New Board Games
Posted on January 16, 2024 by Ching under Games, Hobbies.
Brian and I learned to play a new board game last week. Zach and Lisa taught us how to play Blokus, a 2-4 player strategy game using block shapes.
When Zach first told me about it a few weeks ago, I thought it sounded fun so I went ahead and ordered it (XL version) and Trigon (triangle shapes version) off Amazon. When my Trigon game arrived, we went over to Zach and Lisa’s place and they taught us how to play Blokus (that was our first time playing) and then we also played the Trigon version.
I’m not sure if this is a well-known fact but Brian and I love playing games. We love card games, board games, really any games. Brian’s actually playing chess with me again too (and kicking my butt, I might add).
Anyway, I thought I would share our most recent game purchases:
- Blokus XL – This is the same as the Blokus game but with bigger pieces.
- Blokus Trigon – Same as the Blokus game but with triangle shapes instead of squares.
- Blank Slate – Super fun game that Colby brought to Susie’s house last month. I ended up ordering it that same night. We brought the game to Christmas Eve lunch at mom and dad’s and it was a hit. It was $25 was I ordered it but it’s actually on sale right now for $19 so if you want to buy your own game, now is the time to order it.
- Qawale – This is a two player game Brian and I discovered via an online video. It’s quick and fun.
Are there any other games we should check out? We are open to suggestions. Let us know in the comments.
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DUPR Mixed Doubles Mini Tournament
Posted on January 12, 2024 by Ching under Pickleball.
I’ve been playing with the Swish Sports app the last few months and trying out different functions. They recently deployed their DUPR integration and so I wanted to test that out on a tournament format. Thankfully, Jeff Bally was nice enough to let us use his courts for a trial run.
We had six teams participate. The list below shows the teams ranked in order of performance after the round robin.
- Fernando Martinez and Sarah Berry
- Seth Mountain and Julie Pauly
- Zach Nguyen and Fong Witte
- Bobby Weisbrodt and Olivia Banks
- Zach Holt and Alice Tunks-Jones
- Jeff Bally and Shawna Geist
After the round robin, we finished the event with a single elimination bracket. At the end of it, the winners were:
- First Place – Bobby and Olivia
- Second Place – Jeff and Shawna
- Third Place – Seth and Julie
I usually only have prizes for first place but Shawna had some extra pickleball tumblers made by her daughter in law that she wanted to donate so we decided to use those as the prizes for second place. Ironically, Jeff and Shawna finished second so Shawna basically won her own prize that she brought. They ended up giving them to the third place team, which worked out well.
Congrats to Bobby and Olivia on the win. These two have turned into quite a formidable duo on and off the pickleball court. Until next time!
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The Belmont
Posted on January 9, 2024 by Ching under Food and Drink.
We’ve made two trips to the Belmont this year already but who’s counting? LOL. Brian and I were so excited to hear that our favorite chef, Jen Reifschneider, recently joined the Belmont team. The Belmont is our “go-to” place to eat and we went there nearly every week last year. I told him we will probably go even more now. But I hope they don’t get rid of the pork belly banh mi sandwich. It is my absolute favorite.
Here are some pics I snapped from our recent visit.
We got the pimento crab dip. Did you know that the chips are pretty much bottomless? All you have to do is ask.
We weren’t very hungry so we just had the crab dip and fries that time.
I did get two of my new favorite drink – the Johnny Applesage.
And then we shared a creme brulee for dessert. I really like the creme brulee there. Brian says he still likes the one at Bonefish better because they give you more. The one at the Belmont is absolutely perfect for me.
Anyway, we went back again after my pickleball (and Brian’s gaming) last Sunday for late lunch/early supper. SIDE NOTE: Sunday is the best time to go because it’s happy hour all day on Sundays.
I got me a yummy Berry Manilow this time.
Brian got his usual ham and cheese sandwich and I tried to get the pork belly banh mi but they only serve it at lunch. We were there too late.
One time I was there for dinner and the server offered to ask the kitchen if they could make it and they actually did make it for me. Our server didn’t offer that option this time and I didn’t want to be difficult so I just chose their chicken salad sandwich instead. It is also very good. The square-shaped croissant they use in the sandwich is perfectly flaky and delicious.
The day before this I was at Red Bird with Alice and had the magpie (their version of the chicken salad sandwich) – also good. I guess it was a chicken salad kind of weekend for me. Anyway, if I could have the bread at Belmont filled with the chicken salad from Red Bird that might just be the perfect chicken salad sandwich.
By the way, you might have noticed that I am no longer closing my posts with “GNG.” That was short for “Good Night, Grandma” which was Brian’s grandmother’s request. She can’t see anymore so Brian got rid of her computer a few months ago. Anyway, for a long time after, I was still ending posts with “GNG” but then realized the one and only person who actually knew what that meant was no longer reading the blog so I have since stopped.
