Archive for the year 2010
Ching’s Productive Day Off
Posted on November 13, 2010 by Ching under Health, Life, Tips.
Brian says I don’t know how to relax. He’s probably right. Instead of sleeping in on Thursday, like a normal person, I ended up getting up early just as though I was still going to work that day. I packed my day with appointments out the kazoo. I’m surprised I didn’t wear myself out.
My day started out with earning the mayorship at Kellogg Clinic where I’m getting laser hair removal done. Misty and I participated in a really awesome Groupon deal where you get three hair removal sessions for only $99. The sessions are normally $150 each, so it was a HUGE savings. I ended up getting two Groupons (the maximum you could buy for yourself under this deal), thinking that I could use all six sessions on my underarms. It turns out that you have to use each Groupon on a different body part. It makes sense because then you have to buy additional sessions to get the desired results.
Misty and I are both doing underarms and bikini. We’ve used up our underarm sessions and the results have been pretty amazing. We’re both thinking that we didn’t really have to go anymore. Except, I still have a few little hairs left and I think that maybe two or three more sessions should do the trick. It’s quite expensive, though, and with our Vegas trip coming up, it might just have to wait for now.
I started my bikini laser hair removal the other day. The downside of the bikini (aside from the fact that it hurts like hell – I don’t know how Misty does it – I don’t think I could ever get used to that pain – I thought it hurt 10X more than when he did my underarms) is that it’s normally $200 a session, so there is a $50 up charge each time. This is on top of the $99 that you’ve already paid for the Groupon (I really wish I would have known this because it makes a difference for a tightwad like me). Although paying $249 for three sessions of laser hair removal that usually costs $600 still gives you almost 60% savings.
Another downside is that, while getting additional sessions on my underarms is optional, additional sessions on my bikini is pretty much guaranteed. Brian told me that his coworker’s daughter who had her laser hair removal done at the same clinic went for 15 sessions before she was done. She didn’t use any Groupons, so she actually spent $3000 on it. She’s a professional volleyball player so she’s getting a lot of mileage out of it. For me, I’m just thinking that I could save a lot of money by not going to get my bikini waxed anymore. I think I spend about $2000 a year on waxings, a fourth of that on bikini. Since I’m cheap and usually stretch out my bikini waxings to eight weeks or more, I only go about five times a year on average (unless I’m going on a trip which prompts an extra waxing visit, but then I usually get my entire body waxed at that time). I’m guessing that I’ll need at least 10 more sessions after my first three so I’m estimating a payback period of five years on this kind of investment. I think it’s a wise decision, but coming up with the money to do it is a whole other endeavor. Maybe I need to start selling some magazines or having bake sales (Brian will do the baking, otherwise it won’t be edible) or start up a collection or something. Don’t worry, I won’t pretend to have cancer or anything. LOL.
So anyway, after my laser hair removal, I went straight to my teeth whitening appointment at Wichita Family Dental. This was another Groupon deal. What can I say? I’m a Groupon junkie. It’s sad because every time a Groupon comes out (which is everyday except on weekends, btw, for those of you unfamiliar with it), I find myself thinking “Can I use this?” because I really, really want to get in on it. So beware. Once you get started, it’s very addictive.
Speaking of Wichita Family Dental, I was very impressed with their office. Even though they’ve been at this location (which is within walking distance from our place, btw) for about ten years, the place still looks new. The interior and exterior are clean and nice, but that’s all pretty blasé. What impressed me most is that the dental assistants used iPads for patient charts. How high tech is that?
They also had flat screen monitors at every station so that you could look at your teeth photos and x-rays while you’re laying in the chair. I’m thinking now that they might even be able to play The Office on Hulu while you’re getting a root canal or something. How cool would that be? Brian is going with me today when I return for a cleaning and follow-up appointment. This way he can check out the place himself. Only nerds like us would be impressed with this stuff. LOL.
After the dentist, I spent a couple of hours getting pampered at Beau Monde. I hadn’t had a facial in a long time so I had scheduled it last month. I had gotten a $50 gift card from my in-laws for my birthday which I was thinking I would put toward my facial initially when I thought I was going to get a cheap $30 pedicure with Darcy. She bailed on me to spend the day with her beau, though.
I was pretty much left to my own devises. I didn’t want to have to leave Beau Monde and drive elsewhere for my pedicure after my facial and I had that gift card so I decided to splurge. The $30 pedicure turned into $48 (after my 10% discount, because I’m a bargain-hunter even when I splurge; although the discount didn’t even cover gratuity because I gave her $10 – blech).
I really prefer Samantha at Beau Monde, but she only works on weekends. You can get a good deal on last minute appointments if your schedule is flexible, though. If you check the Beau Monde web site on a day when you have some free time (in my case, I was off work on Thursday), they’ll usually post appointment times for the day that have not yet been filled and offer 10% off the regular price of the service to entice people to book.
Anyway, it turns out that the tech who did my pedicure actually worked with Brian at T-Mobile back in the day. They both worked there when it was still Voicestream. What a small world! We figured this out because Brian forgot to pack a lunch that day and so he came home on his lunch break. He stopped by Beau Monde on his way back to work. Brian who is awful at both names and faces wouldn’t have known any different had she not recognized him first.
The rest of my day was spent watching The Secret
It was yucky and rainy and all day and it’s the kind of weather that makes you want to stay in rather than go out. I told Brian that I would wish for better weather and that it will happen. Anyway, it was still raining a little bit when we got off work and went to his parents’ house for dinner. When it was time to go home, it had stopped drizzling. By the time I got ready to go out, it was a little chilly but actually nice enough that I could have worn a dress to the club if I wanted. By the time we got out of the club, it was nice (i.e. I probably could have walked to the car without putting my jacket on). It’s amazing that you can harness the power of the universe to make things materialize or come into fruition.
