my sixth round of chemo. All I can say was that appointment was way too early for my taste. We had to be there at 7:15 in the morning. Blech. At least I got a room with a window. The other plus side was I finished a hat and left it at the ward for somebody else. Hopefully someone will take it and maybe I’ll get to see them wearing it. =D

Yeah, so Wednesday was a chemo day which pretty much slummed the next couple days. No, wait. Laura and I got to go to Schmidt and play on the pianos and that was fun. Oh, and it’s her birthday tomorrow, so Happy Birthday Laura!!

I had my first Peter Pan rehearsal this week. It was really fun. I’m a pirate and all the other pirates are nice people, so I know we’ll have a blast. I even get to carry around a whip or a sword for the play. Mwa-ha-ha!

Friday and Saturday were the performances of “Romeo & Juliet” at the high school. I thought they went pretty well; we had a nice turn-out Friday night, though I could complain about the quality of some of the crowd.

After Saturday’s performance I went to the Ehlenfeldt’s for a cast party. There were lots of cookies, a bonfire, firecrackers, and a game of ghost-in-the-graveyard to be had. And when combined with crazy drama monkeys, it definitely makes for an entertaining time.

So now it’s Sunday again. I’m finally starting to bounce back from chemo, though I’m still considerably cold sensitive. I’d have to say that’s the worst part of my chemo treatment, especially with this cool weather. Oh well, it’ll go away eventually.

This week looks like it’ll be a busy one. I have a couple of tests to take, rehearsals for band and Peter Pan, Halloween to acknowledge, and a few more hats to make. It’ll be nice to be kept busy; hopefully I can stay awake for all of it. =D

Much love,
Cheryl