Mother's Day Special

MOTHER'S DAY SPECIAL! 

Nothing says "I LOVE YOU, MOM!" better than a Kayni's Kreations shop gift. 

Use coupon code LUVMOM and get 15% off on any item at my shop.

My shop offers handmade jewelry (earrings, bracelets and necklaces) and paper goodies (bookmarks, gift tags and cards).

Thank you. Have a wonderful day!

My shop is here.

Tulip Season Is Beautiful Season

Okay, I'm not supposed to be blogging since I'm in the midst of wrapping up my spring semester (I have a presentation tomorrow and three semester papers to write), but I want to share these Tulip photos with all of you. I've been looking forward to their blooming, and I can't help but fall-in-love with their beauty each year.

I hope these beautiful flowers will bring some smile and color to your day - no matter where you are.

Pink Bleeding Heart (Oops, not a Tulip, but it's one of my favorite flowers.)

White Daffodils mixed with Pink Tulips.

Vibrant orange Tulips.

There were rows and rows of all types of Tulips.

Magnificent yellows.

Mixed red  and oranges.

Our weekend was spent visiting the Tulips of Pennsylvania.

I am behind my travel posts, but hopefully, I'll be able to catch up and share my photos with you when I hit summer vacation.

Why can't summer come sooner?

Save The Baguio Trees

I just have to take a break from my mini blogging hiatus because I am outraged with the leaders of Baguio City.  Elected officials should be serving the people and not bowing to the will of greedy corporations specifically SM Baguio.

A few years ago, a classmate and I were walking from UP Baguio to Session Road when my classmate pointed out that SM is coming to the city soon. I wasn't too thrilled about it. I love how Baguio was. After all, I enjoy my shopping escapades at Tiongsan or filling up my grocery supplies at Sunshine Supermarket back then. Being in Baguio, you don't need much, I'd be content with the mountain air cool enough to rejuvenate even the most restless of souls.

My instincts were right. With a gigantic mall like SM, the balance is broken. Look at what's going on now.

Source here.

SM doesn't care about the trees or the environment of Baguio, clearly all it cares about is making more money and expanding their greed nest. I am outraged at SM Baguio for earth-balling the trees just to expand their already gigantic mall. I don't fully comprehend their imbecilic plan to transplant already rooted trees instead of leaving it alone to thrive and do their purpose. Wouldn't it be more beneficial to leave those trees alone and let them do their job of absorbing the already polluted Baguio air? Think about it.

What do you do with a mall if the city that surrounds it is polluted? How much mall do you need to make more money from Baguio people that clearly you don't care about?

I think that trees are more important than malls. What is a mall if the land it stands on is barren, eroded and polluted?

SAVE THE BAGUIO TREES! SAVE THE 43 FULLY GROWN ALNUS JAPONICA TREES AND THE UPROOTING OF 97 GROWING PINE TREES (PINUS KESIYA) AND 42 SAPLINGS. 

 SM Bagiuo defies court order and continues earth-balling trees. Photo source here.

SM BAGUIO, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?

Cherry Blossoms

Seeing the Cherry Blossoms is an annual tradition.

When I wasn't engaged yet, I used to stop by the Tidal Basin after work and spend the evening just walking underneath the beautiful blooms. It's a great thing that Kepi is also into the Cherry Blossoms, so when we finally got the time last weekend, we made the trek to DC with mom.

I think that I'll never cease being amazed at how beautiful these blooms are.  The word "beautiful" is not even close to describing these flowers, but perhaps heavenly is a more appropriate word. When you walk underneath the fully bloomed trees and the sky is covered with white and soft pink blooms, it's an out of this world experience.

Walk with me underneath the Cherry Blossoms.

I see balance and perfection on this tree.

A painting come to life.

Blooms.

Walking on pink ground.

Flowers from the Cherry tree's trunk.

Crazy March

Crazy, but March is almost over. I mean, where did March go?

It's been a tough month for me especially when I found out my siblings are not possible bone marrow donors. Once again, I was thrown into a feeling of isolation and depression, but I have to keep moving and to keep living. As of now, I have medication keeping me stable. The future is yet to be determined, but I'm not going to sit and wait. I will try my hardest to live life as best as I can now.

As far as living is concerned:

• Kepi, Mom and I attended our first AA and MDS Conference. It was nice to meet people who are facing the challenges of having bone marrow failure diseases like me. I made new friends and even met Andrya, whose blog I've followed throughout her treatment and recovery. I look forward to staying-in-touch with all these new found friends.
• We made it to the Cherry Blossoms Festival and managed to see the blooms in DC as well as in beautiful Bethesda. I will be posting photos soon.
• Our trip to Iceland is slowly coming together. I can't wait for May.
• I've been feeling sleep deprived lately. I think that there's just too much going on - work and school.
• I made my sixth sale at my Etsy Shop. I guess I need to work harder on promoting my shop.
• We booked our trip for December. I hope my school schedule won't complicate it.
• Tonight, we're going to see Shen Yun. We saw this show last year, and it was impressive. I am so excited. Photography is not allowed during the performance, so I borrowed some photos available online.

 

 Source here.

 Source here.

Eastwind Noodle Bar, Atlantic City

Trudging the entirety of the Atlantic City boardwalk could be tiring and hunger inducing. It was about 1 PM when we decided to eat.  We decided to stay away from the usual buffets and since it was windy and chilly to eat outside at that time, we decided to have a sit in lunch. Thus, we found this nice little Asian place called Eastwind Noodle Bar.

