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.