Symphony in the Flint Hills 2018
Posted on July 4, 2018 by Ching under Events, Things to Do.
I’m super behind on the blog so it’s now July and I’m only getting around to posting pictures from this year’s Symphony in the Flint Hills. Before you call me a slacker, you have to understand how crazy busy my schedule has been both in and out of work. It was actually very lucky for us that we were both able to carve out some time for the Symphony this year. If there was any year to go attend the event, this was the year to do it because the site was only 45 minutes from our house. It’s usually about three hours away. It’s rare and special when it’s this close.
The last time that the Symphony was at Rosalia Ranch was four years ago. I couldn’t for the life of me remember why we missed it because we never would have skipped it knowing full well how conveniently close it would be to Wichita. I actually had to look up what we were doing that year. It turns out, we missed the event for a very good reason (and I can’t believe I forgot). We missed the 2014 Symphony in the Flint Hills because we traveled to the Dominican Republic that year to celebrate Brian’s 40th birthday. Can you believe that was four years ago? It’s wild how time just seems to fly by.
Fast forward to 2018 and the Symphony is back at Rosalia Ranch again. The event usually falls around Brian’s birthday but, as soon as we found out about the location, we made a pact not to make any plans that would prevent us from going. We even took it a step further this year and volunteered with the Westar Energy Green Team on the Friday before the event.
Here’s a picture of some of our group in waiting in the parking lot of the school in Rosalia, down the street from the site. To minimize the impact to the prairie, we met and parked most of our cars at the school and then carpooled to the Symphony site. That way we’re not parking a bunch of cars there.
Here’s a picture of Ben giving us our briefing.
Here’s a panoramic view of one side of the Symphony site.
I took a fun selfie with Caylin (left) and Alex (right) during one of our breaks.
We worked on several tasks that day. Setting up the patron chairs was one of them. It was very meticulous work. The chairs had to be a specific distance apart and the rows had to be spaced just so.
A few more selfies… I think we took these during the lunch break.
This might have been when we were in line for food. That’s my friend Faith with me in the next photo. She and Krystee volunteered with me last year. Krystee wasn’t feeling well and didn’t make it this year but we had a great group from the Contact Center with Alex, Alicia, and Mike volunteering with us.
Brian disappeared after lunch. He had a heyday driving the telelift forklift. When it was time to leave, we had to have Ben track him down and tell him to quit. He just wanted to drive that thing all day. If it were up to him, he would have worked clear up until sunset and we would have missed Ginger’s retirement party.
Brian and I went back the next day for the Symphony.
Here are a few photos.
These next ones are from the after party.
Here’s an aerial shot of the Symphony site that I found online courtesy of Kansas Drone Imaging. Do you see us? 😉
I’m so glad that we had the opportunity to volunteer and also attend the event this year. Next year the Symphony will be back in Chase County. It will be tricky to attend but I hope that we are able to find a way. I just love this event. There’s no better way to enjoy the Symphony and the beautiful Flint Hills sunset. GNG.
Comment on This
New Movie Theater in Wichita
Posted on July 3, 2018 by Ching under Movies, Things to Do.
Brian and I finally got to check out the new (I guess, not so new now) AMC movie theater at the old Northrock 14. We used to go to this theater when we first started dating, before it started getting run down. Eventually, we stopped going there and just went mostly to Warren Theatres for our movies, which had dominated the Wichita movie market. And then eventually the theater closed altogether. Fast forward several years later and the old Northrock 14 has been reincarnated as AMC.
It’s been completely gutted and remodeled inside. It actually looks very modern and nice. I like the kiosks where you can purchase tickets. There’s very limited contact with people, should you choose. The butter and soda are even self-serve.
The auditoriums vary in size. Some of them are smaller but they all have the same reclining seats. I also like that they didn’t try to cram so many rows so there’s plenty of room to walk across without getting on top of people.
I also like that it’s all reserved seating because I’m very picky about sitting smack dab in the middle of the auditorium. This way I don’t have to get there early or fight anyone else for it. I just need to buy my tickets in advance.
Our first AMC movie was Deadpool 2 a few weeks ago. And then we went back again this weekend for Solo: A Star Wars Story.
We were in smaller auditoriums both times. I wasn’t so keen on the smaller screens at first but I really like the comfortable seats and the auditorium set up. I also like that I don’t have to pay a premium for reserved seating. We will definitely be back!
In the meantime, here are a couple of movie previews for you to enjoy:
Comment on This
Fun Water Bottle Project
Posted on June 24, 2018 by Ching under Projects.
Brian surprised me with a really cool, customized insulated water bottle a few weeks ago. We both have S’well bottles that we’d gotten for Christmas a few years back. They work great but they’re kind of expensive.
Recently, Brian found some better insulated water bottles at Walmart. They work like S’well bottles in that they can keep hot things hot for 12 hours and cold things cold for 24 hours but they’re actually better in that they have a wider opening so they’re easier to fill with large chunks of ice and they have a built-in carrying handle. Not to mention they are cheap!
The Walmart by our house had tons of them in various colors. We saw four sizes: 64, 40, and 26 ounces. And, because we never can just have one of something, we got a bunch in various sizes. You can never have too many insulated water bottles.
The skinny 26-ounce one was only $12. I mean, we could get three of these for less than the price of one S’well bottle. You can’t beat it.
The 40-ounce one that Brian got me cost less than $15! The gigantic 64-ounce one was only a few cents more.
The best part about these water bottles is that if you mess up your project, it’s not too bad because they didn’t cost a fortune.
Brian’s brilliant project idea was to customize my new water bottle with the Zumba logo and my name. The finished product looked amazing! I could not wait to show it off to friends when I went to Zumba class. It is definitely one of the best surprise gifts that Brian has ever given me!
