FLIP + CHING

Truck Stop Memories

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Ching under Life.

A conversation Brian and I had while we were driving to KC over the weekend…

ME: Was that Beto Junction?

BRIAN: Yes.

ME: Darn it! I wanted to stop there.

BRIAN: Why?

ME: I love Beto Junction! It’s my favorite truck stop.

BRIAN: [giving me a strange, you-are-a-crazy-woman look] Have you even been there? And when?

ME: It was 12-13 years ago. Before we met. I just remember making a pit stop and browsing their store. They had these cool, funny t-shirts inside milk cartons. They had clever sayings on them. It looked like you were buying milk but, when you open it, there’s a t-shirt inside. Every time I drive by Beto Junction, it makes me think of that day I was in there and saw those clever shirts in the cool packaging. What about you? Don’t you have any fond truck stop memories?

BRIAN: Wow. I try to forget all my truck stop memories.

LOL. I think most of Brian’s truck stop memories consist of creepy truckers, filthy bathrooms and bad food. I try to block those from memory also. =P

I had a free night through Marriott Rewards, and Brian needed some new work shoes and I needed some new workout shoes, so we planned a trip to Legends Outlets a few weeks ago. We spent the night at the Marriott Courtyard in the Shawnee/Kansas City area, which is only ten minutes away from Legends since it’s right off the highway.

Our first stop was the hotel so we could drop off our overnight bag and freshen up. We rested for a bit before taking our shoe-shopping challenge. It was a scavenger hunt of sorts because there were specific sneakers that I was hoping to find.

We stopped by Rocky Mountain Chocolate factory first for a cup of hot chocolate for me. It was cold outside. Stupid Kansas weather! Anyway, they’re doing a special on FourSquare where you get a coupon booklet if you check in. You pick up the coupon booklets at a couple of places, Rocky Mountain being one of them. So be sure to check in on FourSquare when you’re at Legends and pick up your coupons!

There was actually a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory coupon in there for a free medium drink with any purchase so Brian got a free coffee when we bought my hot chocolate. Good thing it was free because he didn’t like it. LOL. My hot chocolate, on the other hand, was yummy.

Anyway, I had gotten an email from Banana Republic and Gap that same day that their outlet stores were having a one-day sale: buy any 2 items and get 1 free. Brian and I printed a couple of coupons before we left the hotel. We were going to hit BR and Gap first, but then decided we better get our shoes first because that will dictate whether we have enough money to shop for anything else. =P

The one thing I really wanted to get out of this trip was a new pair of workout shoes for Zumba. Gina Ann let me try on her Nike Huaraches the other day and I thought they were really comfortable. They are really light too. She swears by them. She loves them so much that she actually has a couple of pairs. I was thinking that surely they would have some at the Nike Outlet.

Jackpot! I found these $65 Nike Huaraches on sale for only $21.99. I couldn’t believe my luck! The cheapest that I could find Nike Huaraches before were $51.95 on Amazon. I love, love, love the Nike Outlet!

For Brian’s shoes, we went to Off Broadway Shoes because they had a 10% of any 1 item coupon in our coupon booklet. Besides letting us use two of those coupons, they also gave us a coupon for almost $20 off our next purchase on our receipt. I am now a big fan of Off Broadway Shoes also. I’m pretty easy to win over. Can you tell?

I really wanted Brian to get some more grown up shoes. Maybe like the ones above. He said these are like the kind that his coworker Jordan wears. I have to agree. They are very stylish. Brian would never wear these, though. He found these Dr. Martens and would not let them go. He liked them so much that he bought a pair in black and also a pair in dark brown. I’m the kind of person who will buy every single color of something if I like it, so he got no resistance.

Brian was like, “These are really comfortable. No wonder you never want to get rid of your Docs.” LOL. The shoes that Brian picked out were actually pretty plain but, as long as he is happy with them, I can’t really object. He seems very excited to wear them tomorrow. Not sure which ones will get worn first, though.

After buying our shoes, we didn’t have much left for any other shopping. We skipped the Gap, but did hit the clearance racks at Banana Republic Factory Outlet. I love that store. I just got a couple of things and then we were done.

We came. We saw. We conquered. And, we saved some money to boot! Go us!

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Working Out with John

Posted on May 14, 2011 by Ching under Health.

Brian and I decided to workout with John Wilborn in lieu of going to Suede on Friday night. I guess we could have gone to Suede after, but I wanted to go stop by mom and dad’s so I could drop off a guest pass to Genesis for mom and also so old clothes that we no longer wear so they could take them to the Philippines.

Mom made dinner. She made mongo and pork chops. I love, love, love mongo. So naturally I ended up pigging out, thereby negating our workout for the evening. Ugh. I need to stop eating too much!

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Zumba Regulars Group Photo

Posted on May 14, 2011 by Ching under Health, Things to Do, Zumba.

Misty sent me this photo from Wednesday night’s Zumba class. Looks like I totally missed out on a Justin-sighting and a great class. I hate missing Zumba. We were out on the West side of town that night, though.

Anyway, speaking of Zumba. There is this huge FREE Zumba event in Old Town tonight. It’s from 6 to 9 PM in Old Town Square (in front of Warren Theater). The details are all over Facebook. Zumba enthusiasts, casual Zumba people, and those curious about Zumba will congregate and Zumba outside on the square. It kind of reminds me of a flash mob. I would totally do it except for a prior engagement.

Anyway, I don’t care what you have planned tonight. If you are going to be in town, this is one event you cannot miss! (I’m counting on you to take lots of pictures, Gina Ann! Don’t let me down!)

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Zumba!

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Ching under Health, Zumba.

I missed doing Zumba on Monday night due to my appointment with John Wilborn, but at least I got to record them on video. My favorite part is below, except I’m not sure why the video is sideways. LOL.