Archive for "Zumba"
Fourth of July Aqua Zumba Class
Posted on July 24, 2018 by Ching under Zumba.
I had such a blast teaching Aqua Zumba on the 4th of July!
I ended up teaching at North YMCA instead of Andover because Lydia posted her holiday schedule first. By the time Kristen was putting together the 4th of July schedule, I was already committed to North. I’m hoping next year I’ll be able to teach it in Andover. We had such a great time!
Brian said we had over sixty people. Of course, some of them escaped before the group photo (some people do not like to be photographed) so above is all I got.
One of the benefits of teaching at a different branch than my home branch is that it gave me an opportunity to meet some new people — quite a few of them were trying Aqua Zumba for the first time. I love introducing people to Aqua Zumba because they’re always amazed at how awesome a workout it is.
Honestly, between you and me, if I had a choice to take a Zumba class or an Aqua Zumba class, Aqua Zumba would win hands down. It’s not as fun to teach — I prefer teaching my regular Zumba classes — but it sure feels amazing when you’re the one in the water. I wish I had more time to take Aqua Zumba classes.
Oh, while it was nice meeting new people, it really made my day that my Andover Zumba family came to do Aqua Zumba with us at North YMCA. When you’re teaching a class full of strangers at a different gym that you don’t normally teach at, it’s nice to see familiar faces.
Huge shout out to my Andover Zumba family. Thank you. You guys are the best!
BTW, when we say family we really mean it. Alicia and her kids Brandon and Kariana were there. Amanda brought her mom and dad and brother and even her brother’s girlfriend came to workout with us!
Here’s Alicia with Brian. She’s like my sister from another mother. Super nice and full of joy. I really enjoying having her in class.
Amanda and Andrea are two others who are great to have in class. They’re both full of energy — Amanda specially. Oh, and they’re both licensed Zumba instructors too so they’ve been leading songs in our regular Zumba classes and that makes it even more fun. I just love my Zumba family!
No Comments
‘Tis the Season for Celebration
Posted on June 19, 2018 by Ching under Events, Family, Zumba.
The Wichita Zumba community has had two “Zumba in the Square” events so far this year and I’ve yet to teach at one. It’s been really hard because it’s been a super busy season for events. Last month’s “Zumba in the Square” event fell on the same day as Logan’s graduation party. We weren’t sure what time we would make it to Old Town so I popped in, danced a bit, and took some photos but couldn’t really help with the event. Here’s one of the group photos:
At least we were able to stop by for the “Zumba in the Square” event last month. They had another one on Saturday, which we missed altogether because we were getting ready for Brian’s birthday party at the house. We hosted it on Saturday, the 16th, because Brian’s birthday fell in the middle of the week and we couldn’t celebrate with friends the weekend before because we were Rosalia Ranch for Symphony in the Flint Hills (more on that next time).
As far as Brian’s birthday get together on Saturday, I didn’t take a lot of pics. Brian doesn’t really like having HUGE parties so we just had a few people over for pork and chicken street tacos. Others also brought food to share.
A few people went to do “Zumba in the Square” first and then came over. We kept it pretty casual because we knew we would be playing games and also we wanted people to come straight over from “Zumba in the Square” and not have to change clothes. However, there were two couples who went above and beyond.
Amy and Hideki showed up in coordinating outfits in Wichita State colors.
Todd and Missy did the all white thing. Both couples looked fabulous.
We had a lot of fun playing Disturbed Friends and Just Dance and just hanging out and visiting in general. It was a great birthday celebration overall but we’re not quite done yet. We are celebrating again this coming weekend.
Brian’s parents are coming up from Oklahoma so we can do our traditional joint celebration. We usually celebrate Brian’s birthday, grandma’s birthday (which is today, by the way — Happy birthday, Grandma!), and Father’s Day all in one go. That celebrating is happening this Saturday. We’re going to have a BBQ/cookout and this event will be family only.
