DumplingDudez

I freaking love living in Portland and Oregon.

Today we met up with some friends and wandered through the sunflower maze at Topaz Farm on Sauvie Island.

And standing there, I had one of those little moments where I thought…

How did this become our life?

Not that long ago, we moved here form TX without really knowing what our community would look like.

We had to start over in a lot of ways.

And now… people who once followed us online have become people we grab dinner with, explore Oregon with, laugh with, and go to protest with...

Somehow, strangers became familiar faces.

Followers became friends.

And friends are becoming our little tribe here and chosen family.

In the spring, we did the Tulip Festival.
Now the sunflower maze.

Then there are all the street fairs, markets, festivals, hikes, and random adventures in between.

I love all of that.

But more than the places, I’m grateful for the people we keep meeting along the way.

Because I think home isn’t just where you live.

It’s the moment you realize you’re starting to belong.

And lately… Portland is feeling more and more like that.

What’s a little tradition—or place—you do every year that makes somewhere feel like home?

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

🌻 Heading to Topaz Farm! 🌻

We are on our way to Sauvie Island to check out the sunflower maze.

If you are out here enjoying the sunshine today, come say hi if you see us!

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Help please! I am thinking about a new way to get more involved in my forever city — Portland.

I’d love to explore teaching an intro class at PCC on entrepreneurship, marketing, or social media.

After years in corporate marketing and building my own businesses, I think it would be fun to help people turn ideas into something real.

Anyone work with PCC or know someone I should talk to?

Would love an intro.

Chih

There was a BOMB threat at Enchanted Forest?!

Well… that was literally my first experience there last month?

We were halfway through the park when suddenly everyone had to evacuate because of a bomb threat.

So our first magical adventure ended a little earlier than planned.

A little while ago, we finally went back to finish what we started.

And I freaking LOVED it.

Not because it was fancy.

Actually… kind of the opposite.

I loved walking through Snow White’s mine.

Climbing through the little houses and tunnels.

Looking at all the weird, quirky details someone imagined and then actually built with their own hands.

And yes…

going down that giant slide.

It sounds so stupidly simple.

But when was the last time you went down a slide just because it was fun?

No purpose.
No productivity.
No content strategy.
No trying to accomplish anything.

You climb up.

You slide down.

You laugh.

That’s it.

And somehow that felt… magical.

We live in a world where everything is becoming faster, smarter, digital, automated and AI-generated.

I use that technology too.

But Enchanted Forest reminded me how much magic human beings can create with our bare hands, our imagination and a willingness to be a little weird.

And somewhere between Snow White, crooked houses and flying down a slide like a little kid…

I felt something I haven't felt enough of lately.

Wonder.

The kind we had as kids before everything needed to have a reason.

And maybe that’s why this day became about so much more than an amusement park for me.

It’s been almost a year since we moved to Portland, Oregon.

And sometimes I tell people this move made me feel like a new person.

But I've realized that's not quite right.

I don't feel like a new person.

I feel like ME again.

The me underneath all the masks I learned to wear to survive.

After years of stress and trauma, my body still remembers survival mode.

I still wake up in fight-or-flight sometimes.

I still have crazy dreams.

I still have moments when everything is actually okay… but some part of my brain is convinced something bad must be coming.

Healing doesn't happen just because you changed your ZIP code.

But I also know I'm in a very different place than I was before.

I feel safer.

More playful.

More creative.

More emotional.

More curious.

More willing to be weird.

More willing to let myself want things simply because they make me happy.

More me.

And no… life isn't suddenly unicorns and butterflies.

I'm still trying to figure out what the hell I'm doing with my next business.

I still doubt myself.

I still get overwhelmed.

I still have days when I have absolutely no idea what my next chapter is supposed to look like.

But maybe I'm learning that I don't have to wait until all the hard parts disappear before I'm allowed to enjoy my life.

Fear and joy can coexist.

