Life Skills and Sports Talk Radio

One of the most peaceful moments I have to myself each day is right after I get back into the car after dropping my kids off at school and I turn on my radio to sports talk radio. There - my secret is out! Yes, not only do I listen to sports talk radio in the morning, but I really and truly enjoy it! The personalities that are on in the morning are funny, smart, and very entertaining. This morning, I found myself particularly engrossed in one of the topics. Colin Cowherd is on ESPN radio in the morning and I always tune in when I am in the car during his show. Today, he happened to be making the case for the importance of social skills and social adaptability. He went on to give examples of people who are brilliantly book smart, geniuses even, but have tragic stories because of their inability to interact and engage with the rest of the world.

Now, while I may not agree 100% with his examples and reasoning, much of what he said rang true to me and seemed especially timely in my world. Why? Well, report cards were just sent out at our school. Now, most of you might think that a perfectionist such as myself, no matter how much she is trying to change, expects to see only the highest marks across the board. Right? Well, sort of. The two areas where I expect (and to a certain extent, demand) to see high marks are "Academic Work Habits" and "Social Development." These categories encompass the life long skills our children will need to master in order to succeed and thrive in any endeavor, across any industry: "Accepts responsibility," "Works cooperatively with others," "Respects adults and peers," and "Exhibits best effort." It's not that I don't consider reading, spelling, math, etc. to be important. Quite the opposite, but the rules of punctuation or carrying the ones in addition are much easier to work on, practice, and even memorize, whereas I want my son to have an innate drive to always do his best, take responsibility for his actions, and treat others with kindness. I know, heavy stuff for a first grader, but as I mentioned in my previous post, our young ones are capable of so much more than we give them credit for!

I guess what I am trying to say in a wordy roundabout way (sorry, but it is midnight after all), is that I agree with Colin Cowherd and the importance of social skills and other intangibles that cannot be measured by a standardized test. Book smarts are not the only kind of smart. And the A+ in me will always demand perfection in Social Development and Work Habits. See...maybe you should give sports talk radio a chance!

Mommy's Mistake and a Parade

As a mom, I am always reminding my kids that no one is perfect and that everyone makes mistakes. Well, one of mine as a mom is when I underestimate my kids and how much they are able to handle at their young age. This weekend was a perfect example. Yesterday was the Golden Dragon Parade in Chinatown to celebrate Chinese New Year. My daughter's martial arts class participates every year and it seemed like such a fabulous idea when we signed up our Little Dragons (the four and five-year-old class). Besides, who doesn't love a parade? However, I began to get a little hesitant as the details of the parade emerged. We were supposed to be there 90 minutes prior to the start of the parade to "line-up." Good luck keeping six or eight little ones in a confined space for that long, right? Then, our little ones would be "parading" (is that official parade speak?) for another hour. And to top it all off, the forecast called for chance of showers. I worried that my little one might be done for the day before the parade even started. Or, that she would be "sooooo tired" halfway through the parade.

The morning of the parade did not start off too promising when we found out that the parade actually started an hour earlier than we had been told. Luckily, we had enough time (thanks to one of our fellow moms) to scramble and catch an earlier train. And, looking back, the chaotic morning was actually a blessing in disguise because it meant less waiting and by the time we got to Chinatown, most of the parade prep was done so there was so much for the kids to see!

The dragon at the front of the parade

The Little Dragons Marching

Doing their star blocks

When all was said and done, the kids did such a fabulous job! They marched and demonstrated their star blocks like true parade professionals! Myself and the other moms that marched along side the kids were exhausted by the end so I can only imagine how tired the kids were. But there was no whining or complaining from the little dragons the entire day...despite the fact that from beginning to end, it was a five-hour endeavor. I admit that I was wrong for being anxious or nervous about my daughter. She was a real trooper and was still all smiles when we got home. This was just another example of me underestimating my kids and how much they can rise to an occasion. And, as I always tell my kids, "the important thing is to learn from our mistakes."

Olympics Junkie!

I am not ashamed to admit that I am an Olympics Junkie! My memories of watching the Olympics stretch all the way back to the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid - the Al Michaels "Do You Believe in Miracles?" - and the Summer Olympics in Moscow boycotted by the United States. To me, the Olympics are a perfect blend of my love of sports and my love for sappy, feel-good stories. Who can forget the Olympic swimmer from Equatorial Guinea in the 2000 Olympics who captured the hearts of everyone around the world?

Well, the Olympics are back and I am loving it! My poor husband, bored to tears, stuck it out and at least sat with me on the couch while I watched the opening ceremonies. Over the holiday weekend, we managed to fit in some Moguls Skiing, Men's Skiing, and Luge. Tonight, the kids and I watched the Snowboard Cross and Pairs Figure Skating Gold Medal finals from yesterday (courtesy of our DVR). Perhaps, selfishly, I am trying to groom my viewing partners for many Olympics to come.

Happy Valentine's Day, Happy Chinese New Year!

So much celebrating for one day! We celebrated Valentine's Day AND welcomed in the year of the tiger in our house today and capped off the day with a Chinese New Year feast (well, feast compared to my usual meals) of homemade won ton noodle soup, Asian green beans, and a wonderful salmon dish from the Barefoot Contessa. Yum! Even better? We were able to celebrate and share the meal with good friends. Hope it was a wonderful day for you too!

