XiaolinMama

Savvy Savings - Deals for Family Fun

The folks at SavvySource - are super smaht! They know that money at my house and almost everyone else's house I know is tight.  Who buys things full price anymore if you don't have to? Right?  Savvy Source is launching a new deal for other smaht parents and other deal conscious folks who want/need good deals on things they do with the kids in their lives.

This week's deal - $40 family memberships to the Oakland Zoo.  It's more than 50% off the $85 rate. Cool!  This is like Groupons, but for things the whole family would use.  Take advantage of this week's special by clicking here.  You have 72 hours to buy the deal before it disappears.

If you purchase through my link, they I get a small % and maybe me and my kids will have the funds to join you too!  Win- win for us all:) 

BTW -PLEASE enter my contest to win a $100 Visa Gift Card over at Xiaolinmama Reviews.

Asian American Voices Project- Universal immigrant stories

Many of you know that my parents immigrated from the Philippines in the 70s. But what you probably don't know is that my parents both worked up to three jobs at any given time - working overtime at their day jobs, selling goods at the local swap meet on the weekend and picking up gigs as they could. It wasn't easy, but like many immigrants they did it in search of a better life for themselves and their families.  We've all heard about the struggle, experienced it, seen it on tv or in stories, but there is so much that is left unsaid.

The Asian American Voices Project created a series of short films to illuminate the experiences and contributions of APIs in Silicon Valley.  Silicon Valley Asian American Voices is a multimedia project that facilitates education and advocacy on policy issues that impact Asian American immigrants. Even if you are not from SV or of Asian descent, these stories matter because in many ways they are stories of all immigrants.  The films cover challenges with health care, housing and immigration.

One of stories really grabbed because this woman looks like my lola ("grandma" in tagalog). Nenita Ibe, an elderly Filipina woman, works hard as a room attendant in the hotel industry. She is an active member of the union committee, advocating for workplace changes that will improve the lives of those around her. Her story touches on issues of health care access, language access, immigration reform and family reunification.  All of these were daily challenges in my own family.

       What can you do now?

• Check out the film trailer. The full film is being shown on March 4th at DeAnza college and on March 20 it is being screened in conjunction with the San Francisco Film Festival. Events and discussion groups are free.  Check their website for more details.
• Check out the AA Voices Facebook page
• Enter the contest! They are giving away 2 tickets to the SF AA Film Festival starting March 2nd. Enter the sweepstakes.

• Post a link to website on your Facebook and tweet about it.
• Join the Twitter Party on March 16 from 12 to 1pm PST.  City Mama and I are hosting the conversation.

(BTW- I was a board member at Asian Americans for Community Involvement, which is the agency behind this project. They hired my social media company Clever Girls Collective to do online outreach. But I woulda wrote about this anyway!) 

Teaching kids to love Hip Hop: Battlefest 360

 

If you've been following me for a while, you know I am anything BUT cool these days.  I sport the mom jeans.  I have the mom "don't mess with me" stare and frankly, I am too tired to do anything cool.  LOL! 

But I am a lover of hip hop and have a crazy fascination with dance crews.  Yes, you know Randy Jackson's America's Best Dance Crew show on MTV? Love it!  Back to days of Run DMC, JJFad and songs like "Egyptian Lover, Baby", there has always been a special place in my heart for hip hop.  (FYI: I love all kinds of music. Did you know I run a music festival too?)

I was dismayed many years ago, when I had Snoop or something along those lines bumpin in my car and had my 4 year old yell out "Mama, turn it down!  It hurts my ears!" Since then, I have been on a mission to "enlighten" my child on various genres. He has always been a rock fan, so you can imagine my surprise when he came home excited about someone called "Michael Jackson".  "Have you heard of him mom?  He sings this song called 'Thriller'?" he said excitedly.  Ahhh.  Now I have my chance to share some old skool!  He loved it and was enamored by the dance moves in the video.  His 4th grade class even did their own rendition for the school talent show.

This weekend I took the kids to see Battlefest 360, a show put on by B-Box Productions in San Jose. Dance Crews from all over California came to show off their moves, while 2000 fans rooted them on.  I had not been to anything like that in years. I wasn't quite sure how the kids would like it, but they were floored!  The kids danced in their seats, cheered for the crews and loved the loud music.  (Be still my heart!)  The atmosphere was family friendly.  There was a rainbow of ethnicities and ages represented - Black, Filpino, White, Latino, teens, kids and grandparents - all there for a good time.   Yes, there was a bit of suggestive dancing, but overall the moves were inventive and took the genre to a new level.  Dang.

