12 Month Wrap-Up (rap, wrap, wrap-up)

Girls Night

January
Started off like any other year.  New Years was spent at our friends Matt n Chelsea's playing board games and eating good food.  Shac and I made the resolution to try a new restaurant each month and stuck to it.  Mickey and I had a girls night at the Shark Tank.

February

Never too old for a Mickey pancake

As I do every year, I visited Disneyland with my good friend Ruth.  Little did I know this would be my only trip to Disney this year.

March
Passover was a little early this year.  Shac and I traveled south to Los Angeles to spend the holiday with his family like we always do.  A few days painting nails with nieces, a visit to the Getty Museum, stuffing ourselves with sader food and smacking each other with green onions is a great way to spend a holiday.

April

Shac and I took another trip to visit more family.  This time to New York and New Jersey for Great Uncle George's 100th Birthday! Not only did I get to meet this exceptional man, and hear stories of watching Babe Ruth play at Yankee Stadium, I got to meet the entire New York side of Shac's family.  We even had time to see Pippin on broadway and visit with my college roommate Rayna.  It was a quick but very packed trip.  My third graders and I also visited the Terra Cotta Warriors.  Close up they are amazing, still have paint from centuries ago.

Uncle George's 100th Birthday

May
May was spent preparing for our summer trip.  There was much time spent online booking visits to the Vatican and trips to the travel agent.  As we neared the end of the school year we had many special events including the walk-a-thon and Greek Plays.  Hillbrook became my home and I was pleased to be asked to participate in the Resident Teacher Program in the coming year.

Eiffel Tower- Paris, France

Western Wall- Jerusalem, Israel

Cinque Terra, Italy

June
For the first time in three years, my hair went back to purple!  Shac and I traveled to Israel so I could meet the other side of his family.  After two weeks of seeing historical landmarks and Shac's homeland, we flew to Italy.  In Italy we spent time in Rome, Florence and Cinque Terra.  We would go back in a heartbeat.

July
We ended our month long middle east and Europe trip in France.  Taking the train from Italy, we first stopped in Nice and then onto Paris.  After such a long trip we were both happy to come home.  Two weeks later, I was in Las Vegas for a math conference, no really, it was for work!  We also rescued and cared for a humming bird named Barry.  He drank sugar water from a shot glass, he was pretty precious.

One kidney, and a popsicle

August
Ernie's 13th birthday, his Bark-Mitzvah, was eclipsed with excruciating side pain on my part.  This lead to one week later the removal of my left kidney and the large tumor that was growing on it.  August 2013 is a month in which my life changed.

Audrey, Jaden, Myself and Noelle- Pre Chemo party

September
September 4, 2013 Peripheral Neuro Ectodermal Tumor, related to
Ewings Sarcoma.  Cancer.  The tumor that had been removed from my kidney was cancer that would lead me into 17 rounds of chemotherapy.  After quick mow-hawk, and a blowout party with my students friends and neighbors, chemo began on September 23, 2013 and will last until approximately August 2014.

Rosie the Riveter

October
The Boston Red Sox won the World Series.  I had a second round of chemo and started living with side effects, including my hair falling out.  I also had one of my most favorite Halloween costumes ever, Rosie the Riveter.  This was inspired by my recent baldness, my love of history, and recent stories on the local news of the oldest park ranger in California upset by the government shut down who works at the Rosie the Riveter National Historic Park in the east bay.  I gave out extra candy to the high school kids who knew what my costume was, and peeps to my neighborhood kids.

Sweet potato latkes and cran-apple sauce

November
The first month I had two rounds of chemo, which made it pass rather quickly.  Luckily, between rounds I felt pretty good and was able to celebrate 'Friendsgiving' with the Apple Bunch.  To celebrate 'Thanksgivanukkah' I made sweet potato latkes, with a candied topping as well as crane-apple sauce.  It was the first time I got to see many of my friends since my baldness, so it was bitter sweet, but good to get out of the house.  I spent actually Thanksgiving in the hospital and brought pie for my Canadian nurses.  We celebrated Hanukkah with our friends Jeremy and Carolynn eating pot roast and too many latkes, it was delicious.

Shac's Birthday Pizookie

December
As we wrapped up the year, there was much laughter.  My grandpa was in rare form at Christmas, with inappropriate jokes and stories we are pretty sure weren't true.  Shac and I spent my his birthday over a homemade Pizookie and mine in Santa Cruz riding the roller coaster and eating cotton candy.  

We look forward to 2014, as it brings an end to chemo and a return of normal life in the fall.  Until then, I will work on my resolution to make an album out of our wedding pictures, a resolution I share with my friend Caitlin.

On the upswing

Woo, that last round was a doozy!  Just by using the word doozy y'all should know I'm feeling more myself.

