Passion and Art

All I want for Christmas is a New Computer

2009-12-17T13:53:00.000-05:00

Or laptop. I'm not picking. Now that I'm addicted to Tweetdeck, my computer laughs at me when I try to tweet and have too many Firefox windows open. By too many windows I mean more than 2. Don't even ask what it does when I try to open Excel or Word. It's not a good multi-tasker.

There's some amazing computer and laptop giveaways going on right now. What an awesome Christmas present it would be to win one! I'm sharing the love.

TechSavvyMama is giving away a HP TouchSmart 600 touchscreen computer. If I won this compute I might actually watch movies on it. The giveaway ends midnight tonight EST so go enter! She's also giving away lots of other fun things on her blog too! Make sure you subscribe to her blog so you don't miss anything.

A Little Help?

2009-12-14T13:50:00.000-05:00

Sophia's feeling a bit left out recently since Jaxson arrived.

I would love your suggestions for a great mommy-daughter outing. Stop by I'm Not the Nanny and share your ideas with me. Thanks!

O Christmas Tree

2009-12-11T09:47:00.001-05:00

I was totally inspired by Smiling Mama's Christmas tree story so I wanted to share one of my own.

Six years ago, hubby and I packed all of our things and left Syracuse, NY. I arbitrarily chose the DC Metro area. We were both working in the theatre (he was acting and I did costumes). Both of us applied for apprenticeships/internships at DC area theatres.

Hubby was accepted as an acting apprentice at Round House Theatre. Now, as you know, apprentices and interns are not paid very well, if at all. Luckily he did receive a stipend, but probably would have made more money if he got a job flipping burgers. I was able to find employment at a soul-sucking insurance office.

Needless to say, we were quite broke. Cost of living here is much higher than Syracuse. But it was ok, right? Because it didn't snow 8 months out of the year. And the cultural melting pot didn't consist just of Polish, Italians, and some other European culture. (No kidding, someone told me that Syracuse as a melting pot due to those cultures. I'm knocking Europeans, but it's only one continent.) Oh, and since we were newlyweds, so we had love. Cute right? We couldn't afford much, but we didn't mind.

Our first Christmas, I barely remember. I remember freezing our asses off because our apartment had horrible heating. We had to turn the thermostat up to 80 degrees to get our apartment up to 70 degrees. Not to mention it was a high heating bill.

I wanted a live Christmas tree just like we had done in Syracuse every year. We visited this big red barn there and bought our Charlie Brown Christmas tree. The barn had the nice fancy, pretty trees, but we went down the reject aisle to pick our tree. It was fun tradition, and we usually found a decent tree for $5 or so.

I was shocked that live Christmas trees in our area were so expensive. I couldn't justify buying a tree for $30+ only to throw it out in 3 weeks. So we went treeless.

Until on Christmas Eve (we didn't fly home to visit our families). On the drive home from the movies that night, I noticed the Christmas tree lot near us had been vacated. Whoever ran it, had moved out BUT they left some sad unwanted Christmas trees.

Hubby reluctantly kept watch while I picked out one of the unwanted trees. He was terrified of getting caught, but I guess he loved me enough to risk getting arrested. To my credit, it was late, around midnight or so. He even helped me ~~load up~~ stuff the tree into our car.

He dragged into our apartment, pulled out our Christmas ornaments, and we decorated the tree together. Now we had a Christmas tree.

Gotta love my hubby. He puts up with my crazy impulsive ideas.

Christmas Shopping with Clever Girls Collective

2009-12-10T22:51:00.000-05:00

Normally I love Christmas shopping. Last year I bought most of our gifts online. No trekking out to the mall. It was all shipped directly to me (or our parents). I try not to get sucked into the commericalism of Christmas. We normally only give gifts to our immediate family, in-laws and very close friends.

This December life has been a bit crazy. We have a newborn (who turns 3 weeks old tomorrow!). We're also on a very tight budget. Hubby and I talked about not doing Christmas presents to each other this year.

I feel very lucky, even though we're pinching pennies (like everyone else). Hubby doesn't complain about my Twitter addiction. Thanks to the Clever Girls Collective, I won an amazing toy package last week during one of their Twitter parties. Thanks to them, my shopping for Sophia is done.

Check out what I won:

I Can Do That Games!
Eco Toy Alliance toy, Cool green toys that will last.
Little Passports 3-month subscription. Ever since I heard about them from Tech Savvy Mama, I knew Sophia would love getting mail about Sam & Sofia's adventures around the world.
VTECH V-Motion™ Active Learning System Sophia has been asking for this toy every time we go to Toys R Us (ok, as well as the Leapfrog Zippity and a gazillion other toys, com'on, she's 4!). As much as I've been against getting her a game system that hooked into the tv, this one is educational at least.

I'm so glad to have met the amazing ladies of the Clever Girl Collective. They are friendly, funny, and not at all pushy about their clients' products. So follow them on twitter & join their mailing list because they have amazing twitter parties with great products. I met these ladies at Blogalicious, and they stand behind the products of the companies they represent.

