Big Brothers Big Sisters Fundraising
Posted on March 13, 2017 by Ching under Community.
I know I have been quiet lately. I can’t believe it has been two weeks since my last blog post. I’m still very much alive, in case you were wondering. The reason I’ve been MIA lately is that almost all of my spare time has been consumed with planning and preparing for our upcoming Dance For Kids’ Sake Zumbathon® for Big Brothers Big Sisters.
My individual fundraising is off to a pretty solid start. We still have about six more weeks until the end of the fundraising period and I’ve already surpassed my personal fundraising total from last year. And, we haven’t even done our major fundraising events yet.
Dance For Kids’ Sake is the big one, which you can learn about here, but we also have a couple other fundraising events coming up.
We’re getting some help from Chick-fil-A and Chipotle, two of my favorite places to eat.
If you’re going to eat out anyway, at least make it count. Our spirit day at the Chick-fil-A on Central and Rock Road is March 21, Tuesday.
If you eat there anytime from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM and mention that you want to support Big Brothers Big Sisters, 20% of your total bill will be donated to our fundraising campaign. I believe drive-thru works as well. The key is to mention the organization when ordering and paying for your food.
Here’s a picture of our Chick-fil-A flyer:
Our fundraising night at the Maple and Ridge Chipotle is April 3, Monday, from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Chipotle will donate 50% of the total to our fundraising campaign as long as you bring one of our event flyers, show them a picture of the flyer, or simply mention that you would like your purchase to support Big Brothers Big Sisters. You could even order food online and still support the cause by selecting the “pay-in-person” option.
Here’s a picture of our Chipotle flyer:
You’ll notice that one restaurant is on the East side, while the other is on the West side. That’s because Wichitans are notorious for not wanting to drive across town. No matter what side of town you live in, you can still support our fundraising efforts! Please mark your calendars and eat at one or both places on the designated days. You will never have a more satisfying meal. I promise.
May your hearts be as full as your bellies. Cheers!
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Pictures from Pat’s 60th Birthday
Posted on February 28, 2017 by Ching under Events.
Here’s a group photo we took at Pat’s 60th birthday surprise party. And, this wasn’t even everyone. Cathie did a great job of getting everyone together.
Here’s a fun picture of Pat, Missy, Christina, Hideki, and Johnna.
I’m still in my Zumba gear because we had to skedaddle after my Zumba class and then we had to skedaddle again because we still had to feed the dogs before heading to bowling. It was a busy Sunday!
Missy and I both have Zumba classes on Sundays so she came from her Zumba class as well. As luck would have it, we were wearing the same shirt but in different colors. We didn’t even call each other to coordinate!
Here’s a picture of the two of us with the birthday girl.
Here’s one of Pat with me and Brian.
Brian was really antsy and wanted to leave right away on account of the dogs. I wanted to stay and celebrate with Pat so I talked Brian in to staying just a little bit. I gave up showering before bowling and everything just so we could stay longer.
We ended up getting roped into a salsa-lesson-slash-dance-contest, which we actually won. Our prize was a dessert brownie thing, which we ended up sharing with everyone. I told Brian, “Aren’t you glad we stayed for the contest?” LOL.
Anyway, it’s not everyday that you have a friend turn 60. That’s kind of a big deal. The girls, and most specially Cathie, really did a great job organizing the surprise party. I’m so glad we were able to attend and celebrate Pat’s big day with everyone.
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YMCA Annual Celebration
Posted on February 27, 2017 by Ching under Community, Events.
My new Lularoe Amelia dress arrived just in time for the YMCA Annual Celebration so I didn’t have to figure out what to wear to it. I wore my Lularoe dress to work and took it straight to the dinner.
The dress actually got quite a few compliments at work. My favorite part of this style of dress is the pockets.
I’m not sure what was going on with my hair that morning but it was very 70s.
Brian was off work that day (he was actually off almost all week because they were redoing the floors of their office) but he put on his three-piece suit for me anyway. What a great hubby he is!
Speaking of great husbands, I ran into Johnna’s husband at the event.
A little bit later, Johnna came by our table and we took a selfie together. Of course, Brian and I had to selfie also.
I love going to this event because you learn about the Y’s new initiatives and you get to preview the campaign videos. They always do such a great job with the fundraising campaigns. This year it was a real treat seeing some familiar faces in the videos. This is the one with Missy and Todd.
They participated in the very first late night program for teens. It was really cool. I hope they roll the program out to all the Y branches in the area. We have the best YMCA facilities in the nation and it would be possible without the support of the community. I love Wichita!
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Common Sense
Posted on February 26, 2017 by Brian under Funny Musings.
Common sense, it’s such an over looked commodity that humans possess. Yet, it seems that not all people have it, or they have just not been put in a position that allowed them to develop the common sense needed in order to survive in this world without the need for intervention from people that have it in droves and feel the need to assist those that lack it.
For example, the seat belt laws. Here’s a brief history on seat belts for those of you that didn’t know. Back in the late 50s to early 60s, test were done to determine if seatbelts were something that would need to be required on cars and could they really save lives. In 1968, Title 49 was implemented in the federal code that required all cars manufactured to have seat belts designed into them for safety. Now we go on for years with no laws requiring you to wear a seat belt, it was just common sense at this point. The government felt it was important enough to implement a law that required manufacturers to design these devices into your cars for safety and this should have been (and probably was for the vast majority of people) the sign that you should wear this whenever you are in a car. But no, there are those out there with no common sense and they chose not to wear a seat belt.
