On Mom's Day

Looking back, among my most prized memories are my weekends with my mom spent picking mangoes and oranges at my grandfather's farm in the Philippines. Mom and I would walk around the farm carrying baskets filled with mangoes and oranges. My mom and I love our trips to the farm because it was our chance to get away from the demands of work and school. Our walks are peppered with endless chatter about the farm, who planted what and when, the different types of mangoes we have and how my grandparents planted all the trees. At the end of the day, we'd find ourselves sitting and talking underneath a tree, enjoying the relaxing view of the neighboring rice farms, while enjoying slices of ripe mango. This was our time - a mother and daughter moment.

Although I lead a busy life and work schedule these days, I make sure to pause and remember those wonderful memories and never fail to call my mom as often as I can. I am so grateful my mom gave me such a wonderful gift - her time. I owe it to her that I am a strong and grounded person today. Every year, on mother's day and on her birthday, I send my mom flowers, cards, or a handwritten letter. It's just my way of thanking her for her unending love and support. I think something from 1-800-Flowers would be perfect this year.

Responsibility

Life is stressful as it is. With the addition of an ailing U.S. economy and the emergence and spread of swine flu, I think my stress level is heightened. And to think that the media loves to sensationalize the news, I am right yet again to avoid reading the newspaper or watching the news. On Monday, I was irritated to see a newspaper with the front cover featuring a woman wearing a mask and on the side is a big chart of how many people were infected in each state, in bold, CAPITAL letters. I was close to snapping like a twig. This type of publicity only encourages hysteria and panic to an already stressed population. I know it is very important to be aware on current events and to be a well informed citizen, but sometimes, the media (some) tend to forget their responsibility - to report and write the exact news - not to sensationalize and exaggerate in order to sell. As a citizen, I demand RESPONSIBLE JOURNALISM. (I needed to get that out of my system.)

Work has been keeping me busy. I'm just glad this week is half way through, and I should be singing "Friday I'm in Love" soon. I hope everyone's having a good week.

A reminder from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention): Keeping hands clean is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others.

Finally Friday

Finally, it's Friday and this is how I feel. I'm not "in love" with someone, but Friday is the culmination of a week's worth of work and it's absolutely worth celebrating with a song. Here are the lyrics from "Friday I'm In Love" by The Cure. This song was used on the movie "50 First Dates."

I don't care if Monday's blue
Tuesday's grey and Wednesday too
Thursday I don't care about you
It's Friday I'm in love

Monday you can fall apart
Tuesday Wednesday break my heart
Thursday doesn't even start
It's Friday I'm in love

Saturday wait
And Sunday always comes too late
But Friday never hesitate...
I don't care if Monday's black
Tuesday Wednesday heart attack
Thursday never looking back
It's Friday I'm in love

Monday you can hold your head
Tuesday Wednesday stay in bed
Or Thursday watch the walls instead
It's Friday I'm in love

Saturday wait
And Sunday always comes too late
But Friday never hesitate...

Dressed up to the eyes
It's a wonderful surprise
To see your shoes and your spirits rise
Throwing out your frown
And just smiling at the sound
And as sleek as a shriek
Spinning round and round

Always take a big bite
It's such a gorgeous sight
To see you in the middle of the night
You can never get enough
Enough of this stuff
It's Friday
I'm in love

A GREAT WEEKEND TO ALL!

Let's Go To Kiki's

This is a sponsored post.

Are you currently in the market for cute, unique and trendy maternity clothes? Then Kiki's Fashions Maternity is the perfect place for you. Kiki's Fashions Maternity is a website dedicated to give pregnant women a choice to be pregnant and fashionably beautiful. At Kiki's Fashion's Maternity, you will find cute and trendy maternity clothes at inexpensive prices. This website is so easy to navigate and it's extremely customer friendly. You can find the clothing you want just by clicking the tabs of the style you are looking for. Whether you're looking for tanks, dresses, transitional, long sleeves, or bottoms, Kiki's got you covered. At this website, you'll find: (1) wide choices of cute, unique and trendy maternity styles; (2) prices are much lower compared to maternity boutiques and often times 75% lower; and, (3) products are often rotated, so there are always new and fresh maternity clothes available.