One could argue that I should also stop writing in the blog altogether but it has existed long before Brian’s grandmother started reading it, and actually a form of it was existed even before Brian. The online version has existed for about 30 years but I have always kept a journal or diary as far back as I can remember. Whether or not anyone is reading is of no consequence because I’m keeping this log for me. It will be fun to look back and read about all that I’ve experienced when the time comes – long after my memory is gone.
So, yeah.. It is now 2024 and we’re just going to keep on going.
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Red Bird (Again)
Posted on January 8, 2024 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Brian and I were so disappointed that we couldn’t eat at Red Bird the last time Ramon was in town so we decided to go back the first chance we got. I’m not sure if they still are, but they were closed on Sundays at the time and it was a Sunday when we tried to go. We ended up at Wichita Brewing Company across the street, which is also good, but we were really craving Red Bird. At least, Brian and I were. Ramon has never been there. We wanted to introduce him to a new place.
Here’s a recap of our first Red Bird experience.
Anyways, we went back last weekend to satisfy our cravings. We went on a Saturday – now that we know better not to go on Sunday.
The last time we went, I had the unladen swallow so this time I opted for something different and got le spritz. It was refreshingly delicious!
The elote pasta salad is another thing we love. We can’t go without getting some.
We also love their potato wedges so we always get some to share between the two of us. And, we get all the sauces.
From left: ketchup, caramelized onion aioli, garlic aioli, mustard aioli, and spicy aioli. We like spicy and garlic the best.
The last time we went, we got full off the elote pasta salad and the potato wedges and couldn’t finish our sandwiches so, instead of each getting our own, we decided to split the Italian sparrow. We really liked it!
I don’t think Red Bird could dethrone the Belmont as our favorite sandwich spot (and most specially now that Chef Jen works there – it is securely atop our list of favorite places to eat and on the permanent rotation) but, as far as sandwich places go, Red Bird is definitely one of our faves. If you haven’t been, go check it out. And if you’ve been, let us know your thoughts and favorite menu items in the comments.
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A Low-Key Christmas and Our Annual Recap
Posted on January 5, 2024 by Ching under Life, Pickleball.
Brian and I had a pretty low-key Christmas. I barely even took any pics. His parents came up from Oklahoma on Christmas Eve and then went home the day after Christmas. Instead of doing a traditional “Noche Buena” at mom and dad’s, we opted to get together for lunch. It was nice. We had lots of Filipino food thanks to Manny, who loves to cook also.
I ordered this game called Blank Slate because I absolutely loved it when we played it at Susie’s a couple of weeks ago. I brought it to mom and dad’s and we played a couple of rounds after lunch. Everyone loved it too. It’s so fun!
We had a quiet Christmas Eve dinner at our house with Brian’s parents. The next morning, Brian and his dad went to pick up grandma and the five of us celebrated Christmas Day together. Christmas Day lunch was also subdued. We ordered a holiday feast package from Hello Fresh and it worked out great. They pretty much sent us everything we needed for a nice charcuterie board and also a hefty prime rib meal. For dessert, I got this amazing cake from Prost.
We ate some of it on Christmas Eve but, as mom also ordered ube cake, we barely made a dent. We ate some on Christmas Day but we still had a crap ton left. I had been eating all week until I finally accepted that I wasn’t going to be able to eat the rest of it all by myself. I took what was left (a little over half) to Jeff Bally’s on Saturday when we played pickleball and we ate some of it while we played. There was a small piece left and my friend Zach Nguyen took it home.
I’m glad none of it went to waste because that would have made me really sad. This is seriously the best cake that I’ve had in a while. After having a slice of it at lunch a couple of weeks ago, I decided I needed a whole one because I wanted everyone to try it. #SharingIsCaring
I took time off work between Christmas and New Year’s and that week went by pretty quickly (much like all of 2023) but Brian and I were actually quite productive. We’ve both always hated the way our kitchen faucet looks so we decided to finally replace it. I had no idea kitchen faucets were so expensive! We found a $200 one at Lowe’s that we were happy with and then Brian got to work.
Here’s the before and after.
Installing the new faucet wasn’t too bad but getting the old one off was super tricky. We almost gave up partway through. But Brian persevered and now the kitchen looks much better. Who knew simply replacing your faucet could make such a difference? And I had no idea that a measly $200 faucet would bring me so much joy — more joy than any other gift could have given me.
I shouldn’t be so surprised though, because “acts of service” is my primary love language. And, replacing the faucet was not easy, nor did Brian enjoy it so this act is very much appreciated.
And now for our annual recap…
For the past couple of years (maybe more) my life has pretty much revolved around pickleball so it should come as no surprise that there as a lot of pickleball played in 2023. I did resolve to cut back on pickleball tournaments but, because I don’t know how to say no to anything (and I have major FOMO), I somehow still played in over 20 tournaments last year. They were mostly regional tournaments within driving distance so I spent about $5,000 less on tournaments than I did in 2022 when I traveled all over the country and played in 24.
