CityMama™

CityMama's BlogHer 09 Survival Guide [and Shoe Recommendations]

Whether you are going for the first time or just need a refresher course, here are my two cents (adding to Kristen's excellent tips) to make sure you have a fabulous time at BlogHer.

1. Inhale and say it with me: Bringbusinesscardsandyourlaptopnoyouwontbetheonly oneeveryonefeelsawkwardandshysodontworry nothosearentcliquestheyarejustgoodfriendssogotalk tothemtheyarereallyfriendly. Now exhale. We good with number 1?
2. I have been to 4 out of the last 5 BlogHers and I honestly can't recall a thing about what anyone wore. I do recall the people who had beautiful bright red or purple hair, though. You will see a range of attire but most people are casual. As in, jeans and t-shirts casual. The people who are dressed up are usually the marketers and that's only because their bosses are there. Dress comfortably and for yourself, not others. If you aren't 100% comfortable with your outfit, it will bum you out. (Trust me on this.) And if you want to be memorable, dye your hair pink.
3. Roommate protip: Laxatives are your friend. If you are sharing a room with someone and the bathrooms don't allow for much privacy, you will be constipated at BlogHer. Even if you don't wear perfume, bring it to leave the bathroom smelling fresh. It's what considerate roomies do. (Let's face it, hotel bathrooms aren't known for their ventilation.) You will probably won't have a proper constitutional until you get back home so just keep on eating your fiber and drink lots of water. Again, you'll be in good company—everyone will be kinda grouchy and clenchy by Sunday.
4. Leave the gym clothes at home. Trust me, even if you have the best of intentions, you won't be working out.

Meal planning (and blogging) on hiatus until after we move

Yes, it's true, we are moving again.  But you've come to expect that from us, right?

This time the move is just a few short blocks away and all for a very good reason.  We are downsizing to save money because, among other things (like maybe, possibly buying another house someday) I am starting a company. With two incredible partners. And we're self-funding it. We're so excited we can't even stand it and will be sharing more very soon.

Start a company? In this economy? Those are two questions you might be asking yourself. The answer is, "Yes!"  As freelancers, the three of us have been so amazingly busy, that in order to take what we do to the next level, it made sense to join forces. We want to be sensible about how we go about this, and we are all making sacrifices. So move we must so that I can focus on making our little company a success.

The coming week brings many changes: A new abode. Our first company off-site. The finalization of our LLC and our logo. As a result, I am working harder than I ever have and am not cooking much.  So no real meals until after we move.  I'm just thankful that my mom is here and we can duck over to her house for some home-cooked goodness.

P.S. Need an indoor grill or a panini press or a new toaster or a blender for whipping up some pomegranate margaritas? Check out my Breville giveaway!

It's kind of scary how much she really gets it

Conversation with Bunny.

Bunny: Mamma, are you the boss of all the bloggers?
Me: No, but I am the boss of my own blogs.
Bunny: So you can make whatever blogs you want?
Me: Yup.
Bunny: I have an idea. I think you should make a blog called "Totoro Moms." Then all the moms who love Totoro like you will have a place to go and talk about how much they like Totoro.

And then I bought a domain name. I'll probably never do anything with it, but it's for her.

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers, even the ones not in urgent care waiting to see if their toe is broken.

The Best Papa in the World gets to spend Father's Day getting his big toe x-rayed. That's what happens when you have too much fun after work playing soccer on a turf field with other almost-40-year-olds.

Bunny and Wallie have been whining, fighting, crying hot messes all morning as the result of not getting enough sleep at Tata's house last night, so I envy J. his quiet, peaceful waiting room time. (I hope the toe isn't broken because we move in a week!)

Happy Father's Day, Pops!  We love you!

The right to choose...what your kids watch on TV

Last night I attended a presentation put together by PBS and the SV Moms giving parent bloggers a behind the scenes peek at what it takes to create the amazing Super WHY! show (one of Bunny and Wallie's favorites). We met the creator and executive producer, Dr. Angela Santomero, and she essentially stripped the show bare giving us the "based-in-educational-research" reasons why the show was created, why and how the characters were chosen, and explaining the goals of the show and presenting evidence that it really does help children learn to read. (If you've ever seen the show, you know it does.)

We are a fairly PBS-loyal family and I think it's because I am of the (40 whatever) generation that grew up on Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, Sesame Street, Electric Company, Zoom, and 3-2-1 Contact.  (Not having cable helps, too, because PBS is our only "kid channel.") There was no Nick or Disney channel in the 70's, and no cable where I lived, either. The reason why I love PBS is because I trust that if my kids want to watch a show, it's going to be kinder, gentler, and educational-er. Even if I've never watched the show before, I'd feel comfortable letting my kids watch any of their shows without me being in the room.

