Help Me Support Big Brothers Big Sisters
Posted on March 16, 2016 by Ching under Community, Projects, Things to Do.
It’s that time of year again when I’m obnoxiously raising money for Big Brothers Big Sisters. There’s not many fundraising events that I aggressively seek out donations for… This happens to be one.
I’ve been “bowling for kids” on and off for almost 15 years. I’ve been a team captain a few times, team member a few times, and donor/supporter every time. I’m involved in the event for a couple of reasons: a) I enjoy bowling; and b) I believe in this program.
Even before I became a Big Sister myself, I was already an avid supporter of this program because I believe the children are our future… Teach them well and let them lead the way… Give them a sense of pride to make it easier… Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be… Everybody’s searching for a hero… People need someone to look up to…
LOL. I can’t keep going with a straight face. See what I did there? I just Whitney-rolled you. If you’re not familiar with the song, watch this video:
Alright, back to seriousness. I really and truly believe in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and the power of having positive mentors and role models in your life. I know I would not be the person I am today if there had not been caring adults in my life. I’m sure you can remember a teacher, coach, or other important adult that made time for you. You remember that in between the cooking lessons or fishing trips, that person helped you find your way.
Today (just like last year and the years before that and probably every year after until I die), I’m asking you to support me and Big Brothers Big Sisters’ Bowl for Kids’ Sake. Your gift will help match another child with a mentor that will help him or her find the confidence he/she needs to overcome problems and make good choices. Click on one of the many links that I’ve spattered all over this blog post to make a donation and start a child on the path to success in school and in life.
Just do it. It’ll make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I promise. And, if you don’t, at least you got a tax write-off out of it. Thanks in advance for supporting a program that is close to my heart. You are wonderful and generous and I appreciate you.
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Our Youngest is Growing Up So Fast
Posted on March 7, 2016 by Ching under Babies.
It’s been a while since we gave an update on Saki. She recently graduated from puppy school at PetSmart. She would have finished sooner except we had to move her to another class. We enrolled her in the 2 PM class on Saturdays over the holidays last year. Things were going swimmingly until Brian and I both went back to work and then she started not wanting to pay attention and refusing to perform commands. After a couple of sessions like this, we figured it out. It wasn’t that she didn’t understand the commands. It was because she wanted to take a nap. On every single day of the week, 2 PM is her nap time (since she and Molly are locked up in their crates while we are at work) so, on Saturdays, that’s what she wanted to do as well.
Saki started falling behind since she didn’t want to pay attention in class and I was really worried about her. Luckily, there was another puppy training class at the same location with the same trainer, Mike Miller, on Tuesday nights at 7 PM. Mike was nice enough to allow Saki to transfer to that class. They started later so Saki got to review some of the things that she was already supposed to know. The time worked out better as well. Saki was more attentive and she responded to commands a lot better.
I was really worried about Saki but she seems to be turning out okay. In this aspect, anyway. She still has some behavior issues that I’m a bit concerned about. No dog is perfect, though. Actually, no one is. None of us are perfect. We all have our issues.
Molly is kind of a bitch. Well, she literally is; but she’s also a bitch in another sense. When Saki tries to love on her and be friendly, she’ll randomly snarl at her and pick a fight. Most of the time it’s uncalled for but sometimes I wonder if it’s in response to Saki’s attitude. Saki can be a bully. She already knows that she’s much bigger so she likes to pounce on Molly and body check her. Sometimes it’s nice and playful and sometimes it’s rough. I bet that can be annoying to a senior citizen dog like Molly, which doesn’t really do anything to improve her bitchy attitude. It just makes it worse.
Here’s Molly’s adorable RBF.
Saki got spayed last week and I was hoping that would slow her down. It only lasted a couple of days. Even though she’s still recovering, her energy is back in full force. Brian says it comes in bursts now so rather than being super hyper 100% of the time, she has a few moments of calm in between bursts of energy. She still has a lot of energy, though. I’m hoping that she’ll start to calm down because that will be the key to her and mellow Molly getting along.
The dogs usually play with our neighbors dogs, Nikki and Ellie, but we’ve been keeping them apart so Saki can take it easy and recover quickly. Well, the weather was super nice the other day and the dogs missed each other so much they were anxious to play together. We let them and I think Saki overdid it.
