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Fabulicious in Blogalicious

2009-10-11T23:31:00.001-05:00

I hate myself for running a little late to the Blogalicious brunch this morning. Just a little late. 20 minutes to be exact, but it was long enough to miss the first few minutes that Denene Millner graced everyone with her classy self.

According to Harper Collins site:

“Denene Millner is a columnist for Parenting magazine. She has worked as a senior editor at Honey and as an entertainment and political journalist for the New York Daily News. She is also the author of The Sistahs' Rules and co-author of several books, including the novel A Love Story (with her husband, Nick Chiles), and The Angry Black Woman's Guide to Life, a humor book. Millner lives in Atlanta with her husband and their two daughters.”

But besides her glowing resume of fabulicious-ness, she had me (and everyone in the room) in tears over her beautiful and profound reflection on her Mother . Denene said "I need her". Those words made me want to run and round up my kids around my own mom who has not been in the best of health lately. And when I get back home to Chicago, I am going to do just that.

There is much more to say about Blogalicious, but I will save that for tomorrow. For now, Fabulicious Denene - Thank you for the inspiration!

Oh, and check out Priscilla Renea. She performed for us this morning following Denene. This girl can sing and you can bet I will be buying her CD!

What was I thinking?!

2009-10-10T09:40:00.010-05:00

I got back to my hotel room at around 2 am from the first round of cocktail parties to kick-off the Blogalicious Conference - 1st blogging conference for Women of Color and I’m TIRED. Tired but still feeling fabulous. How can I not feel fabulous when I’m surrounded with all this exhilarating group of ladies?!

A few months back when I was asked to join and speak in this Blogalicious Conference, I was very excited BUT at the same time, I’m not too keen with the actual word “blogalicious”. I felt that the word itself takes away the professional career I've built in blogging. It bothered me so much that I actually almost turned down what I am calling now a pretty fabulous event.

If you google “Asian” or “Filipina” you will find that the first pull are most probably of sexual nature (or on mail order brides). So you can imagine that using the word “blogalicious” in my blog may make it even more attractive to those who are looking for just that. So yeah, I had a rough time with the word.

The date got closer and I knew I had to decide if I wanted to go. Hotel and airfare rates are going up, and sponsors are tapping on someone else’s shoulder if I don’t grab what I can. One day a girlfriend of mine who happens to be Asian-American herself said, “Why didn’t you want to go again? About the word “Blogalicious”? GET OVER IT already!” And so I did.

Now I’m livin’ it up here in the beautiful W in Atlanta, and I cannot believe that I almost passed up this opportunity. I’m not sure if I’m completely sold with the word yet, but with all these powerful Social Media women around me including the 3 mama lawyers (founders of Blogalicious), I am actually ok with it. I'm hanging out with my favorite blogger Carol - NYCityMama.com and I even got to rub elbows with a Hollywood celebrity Kim Coles at the Clever Girls Collective partay! AGAIN - I can’t believe I almost passed this up! What was I thinking?!

More on blogalicious soon. Oooh, and go check out SunkissedMommy.com site. This social networking site is built for Mommies just like me :-)

Bringing Blogging Mojo Back

2009-10-09T01:04:00.001-05:00

Yes, I'm really back! What to do? Where to start? Accck! Is anyone even reading here still? The last time I wrote was in July. A complete blog sabbatical and I hope that it will never happen again. What happened? My mojo went on a tangent. I focused on other web projects that have taken off and I was left uninspired to continue this personal blog of mine. The ironic thing is, a few months ago a girlfriend started blogging and I straight out told her that she needs to blog more if she wants to see more traffic. Hah! I should've been listening to my own advice.

So I'm here in Atlanta for the very 1st Blogging Conference for Women of Color (Yay!) called Blogalicious, and so I decided if I'm going to a "blogging" conference I may as well...uhhh..."blog". Ok - not only am I just attending, I'm actually one of the speakers. How's that for inspiration? Thankfully, I have other sites to show instead.

Oh, and Lookee! I even videoblogged today! And yes, I plan to blog tomorrow, the day after, and the day after that. I'm baaaaaack!

I lost my blogging mojo

2009-08-10T23:56:00.004-05:00

Blogging was supposed to be fun, but lately this feels like work. And I have enough work, so this blog has been sitting and collecting dust lately. Darn, I hate that! I miss the feeling of excitement in blogging and I seem to be missing that lately. For now I'm giving myself a little bit of time to just do what I need to do. Like get the kids ready for school again (in 2 weeks, yikes!), finish the launching of a couple sites I have in my plate, and then maybe I'll get my mojo up and going again.

The thing is, I have lots of exciting things going on that I'd love to share...but I'm also exhausted beyond excitement and by the time I get to sit down at the end of the day to tell you my story, all I want to do is rest.

