Monthly Archives: August 2010

Winning at the Minnesota State Fair

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Qin Tang

Today I spent the whole day at the Minnesota State Fair. In the morning I volunteered for Mn/DOT booth in the Education Building, greeting visitors and handing out maps and fans, our two most popular items. This is the third … Continue reading →

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Live a Better Life in 30 Days Challenge

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Qin Tang

The Personal Excellence Blog by Celestine Chua is one of my favorite blogs. It’s the best blog for personal development. On Friday, Celes announced on her blog the “Live a Better Life in 30 Days Challenge“ for September. Sign up and join hundreds, if … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal development | 5 Comments

Volunteering at Woodbury Days

Posted on August 29, 2010 by Qin Tang

Today my kids and I went to Woodbury Days. We had fun volunteering for the info booth and visiting the business fair.  Every year since we moved to Woodbury in 2001, we have visited this fun community event. We like to … Continue reading →

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2010 Woodbury photo contest

Posted on August 28, 2010 by Qin Tang

Today I submitted a photo to the 2010 Woodbury photo contest. I really like the change made in how the entries are submitted. In the past I had to get the photos printed, mounted and mailed/delivered to the City Hall. Now I can … Continue reading →

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Something to be treasured

Posted on August 27, 2010 by Qin Tang

Lake Middle School held its Back to School Kick-Off in the last three days. My son Andy and I went today after I got home from work. He is going to be a 7th grader. Andy brought his school supplies, picked up his schedule, found … Continue reading →

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Winning at Minnesota State Fair

Posted on August 27, 2010 by Qin Tang

The annual Minnesota State Fair started today. I was really excited to find out that my kids won several prizes at the State Fair.  My daughter Amy got the first place in her age group for her poem collection and the second place for … Continue reading →

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A love/hate relationship

Posted on August 26, 2010 by Qin Tang

Love and hate often go hand in hand in relationships. Some people also use the term to describe their relationship with food.    Do you have a love/hate relationship with food? Do you love and hate food at the same time? Yes. … Continue reading →

Posted in Health & Wellness | Tagged | 2 Comments

IBC – what every woman should know

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Qin Tang

IBC (Inflammatory breast cancer ) is a kind of breast cancer that not many people know about. A friend forwarded me the following video link. Please pass it on to the women in your circle of friends and influence. This is something … Continue reading →

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More school days

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Qin Tang

Lately several people have asked me casually: “Are your kids ready for going back to school?”  My response is: “I am more than ready for them to go back to school.”  We spent seven weeks in China this summer. When … Continue reading →

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Too many school supplies?

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Qin Tang

Summer is almost over. It’s time to get ready for the new school year which means to buy school supplies.  My daughter is going  to be a 5th grader this fall. There are about 20 items on her school supply list. Among … Continue reading →

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Glamour shots

Posted on August 22, 2010 by Qin Tang

When my kids were little and had birthdays, I used to take them to JcPenny in Roseville to have their birthday pictures taken. When Walmart opened a store in Woodbury that includes a portrait studio several years ago, I started going … Continue reading →

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Office fridge mess

Posted on August 21, 2010 by Qin Tang

In our office of a little more than 20 people, we have a fridge, microwave, toast, coffee machine and sink. We have four teams taking turn to do kitchen duty once a week. It comes down to once every four week … Continue reading →

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Leadership principle – book interview

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Qin Tang

I recently interviewed Mike Barnes, Mn/DOT Division Director for Engineering Services. We talked about the sixth book in the Commissioner’s Reading Corner Book of the Month series, The world’s most powerful leadership principle : how to become a servant leader by James … Continue reading →

Posted in Book, CRC book interview | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Love to read

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Qin Tang

My daughter loves to read. Reading is on the top of the list of few things she does without being reminded or asked. The other thing that comes to my mind is eating candies. Even though I don’t let her eat … Continue reading →

Posted in Book, Kids, Parenting, Photos | 1 Comment

It pays to check your bills

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Qin Tang

Most of my family’s bills are paid automatically either from our credit card or bank accounts. Whenever possible, I set up an automatic bill payment plan using a credit card. For companies that don’t offer automatic credit card payment plans,, or charge extra fees … Continue reading →

Posted in Finance, Living | 1 Comment

WordPress tutorial

Posted on August 15, 2010 by Qin Tang

For people who want to learn more about Wordpress, the new Areavoices blogging software, you can take the tutorial found on WordPress website.  The tutorial provides step by step information. You can learn as little as you want to get started or as much as … Continue reading →

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Lingshan Buddhist Palace

Posted on August 14, 2010 by Qin Tang

Here are some more photos from our trip to Lingshan Buddhist Scenic Spot, located in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, on June 3, 2010. The Lingshan Buddhist Palace is big. It is an amazing place of art. I was very intrigued by the beautiful art works. … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Photos, Travel | 1 Comment

Change is not easy

Posted on August 11, 2010 by Qin Tang

I got an email announcement yesterday from Forum Communications Company that hosts my blog with the surprising news that “Big changes are coming to AreaVoices.com. AreaVoices.com will undergo a major upgrade.” Today when I logged in to my new blog … Continue reading →

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Lingshan Grand Buddha

Posted on August 8, 2010 by Qin Tang

Among the five largest world religions, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism, Buddhism is the largest organized religion in China. Buddhism has a big influence on Chinese culture. This is also reflected in the travel and tourism business. Buddhist temples … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Photos, Travel | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Corruption – the biggest problem in China

Posted on August 8, 2010 by Qin Tang

Economically speaking, China is flourishing and doing well. But in many aspects, China is facing big challenges, among them are corruption, injustices, unemployment, waste, pollution, human rights, etc. Personally I think corruption is the biggest problem in China. Corruption permeates … Continue reading →

Posted in China | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Gratitude well received

Posted on August 6, 2010 by Qin Tang

This morning I accidentally left my car key in the car. The moment I shut the door, I realized I was in trouble. But it was already too late.  I called a friend, also a state employee, to arrange a … Continue reading →

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Walking down the memory lane

Posted on August 6, 2010 by Qin Tang

On Thursday, July 1, 2010, I visited my childhood residence with my Dad and kids in Suzhou.  What I remembered was quite different from what I saw. Here are a few pictures. We lived on this street. It was much longer in … Continue reading →

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A quiet moment

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Qin Tang

Yesterday morning at about 11 am, the power in my office went out suddenly. What happened was a transformer exploded outside a hospital in downtown St. Paul, causing an hour-long power outage to the state Capitol and the surrounding area.  … Continue reading →

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My in-house editor

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Qin Tang

Sometimes when I am writing my blog or have my blog on the screen, my kids are interested in checking what I am writing or have written lately.  My daughter likes to say: "Mom, this is not correct." She likes … Continue reading →

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That’s Not What I Meant! – book interview

Posted on August 2, 2010 by Qin Tang

                                       Here is an interview I had with Julie Skallman, Mn/DOT Division Director for State Aid, about the fifth book in the Commissioner’s Reading Corner Book of the Month series, That’s Not What I Meant!: How Conversational Style Makes or Breaks Relationships by … Continue reading →

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I love Google

Posted on August 1, 2010 by Qin Tang

In English language, "love" is a very commonly used word. You can hear people’s love expressions in daily conversations: "I love you." "I love pizza (chocolate or ice cream)" "I love Sam (dog or cat)" ‘I love this jacket (t-shirt or car)." "I love winter (Minnesota … Continue reading →

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