You receive an email from Google Maps saying you can participate in their Connect Live 2020 which you have no clue actually exist as you are in a level in which you can send an application to see if you can be one of the participate to join their world wide activity for year 2020. The email looks like this: Anyone in any country is eligible to join as long they reach a certain level and have sent them an email. I've looked into it and it is actually real and it does happen in real life. If, there is anyone who is into striving something bigger than just participating in Google Maps and having to receive an opportunity this is for them. There are ways in order you get chosen which explains in their website: https://www.localguidesconnect.com/

Your favorite fruit is not in season you can always buy it concentrated in a juice carton. I had discovered a new juice when I went to Puregold Grocery Store located in the Philippines. Mangosteen comes in an outer skin in color dark purple red color and inside is a white fruit that is sour and sweet taste it comes from the Philippines. Mangosteen grows from a tree. The benefit of mangosteen is known for the following: Rich in antioxidants Anti-cancer Promote weight loss Support blood sugar Promote healthy immune system Healthy Skin Dragon fruit comes in a purple or white color but the purple one is the healthy one to eat it is sweet when it is in season. It is rather an expensive fruit to eat. It is in season in the Philippines right now. Dragon Fruit grows in a cactus plant and it doesn't like growing in a winter place it needs to be avoided by getting the soil wet.  For your reference you may check their other products in their Facebook Page:...

As the climate changes and people who touch their eye often sometimes get sore eye or what other people call it pink eye. Sore eye is a common airborne disease that floats around in the Philippines due to the smog and pollution that we breathe outside. Sometimes you can get sore eye if it is from allergies or someone in the house also has it.  It will start off soreness in your eyes when you wake up and your eye lids will not open sometimes you get it only in one eye. Sore eye looks like your eye are sore and it is so itchy just the feeling when you have allergies. But the way to determine your eye when you cannot open your eye lid due to the mucus that has form inside your eye lid. Try washing your eyes with a face cloth with warm water and place the face cloth on the eye that is affective to remove the mucus that is in your eye lid for five minutes. It is best not to wear your contact lens during this process in order for your sore eye will heal faster. Always ...

When someone does a lot of good deeds we give them something in return doesn’t mean by giving them money, but to give them food in what they can’t seem to afford or because they feel the amount of the value can be used for something else like load for their prepaid sim card. Manang V has been cooking for my mom and I have it delivered by our driver at her house. This way even if she has no cook she can still eat food coming from someone else. This time the secretary has informed me there is a better place where she buy her milk tea and frappe where   she goes to very often after work. I decided to take her advice and buy our milk tea from Infini Tea through Food Panda Online Deliver to your home. Manang V said, she likes it better in I Love Milk Tea she usually order frappe strawberry cheesecake at Infini Tea we got her frappe strawberry and cream. Only difference from I Love Milk Tea you can’t choose how much sugar content you want as from Infini T...

Traveling in Sydney, Australia has drawn me drinking Bundaberg Ginger Beer and I fell in love with this drink because it has my favorite root which is ginger. I am not sure if anyone is familiar with this product. Bundaberg Ginger Beer is actually a soda based not an alcohol beer which many people might have mistaken by its name. The product has been fermented for three days process. I did some digging to find more about this product since I was so drawn into it and love the taste. I found out they also make other products with the same content with ginger root just that there are other flavors to choose from. I decided to buy some of their other products luckily I was able to find a seller here in the Philippines that sells and ships their product here in the Philippines where I live. I was able to buy Bundaberg Sarsaparilla (rootbeer) which is also my favorite soda beverage with based on my experience trying other brand that makes rootbeer I found this brand t...

