Archive for the year 2018
First Night in Orlando
Posted on August 12, 2018 by Ching under Travel, Zumba.
Just a few pictures from Wednesday, the day before ZINCON kickoff.
I had a different outfit planned for Wednesday night but I loved the ZINCON exclusive tank that I decided to wear it instead.
We walked around and took photos.
I’m always so excited for all of it.
I turned this photo black and white so I would look like I was part of the picture.
Did it work? Here’s the original photo before it was cropped and converted to black and white. What do you think?
Here’s another fun one with the posters/signage.
Caught the Latin Urban team minus Jhon Gonzalez.
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Just me trying to win something at the WorkoutTemps booth.
Walking by the We Move the World Stage before the ZIN Flavors Master Class.
That’s all for now. Until next time. GNG.
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Representing Wichita
Posted on August 12, 2018 by Ching under Travel, Zumba.
While we didn’t get our favorite room this year (22638), we did make the best of it. We hung our flag up and made it feel like home.
Here’s a close up.
Brian also did his fair share of pimping the Wichita flag by wearing it.
Here here is, walking from our hotel room to the convention kickoff.
Here are a few photos of Joel and Brian while we were waiting in line for the fitness-concert event.
Joel always makes everyone look so diminutive.
Here’s Brian showing off his flag cape.
I really regret not having photos of me with the flag. This one was so big though. I couldn’t wear it as a cape because it would drag on the floor when I did. I didn’t really want to carry it around either. I may need to get a smaller, more portable flag (perhaps one on a stick) for next year.
The one benefit of the flag is that it helped Bobbie find me during kickoff. And, it was a great conversation starter because people would inevitably ask, “What country is this?” and we would have a good laugh about it being a city flag rather than a country flag.
That’s all for now. Check back soon for more ZINCON recap. GNG!
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Arrival in Orlando
Posted on August 7, 2018 by Ching under Travel, Zumba.
Here’s a selfie of us aboard the plane enroute to Orlando (above) and then upon arriving at MCO, here’s a picture of Brian getting in the car (below).
I didn’t take pictures of the hotel lobby and our hotel room this time for a couple of reasons. First, we were in a bit of a rush. I wasn’t sure what the line at convention check-in/registration would be like and I didn’t want to be late for my Zumba Wear Insider 3 Star early shopping experience. Second, we didn’t get our favorite room this year so there really wasn’t anything exciting to write home about room-wise. Someone else was staying in 22638 until Thursday so they couldn’t give it to us. Such a bummer! Oh, well. I didn’t really have status this year since I barely stayed at Hyatt properties so I didn’t expect any special treatment.
Since we weren’t going to get our favorite room anyway, I wanted to try something different and stay in tower 1 this time instead of staying in tower 2, where we normally stay. I figured it would be closer to everything, which would mean less walking. Brian absolutely hated the room that we got so he went back and asked for the original room that they were going to put us in back in tower 2. The room wasn’t fabulous but it was an improvement.
Hopefully, I’ll be a Globalist next year and we’ll be back in room 22638 again.
While Brian was dealing with the room situation, I went to registration to get my name tag which is required before I could go to the special Zumba Wear Insider shopping thing. Thankfully, the registration line wasn’t too long and moved pretty quickly. It looks long in the picture but I’ve actually seen it longer.
Quick selfie at registration just for fun.
Of course, I had to take a picture of my first ZINCON badge as a 3 Star Zumba Wear Insider. One of the perks is being able to shop the Zumba Wear Store at ZINCON before the store actually opens. Insiders got to shop with the Zumba Education Specialists, Jammers, and other presenters at noon. The store didn’t officially open until 2 PM so we got a two-hour head start, which I really appreciated. In previous years, I was always too busy to go to the store on the first day and, even when I did, the line was always so long. By the time I got in there, everything I wanted was sold out of my size. This year, I actually got to be one of the people to get first dibs on everything. I must say, I felt pretty special.
I got to selfie with Erick Santana while we were waiting to get in. I could have selfied with a bunch more people (because everyone was there waiting to get in to the store) but I behaved myself. LOL.
When I say everyone, I really mean EVERYONE — including Marcie and Loretta, and Benjamin and Rodrigo, and Lars, and Barb, and Nick and his wife…
If you are a ZIN who regularly keeps up with the ZIN volumes, you’ll recognize many of the faces below.
In this video you’ll see Cat and Ecem, among others…
Here’s a walking selfie with George.
Here’s a walking video of Cat and Loretta.
They basically had us meet at South Hall B so we wouldn’t be in the massive Zumba Wear Store line at South Hall A. Then we walked to South Hall A from the lower level to get in to the store early, unbeknownst to all the people who had been waiting in line for hours for the store to open at 2 PM.
Pictures of the awesome new line.
I almost got these sweatpants. I really wanted one of everything but I had to restrain myself. I had to get only the things that I absolutely had to have now and reminded myself that these will eventually go online and go on sale. So no need to go bat shit crazy shopping and buying everything in sight.
