Archive for "Date Ideas"
Coronado Heights Castle
Posted on August 26, 2020 by Ching under Date Ideas, Things to Do.
It’s amazing how you live in a place for so long and yet still find places that you’ve yet to explore. This was the case with Coronado Heights Castle. After a quarter of a century in Wichita, I still had never been to this gem a little over an hour away.
Brian and I made the drive the weekend before last. It’s an easy drive and the place isn’t hard to find. The views of the expansive plains were spectacular and I guess sunrise is not to be missed here. Although, that would require getting up way early (not so much a problem for me but I don’t think Brian would be up for it – literally and figuratively – LOL). Perhaps we can stay for sunset one day. Not quite the same but much more feasible for Brian.
Here are some pictures that we took on our adventure.
The hiking is pretty good here and we saw several people doing that. There was even a guy who as running up and down the winding, hilly drive multiple times. Brian isn’t much of a hiker so we didn’t do any of that. We did walk around a bit. The place is really cool. They have these stone picnic areas with fireplaces all around the hill. Each one offered fabulous views.
Brian and I talked about going back with some friends in the fall. Our plan is to have a sunset picnic. We would bring a tablecloth for the stone picnic table, a nice cheese and charcuterie board, several bottles of wine, and some wood for the fireplace. Anyway, I can’t wait to go back.
I guess that’s all for now. Until next time. GNG.
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Women’s Network Event
Posted on December 16, 2018 by Ching under Date Ideas, Projects, Things to Do.
I had the opportunity to attend the women’s network holiday event last weekend. Alex organized an outing for us at the Busted Pallet. Coincidentally, it was on the exact same day last year that the same group was at Paint the Towne painting Wichita flags. I haven’t been able to make all of the luncheons this year and so I was very grateful that the holiday outing turned out to be on a week when I’m in town so I can at least participate.
Here are some pictures from that evening…
When we arrived, they had all of our project materials ready. This is Alex’ blanket ladder.
This is Bonnie’s Wichita State Shockers porch decor.
This is Tasha’s “Have a Nice Poop” sign. I saw this option and didn’t think anyone would actually pick it. LOL. Don’t worry. It’s going in her bathroom.
When you book your workshop, you fill out an online form and you’re asked to select a project. They ask this ahead of time so they can have all of your materials (wood, stencils, etc.) ready for you on the day of the workshop.
Yuvina made a “Love Grows Here” sign.
Nykole picked “Believe There is Good in the World” which, when you see the finished product, actually contains two messages.
Shanda painted “The Luckiest.”
There were no two projects alike. Everyone picked something unique. Some even personalized their projects with their last name. It was really cool.
Not knowing who RSVP’d for the event, it was kind of fun trying to guess which project belonged to whom. As people arrived and found their workstations, it was interesting to learn what each person had picked. There was a story behind each one and you got to learn more about your coworkers. Kudos to Alex! This activity was truly a great pick for a networking event.
There were a couple of Busted Pallet people there to supervise but we pretty much followed the instructions on this board. One everyone arrived and found their stations, we got to work.
I was stationed next to Carly, who I hadn’t seen in forever. We used to work together in the contact center many years ago. I saw her every now and then when she moved to our billing group but now she works out of our new operations center so I rarely get to see her anymore. I try to keep up with her on Facebook. She recently returned from celebrating her 40th birthday in Mexico with a bunch of girl friends. It looked like such a fun trip.
This is Bonnie. She’s recently got promoted to supervisor in the contact center and is graduating from Wichita State (thus, the Shockers sign that she’s painting). She’s having quite a year, too! Congrats, Bonnie!
Here are some photos of people in deep concentration while working on their projects. Alex, and her big ladder project, had the biggest work space of all.
Here’s Kati and Kim busy with their projects. Interesting bit of trivia, Kati and I worked together many years ago when she was in the contact center. She was on my team. The contact center is kind of a springboard for people. It’s where most people start their careers before moving on to bigger and better things.
