"I do believe in fairies!" *Clap-clap* "Wooooo!"

Happy Turkey Day!

Okay, it’s a little bit late to be saying that, but I had lots of stuff keeping me busy this past weekend to actually say it on Turkey Day.

This weekend made me realize how many things I’m thankful for.

I’m thankful for my family, including the families who have “adopted” me into their homes. My families have been my cheerleaders and supporters through every step of the way and I’m so grateful for that.

I’m thankful for the guy who sits behind the desk in the chemo ward and schedules appointments, who was nice enough to reschedule my chemo round from the day after Thanksgiving to this Monday. My weekend really couldn’t have been possible if I had had chemo on Friday.

I’m thankful for my friends. People came home from college this weekend and I got to visit with them and eat cardboard pizza. It was great. We even got to watch a festive movie. I can’t until they come home for the holidays. Oh, and I finally got my birthday present from Jase. Thanks, Jaselyn. =D

I’m thankful for the cast and crew of Peter Pan. I love being in this show. The people are so awesome. It’s almost like my Drama Monkey family, definitely not as close knit, but we’re a family of sorts. Being in the play has given me a life, something to get up and go to. I’m glad I got cast so I could run around and be a crazy pirate with a whole bunch of other goof-balls.

I’m thankful for a returned appetite. Postponing chemo treatments gave extra time for my body to rest and return to something of a state of normalcy. I ate like a normal person from Thursday to Sunday. I had full helpings at both Thanksgiving meals I attended and on Saturday at play practice I was eating constantly. All I can say is that clementines and chocolate covered nuts tasted pretty dang good.

I’m thankful to Jon, Ben, Brian, Jeff, Brandon, Matty, Josh, Robert and Greg, who all came and sang to me at the hospital today while I was getting treatment. I was so surprised! I absolutely loved their performance; they sounded great. Actually, everyone in the chemo ward liked them. So a big thank-you goes out to each of them, the parents who drove them, and Mrs. Forsman for excusing them from class to come brighten my day.

I’d also like to thank Speedy. No one around here knows Speedy, but he is a talented graffiti artist who has put his talents to making a piece of art dedicated to the blue star of hope. Thanks a ton, Speedy. Your artwork is great.

Ergh. I've tried several times to get a photo of Speedy's art onto the blog, but it's not working. I'll try to get it up in another post.

Right. I didn’t really describe my weekend in order, so maybe I’ll do a better job of doing that now.

Thursday I was with my mom’s side of the family to celebrate Thanksgiving. We ate turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, a crazy Jello dish, and pie. It was fantabulous. Then the ladies, and James, went to the Festival of Trees. Bri and I decided that each tree was subject to extensive judgment and running commentary to determine where it rated on a scale of one to ten. Needless to say, everyone else had seen every tree in the place twice while Bri and I had only seen about half of the room. But the judging was fun and we got lots of funny looks.

Friday I went to celebrate Thanksgiving with Ben’s family in Eyota. I had a good time. The food was excellent. We watched movies and played Catch Phrase. Lots of fun. After that, Ben and I went to Laura’s to visit with Jase, Connor, Ann, Robert and of course Laura. I had fun. We played with knitting needles and watched people make fools of themselves as they played Guitar Hero.

Saturday morning, from nine to two, I had tech rehearsal at the Civic Theatre. It was a very long practice. Lots of waiting. But the pirates did get a chance practice their song and throw Indians off a five foot high platform onto three squishy mattresses. And I got to jump on the mattresses like a little kid. I was amused.

After play practice I took a nap and then had friends over for a cardboard pizza and a movie. Everyone was gone earlier enough that Ben and I could finally watch “The Polar Express.” I had wanted to watch that movie for three days before I finally got to. It’s a cute flick, definitely a holiday classic. It has really good music too.

Well, I started this post Monday evening and now it’s Tuesday. I couldn’t post it last night because my play practice ended up being five hours long and I didn’t get home until 11 pm. I felt really crummy by then too. I crawled in to bed as soon as I got home; I didn’t even bother to take out my contacts or change into pajamas, just laid on my bed and had Mom rub my back for a while until I fell asleep.

I’m feeling better this morning. My stomach hurts a little bit and I’m back to being cold sensitive. At least the weather is warmer than they predicted. No snow yet, thank goodness. The rain is kind of pleasant, in a dreary sort-a way, though I would prefer a little sunshine. Maybe I’ll take Zoe for a walk today if it clears up a smidgen or if I can get bundled up well enough.

I’ll be sure to update you all again. The end of this week I start performances for Peter Pan and next week I finally have my CT-scans again so I’ll know what’s coming up next.

~Cheryl