There are so many topics to write about that I had encountered yesterday with my mom as we’re talking in the car when we’re heading to our destination. The topic in the car was my mom was telling me she has a best friend who had post XOXO BFF Forever. My mom was asking me can someone as best friend can only be friends in that kind of way or do these people have some kind of chemistry that they become more than just friends. Sometimes you question what people post and write down in the media as they post pictures of their best friends regardless they have a commitment relationship that is not open to the public or they are just mainly best friends who just express their feelings to wildly online just for people to be curious what kind of relationship they have for each other. What happen when your best friend post pictures to female to female what do they become? Do you even ask your friend about it or do you mind your own business and not bother to question what they post...

I have been eating salad and I wish they had a Sweet Tomato Branch like in California where you can eat a salad, but have other main dish meals along with your food. There is no place like here in the Philippines that are so healthy like back home. The most places you will find in the Philippines are buffet restaurant from the healthy and unhealthy or salad places that just serve just a salad bar. Nothing compares to what you have in California just base on where you now live. I have found a place called, Salad stop is a place you can create your own salad and decide what you want to put on your own meal the healthy way. You can choose either a salad bowl or on a tortilla of your choice. Anything is possible in salad stop. Or you can choose from their menu suggested salad if you don't feel like creating your own salad. https://www.saladstop.ph/en/menu/ You can choose to visit their branch or have it delivered at your home by using Grab Food Exp...

Just over the weekend my mom wanted to go shopping at Greenhills Shopping Mall in San Juan to get her pedicure. I was telling my mom lets do it on March 11 when I will be renewing another cell phone contract from my Globe account. Good thing my mom said, she wanted to shop somewhere else and she gave me list of days to pick out for this week. I told my mom let me check the schedule of my boys so I can figure out how I can squeeze myself in their schedule. I decided to go on Monday, March 2 with my mom. When I came home that day I had heard in the news there was a locked down in Greenhills Shopping Mall in San Juan. You realize to this point if I didn't choose a date to shop with my mom somewhere else we would be involve in that locked down. This is when you realize it is not your time to experience something as horrible as those 50 people have experience that day when a gun man held 50 people hostage. You realize how lucky you are and God holds you back no...

The best part when you visit your seller who you usually shop from at 168 Shopping Mall, 999 Shopping Mall and Tutuban Shopping Mall. They end up missing you when you haven’t seen them for a very long time. They start asking why you haven’t come by their store for awhile. You tell them you don’t go out shopping due to the coronavirus they had informed me that is not the in thing here because they don’t feel you can get it. As you are walking around with a disposable mask some people are wearing a mask just like you, there are others don’t have any mask on. The ones who are coughing don’t have a mask and you feel safe because you have one on. You also notice there are a lot of people wearing their disposable mask on the wrong way as the wire are on the area of their chin when the right way the wire is suppose to be in your nose area where you can pinch it to the size of your nose. I have seen people look at us as we pass by them, but they also have a mask on. Not ...

Holy week is approaching and thinking of a new destination that doesn't affect the coronavirus to ruin our upcoming vacation. The best place to visit is a place that is a tropical climate since I have heard when the weather is hot you are most likely not to get the coronavirus. Places to choose from are the following places: South East Asia except for Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand Africa North America Central America Caribbean We will see which places comes to mind in what my mom would like to travel this coming year. I will just put your curiosity to the test and see if you have guessed which one is right.

When you start to aged carrying heavy load of groceries doesn’t quite help you when you become weak to carry a full load as you transfer everything to your car. To bring it back to your home especially if you live in a condominium, apartment or townhouse with a far distance to your front door. Having a trolley help you pull everything together instead of finding someone to carry all you’re belonging for you. Here in the Philippines people shop in the public market to buy their meat, vegetables and fruits and they commute by tricycle, jeep or any source of transportation. There are some people who decide to just walk if they live close by. When you have so many things to carry and become heavy people like to use what they call a trolley. Grocery carts are not available when you shop in the public market or what we call palengke. Most places don’t provide plastic bags you will need to bring your own eco bags with you while you decide to shop. When my mom decide to ...