Clever Girls Collective, you totally helped us make an amazing Christmas for our daughter!

Now I just have to figure out what to get my sister (can't tell you because she reads my blog). Also hubby's birthday is 3 days before Christmas, so have to figure out that one.

Since hubby & I decided not to get each other presents for Christmas, I thought it might be a bit sad not to have presents to open Christmas morning.

While sitting at a red light, I had a fabulous idea! We'll each get $5 to shop at our favorite thrift store. We have to find a present for each other there. How fun will that be? It'll force us to be creative and we'll totally surprise the other. Neither of us (nor our apartment) needs more stuff, so I think this will bring the fun back into Christmas for us adults.

What do you think? What are you giving your significant other for the holidays, especially if you are on a tight budget like we are?

I was not compensated for saying all the cool things about Clever Girls Collective and the companies they represent. However, I did win the amazing prize pack. I have yet to receive any of it, but did get to see a sample Little Passports kit at Blogalicious.

One More Reason to Be Thankful

2009-11-27T13:38:00.000-05:00

I have many things to be thankful for this holiday season. But I think the following pictures say it all. Gotta love that newborn baby smell! Baby boy was born Friday November 20 at 7:34pm. It was an amazing experience!

I'm also thankful for my amazing husband! He was wonderful during labor and delivery. And he's such an amazing dad! Love you honey!

Curious George Christmas & DVD Giveaway

2009-11-16T10:15:00.005-05:00

Congrats to "Miss" Anita for winning the DVD!

Ok, I admit that I love Christmas. I love the decorations, the trees, wrapping presents, but especially the music. Usually i hold off on Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving.

However, I'm a sucker for Christmas stories. When I was given a chance to preview the new Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas, I jumped for it! I love watching Curious George on PBS with Sophia. It's one of the few kid shows I don't mind watching. Not only is George cute, but he teaches my daughter about math and science. Where else could a little monkey fly into space and help out scientists?

We had some of Sophia's friends over yesterday for a little screening. First we all made Build-Your-Own Pisghetti Pizza. I provided pitas or english muffins and had all the toppings in little bowls. I love making individual pizzas, so yummy. Kids had cheese and ham, while the adults made salami and spinach pizza.

While those baked, we started the DVD. I was a little shocked to hear The Man in the Yellow Hat sing in the opening number, but as my husband put it, "Can't have a Christmas movie without a song." I admit, he's right.

George and The Man in the Yellow Hat (what is his name, anyone know?), count down the days until Christmas. However, George has written (ahem, drawn) his wishlist this year and the Man in the Yellow Hat can't decipher it. Hilarius antics thus ensue, of course. After the pizza disappeared, we moved on to popcorn. Can't have a proper movie viewing without popcorn right? This is a movie both kid and adults will enjoy.

Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas airs the weekend of Thanksgiving. Check your local listings. If you are in the DC area, it airs on WETA TV 26 on Saturday, November 28 at 7:30 AM and again on Monday, November 30 at noon.

If that doesn't fit in your schedule, I'm giving away a copy. All you have to do is leave a comment with the answer to this question:

What's on your wishlist this holiday season? (Not the kids, yours)

Please make sure that you leave an email address so I can contact you if you win.

For 3 extra entries, you may also do any of the following. Just make sure you come back and leave a comment with the link or letting me know you've done it. I won't be able to keep track otherwise.

subscribe to my blog (or already do)
subscribe to my new craft/food blog, Cup of Creativi-Tea
Tweet about the giveaway (leave a link to your tweet) or post it on Facebook

You're welcome to copy and paste this for your tweet/FB status
What does Curious George want for Xmas? Win the new DVD & find out! http://bit.ly/CuriousGeorge #AVeryMonkeyChristmas @thienkim

I'll draw a winner by November 30! I will try to mail it out the same week, but keep in mind, I'll (hopefully) have a newborn by then.

I was not compensated for this post or for hosting the screening party. However, I was given a copy of the DVD as well as some popcorn and games for the party. Thanks to 360 PR!

Hanging in There

2009-11-14T10:05:00.001-05:00

Just popping in to say that I'm still here. Still pregnant. I'm having internet troubles but hopefully will be resolved soon.

Nesting or Just Crazy?

2009-11-03T01:07:00.000-05:00

It's almost 1AM and I'm still awake. Not that it's abnormal.

Sophia's birthday party is tomorrow. Her actual birthday isn't until next week, but I thought it'd be safer to celebrate it early.

So instead of laying in bed chilling out, I'm waiting for water to boil so I can make some sesame noodles for the adults to eat tomorrow. That's the only cooking I'm doing for the birthday party. I think everyone will understand that it'll be crackers & cheese and a veggie tray.

