My New Favorite Jacket
Posted on January 29, 2021 by Ching under Life.
I got a nice gift from Chicken N Pickle a couple of weeks ago with the above note. As a huge fan of CNP, I’m glad that the feeling is mutual.
I have worn the jacket a couple of times now. I love it so much. It’s warm and cozy and perfect for winter. That’s all I’ve got today. I just wanted to show off my new jacket. Until next time. GNG.
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2020 Recap – Better Late Than Never
Posted on January 27, 2021 by Ching under Blog, Life.
I’m sure you’ve noticed that it is now the end of January and I still haven’t posted my normal end of year recap. I’ve really struggled with this because 2020 has been exceptionally craptastic. I am usually super excited to recap all the fun trips and exciting things that happened during the past year but 2020 has been nothing but depressing. I was whining about this to my friend Karen not too long ago and she reminded me that 2020 is the year that brought us all closer together so, besides the whole COVID19 pandemic (oh, yes, I thought I would get through the whole year without getting infected or that I would be one of the lucky ones to be completely asymptomatic but Brian and I both got it and we were sick for a good two weeks right before Christmas), there’s positive things that happened too. Inspired by her optimism, I sought out to recall all the positive things that happened last year.
First, I finally bit the bullet and started pickleball lessons. Mom and dad also picked up pickleball last year and, as a present, I got them a lesson with my favorite pickleball teacher too.
Pickleball is probably the only thing that has kept me sane throughout this past year. When the gyms closed during the mandatory stay at home order, I remember thinking I finally got what I wanted because I’d been gradually trying to get rid of Zumba classes to free up more time for pickleball.
I was good and practiced social distancing during the lockdown. I stayed home and isolated from everyone (except Brian) and started offering free virtual Zumba classes online to stay connected with my Zumba family. The ZOOMba kept me active during the month I wasn’t teaching classes at the gyms and wasn’t playing pickleball but it wasn’t the same. By the time the stay at home order was lifted, I was so ready to be around people again.
I resumed playing pickleball but decided not to plunge back into teaching a bajillion Zumba classes. I only brought back one class – my Monday night Zumba class at VASA. Pickleball became my primary outlet for all of my pent up energy and frustrations.
Some of the pickleball milestones from last year include the first anniversary of our local pickleball Facebook group and my officially becoming a USA Pickleball ambassador. I’d been growing the sport in my own way and so, when a spot came open, one of my friends who is an ambassador (Jeanie) encouraged me to apply and make it official.
Anyway, lots of fun pickleball-related stuff happened last year. I got to participate in my very first Nahola league (because, without all of those Zumba classes, I suddenly had time for it). I actually went a little nuts and joined a bunch of leagues and did pretty well in most of them. This is on top of my regular Friday night at Nahola and Sunday morning mixed play at the park.
Speaking of the park, Seneca was the place to be this past summer besides Chicken N Pickle, of course. CNP is like my second home and where several clinics and other fun pickleball events happened.
- There was the Q&A and pro exhibition with Matt Wright and Lucy Kovalova (a couple of famous pickleball players who happen to live in town) at the beginning of the year.
- We threw a surprise farewell party for Aaron Trost (who went to open the CNP in San Antonio).
- Karen and I played some fun mixed doubles rec games with Jocelyn Devilliers and Patrick Smith, aka #Team Model (naturally, Karen and I had on matching outfits that day).
- I attended Ben Johns’ clinic (not once but twice because I am a pickleball fan girl through and through)
- Jack Oxler also offered clinics but I couldn’t take off work. I did make it out there for lunch and got to meet him, though.
- The Jonny Pickleball Show held an episode at CNP I got to meet Jonny Andrews and Lauren Stratman.
- Brian attended Lauren Stratman’s clinic, which I would have attended also if I could have. I just could take the time off work.
- CNP celebrated World Pickleball Day by hosting a tournament for newbies and addicts (by addicts, I mean pickleball addicts).
- Karen and I played in a Halloween tournament and they threw me surprise birthday party. It was nice and sweet and very thoughtful.
- We started the Saturday Morning Queen of Courts thing because why should the guys have all the fun?
- Brunch & Bingo at CNP made me realize how much I love to play (and win) at bingo.
- I introduced several people to pickleball through the fun monthly Newbie Night events.
Besides the tournaments at CNP, I also played in some other fun ones in town:
- Frozen Pickleballs – which was early in the year before COVID hit.
- Bob Jackson Tournament – like Frozen Pickleballs, this was another tournament held to help raise money for light at Edgemoor.
I suppose now that I look back on it, the year wasn’t a total disaster. I had a lot of fun hanging out with my pickleball buds. Over the summer, we enjoyed pool pickleball at Brooke’s house. Our videos actually went somewhat viral on Facebook. LOL. And in the fall, a bunch of us had dinner together at Woodfire Grille (surprisingly, none of us got COVID from that event). I also had a great time hanging out with the gang when Noi (Michael’s friend who lives in Tennessee who is now my friend also) came to visit.
Other non-pickleball things that happened include:
- Jenni’s Wedding – yes, she’s finally married!
- Our New Mailbox – we’d been thinking about it for a while and with not taking any trips, we had an extra grand to spend on it.
- Online/Virtual Mixology – I didn’t even know this was a thing until we did it for work.
