The Salitype Society

Pink's Hotdog in Los Angeles, CA

noreply@blogger.com (Salitype) — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 07:00:00 +0000

At the same location for 73 years ! Pink's is a family-owned hot dog stand that started in 1939. Pink's chili dogs, complete with a large warm bun, oversized hot dog, mustard, onions and thick chili sold for 10 cents each in 1939.

Jeff and I drove 40 miles from where we live to check this place out. This is in Los Angeles, California at the corner of Melrose and La Brea. No one will miss this place as soon as you turn the corner. Just follow the crowd of people lined up along the street and the aroma of fresh meaty chili and soft hot dog buns.

You order here...

and watch the servers prepare your order ...

enjoy looking at signed photos of famous Hollywood stars who have been to this place ...

this is my order ...

Pink's hot dogs have been specially made for Pink's by Hoffy since 1939. They are all-beef and have a natural casing that makes them snap when you bite into them.

this is Jeff's choice ...

we shared this order of onion rings ...

Pink's still gives that very same quality now as then... mouth-watering chili, generously topping an all-beef hot dog with mustard and onions. Quality and service (an average Pink's chili dog can be ordered, prepared and delivered to the customer in less than 30 seconds!) have been the two reasons Pink's has not only survived, but become famous.

It is not unusual to see a Rolls Royce pull up to Pink's (the chili dog ordered will be for the occupant, not the chauffeur!). Movie stars, well-known dignitaries, struggling musicians, businessmen, housewives, school children... all have savored Pink's Famous Chili Dogs

this is the small dining area, but most people stayed outside enjoying California sun ...

It is definitely a landmark in Hollywood, California and I am so glad I get a taste of good meal and history !

* Aligaga *

Travel with me to England

noreply@blogger.com (Salitype) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Do not wait for special moment to celebrate, instead celebrate each day as special. - Eng

From my part of the world to yours ... Enjoy !

1. Durdle Door is a natural limestone arch in Dorset, England.It is privately owned by the Welds, a family who own 12,000 acres (50 km2) in Dorset in the name of the Lulworth Estate.[2] It is open to the public. The name Durdle is derived from the Old English 'thirl' meaning bore or drill.

2. Pulpit Rock is coastal feature near the southern tip of the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. The artificial stack of rock was left in the 1870s after a natural arch was cut away by quarrymen at the Bill Quarry on the famous headland, Portland Bill.

3.Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about 2.0 miles (3.2 km) west of Amesbury and 8 miles (13 km) north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks. It is at the centre of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds.

4.Clavell Tower, also known as Clavell Folly or the Kimmeridge Tower, is a Grade II listed Tuscan style tower built in 1830. It lies on the Jurassic Coast, on the top of Hen Cliff just east of Kimmeridge Bay in the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, England.

all source lifted from wikipedia.

Shabu Shabu

noreply@blogger.com (Salitype) — Thu, 31 May 2012 01:37:00 +0000

Shabu-shabu is a Japanese variant of hot pot. The name shabu-shabu is derived from the "swish swish" sound of cooking the meat in the pot. The dish use thinly sliced meat and vegetables and are usually served with dipping sauces. It is considered a winter dish, but is eaten year-round.

The dish is prepared by submerging a very thin slice of meat or a piece of vegetable in a pot of boiling water or dashi (broth) made with kombu (kelp) and swishing it back and forth several times.

It is served with tofu and vegetables, including Chinese cabbage, chrysanthemum leaves, nori (edible seaweed), onions, carrots, shiitake mushrooms and enokitake mushrooms. In some places, udon, mochi or harusame noodles may also be served.

The dish is traditionally made with thinly sliced beef, though modern preparations sometimes use pork, crab, chicken, duck, or lobster. Most often, tender ribeye steak is used, but less tender cuts, such as top sirloin, are also common.

Cooked meat and vegetables are usually dipped in ponzu or goma (sesame seed) sauce before eating, and served with a bowl of steamed white rice.

Once the meat and vegetables have been eaten, leftover broth from the pot is customarily combined with the remaining rice, and the resulting soup is usually eaten last.

This particular Shabu Shabu restaurant is located in Irvine, California.