One of the things I have been thinking about since last night is PBS' attempt to keep the 6+ age group engaged in their programming. They recognize that they are experts on the preschool set and have programming (via their PBS Go brand) that speaks to younger elementary school kids, but increasingly it is hard to compete with other programming (Nick and Disney tween programming) as well as outside influences like what kids are exposed to at school.  One of the they questions they posed to us (paraphrasing) was, "How do you keep your 6-to-8-year-old kids engaged in age-appropriate programs in light of all the media influences they are exposed to."

Fava bean crostini with shaved pecorino romano

Favas in the Cuisinart. I swear, this is my favorite color of green.

We're smack in the middle of fava bean season here in Northern California. My local market and farmer's markets are bursting with them and we've been scooping them up since they won't be around for long.

Never cooked favas before? Favas do require a little work but the reward is so worth it. You have to shell the beans and then remove the skin that covers each individual bean. Look for pods with small-to-medium-sized beans. They are sweeter, and when the beans are small you don't necessarily need to remove the skin that covers the bean. The larger the beans are, the tougher the skin on the bean. If you do end up with larger beans, no worries. Just plop the shelled but unskinned beans into boiling salted water for a minute or two, then drain them and shock them in an ice bath. The skins will soften and shrivel and you can pop them right off.

I bought 3-4 pounds of fava beans in their pods to yield about a cup of pureed favas for my crostini. They go so well with garlic and your best, fruitiest olive oil, and if you have a food processor (love my Cuisinart) you can make these crostini in just minutes.

I'm the mother of a second grader today

Today Bunny officially became a second grader, and I officially became verklempt. How did my baby turn into such a big girl so fast?

My baby, who it seemed just yesterday was babbling and nursing and crawling, now writes us letter upon letter, keeps a diary, loves Broadway musicals and the Black-eyed Peas, has thoughtful conversations with me about life and death, and recently confessed to having a crush on the cute, little Korean boy in her class. (I know that warms her Tata's heart.)

Dearest Bunny, my first baby, my beautiful girl, I am so proud of all you have accomplished this year. You have a specialness that eminates from you that I have never been able to describe with words. To know you is to know you are truly something else. You are such an amazing person, and oh I love you!

Now let's have a great summer!

Good enough to eat: My favorite kids' books that contain recipes

These book are not only long-time favorites of Bunny and Wallie and magical reads in themselves, but they also include delicious recipes that you can make with your kids. These books inspire conversation and cooking and that's just the way we like it around here.

Two Old Potatoes and Me by John Coy—This book is heartbreakingly beautiful. Themes of divorce and family and ecology are woven together seemlessly to create a magical story. "While at her father's house, a girl discovers two old potatoes that have begun to sprout in the rear of the cupboard. She throws them away, but he suggests that instead they try to grow new ones from them. The story details how they prepare the soil, weed, water, and protect the plants from potato beetles. In September, their patience and hard work are rewarded with a brimming bucket of new potatoes." (Excerpted from Amazon editorial review) Includes a recipe for mashed potatoes embellished with nutmeg. Yum!

Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco—Bunny will tell you that Patricia Polacco is one of her favorite authors. (I will admit that I had a little to do with that since she is one of MY favorite authors as well.) If you also have an emotionally intelligent (high EQ) kid, chances are she or he will enjoy Polacco's themes. Her books have inspired some deep conversations and always leave us thinking about the stories long after we finish reading them. "In Thunder Cake, a grandmother helps her granddaughter overcome her fear of thunder by baking a special cake while a storm threatens." (Excerpted from Amazon editorial review) Includes a fascinating recipe for cake which includes a tomato.

Three Cheers for Catherine the Great by Cary Best and Giselle Potter—Another beautiful story about belonging and giving. "It's Sara's Russian grandma's birthday, and she has made a proclamation: "I have music in my Russian bones, and laughing in my heart. I have the day and the night, and I have all of you. That's why for me the best presents will be no presents." No presents? Sara is baffled. Her amazing grandma gives so much to everyone. How can they have a birthday party for her without gifts? Sara realizes that any "no present" for Grandma has to be pretty special. And the "no present" she finally gives is the best kind of all." (Excerpted from Amazon editorial review) Includes a recipe for borscht that is superb.

And of course, Dumpling Soup by Jama Kim Rattigan—This story could have been written in my Korean-American family's Hawaiian kitchen. "A large, loving Hawaiian family gathers to celebrate the new year with Marisa making mandoo, or dumplings, a traditional holiday feast. Told from the seven-year-old child's breathless point of view, the event is also a tribute to diversity. The Yang family, like much of the population of Hawaii, includes members of Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Hawaiian, and haole (white) descent. And everyone loves mandoo, especially the funny-looking ones that Marisa makes." (Excerpted from Amazon editorial review) Includes a recipe for mandoo aka Korean dumplings.

