SITFH Volunteer Appreciation
Posted on March 20, 2018 by Ching under Events.
Brian and I attended a volunteer appreciation event for Symphony in the Flint Hills (SITFH) volunteers last month. The event was held at the SITFH office in Cottonwood Falls. It was a good hour-long drive but not a bad one. The main reason I wanted to attend is because the invitation mentioned that we would get to preview this year’s theme. Here are a few pics.
The obligatory selfie.
This jolly fellow is Rex Buchanan, author of Roadside Kansas. He had a really interesting presentation about Kansas waterways.
This was a chance encounter with gubernatorial candidate Laura Kelly. She was at a meeting down the street at Grand Central and just happened to stop by the Symphony in the Flint Hills event.
They gave all the volunteers these nice notecards depicting images of the Flint Hills. The notecards are almost too pretty to use.
It was a wonderful event and we met many interesting people. We are both very grateful that we were invited to attend. The event has gotten me really pumped about volunteering for SITFH again this year. The event is going to be at Rosalia Ranch this year, which is the same venue as the 2014 event. I’m super stoked that it’s actually a lot closer to Wichita than it was last year. I’m hoping that Brian and I won’t have to work on the day of the event so we can have a more relaxed time enjoying the Symphony’s performance.
Check back in June and we will tell you all about it! Or, you can head over to the SITFH web site to purchase a ticket and join us!
Comment on This
Reverie Coffee
Posted on March 13, 2018 by Ching under Food and Drink.
My most favorite Wichita coffee shop, Reverie Roasters, moved their flagship location recently and Brian and I finally found the opportunity to check the new place out. We actually took our Sunday morning “Coffee Chat” session over there this weekend. It’s the only other offsite “Coffee Chat” we’ve ever done besides the one that we did from our hotel room in Kansas City.
Here are some pictures.
Their new location is directly across from East High School on Douglas.
Brian and I had to take a selfie with the good lighting.
Here’s an obligatory foam art photo. A must when you’re at a neat coffee shop.
I told Brian that I liked the lighting so much at the shop that we might do our “Coffee Chats” there every Sunday from now on.
We took a portion of the giant table that they had on the bakery side. It was still pretty slow when we got there but by the time we left, around 10:30, it was packed.
Here’s a picture of the coffee shop/restaurant side.
Here’s another photo of the same side taken from the back entrance.
This is a photo taken from the perspective of where Brian was sitting at the end of the long table. The place is really neat. I liked their old location but this one is even better. It’s double the space and you can now order food, which is great.
We will definitely be back.
P.S. Here’s the video from last Sunday’s “Coffee Chat” session at Reverie.
Comment on This
Rex Might Have Some Competition
Posted on February 25, 2018 by Ching under Babies, Wishlist.
Brian took Alex in to the dealership for an airbag recall last week and they gave him a 2018 RX as a loaner. He immediately fell in love and was raving about it. I asked him to send me pictures and then brought him back down to earth by reminding him that we haven’t had a car payment in years and I’d like to keep it that way.
We both agreed that we don’t want car payments. The car sure is nice, though. Check out the pics below.
The color of the exterior is the same as Alex’ exterior color.
So we would have matching gray cars.
The leather interior looks really nice.
It has a sunroof just like Rex (Brian’s RX).
Brian liked how they reconfigured the panel, which allowed for a bigger navigation display. Brian says it’s double the size of the one in his car.
I think had we been our old selves Brian probably would have traded Rex in without batting an eyelash. No offense, Rex. But we are more responsible now. We vowed never to get into debt, ever again. Plus, Rex has been super reliable. Brian might be drooling over the new and improved version of Rex but there’s really no good reason to replace him. Maybe in a few years. We will have to save up for it, though.
Comment on This
24th Annual Wichita Heart Ball
Posted on February 25, 2018 by Ching under Events.
Brian and I have been going to the Wichita Heart Ball for a few years now. Thanks to work for the tickets and probably, more specifically, Mr. Don Sherman. He is Mr. Wichita. The event has become our favorite fundraising event to attend. You can see pictures of past Heart Ball events here.