Ancient Skyscrapers, San Gimignano

noreply@blogger.com (maricar) — Wed, 30 May 2012 06:55:00 +0000

One of the most unforgettable travel experiences for me is to see and to be in one of the most beautiful city in the world... San Gimignano, in Italy.

we bought this painting in one of the shops in San Gimignano

Buongiorno! or Ciao!

Welcome to San Gimignano!

San Gimignano - from a distance, the towers of San Gimignano dominate the Val de Elsa, a lush landscape of wheat fields, olive groves and vineyards. The towers, symbols of the power and wealth of the city's medieval families, once numbered as many as 72. Today only 13 remains, but the city still carries the name San Gimignano delle Belle Torri ( of the fine towers ). Originally an Etruscan village, the town later took it's name from the Bishop of Modena, St. Gimignano who is said to have saved the city from the barbarians.

In 1348, the plague decimated the town's population and weakend the power of it's nobles. Today San Gimignano is one of Europe's best - preserved medieval cities and has the feeling of a museum. In summer and at weekends, and year- round it is crowded with tourists.

It was on 30/05/2007 - after travelling in some parts of Toscana like Castellana di Chianti, Sovana, and Siena we went to San Gimignano. A beautiful city up in the mountains, the first time i saw San Gimignano i fell in love in the city immediately .

It is also called "ancient skyscrapers" because of it's stunning towers from the medieval age. When you think about skyscrapers you will think about New York, Taiwan, Tokyo or Dubai. But this skyscrapers of San Gimignano is unique. Michael said, it is maybe comparable to the mud- bricks skyscrapers in Shib - Am in the South of Yemen.

After walking and looking around the city, we bought some souvenirs and then we had cappuccino in the restaurant which is in the middle of the city. It was so wonderful to sit there and enjoy the beauty of San Gimignano. I told my husband i really love the city and if ever we will have the chance to visit one place again it will definitely be San Gimignano.

by: maricar

Note: the information above about San Gimignano is from The Lonely Planet and photos are taken in San Gimignano, Toscana, Italy.

Harding Icefield...Staircase to Ice Age

noreply@blogger.com (betchai) — Wed, 30 May 2012 04:26:00 +0000

Harding Icefield Trail

Harding Icefield….from the face of one of its outflowing glaciers,

Exit Glacier from the Valley Floor

to the end of its trail,

End of Harding Icefield Trail

the experience will forever haunt my memory and inspire my senses. National Geographic lists this trail as one of the 10 best day hikes in National Parks and describes it as a staircase to Ice Age. I could not agree more.

Let me bring you to our hike…I must warn in advance this will be long, but promise not as long and strenuous as our hike!

The Rock Strewn Steep Slopes Remind Us the Value of Patience

This was our trail in the first mile, it started in the forested valley floor, which climbed steeply over this rocky strewn staircase. In hiking, patience is a virtue, it is not about getting to the destination as quick as you can, but it is about learning from all the lessons in its entire journey! Hiking is not only a test of physical fitness, but also mental and emotional.

Crossing Streams

Hiking fuels our curiosity and nourishes our spirits. What causes drastic changes in vegetation? Where all these rocks and their seams come from? There are so many questions that we know only God has the answer to everything. Notice the taller vegetation in the above pictures, then, compare it with the vegetation in the pictures that follow below.

Lupines, Yarrows and Exit Glacier

After about 1 mile and gaining 1000 ft in elevation, the tall trees disappeared giving way to alpine wildflowers.

Field of Lupines

In this field of lupines, I see the spirit of my TSS sisters who delights in blue and purple, Zen and Tes. I see the rest of the TSS sisters swaying, rejoicing, cheering, in spirit, I felt their presence.

But we had to leave this piece of heaven to continue up. Notice the snaking river below at the valley floor, that’s where we started! We have gained a certain height already, but we were still very far from halfway of the climb.

After a while, we reached the bottom of cliffs! This is not even half of the way, but who would snob this sight? This may not be the destination, but hiking is not about the destination, it is about the journey. Every step of the climb is part of the journey!

Flying High Above Exit Glacier with Harding Icefield Further Up

We all jumped or flew above the glacier, without wings! Not once, not twice, but many times! Jumping is a celebration of happiness we found! Nowhere else had we seen a world like this! It felt like walking on the moon....I wish you were there, and we all can go flying!