Check out one of our favorite performances by the Main Stack's Dance Crew from Berkeley. Seriously, watch it! You'll never look at the medals ceremony the same way. 

The kids were "popping" in the street on the way back to the car and asked if we were going to the next show.  My daughter takes ballet classes and wants to switch to hip hop. My 10 year old started trying to do robot moves - ha! They were impressed by all the moves that required spinning on heads.  I told my kids that their Uncle Neil (who attended the show with us) used to do that and of course, my brilliant 6YO child commented "No wonder his hair is always flat!"  I think this show inspired some new hop hop fans.

Gettin My Kitchen Mojo Back with Sticky Rice with Mangoes

I've been sick with the cold from hell. The kind of sick that my poor kids have been subject to their father's cooking - lol. We've been eating out, bring food in and well, eating whatever can be cooked in 30 min or less - hello Rachel Ray.

But today for some reason, I craved to be in the kitchen and what I wanted to eat was Sweet Sticky RIce with Mangoes! It was super easy to make and disappeared very quickly.  I'm never ordering this at the Thai restaurant again, now that I know I can make it in about 25 min.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• Serves 2-4
• 1 cup Thai Sweet Rice (also called "sticky rice", available at Asian food stores)
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 1-2 ripe mangos, cut into bite-size pieces (look for mangos that are fragrant and easily bruised), or 1 pkg frozen mango
• 1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp. brown sugar (for a natural sweetener substitute maple syrup)
• 1 can good-quality coconut milk
• 1/4 tsp. + pinch of salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 tsp. cornstarch or arrowroot powder dissolved in 2 Tbsp. water

Preparation:

1. Soak the sweet rice in 1 cup water for 20 minutes, or up to 1 hour.
2. The sticky rice can be steamed or made in a pot. To make it in a pot, do not drain. Add 3/4 cup (more) water to the rice, plus 1/4 can coconut milk, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. coconut flavoring, and 1 Tbsp. brown sugar. Stir this into the rice, lifting any rice grains that have stuck to the bottom of the pot.
3. Bring to a gentle boil, then partially cover with a lid (leaving some room for steam to escape). Turn the heat down to medium-low (#2.5 to 3 on the dial).
4. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes, or until the water has been absorbed by the rice. Remove the pot from the heat, place the lid on tight, and leave to "steam" cook for 5-10 minutes.
5. Make sauce and serve the dessert right away, or store the rice (covered) in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it.
6. To make the sauce, warm the rest of the can of coconut milk together with 1/4 cup sugar, a pinch of salt, 1 tsp. coconut flavoring (optional) and 1 tsp. vanilla flavoring over medium heat (5 minutes).
7. Add cornstarch (dissolved in the water) to the sauce and stir to thicken it slightly. As it thickens, turn down heat to low. When thickened, remove from heat. Tip: Try not to boil the sauce, or you will lose that wonderful coconut flavor.
8. Before serving, taste-test the sauce for sweetness, adding more sugar if desired. If too sweet for your taste, add a little more coconut milk.
9. There are 2 ways to serve this dessert:

Place scoops of the sticky rice in bowls (Note that sticky rice can be served cold, warm, or at room temperature, as desired). Ladle a generous amount of warm coconut sauce over the rice (creating an “island” of sticky rice). Add slices/pieces of ripe fresh mango. (If using frozen mango, be sure to give it enough time to thaw before serving.)
Portion out into serving bowls, making sure everyone has equal amounts of rice, mango, and sauce. Enjoy!

Recipe from About.com

Blissdom Conference Roundup

This week I got to attend my first Blissdom Conference.  Super FUN, I am EXHAUSTED! There were interesting panels filled with tangible tips to take home and people genuinely wanting to meet new people and learn new things, dancing plus Harry Connick Jr!  Exactly what you want in a women's bloggy conference. Kudos to organizers @alliworthington and @barbarajones and everyone who must have put in countless hours to make it all possible.  Thank you.

Loads of fun was had by all, but here are a few highlights:

*  Watching my new music soul mate Rock and Roll Mama and ModernMami whip up fancy entries in 20 minutes for the Potato board's cook off. I loved watching everyone cheer the contestants on, the dancing that ensued while waiting for the judges decision and the fun potato bar.  <Not a lot of veggies in Nashville, so this was an extra special treat!>

*  Keynote speech by Kevin Carroll, author of Rules of the Red Rubber Ball.  He was AH.Mazing.  I don't say that lightly.  He spoke about passion, power and intention and simply hit a home run with the entire crowd! I ordered his book this morning.

