Gamma, Anyone?
Posted on January 8, 2014 by Ching under Life.
Brian wanted to pose next to this sign and crack a Hulk joke.
I don’t know of any other people who have as much fun visiting hospitals as we do. Seriously. Even my surgery last year was a blast. Well, the parts I was conscious for anyhow. The trip to ER the year before that was pretty fun too actually. If there’s anything that we do well, it’s making the best of things.
I’m so grateful for having a husband who is fun to be around, who doesn’t whine incessantly, and who focuses on the positives in life. It took several years to get you to this point but it took just as long to get the crazy out of me too. I’m thankful that we’ve helped to transform each other to the best versions of ourselves that we can possibly be. I look forward to continuing to get better with you. I love you, baby!
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Grandma’s ER Room Adventure
Posted on January 5, 2014 by Brian under Family, Health.
Shortly after the New Year my Grandmother fell in her apartment. When she called me she said she had fell and broke her wrist. I immediately called 911 and had an ambulance sent to her apartment. When I got there the EMS were already on site and I let them into her place. We stabilized her arm and got her to the emergency room. This is where the fun started.
Normally my parents are the ones who get called, but my dad works for Boeing and he now works in Oklahoma. So this was my first time doing this and I was unprepared. Once we got to the ER they got her in a room and started asking her questions. We went through the normal ones like what how many surgeries have you had, when was the last one and so on. Then they asked her about her medications and after we went through all of those she pointed out that she can’t take a series of pain killers because she has an allergic reaction to them. Then he asked if she drank. She said she likes a glass of wine from time to time. Then he asks if she does any recreational drugs, without missing a beat she said “Yes!” I started to laugh. The nurse looked at her strangely, then she took a moment and processed the question in her head and realized what he really asked.
You see, she thought she heard “Do you recreationally drink?” And she answered accordingly. When she processed the actual question she started back paddling to correct herself. Then we all had a good laugh. It’s good when you can take a moment like a broken wrist and hip and still have a good laugh.
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NYE Shenanigans
Posted on January 4, 2014 by Ching under Events, Food and Drink.
We had a couple of friends who hosted New Year’s Eve parties so we didn’t end up having our own party. Jay and Becca invited us to Sumo the day of but we were already committed. I think this was one of the few times that we didn’t ring in the New Year with the Dills.
Anyway, Jen and Armando hosted a fabulous NYE party with lots of amazing food. Click left and right on the photo above to see some of the dishes we enjoyed that night.
As much as we wanted to stay, we eventually had to bail after a couple of hours to attend the Elrond’s NYE house party, which was actually the first NYE party invitation that we accepted. It’s just a shame that we could not squeeze in all three NYE celebrations that night.
It was Elrond’s first party at his place so it was like a house warming party of sorts. It just so happened to fall on NYE. Anyway, he gave us a grand tour of the place. It’s actually very nice.
The house is in College Hill but it’s been renovated quite nicely. The kitchen has been updated with granite counter tops. Despite all of the improvements and updates throughout the house, which were well done by the way, the house still maintains it College Hill charm. It’s a really cool and perfect for someone like Elrond for sure!
Elrond who’s still getting settled in his new place had this large frame resting on the fireplace mantle. Brian was like, “Someone stole your picture!” In reality Elrond just hadn’t decided what painting to frame. Yes, ladies, this guy paints, makes furniture, lives a healthy/active lifestyle, and has a good job.
Before the rest of this blog post turns into an online dating ad, I wanted to share a photo that we took with the frame because it was just begging to be played with. LOL. Brian and I bailed around a little before eleven thirty so we could be home in time to ring in the New Year at home our own way. We have a “special” tradition.
As we were saying goodbye to everyone, Melissa asked if we were bailing to go to party #3. I explained that we had to be home before midnight.
She came to my Zumba class this morning and told me about all the shenanigans that happened after we left. Sounds like we missed a great time. She did say that Andrea explained our “tradition” or why we had to leave.
I really wish we could have stayed because it looked like the fun started after midnight (based on the Facebook photos, anyhow). I guess we could have left and then come back, but Brian and I didn’t want to stay out too late either because we also have a tradition of getting up early and putting in a few hours of work on New Year’s Day.
On the bright side, Elrond had such a blast that he’s decided to host a house party every month. Sounds good to me. I love parties! And the best part is that we won’t have to bail early next time.
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Goals for 2014!
Posted on January 1, 2014 by Brian under Life.
My wife and I decided a long time ago that we would not make New Years resolutions but instead make New Years Goals. In the past she has been better at achieving her goals than me. But in 2014 I wanted goals that we both could accomplish.
Here is a list of our 2014 Goals.
1. Eat Better: Last year we started off OK, but as the year progressed we slipped more and more, eating out a lot and not making health choices. The fall out has finally caught up with us in the form of weight gain. This year I want to eat out far less, No more than once a month. This means we will have to say no a lot. Hopefully our family and friends will understand.
2. Exercise More: In 2012 my wife and I both met our weight loss goals. However, in 2013 we slowly watched those goals wither away and the weight come back. I blame no one but ourselves. We both have busy lives with work and such and we both traveled a lot last year, so making time to work out was difficult. In 2014, we will need to overcome these hurdles. Make time to workout, even if it’s just doing push-ups and sit-ups in the basement at home.
3. Save Money: This is a big one for us. We have some money in savings but I really want us to build up a nice little nest egg. I grew up in a family that had little in the amount of savings. My wife and I were in a large amount of debt several years ago and we pulled ourselves out of it and have worked very hard to stay debt free. However, I think we have room for improvement.