I spent the evening painting a banner of a biracial colored mermaid so the kids can play Pin the Tail on the Mermaid tomorrow. I'll post picture on my new craft blog soon, I promise. (Shameless plug alert: Don't forget to subscribe to the new blog.) Unless the baby decides to arrive early. Then you'll just have to deal.

Right now the mermaid banner as well as 6 extra tails are hanging in my bathroom drying. My sad little bathroom smells like cheap acrylic paint right now. I don't think they tails will dry in time for me to cut them out tonight.

I'm really excited about her party! I only have 1 organized game planned--the mermaid game mentioned above. The rest of the party will be food and free play. The kids are 3 and 4 years old. Free play will be perfect for them.

Oh and I haven't even ordered the cake because I'm worried that baby boy might decide to arrive early. So let's hope there's some sort of pink cake at the store tomorrow. Bonus if there's mermaids on it!

Only 2 weeks till D-Day (due date)!

Transitioning

2009-10-29T11:23:00.000-04:00

I'm transitioning my more crafty and food related endeavors to a new blog. Today I'm talking about gift wrapping. Don't worry, it's not Christmas yet!

I hope you'll join me there! Don't forget to subscribe to the new feed. :)

Visit to Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-25T21:48:00.000-04:00

This past Friday, hubby and I chaperoned Sophia's first class field trip to Butler's Orchard pumpkin patch. We are huge fans of Butler's (yum, blueberries). Only thing missing from Butler's was fresh apple cider donuts. It was Sophia's first time riding a schoolbus (which hubby didn't get any pictures of). I followed along in our car. No way was I going to ride on a bumpy schoolbus with only 4 weeks until my due date.

Sophia's preschool is actually a child development lab program at one of the local high schools. Basically, high school students are learning how to teach little kids. I'm very happy with the program, and Sophia loves it. Until the field trip, I hadn't been able to observe how the students interact with preschoolers.

Hubby & I pretty much just sat back and let Sophia and her high school student teacher do their thing. Watching this little teenager chase her around the pumpkin patch while carrying a huge pumpkin was hilarious! Of course Sophia picked the largest pumpkin out of all her classmates.

We also learned from the high school teacher (the one who teaches the high school students) that Sophia is very popular with the students. I am not totally surprised that she's the social butterfly. After all, on the third day of preschool, I had to talk to her about kissing all the boys in the class!

Hubby & Sophia carved her pumpkin the same afternoon while I napped. Actually she helped him gut the pumpkin. He did the rest of the work! We used a stencil that came with the pumpkin carving tools. Doesn't it look awesome?

I'm saving my pumpkin. I'm going to roast it and make some super yummy out of it! In the meantime, I glazed and toasted the pumpkin seeds from the first one. YUM!

Blogalicious Recap, Take Two

2009-10-15T21:35:00.019-04:00

Two nights ago, I wrote a great Blogalicious Recap. Then Firefox crashed and Blogger didn't autosave it for some reason. I just went to bed. Here's take two.

I think I have finally recovered from Blogalicious 2009 in Atlanta. Though this was my first blogging conference, I'm no stranger to conference. I've attended many Passion Parties national conventions as well as smaller events. It can be overwhelming--the sessions, the networking, the parties.

Urban Mama and I left Maryland at 4am Friday. Chevy was generous to lend us a totally styling 2010 Cherry Red Equinox for the weekend. Usually the drive to Atlanta takes about 10 hours, but somewhere around the North Carolina/South Carolina border, our OnStar stopped talking to us. We didn't realize it until we reached Columbia, SC. OnStar quickly got us back enroute to Atlanta. Our little detour did allow us the chance to eat at a Sonic Drive-In. I should have gotten a larger Cherry Limeade. Though that would mean I'd just have to take more bathroom breaks.

We arrived with an hour to check-in, catch up with our roomie, Tech Savvy Mama before our reservations for dinner at Eno's, where Eli Kirshtein (from this season's Top Chef) is the executive chef. It was amazing! Along with ParentopiaDevra, we were able to meet Eli after our dinner. Hopefully we didn't act too much like groupies.

There were so many great sessions at Blogalicious. I didn't attend all of them. Saturday afternoon, I totally zonked out on a super comfy couch in the lobby. Thankfully Justice Fergie didn't get any pictures of that.

I took a lot of notes (and put out a few tweets). Though there were so many different topics discussed, there were three main themes that were repeated:

passion--blog with passionately or topics you are passionate about
build a community with your blog or other social media (like Twitter or Facebook)
quality of your followers/community/commenters is more important than quantity

Blogging has always been a hobby for me. I do it for fun, but I've also loved the community I've joined. The people I've met have been the highlight of my blogging. Hearing these themes over and over from seasoned bloggers have me thinking about where I want to take my blog next. When I figure it out, I'll let you know.

Of course there were the parties and after-parties. I really enjoyed meeting the ladies of Clever Girls Collective: Cat, Stefania, & Sheila. They hosted the Sweet Suite party Friday night. We were only 15 minutes late to their after party, but thankfully there were about 8 mini-cupcakes left. Perfectly chocolatey two bite cupcakes.

