FLIP + CHING

A Low-Key Christmas and Our Annual Recap

Posted on January 5, 2024 by Ching under Life, Pickleball.

Brian and I had a pretty low-key Christmas. I barely even took any pics. His parents came up from Oklahoma on Christmas Eve and then went home the day after Christmas. Instead of doing a traditional “Noche Buena” at mom and dad’s, we opted to get together for lunch. It was nice. We had lots of Filipino food thanks to Manny, who loves to cook also.

I ordered this game called Blank Slate because I absolutely loved it when we played it at Susie’s a couple of weeks ago. I brought it to mom and dad’s and we played a couple of rounds after lunch. Everyone loved it too. It’s so fun!

We had a quiet Christmas Eve dinner at our house with Brian’s parents. The next morning, Brian and his dad went to pick up grandma and the five of us celebrated Christmas Day together. Christmas Day lunch was also subdued. We ordered a holiday feast package from Hello Fresh and it worked out great. They pretty much sent us everything we needed for a nice charcuterie board and also a hefty prime rib meal. For dessert, I got this amazing cake from Prost.

We ate some of it on Christmas Eve but, as mom also ordered ube cake, we barely made a dent. We ate some on Christmas Day but we still had a crap ton left. I had been eating all week until I finally accepted that I wasn’t going to be able to eat the rest of it all by myself. I took what was left (a little over half) to Jeff Bally’s on Saturday when we played pickleball and we ate some of it while we played. There was a small piece left and my friend Zach Nguyen took it home.

I’m glad none of it went to waste because that would have made me really sad. This is seriously the best cake that I’ve had in a while. After having a slice of it at lunch a couple of weeks ago, I decided I needed a whole one because I wanted everyone to try it. #SharingIsCaring

I took time off work between Christmas and New Year’s and that week went by pretty quickly (much like all of 2023) but Brian and I were actually quite productive. We’ve both always hated the way our kitchen faucet looks so we decided to finally replace it. I had no idea kitchen faucets were so expensive! We found a $200 one at Lowe’s that we were happy with and then Brian got to work.

Here’s the before and after.

Installing the new faucet wasn’t too bad but getting the old one off was super tricky. We almost gave up partway through. But Brian persevered and now the kitchen looks much better. Who knew simply replacing your faucet could make such a difference? And I had no idea that a measly $200 faucet would bring me so much joy — more joy than any other gift could have given me.

I shouldn’t be so surprised though, because “acts of service” is my primary love language. And, replacing the faucet was not easy, nor did Brian enjoy it so this act is very much appreciated.

And now for our annual recap…

For the past couple of years (maybe more) my life has pretty much revolved around pickleball so it should come as no surprise that there as a lot of pickleball played in 2023. I did resolve to cut back on pickleball tournaments but, because I don’t know how to say no to anything (and I have major FOMO), I somehow still played in over 20 tournaments last year. They were mostly regional tournaments within driving distance so I spent about $5,000 less on tournaments than I did in 2022 when I traveled all over the country and played in 24.

The Oklahoma City Life Time hosts a Picklemania tournament about four times a year and I played in two of them last year.

The US Open in Naples is probably the most prestigious tournament I have ever played in and, this past year, I got to compete in five events! We had a big group go this year, including mom and dad, so that made it even more fun.

The other memorable tournaments this year are:

Mid-South Regional – I really wasn’t planning on playing in this one but Casey Dominguez who I played with in the January Picklemania wanted to play in it and I wanted to play with him so I squeezed it in.

APP Cincinnati – This was my attempt to earn a golden ticket for 2023 USA Pickleball National Championships for mixed doubles. I earned my golden tickets for women’s doubles and women’s singles at the Diamond Amateur Championships in Florida in 2022, but Ramon Lozano and I only got silver in mixed so I didn’t earn a mixed golden ticket.

Tulsa Pickleball Classic – This tournament isn’t really a qualifier for anything, unlike the golden ticket tournaments or the regional tournaments that feed the Diamond Amateur Championships but it was on my list because Tanner Rice wanted to do it. Anyway, he ended up getting hurt so I played this one with a blind date, Mo Luqman instead.

PPA Kansas City Open – This was another attempt at getting my mixed golden ticket. Due to another injury, I ended up with another blind date which is always disappointing but Kendra Wicks (one of my pickleball daughters and also my women’s doubles partner for Nationals) used both the Tulsa tournament and this one to get some tournament practice so I can’t say that it was a complete waste. Although I didn’t earn a golden ticket at this tournament, because of the cancellations and the mess of the whole tournament, they ended up giving EVERYONE golden tickets so I got my spot for mixed doubles after all.