Here's another attempt to get caught up:

I hosted a Chicagonista Social Media Soiree that was sponsored by GM / Chevy. It was the most wonderful night with a a roomful of fun folks. Check out the videos and photos here.

My baby Chicagonista was mentioned in Fox News during the Blogher Conference that took place here in Chicago. This made my day. Heck - it made my week, and will be dragged on for awhile until the next big traditional media exposure comes along.

NYMetropolista.com will be launching in a few weeks.

I was a speaker at the Social Media Club in Chicago and it with me were the most exciting group of panelists that I've ever shared some great ideas and thoughts.

And many more....really....so many things happening that I'm trying to slow down so I can enjoy every single moment.

As always, my Twitter and my Facebook are updated if you are interested in knowing what else I'm up with lately.

So ----- Ciao for now! Who knows when I will get my mojo back. Hopefully soon.

My Rachel Wanna-Be Ray Moment

2009-07-19T13:05:00.000-05:00

Here is a video I did at the Kraft Headquarters for Oscar Mayer in Madison Wisconsin. I'll be writing more about this shortly.

In Memory of Low-Yeh

2009-07-10T03:35:00.007-05:00

Leaving a life event untold in my own personal blog just didn’t feel right. This topic is one that will go against one of my blog rules. But to not write about it feels like it is an omission in my life. So just for once, I will talk about family beyond my kids and husband.

My Low-Yeh (Father-In-Law) passed away a few weeks back. I’m not writing about why and how he died. But I’m writing about what he meant for me as his daughter-in-law. He was a proud grandfather, a wonderful husband, a great father to my husband and his siblings, and most importantly, for me, he was a good father-in-law.

Most of our conversations were cordial, almost rehearsed since it is always as follows.

FIL: “Hi Mely (Mary), how’s your faddah and maddah”
Me: Fine, and they say hello too.
FIL: “They feelin’ ohkay?”
Me: Yes, thank you.
FIL: “What you want to eat?”
Me: Anything Low-Yeh (Father-In-Law) . I’m fine with anything.
FIL: “Mely, you lak fish-ee?” (Do you like fish?)
Me: Yes, Doh Tse (Thank You)

And off he goes to order fish to pick-up for lunch or dinner. He’s a thoughtful man. He is always taking care of others first before himself. I wish he knew how much I appreciate him. I would’ve told him, but I don’t think he would’ve understood what “appreciate” means in English, and I can’t speak Cantonese. So “Doh Tse” (Thank You) was the best I can do

My oldest son (9) took it very hard, and for me this is probably the first time I had someone that close to me that died. Watching the video at his Memorial Service about his life from his teen years, to his marriage up to the time he held each grandchild left us in more tears. My husband couldn’t bear to watch the video; he just kept his eyes closed.

During the Eulogy, my son, the first grandchild of all 7 got up to read a poem. He knew he was speaking for his Yeh-Yeh (Grandpa) and although for days he has been lost for words but just filled with pain, grief, and tears, this time he stood tall and proud. Our hearts burst with pride while he resembles an adult at that very moment. He read it and he read it well. It was a poem about being free. It gave my husband comfort to hear the words of what his father could’ve been saying to us. And so I share that poem with you below. I hope that these words can bring comfort to those who had also lost a loved one.

Low Yeh, you are terribly missed and I pray that you will be always be there to watch over your grandchildren. And as your son always says, see you again later and Doh Tse.

I’m Free
Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free
I’m following the path God has laid you see.
I took His hand when I heard him call
I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day
To laugh, to love, to work, to play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way
I found that peace at the close of day.

If my parting has left a void
Then fill it with remembered joy.
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss
Oh yes, these things I too will miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
My life’s been full, I savored much
Good friends, good times, a loved one’s touch.

Perhaps my time seemed all too brief
Don’t lengthen it now with undue grief.
Lift up your hearts and peace to thee
God wanted me now; He set me free.

What I miss when I get some time alone away from home...

2009-06-10T13:17:00.001-05:00

Besides my own remote, own bed, (own pillow!), a nice long shower, alarm clock and room service that greets me a Good Morning with a smile. Mommy needs a break once in awhile you know! Is that so wrong?

Oh I wish I was an Oscar Mayer Wiener! Actually, I rode in one!!! No kidding!

2009-06-01T02:38:00.012-05:00

Hot-diggity-dog! I was asked to join a tweet-up event a few weeks back hosted by Oscar Mayer and received a VIP seating on the wienermobile! Yes, the big hotdog ride. First of all, VIP? Are you tawkin' to me? But anyhoo - It was quite an honor to be chosen, but yet I was slightly embarrassed having to be picked up by a hotdog in front of my house.