Here's an Exclusive Coupon Code! Kiki's Fashions Maternity is offering Bloggers and Friends of Bloggers to receive an exclusive 20% Off! Just use coupon code "blogfriends" during checkout to apply. What are you waiting for? Let's go to Kiki's!

Of Bees, Beehives and Blanks

I've heard this saying before that when spring comes, the bees are up to their antics. I've been busy as a bee for the past few days. Yesterday, I was so exhausted and all I wanted to do was crawl to bed and sleep when I reached home. It's that time of year when my department hosts meetings and attend several out-of-town meetings.

While the work front is buzzing noisy like a beehive, I have decided to take a short vacation next month. I am headed to - - - - - - and - - - - - for a week (Quiz: Fill in the blanks). I am looking forward to this break and hopefully, get my lovely cousin to take a day-off and show me around the city. She works too much. I still have our annual meeting to get through, but it feels really good to have a vacation to look forward to.

Happy Thursday!

Simply Be

This is a sponsored post.

Spring is the perfect time for everyone to bloom and blossom. For women, it's time to shed off the gloom of winter and welcome spring with fashion and style. For curvy women like me, it's time to show off those beautiful curves in lovely spring colored dresses. For those beautiful women looking for Plus Size Clothing, check out Simple Be, a place where you can simply be yourself. I checked their website and fell in-love with this "Joe Browns Mediteranean Dress" (photo from website; below). I love the color and style. I think it is perfect for my weekend out-of-town trips this spring and summer or for attending my friends' backyard barbecue parties. With this dress, I can move freely and enjoy spring or summer with ease and comfort. Most of all, the dress is absolutely eye-catching and smashing.


The website is user friendly and offers a wide variety of fashionable plus size women's clothing. For plus size women like me, it is a challenge to find trendy plus size ladies' clothes, but at Simple Be, you can find all types and brands offered in plus sizes. If you are unsure about style and size, make sure you check the "Style and Size Guide" feature. I think this is a very helpful feature specially if you want the perfect fitting dress. At Simple Be, shopping is simply being yourself no matter what the size you wear.

Police Gear And More

This is a sponsored post.

Are you looking for quality top brand police gear such as 5.11 Tactical Series, Surefire Flashflights, Blackhawk Holsters and more? If you are looking for extremely fast shipping, low prices, and outstanding customer service, then LA Police Gear, Inc. is the perfect place for you. This website does not only cater to military personnel, security professionals, and police officer but also the general public. This website is so easy to navigate. You can easily find what you are looking for by brand and category. Another feature I love about this site is that you can Request for Quotes. This is a very important part of intelligent shopping especially if you are purchasing in bulk for agencies or other firms. What are you waiting for? Check out LA Police Gear, Inc. and find the right gear for you. Do not forget to check the specials at the CLOSEOUTS and CEO's Corner.

A D.C. Morning

Umbrellas everywhere available in various colors; there were pink, hot pink, black, blue, green, light green, sky blue, and the most eye-catching of all - a multi-colored striped umbrella twirled by a tall, slim, blonde, wearing a 4 inch Stilleto. She probably works in one of the high-rise buildings in the area. With a hint of embarassment, I looked at my flat, Naturalizer shoes. I shrugged off the shame, and whispered, "At least, I'm comfortable." The rain drenched everything from the glass windows to the pavements. In front of an Anglican church, a homeless woman covers her pushcart with a blanket. Then she cowers under a leafless tree to escape the rain. It was no use. On 13th street, a homeless man slumbers underneath a pile of cardboard makeshift his shoes were exposed - a pair of white Nike shoes and probably a size 9. I could smell the putrid smell of wasted food and urine. Where else would he go? There are no restrooms around.

