Taking Advantage of the Beautiful Day

We had wonderful 80 degree weather here in Wichita last Friday so Brian and I decided to dine al fresco. We would normally eat out on the deck but, since our house faces the East, the front patio is actually nicer in the afternoons. Also, we moved our patio furniture down to the walkout pit a few months ago when we had people over for the Pacquiao fight and never moved it back up so we haven’t really been able to sit out on our deck since then.

Brian fixed us a couple of salads and poured us some wine. The weather was absolutely perfect. We had a nice dinner out on the front patio.

The salads we made were quite yummy. The only thing that could have made it better was adding some hard-boiled eggs. The salads were a last minute decision though so we didn’t have any hard-boiled eggs ready.

Even so Brian and I had a wonderful dinner. The best part is that we finally found white wine that we both like so we no longer have to open two separate bottles of wine each time. I can’t wait until we have another wonderful day like Friday so we can enjoy another meal outside. Dining al fresco is definitely a great date idea and should be on everyone’s to-do list.

March 17, 2013 | Posted by Ching under Date Ideas, Food and Drink, Things to Do

Saturday Afternoon at Bullseye

We had a great time shooting with our family and friends at Bullseye.

I got to shoot Chad’s 44 magnum. Apparently it’s the same kind of gun that Dirty Harry uses. It’s big, scary, makes a loud noise, and has quite a recoil.

Kim is a crack shot. I think it’s all of her Black Ops experience. LOL.

Brian shoots with a style all his own.

I liked that we had shooting lanes adjacent to one another so it was like having one wide shooting lane. We all got to go from lane to lane to lane just shooting various guns. Definitely more fun than shooting the same gun the whole time.

Mom and dad showed up later so they had to wait a while on the waiting list.

Brian was happy that he got to shoot dad’s carbine.

Here’s Brian admiring his work.

I love when Chad comes because he has so many guns. His Walther P22 is my favorite. I think I might get one next year.

Here’s mom and dad shooting after we left. Thank you so much to everyone who came shooting with us. We had a great time. Hope to do it again soon.

March 4, 2013 | Posted by Ching under Family, Things to Do

My First Time at the Bullet Stop

I generally only get to go shooting once every ten years or so. I still remember the first time that I got to shoot a gun. We were camping at my mother-in-law’s previous boss’ farm in Douglass. Here are some pictures from that day.

Of course, Brian and I were matchy matchy so we were both in overalls. LOL. Our nerdiness has spanned decades and knows no bounds.

Anyway, fast forward ten years and I finally get my own handgun. It’s a sub-compact lady gun. It was kind of an impulse buy. We were really looking to buy a Mossberg shotgun. The one that we wanted wasn’t available though, so we ended up looking at pistols instead. Brian got the Sig Sauer P2022 that he’d always wanted. Not to be outdone, I got myself a handgun too. I got a Ruger LC9 with LaserMax. It came with some decals (that I ended up giving to Brian) and a proof-round. The envelope that the shell came in had the manufacture date of my gun as January 16, 2013. I haven’t named my gun yet, but I’m thinking that I’ll celebrate its birthday every year. I’m kidding! Well, mostly about the birthday thing. I’m pretty sure my gun will have a name before long.

Brian and I wanted to test out our pistols so we invited a bunch of friends to shoot a few rounds at the Bullet Stop. I’d never been there before. Naturally, I had to document this event.

We came at the right time because they had a few lanes open and no wait. David and Donna shared a lane; Brian and I shared one; Jay and Chad shared one; and dad had a lane to himself because mom didn’t feel like shooting.

I couldn’t believe that we got dad out of the house. He never leaves the house.

Anyway, I learned something new about our friend Chad that night. He has quite an arsenal. He brought an assortment of guns to the shooting range because he thought more people would come and he wanted to have enough guns for everyone. It was a shame that the Feifels and the Phelpi couldn’t make it. Jay enjoyed himself, though. He was like a kid at a candy store and had his pick of the smorgasbord of firearms that Chad brought.