What's a mama to do? So I asked if they can pick me up at the neighborhood park instead so the kids can actually see and possibly tour the wienermobile inside. And to my excitement, they agreed!!! So I invited parents to come and meet us at the park after school with their kids and it turned out to be so much fun. They all even received a sticker saying "I saw the wienermobile" and received the wienermobile whistles too. I was my kid's hero for the day, and you should see the pride in their eyes when their Mom was whisked away by a big hotdog. haha!

How was the ride? First let me tell you that the floor was with the wiggly mustard carpeting that I find hilarious and the 2 wienermobile hotdoggers (drivers) are women! How cool is that!? They are also the most infectiously joyful girls that were such a delight to be around with. As we passed through the busy downtown State Street, I have never had so much fun watching people wave at us and take pics while our lovely driver plays the tune " Oh, I wish I was an Oscar Mayer Wiener" song. Some people sang back, and some are mostly smiling back like they were 5 years old once again. It was really a happy, happy ride!

Check out the pics and some videos below. And oh, I'm heading out to Madison, Wisconsin for what else - Oscar Mayer!!!!! Woohoo...Will tell you more soon.

Oh and thanks to Elizabeth Cron and Kevin of Weber Shandwick for organizing the wienermobile pick-up ride. Also a shout-out to Nora Sarrawi for getting me involved in the State of Sandwich Conference in Madison, WI tomorrow! I'm so excited.

We even paid a visit to Jerry Taft - Chicago's twitterlebrity ABCnews metereologist in Chicago. He even took a pic of us!

What does Family Dinner have to do with it? Lots I Tell You!

2009-05-28T11:14:00.002-05:00

This posting is one that I have been meaning to do for some weeks now.

First off, let me say that Nestle along with Publicis has done an amazing job with the Let’s Fix Dinner Round Table Event in Cleveland. (Solon to be particular) It was a day full of really interesting talks on what is so near and dear to most of us Moms: Our Family. I’m in it to not only learn how I can do a better job in getting my children to eat properly and hopefully can contribute what has worked for me, but what they had planned for us was just so amazing that I hope I can convey how grateful and appreciative I am in my writing. (Although this is really late!)

I’ve written about how I first received my itinerary package at home complete with all the very generous gifts. And that was just a little tasting. Okay, I feel a little guilty of what else we’ve received in there so let me just recap that by saying that we were even more excited what Nestle / Stouffer / Publicis when were handed with even with more gifts to take home.

But what I really want to talk about is about the amazing group of expert panelist that reiterated that although we’re talking about “Let’s Fix Dinner”, they are simply saying that it doesn’t have to be dinner…if the family are normally together to sit and eat for breakfast, then that’s what is. If Dad isn’t there to sit during dinner because of his work schedule, then Mom’s presence with her children is just fine.

According to The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse aka CASA founded in their research that:
Teens that have frequent family dinners:
…are more likely to say their parents are very proud of them
…more likely to say that their parents are the adults they would go to if they had a serious problem
…are more likely to say they get mostly A’s and B’s
…are the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use drugs.

Just to read that alone, my eyes and ears have opened up even more. Because although I am not the best cook, I’m pretty sure there are many other ways I can find to make the process of making and eating meals more enjoyable for our family.

I have also learned that bringing more conversations during meals are the best way to talk to your children. And that going beyond the “how’s your day?” questions can bring out more talking from my kids. Carmen Staicer of Mom To The Screaming Masses mentioned that they do a round of good and bad stories that happened that day, and each one takes turn. This is definitely something that I am starting to do.

Thank you Stouffers for giving our families a chance to see what a little Family Dinner can do. And thank you for letting us help in spreading the word that can help strengthen familial bonds and even mend all the strains in our daily hubbubs.

Let's Fix Dinner challenge is also on full steam and is as easy to join in.

1. Sign up and set your weekly dinner goal. You're automatically entered into let's fix dinner™ Challenge Sweepstakes for the Sweepstakes Period in which you sign up.
2. Update your dinner status each week for additional chances to win fun family prizes.
3. When you sign up, they'll help feed hungry families by donating to Feeding America™.

And of course, this would not be complete without saying thanks to Simon Bowers and Publicis for this wonderful opportunity.

Eating Fried Worms and Fighting Bugs!!!

2009-05-26T01:55:00.006-05:00

My 3rd grader just finished his diorama for some English class extra credits and I had to take pictures of it to share with you. This one was on "How to Eat Fried Worms". He used air-dry clay, pipe cleaners, glue, papers, and markers and I think it looks absolutely adorable! He even have the ketchup and mustard on Billy's plate. The setting was inside the barn when Billy was about to eat his first worm as his 2 friends were looking in. I think he captured all that beautifully. So, Miss K if you are reading in here, I think he deserves an A don't you think? lol ;-)

And yes, can you believe it? I'm actually here - posting again! I've been struggling to get over this flu bug virus that hit our entire family 2x in one month! I kid you not! And with the swine flu scare, it felt like we should be hiding from everyone...but no...we got checked. Just the normal nasty flu that was harder to combat for the sleep deprived pair of parents.

