Archive for the year 2014
Valentines Weekend 2014
Posted on February 16, 2014 by Ching under Events, Relationship, Things to Do.
I had so much fun at Paint the Towne with my coworkers last month that I wanted to share the experience with Brian. April suggested we do the couples painting event on Valentines Day. I wasn’t sure that people would go for it, but I managed to round up six other couples (besides us and the Phelpi) who were game.
I guess I shouldn’t have been so surprised. After celebrating over a decade of Valentines I was open to doing something different. I guess others were as well.
Our group consisted of (from left) the Smiths (Chad and Laura), the Holts (Stacy and Cari), the Rheas (Leo and Tammie), the Phelpi (Cory and April), the Wirtzes (Aaron and Reby), the Richardsons (Brandon and Amy), the Farmers (Brian and Sherii), and of course us (Flip and Ching).
Here are some more photos from Friday night.
Our painting is supposed to match, but Brian wouldn’t cooperate. LOL.
Other couples fared better I think.
We took breaks to snack while we waited for paint to dry.
We also took time to admire each other’s handiwork.
These two were so lovey dovey all night.
They were the most harmonious couple of all.
This is Sherii painting on her husband’s canvas while he wasn’t looking.
People really got into painting.
Brian did too. I’m so glad I got to share this experience with him.
Here’s a picture of our group as we were just getting started.
We saw the Rheas and the Farmers again the following night at the 20th Annual Wichita Heart Ball, a gala benefitting the American Heart Association.
Before I share more pictures of people, here are some pictures of the food that we got to enjoy last night.
The tables were set in the most elegant way and all of the food looked and tasted great. I enjoyed everything, even the asparagus.
Here’s a photo of us in front of the red carpet and a selfie during dinner.
Here’s post-dinner photo of our group: (from left) the Heitkotters, the Shermans, the Rheas, the Farmers, and us. The dinner was great but the company was fantastic. I couldn’t think of a better group of people to hang with at the gala.
As if the decadent desserts weren’t enough, they had chocolate fountains at the event also for our post-dinner snacking enjoyment.
Here’s a photo of Sherii, Tammie, and me as we enjoyed our drinks and the live music. There wasn’t really much room to dance. Mostly I just wanted the silent auction to close to see how much damage we’d done to our bank account. LOL.
Here’s a couple of official event photos.
A selfie of Brian because he just couldn’t help himself.
Our neighbors Raj and Shilpa were co-chairs of the event.
Here’s my favorite photo of me from last night.
Here’s my favorite photo of Brian from last night.
Doesn’t he look absolutely amazing in his tuxedo? And to think that he resisted the idea at first. When I initially told him that we got tickets to the Heart Ball, I conveniently left off optional and told him that the event was strictly black tie. He wanted to wear his black suit with a black tie — I guess to satisfy the “black tie” requirement. LOL. I insisted that he wear a tuxedo not just so he’d fit in at the part but also because I haven’t seen him in a tuxedo since our wedding and I’d been dying to see him in one.
He reluctantly went to the store with me but immediately warmed up to idea after trying on a tux. All it took was seeing how sophisticated and handsome he looked in one. He saw his dashing selection in the mirror and there was no turning back. The guy who didn’t want to wear tuxedo now wants to wear his tux everywhere. I’ve created a monster. He’s actually thinking of wearing his tux to National Sales Meeting in a couple of months. That’s going to throw some people for a loop for sure. All of his coworkers will be wondering why he’s so dressed up. They’ll be like, “What’s up with Brubaker? Is he getting an award or something?” LOL.
Anyway, now that we’ve got our weekend recap out of the way, you’re probably wondering what Brian got me for Valentines Day. I’m not really the roses, chocolates, or jewelry kind of girl. You’re talking about someone who got six personal training sessions for Brian on my 35th birthday. For Valentines Day I wanted to see my husband in a tuxedo and that’s exactly what I got. Actually, he far exceeded my expectations. Last night I felt like I was with the sexiest man at the ball. I felt so special — like the luckiest girl in the world. Not only is my husband caring, smart, funny, and thoughtful, he’s good looking to boot. He is the whole package. And, he looks amazing in a tuxedo. Now to work on his British accent.
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YMCA Bowl-a-Thon
Posted on February 16, 2014 by Ching under Things to Do.
I’ve gotten behind on blogging of late because of our hectic schedule.
Here are some pictures from the YMCA Bowl-a-thon, a fundraising event benefitting the YMCA Annual Campaign.
This is our team photo. From left: Stephanie, Sasha, Kristen, Ching, and Arin. The cute kid is Arin’s little boy Briley.
I bowled terribly that night but had a great time anyway. Thank you so much to everyone who donated money and supported the event. Your generous contribution makes a huge difference for our community.
All of the things you see in the video above would not be possible without your support. Thank you!