For a lot of hikers we met, this is their final destination and went back to the valley floor! I cannot blame them, the bottom of cliffs is already a heavenly sight after 1.6 mile from trailhead and 1700 ft climb. However, for most, it's the 1700 ft climb that were already weakening their legs and already feeling the pain. From here, there is still about 2000 ft more to climb.

From the bottom of the cliff, the trail became a combination of rocks and snow! I usually prefer the snowy trail over the rocky trail since rocks are hard on foot, but in this case, I did not know anymore which one was friendlier to our feet. When I was on snow, I wished for the snowy trail to end! When I was on rocks, I wished it were snow! Deep in my heart, I was just wishing for a dirt trail to tread!

But thankfully, alternating with snow and rocks, were the alpine wildflowers. Their presence reminds us that life exists and blooms even in the harshest conditions. If they survive, so we surely will in this hike :-)

Somewhere further up in the alpine slopes, I see yellow in the midst of purple!

They are my TSS sisters in there, Chay, Zen, Car, and Tes! Oh where is my and Ruthi’s pink, MJ’s and Car’s red, Cher’s peach? I see Eng’s green and brown, they were everywhere! And I see little Beth's daintiness in those spots of white. In spirit however, their inspiration were with me in this hike.

The Youngest Hiker In Our Group

Sadly, as we went higher and higher, the alpine wildflowers disappeared :(. The trail became all snow.

We were surrounded with everything icy white and nunataks, whipped by very strong freezing wind that if we were not careful, could blow us away. At that time, I did not know that I was facing the frigid ocean, that this 4000 ft thick of icefield with 38 outflowing glaciers sits below the sea level in the Gulf of Alaska. The vast ice surrounding me and the brutal Arctic wind felt like I was in the North Pole, or time has brought me back to the Ice Age.

Nunataks @ Harding Icefield

Nunataks are isolated mountain peak surrounded by glacial ice, once projected through a continental ice sheet or an Alpine ice cap. Nunataks are thought of as glacial refuges of vegetation to reclaim the land after glacial retreat. They have jagged contours because of freeze-thaw weathering.

We all made it to the end of trail! We were so proud of our youngest member for making it despite carrying a very heavy camera in addition to several liters of water, layers of clothing and food! Young as she is, but she is strong mentally and physically. After the hike, she gained more emotional confidence that we never know what we could accomplish unless we give ourselves a chance! Exploring always drive her to read and learn more about our natural world, Earth’s changes and cycle! If you don't want to struggle with your kids in bringing them to read and study further, stir their curious mind outdoors! Be prepared when you get back home to go to the library, they wanted to know more about what they experienced outside.

After the end of trail, what goes up must come down. And no, it is not easier going downhill with all those rocks and snow.

But thankfully, there were some parts that were not on rocks, not on snow, but on dirt. These are the pressure relief part of the trail. But there's very short dirt trail compared to rock strewn and snowy trail.

Marmot Greeted Us "good evening, take care, make noise so you will not encounter bear"

On our way down, we saw a lot of marmots, the largest member of the squirrel family. Their presence reminded us of the presence of bears in the area. Though we would love to see them, but not on the trail. Thus, following the National Park advise on safety, we started making noise by talking more to each other, and purposely make our trekking poles produce sound sometimes as they hit the rocks.

Melting Glacier

Thankfully, we reached the valley floor without encountering Mr. Bear. When we reached the valley floor, we added distance to our hike continuing to the edge of Exit Glacier. Up close at the edge, I did not only see the glacier cry, but heard its loud grumble from its many waterfalls. Its tears we met at the river stream, towards the ocean we swim. The ice is melting, the glacier is hollow.

Despite the freezing air, I felt the ice melting in my heart. Looking at the turquoise blue and the fragile beauty, and listening to the crying of the Earth, I pray silently, "Lord, I trust in you, that everything happens for a good purpose. Grant me the wisdom and a heart to help take care of Mother Earth, the home you gifted us."

