Geisha School Dropout

GIVEAWAY SUNDAY: Happy National Strawberry Month!

May is National Strawberry Month, so YoKids is teaming up with Tom's of Maine on Strawberry flavored goodies!  Starting May 21st, each tube of children's toothpaste purchased on the Tom's of Maine site will come with a coupon for $1 off YoKids Greek organic yogurt. You can also save 20% on your entire order with the coupon code:  YOKIDS20.

Just to be clear, I'm not getting paid for saying this.  I sincerely appreciate that both companies provide high quality, all-natural and/or organic options, and we seriously use their products multiple times a day.  Isaac and Emi grew up on YoBaby yogurt, and now I pack a Yogurt Squeezer in their lunches every day.  We all use Tom's of Maine toothpastes, which have no artificial sweeteners or dyes, are cruelty-free, and come in environmentally responsible packaging.

To promote this special deal, Stonyfield Farm sent me a strawberry-themed goody bag to give away to one of my readers.  It is packed with the following goodies:  Reusable cotton YoKids lunch sack filled with several Tom's of Maine products including a full 4.2oz tube of Silly Strawberry children's toothpaste, as well as samples of their Naturally Dry deodorant and Daily Moisture soap.  The bag also includes FREE YoKids and YoKids Greek coupons (both available in strawberry!), YoKids Greek temporary tattoos (in strawberry AND raspberry!), and YoKids Strawberry-flavored Eco Lips chapstick! 

 

To enter for a chance to win this goody bag, just comment below with your favorite way to eat strawberries!  Mine is chocolate-covered, mmmm....

My Week in Review and GIVEAWAY WINNER

Congratulations to commenter #4, Dan, who won the polka dot knife set!  His guess was: 

You the camel 
Tim the penguin
Isaac the snake
Emma the mouse

I actually know Dan "in meatspace" (actually, I knew the large majority of entrants, which made me very happy), so I feel no qualms with ribbing him for getting Emi's name wrong (thanks, Uncle Dan!).  But otherwise, he nailed it, like most of you did.

The story behind the animals was: Emi and her bossy nature.  She commissioned, rather demanded, that her daddy draw us this way one day at a Chinese restaurant.  Her inner world is interesting, no?  I knew I shouldn't have smoked that peyote while I was pregnant with her...

Anyway, I won't be able to really post until later today because all day I'll be chaperoning Isaac's class on a field trip to a science museum!  Zoiks!  So here are some pictures of what happened this week in our little world:

Isaac started to have trouble reading sports scores on the TV, so we took him to the optometrist who confirmed he needs to start wearing glasses.

Tuesday was "Korea Day" at Emi's school, so she went to school dressed in her hanbok!

I made kimbap (basically Korean sushi) with just galbi (BBQ short rib) inside for the kids' snack. They devoured it like locusts. I was impressed.

Yesterday, we went to Little Prince to meet a friend. Isaac spent a lot of the time in their library, which garnered him the adoration of many a Korean Tiger Mom, who then promptly rapped their knuckles on their own kids' heads and said, "Yah! Why can't you be more like this boy!"

 

Bay Area! Go Watch the APA Vagina Monologues on May 17!

Although I love vaginas and enjoy talking about them, I have yet to go see a Vagina Monologues show.  Oh, how I wish I can go to this one!  The cast is all Asian/Pacific Islander, and I bet this will be a transformative experience.

From their website:

NAPAWF Bay Area proudly presents an Asian Pacific American women's production of the Vagina Monologues. Set in the historic Castro Theater of San Francisco, we'd like to invite you to an evening celebrating community visibility, the stories of women, and Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. 

This production is directed by Gabrielle Patacsil and features an all Asian Pacific American women-identified cast. Proceeds benefit the local Bay Area chapter of the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, the nation's only multi-issue women's organization for Asian Pacific American women and girls. 

And here are the performers introducing themselves in an awe-inspiring, irreverent, hilarious, and poignant video:

The APA Vagina Monologues
Thursday, May 17, 2012 7:30 PM
Castro Theatre
429 Castro Street (at Market)
San Francisco, CA 94114
United States

Tickets are $15-65 and can be purchased here.

Cross-posted on Kimchi Mamas.

Sponsored: Natural Presents for EVERYONE - including Myself!

Thanks to Walgreens for underwriting this post. I was paid as a member of the Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all mine. Visit http://www.walgreens.com/beauty.

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I am a firm believer in natural and organic food and products, but as a mom I just can't bear to spend a ton of extra money trying to create an non-toxic household.  Luckily, the market for these kinds of products has grown to the point where you don't have to go to exclusive stores or pay a high premium anymore.  In fact, here are some examples of healthy, environmental, and reasonably-priced gifts you can find in your neighborhood drugstore.