Here’s Kati reading Carly’s sign. Carly has been hanging on to this saying for a long time. She can finally put it on her wall.
Here’s Shanda and her friend.
A picture of Tisha carefully peeling of her stencil.
Tasha and Ennidh…
Alex and Yuvina… Yuvina looks so sassy in this pic.
Here’s Misty. I’m glad she was able to join us.
I took a selfie of the two of us. Full disclosure, I picked the easiest project of everyone because I wanted to make sure I had time to walk around and take pics. Also, I really wasn’t sure what I would be able to manage in the amount of time we had so I kind of underestimated my capacity. I think I was the first one finished with every step, which gave me plenty of time to go around and take photos.
Here’s a picture of Misty’s nearly finished project.
Here’s Alicia and Alex.
A photo everyone putting the finishing touches on their project.
It was a pretty good turn out.
This is Tisha’s nearly finished “HOME” sign. You can see her helping Ennidh in this photo. I think Tisha helped several people with their projects but mos specially Ennidh since they were at the same table.
This is yet another reason why the Busted Pallet makes for a great team building activity. You get to work on projects together and learn about one another.
Ennidh’s sign turned out perfect thanks in part to all the work Tisha put in. LOL. I love this sign. It’s funny and sweet.
Here’s Tasha’s finished “Have a Nice Poop” sign.
Kati posing with her finished project.
Kim made a personalized one.
Alicia made this one for her half-bath that people use when they come in to use the restroom during pool parties.
Here are the three porch signs that people made, side by side. Their projects were left at the store to be weatherproofed.
Before you ask to see pictures of my project, I have to say, I had the smallest and least ambitious project of all. I kind of wished I had picked a more challenging and bigger one after the fact but it turned out okay because someone had to take pictures at our event.
Here are some progress pics…
And the finished product…
By the way, I tagged this as a potential date activity because I do think this would make for a fun date. I’m thinking of bringing Brian over for a date night sometime.
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Double Date with the Dills
Posted on December 8, 2018 by Ching under Date Ideas, Food and Drink.
Brian and I took the Dills out to dinner last weekend in honor of Becca’s birthday. Neither of them had ever been to Yokohama Ramen Joint in Delano before. It’s our favorite ramen place so we wanted them to try it.
We were originally going to take them to see Illuminations (the amazing Christmas installation at Botanica) also but it was a cold and rainy night and, although I was prepared to tough it out, it didn’t seem like anyone was really keen on going. So, we decided to head over to the Dills house for after dinner drinks instead.
Here are a few pictures from our double date.
We started with the shrimp shumai and pan-fried dumplings. Above is the shrimp shumai, which I’ve had at other places before, but this was our first time ordering it at Yokohama. It was pretty good and we will likely order it again as a starter. Below is a close up photo.
I didn’t get a chance to take a picture of the pan-fried dumplings before we inhaled them. Those are always super popular with everyone. It’s no big deal on the lack of photo, though. We’ve ordered it numerous times before and you all know what those look like.
Brian and I always end up with leftovers so, in an effort to avoid having to take leftovers home, we decided to share the Yokohama style ramen. We added extra noodles and extra pork just to be on the safe side. The extras turned out to be a bad idea because we ended up with too much food, yet again. We’ve decided to split the ramen bowl next time without the extra noodles and pork, that way we’ll be more likely to finish it. You live and learn.
Becca got spicy dan dan noodles. I have no idea what it is actually because I always just get ramen. It is a ramen joint after all. Anyway, I think it started out really good but then the spiciness just builds. It might have gotten a tad too spicy for her toward the end. They kept wanting me to try it but I never did. I can’t handle spicy foods and try to stay away from them as much as possible.
Jay had a super combination rice bowl with all the meats (shrimp even), topped with tonkatsu chicken. He really liked it.
Here it is up close.
