Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas! Some of you will have found this post as followers of my blog and others will have found this post from our Christmas card. I thought I would do a Christmas letter through my blog to be more green, save paper and updated some of you on what has been going on with us. Some of you may know I have a blog and others might just have found out. 2013 has been one of the most eventful years for us. 

One week before Christmas 2012 Art and I became grandparents to little Kaleb. He has been one of the bright spots in our lives. We watch Kaleb every other Saturday while his parents work. We have a blast with him and have enjoyed watching him grow. It is pretty normal for him to be dressed up in some type of outfit or mask while Mimi snaps 100 pictures. 

January brought some unexpected news. We found out I had a rare form of thyroid cancer Medullary Thyroid Cancer. I was scheduled for a surgery to remove my thyroid which was so large it was pressing on my wind pipe. Unfortunately there is no cure for MTC. The best is for a clear surgery to remove all lymph nods, thyroid and any other cancer in the body. Blood tests will be done every 3 months, CT scans will be done if the blood tests show the cancer is growing and I will be under a doctor care possibly for the rest of my life. I keep my blog updated on what is going on currently with my cancer normally after each test. 

You read the more on my journey below:

overview of surgery

cancer update

8 months after surgery

Just Another Day Fighting Cancer

In April Art and I celebrated 5 years of marriage. We went on an Alaskan cruise to celebrate in August. It was one of the most amazing vacations we have been on. I highly recommend going to Alaska. We really needed a vacation, a time to relax, sleep, enjoy ourselves and just disconnect from the world. It was all of those things. We didn't have cell service for 6 days. I couldn't work even if I had wanted too.  Do not wait to go to Alaska until you are old. =) There is sooooo much to see and do that you need to go possibly every 5 years. 

Amber and Marcus got married on May 18. We all went to Tahoe for their wedding. It was the perfect day to join 2 families together. 

The summer we spent a lot of time with our grandson, finishing a couple house projects, Alaska, and I spent lots of time resting. It is amazing how one surgery can throw your body into such exhaustion. In October I had another health issue with the start of possibly MS. I am one of the lucky 1400 people in 2013 to have Transverse Myelitis. My mom was gracious enough to come to California for 3 weeks to take care of me. I honestly don't know what I would have done without my mom coming to take care of me this year. I am so grateful she is able to help me.

The next couple weeks will be very exciting around here. Kaleb is starting to walk, we will celebrate his first birthday and enjoy watching him open Christmas presents this year. 

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!!!

I didn't see Russia!

But I did visit the Sarah Palin store in Skagway! I bought 2 tshirts, 2 shot glasses, magnets and Sarah Palin coins all for $8 or $9 bucks. BARGAIN of the year!!! 

This was my favorite shop! There were so many people taking pictures to torture their friends. Little did they know I was there because I like Sarah! It was a highlight. Now if only I could meet her! 

/\ best comment ever!!!! Get to work people! There are too many people working the system in this country! 

Animal Planet

On different floors of the Norwegian Cruise Ship they had different pictures of animals. Art and I decided to have a little fun with the pictures. They started out ok and then ended with us dying laughing. 

Art referred to the Hippo as "Becky". This didn't go over very well each time we passed this picture. We started off our photo session with a picture of the Becky's. Luckily my husband didn't end up overboard. 

Art tickling the panda.

Art running with the cats!

 Dolphins flying through my arms! 

Fed the horses some grass. 

And the very best picture....

We laughed & laughed over this picture. Part of it was just being there in the moment.  

My new friend - Alaska

Oh Alaska how I miss you!!!

When we got back I told my dad we decided to sell the house and move to Alaska just for the....winter lol.  I'm tempted people I'm very tempted! 

Alaska Overview

Two weeks ago Art & I cruised with Norwegian Cruise Line to Alaska. We stopped in Juneau, Skagway, Ketichan, cruised through glacier bay & one final stop in Victoria Canada. 

To be honest I wasn't looking forward to going to Alaska. The part I wasn't looking forward to was the cold, all the elderly people, lack of sun, getting sick and cruising. All the things I wasn't looking too ended up being non-issues. It was warm, tons of sun, there were lots of elderly people but that was fine, and didn't get strep throat on this cruise. I was looking forward to the vacation, time away from work & limited communication with the world. 

I also felt Alaska was a cruise to take once you retire. My entire outlook on Alaska has changed. It is the place to go when you are mobile. There is so much to see!!!!  I can't believe how many excursions there are in each port. Some ports you can fit in 3-4 excursions. 

In Juneau we booked the glacier and salmon bake excursion. It was a last minute decision and I'm so glad we did. The scenery is breathtaking! Pictures just don't do Alaska justice. I would snap a picture, look at the picture and then back at the item. The real deal just couldn't be replicated. 

Salmon needs to be grilled over an open fire and top with a brown sugar butter glaze. I had tons of salmon over the week. It was the very best at the salmon bake in Juneau. Mmmmm I'm hungry for it again! 

Skagway we checked out the town in the morning. In the afternoon we went on a nature boat tour. We saw tons of eagles, seals, fish and 4 hump back whales. This was the only excursion we booked outside of the ship. We were both a little nervous about this trip. Our fears were quickly extinguished. The crew of Ocean Raft Adventures was super friendly, timely, funny and knowledgeable. We had a fabulous experience. 

Sagway had the best store!!! A Sarah Palin store!! Oh it was my favorite place! We bought a bunch of stuff for $8 bucks! CLEARANCE!!!!

Ketchikan we booked an excursion on the Aleutian Ballard crab boat from season 2 of Deadliest Catch. Fabulous excursion!!! We met Derek who was the captain of Phil boat after he passed away. We caught halibut, crabs, sharks, octopus, and rock fish. Saw lots of eagles, deer, but no bears :(  

In Victoria we just walked around bought souvenirs and went to dinner. It's beautiful there and I want to go back. We rode in an adorable little water taxi. I was just tired by this time and wanted to do nothing lol

Previously we cruised with Royal Caribbean. We liked them and didn't really have any complaints. We heard amazing things about NCL, so we decided to try them. NCL is a freestyle cruise. There aren't any set times to eat and you have different dining options for all meals. If you are cruising bring your fat pants!

Here is one thing I noticed a difference with NCL staff.  On Royal Caribbean the staff seemed worn out and very few left the ship. NCL staff seemed more rested, a ton of them left the ship, and they had 1 job not 3-4. I felt NCL treated the staff better.

I can't wait to go back to Alaska one day. We even talked about going to Ketchikan for a whole week. 

This vacation was much needed!!!! It was so nice to turn off the outside world for a week straight. I didn't think about work or cancer for 5 days. That is something that hasn't happened in 2013. I ate waaaaaay too much, slept a lot, read, ate, napped, enjoyed the scenery, exercised a little and loved every minute of it! 

Where is your next vacation? I suggest Alaska!!!