As I look forward to 2008, I think back to 2007… A year in review!
This past year was one of changes, travels, adventures, and challenges.
In January work brought me to California for the Rose Parade New Year’s event. Always love this one because it allows me to see all the Cali family. This trip I got to spend time in sunny San Diego with Pam & Aaron and crash the King family camping trip! Back up to the LA area for the New Year and visits with the rest of the family.
March & April were big travel months for me – It was off to Costa Rica for work and for the first time. Rode the zip lines through the rainforest, hiked in a cloud forest and lounged at the beach – yes I get paid for t
his! This trip was followed by an ARDA Award Ceremony in Orlando, FL for having been selected as part of the top 5 internationally for Customer Service in the hospitality industry - my big achievement for the year! Straight from the award ceremony, I joined Shawn and some of his family in Ixtapa, Mexico. Here due to my amazing talents at balloon popping while jumping on one foot, I won a chance to swim with the dolphins! Another highlight of the year!
May took me to Rome, Tuscany, and Venice with my co-worker and friend Brittany. Arrived in Rome early enough to visit with my friend Sheryl (she was living there at the time). Saw the Tuscany region for the first time and revisited my favorite Italian haunt – Venice! Returned to Rome for more good times with Sheryl. No matter where I travel, Italy always remains in the top 5 places I love in this world!
June gave me the chance to return to California for my brother Darrol’s high school graduation (Congrats Bro!), a trip to Catalina Island (lots of family memories there), and to see Spain for the first time! Loved Gibraltar, Madrid and the Costa del Sol!
July was a month of enjoying Seattle in the summer! Pam, Charlie, Charis & I did our annual camping at Lake Chelan! Sweet wakeboarding! Lori and Sean couldn’t make it this year so we hit Lake Easton later in the month. I hit the outdoors hard, hiking, running, wakeboarding, and started to renew my interest in rock climbing.
In August I continued to enjoy the great northwest. Took my borrowed boys (Hunter -5yr & Colby -6yr) on our annual camping trip to Deception Pass! Yep! Just me and the boys for 3 days two nights! It’s our second trip, but I plan to do it until they are “too cool” to hang with Aunt Alyssa! Trips to Portland had me wakeboarding on the river and hiking to hot springs. August also put me in charge of a Western Caribbean cruise that barely skirted a hurricane. Lot’s of time on the ship with no ports of call while we did it = lot’s of sun and reading. Think I played every silly game they offered! Did, however get to see Grand Cayman and Cozumel for the first time.
September
took me on a road trip to Castle Crags for intense rock climbing and the camping along the Oregon coast, had me running the “Iron Girl - Seattle”, as well as brought me back to China for the first time since I lived there four years ago. My parents were able to join me for this one and we arrive a week early so they could meet my friends and tour the city where I lived a bit more. Lifetime memory – climbing the great wall – this time with my Mom and Steve! The changes and construction there is amazing! Saw the Olympic sites and Xi’an warriors - even remembered some Chinese!
October was a time of personal vacation. This took my buddy Gary and I to the Dominican Republic! There we visited my friends Mark & Ailing (teaching at an international school there), drove through little villages and handed out toys, candy, baseballs (national sport of DR), crayons, paper and other goodies to kids in need, learned the flying trapeze and surfing, and climbed up 27 waterfalls only to get to jump/slide down all of them on the way out (totally a highlight of the trip).
November was the trip I waited for all year – Egypt! I rode camels in front of the pyramids, saw King Tut’s mummy in his tomb, took a Nile cruise, and visited a Nubian village in Aswan. I loved this country! I would go back in second to explore more beyond the tourist sites we visited.
December started with a Christmas tree lighting festival in Leavenworth, and proceeded to present one of the biggest challenges I have ever faced - breast cancer! Not to worry, I caught it early and despite the cancer’s aggressive nature it seems we have got it! I had a double mastectomy (highly recommended because of the family history of re-occurrence) within a week of getting diagnosed and am continuing treatment with chemo kicking off my new year! Fortunately my chemo will be shorter and milder than most. I start January 31st and my last treatment will be April 3rd! I am sure it will suck, but I am also sure I’ll get through it just fine. Doctor is confident that hitting it so hard and so early should put me at over 90% chance of never having it return. That alone makes all the crappy stuff worth it!
I want to say a huge thanks to friends and family who have been there for me, made me laugh and just stepped up in amazing and unexpected ways!!! My friend Chen Bin even traveled all the way from China to visit! We were able to share our Christmas traditions and celebrations with her for her first visit to the USA.
Despite this disruption in my life – I was deemed well enough to travel on my already planned trip to Tahoe for the New Year - apparently you can recover there as well as at home. No snowboarding for me (man was it hard to watch everyone else head out while I stayed behind), but I did get to hang out in an amazing cabin (thanks to Linda & Bill generously allowing us to use their Tahoe home), celebrate with friends and even snowshoe (shhh – don’t tell on me – I didn’t use my arms but just HAD to get out of the house).
Happy New Year and HUGE THANKS to everyone for your love and support in 2007!
Alyssa
At the moment I am in the middle of my fight with breast cancer - sort of between two storms - having recovered from surgery and not yet started chemo! One thing that has blown me away during this whole breast cancer thing is the love and support I have received from my friends and family!! Thank you all!! Without that, this entire process would be so much more challenging. People have spent their free time helping me get through surgery, made me laugh, sent cards and flowers, brought food and goodie baskets, and have even participated in running events in my honor. You all blew me 
away! My running group has now run two races for me! When I discovered what they did and saw the photos, I cried. It means so much. We now have plans to run a team relay race decked out in pink! It will be my first race back with the group following my treatment. Ragnar Relay 2008 - here we come!
The friend support continues to know no bounds! Recently I was approved to get fitted for my prosthetic breasts. These are for me to use until I am ready for reconstruction. Amazingly enough, my friends have supported me in this endeavor as well (this may well be their fav. part)!! As you can see from the photos my new (and much larger) prosthetic breasts are fun for everyone! Mlow spent her lunch break with me while I tried on different sizes and bras – she even tried the “size D” on her own tiny little body (yeah, too big for you-girlfriend)!! Wow!! Along those lines it seems that there aren’t many who can resist the opportunity to try 
these things for themselves (Btracy and Gary)! During a recent night out both Btracy & Swilkin copped a feel in a crowded bar! Can’t blame them because they 
do feel so real – I almost can’t stop touching them myself!
