Erica's birthday Dallas, TX trip.

This is 34. 

By the way, my birthday was over two weeks ago (12/14). I've always blogged waaaay after the event I'm writing about happened so I decided to continue with the tradition. LOL Actually, I started writing when we got back from Texas--quick notes, half formed paragraphs and pictures--but then I got super busy with last minute custom orders and Christmas festivities. (Merry belated Christmas guys; I hope yours was delightful! 🎄) Then when I had time again earlier this week, I wondered why I was even doing this. Who reads this stuff? If I'm writing it for myself, to preserve my travels and memories, will I even read it twenty or thirty years from now? I have so many journals and photo albums that I never share with others or revisit myself. But, whatever, I'm waiting on dinner to finish cooking & for a tv show to start so I might as well just finish this blog post, too.

My mother-in-law travels with her boyfriend for all their special holidays (birthday, Thanksgiving, Mother's Day, etc.) At first I found it weird because those are days you should be in town celebrating with friends and family. But, then Wes & I started skipping out on holidays, too, and it was probably the best decision ever. Well, maybe not the best decision ever but still a pretty darn good idea. I have very limited family and only a handful of individuals who I would consider friends (and who would be kind enough to call me a friend to them... that's the tricky part... you can say you have X number of friends but how many of those people could turn around and claim you has one of their friends, too?) Anyway, I could host a birthday party and invite a bunch of people over or grab drinks with coworkers or go to a fancy dinner with family. Or, I could do what I want on my birthday with just me & my husband. Sorry friends & family--you can call me a selfish b*tch if you want--but I chose the latter.

On my actual birthday, we went to WAGU Japanese BBQ for dinner. It's one of those places that has a mini grill attached to the table for you to cook your own food. Maybe it's because I enjoy cooking  anyway but I absolutely love those restaurants. Sure, I'll pay extra for the privilege to cook my own food!! The menu consisted of various cuts and types of meat. I don't remember everything we got but I do remember the delicious wagu beef (also Wes's favorite) and duck. The next morning, we headed to Texas. (I swear one of these days, we'll take an actual vacation that requires a plane and time zone change but for now, we're enjoying our little driving-out-of-town getaways.)

Yes, I insisted we take a selfie inside the IKEA cafe. We were holding delicious cinnamon rolls but my arm wasn't long enough to get both us and the desserts in the frame. 

The main reason why we went to Dallas was not for my birthday...it was for Wes to go to IKEA to buy an entertainment center for his game room. We tried to buy one in town but he couldn't find one he liked. Then the IKEA fall catalog arrived. LOL I enjoy wandering around IKEA so I completely agreed that this would be a fun way to spend the weekend. We actually didn't even buy the entertainment center he saw in the catalog. It didn't look as great in person. So he got another one that was almost too long to fit in my car. Well, it did fit in my car but it blocked all my blind spots. (And I'm a stressed out driver as it is, there was no way I was driving around Dallas with zero blind spot for the remainder of the weekend.) The hard part was maneuvering both of our seats and the entertainment center at just the right angles to not block the back windows. It took a few tries but we got it to fit comfortably and we headed onto our next destination.

This place boasted an impressive brunch menu, with congee (my favorite) and a Thai omelette that Wes really wanted to try. The next time we're in Dallas, it'll have to be on a Sunday between 10am - 3pm.

Which was food. YES!! Always food! 😋 I'm in charge of planning out where we eat when we travel and the last time we took a trip, I totally bombed in restaurant choices. I had to redeem myself with this trip. And, I'm happy to say that I did. We went to Malai, a modern Thai Vietnamese fusion restaurant. It was so good all around- the food was excellent, the atmosphere was hip and the staff was very nice. The restaurant has its own brewery and one of the featured beers was a Thai-P-A (get it... like an IPA). We started with this sticky rice ball that was wrapped in banana leaves and some spicy eggplant dipping sauce. I've never had sticky rice served that way before and I really liked the chunky sauce. Wes got Chiang Mai Noodles and I got the Shrimp Pad Thai. I enjoyed mine especially because it didn't have very many onions or bean sprouts (two ingredients that I usually pick out of my dishes). I also liked that the portions weren't huge so I could actually finish my meal without feeling too full. It was a little spicy but that was my fault for not having our waiter fully explain the spiciness scale.