In between the sickness though, I've managed to get things exciting at work. So many things has passed and I really want to track back and write about all of what has happened. So, I am on a mission to finally blog all about it this week.

What have I been doing?

I wanted to tell you my encounter with Top Chef's Antonia Lofaso at the Stouffer Event and the fabulous event itself.
My wienermobile ride and even a wave hello to Chicago's famous weatherman Jerry Taft
The flowers Yahoo sent me and now joining their Motherboard project
Chicagonista events that left me inspired - like the ULTAmate Mom contest and the Charity Event we just hosted.
And last but not least - the kids encounter with Labou and Jurassic Park Animator / Maker David Aronowitz...

So stay tune!!!

Oh Hi Ya from Ohio!!!

2009-04-28T23:41:00.006-05:00

I'm here in Ohio for the the Let's Fix Dinner Stouffer's Roundtable Event and I vlogged again...and you know that means I am too lazy...er I mean "tired" to write once again. But really, I'm starting to dig videotaping, so here it goes...

I also went to dinner with an old friend (Mimi) at the beautiful Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse. Yummmo! I had such a great time and if I didn't have to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed tomorrow, I would've been out with her all night!

And the last but not the least - Centerd.com has launched today. Wooohooo! I will now be blogging for Centerd Chicago's City Pages and my first Feature Article " Late Night Grub in Chicago" is up today!

More news tomorrow!

Stouffer's Here I Come!!!

2009-04-23T03:03:00.004-05:00

Stouffers is on a mission to connect families together with dinner. Yes, dinner! Simple isn’t it? Not really. Because of everyone's daily life demands, we sometimes just get into that survival mode as parents. You know - the quick and easy pizza pick-up on the way to after school activities so each child grabs a bite hear and there for dinner. Etc. And as much as I'd love to try in getting a full meal ready for my entire family every night, I just can't seem to get it going right. So I am proud to be one of the invited bloggers to join the Let’s Fix Dinner round table discussion on the importance of dinner with the family. I'm imaginging the wealth of information I will be gaining from this.

So next week I am off to Ohio visiting Nestles' Headquarters. Let me tell you how excited I am about all this. Other than the fact that the discussions will be near and dear to my heart, I am especially tickled that I will be sitting with a group of fabulous speakers and panelist including Antonia Lofaso! Yes, Antonia the Top Chef's Season 4 in Chicago contender! I routed for Antonia up to the last minute and now I am so excited to meet her in person. According to the welcome packet, she will be doing some Culinary demonstration for us too. I can hardly wait!

Speaking of the Welcome Packet I received, (more like FANTABULOUS Welcome Packet) I was just so giddy when Fedex came to drop of the heavy package. In it was a beeyootiful Emile Henry Ceramic Lasagna Dish, a $250 Best Buy Gift Certificate, a Stouffer Luggage Tag, a USB memory stick, a well organized agenda and travel and accomodations packet folder with a $100 Amex Card for expenses, AND...they will also be sending my husband and kids a full cooked dinner while I am away! Complete with a salad and dessert for the entire family! Now, that's way cool!

Thank you Nestle/Stouffers Team for getting me involved in this and a special thanks to Simon Bowers of Publicis PR. I am truly looking forward to my trip next week.

And here are the other bloggers whom I will have the pleasure in joining at Nestle's:
Elizabeth Edwards - Table For Five
Lori Falcon - A Cowboy's Wife
Jenn Fowler - Frugal Upstate
Jodi Grundig - Moms Favorite Stuff
Heather Maddan - Lilsugar
Lisa Martin - My Thoughts, Idea and Ramblings
Lucretia Pruitt - GeekMommy
Vicki Rellas - Mom Central
Denise Sawyer - The "Cents"ible Sawyer
Carmen Stacier - Mom to Screaming Masses
Deb Steenhagen - Mom of 3 Girls
Elizabeth Thielke - Busy Mom
Christine Young - From Dates To Diapers

I will be sure to video blog about this adventure, so stay tuned…

If your fave MOM is a Chicagoan then...

2009-04-22T08:43:00.002-05:00

You may want to take advantage of the Chicagonista Mother's Day Contest @ www.ULTAmateMom.com. The contest is easy and it'll save you money this Mom's Day and still get to honor her with some great prizes and an extremely sweet gesture. And I mean awesome prizes! $1000 worth of prizes sponsored by ULTA Salon @State Street and lahleyoo!!!

So, what are you waiting for? Go there now! Hurry, because you only have until the 30th to participate!

Turning off comments on this post.

