betty ming liu

5 reasons why you need to blog

May 15, 2012 12:01am

Unfortunately, I know too many talented, smart people who are sitting home unemployed or underemployed. Oh, if only they would blog! Launching this website has made me quite marketable. In one case, I was hired for a teaching gig within 24 hours of sending out my initial query email, which was amazing. I’ll bet some [...]

Tagged as: blogging, newspapers, working

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Best Mother’s Day gift of 2012

May 10, 2012 10:40pm

I recently discovered the secret to a better relationship with my daughter: unconditional love. Ouch — do you know how hard it is to give her that when I’ve been raised with success-obsessed values?! What a challenge to let go of personal expectations so that my 17-year-old baby can find herself. It’s especially hard because [...]

Tagged as: daughter, parenting

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Wringing toothpaste from a tube

April 28, 2012 9:03pm

Brushing my teeth a few minutes ago could’ve been annoying because there wasn’t much toothpaste left in the tube. Instead, I enjoyed dealing with the situation by taking out my…tube wringer. And, YouTube. I need to get better at this video stuff because it’s such a great way to communicate. Making videos is also fun. [...]

Tagged as: art, kitchenware

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Good pots can stir up some pretty decent life lessons

April 24, 2012 12:01am

Today’s post about kitchenware is actually about how good it feels to get what I really want. Remember my old frypan that I bought for myself as a young bride? The one with the broken handle that reminded me of my failed marriage? Well, here’s what happened to it…. When I initially blogged about my [...]

Tagged as: cooking, food, kitchenware

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Seeing the sights in Paris — with photos

April 22, 2012 8:53pm

Vacationing in Paris with my daughter Gabi and her godmother — my childhood pal Judy — was a once-in-a-lifetime bonding adventure. So marvelous and memorable. In a million ways, I’ve been transformed. This was a first visit to the City of Lights for both of them. While I’d been to Paris twice in my un-evolved [...]

Tagged as: family, friends, paris, vacation

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How to write tight

April 17, 2012 8:02pm

An editor-friend recently threw down a challenge. “Unless you have something really special, a blog post should be about 300 words,” she said firmly. Ouch. As queen of the 650-word blog post, I felt criticized. But then, I got inspired. Let’s hear it for writing tight! Being super-concise way is super-hard. In fact, it’s easier [...]

Tagged as: Journalism how-to's, students, writing

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Taking your daughter on vacation

April 13, 2012 8:59am

PARIS, France — Boo-hoo! We’re about to head for the airport and home. I have tons of photos to share…later. Right now, there’s time for just one special picture that says volumes about our mother-daughter getaway vacation. I left New York feeling like this trip would be a time to do some important personal reflection. [...]

Tagged as: family, paris, realtionships, vacation

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3 ways I’m learning to be a smart traveller

April 9, 2012 3:29pm

PARIS, France — Ugh, I was just pickpocketed! Want to hear even more distressing information? On the Air France flight from New York to Paris, I managed to lose my iPhone, driver’s license, American Express card and my socks. I’ve decided to include all the bad news in one post because my daughter Gabi says [...]

Tagged as: friends, life lessons, paris, Travel

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How to eat in Paris for $38 a day

April 5, 2012 3:54pm

PARIS, FRANCE — It’s Day #2 of our vacation and we’re getting the hang of walking everywhere and using the Metro as our subway. Of course, we need the exercise because we are eating, eating, eating… We had a delightful first night snoring in the comfy beds of the two-bedroom, $327-a-night rental apartment that we [...]

Tagged as: dining, gluten-free, Loving food, paris, quinoa, Travel

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Come with me to Paris!

April 3, 2012 8:53pm

At last, my daughter Gabi and I are at JFK, waiting to board our 9:55 p.m. flight to Paris. The entire day was a mad blur of finishing stories for work, squashing everything into my carry-on luggage, straightening up the house and getting the animals ready for the pet sitter (needed to organize their food [...]

Tagged as: art, family, paris, Travel, vacation

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Tiger parenting victim wants your help

April 1, 2012 8:54am

Ever since I took on Amy Chua last year with a blog post that went viral, the children of tiger parents have been emailing me for advice. I’m going to share one of these emails today because it touches on such universal issues about the damage caused by parental tough love. The readers who reach [...]

Tagged as: advice, art, asian, drawings, immigrants, Inspiration, parenting

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Some enduring inspiration to keep us going

March 27, 2012 8:50pm

Right now, things are a little too busy for my taste. With my daughter and I getting ready for our Paris vacation next week, I am in a time crunch to clear a million things off my to-do list. My job is insane because the online news startup that I’m working for is preparing to [...]

Tagged as: Inspiration, therapy, vacation, Work Tips

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10 tips for a trip to Paris

March 21, 2012 6:37pm

Two weeks from now, I will be in Paris. YAY! YAY! YAY! The 10-day trip is a special gift to my daughter Gabi. Kind of a mother-daughter rite of passage. Joining us will be her Aunt Judy, who is my best friend from childhood; we’ve known each other since we were 7th graders growing up [...]

Tagged as: advice, friends, paris, vacation

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3 ways to become a better writer by reading good journalism

March 18, 2012 9:38am

Forgive me if I sound a little sentimental on this early Sunday morning. But I’ve been sitting in my pretty kitchen with some hot tea and the Sunday paper. The TV is tuned into the white noise of a local news station as I read stories that make me fall in love with journalism all [...]

Tagged as: Inspiration, New York Times, newspapers, reporting, writing

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