I think that might be it, though, I wouldn’t be surprised if we come up with another celebration in honor of Brian’s birthday. The two of us have been celebrating all month long. We had a couple of dinners for just the two of us (Carrabba’s and Bonefish, two of our favorite restaurants). Then we spent a weekend volunteering at Symphony in the Flint Hills on Friday and then attending the event the next day. Then Brian got his latest Stitch Fix box (new birthday clothes). Then Brian got a new watch band and protector. Then he got a deluxe massage from Mindy (his favorite massage therapist) at Sveta’s. Then he got a Smove (basically a new toy to play with) but this was more my idea. LOL.
It’s not a milestone birthday but I sure hope it’s been a really good one!
No Comments
I Feel Pretty
Posted on May 24, 2018 by Ching under Things to Do, Zumba.
Some pretty girls and I went on a movie outing last month to see Amy Schumer‘s “I Feel Pretty” movie. I never really go on girls’ only outings but the Zumba peeps seemed so excited about this one I couldn’t help but go along with it.
The movie (check the preview above) actually has a really good message. And, it was funny and entertaining so I’m very glad that I went.
Wendy, Laurie, Chelsea, Missy, and Danielle all brought their daughters so we had to take a mother-daughter pic. It was really cute.
Speaking of cute, Sarah and Rose wore matching outfits. We kind of talked about wearing Zumba gear, but the rest of their attire ended up perfectly matching completely unintentionally. I just love, love, love my Zumba family!
No Comments
Debarkation Day
Posted on May 11, 2018 by Ching under Travel, Zumba.
Alas, all good things must come to an end. We woke up on Friday morning and it was time to get off the ship. We didn’t have to fly home until the next day though, so we were able to take our time and not have to rush to the airport. The only downside is that, even though we weren’t in a hurry, they still kicked us out of our cabins by 8:30 am because they wanted to clean and prep it for the next passengers.
Speaking of our cabin, this is kind of embarrassing, but I didn’t find the hair dryer until the night before. I guess there was a drawer in the makeup vanity but the chair, which we were using to hang my dirty workout clothes, was always there and so I didn’t ever realize that drawer was there. Brian found it while checking all of the storage places when we were packing the night before.
It’s not like I had time to dry my hair, anyway. I barely had enough time to shower before dinner on most nights. LOL.
I took a picture of our SeaPass cards for the sake of memories. The DX sticker on Brian’s card signifies the deluxe drink package, which meant that he could drink an unlimited number of drinks each day. It’s a privilege that didn’t come cheaply (about $60 a day before the required gratuities). However, if you consider that drinks are about $15 each on average, then it makes sense to get the all-you-can-drink package. To save money, we didn’t get the same drink package for me. I got the next package down which got me unlimited coffee, soda, and smoothies.
Here’s a photo of me with some new friends we made from the Zumbaholics Facebook group. We were trying to find our designated staging area.
This is a summary of the artists who performed on the cruise this year. Many of them are unknown to most people who are not in the Zumba community. Heck, I didn’t know about Fuse ODG until this trip!
I heard this song for the first time during the sail away party and I immediately fell in love with it. It’s now my current pre-cooldown song.
Anyway, the debarkation process went pretty smoothly and we were back at the Marriott before long. I think the trickiest part was making sure that our Lyft driver could spot us and could find a reasonably safe spot nearby to load. The Port of Miami is pretty crazy. It’s very busy and, because people load and unload in the middle of the street, traffic barely moves.
I was getting stressed out as the passenger. I couldn’t imagine what it would have been like to drive in that mayhem. I was very grateful that neither Brian nor I had to do it. We were so thankful that the Lyft driver got us out of there and delivered us safely to our hotel that we tipped him $5 for a $7 ride. He earned every bit of that fare and tip, as far as Brian and I were concerned.
Check back tomorrow for how we spent our final day in Miami. Until then, GNG.
No Comments
Day 5: Final Full Day on the Cruise
Posted on May 7, 2018 by Ching under Travel, Zumba.
