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It was my Golden 30th on Friday, so we hosted my siblings, best friend & their spouses at my favorite restaurant La Belle Vie. We were all served the 5 course tasting menu which took about 2 hours. I thought the food was just delicious, and was really happy with service. I had been planning this event for 2 months, so it was fun to see everyone dressed up & enjoying top-notched food & service. Thanks to everyone who made my birthday special. You know who you are. We missed you Meetas! I love you all & am so grateful to have people like you in my life. Also a big thanks to my wonderful & dear honey.

After dinner, we headed over to Karma for John’s Halloween party. I did plan to dress up, but I decided not to at the last minute. I just didn’t have time to get a costume together. It was fun to see everyone’s costumes though. Thank goodness we decided to get a VIP table at the club because it was packed. I also had a little too much to drink so I was more than tipsy. Luckily, didn’t get kicked out of the club, nor did I throw up the whole night. It was just the perfect amount of drinks. Will have to remember for next time. Thanks Nancy, Hong & Angela for coming up here to party with me. We miss you guys already.

I don’t feel very different now that I’m 30. Just happy to be here.  I love my life. It’s not perfect, but I get to spend it everyday with my two boys who I love to pieces. I couldn’t ask for more.

Gosh, it’s been awhile since the last time I posted something on here, but it’s been a crazy two weeks. We have been cleaning & fixing the house from top to bottom & decluttering/packing all our junk.  Thanks to Meetas, May, Teng & Adam for helping us.  Couldn’t have done it without them. I can’t believe we got our house ready & on the market in a week & a half. Best thing about it so far: our house has never been so clean. I love it. The house was listed on Wednesday, and we got an offer last night, so not bad eh? The offer was so-so, so we countered & it was accepted. Now we just have to do the inspection & fix some minor things. Closing will be at the end of November, so keeping my fingers crossed that everything works out.

Since receiving the offer on the house, the chance of living in a different country has suddenly become real & possible.  We decided on these countries/cities: Korea, Sydney, Paris, Shanghai, Hong Kong or Tokyo. If none of those work out, we’ll try Vancouver. If that doesn’t work out, we’ll stay in the U.S.: Hawaii, NYC, Seattle or San Francisco.

Anyway, while working on the house, I got a chance to babysit my cute little nephew. (I bet you’re so jealous Meetas!) It gave me a peek at what it’s like to have two kids. It seems like a lot of work & life with one is pretty easy right now. Why ruin it? Maybe in a couple of years I might change my mind.
Max can’t seem to make up his mind about his Halloween costume, so it’s gonna be last minute this year. I may have to just decide for him. Planning to dress up myself since we are planning to hit up John’s Halloween party at Karma on Friday. Should be lots of fun. Looking forward to relaxing & celebrating my big three-oh with my loved ones.

Weekend:
Saturday - Had our first showing (this lady is the one who ended up offering), so cleaned the house real quick again & was gone by 1pm. Stopped by Nou’s house for her little girl’s blessing ceremony. Stuffed my face with too much good food. Spent the rest of the night at 2men’s house watching UFC (which the main fight was the lamest ever).

Sunday - Had an Open House at 12pm, so woke up & started cleaning again & straightening up. We were hungry so we went to Barbette for brunch. First time there. The food was alright, but service was super slow. I don’t like that at all. Don’t think we’ll be heading back any time soon. Later, one of our agents stopped by with paperwork to sign for the offer on the house.

[Photography by Trev Fenner]

Here are some pictures from Helly & Yimeem’s wedding that we went to last month. Helly’s bouquet consisted of cream roses, green hypericum berries & orange Vanda orchids. I’m really happy with the way the bouquets turned out, and even happier that Helly loved them. The centerpieces were Vanda orchids submerged in water. Very pretty.

Guess what? I was selected to help decorate the Governor’s Mansion for the holidays. I’m pretty excited for this opportunity, as it will give me a chance to learn directly from the professionals & see them in action. In addition, this will also be great for my portfolio.

