Phoenix Home Organizers
If I were to open a home organizing company (and I’m not, because I suck at organizing), I’d call it The Phoenix.
Continue Reading
Author: Nivi Engineer
“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it, always.” – Mahatma Gandhi (from the movie, Gandhi)
Shedding the Shoulds
Am I raising an entitled children if I don’t make them attend a party with me? Or am I respecting their individuality? Are there guidelines that can spare me from the agony of decision making?
Continue Reading
DIY: Make Your Own Screen-Printed T-shirt
Want a custom t-shirt for a special event? Why not make your own?
Continue Reading
Q&A with Gene Luen Yang
In celebration of Children’s Book Week, I had the opportunity to interview Gene Luen Yang, National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.
Continue Reading
May is National Short Story Month
This month, explore the short story.
Continue Reading
Let’s Go Draft Day: 6 Ways to Participate
Here are some tips on what you can do to take part in this weekend’s NFL Draft.
Continue Reading
Review: Eric & Leon Pen Holder… and More!
I received a pair of Eric & Leon Pen Loop Traveler Notebook Leather Pen Holders with Stainless Steel Clips to review. I decided to spend some time carrying them around wherever I went to see where inspiration would strike.
Continue Reading
How Not to Install a MyQ Garage Door Opener
Last month, GeekDad posted an Amazon daily discount for the Chamberlain MyQ-Garage, and as my husband and I have been casually researching these, we bought one. A few weeks passed and finally, one warm-enough afternoon, we got to work. So now, generously, I offer you this essential guide of how NOT to install this product.
Continue Reading
To Phone or Not to Phone
I forgot my phone at home today.
Tragic, yes, I know.
(My husband texted to my son
So that I would know)
Too late to turn around. Drive on.
Tough hour, how to go?
Asian Representation: Counterpoint
We may not be in a post-racial society yet, but I don’t think reverse racism is the way to get there. I wholeheartedly agree that Asians should be better represented in Hollywood. And in no way am I condoning the choices (regardless of how fine an actress Scarlett Johansen is, I’m positive the studio could have found, somewhere, an Asian actress to fill the role, positive that it’s not a question of access to talent).
Continue Reading
7 Ways to Celebrate National Library Week
As a fan and frequent user of my local branch, I wonder: How do we instill appreciation for libraries in our kids this National Library Week?
Continue Reading
Chima’s ‘Flamecaster’ Burns Bright
In this first book of the four-book ‘Shattered Realm’ series, Cinda Williams Chima once again brings to life the vivid world of the Seven Realms.
Continue Reading
Creating a Voice for Asian American Writers
Asian American artists want respect, recognition and support, both emotionally and financially.
Continue Reading
16 Ways to Celebrate Square Root Day
Sixteen ways to celebrate Square Root Day.
Continue Reading
Cleveland Indian of a Different Sort
I was grocing recently, and saw a few things that made me feel welcome. Basmati rice, chai, ghee, and Indian frozen meals are readily available, so I am not forced to trek out to the nearest Indian market if I want to make “my” food. But assimilation is more than just stocking your local grocery store, as I can recognize and appreciate.
Continue Reading
Cult of Pursonality
Purses suck. I mean, the fact that they can sell a sack for over $200 to hold a bunch of crap that you scarcely need, and that you can’t carry in your pockets because your clothing doesn’t reliably come with pockets is a total racket.
Continue Reading
How to Get Away with Clutter
Some people are meticulously orderly. Others not so much. I don’t know if it’s coded in the DNA or conditioned, but I’m the product of one of each type. Which, I must say, can be challenging (often more so for my more organizationally inclined husband). And which, sadly, condemns my children to a similar fate of clutterness.
Continue Reading
‘Blue Territory’: A Paperback Parental Retreat
For a fraction of the cost of a yoga class, about the price of a manicure (sells for $14.71 in paperback on Amazon), you can get swept away by the lyrical poeticism of Robin Lippincott’s prose as he deftly introduces you to the life and art of Joan Mitchell.
Continue Reading
It’s Time to Celebrate Pi Day
Can you imagine a better way to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon, the one just before Pi day, than by going to a Pi day celebration at your local university? Well, my eleven-year-old and nine-year-old sons agreed with me that they simply could not, so they donned their Pi Day t-shirts, hopped in the momivan, […]
Continue Reading
I Need to Fun More
I know it’s not a verb, the word “fun,” but maybe it should be. Forcing me to use the word “have” before it, making it something I must acquire, adds that much more distance to the goal, an extra obstacle I must overcome before reaching my desired level of happiness.
Continue Reading