Day two, we headed to an Asian strip-mall in Carrollton. Along with Wes's entertainment center, we initially ventured down here to purchase some guardian lions. You've seen them in front of Asian restaurants... those giant jade or marble lions that flank the front entrance. We decided that we wanted a pair for our back patio. Because I am an Asian stereotype and I'm not mad about it. Speaking of being an Asian stereotype, every time we travel anywhere near a 99 Ranch Market (which until now, I thought was pronounced Ranch 99), I must go inside to admire the foods of the motherland. Wes likes it, too, so its not just me being weird. Unfortunately, we weren't able to buy any of the delicious awesomeness (but you better bet that I hit up each and every single one of the ladies handing out free samples LOL) because it was a warm day and everything would have spoiled in my car on the drive home. When will our Asian supermarket expand to 99 Ranch size?? Oh and we didn't find any of those lion statues. We thought that they might only be sold in the spring and summer time since they're outdoor decorations.

I was actually so excited to go to the Asian supermarket that we got that waaaay too early (apparently stores open later on Sundays...😒) The only place open when we arrived at the strip-mall was the bakery. Last spring, a fellow student in my sewing class told me about 85°C Bakery Cafe. He said it was the best Vietnamese bakery and he and his husband stock up on treats every time they go to Texas. I was intrigued. The best Vietnamese bakeries that I've been to were in Houston. Okay, Joshua, you win... 85°C Bakery Cafe was outstanding! I got an egg tart and Wes got a coconut croissant. I also got the salted caramel latte, their seasonal special, which was not such a good idea. It was all salt and no caramel. I wanted to buy all the pastries but, again, it would have all spoiled in my car on the drive home. After breakfast, we wandered into Kinokuniya (a Japanese bookstore that we first visited in Sydney, Aus several years ago... our first trip together... do I have a blog post about that vacation somewhere?) and Diaso (an Asian version of the 99¢ store, only nothing was 99¢). Wes loved Kinokuniya. I'm not a fan of anime or manga but it was still neat to look at everything that was in there. I enjoyed browsing Daiso more. There were so many crazy things in there. Like odd little gadgets and cutesy items that you can only find on the streets of Chinatown. I bought some llama shaped post-it notes and ankle toe socks. 😆

Our last stop for the weekend was Hi, Sweetie for rolled ice cream. I first heard about Thai rolled ice cream on an episode of The Splendid Table podcast last summer. Ever since, I've been wanting to try it. We were going to go to a restaurant that had it when we were in Kansas for the Goo Goo Dolls concert but it ended up being way out of the way so we skipped it. 😔 It took quite a bit of driving around an enormous shopping center but we finally found Hi, Sweetie and it was well worth the confusing drive. I ordered the Oero mint chocolate chip ice cream. The chef poured some milk and an Oero onto a freezing cold surface and swished it around until it froze into ice cream. It was so rad. I was watching like a wide-eyed little kid. It was also pretty and it tasted good. Several other patrons came in while we were there and I stayed by the ice cream station and watched him make each order. He probably thought, "Yup, this one is definitely a tourist." Hahaha. 

Anyway, that concludes my birthday trip. Year #33 had its ups and downs (as all years do, so why am I typing such an annoying cliche?) I am looking forward to my thirty fourth trip around the sun. I hope for lots of laughter, light and love. I plan to continue growing as a person and travelling to eat all the yummy foods! As I sit here on New Year's Eve with my personal reflections, I wanted to let you guys know that you are enough. It took me thirty three whole years to figure that one out. I am a socially awkward, proud Chinese girl, with a face that inspires a makeover, who will never have children, am overly passionate about my small business (RagsReborn Gifts), has a hard time making new friends and, despite all that, I AM ENOUGH. So, please please remember that you, too, are enough just the way you are. Happy New Year, all, here's to 2019. 🥂

Erica & Wes visit the Renaissance Festival.

       ONCE UPON A TIME... Alan and Erica journeyed to ye far off land of Muskogee on a quest to find enchanted weapons. They happened upon a castle of old ,where they were greeted by a jovial wench. She showed them many weapons. From the time Alan was a young lad, all he wanted to do was to hold ye magical ax and recite incantations. When he picked up thy ax, the largest grin appeared on his  round face and he shined brighter than the northernmost star. Poor Erica was not as lucky. She chanced upon thy giant bardiche but thou arms were too spindly to wield the weapon. She tried with all her might... she grunted and pulled and made horrid faces... but the weapon would not lift off thy ground. Then the court jester appeared and laughed a hearty ho ho ho! The bardiche was cursed to never leave thy wooden floor. The wench, jester, Alan and Erica all gave a boisterous laugh and merriment was had by all. THE END.