I got to shoot Chad’s Walther P22 and really liked it. It had no kick and didn’t make loud bang sounds like my handgun. I think I might actually get one for myself next year. Speaking of noises, I found having people shoot right next to me quite distracting. Getting startled by the bang-bang-bang sounds made reloading a challenge. I told Brian that I want to go shooting out in the country next time where we can take turns and shoot one at a time so no one is shooting to my left and to my right when it’s my turn to go.

Dad liked the idea of shooting out in the country for the opposite reason. He wants to shoot out in the country so he doesn’t have to wear ear protection, which you are required to wear at gun ranges like the Bullet Stop. He actually wants to hear the bang-bang-bang sounds that his gun makes. He’s a strange one.

Strangeness aside, I’m glad that dad decided to go shooting with us. Everyone seemed to have fun. We will have to do that again soon.

February 10, 2013 | Posted by Ching under Family, Things to Do

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Ching Feeding Geese

I had fun feeding the geese out back last Sunday.

February 8, 2013 | Posted by Ching under Things to Do

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Some of My Favorite Photos from Last Weekend

We had the best weekend with the Orbases. We got some good photos at the Keeper of the Plains and along the river. These are some of my favorites. Huge thanks to Clayton and Sheryll for sharing some of the photos that they took over the weekend. I hope you guys visit us again soon!

January 25, 2013 | Posted by Ching under Things to Do

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Christmas Lights

Brian and I enjoyed looking at Christmas lights with mom last night. We only went to a couple of houses on the East side of town before heading over to see Lights on the Lake because we didn’t really want to stay out all night.

The Christmas light displays are quite impressive.

Lights on the Lake

It was a popular night for looking at Christmas lights. It seemed like everyone had the same idea. If you haven’t gone out to look at Christmas lights yet this season, I highly recommend checking out YuleFinder first. You can be more efficient by using the web site to save all of the light displays you want to see and mapping your route first, or you could just follow one of the many busses offering light tours around town. We were almost tempted to do the latter last night since we didn’t have a route pre-planned. LOL. Thanks for coming to look at Christmas lights with us, mom!

December 24, 2012 | Posted by Ching under Things to Do

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Cheap Movie Night

Finally got around to watching Breaking Dawn – Part 2. Gotta love cheap movie nights: every Wednesday movies are only $5 all day at the Old Town Warren Theater. Jay got our tickets in exchange for the box of Dunkin’ Donuts K-Cups that we picked up for him while we were in Lawrence last week. Thank you, Jay!

I’d almost forgotten about cheap movie night because it coincides with one of my most favorite Zumba classes, which I never wanted to give up, so I could never go. I didn’t mind giving it up for the final installment of the Twilight saga, though. Thinking of giving it up again this coming week so Brian and I can watch Skyfall. Everyone else has seen it but me and Brian. Hope to rectify that this week.

We had dinner at the theater this last time, which made cheap movie night not so cheap. The food is okay. Nothing to write home about. I think we could probably skip it next time and limit our cost to $10. Now, that’s what I call a cheap date.

Here’s the list of showtimes for Wednesday, November 28, in case you were thinking of participating in cheap movie night also. Enjoy your movie!

November 24, 2012 | Posted by Ching under Date Ideas, Food and Drink, Things to Do

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The Lord’s Diner

Brian and I had the opportunity to volunteer at the Lord’s Diner last Tuesday. Brian had to be forced into participating, but overall it was a great experience for both of us. I’m actually thinking of volunteering on a regular basis. Except, I don’t belong to a church or other community group so I will need to reach out to Sheryl and find out what days they need help most. On the plus side, I already have my food handler’s license so at least that part is out of the way.

The most amusing apart about volunteering at the Lord’s Diner is that I thought it was a restaurant when I first started working downtown several years ago. As Brian and I were driving home one night, we saw a huge line of people waiting outside.