4. Shop Less: This falls in line with the previous goal. In order to save more you will need to shop less. We let this get away from us last year (and a little the year before that) but in 2014 we need to reign this in and focus more on the saving and less on the spending.
5. Sleep Better: This is something that I personally struggle with. I tend to have a problem going to sleep, I just can’t seem t turn my mind off sometimes. I also struggle with staying asleep. I am one of those people that need absolute silence to sleep comfortably. in 2014 I want to see ups going to bed early (8:30 or 9:00 PM) and wake up early (around 5:00 AM), well rested and ready to tackle the day. I have learned that there are a lot of things that you can struggle with if you don’t get a good nights sleep. Memory is one of them and I have a really bad one.
Hopefully together my wife and I can achieve these goals. Some might find them silly or not worth the effort but we both feel that you should always have goals in life. It makes you productive, attentive and gives you something to work for.
What are your 2014 goals!
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Happy New Year
Posted on January 1, 2014 by Ching under Life.
Before we start recapping the year that passed, allow me to catch you guys up…
- 2008 is the year that Brian started working for Viega, I completed my MBA from Wichita State University, and we dealt cards on a cruise ship.
- 2009 is a year of firsts. We attended Zoobilee for the first time. Brian had his first trip to Germany. He also visited the Philippines for the first time. I completed Leadership Westar. Tita Sol adopted Molly.
- 2010 was the year that we spent a lot of time with the Dills. It started out when we rang in the New Year at Kansas City Power & Light with Jay, Becca, and Mama Dill. A month later, we were traveling with them again. This time to San Francisco. We did a lot of traveling that year.
- 2011 was the year that we started by getting stranded at McCarran International Airport (Las Vegas). That didn’t deter us from traveling, though. We traveled through the East Coast with the Dills that summer and had a lot of firsts. We also got to see James Taylor perform twice: once at Intrust Bank Arena and again at Tanglewood. I also had my first ER trip and my first biopsy. Exciting stuff!
- 2012 we attended a few weddings, most notably Cousin Tracy and Jeff’s destination wedding at Coral Cove Resort in Jamaica. I got my Zumba Basic 1 License and I took Brian to Nashville for his 38th birthday. We celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary by closing on our house and then I ended the year with a thyroidectomy.
Now that you are all caught up, let’s talk about what’s happened to us since then.
- Brian and I both played in the Cards for the Cure poker tournament. Neither of us did well, but we had a lot of fun. I have a couple of Zumba classes that I teach on Saturdays now so I’m thinking of skipping the tournament this year, but Brian will likely be playing in the tournament. I’m hoping he takes the whole thing down this year.
- Sheryll, Clayton, and their kids drove up from Dallas to visit us. It was a short visit but we had a wonderful time hanging out with the Orbases. We were hoping that they would visit us again but that may not be happening anytime soon as they’ve moved back to the Philippines, which makes me really sad.
- After years of attending various fundraising events, we finally made Splurge! magazine. After the first one, we made the magazine a few more times this year. You’d think we were stalking their photographer or something. LOL.
- I had to endure the worst winter we’d had in years without Brian. He was in Arizona at the time.
- Brian and I got each other handguns for Valentines Day. I know. How romantic, right? We made a few trips to the shooting range this year to get further acquainted with our new toys… err, weapons.
- I survived the Fight for Air Climb (a fundraiser for the American Lung Association) at Cessna Stadium. Thanks to my friend Jodi for talking me into it.
- Brian and I went on one of my most favorite dates of all time. We completed a sculpture scavenger hunt on the Wichita State University campus. The best part was that we both got mistaken for a couple of college students. LOL.
- We had some Walking Dead watch parties. The best one being the Season 3 finale watch party because Chef Jason actually joined us for dinner, though he could care less about the show.
- Dad gave Brian his airboat. Things haven’t been the same since.
- We attended the annual Filipino ball at the Marriott after several years of not attending the event.
- We attended the Celebrity & Chef Cook Off benefit for the Orpheum. As fundraising events go, this one should be on everyone’s list because it is super fun. And the food is amazing to boot!
- In the realm of professional development, I completed Leadership Elite.
- We threw Brian’s parents a nice 40th wedding anniversary party catered by Truffles. Thanks to all who helped make the event possible, specially Kevin and Kasey for the decorations.
- We discovered Cards Against Humanity, my new favorite card game.
- Brian learned how to make lumpia.
- I attended my first Zumba Instructor Convention and picked up a couple more licenses in the process. I’m now licensed to teach Zumba Toning and also Zumba Kids + Kids Jr.
- I delivered my first webinar.
- I attended the MEA Customer Relations Roundtable in Minneapolis. While I was in the area, I got to check out Mall of America and the famous spoon bridge.
- Brian and I helped with the Labor Run.
- I got a new double oven electric range for my birthday, which wasn’t without its challenges. We’ve made pretty good use of the two ovens though so, in the end, it was all worth it.
- We got to see some amazing performances such as MOMIX: Botanica and Cutter J the Absurdist.
- Brian’s parents officially moved to Oklahoma so we ended up hosting Thanksgiving and Christmas at our house this year.
- We had our first ever post-Halloween party.
- I had my first trip to Davenport, IA.
- I completed the 8-week land instructor training at the YMCA and started teaching Zumba at Andover YMCA.
Man, it’s been a busy year! Here’s hoping that 2014 is just as amazing!
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