This post is to let you know about a really cool event happening for parents of daughters.  Check it out:

Tech Savvy: Preparing Girls for the Future with STEM

“If we’re going to out-innovate and out-educate the rest of the world, we’ve got to open doors for everyone. We need all hands on deck, and that means clearing hurdles for women and girls as they navigate careers in (STEM) science, technology, engineering, and math.”

- First Lady Michelle Obama

Today’s girls at risk of losing out on tomorrow’s opportunities. Find out why there’s still a gender gap in STEM — Science, Technology, Engineering and Math — and how you can give your kids the skills they need to succeed. For anyone interested in youth development.

Thursday, May 10, 2012 

6:45-8:30pm

Marlborough School

250 South Rossmore Ave, Los Angeles

Panelists:

Jane Margolis, UCLA Graduate School of Education, Author

Nadine Afari, USC Viterbi School of Engineering, Director of USC JEP Young
Scientist Program

Amy Kim, Director of STEM programs, Girl Scouts/LA

Simone Wu, Google Engineer

Moderator: 

Dr. Barbara Natterson Horowitz, UCLA Professor Division of Cardiology, Author

Opening Remarks:

Yalda T. Uhls, Los Angeles Director, Common Sense Media

Please help us adhere to City requirements and commitments with our neighbors by parking in our Third Street parking lot. Please do not park on the street.

Attendance gets you automatic entry into raffle for a chance to win 10 tickets to see one of two IMAX® films at the IMAX, California Science Center, “Born to be Wild” or “To The Arctic” in 2012, winner will be announced at the end of the program.

Suggested donation of $5 online here or at the door

I won’t do a review because so many have been done before.

I will say, that Mariner Software is celebrating their 22nd anniversary and they’re offering 50% off their non-upgrade, desktop software. Try their free trial and if you like it, go for StoryMill. I love it for fiction (I like Scrivener for non-fiction).

It has the ability to break down a manuscript into scenes and has the flexibility of tagging them switching them around.  It’s regularly $49.95 and on sale it’s $24.97 until 5/1/12.  Just use Mariner22 at checkout.

Happy writing!

When tax day comes April 17, you can get a little relief from the stress of filing your return by taking advantage of freebies and special deals that companies will be offering on or around that day.

Here’s a rundown of who is offering what. Check back because we’ll be updating this list as more companies announce their tax-day deals.

Arby’s will have a coupon for free value curly fries on April 17. Visit the Arby’s Facebook page to get a coupon and enter its sweepstakes to win $5,000 in tax relief.

Read entire article.

It’s a very quick read, chock full of tips, tricks, and best of all beauty product recommendations that don’t cost an arm and a leg. Definitely a resource you want to keep on hand as a reference.

Skin Rules reads like you’re chatting with your bestie who also happens to be a dermatologist. She touches on topics such as cleansers, what to look out for in sunscreens, acne, and for women of a certain age (me!) anti-aging creams and serums.

Some of the rules are no-brainers, such as the one about beauty sleep not being a myth (dark circles are never a good accessory) but there was plenty of information, especially the over-the-counter recs that had me taking notes.

I’m not a sun worshipper, so the rules about sunscreen and protection go on for a bit too long. It’s such an interesting read from her perspective, I wish she would have included even more information. Each rule is about a page to a page and a half. My only gripe is that there is no table of contents or index and you’re reduced to flipping through the pages to find what you’re looking for.

Want to win a copy of Skin Rules and a cool gift bag filled with beauty products mentioned in the book?  Leave a comment below about your best beauty trick and one lucky winner will be chosen randomly.  Enter by March 13th and the winner will be notified on 3/14/12.

Here’s a video of the winner being selected.

Or if you don’t feel like watching – the winner is L. Malaika Cooper.
 

From Academics to Sports, Beach to Science, Resident (sleep-away) to Day Camp, we provide an opportunity to visit with over 50 camps at each event. Speak with Camp Directors and get the scoop on the best summer camp experience for your kids!

I went last year and it’s a great place to start investigating summer camp options and most of the camps are offering early bird discounts as an incentive.

3/10 - Norris Pavilion, 27570 Crossfield Ave., Palos Verdes

3/11 - John Adams Intermediate School, 2425 16th St., Santa Monica 
(Between Ocean Park Blvd. & Pearl St.)

 Topdentists.com is sponsoring a contest – Who Makes You Smile? All you have to do is to uploada captivating, exciting photo of yourself with someone who makes you smile, and write a brief description about the picture in 140 characters or less (think Tweet caption).  Hit the social media campaign trail and use Twitter, Facebook, blogging, email and word of mouth to enlist all of your friends, family, friends of friends, family friends – everyone! – to vote for your submission by February 24.

The five submissions with the most votes will be eligible for the grand prize. The top three entries within 100 miles of Troy, MI; Philadelphia, PA; Aventura, FL; Austin, TX; and Beverly Hills, CA, will be judged for the five regional prizes.  Go here for complete details.

Good luck and keep smiling!

Check out last year’s winner doodle, to the left, by 7-year-old Matteo Lopez.

Check out the judges – Katy Perry (I don’t get) and Mo Willems (totally get). This is year’s theme is  ”If I could travel in time, I’d visit…”  Deadline is March 23, go here for the details and rules.

Yoshitomo Nara, Your Dog, 2002

Giant white dogs and huge red robots, oh my! No, it’s not Toy Story 4, it’s an exhibit at Royal T in Culver City. Curated by Amber Noland, the whimsical exhibit showcases more than 50 works in a variety of mediums.

Tag You’re It makes art accessible to the little ones by keeping many of the exhibits at their eye level and is a fun and interactive way to introduce them to art.  Kids are given a list of things to find throughout the gallery sending them on a fun search and find mission and they won’t even realize they’re learning, take that video games!

I don’t know how many times I’ve driven down Washington Blvd. and I never noticed Royal T.  It’s an interesting space with its open warehouse-y feel and houses a Japanese-inspired maid café, shop and gallery all rolled in one.  They have a pretty extensive menu – not necessarily for the pb&j crowd, but it looks yummy.  The shop has all kinds of kitschy stuff that you never knew you wanted until you’re oohing at it like the Hello Kitty pieces pictured (hint, hint). 

It’s definitely worth a look.

Royal T

8910 Washington Blvd.

Culver City, CA 90232

T 310 559 6300

F 310 559 6633

Hours

Café: 10am – 5pm daily

Shop & Space: 10am – 6pm daily

So what do I do? I recently downloaded the Directv app for my iPhone, which would seem counterproductive at first blush.  This would seemingly promote more tv watching, not less. Surprisingly though, I seem to be falling in love with the iPhone app because it’s allowing me to be more efficient without missing any of my favorite shows.

Having the programming information at my fingertips, literally, has cut down on my channel surfing. Instead, I can do a search by “title” or browse by time and date to see what’s on.  If I find something I like, I can program the DVR from my phone. I never have to turn on the tv except to watch what I want when I want.

Case in point, I was watching a documentary on Harvey Milk, and I wanted to see the feature film. I did a quick search on the app, found out it was coming on in two weeks and set the DVR to record it. My daughter loves it also. We were at the movies the other day and realized we forgot to set the DVR to record the series finale of Wizards of Waverly Place.  Not a problem, did it from the theater.

The only thing that prevents this love affair from developing into a full-blown obsession is the inability to see my playlist from my phone. I would love to be able to delete shows from my phone.  Other than that, it’s all good.

Sibylla Nash is a Los Angeles-based author and freelance writer.