My biggest regret is not getting these fringe leggings because they look so awesome when you’re dancing. Now I have to wait until they’re available online.
Here’s the front of that halter tank.
Cool camo patterns.
I did get this rose and camo print sports bra and leggings. There’s also a matching headband which I did not get.
I also got this whole outfit (right) — the black shirt with gold print and the camo leggings with the gold foil accents.
This is the special Swarovski crystals area. It’s so exclusive that they only let so many people in there at a time. There’s a separate bouncer guarding the entrance. And, they put a limit on how many of each item you can buy (only one per person).
I got a pair of leggings with Swarovski crystals.
And, a lace-up tank with Swarovski crystals. These were the only things I could afford in there. Most of the the items were over $100.
Here are the sports bras I got.
I really didn’t need to buy the sports bras but they matched some of the outfits I got so I had to get them too.
Same sports bra with a different tank.
Same sports bra with the same tank above except in black.
Here’s that cute rose and camo print outfit.
Incidentally, the two new tanks also look great with the rose and camo outfit.
I also got the camo leggings with the gold foil. This was on a follow up trip to the store, when I could bring Brian with me.
I also got the yellow tank with the eyelets in the back on this follow up shopping trip. I didn’t want it at first but changed my mind after seeing it on other people.
Brian got some sweatpants and a new STRONG shirt.
My ZINCON 2018 exclusive tank.
Brian’s ZINCON 2018 exclusive shirt, which I’m now regretting not getting one for myself. The shirt is just a basic shirt, which didn’t seem special because EVERYONE was wearing them while we were at ZINCON (including the servers at the B-Line restaurant). However, now that we are away from it all, the shirt seems pretty special. I wish I would have bought one for myself too.
One of the improvements they made to the shopping experience this year is now you get credit for items purchase at ZINCON. I really didn’t want to shop at the Zumba Wear Store before I wouldn’t get credit towards my Zumba Wear Insider status. But now you can get credit for it, which is really cool. I’m super happy about that change. It fixes my dilemma of not wanting to shop at ZINCON because of the whole credit thing.
I also got these body sprays for free. I was happy I got them for free but at the same time, I wished that they were selling them again this year like last year, because I wanted to stock up.
Anyway, I’m getting really sleepy. Until next time. GNG!
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Journey to #ZINCON 2018
Posted on August 5, 2018 by Ching under Travel, Zumba.
Brian got to relish an “I told you so” moment on our way to Orlando. We decided to fly out of Kansas City this year to save money. It’s been a while since we’d done that (the last time was 2011 when we traveled to the East Coast with the Dills). We have a very nice airport in Wichita now and there are usually good flight options (granted, not as many as the Kansas City airport, but it’s better than it has been); however, the flights were super expensive for some reason. I wanted to pay around $330, which is what we have paid to travel to Orlando in the past, but this time the prices were hovering around $400 per person. So Brian and I decided to pull the trigger and fly out of Kansas City instead. Our airfare ended up being about $200 per person but it was a direct flight from Kansas City to Orlando (so we wouldn’t have to mess with connecting) and it’s through Southwest so there aren’t any check-in luggage fees. Plus, since there’s no connection, we would arrive in Orlando around 9:00 am which is plenty of time for my 11:45 am Zumba Wear Insider shopping appointment.
I couldn’t believe that in 2018 we managed to find ourselves driving three hours out for a flight but, once I accepted it, I actually began to look forward to spending the night in Kansas City. I had all of these ideas. We would go out to dinner at one of my favorite places and hang out and have some pre-ZINCON fun before hopping on the plane to Orlando the next day.
Well, the best laid plans are often foiled. Or so is the case in my world. Instead of leaving work at 4:00 pm on Tuesday like I wanted, I ended up leaving closer to 5:00 pm. That meant we didn’t make it to Kansas City until after 8:00 pm. I really should have taken Tuesday off too but I ended up with a few meetings and the day proved to be super busy so by the time I thought to add Tuesday (I had put my ZINCON vacation on the calendar months ago but not Tuesday) it was too late. There were already meetings on the calendar. I probably could have gotten out of them but I hate missing things. I’m the kind of person who answers my desk phone as I’m leaving the office because I can’t leave knowing that I have voicemail that hasn’t been listened to yet. I also always respond to emails — though, sometimes too hastily. Bottom line, it would have been better had I taken Tuesday off (because Brian was smart enough to take that day off) and we could have gone up to Kansas City early in the day and actually done stuff. But I didn’t. I worked the full day instead and so that’s what happened.
We arrived at the hotel too late and didn’t really feel like doing anything. We did get there with enough light to check out how to get to the airport from the hotel. Yes, I know. The Kansas City Airport Marriott is like two minutes from the terminal but we are nerdy and didn’t want to get confused, specially since we will be navigating it in the dark the next day. It was actually really confusing (because there’s all sorts of different parking options and the one that Brian insisted on was the garage parking — the most expensive option obviously, that’s Brian for you) so I’m glad we did a trial run of sorts. It made finding the parking garage easier the next day.
