http://spotlightnews.com/blogs SUSAN S. CHEUNG (known to many as Shifay--Chinese middle name.) Welcome to my world. I'm a resident from across the pond who lives in the Capital District. For 13 years, I was all about my career and being successful. Becoming a mother twice in my mid- to late-30s made me take stock. Now my life is a hectic whirl of being a stay-at-home mom of two young children. I face the challenges of being a woman, an older mother, a non-American and a short person! Fortunately, I'm rescued from making too many faux pas by my coffee group (my mates)-- a great bunch of women in different situations of life. We meet in the guise of drinking coffee, but really it's about keeping our sanity intact. My blog is my take on the daily issues that affect us. My aim is to shine a light on the everyday things we take for granted. Come and be part of my coffee group and join in the conversations. POSTSCRIPT: As of JULY 2008, after eight years in Guilderland, we've relocated to Nashville, Tenn., to experience Grand Ole Opry, southern hospitality and my husband’s exciting new job. Catch my final "Coffee Mates" posts in fall 2008 on acclimating to southern culture. en-us 60 Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:18:49 -0700 Coffee Mates I had another scare. I had an MRI and was told IÂ’d have to have surgery because of a blockage in the renal artery to my right kidney, which was probably the cause of my recent http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1223918329 http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1223918329 Fri, 19 Sep 2008 06:01:20 -0700 Coffee Mates Three things made me pause this week. Money Makes the World Go Around. Reading the papers, I paused to absorb the depth of U.S. economic gloom and, as economic markets are http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1221872480 http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1221872480 Sat, 13 Sep 2008 10:22:33 -0700 Coffee Mates On September 11, 2008, I was part of a roundtable discussion on the topic of "Women in the Campaign" organized by the Tennessean – the big daily newspaper in Nashville. http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1221369753 http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1221369753 Mon, 08 Sep 2008 01:45:30 -0700 Coffee Mates In case you missed my interview with Debbie Alan of On the Home Stretch, a live daily internet radio talk show on Sept 5th, 2008, here it is again. I hope you enjoy the http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1220906730 http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1220906730 Sun, 31 Aug 2008 10:15:31 -0700 Coffee Mates Dear friends, Exciting News!! For those of you who follow my "Coffee Mates" blog, you may be interested to know that I will be a guest on a live daily internet radio http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1220246131 http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1220246131 Sat, 30 Aug 2008 07:38:26 -0700 Coffee Mates IÂ’m battling my arch nemesis, strep throat. Whenever IÂ’m run down, my throat is my first line of defense. It probably stands to reason as I love to talk! In fact, the whole http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1220107106 http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1220107106 Wed, 20 Aug 2008 01:17:17 -0700 Coffee Mates WeÂ’re six weeks into living in Nashville, Tenn. – actually Brentwood, a suburb of Nashville – and still unpacking boxes; now, very slowly as IÂ’m completely absorbed by the http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1219263437 http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1219263437 Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:02:06 -0700 Coffee Mates Relocations are stressful, but hundreds of thousands of people take the plunge every year. By SUSAN S. CHEUNG Published in Spotlight Newspapers Lifestyles in the http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1218132126 http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1218132126 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:28:36 -0700 Coffee Mates Published in the Spotlight Newspapers Lifestyles in the Spotlight July 2, 2008 Page 13 Trends & Technology Susan S. Cheung As a parent, I canÂ’t bury my head in the http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1215451716 http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1215451716 Thu, 05 Jun 2008 09:31:15 -0700 Coffee Mates We have to eat, but what if you had to choose between gas for your car and extra food for your family? With soaring prices, thatÂ’s the reality faced by some lower- and http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1212683475 http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1212683475 Tue, 20 May 2008 12:47:39 -0700 Coffee Mates A Not So Straightforward Request: One of my friends recently got his dream job in another city and in the process of moving was updating his contacts. I got an email from a http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1211312859 http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1211312859 Tue, 13 May 2008 09:06:50 -0700 Coffee Mates Am I Fat? I have a bone to pick with myself. Why do I constantly find myself falling into the trap of our societyÂ’s obsession with weight? WeÂ’re bombarded by images of http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1210738010 http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1210738010 Tue, 13 May 2008 08:20:02 -0700 Coffee Mates I donÂ’t have a point to make in this post. I only have sincere and heartfelt prayers for all those affected by the devastating earthquake in Sichuan province in south-western http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1210735202 http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1210735202 Wed, 07 May 2008 05:36:22 -0700 Coffee Mates We have new blogging software. It looks good. You can comment and you can vote after each post. Click on one of the empty stars at the bottom of each piece according to how http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1210206982 http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1210206982 Wed, 07 May 2008 04:57:56 -0700 Coffee Mates Published on May 7, 2008 in The Spotlight Lifestyles in the Spotlight Trends & Technology SUSAN S. CHEUNG RICH TASTES PREMIUM CHOCOLATE AN AFFORDABLE http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1210204676 http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1210204676 Fri, 02 May 2008 05:18:34 -0700 Coffee Mates Spotlight newspapers print edition now has a Lifestyle section. It debuted on March 5, 2008 with my Trends & Technology column. If you missed my monthly column in the http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1209773914 http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1209773914 Fri, 02 May 2008 04:55:15 -0700 Coffee Mates Spotlight newspapers print edition launched its Lifestyle section on March 5, 2008 and debuted with my Trends & Technology column. If you missed my monthly column in the http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1209772515 http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=1209772515 Sun, 06 Apr 2008 08:30:12 -0700 Coffee Mates HurrahÂ… spring is finally here, despite a shaky start with a late winter/early spring storm and cold April showers. I meant to write this for April 1st as my April FoolsÂ’ Day http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=tZ1207538700t47f9940c8b2a9 http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=tZ1207538700t47f9940c8b2a9 Sat, 15 Mar 2008 07:16:07 -0700 Coffee Mates Tough New Yorker. When we were planning to move to the Capital District all those years ago, the one thing people warned me about, again and again, was how tough the winters http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=tQ1205633466t47dc81ba41ed6 http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=tQ1205633466t47dc81ba41ed6 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 09:39:14 -0800 Coffee Mates Here we are at the end of February and for the last few weeks IÂ’ve been reflecting on the subject of love, prompted by an email from a good friend, who suggested I ask people, http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=tE1204262167t47c79517caa43 http://spotlightnews.com/blogs/coffeemates/view_blog.php?blog_id=tE1204262167t47c79517caa43