We noticed some blood clots in her stitches that weren’t there before. It was probably too soon. No more playing and rough-housing with the other dogs again for a while. They’re not going to like it but Saki just can’t resist being all wild and crazy and she’s liable to hurt herself if we don’t stop her.
By the way, I found this really cool site last night when Brian and I were shopping for a new harness online for Saki. She’s quickly outgrowing the one that she has now. I didn’t want to buy the wrong harness, have her outgrow it, and have to buy another in a couple of months so we wanted to figure out how big she will get as an adult dog. Puppy Chart lets you do that. They have info on just about every breed imaginable. You just input some information such as your dog’s birthday and their last known weight and it will estimate how big they will get over the next couple of years. It’s pretty neat.
If the site’s prediction proves to be accurate then Saki will top out at about 18 lbs, which is perfect for me. I’m not really a big dog person. I was hoping that she wouldn’t get any bigger than 25 lbs. If she stays under 20 lbs then she’s technically still within small dog realm. She’s gigantic compared to Molly but still quite small compared to other dogs. I may just get my wish after all.
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My Room with “Boo” at the Haunted Eldridge Hotel in Lawrence, KS
Posted on March 6, 2016 by Ching under Travel.
I hit the jackpot on a recent stay at the Eldridge Hotel in Lawrence, Kansas. I normally don’t request a specific room so, when I checked and they asked me if it’s okay that I got room 506, I was surprised in a good way. I’ve always been curious about this room and have wanted to stay in it, just not enough to specifically request it. I lucked out this time and it got assigned to me by chance.
The hotel, which started as Free State Hotel in 1855, has had a long history of getting torn down and being rebuilt. It became Hotel Eldridge after it was rebuilt in 1865 following an attack from William Clarke Quantrill and his band of raiders. This wasn’t the first time that the hotel was rebuilt and also not the last. The hotel has fallen into disrepair and been rebuilt a few more times since then.
The entire hotel is supposed to be haunted but there’s something eerily special about room 506. Reportedly most of the paranormal activity happens on the fifth floor with 506 being a portal to the spirit world. Guests have claimed to have seen breath marks on recently cleaned mirrors, doors opening and shutting by themselves, and lights turning on and off on their own. It’s all very creepy.
Here’s little video about the hotel that I found on YouTube:
I knew the hotel was haunted but I’m really glad that I didn’t have all of this information before because I would have had an even more difficult time sleeping. As it was, I hardly slept that night without imagining all of this ghostly paranormal activity. I’m highly impressionable so it’s pretty easy to put crazy ideas in my head.
In doing some reading after my stay, I also learned that the hotel was featured in My Ghost Story, a show on A&E’s Biography Channel.
Here are a few more photos from my stay…
I had taken a couple of pictures of the view across the street.
When I talked to Brian that evening, as we do every night when I’m away from home, he was like, “I saw the picture you posted on Facebook. It looked like there’s someone standing behind you.” He thinks he ‘s funny.
Here’s the layout of the fifth floor.
Here’s my very nice, un-creepy bed.
Here’s the lovely bathroom. The creepiest thing about it is that the shower area is kind of dark because the light is outside the shower curtain. There’s not a light directly above you in the shower.
The weirdest thing that happened to me during my stay is I couldn’t get any hot water to come out. I was actually not very happy about that. I wasn’t upset enough to complain, but it felt like I was showering in the Philippines where your water only has one temperature — cold.
Here’s a picture of the cute, little sitting area that you see immediately upon entering the room. The room is actually quite spacious and has two TVs that probably rarely get used, if at all. The second TV faces the bed.
I was smart this time and didn’t turn on the ceiling fan, although it would have been nice when I got hot in the middle of the night. I didn’t turn it on because, the last time I stayed at the Eldridge (granted, I was in a different room), the ceiling fan wobbled and made a clicking sound and kept me up all night.
I had a hard time sleeping again but I couldn’t blame the ceiling fan this time. I don’t really know what to blame for my insomnia other than I’d been having a rough time at work since one of my mentors and one of my most favorite people in the entire world announced that he’s leaving the company.
But I digress… There was no paranormal activity the night of my stay unfortunately — or fortunately, I suppose. As cool as ghost stories might have been, I’m not sure I could have handled it.