Grocery List

Part of my A+ perfection is my obsession to "perfect" things that already exist. Take lists for example. I *LOVE* making lists. I have pads of paper everywhere around the house, in the car, and in my purse so I can create lists any time and any where. However, being the perfectionist, I am not quite satisfied to merely make a list, I must perfect the list. My grocery shopping list is one such example. I have been obsessing over creating the perfect list or maybe it's the perfect system for my trips to the grocery store. Until recently, it was a lot (and then some more) of fine tuning with no finished product. Until now...

Imagine my excitement when I discovered a kindred spirit, here on Design*Sponge! She created a personalized grocery list for herself! It looked so wonderful that I used her design and personalized it for myself. I have saved mine as a pdf file that you can download. CLICK HERE

Stay tuned for more list "perfecting!" Happy shopping!

Brightening My Day

Despite the rainy and dreary weather, these two things managed to seriously brighten my day today. The first is my flower clip from Anthropologie. Here it is in coral, mine is purple. You can wear it clipped to your sweater (which is what I did today), jacket or dress or in your hair.


The is the second thing I added is Chanel's Particuliere nail polish (pictured here and no, my nails don't actually look this good.) I'm in love with this color and the shade looks great on everyone. Try one or both...guaranteed to brighten your day too!

Friends Coming to Town!

One of my dear friends from San Francisco is coming in for a visit this evening. She's bringing her daughter with her and we are all going to see Mary Poppins on Saturday. They leave Saturday evening, but it will be a wonderful visit no matter the length! I met Karen at Mommy & Me class when our babies were about six weeks old. Technically I guess that makes Karen's daughter my son's first friend. They spent a lot of time together when we lived in San Francisco. Unfortunately they were both too young to really remember. But that doesn't mean that I still don't show him pictures of the two of them when they were babies and pictures of his friend now. He especially likes the pictures of her dressed up as Mary Poppins for Halloween. I'll have to be sure to ask Karen if she can recognize my progression towards "more relaxed mommy." After all, who better to gauge my progress than someone who witnessed me as a full-fledged, Type-A, first time mom? Maybe I wasn't as bad as I think. I mean, not only is she still a dear friend, she's coming to visit!

Finding my Zen Place

After this afternoon, I have come to the realization that I need to be able to find my zen place when rushing about in my car. First of all, can I ask a very simple question? What is the deal with Wednesdays? What makes that day so wildly attractive that every activity seemingly is scheduled for Wednesday? Anyways, I think I have mentioned previously that my son has a class on Wednesdays from 4:00 pm. - 5:15 p.m. Recently, my daughter asked if she could take the same soccer class that my son took when he was her age. My daughter, who besides her martial arts class has been lukewarm towards playing sports. If my daughter was asking to be outside exercising and learning how to be part of a team, I was definitely not going to say no. The only problem was that the class is on Wednesdays...from 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

So...this afternoon I climbed into my car and...picked up my son from school at 3:00 p.m. Drove to the park and soccer class at 3:30 p.m. Fairly relaxed behind the wheel during the drive. 30 minutes is more than enough time to make it to the park. At 3:45...climb back into car (with my son) and drive to his class. Not sure which way is the quickest and of course, picked the slowest route. Getting slightly more tense behind the wheel. Make it to class by 4:00 p.m. Quick good-bye and then climb back into car to head back to soccer class. Try a different route back to park. Road construction all along route...grip on steering wheel definitely tightening. Finally make it back to the park and soccer class at 4:15 p.m. Luckily class is running a few minutes long so I get to watch 15 - 20 minutes of class. After class, climb back into car (with my daughter this time) and drive back to pick up my son. By the time I pull into the parking lot, I am exhausted. It is at this moment when I realize that there is a lesson to be learned from my near coronary on the roads today. Being Type-A makes me a chronic overachiever - thus the insane scheduling. That part is obvious. But what I struggle with is reminding myself that it's okay to be a chronic overachiever as long as I am aware and mindful of the things that are out of my control (that would be traffic in this case). So, rather than become agitated driving to and fro, maybe I should learn some deep-breathing relaxation techniques for next week?

Easy Dinner - Asian Flank Steak

I don't know about you, but I was shocked to learn that the school year is already half over! Where did the time go? Even just the thought of time flying by so quickly makes this Type-A mom feel slightly frantic! In order to help calm my nerves, I'm sharing another one of my favorite easy, quick, and delicious weeknight dinner recipes: Asian Flank Steak.

This Asian Flank Steak recipe can be made either on the grill (notice the pattern in my recipes?) or in the oven. I've made it both way and both are easy and equally yummy. The one caveat is that you need to remember to put it in the refrigerator to marinate overnight, or else leaving it to stand at room temp. for one hour defeats the quick part I suppose.

ASIAN FLANK STEAK

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 1/4-pound flank steak, fat trimmed

1. Whisk first 5 ingredients to blend in 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Add steak and turn to coat. Let stand 1 hour at room temperature or cover and refridgerate overnight, turning occasionally.
2. Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat) or preheat broiler. Drain marinade into small saucepan and bring to boil. Grill or broil steak about 5 minutes per side for rare. Transfer steak to platter; let stand 10 minutes. Thinly slice steak across grain. Pass marinade as sauce.

I have mine marinating in my fridge right now to enjoy when we get home from our two classes tomorrow night!

**recipe courtesy of Bon Appetit, July 1994