Their Yummie Tummie room was mobbed! Lucky Cat was able to find a nursing tank for me to try out. I'm looking forward to trying it out. It's going to come in handy for the post-partum belly. Which, have you seen Kim Cole's video about Yummie Tummie. Apparently she crashed Blogalicious. I'm sure no one complained. The wonderful ladies also shared some highlights about Tiny Prints and Little Passports too. I know Sophia would love to get mail from Little Passports every month. Thanks for a great party ladies!

I won't recap all the parties (fun for me, but boring for you). I did get to sneak a glass or two of champagne. That's right, prego girl partied hard. It's my last hurrah before the baby arrives and turns our family upside down.

It just felt so right to be around this amazing group of women. It didn't matter if I owned worked outside the home, or was a stay at home mom or even single. Seems like the internet is a great equalizer. I also met many women who were either multi-racial and/or have multi-racial children. This is something I often think about as we raise Sophia. So much to think about!

The ladies at MamaLaw Media knocked my socks off. The conference proceeded very smoothly. Did I mention that the conference food was great! This pregnant lady definitely ate more than her fair share. I did kind of hope there would be grits for breakfast since we were in the South. It's definitely a staple for our breakfasts. Great job ladies!

Thank goodness we drove. We received lots and lots of swag. My skin will now be very moisturized for the rest of the winter! I would not have been able to take half of it home had I flown.

A big thanks to Urban Mama and Tech Savvy Mama for letting me crash in their room at the last minute. They even let me sleep in my own bed! Now I can't say I slept with anyone while I was in Atlanta.

For some more great (and more detailed) Blogalicious recaps, check here.

Princess Tiana & Disney on Ice Giveaway!

2009-10-13T20:56:00.012-04:00

Edited: Giveaway is closed. Congrats to Sandie!

Last year, I was lucky enough to get a great deal passes to Disney on Ice. My almost 4 year old with the memory of an elephant has been asking when we'll go again. How the heck did she know that it was coming to the DC area in October?

I grew up watching women's figure skating competition--my parents loved it. I think that maybe because there were always Asian-American figure skaters in the top 5. Very rare to see many Asian faces on tv. But I digress. We're taking Sophia to see Disney on Ice again this year. This year's theme (for the Baltimore, MD & Fairfax, VA tour) is Celebrations! It'll be all about holidays and festivals. Even a ghoulish theme, for my currently Halloween obsessed child.

Here is a chance for my DC Metro readers to win a 4 pack of tickets to Disney on Ice Celebrations! for either the Baltimore or Fairfax tour. Keep reading on how to enter. Disney On Ice presents Celebrations! Is one colossal party on ice, with all your favorite Disney friends! Enjoy a winter wonderland with Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, a Halloween haunt with the Disney Villains, a Very Merry Unbirthday Party, a Royal Ball with the Disney Princesses and more in a magical medley of holidays, celebrations and festivals from around the globe. Come join the party!

Did you hear that? There will be princesses. You heard that right. Guess who will be making her debut? Princess Tiana, from the upcoming Princess and the Frog movie. I'm totally excited since Princess Tiana is the first Disney African-American princess. Plus we got a sneak peek at her this weekend at Blogalicious (more on that in another post). Sophia will be able to see a Disney princess that looks like her. If Tiana wore pink, it'd be perfect.

Disney on Ice will be at the Patriot Center from October 21st through Sunday, October 25th, and in Baltimore at the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore October 28th through November 1st. Taking the family out for a show might seem expensive, but I've been given a great coupon code to share with you!

Purchase a 4‐pack of tickets for only $44 for weekday shows, or receive $4 off weekend tickets by logging onto TicketMaster and entering the coupon code: MOM. Enter the code "MOM" in the MC Promotion box through select online ticketing agencies. This offer is good on all weekday performances, which includes all weekday evening and Friday matinee performances; minimum purchase of 4 tickets required; additional tickets above 4 can be purchased at $11 each.

This code is valid for other Disney on Ice shows around the country. Check the website for a list of shows near you.

Now for the giveaway.You can win 4 tickets (valued up to $240) to Baltimore location for Oct 28. Please make sure you can attend before entering the contest! I'm closing the contest at 2pm TODAY!

To enter, leave a comment on who your favorite Disney character is, along with an email address to contact you.

For an extra entry, tweet this giveaway and leave another comment with a link to your tweet. Don't know what to say, try this:

Win 4 pack tickets to Baltimore 10/28 Disney on Ice. @thienkim http://bit.ly/1NPkLn

I was not paid to post this promotion, though our family was given tickets to attend the Fairfax performance.

Playing Catch Up--Have Some Pumpkin Cake

2009-10-05T17:06:00.004-04:00

Ever since the day Sophia got the stomach bug (almost 2 weeks ago, yikes!), I feel like I've been playing catch-up. I have a lot of blog posts planned in my head to share with you. Oh, and joining Facebook hasn't helped.

