New Friends from Minnesota
Posted on November 21, 2022 by Ching under Community, Pickleball.
I met another one of my Facebook friends in the flesh last weekend. Mang and Sou Vang were on a road trip to visit family and decided to come through Wichita on their way back to Saint Paul (Minnesota).
They asked me where I would be because they wanted to play pickleball. It was too cold to play outside so I told them I would be at the Pickle Club and they actually came! They signed up for guest accounts and added themselves to open play and everything! With the addition of the two of them, we had quite a few people for open play that day. It was awesome!
If you have not been to check out the Pickle Club, you should. It’s in the former Nahola facility so you know that the lighting is great and the court spacing is perfect. It is hands down one of my most favorite places to play. The only down side is that it is so far from my house.
Anyway, I’ve had some conversations with Mang on Facebook so it was wonderful to finally meet her in real life. Her husband and two girls are lovely as well. I hope I can make it out to Minnesota next year and play with their group. Until then, see you at the courts! GNG.
Comment on This
Spooktacular Sunday Funday
Posted on November 16, 2022 by Ching under Community, Events, Pickleball.
We were all so very excited about the new pickleball courts at Sedgwick County Park that we started using the courts as soon as the nets were installed. We even had a cookout the very next day. I couldn’t believe how well the cookout turned out with very little notice (just a few hours and some notes on PlaytimeScheduler.com) and absolutely no planning whatsoever. So for Halloween, I wanted us to have a proper cookout with at least a few weeks to plan ahead.
This is our group picture from the September cookout.
Anyway, my birthday is the day before Halloween so Brian wanted to know what I wanted for my birthday. When I need something, I usually buy it so I didn’t really want anything — except I did want him to grill for us at the cookout. That was the one thing I wanted for my birthday — I wanted him to come out and bring the portable grill and be grill master at the Halloween cookout.
He still let me buy things so I think I got a new pair of pickleball shoes and a new pickleball paddle but grilling at the cookout was the most meaningful to me. Stuff is just stuff. I think I used to like getting gifts but over time my love language has transitioned to “Acts of Service” because I feel like that requires more effort from the other person. Also, I don’t ever like when Brian buys me stuff because he usually pays twice as much. I get discounts on everything so anything he gets for me I can usually get waaaay cheaper. LOL.
Here is an awesome view of the pickleball courts at the park.
Some people came dressed up, which was so much fun!
I think the funniest part is that only 2 people got Noi’s costume. The rest of us had absolutely no clue what (or who) he was supposed to be.
The event had a huge turnout. A couple of days before the event, I checked the list to see if the 32 burger buns and 36 burger patties that we had purchased for the cookout would be enough and, at the time, it looked like it was. However, that number doubled to over 60 the day before the event. It turned out okay though because there were several of us who double dipped (we had the cookout and also Tim Satterfield’s 40th birthday celebration at Chicken N Pickle) so not everyone ate. I think some people waited to eat at CNP.
Here’s a fun video montage I made from the pics and videos taken at the cookout. The drone footage is courtesy of Jonathan Thorne.
After Brian packed up the park and went home, I went and stopped by Chicken N Pickle to make the last part of Tim’s birthday celebration.
It’s always kind of hectic when you go from one event/thing to another but how often does a friend turn 40? I wanted to be there for that too.
I didn’t play at CNP but I was glad to be there for Tim’s celebration. It looked like everyone was having a great time. I just love how pickleball brings everyone together. I met so many new people and made so many new friends at both events that day. Now that it’s the holiday season, the next round of get-togethers is about to begin and I cannot be more excited. Stay tuned for more fun events and pics!
Comment on This
Birthday Meals
Posted on November 15, 2022 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Brian and I went to Carrabba’s for the first time in a really long time last month. Here are some pics.
We used to go to Carrabba’s all the time but it’s just not the same now that Joe has retired. The food is good and I love their blackberry sangria.
On the day of my actual birthday, Brian decided that we should have breakfast at HomeGrown. We went early (before 9 AM) because they are always so busy. By the time we finished there was a long wait already.
We had a nice leisurely breakfast and I even got to do some coloring.
Brian got pancakes, eggs, and bacon.
Picture of my “Friends with Benedicts” meal (above) and my fun birthday poptart (below). I don’t even like poptarts. This one was good, though.
And, I know it was early but I had a whiskey maple cream latte (which was super strong, by the way) just because I could.
So on my birthday this year, I got to feel like a child but also like an alcoholic. I mean, you should be able to do whatever you want on your birthday (as long as it’s not illegal). Until next year. GNG.
Comment on This
Pickleball Lawrence Visitor
Posted on November 8, 2022 by Ching under Community, Pickleball.
I hadn’t been able to set up any DUPR match sessions in a while because of my crazy tournament schedule. There was like a six week stretch around September-October that I was out of town every weekend. Anyway, I finally got a break so when Steve Berndsen from Pickleball Lawrence reached out and asked if he could visit and check out a DUPR session, it worked out that I could put one together.
I didn’t actually plan to play that day because I had enough participants but Jim Spencer started to cramp toward the end so I ended up having to play a couple of games — without socks. Luckily, I had shoes in my backpack that were still there from the last time I played. I just didn’t pack any socks because I didn’t think I was playing. It felt a little weird but it all worked out.
It was wonderful to meet Steve and his wife DeAnn. She didn’t play so she ran the last two rounds when I was playing. They are both lovely and I think everyone had a great time. I always love meeting other pickleball players from far and wide. Making new friends and connecting people is kind of my jam.
It turns out we have some mutual friends, Nicole Mathis being one of them. I cannot wait to make it up to Lawrence and meet the rest of the players from their club! Until next time, GNG.
Comment on This
Fun Weekend with My Gal Pals
Posted on November 3, 2022 by Ching under Community, Pickleball.
One of my favorite parts about living in Wichita, besides the low cost of living, is that it is centrally located. A few weeks ago some ladies from Kansas City, Great Bend, and Tulsa met in Wichita for a women’s doubles scrimmage. Molly Sager and Genevieve Eskridge were teaming up for the upcoming Smash pickleball tournament in Oklahoma City and, since it will be their first time playing together, they wanted to get some practice matches. I pinged Nicole Mathis who I will be playing with for the first time also at the same tournament and, as luck would have it, she was available the same weekend.
Nicole arrived on Friday night so she and I could have some one-on-one team bonding time. We went to have dinner at Chicken N Pickle and also play with Brandi Richardson and Huyen Nguyen that evening.
She spent the night and the next morning we were back at Chicken N Pickle for a women’s doubles team round robin with all the ladies (from left): Caroline Luelf, Genevieve, Brandi, me, Sveta Yakubovich, Molly, Cindy Egan, Katie Merrill, Tami Racine, Nicole, and (from left on the ground) Greta Siemens, and Sarah Johnico.
Greta and Sarah are holding the crown because they were the most winning team that day. They had the best record out of everyone.
After playing, a few of us went to Tacos TJ before the ladies headed home. Brian and Ed came to join us. I can’t believe I didn’t get a group picture at the restaurant.
I did get these selfies with Katie and Genevieve (top pic, actually this is from Katie’s phone) and (bottom pic) me and Katie. She is so much fun!
I can’t wait to be reunited with everyone in a couple of weeks at Smash, even if we are going to have to compete against one another. Until then, GNG.
1 Comment