Here are some step-by-step progress pics for those of you curious how he did it and want to make your own. Brian says it’s not complicated. It just requires patience more than anything else.
Besides the water bottle, you’ll need permanent paint markers. Brian had some Sharpie ones that he purchased just for this project.
First, you need to create a template for the design you want to use.
Then you cover the entire back side for the drawing in pencil lead.
This is how you get the design to transfer to the water bottle. You can also use carbon paper for this part but this is a nifty trick that Brian learned in art school and it works great in a pinch.
The next step is to trace the outline in Sharpie and then fill in the design with the paint marker. Brian recommends using the paint markers because they work on any surface and they hold up better than just a regular Sharpie but if you want to use a regular Sharpie I guess you could.
Once you’ve filled in the design, let it dry for at least 24 hours.
Next, he added my name to make it extra special. You can freehand this part if you have neat handwriting. Brian opted to use a nice font because he’s a perfectionist who is gifting this to another perfectionist. LOL.
You use the same steps as before to transfer the design to the bottle, fill it in with the paint marker, and then let it dry for another 24 hours.
Voila! There you have it. A very cool customized water bottle that will keep your water (or beverage of choice) a constant temperature throughout the day. It’s so easy that Alex actually did hers during Brian’s party last weekend.
Anyway, I hope you’ve found this tutorial helpful. Next weekend Brian and I plan to each do a water bottle project LIVE on our FLIP + CHING Facebook page. Tune in on Sunday, July 1, around 9:30 AM.
If you’ve done a similar project before, let us know how it went in the comments. We love hearing ideas and learning from others.
Until then, happy crafting and GNG!
Comment on This
Ginger’s Retirement Party
Posted on June 23, 2018 by Ching under Events, Leadership, Life.
The longest boss I’ve ever had retired a few weeks ago. She was my boss for thirteen years — starting on August 2004 when she hired me as a Contact Center Supervisor to June 2017 when I got transferred to Michelle’s team. But she was more than just a boss to me. She was like a second mom. For years she and Terry (another wonderful leader who I’ve had the privilege of working for; he retired a couple of years ago) looked after “the kids” — that’s what they called us. When Terry retired, I knew this day would eventually come but I had always been kinda sorta in denial.
I’m not really in our Wichita office as much because I’ve been reporting to Kansas City the last few months. Mostly I am there on Fridays (and late on Thursdays when I have to return the company car that I’ve borrowed for the week). Even so, it still feels weird to me not having Ginger around. At least before she retired I knew I could pop in once in a while and see her. Her old office is now Isaac’s and, whenever I walk by, it’s just not the same.
Here are a few pictures that we took from her retirement party at the Pumphouse a couple of weeks ago.
What you don’t see in these photos is that my black dress turned white from getting cocktail sauce spilled allover it and then being cleaned up. It was pretty bad. I was lucky that it was dark in the restaurant because it didn’t look as bad. However, as soon as Brian and I walked out into the daylight, you could see the entire mess all over me. The only thing worse was the smell. LOL.
It was a great turnout.
Carmen did a great job on Ginger’s picture board.
For our part, Brian and I didn’t get too fancy. We just put together a “retirement care package” consisting of a “No Work All Play” pilsner and Ginger’s favorite beverages (Tito’s Vodka and Coronas).
Here are some progress pics of putting the present together.
Brian printed nice labels for us to spruce up the crate.
The part that required the most effort were all the origami flowers which took me several hours to do. I tried to get Brian to help me but he has such a short attention span that he gave up after making only one. LOL.
I had to make the rest of the origami flowers by myself. It’s totally worth it, though. I wanted to put our special touch on the present. Or, I guess, my special touch.
Anyway, I’m super sad about Ginger’s retirement but at the same time I’m really happy for her. She no longer has to be bogged down with work and finally has the time to pursue all the things that are meaningful to her.
I hope someday when it’s our turn leave the working world, we have the opportunity to retire at a reasonable age to still enjoy life (#Goals).
I guess that’s all for now. GNG.
1 Comment
Carrabba’s Wine Tasting Dinner
Posted on June 22, 2018 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Several weeks ago I picked up this silent auction package for a wine tasting dinner for four people at Carrabba’s Italian Grill at the SALSA benefit for Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center (WASAC). It was perfect because Brian and I love Carrabba’s and the money went to a worthy cause.
Though there were some exclusions listed on the certificate (no Friday or Saturday), it wasn’t hard to find a time redeem the package. The hardest part was finding another couple to share the experience with. We have lots of good friends who enjoy food and wine as much as we do.
We ultimately decided on inviting Jenni and her boyfriend Adam. We thought it would be a nice way to celebrate their recent engagement.
Here are a few pictures from our fabulous dinner.
It was a ridiculous amount of food! On top of that, we each got dessert!
As far as wine went, we really could have taken more advantage but we didn’t want to be wasteful. Plus, Jenni and Brian seemed to really enjoy this bottle of cab and they wanted to finish it. We didn’t get past this bottle. LOL. Perhaps next time we can try at least a couple more different wines.
I’m not usually a red wine drinker but I actually enjoyed this cab as well (much to my surprise). It’s rare that Brian and I find a wine that we can both enjoy. Unfortunately, this one is on the expensive end. We normally spend $10 to $20 a bottle. This one is about $60 a bottle so it’s not one that we will buying by the case as we typically do with our other wines. We did find it on sale for about $49 at Groves a couple of weeks ago so we decided to splurge and pick up a bottle (just one) for us to enjoy the next time we have something to celebrate.
Anyway, despite Joe not being at the restaurant that night, we still had a fabulous dinner. His team made sure of it. Next time I see one of these packages at the next fundraising benefit, I’m definitely going to try snagging it. It’s worth every penny!
Until next time. GNG!
Comment on This
