The Silent "I"

Just A Nice Rockin' Blogger, That's Me

Thanks to Izzymom, I received a coveted Just Post Award for October for my post called "Why Poverty Matters." The Just Post Awards are given to blog posts that promote social justice.  Go on over to see all of the winners for this month, and read some incredibly moving, thoughtful, and action-oriented posts that will make you think about ways to help this world be a little better.

Some time ago, Erica of Little Mummy awarded me a Rockin'  Blogger award. I'm very flattered that someone as cool as Erica thinks I'm "rockin'" since I'm old enough to be her mom.  Thanks!  I've been meaning to pass this one along to some other bloggers that I think totally rock.  They are:

Jessica of Sassafras
Robin of Who's the Boss?
Beth of Techmamas
Sara of Deliberately Random Thoughts
Lia of Freitas Family Follies

Go on over and read their blogs and you'll see why.  They are all awesome, rockin' bloggers one and all.  Now it's their turn to pass on the love.

VDog from VDog and Little Man also gave me a Nice Matters Award recently.  This one goes to people who make the internet a nice place.  She gave it to me for commenting back on her blog.  Too much of what I see on the internet is mean-spirited and nasty, so it's great to celebrate people who make it a better place for all. I admit, I was not so nice to Nancy Nord yesterday, but she's pissing me off. 

At any rate, this one I send out to the following bloggers, who are much nicer than me:

Daisy of Compost Happens
Elizabeth of Table for Five
Jen of One Plus Two
Nicole of Not Just a Working Mom
Kim of Hormone Colored Days

Thank you for your nice comments (here and elsewhere) and support.  You can pass this along to others who make the internet a little brighter!

Come to think of it, all of these bloggers are nice and they rock, so they should take both awards and pass them along.

Perfect Post Award for August: HalfMama

This month, I awarded a Perfect Post Award to HalfMama of Kimchi Mamas and the Parenting Post blog site.  Her post entitled "Race -- That Four Letter Word" was beautifully written and thought-provoking. 

As a mother, I struggle with how to talk to my son about race.  I worry that he might be subject to teasing for being "quappa" or one quarter Asian.  It's not obvious that he is part-Asian, so I worry about the converse as well--that he might become the tormentor of some other child who is different, whether in race or ability or religion. 

HalfMama's post relates her experiences as an Asian- American woman growing up and how two incidents of "ching chong" taunts still haunt her.  She does not know how to respond, with anger or hostility, just letting it go, or an attempt to reach through the bigotry and teach a lesson.  I think she summed up beautifully what all of us struggle with in teaching our children about acceptance.

And the Award Goes to...Grace Davis

 

This month, I award a Perfect Post Award to the talented Grace Davis of State of Grace for her post, "Forgiveness Where It Belongs."  When the blogosphere was full of swoony-love notes to mom in honor of Mothers Day, Grace tackled a difficult topic:  How do you forgive a parent who subjected you to abuse?  Is it necessary for healing?

Grace says no.   The forgiveness should come to the one who deserves it: the child, grown-up victim still wounded by the licks of the past.  She gives a litany of "sins" that childhood abuse survivors may have committed and offers absolution for them all.  She writes:

Forgive yourself for feeling shame.
Forgive yourself for hating yourself.
Forgive yourself.  You're the one who deserves it.

By writing of the pain that she endured as a child, Grace speaks to what so many have suffered but few have the courage to give voice to and own.  She is a truly talented and courageous writer.

Grace is a remarkable person. I was inspired by her talk at BlogHer last year, and was fortunate enough to meet her through our mutual connections at the Silicon Valley Moms Blog.  I feel so blessed to know her. 

So, to Grace Davis, truth-teller, writer, mother, survivor and thriver, I give you this little token of my esteem for your writing and for your ability to break through the silence.  You continue to inspire me in your words and deeds.

Thanks to Suburban Turmoil  and Momma K for sponsoring these little awards and allowing bloggers to recognize the people who inspire them. 

Contests, Carnivals, and Celebrations

Thanks to the lovely folks at GNM Parents for designating my post "The Day We Lost Becky" as GNM Parents Hot Stuff. They run a weekly contest in which readers can submit nominations for postings that they found informative or useful, then people vote on the top story for that week.  I won a lovely badge for my sidebar.  On top of that, Mommybloggers featured one of my postings as part of their tribute to the Silicon Valley Moms Blog.  That, plus the jewelry I got for Mothers Day, made it a very good week to be me.

Speaking of Hot Stuff...Over at the Silicon Valley Moms Blog, the ladies are running a contest for a local mom to get a full make-over, including sessions with a personal trainer, a day at a spa, and a new outfit.  The prize is valued at over $1000.  I can't enter because I'm a contributor,  but I hope one of you will enter and win!

In other contest news, Scribbit is hosting a Write Away contest for postings about vacations.  I couldn't resist entering this one, especially because the prize is chocolate.  If you have a great travel story to share, go over to Scribbit for complete rules/details.  The deadline for submissions is midnight on May 15, so hurry and send in your link.

In print news, Kimchi Mamas gets a shout-out in this month's KoreAm Journal, a magazine about Korean-Americans.  The issue hits the newstands this week.