You all probably think this is hokey, and some of it is; but this truly is amazing and powerful stuff. So anyway, besides getting a lot of stuff done on my day off, I actually did some learning too. Imagine that. Oh, and to top it off, I got all of our laundry done in one day. Am I awesome or what?
1 Comment
Welcome Back, Feifel!
Posted on November 13, 2010 by Ching under Family.
In case you haven’t noticed, Chris Feifel is back. Welcome back, dude!
No Comments
Dares, Double Dares and Quotables
Posted on November 10, 2010 by Ching under Life.
So last week when Brian tagged along at the Social Media Customer Response Summit, we had to make sure that we had separate bills every time we ate together. Basically, he paid for his meals and then I paid for mine on my company card. At least that’s how it worked on the occasions that we remembered or I had my card on me. There were a couple of times that Brian just picked up the tab, including the $25 baggage check fee. This was not very smart on my part, but I can’t complain. I’m just really grateful that work sent me to a cool conference at a nice location with fantastic (or is it perfect?) weather.
At breakfast on Friday morning, Brian was like “You should tell our server that we need our check split so that your husband doesn’t find out you were with someone on this trip.” We had a good laugh about it, because we’re sick like that. “I dare you to say it,” I told Brian. Of course, Brian was lame and didn’t do it.
That’s the biggest difference between Brian and me. When someone dares me to do something, I actually do it. =P
In the middle of dinner tonight, Brian gets this phone call. He was listening for a long time and then he finally says, “I think you have the wrong number… What you’re making sounds delicious, but you got the wrong number.” I was like, “What was that about?” Brian said it was some guy who asked, “Dude, I can’t remember if we reduce the creme de menthe on the recipe or if we double it?”
“You were on the phone for a long time and that’s all he said?” I asked because I’m nosy like that.
“He kept pausing in the middle of his statement,” Brian said. Sounds like the guy was already drunk and he was getting ready to make some more stuff. “Do you want to call him back and ask him what he’s making?”
“Sure,” I said, as I picked up his phone and started dialing. “It’s busy. He must be talking to the right person right now.”
Jay was laughing and said, “I could just picture you calling him up and saying ‘Hi, you called my husband a little bit ago. May I ask what you’re making?'” He did a pretty good Ching impersonation as he said this. It was pretty funny. Hey, I’m not one to shy away from a dare. =P
Later on in the evening, Brian said something that he and Jay both thought was funny but I was preoccupied with something so I didn’t laugh. He was like, “What happened to your sense of humor today?” I go, “I don’t know. Let me check the calendar.” I was saying that about the other thing that I was thinking about, but the timing was perfect for his question so we had a pretty good laugh about that. I wasn’t even trying to be funny. I said it quite seriously because I was preoccupied with some other stuff.
Oh, I have to mention the phrase “killing two birds with one stone” is now completely obsolete thanks to Jay and his obsession with Angry Birds. Now the correct saying is, “killing two pigs with one bird.” This came up while we were driving home from the Phelpi, after I made some silly suggestion. Jay thought it was silly, anyhow.
“Are you saying I’m fat?” he asked.
“No,” I replied. “I just figured you’d be able to kill two birds with one stone.”
“I can do better than that,” he said. “I can kill two pigs with one bird.”
He is completely obsessed with Angry Birds. He’s found all of the golden eggs that you could possibly find and he finished the new world already from the update that just came out today. And, he has three stars on every level. He is crazy-obsessed with that game. We all have our quirks, I guess. To each, his own.
Anyway, it’s been another late night. I’m going to bed. Until next time.
xoxo,
Ching
No Comments
I ♥ Footed Pajamas
Posted on November 7, 2010 by Ching under Life.
Joni looked so cute in her Halloween costume this year.
Brian and I always wanted footed pajamas for ourselves, but we didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a novelty.
When I saw Joni in her footed PJs last week, I immediately asked her where she found them. She said she got hers at the boys’ section at Target for only $12. Brian and I were on a mission right then.
We agreed to wait until we returned from Arizona to buy our footed PJs, and finally got them today! I originally wanted to get matching ones, but we couldn’t find an XL size in the red PJs and I didn’t like the black and white camo.
Oh, well. At least this way we can tell our PJs apart. LOL.
5 Comments
The Blendtec Blender is my Dream Blender
Posted on November 7, 2010 by Ching under Wishlist.
While at Sam’s Club today, Brian and I got to watch the Blendtec sales rep do a demo. Holy cow! That blender is awesome! I was completely blown away. I told Brian that we needed to pawn all of our crappy kitchen appliances so we could buy one. LOL.
Brian told me that Blendtec makes the blender that they use for Will it Blend? I guess I’d been living under a rock because I didn’t know that the general public could buy those blenders.
Check out the YouTube video below where they blend an iPad. Wow.
Incidentally, I almost won an iPad this week at the Social Media Customer Response Summit. Our friends at 3CSI who sponsored casino night on Wednesday raffled off an iPad on Thursday morning at the conference. I was only one number off (last three digits of 840 vs. 841). Booo! Barry from CellularSouth ended up winning it.
If my fairy godmother decided to send me an iPad, I promise that I won’t throw it in a blender and pulverize it. Please, please, please let me win it next time!
3 Comments