You’ll Never Know How Life Will Surprise You Today

2009-04-16T05:39:00.006-05:00

I was in my Philly hotel room getting ready for a Campbell’s day when I decided to turn in to Good Morning America. I was instantly glued and sat there watching Robin Roberts get a chance to live that moment as a Lyricist. It was the episode when Roberts get to try an alternate career suggested by the Ultimate Job Match test she and the rest of the "GMA" team took the week before.

She was then teamed up to learn about songwriting with India Arie, a singer who once touched her with a song (I Am Not My Hair) that kept her hopeful during her battle with breast cancer. A battle she so thankfully won.

Roberts expressed what she would write about and Arie took her lead and went ahead composing the lyrics as they went along. They both ended up writing such a beautiful song together and I was left INSPIRED. Their song ended up as a Bonus Track in Arie's latest CD. Just recently, Robin Roberts visited India Arie again to talk about the new CD and just watching it gave me the same happy and inspired feeling.

Some of you may have heard this song already, but like Miss Roberts, India Arie touched me. She inspired me to take life with even more vigor and with more zest. It is truly a song that gets me going in the morning. And now in hopes to spread out some inspiration this morning, I'm sharing that song with you...

A Beautiful Day - India Arie

Life is a journey,
Not a destination,
There are no mistakes,
Just chances we’ve taken
Lay down your regrets cause all we have is now

Wake up in the morning
And get out of bed
Start making a mental list in my head
Of all of the things that I am grateful for

Early in the morning
It’s the dawn of a new day
New hopes new dreams new ways
I open up my eyes and
I open up my mind and
I wonder how life will surprise me today
Early in the morning
It’s the dawn of a new day
New hopes new dreams new ways
I open up my heart and
I’m gon’ do my part and
Make this a positively beautiful day

Life is a challenge not a competition
You can still smell the roses and be on a mission
Just take a moment to get in touch with your heart
Sometimes you feel like you’ve got something to prove
Remind yourself that there’s only one you
Just take a moment to give thanks of who you are
Early in the morning
It’s the dawn of a new day
New hopes, new dreams, new ways
I open up my eyes and
I open up my mind and
I wonder how life will surprise me today

A whole bunch of Schtuff!

2009-04-12T20:41:00.014-05:00

This past Friday was the first day my kids are on Spring Break. There will be 10 glorious days without waking up early for school and lots of running around are planned to keep the kids busy, tired, and happy. And quite frankly, I am also mentally on Spring Break. I made sure that I ‘m not hitting any events this week, keeping minimal but necessary workload only, and will concentrate in getting in as much play as possible with my kiddos (yes, the 3 shown on the left :-).

I guess this is coming from all the guilt I’ve been having lately. You know the normal Mommy guilt about not spending enough time with the children. The hazard of being a work-at-home parent is that you end up working in and around your children’s activities that leads to some really late night workload (if I’m lucky) or no sleep at all. I’m not complaining, just tired. So you can imagine how excited I am that Spring Break is here.

But no matter how tired I am, I am still glowing with delight from so many great things happening my way. I've been meaning to write about all this, but time is just not my friend lately. So, my “want to blog about” list has piled up and of course the only remedy to this is just bullet pointing all the “schtuff”. Yes, I know. Sounds just like another lame excuse for not blogging in awhile. But what can I say, life has been great and I just haven’t had the chance to pull away while smelling all the roses. So here it goes...

• I recently took part in the Quaker Go Project along with Chicagonista. Thanks to Danielle and Jessica Braun of Edelman, I was able to experience the greatness of helping and giving through volunteer help. I’m truly inspired. So much so that I am seeking to do more of this kind with Chicagonista. I’m even more inspired that our Chicagonista volunteers want to see and be part of more volunteer work. Click here to read more and check out the video highlights too. And oh yeah, I got mentioned in the RedEye, Chicago Tribune's free daily newspaper. On print! Woohoo!

• Both my boys will be a year older this April. My husband and I still can’t believe how fast it all went. Our firstborn turned 9 and my second boy will be turning 6 next week. I wish there is a way to pause the whole process, but yet we are so excited to see them all grown.

• I did a one on one interview with Jen Schefft for Chicagonista. The Chicagoan Bachelor and Bachelorette Girl. Actually I’ve never even really seen those 2 shows (a little glimpse here and there) so I took some time to do some online research and ask some friends who has seen the show for some insights. We spoke about her upcoming wedding plans and of course Chicago. The interview went well and you can read the article here.

• I’m so excited to have Karyn of TheFabulousGiver.com, Dawn and Tina of GirlfriendCelebrations.com, Farrah of BabyLoveSlings.com and DuPageMamas.com and my other Mommy friends Jolan and Cindy join our writing and support staff in Chicagonista. I am truly blessed to have such talented women in my team. You should check them out!!!

• Also, last and not least --- I’m sending my warm congratulations to Catherine and Farrah on their newly launched site DuPageMamas.com! Two amazing and smart moms that will be rocking DuPage, IL. Hugs to both of you.