We hosted a Healthy Choice Just One Bites Emmy watching party. Not only did I get to watch cutie pie Neil Patrick Harris host the awards, they even showed a great clip of him as Dr. Horrible. A new clip! Too bad Nathan Fillion got so much screen time in it. We were also able to munch on some yummy Healthy Choice food too. A more detail posts with pics to come! Here's the clip if you haven't see it yet.

Sophia starts preschool tomorrow. Yay! Both of us are excited. Even hubby is taking the morning off so he can take her to school too.

My birthday is Thursday, and then I'm leaving for Blogalicious early, early Friday. I'm driving to Atlanta with fellow blogger Urban Mama. Hopefully she'll be patient with me as I have to get out of the car and stretch my prego body every 4 hours.

Blogalicious is my first blogging conference, though I'm no stranger to conferences (thanks to our annual Passion Parties conference). I can't wait to report back!

In the meantime, while I try to get caught up (and ready for baby, D-day in 6 weeks), here's some pics of one of our favorite recipes, pumpkin spice cake. Sophia picked green food coloring for the honey cream cheese frosting and since we still have sprinkles from this past Christmas (do sprinkles go bad?), we just went for the whole shebang!

Will You Be My Friend? & Giveaway

2009-09-24T08:45:00.000-04:00

I finally caved in and joined Facebook. It's only been about 2 days, but I like it. I'm reconnecting with old college friends. I'm a bit overwhelmed by everything that you can do on Facebook. I like the simplicity of Twitter much better. Just will take some time to figure it all out.

I also created a Passion & Art Facebook Fan Page. Won't you become a fan? I'm also doing a giveaway over there too. All you have to do is become a fan and comment on this discussion. One lucky commenter will win a $25 grab bag of Passion Parties goodies. If you refer a friend who becomes a fan and comments, both of you will win a $25 grab bag. For more details, head over to the discussion.

See you over there!

Everything is Better With Apple Pie

2009-09-23T23:20:00.004-04:00

My day started off before the crack of dawn. I awoke to my poor Sophia vomiting on me in my bed. My wonderful husband stripped and washed the sheets. He even gave Sophia a bath to wash out her hair.The poor kid was miserable for most of the day, just laying on the couch and watching a lot of tv. With me next to her on vomit watch. Sounds like fun, huh?

Thankfully by late afternoon, her appetite was back, her meds kicked in (for her fever) and she was singing and dancing again.

After she went to bed, I made apple pie with a crumb topping. Hubby peeled the apples even. Methinks he needs a gold medal for all he did today. I baked the pie to in my trusty cast iron skillet. I can't believe I didn't start baking sweets in it until this year.

Once the pie was in the oven, I actually sat down and watched tv. Without my laptop, without flipping through a magazine, and without doing some sort of craft project. It felt weird. I definitely have a hard time sitting still. Once I got used it, it felt nice.

The pie came out great. Waiting for the pie to cool was tough. Thank goodness for Top Chef! Apple pie was the perfect way to end my crazy day!

Blogalicious Winner

2009-09-19T12:22:00.003-04:00

Congrats to Rosa! She won the free pass to Blogalicious.

She won with her comment:

I would love to see "The Beauty of Different" sponsored by Disney Interactive Studios

The registration specials are still good. It's not too late to register, so don't forget to check out the latest news! The last day to register is September 25.

Arrrgh! Don't forget to talk like a pirate today!

To Smartphone or Not To Smartphone?

2009-09-17T21:34:00.004-04:00

Hubby and I have been debating on if I should cross the smartphone threshold. I have this sad little Motorola Razr. About 2 months ago, it started acting crazy and I could only charge it by hooking it up to my computer. For some reason, it's working normally again. I guess it's time to go cellphone shopping as I use this phone for my Passion Parties business.

My girlfriends (and business colleagues) tell me I need a Blackberry. I feel like I'm already plugged in too much: email, Twitter, blogs, and more. Some of it is for work but a lot of it is for fun too. Will I be too addicted if I can access all this from my phone? Will it make me unable to be fully present when I'm supposed to be having quality time with Sophia? Those are my main concerns.

My calendar is half electronic now, thanks to Google Calendar. I'm even sending myself text reminders of my to-do lists. Am I being a Luddite? I love my paper calendar. I like pulling it out my bag and seeing the entire month at a glance. I've even printed out my monthly view Google Calendar so I could carry it around in my purse. I guess I wouldn't need to do that if I had a smartphone.

Why all the internal debate? My friend Leticia from Tech Savvy Mama is giving away a TMobile MyTouch Phone. After reading the review, I discovered I can use it for my Gmail as well as Google Calendar!

Devra from Parentopia spoke about mommy guilt this week at our Mocha Moms meeting. She sets a self-imposed limit with her tech time. She doesn't plug in while her kids are getting ready for school and when they are home from school, she doesn't plug in either. She wants to be 100% available for her kids. Her kids are older than Sophia, but I think that's a great idea.