For the Kids

I believe it is especially important to provide kids and babies with natural products as much as possible, but often the steeper price tags make us moms a little hesitant to buy organic or all-natural stuff on a day-to-day basis.  However, that's also the exact reason why they make great holiday gifts, though!

Here is an example of a bath and body set that is sulfate-free, isn't tested on animals, and has gentle vegan ingredients.   I've always thought grapefruit is such a great scent for kids; it's fresh- and clean-smelling, and matches their sunny dispositions.

 

 

 

 

For Men

This category is super-easy.  There is a brand called Every Man Jack that specializes in men's products, and their stuff is vegan and sulfate-free.  Best of all, they work really well and they smell great too (although they do have unscented versions of almost all their products for the sensitive guys out there).  Every Man Jack makes it easy to introduce the man in your life to the cleansing/toning/moisturizing/sunblock regimen he really should have been doing for years now without overwhelming him.  Grab a few skin, hair, and shaving products, arrange them in a shower caddy, and voila, you will have a cleaner, handsomer man!

 

 

For the Ladies, Including Moi

My friend got me some Out of Africa products for my birthday last month, and I am a total shea butter fanatic now.  It turns out that shea butter is absorbed into the skin much faster and keeps your skin moisturized for so much longer than normal lotions, and my skin looks so much healthier now, especially my hands.   I just figured that the little crackles and crosshatch patterns were a result of aging; turns out my skin was just dry!  No Parabens, Sulfates, Petrolatums or Phthalates; Cruelty-free and Eco-Friendly.  Try it and see if your skin will lap it up like mine does.  

 

 

While we're on the subject of hands, another recent discovery is non-toxic nail polish.  I had no idea it existed until I saw this Keeki Holiday Nail Set online.  I am aching to try it out!  Manicures and pedicures are two of my favorite ways to unwind and pamper myself, but I always feel uneasy smelling all the chemicals and wondering what they are doing to my nails.  My curiosity is piqued.

 

 

 

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Merry Christmas and happy shopping!  If you have encountered any other great finds, please let me know!

Emi After the Dentist

Emi was scheduled for her very first filling this morning, and both the dentist and I were a bit apprehensive as to how she'll handle it.  Turns out she was a model patient after a little bit of bubble gum-flavored "happy air."  Kids nowadays are so lucky!  Nitrous, a numbing gel, then the novacaine?  When I was their age, that needle went straight in right after your cleaning!  Harrumph!  Lucky bums.

Look at her loungin' in that dentist's chair!  I haven't seen her this relaxed in forever.

Afterwards, I asked her how it all went.  

"Uh...fine," she grumbled, the way she does when she's a embarrassed about something.  

"And how was the happy air? "

"It was a little...fantastic."

"We have to go back in two weeks, are you excited?"

"Will there be happy air again?"

"Yup."

"YES!"

A girl after my own heart, that one.

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NaBloPoMo is done!!!  And I did it!  Thank you so much for bearing with me last month.  Additional thank yous to the people who submitted questions for me to answer; it really helped me keep up the writing habit!  There are still a few more to go, so the fun ain't over yet, ha ha.  Also, if you have a question, please IM (module is to the right), email, or post a comment here or on Facebook, and I'll answer them this month!

Cardio Jam of the Week

Who can get me to speed up the pace, no matter how discouraged or tired I am?  It's Britney, bitch!

Not to say that I did anything remotely healthy this week other than the Turkey Trot.

Wagon, back on its.  On Monday.  Promise!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year, I'm thankful for family!  Especially Tim, who watched the kids so I could go see the Cure Reflections concert last night with my sister and best friend from college! 

Isn't he so handsome?  And he's a doctor to boot!  Sorry ladies and gents, he's taken!

Tim also watched the kids so my sister and I could walk the Long Beach Turkey Trot!  Who is crazy enough to walk/runs three miles only six hours after getting home from an epic concert?  The Kangsters do.  And we do it with a smile!

My sister is demonstrating the proper way to choke one's chicken.  Apparently, her method involves two hands!

To my fellow Amurcans, I wish you and yours a very happy Thanksgiving!  For the rest of you, happy Thursday!

Cardio Jam of the Week

I have a confession to make: I haven't done much cardio at all this past week, oy!  I keep feeling the itch to, and I even change for it, but I just can't seem to head out the door. 

Therefore, this song goes out to Weight Loss:

Cardio Jam of the Week

Fast and uplifting is always welcome during one of my walks, but sometimes the miles melt away when the music empathizes with the suffering part of working out too.

When the strings take over, it's nothing short of glorious.

Cardio Jam of the Week

It rained yesterday, so I did my 5k walk on a treadmill.  It was actually pretty fun thanks to my "Workout" playlist and "Good Morning America" playing on the flatscreens.  In the middle of my walk, I was riding a glorious high, thanks to this song right here:

I felt invincible, and I started walking on that treadmill like it was a catwalk.  Must have been odd for the other gym patrons, though.