Napa Valley, California

noreply@blogger.com (Salitype) — Tue, 29 May 2012 21:47:00 +0000

Napa Valley is one of the premier travel destinations in the world. Breathtaking views abound at every turn – mustard in the late winter, picturesque rolling hills planted with vineyards year-round and wineries of every stature dot the landscape. Whether you are wine tasting, dining at renowned restaurants like the French Laundry, pampering yourself with a mud bath in Calistoga, or just enjoying your stay at quaint bed & breakfasts, hotels or resorts ... Napa Valley is your spot of heaven on earth. (Information from NapaValley.com)

Fun Wine Facts :

One barrel of wine makes about 20 cases, or 1200 glasses. A ton of grapes equals 720 bottles of wine, or 60 cases. One vine annually produces between four and six bottles of wine, or 20 and 30 glasses. Each bottle of wine contains about 2.8 pounds of grapes; each 5-ounce glass of wine a little over half a pound.

Aligaga

Lourdes Grotto

noreply@blogger.com (kulasa) — Sun, 27 May 2012 05:39:00 +0000

We had another trip to the City of Pines with the kids this summer. This time we took them to the Lourdes Grotto which is a Catholic place of worship where one could have an excellent view of Baguio City.

Devotees from all over the world visit the place each day. We were greeted at the entrance by a brown friendly dog.

I took one deep breath at the foot of the first staircase and wished myself a lot of luck climbing the 252 steps. Already exhausted from roaming the rest of the city I knew I had little energy left.

Flowers abound along the staircases and taking photos of them gave me enough resting time to keep up with my kids' stamina.

Roel, my ten year old son urging me to climb faster because he couldn't wait to reach the top.

Climb on with us...

As with any climb, it was exhilarating to reach the top...

In silence we lighted candles and prayed for everyone...

"May there be always not merely a piece of bread

but LOVE and PEACE in every home."

The Luberon ochre hills in Roussillon

noreply@blogger.com (maricar) — Sat, 26 May 2012 05:21:00 +0000

" Welcome to the Ochre Foothpath! "your's truly :) enchanted by the ochres foothpath but still trying to be funny ;)

it was before 5 in the afternoon when it started to rain, so no choice but to go back to the parking lot

here you can see the color of the ochres, mixed of brown,red, yellowish

the middle part of the ochre foothpath

going down the stairs

here the colors are mixed of white brown and yellow

the lush green pinetrees makes the place enchanting!

red cliffs a view from the city

pottery shop

souvenir shops, restaurants along the small street

typical city gate with bell

i shot this up from the cliffs

going up to the other side of the village you will be fascinated by these beautiful houses

the view from the restaurant where we had lunch

Roussillon - or also known as French Catalonia, the land of Tramontane, since prehistoric times people lived here and here they found the oldest skull of Europe in a cave near Tautavel. Located in Luberon at the foot of the Mont de Vaucluse. It's worth the long drive going there and coming back from to Avignon.

Of Ochres and Colors - Roussillon is famous with it's fascinating red cliffs and ochre quarries, surrounded by beautiful country side, the red yellowish and brown shades color of the cliffs makes a magical scenery contrast to the green pinetrees around. As we enter the village, we can't help but to sigh, the place is simply magical! we also enjoyed driving along the city of Roussillon, there are even private houses with their own little red ochre cliffs. The grand landscape a few " terraces" are being used for workshops and activities organised according to the season.

It is also believe that from these red yellowish and brown colors from these ochres, is used in several countries for their wall painting from 4000 years ago or even more, like what we saw in the ruins of Pompei in Italy some years ago, when we visited the country.

Very interesting place i can say... and a very enchanting experience... and another "wanderful" travel adventure ;)

Matanuska Glacier

noreply@blogger.com (betchai) — Fri, 25 May 2012 14:34:00 +0000

A Glacial Lake Inside Matanuska Glacier

Matanuska Glacier is a rare roadside glacier that one can actually look down on from the road.

Matanuska Glacier from the Patio of Long Rifle Lodge

( it was actually raining when I took this shot, we were lucky the rain stopped before our hike and started again when we were done)

This glacier is located on mile 102 of Glenn Highway National Scenic Byway, about 2 hours away from Anchorage. From the road, access to Matanuska Glacier is about 3 miles in unpaved but well maintained road. In the last 2 miles, access to the glacier requires a fee of $20 per person. From the parking lot of the trailhead, you can get closer to the glacier through a 1-mile interpretative trail, half of which is muddy due to the sediments that collected on top of the ice.