Afterwards, the four of us went to their place to hang out and drink some wine. We brought a couple of bottles but only finished the Sequoia Grove cab. We discovered it over the summer when we had a wine dinner at Carrabba’s. It’s the only cabernet sauvignon I’ve ever found that I liked. All other cabs taste terrible to me. But then, this cab is $50 a bottle and all other cabs I’ve tasted have cost half or less than half that so I probably just have really discerning taste in cabs and my palette is sensitive to the cheap stuff.
We had a great time catching up with the Dills last weekend. They seem to always be traveling (in fact they’re out of town again; they’re in Miami and Barbados this coming week) and we’re always so busy that we don’t have a lot of opportunity to get together. It was really nice hanging out with them.
We hope to hang out with them some more in the coming year and maybe join them for Jay’s 40th birthday trip to Costa Rica in April. I think it will be a lot of fun.
Until the next blog. GNG.
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Our Trip to the WALL
Posted on December 5, 2018 by Ching under Date Ideas.
By WALL, I mean the Wichita Advanced Learning Library. It opened a few months ago but Brian and I hadn’t gotten around to checking it out until this past weekend. We’ve just been too busy. It might have been brighter inside except it was very gloomy and rainy on the day we went. The decor is very modern. Brian was particularly infatuated with these chairs.
I thought I got a picture of him in it but I guess I must have posted it on Snapchat. Bummer! He really like them. Anyway, here are a few more pictures of the new library and its very modern furnishings.
Brian was looking at this giant book trying to figure out how to turn the page.
Brian also liked these individual desks with the walls for privacy. They even have built in power outlets. Really cool!
Another cool feature is the Reverie coffee shop inside. As you know, Brian loves Reverie coffee. Anyway, the library seems like a really cool place to hang out. I wish we had more reasons to go there.
BTW, it’s technically just called Advanced Learning Library but I thought adding Wichita at the beginning made for a more clever acronym. Then you can tell people that you’re going to the WALL, which is far more mysterious and intriguing than simply saying you’re going to the library. But that’s just me.
P.S. This counts as a date, right?
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Cheap Date Idea — Mural Scavenger Hunt
Posted on October 1, 2018 by Ching under Date Ideas, Things to Do.
I wanted to share something fun that Brian and I did recently. It’s absolutely perfect if you’re looking for a cheap date idea. If you’re unfamiliar with Wichita, we have this three-mile stretch on Douglas Avenue called Douglas Design District. It starts at the heart of downtown and ends just beyond Oliver. The stretch is peppered with local businesses — over 300 of them.
Something else that the District is peppered with are these amazing works of art. Everywhere you look you’ll find beautiful murals all over the place. Some of them are massive and breathtaking.
So Brian and I decided to go on a mural scavenger hunt last weekend. Our adventure also coincided with the District’s annual Avenue Art Days event, a tradition that started three years ago and has grown bigger and better each passing year. This year’s dates were September 21-23, culminating in a mural crawl from 12 to 5 pm on September 23 — the same day and time as Open Streets ICT. I’m not sure if they planned it that way but it was absolutely perfect.
Since I teach a Zumba class every Sunday at 2 pm, we figured we wouldn’t have much time to participate in Open Streets ICT festivities but I really wanted to check out these beautiful works of art. Brian and I decided to venture out on Saturday afternoon, the day before Open Streets ICT. It worked out fabulously because, not only did we get to see some amazing murals, we also caught some artists in the act. They were busy finishing thirteen new murals for Avenue Art Days 2018.
Here are a few more pictures of artists at work.
This mural is one that we see all the time because it’s outside our favorite breakfast/brunch spot, Dempsey’s Biscuit Co.
This one called “Wichita The Air Capital” isn’t massive but is one of my favorites from last year. You can find it at Clifton Square, where several other Avenue Art Days installations are located.
This is the one at Dempsey’s Burger Pub at Clifton Square, also from Fall 2017.
Anyway, now that we are several days removed from Avenue Art Days 2018, I can’t wait to head back out to check the finished product of the ones that were in progress last weekend.
Thank you to all of the artists and volunteers who have been working hard to beautify our city since the inception of Avenue Art Days in 2015.
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