* Balancing life and blogging life with the brilliant Christine Koh aka @bostonmamas, Deb Rox aka @debontherock, Carmen Staicer aka @mttsm.  They shared gems of brilliance on balancing their on and off line lives.  My walk away was - Yes you CAN say NO!  There are always other opportunities.  Agreed. It is so hard sometimes to really believe it, but it is SO true.  Thanks for the reminder gals!

* Throwing a party! Clever Girls Collective (ahem!) threw a lil soiree for all the event attendees. Blue drinks, boas and prizes - what more can you ask for.  I made the play list of all of my fave party songs and was a lil nervous that folks might not like it.  But I got a ton of compliments, working on sharing it. Anyone have ideas on how to do that? 

Of course, there was plenty of swag - from chips to make up to ice cream bars! <BTW- No one paid me to gush about these! These were given in the Blissdom swag bag or available in the expo.> My favorite bits of Blissdom Swag:

• Land's End Canvas Bag, Plus $15.00 coupon:  Sturdy, just the perfect size. Clean, unlike the one I own and use almost everyday and is FILTHY!!  Not the sexy filthy, the filthy that comes from being toted to every soccer/basketball game the past two years.  Thank you Lands End for giving me a new respectable bag.  I know what I am using that coupon for - rain gear!

• Hallmark cards:   The ladies from Hallmark brought not only cards, but gave bloggers the chance to meet the ladies who wrote/designed the new line of "encouragement cards" for kids.  SO COOL!  I love to write notes and leave them in my kids' lunch boxes (usually on post it notes) These cards are sure to take mom's love notes to a whole new level.  They came in all

  

  sizes and are simply perfect for both my 6 year old sweet girl and my 10 year old sports loving boy.  My favorite card was this one featuring fake snot - that can also be pulled out of the card for him to play with.  Gross=perfect for the 10 year old set. 

• Lisa Leonard Necklace:  This pretty little thing is a simple silver necklace with the word "bliss"  pressed on it.   Simple is how I like my everyday accessories, so this piece just sang to me. Already ordered this one off her site. She also gave us a $10 off with the "bliss10" code.  Quick, order one!

Blogging conferences 2010

One of the things I love about owning my own social media company and being a blogger, (besides hangin with my gals @citymama and @dearbadkitty) is going out to bloggy conferences!  What is not boss about getting to see your favorite online friends, having a few martinis and picking up some swag? 

In January, I was beyond ecstatic to moderate a panel at the beyond amazing Altitude Design Summit in Utah.  First of all, I am a design wench. I love to go to home and design blogs and imagine how these pretty things will look in my crazy house. Home/Design bloggers are a special breed - fun, shy, appreciative of the aesthetic of everything!  I was so invigorated by everyone I met.  People were open to meeting new folks. Every session peaked my interest and they had awesome food -everywhere.  They had candy girls!  hell-oh, EVERY conference needs retro candy girls!  Kudos to @designmom and all the event organizers.

The kinds of questions and conversations you'd only hear at the ALT summit:

• "Maybe there should be a session on typefaces and luxe fabrics"
• "Monetizing? I just wanted a place to put all the pretty things I liked in some order."
• "Hey, let's go check out the Sundance Film Festival and pretend we're producers of the next best indie film."
• "Did you see the sofa made out of ice? Be careful when you sit down, your butt may get wet."
• "I love her blog!  I can't possibly say hi - she think I was a stalker."  <ok-that happens at every conference>
• "ooh, love your card.  What font is that?"
• "I do ALL my decorating based on what I find from the blogs on that panel!"

Blissdom 2010 starts today.
Already I've been impressed by line up of speakers conference organizers @alliworthington and @barbarajones have put together. They sent conference attendees a pre-conference care package.  Brilliant move - no more squeezing packages of chips or crackers in my bag to take home.  Instead, I gave the coupons included in the gift box to the HUZ to feed themselves while I 'm gone.  <Yeah, I guess I could actually redeemed the coupons for them….>  Thanks to sponsors ConAgra, Hebrew National, Hunt's and Orville Redenbacher's!  I also left the movie rental coupon and popcorn for them all to use while I'm gone.  Now everyone is happy. I'm gone - off to have martinis and they not only have dinner, but post hotdogs activity.   Perfect planning #blissdom girls!  