Okay, so we didn’t avoid trips altogether. We just didn’t fly anywhere. We took some roadtrips this year and that was a departure from our usual but pretty fun overall. We drove to the Eureka Lake Waterfall and Coronado Heights Castle, within the state. We also went on a roadtrip to Eureka Springs in Arkansas where we stayed in a treehouse. And that was a unique experience.
Lastly, one of the best things to come out of 2020 (and this is going to make me sound like a lush) — to go booze!!! Admit it, y’all are happy about it too.
If this trip down memory lane wasn’t enough for you, you can review what happened in 2019 (we had so many fun trips that year) and also look back at 20 years worth of blogs. Anyway, as with these recap posts, I don’t have any pictures for you. There are plenty in the embedded links for you to enjoy if you click on them, though. Until next time. GNG.
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Lunch with Tommy at Yokohama Ramen Izakaya
Posted on January 21, 2021 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Stopped by Edgemoor Rec Center to give something to my friend Brooke a couple of weeks ago and ended up playing a couple of games before their time was up. After that, I had an hour to kill before the noon open play at Nahola so Tommy and I decided to have lunch at Yokohama Ramen Izakaya just down the street from the rec center. Here are some pics of our food…
Tommy and I both had the ten-hour curry which was on special that day. It’s way different than any other curry I’ve ever had and also came with two pieces of deep-fried battered shrimp.
Tommy also go the jalapeno popper starter. I didn’t have any of it because I don’t really like spicy things. It was served in a cute, square, wooden bowl on a rectangular platter with dipping sauce on the side.
I also had a fruity milk tea, which was a bit expensive ($5) as non-alcoholic drinks go but worth every penny. I would go by there just for that drink. And, it was the perfect balance for the curry which, though it was too spicy, had really strong flavors. Now that I’m posting this, I kind of want to get that milk tea. Perhaps I can talk Brian into going back with me this weekend.
Until next time. GNG.
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Niupipo Pickleball
Posted on January 18, 2021 by Ching under Hobbies, Reviews.
A few months ago the Niupipo people contacted me about posting a video review of their paddle on Instagram. I had never heard of this company before so I didn’t respond right away. In December, Frank Anthony Davis (FAD) announced his new partnership with the company so then I remembered that they had contacted me. I reached out to see if they still wanted me to post a video review. I think Brian has rubbed off on me in that I am always really careful when dealing with companies I’m not familiar with. It’s funny how an endorsement from a friend can make all the difference. Shortly after I sent them my home address, they sent me a pickleball set that included two pickleball paddles and four balls.
Here are some pictures of the pickleball set they sent me:
The popularity of pickleball has exploded exponentially the last couple of years. It’s crazy how many new paddle companies are now out there and new ones continue to pop up. I remember when I was looking for a starter set a couple of years ago, there were only a handful of options on Amazon. I ended up buying an Amazing Aces pickleball set because it seemed like a good value and, honestly, there weren’t many options available. I really wish I had known about Niupipo at the time. Then again, they might not have been around yet.
Niupipo sent me their MX-19 set. I really wish that I would have seen this option back then because I might not have outgrown my paddle so soon. I got my Amazing Aces set for $70 and, for $10 less, I could have gotten this better set from Niupipo.
The set came with two high quality fiberglass and honeycomb paddles, four balls, and a carry case. The paddles felt lighter than my old Amazing Aces one and felt better in my hands overall. Though the grips felt too thick for me in both but the paddle grips are pretty standard and the issue of thickness can be easily remedied by removing the factory grip cover and replacing it with thinner grip tape.
Believe it or not, what I liked best about this set is that the two paddles came in different colors so it’s easier for me to tell which is Brian’s and which is mine. Our two Amazing Aces paddles were exactly identical. For someone who is just starting out with pickleball, who isn’t ready to invest in a $100-$200 paddle, this is a really great set to have. I highly recommend it.
These paddles would have been really great for me to have when I first started playing a couple of years ago. At this point, I’m really enjoying playing with my Electrum. After having played with a few different paddles (Selkirk S1C, Prokennex Pro Speed, and Encore Engage MX 6.0), I really like my Electrum Pro the best. However, I’m paying it forward and spreading the pickleball love by donating this paddle set to a lady who is helping some beginners at her church get into pickleball. Many beginners don’t have their own equipment so this will be a good set for them to have as loaners for those folks.
Until next time. GNG.
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Jimmy’s Umpteenth Going Away Party
Posted on January 16, 2021 by Ching under Events.
We had a surprise going away pickleball party for Jimmy at Chicken N Pickle a couple of weeks ago. It was like his umpteenth one. Since he’d already had a few going away parties, I really think he was surprised by this one.
I’m really going to miss this guy. I have learned so much from him and our 5 AM pickleball drills this past year. Jimmy always gave me good, constructive feedback along with encouraging words like, “You are most improved player and you have good hustle.” He calls me a hustler because I somehow manage to con better players into playing rec games with me. I’ll be like, “Hey, so and so played with us the other day.” And he’d reply, “You’re a hustler!” And start laughing. Jimmy opened my eyes to impregnable Wichita pickleball pyramid and I’ve been trying to make my way up ever since.
I will really miss Jimmy —- his guidance and free pickleball drills (LOL), his laugh, his very distracting grunts and ninja moves on the pickleball court, and his totally random cookouts at Seneca Park (among other things). I wish him the best of luck in El Paso, Jimmy. Until we play again… I’m gonna keep on hustlin’.
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