2025 End of Year Recap
Posted on January 13, 2026 by Ching under Life.
Before we dive into the 2025 end of year recap, let’s catch you up on what happened last year…
I can’t even begin to summarize everything that happened in 2024. In the wake of all the health issues I was having in 2023, at the end of September 2024, Brian got diagnosed with Cancer. That was really the big bombshell of 2024 for us. I decided to lay off tournaments for the year, which helped us save a bunch of money, which in turn helped us pay off our house.
No sooner than we got our house paid off in August, Brian got his cancer diagnosis a month later. We were actually quite fortunate that we paid off our house in time because I don’t know how we would have managed dealing with everything if we still had to pay for our house on top of it.
Despite the bad news we got toward the end of the year, 2024 wasn’t all bad. I still played some pickleball, even though I was on a tournament sabbatical. One of my favorite events was the Chicken N Pickle KC vs ICT Ambassadors Showdown in Overland Park. That was a ton of fun. I also got to visit Tres Palapas Pickleball Resort in Mexico with some friends. And that was even more fun.
The year ended with a lot of uncertainty but Brian had some good doctors on his team and we had a good plan going into the new year.
Brian’s cancer diagnosis in late 2024 caused him to miss the Tres Palapas trip but he totally could have gone actually. Why? Because insurance didn’t approve his chemotherapy right away so treatments didn’t begin until after I got back from Mexico. I don’t think he really wanted to go on the trip so that wasn’t as much of a loss for him as it was for me because I really wanted to share the experience with him. Anyway, daily radiation treatments started mid-November and then his weekly chemotherapy began soon after. What we didn’t realize was that the chemo drugs would cause him to get so constipated that we had to make two fun trips to the ER. That was a scary experience but we also learned so much.
We were lucky that Brian’s cancer was discovered early enough that he only had to be in treatments for about three months. By the time Valentines Day rolled around, he was finished with both radiation and chemo. We spent the Valentines at the cancer center getting his PICC line removed.
One of the big spends we made last year was on a recliner. I never really thought we were recliner people but Brian really enjoyed sitting in them during his chemo so he decided he would like one for our house. We are now proud owners of a La-Z-Boy loveseat recliner.
The other big splurge of 2025 was our Alaska cruise. Brian wasn’t excited about it when I first booked the trip for us at the end of 2024 but I wanted to give him something to look forward to at the end of his treatments. The cancer treatments really did take a lot out of him. He got all the way down to 140 lbs at one point and really had no energy so it’s hard to feel excited about anything. However, once he got his feeding tube removed in April, he started eating normally again. He put on some weight and had more energy and he felt more excitement about our cruise at that point. We had the opportunity to visit several places in Alaska and Canada on this trip, including Juneau, AK; Skagway, AK; Fraser, BC; Endicott Arm Fjord (this was supposed to be Tracy Arm Fjord but the conditions weren’t conducive for cruising that fjord during the time of our trip — we got rerouted to Endicott Arm for safety reasons); Ketchikan, AK; and Victoria, BC. It was the trip of a lifetime and one that I wouldn’t mind doing again in a few years.
Between Alaska and the recliner, we didn’t have much left in the budget for other trips so we just did little road trips here and there the rest of the year. We drove to Dallas (Grapevine area) for our anniversary weekend (I wanted to check out the Meow Wolf in Grapevine). Returned the following month (Allen area this time) for the Chicken N Pickle ambassador event. And then drove to St. Louis for my birthday road trip (I wanted to check out the Chicken N Pickle in St. Charles). Honestly, road trips are a fun way to travel/vacation without spending a ton of money. We also get to bring Saki with us on these trips which is a huge plus.
Anyway, although my self-imposed pickleball tournament sabbatical was technically over, I didn’t get too crazy. I only played in a couple of leagues and a couple of tournaments. I also organized some events for National Pickleball Month. I ran a slew of IPN DUPR round robins (per usual) and helped with charity pickleball tournaments (mainly EPIC for the Wichita Children’s Home and Zach and Susie’s Miracles & Mentors Pickleball Tournament benefiting Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and Youth Horizons).
That’s pretty much it for 2025 highlights. If you’re curious about previous years, here are some recaps…
I continued to play in pickleball tournaments but decided to focus more on local and regional ones. Aside from the US Open, USA Pickleball Nationals, one PPA tournament, and one APP tournament, most of my tournaments were local and within driving distance. It was an eventful year and I got to meet a ton of people from all over the world. Brian and I also had our first colonoscopies that year. He doesn’t have to go again for 10 years but I’m due back in 2028.
This year I played in pickleball tournaments all over the nation. I traveled to Florida a couple of times — played in my very first US Open in April and then played in the Diamond Amateur Championship in December. I also went to the opposite coast and played in USAP Newport Beach. This was the first year I won money at a pickleball tournament (WPT Kansas City Classic). Brian’s grandmother turned 100 and we attended Erica and Phillip Case’s wedding in Mexico. This was quite a year and my most expensive tournament year.
This is the year that I started traveling to pickleball tournaments and earned my first ever PPA tournament medal. I played in a bunch of tournaments including APP Delray Beach, Middle States Regional, Great Plains Regional, and some tournaments in Oklahoma City, Lenexa, and Great Bend. I also organized my first pickleball tournament.
COVID-19 happened. This was a super strange year. All the gyms were closed and we couldn’t leave our homes for nearly two months. I had a really rough time. Jenni also got married this year. And we managed to survive all year without getting sick until December when we both got COVID.