Bartlesville Fall Classic – This is a tournament hosted by my friend Kumar Krishnan. It is run super well and you get three events, a tournament shirt, and lunch included with your entry fee. They also have prize money at all levels. This is one of those tournaments that I highly recommend to everyone because it is not only fun but also a great value.

NEO Shangri-La Open – This is a smaller regional tournament that is a fundraiser for one of the universities in Oklahoma. It is also hosted by Kumar so you know it is well-organized. One of my favorite things about this tournament is the beautiful resort setting. It’s just an amazing environment and I love that we have something like this within driving distance of Wichita.

USA Pickleball National Championships – It’s been one of my long-running goals (since I started playing in tournaments) to compete at Nationals. It was supposed to be at Indian Wells in California but they changed it to Brookhaven Country Club in Dallas, Texas. This is probably the biggest tournament I have ever participated in. My mixed doubles division had 80 teams registered!

ICT Summer Classic – This is a much smaller tournament compared to the other ones on this list but it will forever hold a special place in my heart because, many years ago, this tournament was the first ever real tournament I played in. Also, I think the 2023 ICT Summer Classic is Kayla Keuter’s very last one because she didn’t have the ICT Fall-out tournament last year and, the last time we spoke, it seemed like she wasn’t interested in hosting any more of these in the future (which makes me really sad).

Besides these bigger tournaments, I also played in and hosted a bunch of DUPR events (both on my own and through iPickle Nation), and I played and helped with a bunch of local tournaments (some of which were charity events to raise money for my favorite social agencies):

Dream Team Doubles (at Riverside Tennis Center)
Mixed Doubles Mini Tournament (at the Pickle Club)
Wichita Corporate Challenge (representing Evergy)
It’s a Big Dill (benefiting the Wichita Children’s Home)
Picklemania MMXXIII (benefiting Rotary Club of Andover)
Y’s Men Pickleball Tournament (benefiting Greater Wichita YMCA)
Rally for Hope (benefiting HopeNet)
Backyard Pickleball (at various home courts)
Holiday Hoedown (at Jeff Bally’s)

And then I had two Minor League Pickleball events this year — one I played in (Chicken N Pickle Ambassador MiLP) and one that I helped organize (MiLP at Crestview Country Club). MiLPs are team tournaments and it probably my most favorite competition format. I highly recommend playing in one of these if you’ve never tried it. They are a blast!

I also had several friends have pickleball birthday parties (Molly Sager, Susie Ternes, Ramon Lozano, Katie Merrill, Alice Tunks-Jones) which I guess is the thing to do here in Wichita. The girls even threw me a birthday surprise at one of our pickleball sessions.

Speaking of birthdays, I threw Brian a rum tasting party this year as a belated birthday present. He loves rum so it was perfect. I totally patted myself on the back for that one. Anyway, so much has happened this year more than just pickleball (helping with the NPL tournament at Chicken N Pickle, pickleball Christmas parties)… Brian and I had our first colonoscopies (yes, we are officially THAT age)… We started Hello Fresh so we could eat at home more (we are still using the service and really like it so far)… We did our annual Shock N’ Clause breakfast with our travel friends… It has been quite a year and I am thankful to each and everyone of you who helped make every moment of 2023 a memorable one. Happy New Year!

Comment on This

Holiday Pop-Ups Recap

Posted on January 4, 2024 by Ching under Things to Do.

I missed Sparky’s again this year but I’m pretty sure I set a new record for hitting holiday pop-up bars this holiday season.

The other night we went to Holiday Hideaway at Chicken N Pickle to celebrate Jenny Cole and Bobby Weisbrodt’s birthdays. Bobby’s was on December 30 and Jenny’s was on January 3 so the two of them decided to celebrate together on Tuesday, January 2. It worked out great because I was actually free that day.

It was a lot of fun and the festive drinks were yummy but there are so many holiday pop-up bar options these days. It seems like all the restaurants are trying to out-do each other. I think my favorite thing at Holiday Hideaway is the martini flight that’s served in bear glasses on a Chicken N Pickle snowboard. So cute and, for $20, not a bad deal at all.

The other pop-up I got to check out this year were:

Snow Globe at River City Brewery (twice)
Jingle at Public at the Brickyard (also twice)
Bigloo at Nortons Brewing Company

Here’s a video highlight from my second visit to Jingle:

That night was quite wild. I hadn’t been out that late in a really long time. We shut down the restaurant and, by the time we left, the Old Town road barricades were down. I’m not usually out that late so I didn’t even know that was thing.

Having visited all these pop-ups, I must say that Jingle is my favorite because they have a DJ on Friday nights which makes the atmosphere extra fun and festive. And, out of all the holiday drinks I’ve drank, the Papa Noel is my fave.