The Oklahoma City Life Time hosts a Picklemania tournament about four times a year and I played in two of them last year.
The US Open in Naples is probably the most prestigious tournament I have ever played in and, this past year, I got to compete in five events! We had a big group go this year, including mom and dad, so that made it even more fun.
The other memorable tournaments this year are:
- Mid-South Regional – I really wasn’t planning on playing in this one but Casey Dominguez who I played with in the January Picklemania wanted to play in it and I wanted to play with him so I squeezed it in.
- APP Cincinnati – This was my attempt to earn a golden ticket for 2023 USA Pickleball National Championships for mixed doubles. I earned my golden tickets for women’s doubles and women’s singles at the Diamond Amateur Championships in Florida in 2022, but Ramon Lozano and I only got silver in mixed so I didn’t earn a mixed golden ticket.
- Tulsa Pickleball Classic – This tournament isn’t really a qualifier for anything, unlike the golden ticket tournaments or the regional tournaments that feed the Diamond Amateur Championships but it was on my list because Tanner Rice wanted to do it. Anyway, he ended up getting hurt so I played this one with a blind date, Mo Luqman instead.
- PPA Kansas City Open – This was another attempt at getting my mixed golden ticket. Due to another injury, I ended up with another blind date which is always disappointing but Kendra Wicks (one of my pickleball daughters and also my women’s doubles partner for Nationals) used both the Tulsa tournament and this one to get some tournament practice so I can’t say that it was a complete waste. Although I didn’t earn a golden ticket at this tournament, because of the cancellations and the mess of the whole tournament, they ended up giving EVERYONE golden tickets so I got my spot for mixed doubles after all.
- Bartlesville Fall Classic – This is a tournament hosted by my friend Kumar Krishnan. It is run super well and you get three events, a tournament shirt, and lunch included with your entry fee. They also have prize money at all levels. This is one of those tournaments that I highly recommend to everyone because it is not only fun but also a great value.
- NEO Shangri-La Open – This is a smaller regional tournament that is a fundraiser for one of the universities in Oklahoma. It is also hosted by Kumar so you know it is well-organized. One of my favorite things about this tournament is the beautiful resort setting. It’s just an amazing environment and I love that we have something like this within driving distance of Wichita.
- USA Pickleball National Championships – It’s been one of my long-running goals (since I started playing in tournaments) to compete at Nationals. It was supposed to be at Indian Wells in California but they changed it to Brookhaven Country Club in Dallas, Texas. This is probably the biggest tournament I have ever participated in. My mixed doubles division had 80 teams registered!
- ICT Summer Classic – This is a much smaller tournament compared to the other ones on this list but it will forever hold a special place in my heart because, many years ago, this tournament was the first ever real tournament I played in. Also, I think the 2023 ICT Summer Classic is Kayla Keuter’s very last one because she didn’t have the ICT Fall-out tournament last year and, the last time we spoke, it seemed like she wasn’t interested in hosting any more of these in the future (which makes me really sad).
Besides these bigger tournaments, I also played in and hosted a bunch of DUPR events (both on my own and through iPickle Nation), and I played and helped with a bunch of local tournaments (some of which were charity events to raise money for my favorite social agencies):
- Dream Team Doubles (at Riverside Tennis Center)
- Mixed Doubles Mini Tournament (at the Pickle Club)
- Wichita Corporate Challenge (representing Evergy)
- It’s a Big Dill (benefiting the Wichita Children’s Home)
- Picklemania MMXXIII (benefiting Rotary Club of Andover)
- Y’s Men Pickleball Tournament (benefiting Greater Wichita YMCA)
- Rally for Hope (benefiting HopeNet)
- Backyard Pickleball (at various home courts)
- Holiday Hoedown (at Jeff Bally’s)
And then I had two Minor League Pickleball events this year — one I played in (Chicken N Pickle Ambassador MiLP) and one that I helped organize (MiLP at Crestview Country Club). MiLPs are team tournaments and it probably my most favorite competition format. I highly recommend playing in one of these if you’ve never tried it. They are a blast!
I also had several friends have pickleball birthday parties (Molly Sager, Susie Ternes, Ramon Lozano, Katie Merrill, Alice Tunks-Jones) which I guess is the thing to do here in Wichita. The girls even threw me a birthday surprise at one of our pickleball sessions.
Speaking of birthdays, I threw Brian a rum tasting party this year as a belated birthday present. He loves rum so it was perfect. I totally patted myself on the back for that one. Anyway, so much has happened this year more than just pickleball (helping with the NPL tournament at Chicken N Pickle, pickleball Christmas parties)… Brian and I had our first colonoscopies (yes, we are officially THAT age)… We started Hello Fresh so we could eat at home more (we are still using the service and really like it so far)… We did our annual Shock N’ Clause breakfast with our travel friends… It has been quite a year and I am thankful to each and everyone of you who helped make every moment of 2023 a memorable one. Happy New Year!
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