FLIP + CHING

No Zumba for Me Today

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Ching under Health.

They did a special blood drive at work today in honor of Preston Crane. I’d never donated blood before, so I really didn’t know what to expect. Every time I’d tried to donate blood in the past there was some kind of issue and they wouldn’t take my blood. I believe the first time I weighed less than 100 lbs. Another time I tried to donate blood, they wouldn’t take it because we’d just returned from our honeymoon and we happened to stop in Mexico.

I’ve been fighting with my weight the last few years so being underweight was no longer an issue. Just didn’t have opportunity or a good enough reason to do it. This last time, Joni asked me. I really had no reason to say no. Except Brian was very worried because I have pretty low blood pressure and your blood pressure tends to drop when you donate blood.

When I went down to the Wellness Center, which had been taken over by the Red Cross for the day, they had me read an informational booklet, asked me some questions, and had me answer some questions on the computer. Willie also took a blood sample from my finger to check my iron levels (15.1) because they won’t take your blood if you don’t have enough iron. Then he took my blood pressure, which happened to be higher than normal this morning: 100/60. I think it’s because Brian forgot to put the coffee pot in the coffeemaker and made a mess in the kitchen this morning. LOL.

Willie was fantastic. He managed to find a good vein (something that is a challenge for almost every nurse I come in contact with) and got it on the first stick. It took only seven minutes to fill the bag, which I thought was pretty good. I felt good until I suddenly felt lightheaded. It happened pretty quickly, but after the episode I had at YaYa’s last year I knew what to expect at least. I told them what I was feeling and immediately the top of the bed went down so I could be horizontal and then the bottom part went up so my legs could be propped up. They had also had me move my legs like I was riding a bike to get my blood flow going.

After a small cup of water and a little can of OJ, I got off the bed so they could move on to the next person. I was still feeling pretty weird though, so I stuck around. My office is at the far end of the building and I didn’t want to go up there until I was sure that I could make it. Within a few minutes of sitting around in the chair I felt weird again, so I went to the women’s locker room to lay down on the bench. Jodi, our wellness specialist, came to the locker room to check on me just to make sure I was okay. She also brought me a towel for me to rest my head on. She took my blood pressure which was around 87/58 or so at this time.

After I ate a small bag of raisins and drank another cup of water, I felt well enough to go back upstairs. Jodi was nice enough to walk with me to make sure I didn’t faint along the way. I felt pretty sleepy for a while after donating blood, but I guess that’s natural when your blood pressure drops. I was able to work upon returning to my desk. Isaac came to my office and talked to me about some stuff. I think some of the issues we’re dealing with at work helped to raise my blood pressure back up. LOL. I actually felt pretty normal by 11 AM. When you have abnormally low blood pressure like me, work stress can actually be good for you. Ha ha ha ha.

Anyway, Willie said no workout today. Isaac said he was able to run in the afternoon the last time he donated blood in the morning. I was convinced that I could still workout. I mean, I could take it pretty easy in Zumba if I wanted to. Brian was adamant about not working out, though. So yeah, no Zumba for me today. We should be back in business tomorrow, though. I’m ready to do some serious sweating!

Comment on This

Breakfast with a View

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.

The main waterfall in the Cascades at Gaylord Opryland.

Brian and I woke up starving the next morning. Room service at Gaylord is a little pricey. I mean, who the heck pays $7 for hot chocolate. That’s before the delivery fee and gratuity. I figured we could walk down to Cascades Cafe to eat.

We didn’t even shower. We pretty much just went down there in our PJs. Except, I couldn’t quite traipse around in public in my PJ shorts so I had to put my denim skirt on. For not having showered that morning, Brian looked fabulous in his sweatpants and nerdy Green Lantern shirt.

We took some photos of the beautiful Cascades surroundings while we waited for a table, but we didn’t have to wait long.

Brian got the Cascades All-American.

I got the Crab Cakes Benedict. It was super yummy. It took a lot for me not to wipe my plate clean.

The cheesy hash brown casserole was pretty good too.

Here are a couple more pictures. One last one of the big waterfall.

You all need to check out Gaylord Opryland at some point. It’s not a cheap place to visit, but it’s beautiful and definitely worth it.

Comment on This

Dinner at Fuse and Cruisin’ on a Flatboat

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.

We ended up at Fuse because the other restaurants on premises had bad reviews online and we’d already eaten at Jack Daniel’s. LOL.

I remembered eating at Fuse with Carmen last year. We both liked it so I recommended it to Brian. It worked out great because we got to watch the Red Sox vs. Rays game over dinner.

We went on a flatboat ride after dinner. It was the last one of the evening.

Even though we were moving pretty slow, it was tough to take good photos.

This one didn’t turn out too bad.

The impressive glass ceiling of the Delta atrium.

A flatboat ride in the evening would have been nice and romantic if not for the ten other people on the boat with us. LOL. I would recommend taking a ride during the day when you can take better pictures.

We wandered around some more after the boat ride and took some photos. I showed Brian where our meetings were held last year during the conference that Carmen and I attended. We took this picture of the Delta atrium from up there.

We didn’t stay up too late though, because we both had gotten up very early that morning for our flight. Overall we had a fantastic Friday.

Comment on This

The Garden Conservatory at Gaylord Opryland

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Ching under Travel.

The Garden Conservatory area of Gaylord Opryland is easily my favorite. It’s just so beautiful. It’s hard to justify leaving the country when you have something as pretty as this in your backyard.

Finding food was the first order of business when we arrived at the hotel. After that, we strolled through the conservatory and took some photos.

There are waterfalls almost everywhere you look.

This is the lion head fountain at the Garden Conservatory.

Our room was in the Delta section and we had a balcony with a decent view but, if I had to do it over again, I would ask for a balcony room in the Garden Conservatory section. It’s so much prettier and much more peaceful in that part of the hotel. Something to remember for next time.

Comment on This

Gaylord Opryland Pools

Posted on May 28, 2012 by Ching under Travel.

There are three major swimming pool areas at Gaylord Opryland. The pools, two outdoor and one indoor, are all saltwater so it’s better for your skin.

Cascades Outdoor Pool Area

The Cascades outdoor pool area is the busiest of the three. Over Memorial weekend, they had a DJ and activities for the kids (poolside limbo, line dancing, etc.). Adults could participate too, but I think the activities were mainly there to keep the children occupied. Also worth noting is the poolside bar and grill. The staff also come around and take your food and beverage orders.

There’s a large hot tub nearby that can accommodate 20, people possibly more. Beyond that are rows of lounge chairs. Walking past these lounge chairs takes you to a sunning area that also doubles as a smoking patio. At least that’s where all the smokers gathered.

Yes, Gaylord Opryland is pretty accommodating to smokers. Even though smoking isn’t permitted in the hotel rooms, there’s plenty of designated smoking areas throughout the property. You can usually tell these areas from the non-smoking parts because they have these tall, metal, free-standing, outdoor ashtrays that Brian calls “snuff tubes” after their long tubular neck.

I don’t have a photo of the Relache indoor pool, but it’s quieter than the outdoor pool. This pool is geared towards people who want to swim laps. The lounge chairs here are padded and perfect for poolside naps without the danger of being sunburnt because you’re inside.

If you want peace and quiet, but still want to be outside, then the Magnolia pool is the better choice. It’s located at one end of the beautiful Magnolia courtyard and consists of a large pool and a wading pool. There’s a bar and outdoor eating area just outside the pool so you don’t have to go far for refreshments.

Magnolia Pool