If I ever get my mojo going in updating here more often, then you shouldn’t have to endure another bulleted point list. But now that the slate is all clean, blogging should resume in a more regular fashion. But I said “should”, maybe I should say “will” instead.

Push Up Bras, Spanx, High Heels and Fake Lashes?

2009-03-24T20:40:00.014-05:00

I've been getting the BLENDER magazine for months now and have been dumping every issue in the garbage. I don't know exactly how I ended up subscribing to it, but I have an inkling that it was from the years of untouched mileage I had with NWA that was overturned into magazine subscriptions instead. I still wonder why I chose it then. Maybe I thought it was some kitchen accessory magazine?!

So last week when I had a few measly moments to myself, I picked up the magazine and decided to at least read before I dump another issue. Only then did I learn that it is a music magazine.

Even so, there wasn't really anything in that magazine that I got interested with. Probably because it was geared towards the young and hip. And I am so far from that.

But still, I gave it a another chance. I kept reading.

Nothing.

But there is one thing that caught my attention and even left me laughing. A page section of advertisements called BLENDER BUYS. In there listed:

Keyboard for Blondes - huh?
Bigger is Better Enlargement Formula
Some sort of Pheromone spray that fuels attraction
A shoe insert to make him look taller
An electronic brush that claims to promote hair growth
And an Indie Fashion clothing for the big and tall

I was giggling as I read them to my husband and exclaimed that "these ad products are for Men who has serious self-esteem issues, or just plain weirdos". And talk about "deceiving people into believing what you're not".

And he said, "well isn't it the same thing as push-up bras, spanx, high heels and fake lashes?!" (All of which I use) HAH! So true!

Sushi, Anyone?

2009-03-12T21:59:00.012-05:00

Yes, yes...I'm alive. Been awhile, I know. Writing in my own blog had to take a backseat from other important stuff which are mainly about family.

And speaking of family, check out what my 6 year old came home with today. Sushi craft complete with wasabi, nori, and a set of chopsticks! I had to take pictures of his class project because it was so adorable. The wasabi was made out of clay and paint and the chopsticks were rolled from a cardboard.

As I was taking his picture, he started acting like a sushi chef asking (complete with the accent and all) "want some sushi?" and that made me laugh so hard! He's always been the comic in this family.

So you want some? Hey, they may taste like cardboard...but at least they look great, don't they? I mean that's how my regular cooking taste like anyway. Yeah really! What can I say? Cooking is just not my cup of tea...or bowl of rice.... Or bowl of sugar? Going with the blog theme here. Ok, whatever.

So what else is going on with me? As usual, I have gotten myself involved in more projects. It's an exciting project for a very well known site that I will start writing/blogging for soon. And it starts with a Y and ends with an O. And it's not Google. lol...Anyway, more details soon on my next post. Promise!

By the way, what's your favorite sushi? And where is your favorite place to get sushi?

A Social Media Butterfly?!

2009-02-19T19:05:00.005-06:00

I can't help it. I'm a sucker to all social media networks (except MySpace since I may just be the oldest living creature if I join in). You name it, I've done it or atleast tried it. But my biggest obsessions right now are of course Twitter, Facebook and if you are in Chicago, you'll be addicted to Windy Citizen too.

The hilarity of "Facebook Fever" is video blogged by Christine of HappySlip.com and I can't seem to stop laughing about it. Don't miss the other video too.

The video below will explain what or who are New Media Douchebags. LOL

Ouch?! But I like the sound of Social Media Butterfly better than New Media Douchebag. Don't ya think?

A Chinese New Year Celebration

2009-02-16T09:00:00.012-06:00

Half end of my week last week were dedicated to my children’s school benefit event also celebrating Chinese New Year, Year of the Ox 4707. This is an annual event not only for the purpose of raising funds for the school that supports their excellent curriculum, but it is also the moment to showcase the traditional and beautiful culture of Chinese / Asian artistry in dance performances such as the lion dance, taiko drums, kid's traditional Chinese dances, and more. The school board committee is in charge of organizing this huge event and since I am in the school advisory board, I had the pleasure in taking part of the planning process. Well, the event happened this past Saturday and although I’m still tired from all the work, I am happy that it all ended in success. Come and check out my short video of the event’s highlights. By the way, that is my daughter in her Chinese garb. Gong Hay Fat Choy!

Chicago Auto Show Media Day

2009-02-12T06:21:00.082-06:00

GM Motors invited Chicagonista to join them for Media Day in the Chicago Auto Show. I expected that we were amongst the many others to join them - but with a stroke of luck, we had GM’s Social Media Lesley Hettinger all to ourselves (Jen and I) ALL DAY! That started with a nice breakfast at Swissotel, and then she guided and maneuvered us around the actual showrooms of beautiful concept cars, new cars, to the GM Press Conference then lunch with Alexandria Dymowska, General Motors Creative Designer, Color and Trim Studio. Yeah…I mean just Jen and me with 2 amazing and fascinating women! Now how often do I ever get this chance!