In the meantime, we hadn’t had dinner yet so we decided to just eat that the restaurant inside the hotel, KC Tap & Table. It wasn’t fabulous but it wasn’t terrible either. The crab cakes didn’t look like much but they were actually pretty good.
The flat bread pizza was just okay.
Take the food review with a grain of salt, though. I may be a bit salty over the fact that we could have eaten for free had we arrived just a few minutes earlier. There was free food in the club lounge for elite rewards members until a certain time. When we got there, they had packed everything up except for the dessert.
All that was left were some fresh fruit and crème brûlée. But it was free so I had some. LOL. However, the sugar got me amped so, instead of going to bed early like we were supposed to, we ended up staying up and catching up on some Netflix.
The next morning, we both got up pretty early but we weren’t in any particular hurry because we were pretty much at the airport already. We were parked and in the door by 4:00 am for our 5:20 am flight. You would think that would be enough time but NOOOO! If you were not checking any bags in, I guess that was fine. The line for the Southwest check in counter was insanely long!
It was almost 5:00 am by the time we got to the counter. And, of course, since it’s less than 45 minutes before our flight, they couldn’t guarantee that our bags would make it. Brian was a little bit freaked out about that, which in turn made me worry as well. And then she tells us to run to our gate.
In our panic, we went the wrong way — in the opposite direction of the TSA Precheck security line. So then we had to start running back the other way because there was no way we were going to quickly make it through the regular security line. I get through security but Brian gets hung up because he’s randomly selected for an additional screening. I’m on one side through security and he’s on the other side. He’s like, “Just run to the gate so you can make out flight. If I don’t make it, I’ll catch the next flight!” This shit just got serious.
Anyway, I make it aboard the plane and I tell the flight attendant that my husband got stuck at security and he’s coming and she’s like, “If he makes it, he makes it. Nothing we can do about it.”
I call Brian in a panic to find out where he is and he tells me that he’s in the jet bridge getting ready to board. Jane is with him too. Whew!
Oh, yeah. This is Jane, a Zumba instructor (ZIN) based out of Overland Park. That was the silver lining in all of this. We met Jane while waiting in the long check in line and we got to visit with her a bit. She was also going to ZINCON. So at least I made a new friend.
All three of us made it, as did our bags. Here’s a video of us arriving at the airport in Orlando with our fancy, schmancy customized ZINCON suitcases.
BTW, Brian, who likes to be at the airport three hours early, never let me forget that the whole debacle of almost missing our flight was my fault because I hate getting to the airport too early. But we made it so I can’t say I learned my lesson. However, I will be less likely to complain about going to the airport too early next time.
That’s all for now. Check back in a couple of days for a recap of the rest of our ZINCON adventure. GNG!
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Grandma’s First Time at Nortons
Posted on August 4, 2018 by Ching under Family, Food and Drink, Things to Do.
Before we left for #ZINCON, Brian and I took grandma out to Nortons for funnel cake. She had been wanting to go since reading about it on the blog.
Here are some pictures from our visit.
If you’re wondering why they look so serious, it’s because bacon crack is seriously good. And seriously addictive. Much like crack, I guess. LOL.
Here are some pictures of other addictive things you can get there.
That’s Brian’s grilled cheese pictured above and my BLT below. The BLT is my absolute favorite thing to get at Nortons. They deep fat fry everything, including the bacon! It’s sooo bad and yet sooo good!
Here’s a better picture of the grilled cheese sandwich.
I’ve actually had this before but with a beef patty in it. I asked for it that way because I didn’t want a whole Norton burger, which is a burger made with two grilled cheese sandwiches as the buns. It’s on the menu but I’m not sure anyone actually eats it. It just sounds so HUGE!
This is grandma’s funnel cake.
Incidentally, this visit completed our second Wicked Brew Tour for this summer. We had so much fun with it last year that we decided to do it again this year.
Above is a picture of Brian holding up last year’s Wicked Brew Tour shirt while wearing the one from this year. We didn’t intend to do the tour twice at first but, when we completed our first 2018 tour, Brian got us the wrong size shirts thinking that we are smaller than we actually are. He got us a Small and a Medium. I could wear the Medium shirt that he get for himself but then that would mean he wouldn’t get a shirt so we decided to just do the tour over and get two new shirts.
It worked out great though because then we ended up getting a shirt for grandma also. Since I already had a Medium shirt I could use, Brian got a Large and Extra Large the second time around. The Large for him and the Extra Large for grandma. Now all three of us have matching Wicked Brew Tour shirts!
I actually need to try the Small one on because I think it will fit. I just prefer my shirts a little bit baggy so I wanted a Medium. If the Small one fits, I might keep that one as my actual shirt and then cut up the Medium one and turn it into a workout shirt. The braided designs I make with my cut shirts tend to shrink them so it would work better with a Medium.
Once I get it done, I’ll post it here for you guys to see! Until next time!
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