December 2017

December seemed like it was very busy as the end of the year can always feel. At the Hanukkah fair at temple I was able to put out some of my crocheted items.  I did not sell much but it was nice talking to people and sharing my work.

 CJ was invited to be a Duke Tip Scholar because her Math state examines were so high She had an 808 with 900 being a perfect score.  She was in the 98 preferential. As a Duke Tip Scholar she got to take her ACT or SAT test early.  I signed her up for the ACT because I was told that it was more math related and she would be able to take her SAT as an 8th grader anyway.  The day before the ACT test it started to snow.  Here in South Carolina when it snows everything gets shut down.  I was worried that her test would be cancelled, so I kept watching the website.  There was nothing, Greenville cancelled their test but nothing for Anderson.  I got up in the morning and it was still snowing check the website and still nothing about Anderson closing the test.  I got CJ up and we went to Anderson in the snow.  Driving in the snow does not really bother me because I learned to drive in the winter in Wisconsin. Snow was all that you have in Wisconsin all winter.  I just worried about the other drivers.  We made it to the test and had to wait in line out it the cold.  Some of the high school students that were there to take the test were not dressed for standing out in the cold.  I was not able to stay with CJ. They would not even let me in the building to sit in an empty classroom or hallway. I was worried about leaving CJ but she was safe, so I went shopping. The test lasted from 8:00 until 12:30.  When I picked CJ up she told me that she was the only 7th grade in her testing room.  All the students that she took the test with were in high school.  She said that the math and first part of the ELA test not bad, but the second part and the Science part were really hard.  I was just really proud of her for taking the test.  I am so lucky to have such a smart child.

The next week was crazy with the last week of school and Hanukkah.  Tuesday CJ had her after school Choirs concert.  I was surprised at how the other students were misbehaving during the concert.  I can see why CJ does not like her Choirs class.  CJ is very serious about her music and singing, so if others are not taking it serious CJ does not like that.

Friday night we had the Hanukkah party at temple.  It was a nice dinner and service.

Saturday was very busy.  I got up in the morning and cleaned the downstairs and then started the baking for the Hanukkah party.  We then went to CJ's piano recital.  She played 2 Hanukkah songs and "Linus and Lucy".  It was funny that when she was first trying to learn "Linus and Lucy" she thought that it was to hard and did not what to do it.  She gave her piano teacher a hard time.  At the recital she played it perfect and everyone enjoyed it.  She got a trophy for her practice.

 We then came home and finished the cooking for the party.  At 5:00 everyone started to come.  I thought that the party went well. I had a talk with CJ about not getting upset when all the kids wanted to play with all of her toys in her playroom.  She did really well with the kids.  She even brought down all  of her American girl dolls for the girls to play with.  After the party she told me that they played with her stuff but they picked it all up without her asking.  She said that those girls could come over anytime to play.

The next morning we got and CJ had her Hebrew school Hanukkah party. I was not able to keep up with her class because I was helping with the Latkes.  I was told that the 7th grade class was really wild and misbehaved the whole time.  

CJ had tutoring were she received her Torah portion and started to work on the Transliteration so she could start practicing.  She then went to Choir practice.  After Choir we had an hour and a half before the Greenville downtown Menorah lighting.  We decided to go downtown and I was going to take CJ ice skating on Main, but by the time we got downtown it had started to rain. We walked around a bit but I got a migraine and had to go back to the car and get my meds.  I took CJ to Starbucks and completed about getting 2 coffees for $8.  CJ loved her Mocha and thought it was fun going to Starbucks.  I then took her into a clothing shop downtown.  She was surprised by the fact that one shirt was $150.  She said that there was nothing really special about the shirt and was shocked by the prices.  I told her that is why we do not shop downtown.  The festival was very nice and we had a very good time.  I was glad that my meds kicked in and that I could enjoy that music and activities.  Some of CJ's friends were their and CJ's buddy from Hebrew school that I think likes her was there.  He asked her if she would like to get together and go fishing.  I told her that she needed to ask her dad if that was ok.  Jay agreed with me that he thinks Madison may like CJ because boys do not just ask girls to go fishing with them.

We got home from all the activities and I was happy that Monday we did not have school and I could just sleep in. The only thing that we did all day on Monday was go to the Chiropractor.  It was great just to stay home crochet and do nothing but watch TV.

Tuesday was also a nice slow day. In the evening I took CJ to see The Meshuga Nutcracker.  We meet up with 2 other people from CJ's choir.  It was such a funny show. CJ and I talked about the movie and laughed all the way home. 

Wednesday was another quiet day at home and in the evening Hebrew school had a get together at Sky Zone. When we got there CJ's friends were not there yet.  She played for a little bit and then some of her class got there.  I paid for her to have a little extra time so that she could play with her friends. 

Friday, I worked on cleaning the house and packing the camper.  The next day we headed to the beach.  Last Christmas we went to the beach camping and had so much fun so we did it again.  This time we were there for 5 days and our camping friends Ken and Fay were there.  After we got to the campground we set up and got groceries.  That night we had Ken and Fay over for low country boil.  The weather was great and we had such a nice start to our trip with friends. 

The next day it was warm but raining.  We took CJ to Wonderworks.  She had been asking to go to Wonderworks for some time.  When we got there they was no one in the place so they gave us a local discount, because it was Christmas Eve.  It only cost us half the price.  I was so happy about that.  CJ even went on the high beam walk.  She was a little scared at first but by the time she was finished she wanted to go again.  She was so proud of her score that she go for putting her hand in the freezing water.  It was in the Titanic Display and she was able to keep her hand in the freezing water for 91 seconds.  

 

 

 

The next morning it was Christmas, the weather had turned a little colder but not bad.  Jay smoke a brisket and we had a very relaxing day at the campsite. CJ and Jay received a new computer for Christmas.  CJ was very happy about that because the night before her Ipad went down and we could not figure out how to fix it.  CJ really loved her pig slippers.

 

The next day it was really cold so we took CJ to see the new Star Wars movie.  She was on the edge of her sit through the whole movie.  It was a great trip to the beach.  We decided that next year we were going to take a lot more trips to Huntington Beach. Wednesday we packed up and headed home.  We came home unpacked and rested.  Friday I took CJ to see Anita from Choir in the Nursing home and to temple.  Saturday we got up and drove to Georgia to see Garrett and give him his Christmas gift. Today is the last day of 2017,  CJ has Choir practice and we are not going to do much.  

As we were driving Jay asked us all what was the best thing about 2017.  CJ did not even think twice before she said Camp.  I said that this was a good year, nothing really bad. Work was tough at times and my surgery was not good but we had lots of other good times this year.  The start of the year seemed rough but it ended on really great terms.