Probably the most significant thing to happen this year is that I went all-in with my pickleball obsession — started the Facebook group and even signed up for a lifetime membership to USA Pickleball. We also got to travel internationally twice — Costa Rica in April for Jay’s 40th birthday and Mexico in November for me and Becca’s birthdays.
There was a lot of Zumba this year. Not only did I attend the Zumba Instructor Convention (ZINCON) in Orlando but Brian and I also went on another Zumba cruise. I also picked up a side job teach Zumba classes at VASA Fitness. Brian and I did “Coffee Chats” on our FLIP + CHING page.
I hosted my first Zumbathon and raised money for Kansas Big Brothers and Big Sisters. Brian and I were inducted into the Society of 1865 at WSU. We attended a crap ton of parties and fundraising events. Brian helped design a Keeper of the Plains statue (that still exists today). We visited a couple of places that we’d never been — Alaska and Great Exuma.
Brian and I went on the first ever Zumba cruise where I met J. Perry (he sings many of my favorite Zumba songs) in person for the first time. I also got to meet Max Pizzolante at #ZINCON. I had the opportunity to tour Zumba Home Office. And I finally made the Wichita Business Journal’s 40 Under 40.
This year we hosted a Super Pi Day party. Brian and I completed Citizen Policy Academy. I visited New York for the first time. And we added a couple of new family members: Rex and Saki.
This was the year that I attended, not one, but two Zumba instructor conferences was definitely a highlight of the year. I was glad I had the opportunity to attend the 2014 Zumba Instructor Conference in LA because it was the very last one. Later that year I attended the 2014 Zumba Instructor Convention in Orlando. Other highlights include my short stint as a Stella & Dot personal stylist, getting our landscaping redone, returning to bowling, trips to San Diego (for work) and the Dominican Republic (for Brian’s 40th birthday), and having Molly rejoin our family. We were blessed with the opportunity to attend our favorite fundraising events: Labor Run, Zoobilee, Lights on the Lake, and Brew Ha-Ha. I completed Leadership Wichita (Class of 2014, baby!) and met some of the truly amazing people. I was also an Adventurous Babe for a year until I resumed being my normal boring self.
There was Cards for the Cure, a visit from the Orbases, a few appearances on Splurge! Mag, his and hers handguns, first time back at the Filipino ball, Leadership Elite, Brian’s parents’ 40th wedding anniversary, Cards Against Humanity, my first Zumba Instructor Convention (ZINCON), first trip to Minneapolis and Davenport, completed group exercise instructor training and started teaching Zumba for the Greater Wichita YMCA.
We attended a few weddings, most notably Cousin Tracy and Jeff’s destination wedding at Coral Cove Resort in Jamaica. I attended the Gina & Tanya Rock the Stage Tour. I got my Zumba Basic 1 License and I took Brian to Nashville for his 38th birthday. We celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary by closing on our house and then I ended the year with a thyroidectomy.
We started the year by getting stranded at McCarran International Airport (Las Vegas). That didn’t deter us from traveling, though. We traveled through the East Coast with the Dills that summer and had a lot of firsts. We also got to see James Taylor perform twice: once at Intrust Bank Arena and again at Tanglewood. I also had my first ER trip and my first biopsy.
This is the year that we spent a lot of time with the Dills. It started out when we rang in the New Year at Kansas City Power & Light with Jay, Becca, and Mama Dill. A month later, we were traveling with them again. This time to San Francisco. Lots of traveling!
We had a lot of firsts this year. We attended Zoobilee for the first time. Brian had his first trip to Germany. He also visited the Philippines for the first time. I completed Leadership Westar. Tita Sol adopted Molly.
Brian started working for Viega. I completed my MBA from Wichita State University. And, we dealt cards on a cruise ship.
Brian was super into World of Warcraft around this time. I played some but knew instantly I would get addicted so I tried my best to stay away from it. Plus, all my time was consumed by grad school and my poker addiction. LOL. This year was our first major travel vacation since our honeymoon. We went to Couples Tower Isle in Jamaica and had our first nude beach experience.
This is the year I graduated from Wichita State with my Business Administration degree (Management Information Systems major and minors in Accounting and Management). Rewarded myself with my first brand new car (a 2006 Toyota Corolla we named Bebot) and a puppy. However, since I went straight into grad school to pursue my MBA (still at WSU), I was never home and Molly bonded with Brian more so than me. I was super into poker around this time and even Brian was starting to get into it too.
This year saw Brian through a couple of job changes. He first worked for Cox Communications and then later that year quit that job to start working for Engenio Technologies which later because LSI and then NetApp. We also got sugar gliders this year.
I officially became a naturalized US citizen, continued kicking butt at school, and after a couple of years as a customer service representative was promoted to supervise my team. This was a rough year for our marriage. Brian struggled with depression and was prescribed Zoloft which was super rough for our sex life. We pursued hobbies like poker (went from playing online to playing bar poker and playing in local tournaments), racquetball, chess, and blogging to get us through.
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I had originally dropped out of college in 2000 when my four-year scholarship money ran out. I decided I didn’t want to take out student loans. Anyway, I started working for my current employer in May 2002. After a year, I realized I was eligible for tuition reimbursement/assistance so this is the year that I went back to school. This is also the year that I discovered online poker. Brian also started our 24/7 live cam. |
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This is the year that Brian and I were married and the year that I started this blog.
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