Just kidding, none of that happened. But Wes & I did go to the Renaissance Festival at the Castle at Muskogee last weekend for Alan's birthday. It was a pretty fun experience (minus the heat... walking around outside in the Oklahoma heat for an afternoon was terrible!) The fair was held on the "castle grounds" and it was set up to look like a medieval village. There were various stages with different performers every hour, a few bars & food vendors and lots of shops. We had a turkey leg, funnel cake and beer for lunch when we got there. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the grounds with Alan and his friends.

None of the weapons were enchanted but there was a historical society at the fair that had old medieval battle weapons. So my story wasn't completely made up! LOL The girl who volunteered at the booth was a history buff who shared factoids on the swords, axes and maces. And, she let us handle the weapons! Alan picked the heaviest thing for me to hold.

There were some ladies spinning wool into thread!

We went into just about every shop and saw each vendor. (and there were a lot!) My favorites were:

       *a craftsman who made wooden mugs and puzzle boxes,

       *a shop that sold replicas of armor, chain-mail and helmets and

       *a shop that demonstrated weaving, spinning and basket-making  

There was a lot of neat stuff but we didn't find anything that we couldn't do without so we left sans souvenir. 

The top right picture was from the Musical Blades performance. There is a guy in a white t-shirt sitting on the bench with a guitar. He wasn't part of the band and he didn't play the guitar. He just sat there with it.

We also saw two performances. One was a gypsy group called Wine & Alchemy. A woman sung and her band mates played various instruments. For their final song, she danced with a sword. The other performance we saw was the Musical Blades. They were a musical comedy troupe of pirates. Their act consisted of dirty jokes, original pirate themed songs and covers of hip hop songs. It was Wes' favorite part of the day. I've only been to one other medieval fair (the one in Norman) and I didn't really enjoy it but since Alan requested that we go for his birthday, we ventured out. I would say this Renaissance Festival was a good one. It had a variety of things to do and see and you could easily spend a day there. 

Erin, Matt, Melanie, Alan, me & Wes. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

It's Erica's birthday!

I have officially lived my 30th year of life and am now onto the 31st. Everyone always makes such a fuss about the big 3-0. There are millions of lists proclaiming things to do before you hit 30, things to stop doing before you hit 30 and things to do while you're 30. (We'll visit these lists in a second.) I always thought these "big years" were just overly hyped up... I mean, nothing exciting happened when I turned 16 or 21. I just got older, the earth revolved and life went on. But surprisingly, 2015 has been rather significant. 

       It started with the passing of my first ever pet - R.I.P Kensington, then I got engaged and married twice (to the same man), 

                       I got a tattoo and dyed my hair a crazy color for the first time-- yes, the FIRST time; I am the world's latest bloomer. Look me up in the record books... "Erica Ngo: World's Latest Bloomer", 

     I "dreamed big" (oh, the cheesy catch phrases!) by starting my own business and I finally accepted & embraced issues with my health.  

I'd say that year thirty has been quite the adventure.

Shout out to @beatinfertility for having this inspirational picture on Instagram that I'm totally stealing and using for my blog!

Before I started this blog entry, I wanted to do some research... what exactly is a 30 year supposed to be doing with their life? I've never been similar to my peers but no matter how different we all are, everyone will come across the same doubts and fears as we move into adulthood. Along with these doubts & fears, we all try to create bucket lists for ourselves. Let's see what the Internet thinks our bucket lists should look like--

I'm fabulous because I don't do many of the things that BuzzFeed thinks is bad for 30-year-olds.

First off, let's explore things that I should no longer be doing: http://www.buzzfeed.com/shannonrosenberg/unhealthy-living-habits#.qj65WmXpx

       I'm safe here; being the World's Latest Bloomer, I never really even picked up half of these habits. The only ones I still obsess over are #8 (mostly at craft shows when I see all the vendors around me doing so much better than I am. *screams & cries* "Why does no one like my pillows!!!"), #15 because I love to sleep & #18 because, really, who really stops doing this? 

