Technomania in full force

I'm one of the many who claims to be a gadget whore. Take a look around, you'll see how many of us really LOVE our new technology. The Nikons, the MacBooks, etc...Even the words nerd, geek, whore, slut, became acceptable whenever used with gadgets. Like I can easily say I'm an iPad slut, or iPhone whore. Getting a smartphone or a macbook is much like getting a great pair of shoes. In fact, our wardrobes doesn't seem complete without holding that right phone, with the right case.

It's true, we've become even more materialistic today than we've every been. That's just my opinion of course.

What do you think?

Unsweetened Thoughts

There is one word in my head all day today. DE-CLUTTER! Probably because I was reading Melisa Well's blog and she wrote a post about getting organized for 2012. But the kind of de-cluttering I have in mind is not so much on organizing my home, or even work. I need those done too, but just not what I was thinking of. I really meant more on people.

Sadly, there are a few people I thought of completely cutting the cords with. Probably not so abnormal, right? The thought of just getting rid of all the noise sounds somewhat sweet right now. Just the unrelenting unnecessary noise. I'm not going to give examples as to why and what happened. I'd really not spend the time to delve into that. Especially in this blog. See the title? SUGAR in MY BOWL. Blog dedicated to everything that I love and enjoy. But maybe it's not so sweet to just eliminate such people off my list. Maybe they're the reason why the rest are all the more sweeter. 

Yeah, that's it. Life's sweet...I'll keep calm and have a cupcake instead.

YouTube Channels To Check Out

YouTube has taken over TV for a lot of us and I've subscribed to a couple channels that I find hilarious, clever, and  most definitely entertaining. Here are my top 3 recommendations.

Wong Fu Productions

Too Fast was the very first Wong Fu video I've seen. I've been hooked since. You'd have to watch this to see what I mean. Wong Fu channel has short films, music videos, and vlogs from 3 guys (Wes, Ted, & Phil). 

Kevjumba
I can never have enough of Kevin Wu. He's darn adorable and funny. He makes fun videos on being Asian and making the most awkward topics laughable. Kevin and his father were even casted on last year's Amazing Race on CBS (only saw it because of Kevin). They didn't win but that did not matter to his YouTube fans. The most amazing part is how he's turned his channel into making money through Jumbafund. Kevin has donated the proceeds he earned from advertising to charities such as St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and the Red Cross. I also enjoy the videos he's made with his dad.

 

Mishal Moore
I dig her raw voice. I've been checking her channel for a few years now and I was happy to see that she's even signed a recording contract but her YouTube videos keeps me more interested. Her crafted cd was simply... well....crafted. Her voice is so beautiful sang in the raw. Just her guitar and her voice was enough for me. But I get it. Girl gotta make a living.

 

My Own Little New Year Tradition

I was in 5th grade when I first received a 5-year diary from my Aunt whom we (my siblings and I) fondly call, Tita Linda. Her family came to visit Chicago from Sacramento, California for my youngest brother's wedding this past October and only then did I mention how much I treasured that diary. I remember how I made sure to keep it locked and the key always hidden in a box somewhere in my drawer. I discovered how much I loved writing and documenting my thoughts and daily experiences. The daily entries before bed became my own little tradition. I kept that diary until I was 15 years old and then around every December I started looking for a new diary to write on for the upcoming year. Part of my little tradition on New Year's Eve was to read back on what I wrote for the entire year and sometimes even going back several years after that. Life happened and I stopped writing after college. Maybe because work and marriage kept me busy. A big part of my job in the fashion industry then were writing daily reports on the department stores I visit carrying our brand. There were in-store allocations and installations to worry about and lots of seminars / fashion shows to concentrate on. I traveled extensively throughout the US for this. It never really occurred to me then that I stopped writing in my diary and that I stopped buying a yearly diary/planner. Then I got pregnant for the first time in 1999. With my yearning to find answers on motherhood, I turned to the internet and learned to build my own website and authored my own personal pregnancy site. In 2000 I then discovered BLOGGING ! I instantly jumped in and opened a blogger account. The happy feelings of writing were back. Foolishly, I completely poured out my heart and soul without the thought of online privacy, etc… And after a couple of reader comments on my new baby, I got scared. Really scared. Thoughts of some maniac after my child drove me insane and the mama bear in me instinctively deleted all of my posts. ALL. I cried the moment I realized I should have just made it private. I didn't know that then. After a few months, I went back and got more comfortable. I have been blogging since and can't even imagine without it. However, I've neglected this blog lately. Been busy with work and well...motherhood. But tonight after the New Year's Eve countdown with the family, I decided to go back and read through a couple of entries over the years. Just like the little tradition of my own on the 1st day of every year. With that of course comes the first entry of the year. It's been 30+ years later since I received that diary, I still enjoy writing and has been blogging professionally for quite some time now. I have Tita Linda to thank for blessing me with the gift of having my own tradition. I hope that my children will also have a Tita Linda of their own to thank one day.


I'm thankful for the many fruitful and blessed years and the rockin' 2011 and I'm looking forward to an exciting 2012! Happy New Year to all!

Cramped & Claustrophobic in NYC.

I'm currently in NYC for some exciting work and had to do a quick video of my hotel room to show you all. I'm not surprised how tiny the room is, but I'm more surprised that I forgot what to expect. After all, their website says "luxury" hotel and space is just not the kind of luxury you can find in NYC. Don't get me wrong - I love NYC, just not the teeny tiny boutique hotel rooms. It is actually a beautiful and modern hotel. All in all I am VERY happy and excited to be here. I'm just always ready to bust outside and get some breathing space.

