The Napkin Hoarder

Some bits of phyllisophy by a mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend, and an avid napkin hoarder. Tweet me @phyllismyung! Like me at https://www.facebook.com/napkinhoarder!

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Books & Media for Beginning Conversations on Race & Diversity

Books & Media for Beginning Conversations on Race & Diversity

I recently sat down with some friends for two different conversations on race & diversity – especially during this COVID-19 pandemic. In both of our conversations, we talked about different books, shows and resources out there to not only educate ourselves, but to also spark conversation. I love a good book club, but what I love even more are podcasts, videos, television shows and movies. They…

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The Final Goodbye

My dad, Yung Shik Kim, passed away peacefully on June 8, 2019. We held a memorial service on June 18, 2019 in Seattle, WA. His ashes were lovingly and respectfully delivered to the sea on June 19, 2019. My brother also gave a beautiful and poignant eulogy that talked about a different side of my dad that we, as his children, got to experience. I share these words to memorialize them for myself…

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Representation Matters

This post is sponsored by UPtv, but all opinions are my own.

Just a few days ago, I was talking to my daughter and she said to me, “Maybe I’ll be an actor.” Wow. When I was a kid, I never would’ve thought it was possible for someone who looked like me to be an actor – stage or screen. See the tweet from Constance Wu? Yes to all of that! And here’s some more history that’s happening – Fresh Off…

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Jump Start Your January Today

Jump Start Your January Today

My husband was always big on New Year’s resolutions, so when we got married, the first week of January was devoted to coming up with and sharing our resolutions. By mid-March, most, if not all, our resolutions would have faded. And every year, we would go through this exercise with little success. One year, my husband decided to start on his resolutions in December and when January came, he told…

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Five Ways to Keep Up with Your Goals

Five Ways to Keep Up with Your Goals

How is it already March? How did I survive Daylight Savings time? Did the groundhog see their shadow?

Are these questions you are asking yourself, too? It seems like it was just the other day that we were celebrating the New Year and the Lunar New Year. I had two different start points that could’ve marked the year that I would finally accomplish all my resolutions and goals that I had set out…

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Stay Emotionally & Mentally Healthy During the Holidays

Alisa Anton

I’ll admit it here: I hate November and December. Actually, what I hate about these two months is the general sense of frenzy and the plentiful opportunities of forced interactions with family, friends or acquaintances that we don’t generally spend time with. Don’t get me wrong—there are many things that I do enjoy about November and December: I love the decorations, the decadent food…

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Circle Round for Stories Around the World

Circle Round for Stories Around the World

illustration credit: WBUR’s Circle Round

When I was in middle school, I would hustle up to my room by 10 pm, turn on my radio and hide under the covers to get ready to listen to Frank Perettiread chapters of his books. His books had a spiritual element and often talked about the battle that was happening in the unseen realm. As a child raised with Christianity plus a little Buddhism and…

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Seasons

Photo by Sérgio Rola on Unsplash

Growing up on the West coast, I didn’t really get to experience the distinct changes in the season as I do now living in the East coast. There are definitely markers to indicate summer changing to fall and it’s not just on a calendar. The air gets cooler, the days get shorter, the leaves change color and the apples are ready for picking.  Sometimes the change is…

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For the Love of Cheese

For the Love of Cheese

I have a love of cheese. I don’t even know where it comes from because I’m actually lactose intolerant, but I LOVE cheese. I have a special guest post from Eileen, a new friend I made because of our mutual love of cheese. She recently went to a Parmigiano Reggiano cooking class at Eataly with the Consorzio. This was a sponsored event, but all opinions here are Eileen’s.

By Eileen Sully

Photo…

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Make Your Own Homemade Greek Yogurt Caesar Dressing

Make Your Own Homemade Greek Yogurt Caesar Dressing

This post was sponsored by Stonyfield in partnership with Taylor Farms Organic. All opinions are my own and I thank my sponsors for sending me their delicious products!

Summertime means salad time. Salad is our light, no-cook and go-to meal when the temperature is rising. Summer is when my wonderful neighbor brings over bouquets of his homegrown lettuce varieties. I’m lucky to have a neighbor…

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Starting the Race Conversation at Church

Starting the Race Conversation at Church

Jeremy Yap

This was the statement I gave to my church in April to ask for church members and attendees to join us in conversation and prayer. Another friend also gave her statement on the same occasion.

Several months ago, I had a conversation with two fellow members of my church. It prompted my confession that church felt oppressive. It could be One of my most distinct memories is from middle…

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“Not Viable”: How to Overcome Secondary Infertility Issues with Donor Eggs

“Not Viable”: How to Overcome Secondary Infertility Issues with Donor Eggs

I want to introduce you to Heidi Hayes of Donor Egg Bank. I recently got acquainted with Heidi and we got to talk a little about secondary infertility. It’s something that has come up a lot with family and friends who are having difficulty getting pregnant the second time around. It’s not easy and there are so many emotions that come with trying to have a baby. I appreciate Heidi for writing this…

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Three Ways to #TheWholeYou

Three Ways to #TheWholeYou

*Just to let you know… There’s a discount code for you! Also, this post is sponsored by two of my favorite companies – prAna and Stonyfield. All opinions are my own.*

My younger dancing days.

One of the positives to aging and becoming officially “over the hill” is the fact that I have been able to embrace the whole me much more each year. As a young twenty-something, I constantly saw the flaws in…

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Embracing Shabbat as a Christian

Embracing Shabbat as a Christian

Several months ago, my church’s pastor proposed a church-wide commitment to observing the Sabbath. To get a better grasp at the practice of keeping the Sabbath, my pastor attended a Shabbat service at the synagogue that my church meets in. He shared about his experience and why he wanted us, as a congregation, to participate in this. But why was celebrating Shabbat important to a Christian?

My…

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Body Image: Working Toward Loving My Body and Myself

Body Image: Working Toward Loving My Body and Myself

Two weeks ago, I sat in my grandmother’s kitchen as she placed piles of galbi (Korean beef ribs), ddukbokki (spicy rice cakes), three different kinds of kimchi, a various assortment of side dishes and a heaping bowl of white rice. As I put back some of the rice, she commented on how it seemed that I’ve gained some weight. Of course, she says it in her most grandmotherly and loving way, but I…

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Shopping for Good, Shopping for Change

Shopping for Good, Shopping for Change

This post was created in partnership with Stonyfield. As always, all opinions and thoughts are my own.

Yesterday, I was standing in the pasta aisle of the grocery store looking for the spirals that I like to use for my mac & cheese recipe. With so many brands to choose from, how do you decide what to buy? I usually opt for what’s on sale, but these days, I’ve also been carefully considering the…

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Breakfast To Go

***This post was sponsored by Stonyfield. As always, all opinions expressed here are my own.***

I was so delighted to receive my Stonyfield Whole Milk Smoothiethe other week because it rescued my breakfast rut. Breakfast is one of the hardest meals for me to figure out. Part of it is because I’m not fond of breakfast foods and the other part of it is because I’m always rushing out the door to get…

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