We have interviewed five realtors, so it’s time to make a decision on who we want to help us sell our home. If we sell our house, we were thinking it would be fun to visit another country for a couple of months before buying our next home. Max starts kindergarten next year, so it’s the best time to do it. If moving to another country isn’t feasible, we’re thinking about going back to Portland & spend the winter there instead. I know, you’re probably thinking, “Why not somewhere warm like California or Florida?” Well, we just love Portland so much, we don’t mind the rain.

Well, what we’ve been up to, besides trying to get our house ready?

+ Celebrated my little sister Kaileeh’s 10th birthday at Grand Slam in Coon Rapids on Saturday. She’s growing up so fast.

+ Celebrated my father-in-law’s birthday tonight. Happy 60th Neil! Adam cooked a yummy dinner as usual.

+ I’ve been trying to find a dress for my 30th birthday dinner at the end of this month. Really looking forward to that. It’s going to be so much fun.

+ Going to a spa with my sister Meetas for her birthday next week.

+ Pajjar & her hubby Johan came over for dinner the other night. It was so fun to have them over. I knew Pajjar a long time ago (from junior high school), and we lost touch the past 10 years, so it was lovely to reunite with an old friend.

Happy Birthday to my sisters Meetas & Kaileeh! Planning to take Kaileeh out on Saturday for some fun & then having dinner with Meetas. Maybe Max & I will bake them some cupcakes too.

I think we’re going to try & sell our house. We have interviewed 3 agents so far, and they all seem to think we could get the price we want for our house. If anyone has any tips/advice/suggestions for us, we’d appreciate it. I am going to miss our house if we do end up selling, but we want to get Max into a better school district & we need a little more space. I’m nervous about the whole process, but it doesn’t hurt to try.

After Max came home from school today, we went to Mall of America for a little shopping. I bought myself a new purse at Nordstrom. Nothing snazzy. Been wanting this Longchamp (Planetes Tonal) as a regular carry on, so when the hubby said that I should get myself something, I didn’t think twice. Max got a new Lego tow truck, and the hubby got to foot the bill. Thanks Honey!

Some families do puzzles to spend time with one another. Other families play board games. I think my little family will be building Legos. See the yellow house on the left? Well, if the hubby hadn’t helped me a little, it would have took me hours to build. It actually is bigger than the McDonalds building. I really want to superglue it together, but the hubby thinks that is not the point of Legos & refuses to let me glue any of it down. The building on the right is an original design of McDonald’s by the hubby, requested by Max. I think the guy taking the order is too dressed up. He’s got a vest on.

Guess what this is supposed to be. >>

Some funny Max quotes:

+ “I don’t want a crappy meal. I wanna Happy Meal.”  [Thanks YouTube.]

+  While eating watermelon, it sounded like Max said, “Bitches is sweet.” I asked him what he said, and he replied, “Bits is sweet.” Whew!

Debating on whether or not I want to get a flu shot this season. Last year I got one, and I got sick 2 or 3 times during the winter. Really sick. The kind of sick where you get the chills & body aches for days. The previous years that I didn’t get the shot, I don’t remember getting as sick. I may just pass on the shot this year. My Dad swears by it though. He’s one of the first in line to get his. For sure, I’m bringing Max in on Friday to get that nasal mist. He’s lucky his pediatric office don’t give out shots for preschoolers, only babies.

[Juicy Lucy @ Blue Door Pub]

This weekend was spent mostly looking at Open Houses. We just wanted to see what was out there, which we shouldn’t have because we found an “almost perfect” house. I hate setting on my heart on something & then getting disappointed. Only thing holding us back is the sale of our current home, AND the fact that there’s an offer on the table for the new house. I’m thinking we should just sell our house & move into an apartment for the time being–not only would we save money, we’d also look better to prospective sellers.

We had lunch at Midtown Global Market on Saturday, and I happen to meet Pang, the cake creator (who also created Max’s birthday cake) at Salty Tart while purchasing a slice of cake. It’s always fun to meet online buddies, isn’t it? The funny thing is, Pang recognized Max & the hubby first. Not the first time that’s happened. Nobody ever recognizes me from my blog. Boo hoo.