The SUGAR in my very full BOWL

Fridays are always our Family Day Out. My husband and I excitedly always pick up the kids from school to go out for some play, maybe some fun shopping and always end it with a nice dinner (with kids arguing along the way…you know, the norm). Today was even more exciting because I can finally test-drive my sweet spankin’ new camera on the family. The new gadget was a surprise from my husband. Lucky me!

We went to our favorite park before heading to dinner and I’m so proud of the portraits I took of my family. This is probably the first time I am introducing them fully in my blog, so here it goes.

Our Favorite Neighborhood Park - Ping Tom Park in Chinatown

William, the most patient husband and dad I know! He completes me. Corny, but true!

Christian, our firstborn. He's a man-boy. Takes charge of his siblings when needed  but takes that role a little too intense at times. He's only 11 and just an inch away before he gets taller than me!

Matthew, our middle child. He's overly dramatic but he's a really sweet boy.  He's never embarrassed with kisses and hugs even around his friends! He's now 8 years old.

Katie, our baby. Christian named her when I was pregnant. A true girly-girl but can stand up for herself and fight a mean fight with her 2 older brothers. Daddy can never say no to this little one.

The SUGAR in my very full BOWL

A picture with me in it. Finally! :-) Excuse the scraggly hair, I was after all running around in the playground with the little ones before this pic.

Thank you for taking the time to know my family.

A Geeky kinda Love!

I'm in love with an iPhone App called Instagram. I even wrote about it in DigiFams.com, a site I author in Chicago Now (a Chicago Tribune Media Group).  Check out the many other photos I took, enhanced, and posted here -->  Instagram is the Polaroid of this Generation. 

Steel Beauty in Chicago
Shot with my iPhone4 - Enhanced with Instagram

A Snowy January!

Shot with my iPhone4 - Enhanced with Instagram

Goodbye 2010, Bring it on 2011, Reaching for 2020!

A lot has happened in the past year. Wow, I just noted 2010 as the past year! How did that happen so fast? As I was driving to my sister's house for a New Year's Day family get-together, it dawned on me that 2020 is just around the corner. As a young girl, I often remembered thinking that 2020 is some sci-fi zone in this human life that is incomprehensible to even imagine. So it is almost daunting to even think that 9 years from now, it'll be 2020! Wow. I then started imagining how old my kids will be by then (oldest one will be 20), and only in that moment that I felt excited of what's to come for us. My head and heart is anxious for a future celebration of the unknown, and I know it's a promising one for us!

In other celebratory notes, my aunt and cousin from Southern California are visiting here in Chicago for the holidays. We took lots of pictures and I'm sharing a couple of them below. It was a pleasure spending the first day of 2011 with our frozen Californians.

With my 3 kids and my parents - Thanks to big bro lahleyoo.com for all the beautiful pictures!

Big lil' hug from my baby!

With my geeky older brother. Ok, we're both nerds, and damn proud! haha

My parents

With cousin Rob. We used to babysit him!

With my siblings and cousin Rob. He was like a lil' brother to us.

My dad and his baby sister

Aunt Veronica aka "Tita Bing" and son

Almost everyone, not quite! Husband missed it and kids running around elsewhere.

The kids and I have decided to make a time capsule and after today's celebration with the family, there will be lots to add in the shoebox we are planning to fill and open  on Jan. 1, 2020. I hope this blog will still be around for me to share those happy moments to be had.


Again, thank you Kuya for taking all the pics. For you guys reading here, go and visit my big brother's beautiful photography site Lahleyoo.com or go directly to his portfolio: http://lahleyoo.zenfolio.com

I'm a proud MoBlo, are you?

As I was rewriting a profile for a new project I am working on, I came up with MoBlo. I cracked myself up, and so I knew that that's it! My profile will now say I'm Chief MoBlo for many sites! Check it out, I just added it in here and I love it!

Also in a recent discouraging turn of events (which shall remain linkless in my blog), another Mom Blogger has decided to become yet again another...well...uhhm...jerk. So I thought I'd define what a #moblo really means to me.

What is a True Mother Blogger or MoBlo?

• One that blogs from the heart
• One that support and encourage other MoBlos 
• One that doesn't tear down another MoBlo because we all know those are called *Blogger MoFos. Seriously!
• One that doesn't participate with *Blogger MoFos. (Stay away from *Blogger Mofos - Remember that reading their post is the same as supporting their mind and pockets!)

* Blogger Mofos: Bloggers who sensationalize their posts to create drama with other bloggers and ultimately for more site hits.

If you'd like to copy image above and use in your blogs, I would love a link bank or at least a credit. But none of that is necessary because I just love other MoBlos. :-)

I'm a MoBlo and proud of it! Do you have a problem with that?

I'm having an October affair with the Tribune

Last night I finally announced that I will be blogging at DigiFams.com under Chicago Now, a blog network run by the Chicago Tribune.

"DigiFams is a source for news in social and digital media, technology and web culture written for families. It is geared to parent, tween, and teen readers."

I'm tickled for this opportunity, but I'm even more excited that I'll be writing on the web culture for the families. This geeky mom has so much to say! Our world has turned digital and our kids are grasping on anything they can get to without much supervision. I hope that the site can keep families engaged and more in-tuned to what's really going on out there in the web wide world. My main mission is to nurture kids online to live a better and healthier digital life. I hope you will help me spread this site to other families as well.

Then a few weeks ago I landed in the front page of business section of the Chicago Tribune. You can also see the online version here. I should probably write about what was said in there, but I'll leave that for you to read instead.

I wonder what the rest of the year will bring?