Kansas Big Brothers Big Sisters’ Brew Ha-Ha event used to be our most favorite but they didn’t have one last year. It was something that Brian and I looked forward to every year. I’m not sure if the event will be back this year, though. The Wichita Heart Ball, however, happens every year so I guess it’s our new favorite. LOL.
Here’s a quick selfie I took while I was waiting for Brian to be ready. He took care of the dogs first while I was getting ready and then after feeding the dogs and letting them potty he got ready himself. That way he didn’t mess up his tux.
I had to do my own hair and makeup this year because I had another event earlier that afternoon and couldn’t get into to Beau Monde late. I guess I could have hit up Emma at Planet Hair but I didn’t think I had time to shower, driver all the way downtown to get hair and makeup done, and then drive all the way back home to change into my outfit. I opted to save the drive time and just do it all myself. I did allow for lots of extra prep time, though. We left the Zumbathon early.
I wanted to wear an updo this year since I always wear my hair down but couldn’t quite get it together. I ended up just curling my hair. It turned out well because it actually kind of went with the style of my dress which had somewhat of a vintage-looking lace on the top portion.
Here’s a picture of me and my friend Jessica, who I met through Leadership Wichita. That is such a great program. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to go through it. I met so many great people who I am still in touch with today, Jessica being one of them.
Here’s a selfie with some friends of ours from bowling, Alan Howarter and Margo Nunn. They’re not in our Sunday night bowling league anymore but we still see them from time to time. I don’t think Alan has ever missed a Heart Ball.
Here’s a picture of me with Sara. Her dress looks black but it’s actually a dark navy blue. Crystal also wore a navy blue dress. We thought it was wild that all three of us ended up wearing navy blue dresses without even talking to each other or planning it. The Sweethearts wore blue dresses this year also.
Here’s a picture of me with Isaac’s gorgeous wife Crystal, in our matching navy blue dresses. I thought I got a good deal on my dress (less than $50 from Von Maur) but then she told me she got hers for $14 from Dillard’s.
Here’s a picture of Brian with Sara’s husband Shane, who I work with. You can’t tell it from this photo but Brian’s bowtie is actually a dark navy blue also. We got it for him this year to match my dress.
Here’s a picture of me and Brian with Jessica. This was taken in the silent auction area. The silent auction really confused me last year because they went digital and so all the bidding was online. We usually end up buying a ton of stuff from the silent auction but didn’t end up with anything last year. This year it made more sense to me and I actually won a basket, which was under $200. I’m thinking maybe they should change it again because I actually end up saving money when I’m confused. Then I don’t end up bidding on things I don’t really need. LOL. Just kidding. It’s all for a good cause.
Work only purchased six tickets again this year so we didn’t have our company name at our table, just a table number. Last year we shared our table with two couples from Splurge. This year we didn’t really know who we would be sharing the table with. The couples arrived late and left early.
Sara was sitting closest to them so she got to visit with them a bit over dinner. She said as they couples were leaving, she thought she heard the woman say, “We’re leaving for some sex and better food.” Definitely the quote of the evening if Sara heard her correctly. I’m not sure it helped that Isaac ate one of their desserts.
Speaking of food, he’s a picture of the salad.
They served surf and turf this year, a prawn atop a small filet. Other than the fact that it was cold, I actually liked it. The food had good flavor. The presentation wasn’t as nice as entrees in year’s past, though. I really like shrimp and Brian doesn’t so he gave me his shrimp, which worked great for me because they don’t really give us huge portions. Thankfully there are snacks at the after party for people who are still hungry.
Here’s a group photo we took after dinner. The free photos were already over so we ended up just taking our own group photo. LOL.
Here’s a picture of me and Brian with DJ Carbon (aka James) before the after party.
Another one while I was waiting for Brian to come back from putting our silent auction purchase out in our car. I got the “Beauty and Bling” package which included a hair dryer and curling iron set (like I said, stuff I don’t really need) was quite heavy so we didn’t want to have to lug it everywhere we went. Plus, we also wanted to do some dancing at the after party.
Speaking of the after party, they switched it up this year. Instead of having The Source, they had DJ Carbon and Rudy Love. I thought it was a good change. They’re modernizing the event a bit to attract millennials.