Eastwind Noodle Bar is located at the Boardwalk Entrance of Resorts Casino.

Apart from the restaurant, they have a corner bakery that offers hotdog buns, pork buns and more.

Bottomless tea. We drank about three pots of tea while dining there.

Tea and chopsticks.

Kepi ordered the honey glazed pork with steamed rice. This is delicious and comes highly recommended.

Mom ordered the shrimp lo mein. I think I've had better lo mein, but their version is okay. I am not too crazy about it.

I ordered three medium sized pork steam buns. I love these steam buns and they tasted quite close to the Filipino siopao in the Philippines. The only thing missing in these buns are the cheese and hard-boiled eggs. I'd definitely order these steamed buns again.

I would definitely eat here again. Their food is good and the place is clean. Service is fast and friendly. 

Eastwind Noodle Bar

1133 Boardwalk

Atlantic City, NJ 08401

(800) 334-6378

Looking Forward To

Spring settles on my side of the woods.  A lot of trees and flowers are budding and blooming. What a wonderful time of the year!

Currently, the Magnolias are in full bloom and the city's now anticipating the Cherry Blossoms. So if you find yourself in DC this month, the peak bloom prediction of the blossoms is March 20–23, but apart from the blossoms there will be festival events for 5 weeks. This year's National Cherry Blossom Festival is the Centennial Celebration, paying tribute to the 100-year anniversary of the gift of trees from Japan.

The Cherry Blossom Festival is on the top of my "looking forward to" list, in addition to:

• finishing spring semester - I will not be taking summer courses as I badly need some rest.
• attending my first Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation Patient and Family Conference - it will be an opportunity to meet other patients like me. Please visit this website and learn more about bone marrow failure diseases.
  
• see Shen Yun this month with Kepi and Mom - I can't wait to see incredible acrobatic performances and traditional Chinese dances.
• the Sugarloaf Festival in April - A little shopping for crafty products.
• Iceland in May
• a trip to the beach in June - not sure which beach yet
• BIBAK Kanyaw in July

Lots of good things to look forward to. Just taking it one day at a time.

Scenes At The Atlantic City Shore

This weekend, Kepi, Mom and I drove to Atlantic City (AC).  AC is a good four-hour drive from where we are, so once I finished work on Friday, we hopped on the car and drove to AC. We spent a night at The Chelsea Hotel, which I will later review, if they won't redeem themselves in time. (I'm still thinking on how to approach our dismal hotel experience with this hotel, but I am going to give them time to redeem themselves since they have offered us a complimentary room for our next visit.)

On Saturday, we spent the early morning walking along the AC beach, collected sea shells, breathe in the cold sea breeze and chased Seagulls having their breakfast by the shore.

Waves of sand.

AC in the morning.

I took home several of these black shells.

Seagulls observing us and us observing them.

A perfect morning for meditation.

Until a wave splashes and I'm back to reality.

Interesting sand prints.

AC at this time of year is still a bit chilly, but it makes it easier to walk the entirety of the boardwalk sweat free. We explored the casinos, did our trinket shopping and dined boardwalk style - hotdogs and soda.

It was a fun and enjoyable day. My feet and legs are still aching from all the walking we did.

I am looking forward to visiting in the summer.

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ETSY SHOP SALE!!! 20% DISCOUNT

Shop today until March 16th and take advantage of 20% discount on any item at my Etsy Shop. Just put in coupon code DISC20 at check-out. (Discount does not apply towards shipping costs.) 

Bellagio's Exhibit - Year Of The Dragon

One of the things I was looking forward to when we flew to Las Vegas last month was Bellagio's exhibit. I couldn't stop thinking or guessing what would it be until we finally stepped on the hotel.

I love that Bellagio did their exhibit on the Year of the Dragon.

Bellagio's stunning glass flowers as you enter the lobby.

Chinese red lanterns behind the receptionists' table.

Flowers, Chinese coins for good luck and the Double Dragon.

Burning incense.

Golden Dragon.

Red Dragon.

This Chinese girl is dressed with flowers.

This to me is most impressive. Literally, the painting is alive. They used real flowers and plants to make this painting come to life.

Beading A Lifesaver

Beading is a lifesaver.

The past few days, I've been doing a lot of beading projects, and it's been wonderful to divert my attention to something beautiful and productive. Things on the health side has been more challenging than ever, so beading is my outlet. (You can read my more personal entry here.)

Today, I'm offering a special discount to my blogger friends and Facebook followers of my Kayni's Kreations page.

To avail of this 20% discount, use DISC20 at check-out. This offer ends on March 16, 2012.
My Etsy Shop is here.

Anyway, here are a few new additions to my shop. I hope you like them.

 This beautiful bracelet is made of crystal glass beads and oval ivory glass pearl beads. It is finished with a gold plated toggle clasp for easy wear.

 This beautiful bracelet is made with red and blue cat's eye beads, so you can imagine that this jewelry is surely eye catching. It is finished with a silver fancy toggle clasp.

This beautiful piece is made of woven pink and blue cat's eye beads, finished with a silver fancy toggle clasp.

 This pair is made of oval ivory glass pearl beads and crystal glass beads. It's about 1 and a half inch, and it is finished with a surgical steel fish hook.