FLIP + CHING

The Fabulous Fleshtones at Derby VFW

Posted on February 15, 2009 by Ching under Family.

Once again we are not doing laundry at home. This is the fourth consecutive weekend of this tragic laundry saga. As you can recall, the first weekend was spent at the Spring Clean Laundromat, followed by laundry at my parents’, then laundry at Brian’s parents’ last weekend… Which brings us to today: laundry at my parents’ again.

Hopefully, we can get the laundry thing situated soon. I am so looking forward to doing laundry in the comfort of my own home that I think I will cry the day it happens.

Anyway, our house may be old but pretty much everything in it is newish just because of all the drama that it has put us through. Let me give you a quick recap:

2001 Brian and Ching move in to house from hell. We didn’t know it was the house from hell at the time, though. Back then we were giddy from first-time home ownership. We were like, “Aww, our very own home!” I was all trying to be domestic and everything. Even Brian wanted to play Suzie Homemaker on some days. We were completely enchanted.
2002 The hot water tank gives out. Thankfully, our house was still under warranty and the insurance company helped pay for the carpet clean up and replacement carpet pads. We got a brand new hot water tank to replace the one that went kaput. We still had to fork out some dough, but it wasn’t as painful as what was yet to come.
2003 The furnace goes out. We spent one week of no heat. Well, we had some portable space heaters placed strategically throughout the house. Man, you should have seen our power bills at that time! It made me vow never again to use space heaters. Anyway, we had Fahnestock come out to replace the furnace. Since this was in winter, they were running a two-for-one special: buy a furnace and get an A/C almost free. So in 2003, we got a new furnace and A/C unit. We actually had to take out a loan from Intrust Bank to pay for this unfortunate event.
2005 This is when the big ice storm happened. Brian and I drove over our gutter while backing out of our garage. We didn’t realize it until we got out of the car because everything was white. We were actually afraid that we had run over Big Bill, the neighborhood stray cat. Luckily, it wasn’t Big Bill. It was just our gutter that had fallen off the house due to the weight of the ice that had clogged up in it. We had all of the gutters replaced for $750 and we had gutter covers installed so that we wouldn’t have to worry about driving over our gutters in case they get clogged up, because they wouldn’t!
2009 You already know this story. This is when we got brand new plumbing for the entire house.

I’m pretty sure something bad happened to our house in 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008. I just can’t remember right now. It might be so bad that I’m trying to block it from memory.

Anyhow, we have our work cut out for us. Enjoy the video about top 5 ways to save on home improvement below:

1 Comment

Eastern-Inspired Furniture Online

Posted on February 14, 2009 by Ching under Sponsored Post.

Brian and I haven’t gotten much further on the home remodel because things keep coming up. For instance, he’ll be leaving for Germany in a couple of weeks. I doubt that I’ll do much work on the house while he is away. I have been doing lots of web-surfing for inspiration, though.

Recently I found LOMBOK, this online store specializing in Eastern-inspired furniture, lighting, and home accessories. LOMBOK has several stores in London and throughout the UK, but none in Wichita. Mostly, I visit their web site for inspiration.

I found the web site completely by accident while searching for lamps online. As you all know, we don’t have a lamp in the bedroom right now. I search all over town and all over the web for one that would be suitable, to no avail. I finally stumbled upon the LOMBOK web site and their wide selection of lamp shades.

They also have these cool woven laundry baskets and a similarly-fashioned log basket. The first laundry basket on the page and the log basket are made out of material called Vietnamese jungle string. They also have matching rectangular baskets made with the same jungle string material that are lined. They are beautiful, decorative storage options that you can use for just about anything. I was thinking these baskets would look great in our chocolate room. Of course, there isn’t any room right now. However, when we get done with the home remodel then we can begin moving some of the stuff out of the chocolate room and into other parts of the house and then decorating the rooms with various home accessories. We plan on pretty much keeping the same color scheme and going for a minimal look so the baskets would work anywhere really, not just the chocolate room.

Besides just lamp shades, baskets, and other home accessories, LOMBOK carries some beautiful furniture. They have this simple yet elegant “Malang” dining table made of teak. It is so Brian and I. Anyway, I really wish there was a LOMBOK store here so I can look to them for more than just inspiration. Perhaps a visit to London is in order.

Comment on This

Brian is a Credit Card Nazi

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Ching under Life.