Clever Girls Collective is hosting a party!  Deets are here.  Hope to see you there!

I'll also be at Mom 2.0, Blog Her and Blogalicious 2010.  Am thinking about SxSW interactive  and Web 2.0?  Thoughts on these conferences? Am I missing one that is a  MUST go? I hate to miss a good party, um I mean I hate to miss  good "professional development opportunity. 

Late New Year Resolutions: Being Gentle

What happened to January?  I had BIG plans for January- you know the kind that change the world. Well, not really, but the kind of plans that made it easier to find shoes in my closet and the kind that would require to me to HAVE to buy new jeans, cuz I've lost SO much weight. sigh.  Alas we're in February and I'm left wondering what happened - kids, work, begin sick with the flu and a million reasons. 

This year the one resolution I am going to keep it is being more gentle - with others and myself.   I am totally one of those gung ho gals - give me a task, I'll get it done. I'm laser.  Sometimes that means prioritizing, being focused, running over people and other minor tasks.  At the end, I am left with both a feeling of accomplishment and the guilt of ignoring competing needs/people. 

So this year, I working on being kinder and letting go of the guilt and cutting me some slack. 

Help out a sistah, keep me honest on this will ya?

Altitude Design Summit

One of may favorite things about being a blogger is getting to meet inspiring people.   This weekend I have the honor of facilitating an amazing panel at the Altitude Design Summit, with the Maggie Mason of MIghty Girl, Stephanie Brubaker of StephModo and Chelsea Fuss from Frolic!  These ladies are seriously rock stars in the design/lifestyle blogger world and I am not quite sure how the conference planners let me even near them.  <swoon!>

We'll be chatting about monetizing blogs beyond ad networks. <million dollar question, right?>  I am beyond excited to get to know these ladies and tell them up close and personal how much I think they kick A$$!

More to come...

What is normal anyway?

Much like the amazing women in Beth Feldman's book "See Mom Run", I can't help but laugh at the follies that make up my "normal life".  I laugh even harder when I think about what I thought was "normal" pre-children. 

The holidays make me crazy.  Yes, in the my book, there is nothing that puts me on edge more than te monthlong preparation for the Christmas festivities.  It is enough to bring any strong woman to tears. Due a variety of factors (economy and the swine flu - a whole 'nutha story), I said NO to the madness this year.  I said NO to a week long trip to spend the holiday with my extended family. We said NO to extravagant gifts and I said YES to gift cards, when I usually pride myself on making handmade gifts.  We had a quiet holiday.  We spent time as a small family together.  We played board games, watched movies and rode our bikes around the neighborhood.  We had 5 blissful family days together.It was great, until I realized we had to fill in 6 more days of winter break with activities.  I own my own business ( three actually), so I was not on a "real vacation", but "working from home".  sigh.  I plied the kids through the week with "movie rentals", "arts and crafts" and "extra" video game playing time".  It rained in Northern California, ensuring that kids were forced to stay inside.  (Just what  a work-from home mom needed) 

With 48 hours left, I  started to pat myself on the back for making it through the two weeks.  I started planning what to buy at the grocery store for the following week's lunch.  I referred to my calendar thinking about when I would schedule a manicure to treat myself.   I started to do the Happy Dance because soon life would go back to normal.  The kids would be in school soon and I could work guilt free for 8 hours a day!   Woot! Woot!

I then looked at my sweet daughter and noticed that she was napping; strange for my 6YO in the middle of the day.  Oh, is that green goop around her eye?  Frick, she has pink eye!   She is going to miss the first day back to school?  We were so close to getting back to "normal"!  What is normal anyway? Life has been in flux ever since I unexpectedly found out I was pregnant over a decade ago.  Sigh.

We spent half the next day at the doctor's office and pharmacy, we squeezed in a trip to the grocery store to buy orange juice and set up the "sick room".   Welcome to parenthood - and my new sense of normal.  I wouldn't have it any other way.

Holiday Giveaways

The holidays are here and I have two really AWESOME giveaways at Xiaolinmama Reviews.

• $200 gift card at the LOFT clothing store: Cute clothes, nice salespeople and great selection at affordable prices means you can pick up quite a bit with this prize!
• Tassimo Brewing System: Hot drinks when you want it without the hassle of clean up - not much NOT to like. Enter - you WANT one!