Got Milk??

Aloha!

It is definitely time for a new post. I would have had one up earlier this week, but chemo made me feel icky and I decided to wait until I was in a better mood. Spare everyone another disgruntled post. =)

This last weekend was DE high school's performance of "Anything Goes." I think it went quite well and there was a good audience turnout. I got to sit backstage and help with make-up and such. It was fun, even though at the time I was hooked up to my chemo pump. Oh well. It provided me with a good distraction.

Oh, this last week (Wednesday and Thursday) was my final concert with RCTC for the semester. Coincidentally, the theme was "Anything Goes" and it was a pretty fun concert. The band songs went well and it was fun watching the choir, Aires, and jazz band perform. The jazz band was awesome. They had a ballad that featured an amazing solo trumpeter; I don't know what the name of it was, but I'd have to say that was my favorite piece.

And now I'd like to send out a BIG thank-you to the following: Phillipa, Pete, Mark, Greg, Mike, Bill & Jodi, Bryan, Amy, Dave, Rich, Sam, David, John, Steve, Patrick, Naresh, Jim, Dan, Kathy, Henry, Brad, Jeff, and the other IBM-ers who gave spending money for my Hawaii trip. Thank you so much. It will definitely be put to good use. I'll be sure to put up pictures of what it was put towards once I get back from the trip. =D

In my last post I said that I was meeting with a physical therapist to start conditioning my leg. Well, his view is that we'll just condition all of me so that by the end of twelve weeks I'll be "so fit I won't be able to stand myself." =D Yes, that's a direct quote from him. He's an awesome guy and has provided me with lots of stretches and exercises to strengthen everything that has weakened during my treatment. I really like that his view is "No pain, all gain" instead of "No pain, no gain." He doesn't want me hurting, so all my exercises are gradual (lasting only about fifteen minutes). That really works well for me since I can go out and walk or ride my bike for a little bit or stretch a little while I'm watching TV and I know I'm doing something to help myself. It doesn't make it seem like a chore. What's great is that I usually walk or ride my bike a couple times a day, so it adds up to about a half hour worth of exercise- which is the recommended daily amount of exercise for a person anyways. It's hard to tell if I'm getting stronger, since chemo throws me into a fit of weakness at about the time you'd be able to tell if you were improving or not, but I think I am. I'm walking more often without a limp and it's getting easier for me to get my socks on, so I figure I'm improving.

Before this post gets too long, I'd like to get a couple things out there:

The first is that Mr. Little is having a book signing this Saturday, May 5, at The Book Review, located in the Hillcrest Shopping Center, from 10 am-2 pm. If you haven't purchased a copy of his book (The Centurion: The Balance of the Soul War), this would be the perfect time to pick up a copy, meet the author, and have your copy signed. If you want more information, check out Little's website (there's a link in my sidebar for this blog) and just follow the links to his blog. Everything you could want to know, including directions to The Book Review, are located in his weblog.

Secondly, I have a very odd, yet highly important, request:

Please save your milk cartons/jugs and give them to me!

That's right. I want your milk cartons/jugs. Do not throw them away and/or recycle them, no matter what their size or shape! A group of friends and I are entering the Minneapolis Aquatennial Kemp's Milk Carton race. That means we need lots of milk cartons/jugs in order to build a boat that we will race in Lake Calhoun on July 15. I know, we're crazy, but with the people we have on our team I seriously think we could kick some butt and win some prizes. So, please, please, please, donate your milk cartons/jugs to our cause. All I ask is that you wash them out before you give them to me. I don't really care to store a bunch of cartons/jugs filled with sour milk. =P

There. I think I have everything said that I wanted to say. Unless I'm forgetting something. In which case I'm sorry I forgot it and maybe I'll post it later when I remember what it is I've forgotten. =D

Much love,
Cheryl