EPISODE 22: HOW I LEARNED TO EMBRACE MY CHINESE CANADIAN CULTURE https://youtu.be/sjSsXmQlzAI “In my life, I’ve been called many things.” Growing up in the 90s in a predominantly Caucasian community, I got the usual questions and comments. Here’s a sample with answers I should have given back instead of silently Read more…
When you want your kid to grow up tough enough to face the world but you don’t want to become your parents…What do you do? “Suck it up.” “Stop crying.” “Toughen up.” “What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.” Asian Values Around Hard Work and Perseverance Growing up with Read more…
EPISODE 21: 3 THINGS ASIAN PARENTS WITH GROWN KIDS NEED TO STOP DOING https://youtu.be/17fPVsje91k You can’t seem to get through to your 20 something or 30 something-year-old “kid”. They don’t want to talk to you. At family dinner, they’re on their phones, not much eye contact or they’ll bark one-word Read more…
It’s being at work and feeling guilty about not being at home. Then it’s being at home and feeling guilty about not being at work. Last November, I experienced my first bout of working mom guilt. I shared some helpful tips for how I was managing these feelings. However, the Read more…
Let’s get comfortable talking about our vaginas, breaking through taboos and redefining how we think about women’s health Vagina. Kegels. Vulva. Clitoris. Labia. Female genitalia. How do you feel when you hear these words? Skirmish? Icky? Giggly? Growing up as an Asian Canadian Growing up as an Asian Canadian, talking about Read more…
An interview with Hoang Samuelson Writer. Mom. Expert coffee drinker. Early riser. She writes about money, culture, work and families www.lilyplusjames.com The other day, I was googling “Asian parents,” gathering ideas for blog ideas, when I stumbled upon a wonderfully written article in Medium, titled, “What it’s like to grow Read more…
EPISODE 17: 6 MOST ANNOYING PEOPLE WHO GIVE UNSOLICITED PARENTING ADVICE “Oh, you look so tired! Being a mom is tiring huh? You should stop working because money grows on trees!” “There was this news article that talked about kids and screen time and how it’s basically turned these kids Read more…
EPISODE 16: WHY I NAMED MY BLOG SUM ON SLEEVE “WTF is Sum on Sleeve?” Like does that mean you have something on your sleeve? Why is Sum spelled that way? Why am I here?Where am I?Who am I? Maybe not that question unless you’re having an existential crisis…but perhaps Read more…
EPISODE 14: WHY I DON’T CARE IF MY CHILD CLIMBS THE CORPORATE LADDER (EVEN THOUGH I’M AN ASIAN MOM) “Doctor or Lawyer. Anything else is not good enough” Ok so my parents have never said that to me and generally, they’ve been pretty good about respecting my career decisions. They’ve Read more…
EPISODE 6: HOW BEING RAISED BY IMMIGRANT PARENTS AFFECTS YOUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTTUmqUta-U& My daughter and I have this routine where we make muffins together every weekend while my husband, Brian does his open houses. Recently, we were having breakfast when I mention to Brian that I’m going to Read more…