Now we fast forward to the mid 80s. States realize that they have idiots behind the wheel of these vehicles and they need to do something to save their dumb lives because lord knows, we have to many people on this planet as it is and we can’t let Darwinism take its course and thin the herd. We need these dumb people to pay taxes and vote for stupid presidents…sorry, I got on a tangent.
Anyway, mid 80s, New York decides they have had enough and becomes the first state to implement a mandatory seatbelt law that went into effect December of 84. Shortly after many other states started passing laws that required you to wear a seat belt for your own safety. To this day however, not every state has passed a law that states you are required to wear a seat belt.
Here’s my two cents on the whole matter and the point I’m trying to make. We were given common sense for a reason. If you choose to not use it then you should be met with the consequences of those actions. Who are we to create (what I call) common sense laws? I mean, if you want to get in your car and drive down the street and not wear your seat belt, then go ahead. Common sense says you should wear the seat belt because it will save your life, but if you get into an accident and fly through the windshield threading your face and then shattering your skull as you slam into the pavement and only a slightly reduced speed that you were initially traveling, then go ahead…the world will be a better place now that your stupidity has left it.
I’ve always said, stupidity should be painful. Creating these laws that stop people from using common sense is just breeding a less than intelligent society that will rely more and more on their governments to tell them what to do. It’s just a matter of time before we have a law that tells us that we need to breathe daily, and that it’s illegal to hold your breath because it may result in your death…just saying.
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Pictures from the 23rd Annual Heart Ball
Posted on February 26, 2017 by Ching under Life.
Here are pictures from the Heart Ball, an event that we attended a couple of weeks ago. I know grandma has been patiently waiting to see these. This event happened on the same day as the Stupid Cupid 2 Mile Run. It was quite a Saturday!
I always have to take pictures of table place settings because they always do it up so fancy! I guess we shouldn’t expect anything less from a black-tie optional event.
This is probably the fanciest event we attend all year. This year they upped the ante with a champagne pyramid right as you walked in the door.
They also had a champagne fountain which was a lot of fun. It made me want to drink my champagne quickly so I could keep refilling my glass. I had a photo of champagne fountain but I can’t find it now. I guess you’ll just have to settle for one of me with the champagne pyramid.
This is the first of many selfies we took that evening.
This is one of us with the Batchelders. We found out that night that mom’s boss is Sara’s mom. What a small world!
Another selfie…
The funniest part about this photo is our conversation. Brian goes, “I think the bartender likes me. She keeps giving me free drinks.” I was like, “I thought all the drinks were free?” LOL. This event is open bar. (Another reason why this is one of our faves. Not that we drink a lot.)
This selfie is remarkable in that the tablecloth looks blue in it. It’s actually black. It reminds me of the blue dress that everyone thought was white.
Here are a few more selfies, just ’cause…
Actually, now that I have seen the tablecloth as blue, I see it as blue in every picture. It’s so weird how our eyes play these tricks on us.
We had to get a picture with Alan, one of the guys from bowling. We’ve seen him at a few of these events and, I guess, he has been attending the Heart Ball since the beginning of time. All of his daughters were Sweethearts – meaning they all completed the American Heart Association‘s Sweetheart program.
It’s kind of a big deal. You have to submit an application, agree and sign the Sweetheart Code and Mission Statement, provide two letters of recommendations from non-relatives, pay a huge sum of money (or apply for a scholarship), AND be selected. Anyway, the Sweethearts are required to complete community service and other activities geared toward furthering the AHA’s cause of public health education and providing CPR training.
Here are some pictures of the food we enjoyed that evening.
The desserts are always the same, or they have been the last few years.
A rich chocolate cake and creme brûlée…
Since I ate all of my dessert and then some, I stayed away from the chocolate fountain which they always have at the after party.
The after party is so fun but I’m usually either too tired, too sleepy, or my feet are already killing me by the end of the evening to completely enjoy it. Brian is usually good for a couple of dances but that’s it. In the past Brian and I have only stayed long enough to claim our silent auction items. I think if we were younger then we would probably stay until the very end. We’re just too old. LOL.
Anyway, I’m glad we stayed a little bit longer this time because it wasn’t until late (almost until we were ready to leave) that we ran into Zoe and her husband.
As always, it was a lot of fun. We even ran into our friend Mike (from Splurge) who we got to know just from running into him so many times throughout the year at events like this one. The first year, I swear, he probably thought we were stalking him. LOL. Speaking of events, this may be the last time we are attending this one. Work didn’t get a full table this year so I can sense that we are starting to cut back on event sponsorships. We only had six tickets. So it was Shane and Sara Batchelder, Isaac and Crystal Perez, us and two other couples at our table.
I’m crossing my fingers for next year’s event but not holding my breath. Although, Brian and I have talked about splurging and attending the event on our own dime even if my work doesn’t give us any tickets. The ticket price is pretty steep, though. I think it was $250 per person this year. The only downside of paying for our own tickets is that we will probably have to sit at a table with people we don’t know, which isn’t really that big of a deal because I’ve never met a stranger, but still. We shall wait and see. Until next year.
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