Living your dreams and pursuing your goals came up a lot on these lists. I am proud to say that I can check that off because I have RagsReborn---my life, my breath and my soul!

Now that I've kicked all my bad habits, let's see what I'm supposed to have achieved. I picked the top two websites on my Google search. 

       http://www.businessinsider.com/things-to-do-before-youre-30-2014-6

Whoa, whoa, WHOA... "Go bungee jumping or skydiving," "Climb a mountain ," "Learn to bar tend," "Go scuba diving." I can't do any of these things. I can't even swim!! Plus, none of these things interest me. Next list, please.

       http://lifestyle.allwomenstalk.com/awesome-things-to-do-before-you-turn-30

This list seems more realistic. I have accomplished about half of the things described on the list. Woo hoo, go Erica!! 

* I've traveled to Paris (not as this author described... I went with family when I was 10.) 

* I've turned my hobby into my dream job (that should count as "working at my dream job"). 

* I was a member of a young professionals group who did volunteer work and I have various charities as my life insurance beneficiaries. 

* I took a road trip this year! And have fallen in love. <3 (Since my road trip was with my husband, I decided to mark these off the list as one item.)

* I have traveled solo and am on my third passport (the damn things keep expiring!!)

* I've taken several "how to" classes, read some of the classics, watched plenty of "must see movies," learned a plethora of DIY crafts and have met many new & interesting people throughout my lifetime.

* I haven't written a book but I've written a blog...does that count?

* I got a tattoo & have ridden on a motorcycle.

* I've always lived pretty healthily and I love exotic foods!

* I've seen my favorite band (Goo Goo Dolls!!!!) and a Broadway show (I saw Cabaret in Madrid...maybe that doesn't really count as "Broadway.") 

This picture goes with the last section of this paragraph... the "be content with what you have and stop pitying yourself" part.

Last one... what should I be doing now that I am in my thrities? http://distractify.com/old-school/2015/04/22/smart-things-to-do-at-30-1197892772

       After reading this list, I feel pretty good about my future 50 year old self. I do almost all of these things already. :) There are only a few that I need to get myself into gear on. 

       I was exercising on the regular but don't as much anymore. I'll add this to the list of New Year's resolutions. And I MUST "learn to be content with what I have." I live a pretty good life but there a lot of things that people my age have and talk about that I will never experience. That is when the suicidal pessimistic loner version of me comes out. "Stop being suicidal pessimistic loner Erica" will also be added to the list of New Year's resolutions. The last thing that keeps coming up on all these lists and will definitely be a part of the resolutions is "become a homeowner". 

These lists are all pretty generic and I agree with a lot of their points but we each live our own special and unique lives so I have made a list of my own. The top three things that I am most proud of achieving in my thirtieth year are:

     1. I found my best friend, my other half, my soul mate and all that other mushy titles that I'm supposed to use when referring to my husband. I love being married. It wasn't something that was on my bucket list but now that I am married, I wouldn't have it any other way.

     2. I "discovered who I am." It sounds so cliche but I think I finally accepted myself as a person (Who Erica is-- "I'm a fiercely independent weirdo who can't whip or nae nae, who loves dogs and doesn't like crowds and only has about 3 or 4 friends but having any more would be too stressful so I've stopped trying to make new friends which makes me come off as really socially awkward."). I let a lot of my former friends go and focused on what made me happy. I joined a book club, attend numerous craft shows, and finally stand up for myself at work (much to my boss' dismay).

     3. I discovered some health problems but instead of dwelling on it, I sought medical attention and accepted my infertility with pride. I'm actually working on a stand up routine... here are my first two jokes:

How infertile is she?

     Having sex with Erica is the number one form of birth control!

How infertile is she?

     Inspirational posters have a disclaimer made just for me!

Okay, so maybe the stand up was a bad idea. LOL Endometriosis sucks big time and I'm still a little sad and bitter (anyone infertile who says that that aren't is a liar) but I think I'm mostly okay. I have my fur babies, Sadie & Athena, and of course, I have my craft shows. 

All in all, year 30 was quite great. The pros outweighed the cons. Husband, thriving Etsy shop/craft show/small business & new puppy. Happy birthday to me and I look forward to year 40!