The crosswalk at 14th was crowded. Someone's umbrella pushed mine and raindrops dripped on my coat. I stepped back, while a short-haired woman puffed her cigarette like there's no tomorrow. The disgusting smell of city streets and cigarette smoke is the worse combination of all especially on mornings I haven't had my breakfast yet. The crosswalk sign was taking too long. The lady puffed her cigarette and decided to jaywalk; she almost got hit by a cab. She looked at the cab driver sternly and continued walking; she owned 14th Street. The "walk" sign came through, and the pedestrians followed. I followed.

As I crossed another street to get to my office, I saw a glimpse of the White House on my left. I smelled the heavenly scent of coffee. If I'm not mistaken, it could be "Breakfast Blend." Across the street, the line for Starbucks was long. I went straight to the elevator, pushed 11, and relieved to be away from the rain and the busy streets of D.C. But then, it's time to put my game face on, because at 11th floor there lives office politics peppered with a cocky receptionist. Let the games begin!

Maturity

Do women really mature earlier than men? Last night, I was watching the comedy show, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and I almost died with laughter when I heard this conversation between Dr. Albright and Nina (Dr. Albright's assistant), while watching Dr. Solomon make a fool of himself.

Dr. Albright: When does puberty end for a man?
Nina: Six months after death.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Thank You, Ma and Dad

Ma and Dad sent me a wonderful Easter surprise. My parents sent me a package. There were a couple of portuguese sausages, which I made sure to prepare for breakfast this Easter morning. The sweet smell of the sausage and the garlicky scent of my fried rice permeated my apartment. I felt so at home with the scent, as I often have this sausage for breakfast at home in Hawaii.

Mom also filled the box with more favorites: Meiji Milk Chocolates, boxes of Milk and White Chocolate Covered Macadamia Nuts (Hawaiian Host). With all these sweets, I don't need to go Easter egg hunting.

And of course, Mom knows her daughter's weakness - cute, writing papers. I miss Hawaii so much right now, and even if some relatives are proving difficult to deal with, I am so lucky to have wonderful, supportive parents.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ma and Dad,

Mahalo. I am so happy I have you both in my life.
I miss you and love you.

Happy Easter!

Aloha nui loa,
Kayni
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Baltimore Remodeling

This is a sponsored post.

The Cherry Blossoms are in full bloom and all sorts of flowers are springing to life. It's spring time in beautiful Maryland, and it is also the perfect time for home owners to think and plan about home remodeling. I know this because people I know in the area are starting to lay out their plans to improve their abode. If you are also looking into remodeling your home or in need of having work done around the house such as as replacing your windows and roofs, then Baltimore Remodeling got your needs covered. Baltimore Remodeling will work with you to build your home, meet your dreams and your family needs. Whether you are looking into large remodeling projects from complete kitchen remodeling to the addition of several rooms, Baltimore Remodeling will help your dream home come true.

What I love about their website is that it is easy to navigate and it is consumer friendly. If you have a question for them, feel free to call or leave a message at their Request Information section. I know undertaking remodeling projects could get stressful especially on the planning and budget concerns, so take control by doing your own research and contact Baltimore Remodeling and make any home improvement job a smooth process.

When It Rains

I woke up to a rainy Saturday, but I didn't let the raindrops deter my trip to the grocery store. Purposely leaving my umbrella behind, I felt every raindrop on my face, while I enjoyed jumping on puddles and smiling every time I hear a splash. I live for days like this. When it rains and everyone seems to run for shelter, I stand still and enjoy the touch, sound, and smell of rain. Because it is my time to be free, careless, and just be myself. The rain has a therapeutic effect on me. Specially on days when work is too demanding, family is causing too much stress, and life isn't turning out the way I planned. When it rains, I see the sky reaching out to meet the earth. It gives me hope that even though my life is getting chaotic and my aspirations seem to be out-of-reach, maybe - just maybe, my dreams will reach out to meet me.

Deer Neighbor

This is a sponsored post.