This Muddy Trail Actually Is Ice Underneath (photo by ktl)

Once you get to the edge of the glacier, the glacier itself is the trail, and you are free to explore around and inside the ice. Be extra careful getting inside the glacier since glacier can be very unstable.

photo by ktl

However, with proper gears and a common sense to be extra careful, one can enjoy exploring the ice. There are many guided glacier hike tours that you can find in Alaska.

High on Ice

Since we were not experienced ice hikers, we actually availed of guided glacier hike. I will share more about our glacier hike at Matanuska Glacier in a later post.

Come with me to St. Louis Missouri

noreply@blogger.com (Salitype) — Fri, 25 May 2012 13:31:00 +0000

Please allow me to share with you one of the most precious trips our family had ....

This was the year we celebrated Christmas in St. Louis, Missouri. It was a lot of fun but we missed Jack who couldn't go with us on this. Jack was still serving in the US Air Force in North Dakota. I missed him a lot, so after our vacation I mailed a couple of good pictures to him and some souvenier goodies I found which I thought he would like. Jack was so surprised and happy when he picked up his mail at his apartment mailboxes.

Things to see and do in St. Louis MO. I regret now that I didn't take as much pictures or visited all the nice places in this town.

This was the old St. Lous Union train station that St. Louis developed into a shopping mall. The mall is a neat place to wander around. The shops are very unique by selling merchandise you wouldn't normally find in other places. We walked aimlessly hopping from one store to another.

Hyatt Hotel where we stayed.

Down below is where the train station used to be, now a shopping mall.

The Whispering Arch is located at the entrance of Union Station. This is the plaque that explains this neat experience one is about to have with Whispering Arch. To get the full experience of the Whispering Arch, each person must be on each side of the arch. If you whisper something facing the wall, the other person several feet away will be able to hear it as clear as day on the other end of the arch.

I was trying to show the both sides of the Whispering Arch.

Christine and I standing on one side of the Arch while Jeff was on the other side. This was a neat thing you can not experience anywhere else in the world.

This was in the hotel lobby and Jeff decided to play his favorite piano piece for me.

The Gateway Arch has been a popular tourist attraction since its completion in October 1965. It is a 630-foot ride to the top of this world-famous stainless steel monument for the finest view in the Gateway City. Designed to last 1,000 years, on a clear day, you can see for about 30 miles from atop the structure.

The lobby where we waited to get on a short tram ride to the top of the Gateway Arch.

This is a shot from the inside of the Gateway Arch.

The view of the city and the Mississippi River from the top of the Gateway Arch.

Looking West, you'll have a breathtaking view of downtown St. Louis

Looking East, you can see the Mississippi River and Illinois.

My son loves surprises, so from time to time I would send him things I buy from our trips as well as pictures. His trip to the airforce office commercial mailboxes became a regular trip for him to check for surprises and sometimes a money bonus I would send him.

If your business or work is looking for commercial mailboxes please check AuthFlorenceMailboxesDirect.com. They are the ultimate source for Auth Florence Mailboxes of every size, finish, style, and material. They deliver fast, they have a huge selection of different styles, expert customer service, low price protection, and an organization who stands behind their products and services.

Submitted by Aligaga for TSS

Lenovo Speakers

noreply@blogger.com (Salitype) — Fri, 25 May 2012 09:45:00 +0000

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Lenovo for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
My mom was a grade school teacher and a dressmaker in her own dressshop. She was my first mentor and my inspiration. People who knows my mom and who knows me will say I am just like my mom - hard working and focused. She retired 15 years ago, but she stayed active helping me raised my children.
When I was little my mom is my "go to" person. If I have questions about different things - from how to cook stir-fry noodles, how to operate a fruit blender, how to sew clothes and work on my school projects I always call her. My mom was always there to help me find answers to different things I didn’t know.
Right after college, I was very fortunate to get hired as an accountant in a prestigious company in town where I grew up. I was very busy working my way up the corporate ladder and barely had time to see my mom. One day my mom called me on the phone asking me how to use a debit card which the bank gave her after she opened a new account. I went with her to the bank and showed her how to use it. Couple of months later my mom asked me to show her how to use a celphone which she received as a gift. Slowly it dawned on me that my mom and I reversed our roles. Now she was the one asking me to show things that are new to her. I was more than glad to show her how to use a computer, how to operate a microwave, how to get online and use skype.
This year as I am preparing my trip to visit my family in the Philippines, I wanted to get my mom and dad a Lenovo speaker M0520.