This must be the new normal; while in previous rounds I felt mostly myself three to four days later, this round took a whole seven days to feel mostly normal.  In that long recovery, mostly fatigue had me not feeling myself.  I wasn't tired enough to sleep, or awake enough to do more than a load of laundry, or wash a few dishes before needing to sit down and rest again.  Not enough focus to watch TV and surf the web or play a game at the same time.  Since I'm not a medical professional I can only assume the fatigue I was feeling was a lack of white and red blood cells.  Just showering, digesting or using the restroom used all of my available energy.  The cold snap here in northern California was also fighting against me, nightly temperatures have been below freezing for about six night straight.

This week, I'm feeling great.  We are now above freezing at night.  I've also been lucky enough to enjoy many walks with wonderful friends over the past week.  Walking in my neighborhood has been a staple of my feel better routine, luckily my friend Caitlin lives about three blocks over and has regularly been taking me for walks on Tuesdays.  Often joining us is our friend Gayle who is due to give birth to 'Peanut' any day now.  As the weather and my stamina have improved, my buddy Mr. Chris and I went for a hike at one of my favorite places Rancho San Antonio- we visited the goats and Luna the cow at Deer Hollow Farm.  Today, Maria and I ventured around Vasona reservoir.  I've gotten cards and visits from many of my old students after school this week too, which has been awesome since it is a bad time of year to visit any school campus.

One of the most amazing things that happened this week was a visit from my professors Sandy and Joseph.  As they were coming down from Oregon to see some student works in the east bay, they realized crossing a bridge to see me wasn't too much further.  Though I wasn't quite feeling my best, sharing time and tea with those who acted as my surrogate parents for four years reminded me how important the bonds students make with their teachers are, and the bonds teachers make with their students.  They braved the biggest snow storm Eugene has seen in 20 years to get here, and I am thankful for it.

I've cooked and cleaned and am looking forward to crafting before I head back into the hospital on Monday for round five, the last round of 2013.

Rough Round/Chanukah

It is to be expected now and again.

This round was hard on my body.  I felt nauseous several times in the hospital and asked for more medication.  My blood transfusion was three bags instead of two, because my counts were so low.  I did not have the energy to do much, and there were a lot of visitors given the holiday week.  Since I got home on Saturday morning, I've pretty much been in bed, thank you internet for keeping me entertained.  Thank you anti nausea medication for keeping me from feeling super crappy.

It is ok to not feel great.  With chemo it is expected and normal.  For me, I just have to remember that no one expects me to be 'on' 100% of the time, we have substitutes and understudies for that.  I can stay positive and be inspiring without being 'on.'

Here are my thoughts:

My sister came up.  It was the first time we had seen each other since we think April, when I was down her way for Passover.  She saw my bald head and kidney scars for the first time, as well as me hooked up to machines while toxic chemicals pumped into my chest.  As kids we didn't always get along,  we are much better as adults.  She had kidney issues through college, being hospitalized a few times for kidney infections.  We always thought I'd give her a kidney.  Sorry, I'm keeping the one I've got.  Usually, there is family time where we are in a loud room full of people not listening to each other and we roll our eyes with our cousins, not this year.  If I keep feeling good, and we are able to stay on schedule, then I will be able to go to her wedding in March.  Sorry if I look so much different from the other bridesmaids, at least I get to be there.

The first three nights of Chanukah I spent in the hospital.  Since you cannot have an open flame in a hospital room, I borrowed and purchased 'alternative menorahs.'  One was from my friend Gayle, who lent me a little blue bear with LED menorah; pushing a button on his foot activated the light for each night.  What was extra nice was that it felt like Gayle was also there to keep me company along with her bear.  The other was a wooden one purchased at Target, the menorah is to be put together and a new wooden flame added with a dowel each night, fun for kids and I thought cute.  

Hopefully, before the end of these eight nights I will feel up to frying latkes.  I have loved latkes since first grade when my teacher did a cooking project for every major holiday   Since I didn't grow up Jewish, this is the first time I remember having them.  When I was 17 and got my wisdom teeth pulled just before my birthday, my parents asked what I would eat, I responded with 'Latkes!'  Each year our friend Ken hosts a blowout holiday party, Mock-a-bration, celebrating all the winter holidays in a mocking way.  The first Mock-a-bration I attended was void of the crispy, squishy, oily treats I loved as a child, I determined that someone needed to make latkes.  Since then I enlist the neighborhood kids to help me peel the potatoes, and then I schlep my cast iron skillet to Ken's backyard to fry latkes late into the cold December night.  I will miss it this year, but hear there are others willing to keep up my tradition.

As the roughness of this round passes, I'll put my holiday spirt on craft mode.  Things need to be made!  And making things always makes me feel better.