Sara, Shane, Isaac, and Crystal all skipped the after party. Brian and I usually only stay long enough to pay for our silent auction winnings and then leave too. However, we decided to stick around for a bit this year to support our friend James (aka DJ Carbon). I also wanted to see how they changed things.
One of the biggest changes was the after party location. They actually shut down AVI and held the after party there. In the past it was in the hotel lobby area where the have the silent auction baskets. They quickly clear that area out while the program is happening and then the band sets up so that, when the program ends and people start heading out there, the band is ready to go.
This year DJ Carbon and Rudy Love set up in AVI while we were in the program. We had the entire restaurant so it felt like we had a lot more space. I think they’re moving toward turning the after party into its own big event because they actually sold tickets for it this year.
After party tickets were $100 each but if you had a ticket to the Heart Ball (I think about $300 each) then you automatically got into the after party. Naturally, I was curious what you got for $100 besides superb entertainment by our friend James.
No chocolate fountain this year, which was a bit disappointing, but they did provide heavy duty after hours munchies such as chips and queso and tacos and assorted sweets. Like I said earlier, if you were still hungry, there was more food to be had.
The chocolate fountain was kind of a big change since I think they’ve had one almost every year. Last year they had a champagne fountain in addition to the chocolate fountain, which was a nice touch. That looked like a lot of work, though, so I can understand why they ditched it this year. I can live without the champagne fountain but I would like to see the chocolate fountain come back.
Oh, and if they serve queso at the after party again next year, they should really make it a queso fountain! LOL.
Here are some pictures of the after party entertainment, which is a huge departure from the after party entertainment of previous years.
It was another great event over all. I was mostly joking about the chocolate fountain bit. I liked the changes for the most part. I hope they keep this same format. Now, knowing what to expect, I’ll probably take an afternoon nap to make sure I have energy to stick around for the after party instead of bailing super early.
I hope we get some tickets again next year!
Comment on This
Member Appreciation Zumbathon®
Posted on February 24, 2018 by Ching under Community, Zumba.
Just a few pics from the Member Appreciation Zumbathon we had last weekend at the Andover YMCA. We decided to have an 80’s theme so everyone got to wear fun 80’s outfits and we also did a bunch of 80’s favorites.
Brian looked handsome dressed up in his Top Gun outfit. He helped us with the raffle and took pictures and videos.
Some people went all-out. I loved seeing all the colorful outfits.
There was a good mix of festive 80’s attire and regular workout clothes but, regardless of what people were wearing, everyone seemed to have a great time.
Here’s a quick selfie I took of me, Brandon, and Kariana during the break.
I didn’t get a lot of photos because Brian and I couldn’t stay for the entire event because we had to get ready for the Heart Ball. It’s the annual formal black-tie benefit for the American Heart Association that we’ve had the privilege of attending the last few years. More on that in the next post.
There were five instructors who hosted and led songs at the event: Charis, Mandy, Francie, Missy, and me. It was supposed to be all of the Andover YMCA Zumba instructors but Tiffany could not get the day off from her regular job and Angie fell ill that very day. We had to scramble and replace her. Thankfully, Missy planned to be at the event and knew some of Angie’s songs already so we just slid her right in. Charis, who was in charge of putting together the playlist, didn’t have to do much rearranging. She also helped me out by putting all of my songs at the beginning.
I did routines to covers of the following famous 80’s hits:
Fresh by Kool & the Gang (1984)
Take On Me by A-Ha (1985)
Karma Chameleon by Culture Club (1985)
Part-Time Lover by Stevie Wonder (1985)
Here’s a video of us dancing to Karma Chameleon.
I also did September by Earth Wind & Fire because I thought it was an 80’s song but it was actually released in 1971. Wow! Who would’ve have thought? Now I’m thinking, wouldn’t it be cool do a 70’s themed class? I bet I know a few 70’s hits and don’t even realize it!
Others did 80’s hits as well but we also did some regular Zumba songs and songs from other decades. The 90-minute playlist had great variety. Charis did an excellent job of putting it together.
Anyway, that’s pretty much all I got about the Zumbathon at Andover YMCA last weekend. The next post will have our pics from the Heart Ball.
1 Comment