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22nd Annual Wichita Heart Ball
Posted on February 21, 2016 by Ching under Events.
Brian and I had a great time at the Heart Ball last night.
One of these days we’ll get use to the lavish opulence of this event.
This is our third year attending and it just keeps getting better and better.
I loved this year’s event lighting. They had these charming chandeliers all over the place. It all looked so luxe and extravagant.
This isn’t a very flattering photo but I have to share it with you so you can see the very fancy chandelier behind us.
Here’s another selfie early in the evening. One that looks somewhat normal.
We had trouble filling our table because of the late notice. I actually didn’t know we had a table until the week of the event. That’s why mom and dad got to go this year. By Wednesday Brian and I were the only ones confirmed, so I asked Lacie if mom and dad could come so that Brian and I wouldn’t be by ourselves at our table.
Speaking of our table, Moore Flowers did a great job on the table centerpieces. I loved the one they had at our table. If I were to have an event, I would totally hire them. The place looked great and the decor went really well with the theme.
Isaac and Crystal attended again this year. I’m glad Crystal convinced Isaac to attend. That brought our count to six people.
Misty and Amy and James and his wife attended as well so we actually managed to fill the table. Impressive on such short notice.
Dinner was pretty good. We enjoyed the salad and the main course (pictured above). They had two dessert options this year even though only the vanilla bean creme brûlée was published in the program. The other dessert was a very rich chocolate cake.
I ran into a few familiar faces. Pictured below is Zoe, my favorite Group Power instructor at Genesis Health Clubs. She was there with EagleMed. Two of my classmates from Leadership Wichita were also at the event: Jennifer with Grant Thornton and Marc who is on the local AHA board.
We had a little fun during the live auction. Luckily there were no puppies or we would have been in trouble. LOL.
I was forbidden from bidding on anything but I couldn’t help myself. I managed to win one of the silent auction items that I bid on that evening: a shopping party at Chic Street Boutique. I can’t wait to set it up!
I wish we could have stayed because I love The Source. They’ve performed several times at the annual Filipino ball.
We pretty much just stayed long enough to claim our silent auction prize. We even skipped the chocolate fountain. What’s wrong with us? LOL.
If we have the opportunity to attend again next year (which I’m hoping that it won’t be last minute so I’ll have a chance to plan a better outfit) I need to remember to wear my comfortable dancing shoes.
Here are pictures from the last couple of years:
– 20th Annual Wichita Heart Ball
– 21st Annual Wichita Heart Ball
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Fancy Dinner at the Larnengs
Posted on February 19, 2016 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Remember when we were at the Boo and Brew Ball and Rune bought a private dinner for eight prepared by Chef Jason? Well, that private dinner happened a couple of weeks ago. Here are some pictures…
Becca and Kristen
Rune and Becca
Our great looking group getting ready to chow down.
Chef Jason prepping us for our six course meal.
Leave it the Larnengs to have fancy napkins.
Our first course…
Here’s Chef Jason describing the dish…
This dish was right up Brian’s alley. He was like, “Yes! I love tomato bisque!” LOL.
Our second course…
I would describe it to you but I’m afraid I’d butcher it.
Best to leave the explaining to the chef.
Bacon-wrapped stuffed jalapeño. I was a little bit worried about this one because I can’t handle too much spiciness but Chef Jason reassured us that this is “gringo hot” meaning not so spicy. I’m glad I tried it because, as with the first two courses, it was delicious.
Here’s Chef Jason preparing the quail dish.
Here’s a picture of the finished product…
Here’s Chef Jason describing the dish…
Here’s Rune enjoying the quail… immensely.
Lobster! Yes!
Here’s what my plate looked like after…
Here’s Chef Jason describing the dish…
Here’s Rune eating the flower… I did not eat mine.
And then here’s the pièce de résistance… It was the most delicious dessert ever.
Here’s Chef Jason describing it…
I loved all six courses. Everything was delicious. But, I have to admit, the dessert was the best course of all. If you ask Brian, he could care less about all of the courses in the middle. He liked the first and final courses the best.
Even though the courses seemed small (intentionally so for the sake of presentation), they were all very filling. I was regretting all of my soup because, by the third course, I was already full. This was an amazing and memorable dinner. I’m so grateful to Rune and Kristen for inviting us.
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