I said something like, “Wow. That restaurant must be really good because there’s a huge waiting list. We need to try it sometime.” Brian explained that it wasn’t a restaurant, but rather a soup kitchen. I felt like a dodo. The long line outside the building totally made sense.

Fast forward a decade and we finally got to see inside. Brian volunteered for dishwashing duties, despite having arrived before any of the other volunteers and having his pick of all of the jobs. Sheryl said she usually has to ask someone to be dishwasher. It’s very rare that someone eagerly volunteers for the job. Brian didn’t want to interact with anyone though. Since I had my food handler’s card, I got to serve food in the food line.

The experience was both fun and rewarding. I can’t believe I hadn’t volunteered before. Then again, I was going to school and working full time for most of the last ten years so I didn’t really have much free time to spare. Now that I’m no longer in school, I can now participate in various community service activities. It’s one thing to be thankful for the blessings that you have. It’s another to actually give back.

If you are interested in helping, contact Jan Haberly, Executive Director of the Lord’s Diner. Volunteers are encouraged to work through their church, work, or other community group. Go that route first. Gifts and monetary donations are also welcome.

November 24, 2012 | Posted by Ching under Things to Do

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Christmas Tree Envy

The Christmas tree at the Manhattan Hilton Garden Inn gave a serious case of tree envy. It looked like it was easily over twenty feet and there wasn’t an unadorned inch.

The tree that I’d been working on at home looked completely naked by comparison. I was tempted to go to Michael’s this morning to pick up some more ornaments. LOL.

Speaking of Christmas decorations, Brian and I were inspired by this wine-themed Christmas tree that we saw at Von Maur today. We’re totally doing one next year!

November 17, 2012 | Posted by Ching under Projects, Things to Do, Travel

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Hanging Out With Misty

Misty came over on Saturday. We hung out all afternoon driving around town looking at houses on the Parade of Homes, which is one of our favorite things to do this time of year. There were several houses that we missed last weekend so we had to go out again. There’s usually a hundred entries so you have to be really selective. There’s no way one can visit all of the houses in three weekends.

Sometimes, there’s a house that you want to see over and over again. There was one clear favorite among all the houses that we saw this season — the house at 2103 Driftwood in Harbor Isle, entry #41. Not that we could afford it but, in case you were wondering, it’s already sold.

Besides the huge closet in the master bedroom (which actually has enough room for all of my stuff and Brian’s stuff — too bad the price is so far beyond our reach in this lifetime), my favorite aspect of the house is the view from the basement.

How many basements have you seen with views like this?

The basement doesn’t feel like a basement at all. But wait, if you think the views are fantastic from the basement, then you’ll really love the views from the screened in deck upstairs. Misty and I joked about grabbing a bottle of wine before heading over and just spending the rest of the afternoon drinking wine on their deck. “Don’t mind us. We’re just hanging out. Enjoy your tour.” LOL.

We couldn’t stay at our favorite house all day so we went and looked at some other houses. Misty absolutely fell in love with Watercress Village. What’s not to love about that place, though? I would move out there in a heartbeat if it weren’t for the West side location. Brian and I refuse to move out West because neither of us want to be squinters. Since we both work downtown, if we lived on the West side of town, we’d be driving in to the sun going to work and driving into the sun coming home. That’s just too much squinting for us.

Misty and I ended the day by getting manis and pedis at Nails & Beyond. It’s been a few months since my last pedicure so I really needed it. Misty gets the shellac/gel stuff, which takes forever, so we were actually the last two people at the salon. Brian had dinner ready by the time we got back home. Dinner was great, but I think the best part was when we found out that we had a light in the hearth room. We’ve been living here for almost two months now and we’d been complaining about not having enough light because the ceiling fan doesn’t have a light kit. Guess what. It was user error.

I can’t believe it took almost two months for us to figure it out. LOL. I’m happy that we have more light in there now, but sad at the same time. We have a few more light switches that we haven’t figured out yet. I just hope that it doesn’t take a year for us to figure out what everything does because that will be really sad.