Our final full day on the cruise started out really interesting. We met and chatted with the “gringo bass player” for Locos Por Juana, David Pransky, over breakfast. He’s a really interesting fellow. Here it is almost eight in the morning. Brian and I are starting our day and David has yet to go to bed from partying the night before.
We tried not to stay up too late at night. Well, mostly me, because I had early morning Zumba classes almost everyday. Brian could always go back to our cabin after breakfast and take a nap, which he often did.
Here are some other folks we had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with at breakfast. This is a group of friendly Filipino-Canadians.
I couldn’t resist taking pics of the Aqua Zumba class down below as I walked by.
This actually reminds me to start working on my Aqua Zumba routines since my classes will be starting in a few weeks.
I ran into these guys (Brynden, Laurie, and Todd) while I was observing and taking pictures of the Aqua Zumba. It’s always fun seeing your friends. It’s a great way to start the day. I ended up following them to their Afrobeat Makossa session with Ricardo Marmitte and Alexsa Sissom.
I only stayed for half of the master class, though, because I didn’t want to be at the end of a very long line to get into Beto’s master class.
The line wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be and actually got a good spot.
Here are a few short clips from Beto’s class.
This next video is the one where I’m calling out the wrong words.
I was really glad that I waited until the last day to take Beto’s class because almost everyone had taken his class at that point so his class wasn’t as crowded. I managed to find a good spot and was actually able to dance and move around. I will have to remember to register for his very last class again next year.
After Beto’s class, it was time to hit another Benjamin and Rodrigo session — because I just couldn’t get enough of these two.
The stage seemed like a good spot for the stickers when they start falling off. I had a lot of classes at Deck 13 – Forward. It was actually my favorite spot for classes, despite the potential for the worst sunburn imaginable. Oh, and Brian’s name is on these stickers but he didn’t actually go to the classes. I signed him up for classes so I could use his stickers and attend twice as many sessions. I did that and then some!
This is Jose from DC. One of the amazing Zumba Jammers I met on this trip.
This is Rony, another amazing Zumba Jammer who is based in Orlando. We took this photo at the end of Jhon Gonzalez’ Latin Urban master class. Now, he is my all-time favorite! I’m actually still using two routines I learned from him at ZINCON last year: A Mi Me Pone and Mala Mujer.
My final class of the trip was Tropical Turn Up with Gina Grant, Dahrio Wonder, Armando Salcedo, and Heidy Torres. It’s a mash up of Heidy and Armando’s Tropical Urban and Gina and Dahrio’s Hip Hop Turn Up. It was super fun and a great way to end a very fun, Zumba-filled cruise vacation.
On our way to dinner, we ran into Walter Diaz (Wally). He holds a very special place in my heart because his was the very first session I ever took at my very first ZINCON. And, he’s one of the nicest people you will ever meet.
After our final group dinner, we went to the party at the pool deck and ran into some famous people. This man needs no introduction. LOL.
It also looks like the Brutez brothers are back in the fold.
I was also super excited to get a photo with my two favorite ladies, Loretta and Marcie. I first met them in Reggaeton Rebellion years ago and I’ve been a huge fan ever since. I can’t wait to take Reggaeton Rebellion again at this year’s ZINCON.
No cruise is ever complete without a picture with DJ Gringo.
We were originally hanging out at our favorite spot up top but it was just way too windy. After waiting for several minutes for people to show up, we finally gave up. Brian stayed up there a while to wait for people though, but he also gave up eventually and went to join us at the main pool deck.
On our way back to our room later that evening, we decided to take a detour and stopped by the Cosmopolitan. I’m glad we did because Kass Martin was there and Brian finally got his long-awaited photo with Kass.
I also got in on the photo action. You can never have enough photos with famous people. LOL. Now I have two with Kass!
Anyway, that’s all for now. Check back next time for the saddest day of all when we finally have to get off the floating party and get back to the real world.
Until then, GNG.
No Comments