Do you have any more to add? Please share them below. (Here's another list.) We are always on the lookout for books we can read then cook from

Hammer Pants Dance: A&E is latest "big corporation" to take flash mobs mainstream

Have you seen this?

Chances are you have or will soon. It's a video of flash mob descending on a retail store in L.A.  Someone cues "U Can't Touch This," and suddenly, Hammer-panted dancers appear out of nowhere to perform a seemingly spontaneous routine amidst people buying t-shirts and jeans.

The difference between this flash mob dance and others, is that this appearance was carefully crafted by A&E to promote a new TV reality show about MC Hammer called Hammertime! (T-Mobile did a similar thing with their "Life's for Sharing" campaign, creating a huge dance party in Liverpool station, and that effort was clearly labeled a commercial.)

A&E is also being completely transparent about the whole thing on their site and on YouTube. A link to the show is in the video descriptor. However another "random" flash mob in gold pants descended on Santa Monica Blvd a month earlier to do a "spontaneous" dance to the same song in the same gold pants and there is no mention of an A&E show in that descriptor. It does make one wonder, doesn't it?

As someone who creates social media programs for a living, I am still processing this campaign. On the one hand, having a flash mob dancing to MC Hammer seems like a no-brainer marketing program to promote a new Hammer-inspired TV show.  On the other hand, the subversive in me feels like it takes away from the spontaneity and sense of happiness and whimsy that are usually associated with flash mobs. (Did you see the way that customer ducked in opening segment, like she thought the store was being robbed?) And flash mobs aren't usually promoting anything except fun.

At the end of the day, though, here I am talking about it. Twitter is talking about it. Long-time Twitter power-user Hammer himself even chimed in with his Tweet this morning. He wrote:

Hammer pants! Viral marketing done well http://bit.ly/MgZHn (via @PerezHilton)

People are talking. And isn't that the point? I consider this a viral marketing success, but (if I am being nit-picky and I often am) at the cost of making what was once a free-spirited and exuberant phenomenon a little more, well, sell-out-ish. I never thought I'd one to defend the original intent and integrity of the flash mob phenomena, but if Britney decides to hire me to promote her next reality TV show, maybe I'll change my mind.

(Cuz I know you know all the dance moves to "Hit Me Baby One More Time.")

Meal Planning Monday for 6/8/09

Yesterday I realized that I have almost become one of those parents that is too busy to cook dinner. Because I work from home, I've always been able to manage dinners (made mostly from scratch) but last night when I realized—as I was about to start grilling burgers and sausages—that the market had forgotten to load a bag full of hamburger and hot dog buns and tomatoes into my cart, I had a mini-meltdown. J. went to retrieve the items, but if he hadn't been here, we would have all just eaten cereal for dinner. I am realizing that even with my weekly meal planning, I need to also have a back-up plan that doesn't involve breakfast foods.

I'm also working harder than ever these days so by the end of the day, I am really and truly tired. Sometimes, yes, too tired to cook. Cooking is my relaxation time. Something I look forward to doing, so to have these feelings is a little strange for me. It's taken me until now to realize why so many parents rely on convenience foods as a way to get a quick and easy meal on the table. I'm not against the occasional box or can or frozen something (and I couldn't survive without canned beans or frozen potstickers), but for the first time, I can see how families can get into a convenience food trap. Last night I wished I could have just opened a can of something instead of delaying dinner for my hungry girls by almost an hour.

I think the way I cook is fairly fast and healthy because even though I love to cook, I don't usually have time to spend hours and hours in the kitchen. The past few weeks have opened my eyes to new ways of making meals more efficient while still allowing me the creativity and "gourmet flourishes" that I love. Last week went swimmingly because I cooked double-batches of many meals, so my freezer is stocked with corned beef stew, pot roast with root veggies, and chili. We'll have those in the month coming up. In the mean time, here is what I have going on this week:

• Monday—Leftover cheeseburgers, grilled chicken-apple sausage, baked beans (I like 'em, no one else does)
• Tuesday—Lemon-garlic roasted organic dry-brined chicken, rice, garlicky collard greens (the girls love greens)
• Wednesday—Chinese chicken salad (using previous night's chicken)
• Thursday—Foodmomiac's meatloaf, smashed garlic potatoes, salad
• Friday Family night—dinner out together
• Saturday—not sure yet, we play it by ear
• Sunday—Grilling night depending on farmer's market finds

How do you handle being too busy to cook?  What do you have on deck this week?