"I wanna touch the earth, I wanna break it in my hands..."

Hi.

So after three days of not showering, I decided it was about time for me to bathe or something. I guess it ended-up being an "or something," because the result was me sitting in the bathtub for a good half hour, absorbing a dilute solution of Skin So Soft and hot water. Upon emerging from my stew, I reached these conclusions: the smell of Skin So Soft does not really remind me of a woodland fragrance, my head is less itchy than it was before, and my feet are shedding their skin as if they were part snake. The rest of me does not exactly feel soft as kind-a oily, but I've decided to let the oils soak in for a while longer to see if improves the overall condition of my rather dry skin. If it does not, I'll rinse off with normal water later tonight and continue on with my regular skin regime.

My stomach feels gross. This is due to having chemo yesterday. It was not a fun day. We got there at 8 a.m. for blood tests, had to wait until 10 a.m. to meet with Dr. Pitot, and then wait until 12 p.m. to finally begin chemotherapy. This week was a long treatment week so we did not leave the Clinic until at least 5 p.m. I was tired, cranky, and felt like crawling into a hole and never coming out again. This is what we learned from Dr. Pitot: nothing. Surprise, surprise. He said it is good the pain in my liver is gone and that the liver counts found via my earlier blood draw were not conclusive to deciding if my current chemotherapy is actually doing anything. So, basically, we have learned nothing new and probably paid a couple hundred dollars to learn information I could have told you a couple weeks ago. Oh, we did find that I'm losing weight; I weigh about 108 pounds and Dr. Pitot says I should not be drinking water but lots of juices for the calories. Oh well.

I was supposed to have photography today, but the class was cancelled. This is good because the rest of the class was going to be taking a test, while I waited until they were done, and then we were all going to learn about portrait photographs. So I would have sat there for a half an hour with my sore stomach and then tried to learn something. It wouldn't have been good. Like I said, I'm glad class was cancelled for today.

I pretty much have my next assignment figured out. A few lighting adjustments and making the final decision for what will be included in the photos and I should be set to start shooting the film. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but the song I decided on was "Incomplete" by Fish.

Preggie pops are good. They're supposed to be for pregnant people, but they work well for chemo people too. They are like giant, sour Jolly Ranchers that make my stomach feel a little better.

I still feel dead skin flaking off of me. Gross. But Dad says I smell better. That is a good thing. I do not like to smell.

I hung-out with both sets of grandparents and aunts and uncles this weekend. On one side we were celebrating birthdays and on the other side we were splitting wood for the upcoming winter. Well, they were splitting wood: I stayed inside and monitored the Gopher's football game and took a nap. What can I say, I was just doing my part. =P

I went to Panera with my friend Laura on Sunday for brunch. It was delightful. We visited and munched on bagels. Afterwards, we went to Savers to find stuff for me to smash for my photography assignment. Good times. =)

The lights for my fluorescent gardening light have finally arrived. Dad hung the unit on my wall and my orchids seem to be thriving in the additional light. Actually, I can't really tell if they're thriving. Their leaves are turning a lighter shade of green, which is good, and none of them seem to be getting sunburned, which is also good. My one phalaenopsis, Princess, is beginning to bloom. It doesn't have a full splay, but it has a couple of nice blossoms at the end of one stalk. The thing you must know about Princess is that she is a resilient bloomer. She will literally put out new blooms until she dies because she has not put enough energy into vital things, such as growing roots and leaves. So after these two blossoms die away, I'm cutting her stalks off to force her to concentrate on those things before I re-pot her. Another orchid, a Miltassia that I have not named, is also deciding to bloom. Again, it does not have a full splay of blooms, but I'm impressed it decided to bloom at all since that stalk had looked like it was going to die. Maybe I should name the plant Trooper, since that's what it seems to be. My hibiscus is finally starting to like me. I have had this plant for quite a while and it seemed to be at its happiest when it was at my grandparents' house in Zumbrota, not under my care. While living here, its leaves are droopy and it always looks sad. I tried moving it into the window to give it more light and it just shot me the suicidal glare later that day for getting it too cold. So, in an act of frustration, I said, "Fine! You're going to my room and you're gonna sit on the floor and be stuck with this fake light from the lamp just like everybody else." I check on it later that day and its leaves are reaching for the ceiling and it is practically singing with happiness. Obviously, it liked the temperature and light in my room. Who knew? So my tropical plants are good. The vine, leafy plant, and kalanchoe my boyfriend gave me for my birthday, on the other hand, I think would like to be adopted until I can learn to properly care for them. Advice on their care would be appreciated. =)

So that's enough garden talk.

Recently Claire and Zoe got new toys to play with. You're supposed to stick treats inside of them and the dogs must figure out how to get the treats out. It's rather entertaining to watch. Zoe cheats and has you hold the ball for her so she can lick the treats out and Claire has a blast throwing her ball around and looking to see if any of the treats fell out. We have to watch them while they play, however, since Claire does not like to share. She's such a brat.

And now you know...

the rest of the story.

~Cheryl

"Cowboy Take Me Away"-Dixie Chicks