You’re saying CARS? Me? Cars? I don’t know much about cars really! Just ask Jen guffawing over my “you look like you are doing the Indy 100!” comment to her when she was sitting down in one of the cars. Jen of course corrected me with – “500” not “100”. What can I say? I was just never into cars like that. lol

But never mind that Jen also pointed out that the T back on one of the concept cars would look great on a dress! I was all in agreement by then. We wondered about the thought process behind naming cars. Is it about designing it to match the name or vice versa? And what does Enclave means anyway? Quite thankfully, we were not off from all our comments and GM’s Creative Designer has really taken my comment on how the mesh pockets on a luxury car’s back seat looks unfinished and not luxurious enough. She even sat inside the back seat and touched around and really delved into it. It was one of those that she will be taking back with her!

Then I realized…what I really found fascinating is it is somewhat similar to the Fashion Industry. The look…the feel…the luxury of fine clothing…. This brought me back to my many years of working in Fashion. The time spent closely watching every product in our Sigrid Olsen NY Showroom. From the inspiration, to the pockets, to the buttons, to the material and the process and time it develops after years and years of concept to its fruition. I get it!

The GM Press Conference was of course very exciting. There were media from all over the world with their cameras and live satellites. The biggest surprise was seeing the car Bumblebee Camaro that was used in the movie Transformer. And the gargantuan of a Bumblebee Transformer robot was standing right before us. It felt like we were in some movie. I knew then that my boys will have to come and see it in the Auto Show when it opens up to public. They have also announced that GM has designed the Stingray Camaro concept car for the new movie “Transformer – Revenge of The Fallen showing by Summer of 2009”.

One of the best take away I got from this is finding out that GM has taken global strides in going with our sign of the times. About how consumers are more eco-conscious and with how our economy are in the dumps right now. I’m not one to speak in depth about global eco-awareness since I am just merely taking baby steps in learning how, so I am going to have you go on to Jen’s @ ecochicorganizer.com and I’m sure she'll take a moment to write more about it.

Again, thank you to GM for this wonderful opportunity and Chicagonista is looking forward with future relationships other than possibly getting my own Enclave in the “white diamond” exterior color that I drooled on. Check out my short video below.

A Blissful Blogger's Night by Boca and Giveaway!

2009-02-11T04:53:00.055-06:00

Yesterday was a beautiful and sunny 63 F degrees in Chicago. Yes, in February! And top it all off I was invited to a Boca Blogger's Night Out of bliss. We were treated to a full night of manicure, pedicure, massage, meditation, good food, and friends. Thank you Edelman for such a beautiful job! See my short video and then check out what I'm giving away below...

Each one of us received this really cute EnviroSax (an eco-friendly bag)with a Yoga Mat, Stress Relief CD, Free Boca Coupon, and a Franklin Covey organizer. And we also got to take home another one to give away in our blogs. So if you're interested - leave a comment TO WIN. I will announce the winner next week Wednesday morning.

Also...enter the BOCA Balanced Living Challenge, visit http://www.balancedliving.gather.com and post a short entry up to 250 word, describing the change you'd like to make in your life and how BOCA can help you achieve balance. Do it by Feb. 27th and grand prize winner gets $5,000!

Well, Good Luck to all that will join the contest!

Captured

2009-02-08T23:17:00.057-06:00

For my husband's birthday present, I asked my extremely talented artist brother to take pictures of the kids and I. And look what he came up with? It turned out beautiful!

First off, this was all done in one day inside his home...He just started snapping away while the kids stood and be themselves. Within one hour, voila he came up with this. He's a genius!

I love how he captured their normal facial quirks and smiles...their facial expressions and the composition of the all the pictures were just studio perfect (taken in his living room!). Not to mention that my husband loved it!!! By the way, "Baba" is "Daddy " in Chinese just in case you were wondering.

So if anyone of you(in Chicago) would like a "true artist" to take your children's or family's photo (especially in the comfort of your own home), you should really look him up. Just check out his art works here. He's an artist-painter that has an amazing talent that freelances in photography and graphic design.

Thank You Kuya!

One Enchanted CORNY Evening!

2009-02-07T10:04:00.057-06:00

For Valentine's Day, the high-end Chicago salons (Mario Tricoci) are holding a "One Enchanted Evening" Love Story contest. Ok...ok...start rolling those eyes lol....My first reaction? "How corny"! As I thought of Robert Goulet singing as Emille De Becque to Nellie Forbush (broadway fans would know who they are) So corny that I had to enter right?!. Why? For 2 reasons:

To hopefully win their fabulous prize (and why not?!)
Perfect timing to write one for my most patient and wonderful husband.