I know they will ask me a lot about what it was and what it was for and how to use it. The Lenovo speaker M0520 is a 2.0 speaker system which includes a main speaker with built-in amplifiers and a sub-speaker. I will attach it to their desktop computer so they can hear the sound better when I video chat with them on the computer. They can can also use it with their smartphone or MP3/MP4 player. What I like about it is the speakers are small in size and doesn’t take a lot of space and the sound they produce is big and bold. Lenovo speaker M0520 has 4 watts of power for high-quality full sound, convenient USB-powered connection with energy saving function, speaker wire spools for easy storage, elegant yet substantial presentation.
Yesterday I called my son on the phone to help me download an app on my celphone. He came over, pushed a couple of buttons and the app I was looking for was installed on my celphone in ten minutes. He even created a short cut so I can easily find it when I need it.
Before he left, he asked me if I know what an Android market place is … hmmmm I think for a while and whispered “No, I don’t, but you can drive me there when you are not busy”. He laughed and left shaking his head.

Engagement Ring

noreply@blogger.com (Salitype) — Thu, 24 May 2012 20:27:00 +0000

I was so happy for my girlfriend Jean. She sent me a text message last Saturday with a photo of an engagement ring attached to it! What could be a better news to get from a close friend? We have been waiting for this big announcement for months and it surprised us when it finally happened. Jean and Tom have been dating for four years. I’ve met Tom on several occasions and he seems to be a very responsible man. He successfully runs his own business and is always very busy. Last Saturday, Tom put aside his business and took care of what is more important and finally popped the question every woman would love to hear from their man. Jean has been waiting for the stage of their relationship to get more serious and move forward to being together as a married couple.

Jean and I had been looking online for the Top 10 Diamond Engagement Rings for her. She wanted something simple but elegant. After finding the perfect ring our next problem was how to show him the type of ring she likes. We were very careful so it wouldn’t look like she was pushing the engagement. We ordered a catalogue and had it delivered to my house. Then the next time Jean, Tom and I were all together I opened the catalogue and pretended that I was looking for a new ring to replace my ring that doesn’t fit me anymore. I showed the catalogue to her in front of Tom and we browsed it together pretending that we were just looking. She pointed out the one she has been eyeing and told me in front of Tom, so bold that only a blind man could not miss the hint, that this particular ring was very cute. Guess what? That was exactly the ring she got as he was paying attention the whole time we were talking.

While shopping online I found something that I fell in love with, a platinum diamond stud earrings. It is very elegant and perfect for any occasion. I now wear it everyday to work and it goes well with my accessories.

Have you seen Vintage diamond rings? I love the subtle and delicate look of vintage-inspired rings. My favorite is made of 18k white gold with an elegant halo that holds thirty six (.31ctw) diamonds that surround the center stone and cascades down the sides of the vintage engagement rings. A matching wedding band is also available.

You know what? Whatever ring we choose or end up with, it will always be the best piece we will ever own.

Aligaga for TSS

Dreams

noreply@blogger.com (Salitype) — Thu, 24 May 2012 20:24:00 +0000

Sometimes when this is the most we have on our minds — dreams are formed. Dreams can be the start to new growth. Boundaries keep us where we are and not where our dreams can take us. Focus on what is beyond the horizon not on the boundaries. Dreams do become reality.

Grow!

Quotes by Jeff

May 2012

This boy gets up early and sell bread from house to house so he will have allowance for school. Pretty sure the day after he graduates he can afford to start his own bakery business.

This boy works in the morning and goes to school at night. Keep working hard to finish school, someday you will be an engineer or architect !

Training to become a future athlete !