Uncertainty and gratitude can coexist.

Healing and hurting can coexist.

The ambitious entrepreneur trying to figure out his future…

and the little kid who just wants to go down the slide one more time…

can coexist too.

Maybe that's what healing really looks like.

Not becoming someone new.

Not deleting the parts of ourselves we don't like.

But slowly feeling safe enough to take off the masks…

and welcome all those pieces of ourselves home again.

Enchanted Forest reminded me that there's still a lot of magic in this world.

But maybe the bigger lesson is this:

The magic was never really out there.

Some of it has been inside us the whole time.

Sometimes we just need a weird little forest, Snow White's mine and a giant slide to help us remember.

Have you ever been? What was your experience?

❤️🧡💛💚🩵💜

Chih

I recently read about a neuroscience study that estimates our senses take in around one billion bits of information every second—but our conscious thoughts move at only about 10.

That’s kind of crazy when you think about it.

Our brains are taking in so much, but we can only pay attention to a tiny part of it.

It’s like when you’re thinking about buying a certain car, and suddenly you see that car everywhere.

The cars were always there. You just started noticing them.

And it made me wonder…

What if I’ve been doing the same thing with my fears?

Looking for signs that I’m not enough.
That I don’t belong.
That I’m not worthy of love.
That people will eventually leave.

When you’ve carried those stories for a long time, your mind can find proof everywhere—even when people are trying to love you.

So lately, I’ve decided to try something different.

I started looking for signs that I am loved. That I do belong. That people genuinely care about me.

And honestly, I’m starting to see those signs everywhere too.

Today, one of those signs was my chosen family, Prema.

We met through Threads more than two years ago. But I think it was fate or 緣分—yuánfèn.

In Chinese, 緣分 is hard to translate perfectly. It’s the belief that certain people are meant to cross paths. That somehow, out of all the people in this world, life brings someone to you at just the right time.

Not always in the way you expected. Not necessarily forever. But for a reason.

And I think that’s what happened with us.

It had been a while since we really sat down and checked in on each other’s lives. But being with her reminded me that we genuinely love and support each other—not because of what we can do for one another, but simply because of who we are.

That kind of love still makes me emotional because it’s something I didn’t always receive or learn from my own parents or sister.

For a long time, part of me kept waiting for that love to come from the people I thought it was supposed to come from.

But maybe healing is also learning to notice and receive the love that is already here.

Family isn’t always who we were born to.

Sometimes, family is who life brings to us.
Who sees us.
Who stays.
And who keeps choosing us.

Maybe that’s 緣分 too.

So today, try looking for one good thing.

One small sign that you’re loved.
One moment when someone made you feel seen.
One reminder that you’re not doing life alone.

It may have been there all along.

Maybe you’re finally ready to notice it.

❤️🧡💛💚🩵💜

Chih

Have a great weekend y'all! What are you up to this weekend? Any fun events in Portland?

While my plants are only 1/5 the size as my neighbors ( I don't know why lol ). It is still so healing to watch them grow!!!!

Slow days in Florence with our tribe.

Lake time, way too much food, lots of laughs, and nowhere to rush to.

I’m learning that a good life isn’t always about chasing the next big thing.

Sometimes it’s being fully present for the life you already have.

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Two injured Portlanders arrive at Mercer Lake…in Florence, Oregon what could go wrong?

I’m dealing with a pinched nerve in my lower back and in pain and Mike hurt his hand - so dune riding is probably out.

What are some fun, less-intense adventures, scenic spots or must-go to places around Florence?

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Nothing says “freedom” like prison over a bag of gummies. Bless your heart, Texas.

As a former Texan now living in Portland, I’ve watched Texas ban books, restrict abortion and LGBTQ+ lives, push the Bible into public schools, and require the Ten Commandments on classroom walls.

Then call it freedom.

It’s not freedom.
It’s control over what you read, believe, and do with your own body.