When they emailed me back today that my entry was accepted and entered, I went ahead to read it to my husband. He listened. Intently.

Husband: It's Corny!

Me: (chuckling) Well, love stories are corny!

Husband: What dazzled you again?

Me: Your bright future plans. (smiling and hugging)

Husband: (pointed at the kids) There's our bright future plans.

Me: (smiling bigger, no words needed)

Happy Valentines To All!!!

Here's My Submitted Entry and now go here and VOTE FOR ME?! please? and maybe write one and enter yourself? Let me know if you vote or submit too.

PURE LOVE

Our love story is not filled with roses, songs, or diamonds, but it is one that is instinctively and undoubtedly of pure love.

Who need roses when my husband packs my lunch for work everyday without being asked? Who need songs when my husband hums a happy tune when we’re driving to the grocery? And who need diamonds when he already dazzles me with our bright future plans ahead?

One might not find him romantic, but I do. Isn’t it romantic that he manages to add a fruit to my packed lunch everyday? Isn’t it romantic that he’d hum me a tune that he knows could make me smile? Isn’t it romantic that he watches out for our lifelong comfort forever?

Unquestionably Pure Love.

Trust Me, I was lunching with celebrities!

2009-02-05T18:28:00.337-06:00

A day after our Chicagonista Launching Party, Jen and I attended another event. This one was hosted by Beth Feldman aka RoleMommy.com (also the author of Peeing in Peace) who is equally as fabulous as this event I am about to tell you. It was the TNT's new tv show "TRUST ME" luncheon with one of their star Monica Potter (also was in Boston Legal) as our guest of honor.

The venue was Capital Grille, So not only were we rubbing shoulders with a celebrity, but we were also treated into a nice and beautiful luncheon. The wine was divine, the scallops were delish and omg the desserts were heavenly! Mind you that after just a few short hours of sleep (because of the event the night before this one), I was exhausted! But the wine perked me up and the luxurious food hit me in the right places that got me all going.

Once we all savored every bite of the delicious food, I was ready to throw in questions about the TV show - but much to my surprise, the luncheon turned more into a real light-hearted interview session. In fact, it was way better than I had imagined it to be. Just to rewind a little bit -- right before heading to this event, I went ahead to read Monica Potter's bio to prep for the interview and I was somewhat disappointed that I didn't see any info if she have any children. I'm not really sure why it was important for me to know this, but I guess my affinity towards other mothers/parents is so strong that I consciously always want to know this of anyone. Beth Feldman had set an easy and comfortable tone pretty fast, and soon enough we were all just loving Monica talk about her 2 kids and how she manages family life with work. It was such a casual girlfriend kind of luncheon meeting where anyone was comfortably pitching in their questions.

I have to also mention that I am amongst a company of friends who all happen to be celebrities in bloggywood. In my table with Monica Potter (see how I had to say "MY TABLE"...haha), I sat between my good friend and Chicagonista partner Jen Khatchatrian ( Ecochic Organizer ) and Dawn Meehan ( Because I Said So). Beside girlfriend Monica, sat Beth Fletcher (I Should Be Doing The Laundry - aka McDreamy's GF! no - really, ask her!)

And across from our table were Stephanie Precourt and her beautiful Ivy (Adventures of Babywearing) Sara Fisher (Self Made Mom) Alma Klein (Marketing Mommy) Beth (I Should Be Folding Laundry - aka McDreamy's GF! ask her!) and Sarah Viola and her handsome Asher (SarahViola.org)

Trust Me's 2 leading stars are Eric McCormack ( Will & Grace ) and Tom Cavanagh ( Ed ). The show is about "a sharp, witty drama series that centers on two best friends working as creative partners at a top-ranked Chicago ad agency". Monica Potter plays the role of the uptight "award-winning copywriter whose forceful personality has a tendency to rub people the wrong way". Well, thankfully she was not in the least anything like her character! TRUST ME!

Again, thank you to Beth Feldman and Bonnie McGuire for the wonderful time and the wonderful bag of TRUST ME giveaways! I hope to see you ladies again soon.

Above and Beyond! Weber Shandwick & Campbell's

2009-01-29T23:34:00.053-06:00

*** Check out my entry in MomViews.net too...Sharing you the newest TV Ad for V-Fusion! You guys are the first to see it.

Thanks to Weber Shandwick (Aaryn Enos, Sarah Kittel, Caroline Guth & Sarah Mages) Campbells, V-8!!! You are all fantastic. Here is another video blog recap of my great day here in Philly. And below that are other video tidbits that happened during the day we spent at Campbell's Headquarters.

Campbell's Kitchen - How To

Campbell's Taste Test - How To