Happy Ox Year!

If you were born in 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973 (me!), 1985, 1997 or 2009, you were born in the Year of the Ox. It is the second of 12 signs in the Chinese lunar calendar. 

Celebrate your sign's Lunar New Year at the Chinese Community Center's Year of the Ox festival next Saturday, Jan. 31, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 9800 Town Park in Houston. 

According to the Chinese calendar, people born in the Year of the Ox are often described as hardworking, tolerant and determined to succeed. Not sure if all those hold true but I do know that this "Ox Girl" is happy to take a break from all this hard work with a party! Join me at the Chinese Community Center next week. 

(A sort of interesting side note: I married a Theta Chi fraternity member – Greek letters are OX!)

Are Your Going to Finish Strong?

Just try to watch this video and not cry ... 

http://www.guzer.com/videos/are-you-going-to-finish-strong.php

Slumdog Millionaire

If you haven't seen Slumdog Millionaire yet, check it out. As a mom, it may difficult for you to watch at times but, in the end, it will haunt you ... in a good way.  

 www.slumdogmillionairemovie.co.uk

Inaugural Coffee

What an inspiring day! Barack Obama is wearing a red tie today even though blue is the color of Democrats. For those who dream of an all blue America, this mug's for you. We found it at a gift shop in Chicago over the weekend.

Add hot liquid to this mug and the red states all turn into blue ones! Happy Inauguration Day!

How to Motivate Your Student

There is no limit to what your kids can accomplish ... if only they were motivated. 

Let our friend and Fort Bend mom, Debbie Elder (executive director of the New American School), teach you how to motivate them. You don't even have to leave your house this cold evening. 

Join Debbie's Webinar at 7 p.m. tonight. Reserve your spot ahead of time by logging in to http://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/680988551. 

You kids will thank you for it .... someday!

Can't join the Webinar but want to find out more? E-mail Debbie at delder@newamericanschool.com or visit www.newamericanschool.com. 

Tips from You

I get lots of great e-mails from moms all over Sugar Land. Here is a tip from my friend, Angie. I was thinking about writing something about Super Suppers because I really liked using them for our Thanksgiving dinner this past year. For something like $110, we had the "dinner for six," and it was enough to feed 12, I swear, as we had leftovers for days. My sister was visiting from Chicago and really enjoyed it. And I loved not having to peel, slice, dice and clean all those pots and pans!

Here's Angie's take on Super Suppers, located at U.S. 59 and Hwy. 6. Visit www.supersuppers.com for more info and tell them SugarLandMOM.com sent you!

Just wanted to pass along a new place here in Sugar Land that I now adore. Because I'm a working mom, being in the kitchen on my feet at the end of a hard day at work is not my idea of fun, but it is necessary (more so than not!). So, to cut down on time and grocery shopping, I now go stock up on entrees at Super Suppers for my weekly meals for my family. The average cost is $12 per meal for a family of four and you can't beat that! ... Everything we've tasted so far is delicious ... especially our favorite, Dr. Pepper Flank Steak (yes, you read that correctly!) -- Angie