I still remember the frustration I felt when my newly planted flowers and vegetables were trampled and eaten by deer overnight. I love gardening, but sometimes it is a challenge to keep our neighboring deer and other animals off the plants. I have tried putting nets and fences around my plot, but they were not successful in keeping the deer off. I know a lot of us are getting ready to get some gardening going, so it is about time we use some effective deer repellants. If you are looking for quality animal repellants, Havahart.com got your needs covered. Havahart is a leading manufacturer of caring control products for pets and wild life - including animal repellents and humane live traps. This website offers products such as Deer Off - Deer & Squirrel Repellent that takes care of your deer, rabbits and squirrels problem. With Deer Off repellants, you can just concentrate on maintaining your garden and your lawn, while Deer Off repellants take care of your deer or other critter problems. So how do Deer Off products work? Havahart's Deer Off has patented Dual Deterrent System formula that provides both scent and taste barriers to repel deer, rabbits, and squirrels. The formula contains putrescent eggs solids at 6.25%, garlic and capsaicin. The putrescent egg and garlic scent, coupled with a hot pepper taste will dissuade deer, rabbit, and squirrels from eating your plants, bulbs, flowers, trees, ornamentals, seedlings, edible fruits and vegetables.

What I love about this website is that it encourages the consumer to learn more about the critters or animals that live around us. I encourage you to read and browse through this website's Critter Library. I think you'll learn so much about deer, squirrels, rabbits and more. Also, each product comes with a full description so there's no second guessing on how to use Havahart products.

The website is consumer friendly and easy to navigate. You can use their Target Animal feature where you can find the animal repellent you need by browsing all the website's animal repellents. This way, you can properly address your critter problems. You can also shop by Brand, Area to Protect, Presentation, Coverage, or Organic Compliance. Havahart.com offers deer repellants, animal traps, and pet supplies that covers a wide spectrum that truly is caring control for pets and wildlife. The site also provides help & advice, access to experts,
and a variety of caring control solutions that you may need to solve your animal control problem.

My Favorite Spring Shots

Last week, I managed to walk around DC and my neighborhood. I thought it was time to take some photos since blooming flowers abound. I couldn't afford to miss this opportunity. So here are a few of my favorite photos. I hope you enjoy them, as I had a wonderful time taking these photos.

Too close

Reaching out

Fairest of them all

Framing the blue sky

Cover me

Tulips

A blessed Easter to all!

Web Hosting Guide

This is a sponsored post.

Are you looking for a great web hosting guide site? Check out Web Hosting Choice for all the web hosting research, ideas and tools you need. This website offers free research guide to help you choose or decide the right web host for your personal or business website. What I really love about this site is the "Top 10 Web Hosting Sites" feature where sites are ranked according to affordability, reliability, uptime and tech support. It's really helpful that each web host is labeled by price, score, set up, disk space and more. I find specifics very important. An excellent review for each web host is also available. Web Hosting Choice also offers an "In-Depth Comparison Chart" for all the featured sites. This feature allows you to compare all the featured websites, which makes your decision making a lot easier. This is an excellent research tool especially if you want the best for your website. If you're new to hosting like me, check out the site's "Learning Center." Perusing this section answered a lot of my questions and encouraged me to learn more about web hosting. The "Learning Center" discusses topics and answers questions regarding Domains, Scams, Bandwidth, Quick Start, Colocation and more. And if you are looking for a specific feature, you will find the "Host Directory" extremely helpful. There are so many web hosting sites these days, and it's great to know that Web Hosting Choice exists. This site is truly a wonderful guide to web hosting.

When Flowers Bloom...

Here are a few photos I took on my quest to see the cherry blossoms. The best way to enjoy the cherry blossoms in D.C. is to walk around the Tidal Basin, which is fed by the water from the Potomac River. The walk around the Tidal Basin is about 2.1 miles, but it's a fun one because you'll be walking underneath a canopy of flowers.

The sun was starting to set when I took this.

It's best to visit in the evening as there are less visitors.

A perfect place to have a picnic.