With the new baby coming, I know I'll have to work my business when I can squeeze it in. Once he's on a schedule, I can go back to a schedule myself.

Maybe I do want a smartphone? That MyTouch looks sleek!

PS Don't forget you a few more hours to win a pass to Blogalicious!

The Joy Diet

2009-09-16T10:32:00.000-04:00

Ever the overachiever, I signed up for Jaime Ridler's The Next Chapter series. We're reading Martha Beck's The Joy Diet. I've never read Martha Beck except for her articles in O Magazine, but I know many of the bloggers I follow quote her quite a bit.

I just picked up my copy of the book from the library today. After skimming the table of contents and reading the introduction, I know it's going to be a challenge for me. The first chapter is about doing nothing, I mean nothing for 15 minutes a day. I am so in trouble.

We officially start this Friday. It's not too late to join, just visit The Next Chapter: Joy Diet blog and join in. Each week, we'll read a chapter and write our thoughts on it. You can also go to the blog each week and share the direct link to your post so that can share it with others participating, as well as read their take on it.

Over the course of our journey we will spend a week each with:

Nothing
Truth
Desire
Creativity
Risk
Treats
Play
Laughter
Connection
Feasting

How delicious is that! The concepts seem so simple but I know that all of us have challenges implementing or dealing with them.

Last November I participated in The Next Chapter: Soul Coaching by Denise Linn. It was tough to post everyday, but I gained so much out of it. I hope you join me each week as I share my journey.

Doing nothing. Wow. I haven't even read chapter 1 yet, and I have no idea how I'm going to do it. I'm sure Martha Beck has a solution.

Win A Blogalicious Conference Pass!

2009-09-14T16:09:00.006-04:00

Have you heard about Blogalicious? It's an awesome blogging conference organized by the wonderful ladies at MamaLaw. Blogalicious 2009 will provide women bloggers of color an amazing opportunity to come together to celebrate their diversity and their love for blogging.

For three days, black, Latina, Caribbean, Asian-Pacific, and Native-American bloggers, among other nationalities, will enjoy a weekend of entertaining discussions and extraordinary events, all experienced in the company of exceptional women. The conference runs Oct 9-11.

How cool is that? Now don't fret. You don't have to be a minority or have a vagina to attend. Honest. All are welcome!

A couple of weeks ago, they had a special for conference registration and it was too good to resist.
I got on the phone with my OB and she cleared me to travel to Atlanta for the conference. My birthday is October 8, so I hope you can come and help me celebrate.

Let me tell you how awesome the conference will be. Not only will it be a great weekend of networking, but some amazing bloggers will be speaking and sharing their amazing experience. Check out the agenda.

There will also be FREE childcare, thanks to sponsor Huggies. You don't even have to find a sitter for your kids! They're going to be entertained and fed while you get to enjoy time with other grownups. You can even apply for the Chevy Carpool, where you'll receive a cool Chevy to drive to Atlanta. The last day to apply is September 15 (TOMORROW).

So go register today! There are currently some amazing conference pass specials. These are for a limited time and a limited quantity, so take advantage of them before they are gone.

Student Pass - A special discounted price of $75 per ticket is now available for students. A Student Pass admission gives you access to all conference activities BUT you'll have to present current college or university student identification at conference check in and you'll have to be at least 21 years of age to party.

2 for 1 Pass - A special discount of $350 for admission for 2 will be offered to you and a friend if you register together. Admission includes all the perks of a regular admission - just at a discount.

Party Pass - For those of you who want to network a little and party a lot, this pass will give you admission as a conference attendee to the exclusive Blogalicious events on Friday and Saturday nights and will give you access to the Exhibitor Marketplace during the day on Saturday.

Skip Pass - If you only want to attend the general sessions, then this pass is for you! For a special price of $100, you'll get admission to the Saturday Morning Keynote Session; Keynote Luncheon (includes lunch); Town Hall Session; Coffee & Snack Breaks; and the Exhibitor Marketplace.

Don't sleep because these offers are for a limited time only!

You can also win your own pass, right here on my blog! I would love to meet you in person. There are several ways you can enter the giveaway to win a full conference registration (hotel and travel are on your own). Those who are already registered are not eligible for this contest, sorry. Please make sure you leave an email address for me to contact you.

1. Leave a comment on which speaker or breakout session you couldn't miss for the world. (See agenda)

2. Tweet about the giveaway (with link) and leave another comment with the link to your tweet. If you're feeling lazy, you can use this tweet:

Enter to win a free pass to @Blogalicious09 (via @thienkim) http://bit.ly/3cYFh

3. Blog about the giveaway, link back to it and leave your post link in a comment.

I'll draw a winner by this Friday, Sept 18, 2009.