It is the month when you remove clutter that belongings to you and start giving to someone else who needs it. Mananag V was telling me her two Granddaughters need a formal dress to wear for their upcoming Junior Prom and they are on a tight budget. I found out my God Child is one of them that needs a dress. I had informed Manang V I have some formal dresses that I no longer need since I no longer attend formal party as well I have lost weight. If, the person is not picky she can have them for herself all she need to do is alter it to her size. I went to my attic looking for the formal dresses that I had mentioned earlier as I was cleaning my closet I have found other things I can give to her to lessens my clutter I had in my room. I was taught by my mom it is better to give something to someone than stocking up in your room when you no longer need it. After cleaning out my clutter and organizing my closet it became clear to me there we're other clothes I n...

How many names do you have? I have so many nicknames other than my real name. I have an Aunt who calls me Ching Ching every since I was a little girl. I have a relative here in the Philippines she cannot pronounce CH she calls me Jinky which is not my name at all. I’ve told her several times that is not my name, but she has a hard time pronouncing CH and adds a J instead. I stop explaining it to her and just respond to Jinky as she calls me. My in-law’s calls me Chinks. My cousin calls me Carmen. My best friend calls me Carmie. No one knows I am Carmina only people who don’t know my nickname. When a package arrives under Carmina they wonder who is Carmina. When you have kids of your own you become their Mom a sign of respect. To everyone outside the home people think I am the foreigner or in tagalog balikbayan  (guest) because I don't look familiar when they see me. When you start dating when you’re young your boyfriends would call yo...

Summer is coming and we always want our drinks to be cold on a hot sunny day. There are times we don’t have space to bring a cooler with us. There is an insulator that you can use for your beverage such as soda, beer cans and beer bottles all in different size and design to choose from and makes it assesable to take it along with us. For wine lovers why not use a freezer cooler ice pouch to keep it cold.

Did you know there is a milk tea, coffee and juice holder that is reusable?  You no longer need to worry if your hands are full from carrying other things on your hand when you can have a milk tea, coffee and juice holder with you. It becomes easier to carry along with your other bags on your hand. The best part you save plastic bags by saving the environment and they are reusable and washable. It becomes something easy when you decide to buy for you, family and friends. Choose from solid, prints and character on the milk tea, coffee and juice holder. For water bottle holder for kids and adults this is also useful for everyone For the people who love to drink soda or alcohol and no space to carry with their hands why not a waist bag for your soda and beer: Life becomes easier for everyone when our hands are full with other things to carry when you are shopping, going to school or camping with your family and friends. Something...

Summer in the Philippines is almost starting and people are planning their vacation even if we still have the coronavirus. Us Filipino love to travel when we have a chance too and travel with families, friends or meet a new friend there are always a lot of opportunity for someone like us to travel within our reach. Living in the Philippines even if you earn less of the value of any other country, we still have time to travel even if it means not leaving our country. We can travel just few hours to visit a new destination just to take a break from the real world we sometimes plan ahead or sometimes it is just last minute. No matter what we have time to explore rather than always working hard and staying at the office. Some people even bring their work as they still enjoy the beach scenery. There is a difference from the life in the United States and the Philippines we are carefree people and you will notice people living in the United States they come home and go ...

Easter is approaching and here in the Philippines they are very religious they obey the rule no meat on every Friday. These are the food not allowed to be eaten during this time: Chicken Beef Lamb Pork Ham Food allowed to be eaten: Vegetables Fruits Fish Egg Milk Grains The only ones who are allowed to eat meat are the seniors and those who do not believe in that kind of superstition. Restaurant provides meals for a limit time offer for example at Mc Donald’s they offer breaded fish and chips a part of their meal. Some Filipino people believe when Good Friday comes they are not allowed to go to work they will just pray and attend mass at the Catholic Church. Some people put them on a restriction to remove something they common daily routine during lent season for example: No Facebook  No Drinking. No Junk Food No Smoking They try to remove something they often do that it will be difficult for them to remove this way during lent season...