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Why the A319 is My Favorite Commercial Plane
Posted on February 16, 2014 by Ching under Travel.
The A319 is my favorite commercial plane. I realized this after flying on four different models of commercial planes on my recent trip to Los Angeles.
Flying economy is a lot more bearable when you have your own individual TV screen.
I took advantage of mine and watched an Elton John concert.
My most favorite part of the A319 is the power outlets in the back of the seats. You don’t have to reach under your seat to find an outlet now. And, it’s a real power outlet. Not one of those 12V adapter outlets.
Or, better yet, there are a couple of USB ports on the bottom of the TV screen. So you can just plug your phone directly to it using your USB cord. You don’t even need to dig out your power cable.
This is awesome because if you’re using your mobile device during the flight (which you can do now) it’s going to run out of juice. Well, now that you can plug it in during the flight, that’s no longer an issue. So read your ebooks, listen your music, watch you videos, and play away.
The only down side is that not all commercial planes come equipped with these features. So far I’ve only come across them on the A319. This plane didn’t have them.
I told Brian that I wished that in the future I could book my flights based on the model of airplane I’ll be flying in. I’d pick an A319 every time.
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My Fancy Dinner with Jane at Fleming’s
Posted on February 15, 2014 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.
This dinner was 20+ years in the making so it was only fitting that we went to a fancy schmancy restaurant. Oh, yes. Only the finest for my dear Jane. 😉
Here are some pictures of our food.
The spreads are tasty, but the bread got cold too quickly.
This is a picture of Jane’s filet.
Jane’s baked potato.
My chicken, which was surprisingly very good. But for the price, it better have been. LOL. I think I could feed 4 people at Applebee’s for the price of that piece of chicken.
This is the most delicious sautéed spinach I have ever tasted. I don’t know what Jane thought of her dinner, but I was very, very happy with the food that I ordered. My food was so good that the price didn’t even bother me and you all know how much of a cheapskate I am. LOL.
The dessert was great too. In the middle of our meal, our server asked if we wanted dessert because they had one particular dessert that takes 20 minutes to make. When she gave us our options, that was the exact one that we wanted. I told her the 20 minutes didn’t bother us because we’ve waited 20+ years to see each other. Twenty measly minutes is nothing.
The last time I saw Jane was March 1993. That’s when my family moved from Las Piñas (a city located in the island of Luzon in the Philippines) to Colorado. Jane moved to the US in 2000 but we never had the opportunity to see each other until now. It’s funny because our mutual friend Sheryll only lived in the US for three years or so and yet I saw her four times. Jane has been in the US for 14 years and this is the first time we’d gotten together.
I initially planned to take her to dinner at Yard House because their food is familiar to me. There’s one at Legends that I’ve dined at a few times and I really like it. The prices are pretty reasonable. I planned to buy dinner so that was a factor.
My friends who attended the Zumba Conference with me wanted to go to dinner before the theme party on Saturday night. We initially thought we would go to Fleming’s but then nixed the idea after seeing the prices. Everything is a la carte so the cost of dinner would add up really quickly. After considering our other options, we ended up at Yard House where I had originally planned to take my friend Jane. Anyway, it worked out for the best because, out of all our restaurant options at LA Live and Nokia Plaza, Yard House seemed to have the best vegetarian selections. One of the women I traveled to the conference with is a vegetarian.
That meant no Yard House on Sunday night. Jane wanted steak so that really only left one place: Fleming’s. Oh, irony! LOL. I was trying to be cheap on Saturday night and managed to avoid Fleming’s only to end up there the next night when I was actually footing the bill. The universe is funny that way.
Of course, the food was really good and I hadn’t seen Jane in over 20 years so it was totally worth it. Don’t ask how much it was, though. It actually cost more per person than our dinner at Duck City. At least there we got appetizers and soups (the best soup ever) and I think Lance even had a glass of wine. I don’t think Brian and I have even come close. Well, maybe once. LOL.
I hope Jane knows how truly special she is to me. She managed to get her cheapskate friend to buy a really expensive dinner and spring for an extra night at the JW Marriott at LA (also not cheap) just to make dinner happen. And, what a delightful dinner it was. I had a great time catching up. Hopefully, it won’t take another 20 years for us to get together again.
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Yard House at LA Live
Posted on February 10, 2014 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.
Here are some pictures from our dinner at Yard House.
I love Yard House because the food is reasonably priced and reasonably good and they have great reasonably priced drinks. Reasonable for LA anyway. LOL.
I think it’s going to be tough for you guys to figure out which plate is mine because I didn’t order my usual mac and cheese. Even though I deviated from my usual, I wasn’t disappointed. I enjoyed my dinner so much that I actually want to drive out to Legends in Kansas City and take Brian to dinner at the Yard House there.
Have you figured out what I had for dinner yet?
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