Pamper Time Can Lead to More Sex

2009-09-10T22:02:00.006-04:00

When I was at home stretch of my pregnancy with Sophia, many moms kept telling me to get lots of sleep and "me" time. I laughed because I figured that sleep with a newborn was overrated. Or that I totally knew what I was doing as a first time mom and get lots of sleep. HA!

I didn't realize how much me time (or pamper time I like to call it) was hard to come by when we decided that I would be a work at home mom. I thought that being a mom also meant to devote as much as my time as possible to mothering my baby. WRONG. It made me crazy. Add that to post-pregnancy hormones, breastfeeding, and lack of sleep. Yep, I was a bitch, with a capital B.

Thankfully my hubby realized before I did that I need time away from him and the baby. Back when she was little, it involved a one woman date with my iced mocha and some art magazines at Borders Books.

Nowadays, pamper time involves a super hot bath (I'm cooking the baby, as hubby jokes) with the latest bubbly concoction or bath salts I've acquired. The most important part of this is a pile of magazines. I'm a totally magazine whore. I love reading magazines. With a 3 year old keeping me busy, the short articles in magazines are about how I long I can focus on reading. Sometimes if I'm being an overachiever, I'll listen to some crafting podcasts while I read magazines.

So I run my bath, light candles, and load up on O. Magazine, Martha Stewart Living, Entertainment Weekly, Wired, Discover, Smithsonian, and whatever else I haven't read yet. I might only get through 1 or 2 (if I'm lucky) magazines, but it's the potential, right? When the water gets cold, I'll let out some water and add more hot water! I soak and read until I'm all pruney. I try to do this at least once a week.

Every woman needs something they love to do outside of kids and life partners. By spending time doing something that you love that doesn't involved your family, you are showing them how important it is to be your own person. Not to mention that they'll appreciate you more.

I'm a big advocate of pamper time, and bring this up at every Passion Party I do. Pamper time is especially important so you can transition your brain out of mom and housewife mode for "I'm hot and sexy" mode. Who wants to worry about dirty laundry or unloading the dishwasher while you're trying to get it on with your lover? That's definitely a mood killer.

I know sex isn't the most important aspect of a marriage/relationship, but it's definitely at the top. Sometimes when you're parenting young children, sleep might seem sexier. Intimacy will help you reconnect with your partner. Having sex makes you want more sex. Crazy, right? Plus it burns calories, bonus! If you need extra motivation, pick up a fun lotion, lickable goodie, or battery operated helpers to try out. The anticipation of trying them out makes great foreplay!

Do you have pamper time? Or me time? What do you like to do?

Photo via Dennis Wong

Parenting in the Strangest Places

2009-09-08T19:23:00.000-04:00

When you have a 3 year old that talks non-stop, you have the most interesting conversations in the most random places.

Head over to DC Metro Moms to see how we came to talk about sexual orientation in the bathroom of McDonald's.

Homemade Ice Cream

2009-09-07T10:19:00.002-04:00

As a kid, I've always wanted to make my ice cream. Which would never occur to my immigrant Vietnamese mother. Why make things from scratch when you can buy them already made at the store? Luxuries that we Americans are used to were rare (if even available) for my parents when they lived in Vietnam. Wal-Mart is a mecca for them. Anything they want, they can buy. They worked hard to move to the States and to be able to afford the things they like.

Of course my sister and I have the opposite mentality. We attempt to re-use and recycle. We even go thrifting (to the horror of my dad who doesn't understand why we would buy something used when we can afford something new)! To them, shopping at the thrift store reminds them of when they first immigrated to the States and all they could afford were used dishes and furniture.

Anyway, I took Sophia to one of our favorite places, Whole Foods to hang out with one of our favorite people, Chef Egg. August's class was homemade ice cream! No ice cream maker required. It was so easy, you can make it at home in 10 minutes!

We love the Half Pints classes at Whole Foods. They're free and they teach kids to have fun making/cooking food. Check out your local Whole Foods page for the calendar of events. Our Silver Spring location will have one about after school snacks later this month.

First, add sugar, vanilla extract, and half & half to a quart sized ziptop bag (recipe will follow after pictures). Make sure bag is zipped closed completely. Squeeze to mix everything up, making sure you don't feel anymore grains of sugar. You can add any other flavorings you want in this step too: crushed berries, smashed bananas, chocolate syrup, etc.

Add lots of ice and sea salt to a gallon sized ziptop bag. Place sugar & half & half bag into larger bag. Close it up and start shaking. (Love that action shot) Shake and shake. Then shake some more. If you have leakage, you'll have to start over (we did). It takes about 10 or so minutes. Don't get to vigorous with the shaking as you might break open the inside bag. Once the ice milk (that's what you're really making) is to your desire consistency, remove it from the ice bag.

Squeeze all the ice milk into a cup, add your favorite toppings and enjoy! As you can see Sophia added lots of whipped cream and strawberries.