Anyway, now that it’s January most of the holiday pop-ups have wrapped up for the season. Looking forward to hitting all these places (and then some) again next year. Until then, happy New Year to all!

Comment on This

Shock N’ Clause 2023

Posted on December 31, 2023 by Ching under Community.

Brian and I participated in our friends’ annual Shock N’ Clause breakfast. It’s basically a breakfast where each participant brings $50 in cash. We pool all the money together and, after paying for the group’s meal, everything else goes to the server. It’s something that our travel group started in 2019 and has become an annual tradition around the holidays. Brian and I don’t always get to attend but we are always glad when we do.

Our friend Marc Shook organizes the event and this year he chose Doo-Dah Diner. Naturally, I had to take a pic with their iconic Wichita flag mural.

We usually shoot for about 20 people but we ended up with 17 total on this most recent one. Because of the size of our group, it took a while to be seated. They had to wait for enough people to leave from the same part of the restaurant so we could all sit together. Brian and I knew most of the people but we had never met some of them. We had a nice time visiting in the waiting area while we waited.

They ended up seating us at three different tables in the section in front of the bar and kitchen area. Here are pics of our three tables:

There are no assigned seats so you just pretty much find a vacant seat and sit there. Couples usually try to sit together, though. It’s easier that way when it’s time to pay. I ended up sitting next to Justin and Tina Huntington. I love these two and I hardly got to see them at all the last couple of years so it was perfect.

Here’s a picture of our group with the beneficiary (in black, between Alicia and Kirk Short) and her mom (next to Kirk in the red shirt).

Normally, we would tell the restaurant what we are doing and then the owner selects an employee who is most in need of the financial blessing and our group gets put in that server’s section so they end up getting the large cash tip. It’s a complete surprise and the employee has no idea what is going on. This year proved a little tricky. The restaurant owner Timerie had chosen Autumn Armendariz, a deserving employee who has been through a lot this year, to be our beneficiary but, because of Timerie’s husband’s illness and a staffing shortage, Autumn had to work the kitchen line calling tickets that day. It is a lead position that not just anyone can do. Timerie said Autumn is so good at it that she is even better than her husband at performing this role. The downside for Autumn is that she wouldn’t make as much as she would serving tables, specially on a holiday weekend. But, there is no one else who can do the job better. Autumn was obviously not thrilled about this turn of events but was taking one for the team because she knows the success of the entire day depends on her stepping onto the line.

Timerie ended up assigning Autumn’s mom, who is a tenured employee at Doo-Dah, to serve our group that day and she agreed to give all the tips from our group to Autumn because of everything that Autumn has been through and everyone agreed she is most deserving of the financial blessing.

I think, after Marc calculated everything, our group gave about $800 to Autumn. Brian and I ended up giving $20 separately to Autumn’s mom because she’s the one who actually served our table and she was excellent. I think Marc gave her $25 and I think Summer gave her $20 also. That was just at out table. I think if others did the same, I’m guessing Autumn’s mom maybe could have earned $200 or so in tips from our group. It was a win-win all around.

Here’s a photo of our three separate tables which, although separate, we still felt kind of together because people were able to be up and about and visit. Here’s a highlight video I made of our this year’s Shock N’ Clause breakfast:

I am really glad that Marc choose Doo-Dah because, not only is it owned and ran by good people, their food is excellent. Here are some pictures of our food:

I didn’t get pictures of everything because some people had already started eating before I could get to them, specially the folks at the first/far table. Also, ironically, I remembered to take pictures of everyone’s plate but mine. I had the pork belly and grits special which was amazing. Everything looked delicious and, if the other dishes were anything like mine, they probably tasted even better than they looked.

I was glad Brian and I could be part of another successful Shock N’ Clause. Not only does it give us opportunity to spend time with friends who we don’t always get to see but it is a truly heartwarming and rewarding experience for all involved. Can’t wait to do it all again next year!

Comment on This

Bigloo at Nortons Brewing Company

Posted on December 22, 2023 by Ching under Life.

We had a lovely time having dinner with friends in the Bigloo at Nortons last night. The Bigloo is the largest igloo at Nortons and it accommodates 10 people.

Above is a short video I made with some highlights from the evening. Nortons is super festive this time of year. I highly recommend checking it out before the season is over. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone!

Comment on This

Jingle with the Belles

Posted on December 21, 2023 by Ching under Food and Drink, Things to Do.

We had so much fun at Snow Globe at River City Brewery a couple of weeks ago that I’ve decided to make it my mission to check out as many holiday pop-ups as I can. This week I hit Jingle (Public at the Brickyard’s holiday pop-up) with my some of my favorite pickleball ladies.