Check out the Carnival of Cities over at The San Diego Beat.  My posting called "My Kind of Town:  Palo Alto" is among some very fine entries highlighting various cities, from Beijing to Buenos Aires to Chattanooga.  For a virtual vacation, check out all of this week's entries.

It may have been a good week for me, but it was nothing compared to two of my favorite bloggers.  Congratulations to Mir of Woulda Coulda Shoulda on her marriage last Friday, and to Liz of Mom-101 on the birth of baby girl Sage Alexandra on May 11.  I send both of you my best wishes for all the love and happiness your hearts can hold.  Now that's something to celebrate!

More Shameless Self-Promotion

 

The lovely Elizabeth of Table 4 Five nominated my blog for "Best Travel Blog" so please click here and vote for yours truly!  Thanks, Elizabeth.  You need to sign up first, but it is free.  Be sure to click that box that says you are over 13, or it might not let you sign up.

Thanks also to Patti of Strollerderby for writing about my travel tips for traveling with infants on that uber-cool site.  If you're here via Strollerderby, WELCOME!  I've been getting a lot of new visitors based on Patti's write-up.  More traveling tips for parents will be coming soon.

Who, Me?

Many thanks to Beth of Techmamas and Silicon Valley Moms Blog for awarding me a March Perfect Post Award!  This award is given each month by other bloggers for writing that they enjoyed.  I've been inspired to give it a few times, but I've never received one.  Beth bestowed this on me for the post called "Kauai, The Garden Island."  I'm just thrilled, I tell you, thrilled.  Thanks, Beth!

The Perfect Post Awards were started by Petroville and Suburban Turmoil as a "power to the bloggers" award, by bloggers and for bloggers.  For a list of all of this month's winners, check out their sites.  Be sure to check out Beth's new site, Techmamas, only up a couple of weeks, but already tackling some big issues surrounding technology and parenting.

On top of that, I'm quoted in the San Jose Mercury News today in a column entitled:  "Moms Need a Break from Studies and Guilt" by columnist Sue Hutchison.  Thanks to Jill of Silicon Valley Moms Blog for sending her my way!  It's a funny article about the recent studies regarding daycare.

January ROFL Award: Mr. Nice Guy

For this month's Rolling on the Floor Laughing (ROFL) award, I awarded Mr. Nice Guy, another NYC daddy blogger who consistently cracks me up.  His post, "Official Nice Guy Endorsement: Parenting!" was probably the funniest thing I read all month.  He reviews Parenting magazine and shows it for what it is:  the mommy version of Seventeen.  I can only imagine what he might have done to skewer Cookie.

In this episode, Mr. Nice Guy finds himself suddenly receiving a subscription to Parenting, even though he never asked for one, and immediately uncovers the truth about Parenting:

...with its beautiful baby doll-models and 22-year-old coke-skinny covermoms. february's issue in particular caught old eagle-eye nice guy's attention for a couple reasons. first of all: have you ever looked at the cover, directly above the bold printed "PARENTING?" no? take a gander some time. there, hovering over the magazine's very name, you will read this line: "what matters to moms."

oh, no. they di'n't.

oh yes they did! PARENTING magazine puts it right above their own name: parenthood is for girls!

That's one smart dude. 

Congratulations, Mr. Nice Guy, and thanks for making me laugh out loud in an otherwise cold and dreary month.  You can find a complete list of winners over at Izzymom and Mommy Off the Record.

November ROFL Award: Metrodad

He's hip.  He's cool.  He's Korean.  He's my hero.  He's MetroDad, this month's nominee for the ROFL award.  In a month filled with ad nauseum "I had ham on rye for lunch" type postings throughout the blogosphere, MetroDad's posting, "Elmo:  The Proust Questionnaire" was clearly a stand-out.  Essentially, MetroDad conjures up an interview with Sesame Street's beloved Elmo, if Elmo were a jaded, street-wise gangsta or maybe Wilmer Valderrama answering the famous Proust Questionnaire.  I could not begin to do it justice by just describing it, so please just go read it.  Be sure to put on a Depends before you do, because it is just that funny.

The intro alone is priceless:

On Saturday night, I was at TenJune, NYC's latest hip celebrity hangout.  During the evening, I came across none other than Sesame Street's own Elmo, drunkenly stumbling out of a bathroom stall with Lindsay Lohan.  I tried to corner him for an interview but his handlers intervened.  However, he did agree to submit his answers to the infamous Proust Questionnaire, the personality test made famous by Vanity Fair magazine.  Although brief, Elmo's answers are revealing, demonstrating for the very first time not only his love for Latina women but also his long-simmering hatred of Kermit the Frog, the high costs of fame and his plans for the future.

The Rolling on the Floor Laughing (ROFL) awards are the brainchild of Izzymom and Mommy off the Record.  If you need a little holiday cheer, check out their sites for a complete list of winners.  Thanks to these two wonderful, funny women for giving us all reasons to laugh out loud!   And, thanks to MetroDad for consistently being one of the most entertaining, hilarious, and heartfelt bloggers around.

Enjoy!