Double Bagger Ice Cream Recipe (courtesy of Whole Foods)

1/2 cup Half & Half
1 drop of vanilla extract
1T of sugar
1 Ziptop bag, quart sized

4C of Ice
4T of Rock Salt (Chef Egg used sea salt)
1 Ziptop bag, gallon sized

Mix the half and half with the vanilla and sugar in the small bag. Place ice and salt in the big bag. Place small bag inside the big bag and shake for 5-10 minutes until the ice cream is solid. Scoop out of bag and enjoy.

The Burden of Perfection

2009-09-05T21:03:00.004-04:00

I fear my daughter has inherited my weakness of desiring perfection. Maybe it's an older child trait or part of my parents' expectation of being the best, but always aiming for perfection is something I catch myself doing quite often.

Sure, I mostly brought home straight A's on my report card. I also dreaded bringing home that one B+. Worried that I had disappointed my parents. Knowing the look my dad would give me when he saw it. "Do better next time," he would say and sign my report card. Instead of enjoying learning (which I loved), I focused on the result. Yes, I'm a nerd and learning came easily. I never really had to study except to memorize dates and random facts. That meant I went to college with horrible study habits.

Last weekend when I attended the Passion Parties training in New Jersey, Sunday was entirely dedicated to Elizabeth Hagen, who spoke about organizing. She gave us all postcards with this quote:

I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God's business.
--Michael J. Fox

I immediately taped it to my computer monitor when I got home. I've known for a while that my desire for perfectionism gets in my way of success, of accomplishing all the things I want to with my life. Often times, the want for perfectionism paralyzes me. I am unable to take action for fear that it will not come out the way I wish it to be. So instead of enjoying the process I'll take to get there, I stress about the outcome.

There's a lot of self talk involved when I realize I'm stalling on a project for the very reason. (I think many perfectionists are also great procrastinators. Ha!) Maybe it's fear of what will happen once I complete the project. Human beings dislike change, even if it means it's for the better. I just have to write down what steps I need to take, then take the first step. Little steps don't seem so scary (like SARK's micromovements). Just focus on one step at a time.

So why this perfectionism talk? I fear Sophia may have inherited it from me. She is so bright, so inquisitive, wanting to grow up so fast! When we did arts & crafts before, she simply created just for the joy of it. Somewhere along the way, she has started focusing on the outcome.

She wants to be like me so much that she compares her art to mine. "I can't draw it. It won't be perfect," she said today. My heart broke. Three is too young to worry about perfectionism. I haven't forced my fight with perfectionism with her. With her art, I don't focus on how her paintings or projects look once completed. I usually tell her, "Tell me about your painting. What is your favorite part about it."

I'm not really sure how to change her view on making her art perfect. I'm worried it will seep into other aspects of her life. She wants to do so much and is so hard on herself. Today she refused to craft because it wouldn't come out perfect (her words). Then she got herself all worked up. She's upset because doesn't know how to write or read yet.

I tried to explain. "Three year olds aren't supposed to know how to read and write, sweetie. It takes a lot of practice to learn how to read and write. That's why you're starting preschool soon." I asked her if she wanted me to teach her how to write her name. I found some printables online for her to practice the letters in her name. (Great for her eye hand coordination by the way.)

That was a temporary resolution. I know that perfectionism is an ongoing battle for me. I don't want it to be one for her too. I'm just not sure how else I can teach her. Where should I go from here?

Happy Anniversary to Us!

2009-08-31T17:27:00.004-04:00

Today is our 7th wedding anniversary. (I know, there's less than 2 hours left to my anniversary) I've been so busy lately, we forgot it was coming up until a few days ago. So no special plans for tonight. We've been together since my freshman year in college.

Thanks for putting up with me! I love you so much! You're an amazing husband and a fabulous dad! (That's our wedding picture)

Random Thoughts

2009-08-27T15:52:00.004-04:00

I'm leaving for a weekend Passion Parties training in New Jersey this weekend, so I'm just going to leave you with some of my random thoughts. I'm excited about the training--they're bringing in Elizabeth Hagen in to share how to organize and simplify my life. Boy, do I need that. Reports from other Passion Power training locations are that she's fabulous! I get a weekend away from the family while hubby gets lots of one-on-one time with Sophia. I can't wait to see my Mid-Atlantic Passion Diva colleagues!

Last week I made some fabric bookmarks for a tea swap I'm a regular in on Paperbackswap.com. They're pretty easy to make. Why make one when I can assembly line 10 of them? I don't use bookmarks, but my swap receiver loved her bookmarks and the teas I sent her. The swap is a great way to try new teas without committing to an entire box. The easy thing about the bookmarks is that you can make use of those scraps you can bear to throw out!

I'm a huge fan of Whole Foods and just discovered (via their blog) Clementine art supplies. It's a line of all natural supplies for kids. I can't wait to pick some up to try. I love the colors of the play dough. I know it's easy to make your own play dough, but I never got around to it. I wonder how their tempera paints smell. After working at summer camp for several years, the smell of regular tempera paint makes me want to puke. (photo via Clementine Art)

Have a great weekend!