According to the park guide, "the Japanese believe cherry blossoms are best experienced when a temple complements the scene. The Jefferson Memorial serves this function."

The flowers this year were absolutely breathtaking and beautiful. I wish they'd last for the whole year, but such are the cherry blossoms - that bloom only once a year.

Sweet Things That We Love

This is a sponsored post.

Yesterday, B and I had our monthly lunch, and it felt good to finally see her and hear her story about the break-up and all. I feel that she is quietly but steadily moving on forward. Because if not, I would have thought of sending her a candy bouquet to cheer her up. It was my turn to listen. Just as she did to me when I had my heart broken. It felt great to give back, and it felt good to be there for her.

After lunch, B and I decided to grab something sweet for dessert. B and I are the duo who could be found, usually, at the candy grocery aisle. We love our sweets. When we were both studying in Rome, we used to drop by this small Candy shop and buy our sweets to last us for the week. We were like kids just filling up our grocery bags with all sorts of candies from caramel, dark chocolate, white chocolate, milk chocolate and even sugar free candy. B and I usually like to reminisce our college life, and I think it's because it takes us to a place where good feelings abound. Well, just like old times, we both picked up our favorite candy bar - Three Musketeers. The chocolate nougat with chocolate milk coating never fails to make us smile. Plus, we love that it is 45% less fat compared to the average leading chocolate brands. B and I enjoy our busy lives, but once in a while, we love to pause and just enjoy the sweet things that we love.

The Other Shoe Fell

The Cherry Blossoms are at peak bloom. After work on Friday, I took the Metro to the Tidal Basin and enjoyed a relaxing walk underneath the flowers. No matter how many times I've seen them, the Cherry Blossoms never cease to amaze me. They're so beautiful. I stayed at the park until sunset and picked a nice spot looking straight at the Jefferson Memorial. The Cherry Blossoms ruffled with the breeze, while the waves of the Potomac undulated and danced. I was mesmerized.
From such a poetic and contemplative state, my focus was snagged with the sight of this floating shoe amongst the fallen petals. I couldn't help but smile and felt bad for the person who lost it. While I was taking this photo (below), a lady came and took a photo as well. She later told me that it is her husband's. We both laughed. The floating shoe reminded me of a Seinfeld episode - The Soul Mate. If you're a Seinfeld fan, I think you'll remember this conversation between Kramer and Pam.

KRAMER: Human. It's...human to be moved by a fragrance.
PAM: That's so true.
KRAMER: Her bouquet cleaved his hardened...
NEWMAN: Shell.
KRAMER: ...shell. And fondled his muscled heart. He embibed her glistening spell...just before the other shoe...fell.

I'll be posting more Cherry Blossom Festival photos soon. Happy weekend!

Happy Remodeling!

This is a sponsored post.

Spring is here, and so is spring cleaning and home remodeling. With the weather as perfect as this, you need a trusted and excellent remodeling company to help you with your house remodeling needs. If you are in the market for a Class “A” contractor with full liability and workman’s comp coverage, then look no further because Richmond remodeling got you covered. This remodeling company has an excellent customer service since 1999 and has been known for their honesty and straight forwardness. Richmond remodeling offers quality services in cabinets and appliance installation, tile work (floor, wall and shower base), bath fixture replacement, plumbing fixtures, HVAC work, repairing sheetrock, painting, installing light fixtures, carpentry, cleaning and more. Also, this company is currently servicing over 30 apartment communities and real estate companies. So you know that they are very well trusted and that their service is time tested and proven.

Richmond remodeling's website is extremely user friendly and easy to navigate. If you want to contact them or would like to request information, head on to their website and fill up their online form with your information and any question you have for them. I also love that they have taken the time to put helpful remodeling topics or opinions on their website. Do not forget to read the topics: (1) Upgrading Your Home with Richmond Remodeling Project; and, (2) Planning Your Richmond Remodeling Budget.

Happy remodeling with Richmond remodeling!

Be Inspired

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." (Nelson Mandela)