Halloween is coming soon, and I’m so excited for it. I love Halloween, especially now that Max old enough to be excited for it too. He thinks he wants to be a robot again, but we found out today that he might want to be a DJ instead. A DJ costume would be much easier to do, I think. You should see him act like he’s scratching the record & jamming with his headphones on. So cute & funny.

I want to get a new camera since the LCD screen on my Canon is broken. I have to look through the viewfinder to take pictures–old school style. Max thought it was so weird. Them kids & their technology. Anyway, I want the Canon SX200 IS or the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3. I would love an SLR, but honestly, I don’t feel like lugging it around & fiddling with all the manual stuff on it.

Recent Purchases:

1. Amazing Grace by Philosophy Perfume - Ran out of my body spray, and decided to get the roll-on perfume instead. Love this scent.
2. Brow Duality by Anastasia - My eyebrow kit isn’t complete without this. It’s a highlighter for under the brows.
3. Foundation brush by Sonia Kashuk - Thought I’d try this instead of those sponges.
4. Flawless Skin foundation in “Champagne” by Prescriptives - Haven’t worn foundation for many years, but I’ve been wanting to since my face is uneven & a little blotchy.
5. Brushed Steel Frame Side Table by Crate&Barrel - I really like the look of this end table, so I have been happy with it overall. Just need to get a table lamp now.
6. Eyeshadow Brush #23 by Sephora

I just love it when I find new things in the city. Especially by my own Hmong sistas! The other week, I took Max to Choo Choo Bob’s on Marshall Ave, and I noticed this new cake shop Little Cake Studio two doors down. You can just tell it was such a cute little shop. So after the train store, we went inside to look at the cakes on display. I noticed the owners were there & that they were Asian, but I thought they were Chinese or Korean. I didn’t pay much attention to them because I was too busy admiring the beautiful cakes. The husband starts talking to me, and after chatting with them, I find out they’re Hmong too. How awesome is that? I believe the creator of the cakes is Ly, the wife. It’s so exciting to see a Hmong woman pursue her dreams, especially when it’s something creative such as making cakes. So if you’re ever by Cleveland & Marshall Ave in St. Paul, be sure to check out their little shop.

My girlfriend Angie was in town this weekend, so I was able to hang out with her a little. Maysee & I met up with her for lunch at the Bulldog in NE Mpls on Friday. I got another parking ticket! Next time, I need to set the timer to go off 5 minutes before the meter runs out. So mad at myself. It was so nice to see Angie since it’s been a couple of years & just joke around like the good ol’ days. Maysee & Angie are the two friends that I’ve known for the longest, and I am so glad to have them in my life. You gals are the best!

Friday night, I dropped Max off at his cousin’s house, and I went with Angie to see Ferry Corsten at Epic. Had a great time with her & some friends. Didn’t get home until 2pm, and I was hungry, so me & hubby went to Uptown Diner for a bite.

On Saturday, I spent all day arranging flowers for my cousin Yimeem & his bride Helly for their wedding on Sunday. I made 35 boutonneires & 3 bouquets. Helly’s colors were orange & black, and her flowers were orchids & roses. I also set up 70 centerpieces, which were orange orchids submerged in a vase, with the help of my two sisters, so thanks Meetas & Jaime. I wish I had a picture of the bride & groom, but I had a hard time getting them together since they were running around a lot & there were 250+ guests. Their wedding was beautiful & fun, and we are so happy for them. Hopefully I’ll be able to get a picture from them.

Here are some bouquets I worked on in my floral class last week. Learned a couple of new techniques & styles. Can you believe I’m not sick of flowers yet?

Above is a wired bouquet consisting of 2 different shades of pink roses & pink/red zinnias. This bouquet I actually made by myself at home. The zinnias were the ones I bought at the Farmer’s Market on Sunday.