As you all know, Brian and I are anti-credit card. We have been since we racked up tens of thousands of dollars in debt. Now that we are out of credit card debt (most of it shifted to my student loans, mainly) we don’t want to get back into it. Therefore, we only have the one credit card. He is convinced that he is more responsible than I am. Although, I have changed a lot in the last five years. Right now he is the only one with a credit card.

Before we would use our credit card only once in a while. Maybe every couple of months or so, if we have a big ticket purchase. Last year, I managed to convince Brian to use the credit card for our day-to-day and monthly expenses because we can earn points faster that way. I assured him that we would pay off the balance each month. It would be just like if we were paying out of our checking account, but with a couple of key benefits (1) we will be earning points, and (2) we’ll be balancing our checkbook less frequently.

I begged and pleaded with him to do this several times over the last couple of years. He always refused. We would get so frustrated having the same arguments over and over. After asking him for the umpteenth time last year, he finally relented.

So for the last several months that’s what we’ve been doing, earning quite a few points along the way. However, we still only have the single credit card. So if I have to get gas for myself (like when Lila and I were driving home from Topeka a couple of weeks ago), rare as these times may be, I have to use my debit card because I have no credit card at all. It irks when when I have to use my debit card because I get no points out of it.

My plea to him for the last couple months has been to give me a credit card of my own or allow me to apply for one. The answer has always been no. He says he fears that I will go nuts and revert back to my old ways. I think he keeps refusing my request because it gives him power over me or a greater sense of control, imaginary as it may be. I mean, I have our credit card number (including the three digit security code) memorized so if I wanted to go nuts I could easily do it. I haven’t and I don’t plan to.

Anyway, he got this new credit card in the mail today. He started freaking out immediately. I think he thought that I applied for a credit card without his knowledge.

ME: I think it’s a replacement for our credit card.

BRIAN: Our credit card doesn’t expire until next year!

ME: It has the last four digits of our BOA World Points card on the letter. Read it. I think it’s some kind of upgrade. Maybe the $7500 that we charged for the plumbing got their attention?

BRIAN: They are replacing our card. (He confirmed that my observation was correct, but he was mad that the new card has upset the balance of our single-credit-card-world.)It’s a Visa Signature card I didn’t ask for this!

ME: I think the new card comes with nice perks. (I was trying to calm him down, but I also had another motive.) Can I have the little mini one that goes in your key ring?

BRIAN: It still has my name on it. You wouldn’t be able to use it. Besides, I was already going to get you your own card.

ME: Really? Like, for Valentines Day?

BRIAN: Yes.

ME: That’s all I’ve ever wanted!

Some women get jewelry. Others get flowers. All I want is a piece of plastic. I can’t believe it. My very own credit card!

LOL. I think the biggest factor in Brian letting me have my own credit card is his trip to Germany. He wanted to make sure I had a credit card of my own in case some sort of disaster happens. Otherwise, I think I’d still be credit-card-less in 2009. Have you ever met a credit-card-less 30-year-old woman (okay, I’m really 31 but I stopped counting at 30)? It’s almost unheard of! I might as well be a unicorn!

Comment on This

My “Art by Amy” Scrabble Tiles Necklace

Posted on February 9, 2009 by Ching under Life.

My “Art by Amy” Scrabble tiles necklace arrived on Saturday. I was so excited! Brian and I went to Wal-Mart and picked up a jewelry tools set for me so I can attach the tiles to the chain.

I am so totally addicted to “Art by Amy” stuff. My favorite part is how you can mix and match sentiment pendants and different baubles and different chains and silks to create your own unique necklace.

Sunny is actually the first to get me into “Art by Amy” jewelry. She wore her “Poker Slut” sentiment necklace and her “Butt Necklace” (both “Art by Amy” pieces) on the cruise. She purchased them from The Pink Boa. I told her that I had never been there so she picked me up from my house and took me there one day.

I ended up coming home with a Pink Panache necklace and the “Poker Slut” sentiment pendant with two silks: one red and one black. Little did I know that would only be the beginning. Since then I’ve added a “C” initial pendant and a fleur de lis pendant to my growing “Art by Amy” collection. Most recently, I added the Scrabble tiles necklace.

If you want to give the special woman in your life something special, please be sure to check out The Pink Boa. The have the best selection of girlie items in town, bar none. I can’t wait to purchase my next “Art by Amy” piece.

BTW, Amy will be at the River Festival this year. I’ve never met her before, but I found this video clip (from almost ten years ago) in Google. I can’t wait to meet her and by new stuff. Enjoy the video!