Just a few days ago, my husband and I went to see Mama in Queens Mall in New York. Usually, I have my cellphone with me, but this time, I left it at home. So I used my hubby's phone to text my mother where we at and asked her where she was. A few minutes later, my husband took his phone and read Mama's text message reply. "M nsyd @ Red Lobster." Husband's quizzical look turned to me and asked, "Baby, what's M for? and what's nsyd?" I requested Mama never to text my husband with Filipino text codes and instead spell them out and only use simple text   read more

My husband is no metrosexual. Just a typical no-nonsense guy who maintains the basics of grooming and cleaning; taking showers, shaving, moisturizing and of course, brushing his pearly whites. His teeth are perfect and he did a pretty good job at keeping them healthy. He keeps them fresh, clean and whitened. He said, his teeth used to be stained from cigarette-smoking. Now smoke-free for more than 12 years, he keeps his white smiles perfect by going to having regular dental check-ups. His dentist had placed veneers on the surfaces of my husband's teeth to make them look brighter. I have to   read more

Just a few days ago, I was talking about vacation rentals in Florida.  I thought it would be nice to go down there and have the vacation of my dreams. I was wishing for sunny Florida because I've never been there. The tropical Florida weather seems perfect for a home-grown tropical beach girl like me who now lives in the freezing coast of Connecticut. Aside from that, the most famed theme parks are all ther which I'm very fond of. Then just a while ago, I had a nice tete-a-tete with my close pal from Boston. We were rambling about our Christmas vacation wishes. Coming from the same hometown   read more

Popular culture has a way of disseminating certain ethnic groups into stereotypes. In American pop culture, images are conveyed as influenced by news  and events as they shape a socio-cultural impact on the American society. Russians are often portrayed as either die-hard communists or prostitutes. The Chinese and Japanese people are martial arts experts with Asian actors kicking butts  or sword-fighting onscreen. The Arabs are terrorists and the French are always fashionable, classy and elegant and Mexicans are either illegal immigrants and drug traffickers.What about the Filipinos? Filipinos   read more

Winter is one season I've dreaded the most and I have not gotten used to it even after 10 years of living in the northeast coast of the USA. I still whine about it constantly though I know my griping does not make the cold weather go away and replace it with a warm tropical feel in the air. Usually, I long to go back to my hometown where the weather is like summer all year round. But that's about a million miles away.So, I wish I'm in sunny Florida. I would get a vacation rental  and frolic around the beach all day long. My husband loves the waters and I'm quite sure he'd love to   read more

For almost 4 years now, my husband and I have been nestling in this small yet cozy condo unit we bought in New Haven. Although the size of 1,000 sq. feet is enough for us, accommodating all the stuff my husband had a hard time parting away from, we confess we've outgrown our space. Part to be blamed is my hubby's ever-growing multitude of musical gear that absolutely drives me nuts.  Our 2-bedroom unit shrank into a 1 bedroom , 500 ft. space filled with foolishness that gradually crowd us both. The 2nd bedroom is used as his office/music studio. As if that's not enough, his music paraphernalia   read more

In my previous posts, I have dished about my cousin's new spa biz. it  Recently, it was formally opened and launched to the public for  serious business.  The spa is absolutely looking great with plush interiors reminiscent of the French Provincial style. My cousin hired a good interior designer to make sure the spa is homey, inviting and serene-like to anyone who comes inside. As one enters the spa, a regal-looking ceiling fan makes an awesome impression of classic elegance. My cousin carefully chose this ceiling fan to complement the decor of the spa. She meticulously picked   read more

had been into Twitter since last year and I only have 466 followers to date. Today, I am still wondering how other people could gain 10,000 followers. Did they pay that tool which gets you followers for a fee? Or did they go to each user's page and follow everyone on their follower lists? I still do not understand this Twitter thing. Although I have read numerous articles raving about the wonderful things Twitter has done to their business or blog, I still don't get it. It seems Twitter is a hodgepodge of all sorts of people, of all sorts of purposes, with all sorts of information that no   read more

confess I am not a fan of Manny Pacquiao. Just because I do not like to watch violent sports such as boxing. But as a Filipino, I cannot help but take pride of this man whose diminutive  frame, and lack of academic education had propelled his own country to make a mark in the international scene. Last November 4, he guested in the American TV talk show, "Jimmy Kimmel Live" where he talked about his dog, his kids, his movie and his forthcoming fight on November 14. When you watch this clip, you would  be amused of his candor whenever he answers Jimmy's questions. Despite his   read more

Right now, I am making my Christmas list. There are only 48 days before Christmas. I've been wracking my head about what to give to my mother-in-law. Usually, I get stumped when it comes what to give her. You see, she has fine and elegant taste. But on a tight budget, my husband and I could not afford to buy designer brand goods or high-end products that are  priced way above our means. However, I got this idea online. I found out that a Photo Blanket Photo Blanket is usually appreciated and well-received by anyone regardless of taste. I'd submit a photo of her and her cat, and the   read more