FLIP + CHING

15th Service Anniversary Lunch

Posted on June 14, 2017 by Ching under Food and Drink.

I had the good fortune of celebrating my fifteenth service anniversary with some wonderful people a few weeks ago. We ended up going to the Kitchen, a new restaurant that opened at the old Union Station. Well, it’s not that new but I hadn’t been there before until then.

Here are some pictures of our food.

As you can tell from the numerous food pictures, we had a large party. I don’t think they were quite prepared for us because the food and service that day was subpar. I have no complaints about the company, though.

Anyway, we ended up celebrating on May 25, ahead of my actual anniversary date of May 28 for a couple of reasons. First, May 28 fell on a Sunday this year. Secondly, Brian and I were leaving for Alaska on Friday, the 26th, and I wouldn’t be back in the office until June 1.

A couple of people weren’t able to make it but it worked out well otherwise. What made my service anniversary celebration even more special is that Ginger and Michelle had received approval for my new job earlier that day so I officially transitioned to my new role. Ginger announced it at lunch.

I knew it was in the works but had no idea it had been approved. Michelle joked that I’d probably come back from vacation to a new job and boss. However, it was approved sooner than expected. I was amazed at how quickly everything happened.

Anniversary celebration lunches are always nice but what makes this one all the more memorable for me is that I got to celebrate with both my old and new bosses. That doesn’t happen very often.

I’ve learned a lot over the last fifteen years. I feel like I’ve matured a lot as well. I’m thrilled to embark on adventures in my role. I have really enjoyed working with Michelle the past few months and am grateful to have her as my new boss. I feel blessed that I’ve gone from one awesome boss to the next.

I am grateful and blessed to achieve this milestone and look forward to many more years of service. Here’s to more milestones ahead!

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Fun Zumba Pics

Posted on June 12, 2017 by Ching under Zumba.

I think these were taken one night after Charis’ class.

I love my Zumba time and my Zumba family. And, now that I’m in Wichita more, I’m actually getting to sub classes. Last Monday I had the opportunity to fill in for Charis and tonight I filled in for Francie.

I’m actually teaching three classes at the Andover YMCA this summer. I have an Aqua Zumba class on Saturday mornings from 8:45 am to 9:45 am and Zumba classes on Saturday at 10:30 am and Sunday at 2:00 pm. I hope you guys can join us sometime. We love meeting new people and making new friends!

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Ritual and Desire: WAM Summer Opening Party

Posted on June 11, 2017 by Ching under Events.

Here are some pictures from the Wichita Art Museum‘s summer opening party: Ritual and Desire. The exhibit showcases contemporary glass art by Beth Lipman, Cassandra C. Jones, and Lauren Fensterstock. The exhibit will be on display from now until September 10.

The summer opening party is one of our most favorite events that signify the beginning of summer. We love being able to preview the exhibits right as they open.

They usually have live music, delicious hors d’oeuvres, and a cash bar. Brian and I love checking out the exhibits at the art museum but there is no better time to check them out than at the summer and fall opening parties.

Fly By Night provided fun music as people milled about and socialized.

One of the Fly By Night band members, Joe Stumpe, is my friend on Facebook by way of Twitter and Wichita Eagle. Another, Cianna (or Cynthia), works for Accuweather and works in my office building so I see her all the time in the elevator. I had no idea that she’s part of the band until that night.

Brian and I tend to keep to ourselves at these events but we did have good conversation with two women.

I think they found us, and our propensity for selfies, amusing.

Here are some pictures of the colorful and yummy hors d’oeuvres at the party.

They also had chicken and pineapple skewers which I did not photograph. I thought the food was pretty good. Brian didn’t enjoy the offerings as much as I did. Naturally, he was starving.

We ended up bailing so we could get him fed. We ended the evening at the Hill, one of Brian’s favorite restaurants. Yes, we still go there despite everything. The food is that good. But I digress… Go check out Ritual and Desire when you get a chance. It’s pretty cool.

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Our New Dentist

Posted on June 3, 2017 by Ching under Reviews.

Brian and I recently switched dentists. The old place just wasn’t cutting it any more. We’d been wanting to switch for a while but hadn’t pulled the trigger until now.

Here are a few pictures of the new dental office.

This is their expansive waiting area with floor to ceiling windows.

I’m not a fan of waiting (I prefer to be in and out) but this comfortable waiting area at least makes the wait, no matter how long or short, more bearable.

They have a cute waiting area for kiddos also.

This was our initial appointment with the new dentist. However, Brian had already been there a few days prior for emergency dental work when he broke a tooth.

I don’t think they did all of the new patient stuff at that time though, because they asked to take pictures on this visit. I think they just took care of his issue.

Each dental station has huge windows with fabulous views.

Brian’s view (above) vs. my view…

But the best view is of your hilarious husband trying to entertain you while your teeth are being cleaned.

Nice offices aside, the real reason we moved to this dentist was to follow my favorite dental hygienist who left our old dentist when she moved to this office about three years ago. She is amazing. I wish I wouldn’t have waited so long to follow her.

When we posted pictures of our new dentist’s office on Facebook a few weeks ago, we found out that a bunch of our friends go to the same place. People from all over town (even West-siders) are making the trek. They must be really good to be worth the drive. Brian and I concluded that we made the right move.

Our experience has been really good so far. Everyone we’ve met has been very nice and accommodating. They even made it so that my old hygienist worked on my cleaning, even though she wasn’t originally available at the time we made the appointment. I’m super impressed. Here’s to a fruitful new relationship!

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Kentucky Derby Party

Posted on May 30, 2017 by Ching under Community, Events.

These are pictures from the Kentucky Derby Party event earlier this month. The fundraising event was hosted by the Rotary Club of East Wichita and benefited Starkey, EmberHope, and Heartspring.

I donned by best hat and put on my party face and off we went!

The boys had a great time competing in the horse-racing event.

Brian and I agreed that I would not be any good at this event so we decided that he should represent team FLIP + CHING. He actually did quite well in his heat and advanced to the semi-finals and, eventually, the finals.

This is what they were racing.

I’m not sure who came up with this game but I found it clever and fun.

This is the final round.

Brian did fantastic overall and finished in third place.

Instead of having a silent auction, they decided to raffle off some of the smaller packages and then conducted a live auction for the bigger prize packages. All the prizes were great but the only one that we were interested in was the Symphony in the Flint Hills package. We didn’t end up winning that package because Brian and I couldn’t decide quickly enough whether or not we wanted to bid on it. However, I volunteered us to help with the SFH event this year so we are going to be there anyway. The best part of volunteering for these types of events is that I get credit for the volunteer hours and still get to enjoy the show!

This is a list of the generous people and businesses who made the first ever Kentucky Derby Party a success.

I’m so glad Tammie invited us because we had a great time.

I saw lots of familiar Rotarians and I also ran into Ginger’s daughter Sarah.

Although we didn’t win any of the raffle or auction items, Brian got to hang out with some amazing people and learned more about the Kentucky Derby in one afternoon than we ever would have had we not attended the event. Tammie and the rest of the event committee did a fantastic job. They raised $10,500 for the three charities.