Become.com

noreply@blogger.com (Salitype) — Thu, 24 May 2012 20:23:00 +0000

Why pay full price for an item you can get half off in another place ? Since I started working two jobs, shopping has become too much for me to do on my spare time. I found online shopping works well with my schedule. What I normally do when I need something, I get up early, still in my pajamas and shop online. Shopping online takes me to different places, see a wide variety of items in a short amount of time. With the comparison shopping technology, online stores provide the opportunity for shoppers to compare prices and get the best deal.

Using popular sites like Become.com you can compare prices and find large selection of products to choose from. The shoppers can also get advice on what they are looking for and also give product reviews .

For Memorial Day Holiday, I looked for walmart patriotic bunting to display in my front porch. I typed the key words in the search engine, the site gave me a lot of items in different designs. I picked up this one (attached). It is just the right size for people to see it.

I also came across a decorative pineapple outside lamp post which I thought was a really nice decorative piece to put in the front porch. I purchased two to place side-by-side on our front door.

While I was online, I also looked for a granite laminate pedestal 53” to replace the one piece that broke when we moved to our new house. I have two pedestals and I put a glass top on it and decorated it with two lamp shades and couple of picture frames. We used to have it in our hallway, but since one is broken, the glass top and the pedestal has been sitting in the garage.

I still go to the mall whenever I get a chance, nothing can beat the fun of going from store to store and try on clothes and shoes. With my petite size, I find it hard to find clothes that would fit me right and shoes that is comfortable. Other than those two things, a lot of my purchase is done online.

Aligaga

Instagram

noreply@blogger.com (betchai) — Thu, 24 May 2012 20:16:00 +0000

Instagram Mosaic I Simply Snipped from my Facebook Wall

I finally have created my own account at instagram, which is another photo sharing website. My purpose of signing up is to have an easy access to editing such as cropping, changing themes and using photo filter to my cell phone photos. I still am finding my way how to use instagram. Below are my first instagram photos. I took them using my cell phone through instagram, then used the cropping feature or photo filter or both.

Cropped Only

Enhanced Through Instagram

Enhanced through Instagram

Cropped and Enhanced Through Instagram

Cropped Only

Cropped and Enhanced

Cropped

All pictures in this post were taken during our tidepooling at Dike Rock Tidepool, north of Scripps Pier, in La Jolla Shores last weekend.

How about you? Do you use instagram? Do you use it more for photo sharing, or do you use it like what I plan to do, an easy access to use photo filter which our cell phone cameras do not have?

Realtor/Broker

noreply@blogger.com (Salitype) — Thu, 24 May 2012 20:15:00 +0000

Selling or buying a house is stressful enough, so to lessen the stress make sure you find the right realtor who can get the job done right. With a tough economy like this, we all want a fair price for the property we wanted to buy or sell.

For me, referrals is the best way to find a good realtor. Consider asking friends, neighbors, co-workers and family members if they know or have worked with a realtor who can be trusted and someone who has a good track record and years of experience with the real estate business.

Here are a couple of good questions you may want to ask your prospective realtor - How long have you been in the real estate business ? On the average, how many days did it take you to sell a property ? What are the options if the property is not selling? The realtor’s answers are good indicators of his experience with the real estate business.

Are you looking or selling a property in the New Jersey area ?

Please give Bruce Germinsky, Broker-Owner of BG Realty, a call to discuss your real estate needs. BG Realty Services is a full line real estate brokerage firm representing buyers, sellers, tenants and landlords in the commercial and residential real estate markets of New Jersey. They also handle commercial, retail and high-end residential real estate in Monmouth County.

With over 40 years of experience, Bruce Germinsky and his team of professionals can provide all the answers you may have with Residential Real Estate and Commercial Real Estate.

Aligaga

Walking The Dream

noreply@blogger.com (Salitype) — Wed, 23 May 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Was it only three years ago? When The Salitype Society group of blogging friends at Friendster came together to put up a blog where they will call "bahay kubo"- which means nipa hut.

picture of bahay kubo by Zen

The move was not so much because they foresaw Friendster being dissolved at that time and disappear into thin air. The move was because they dreamed of building a home outside of Friendster with hopes that their time together celebrating friendship online will generate income which they will use to help give a child a fair chance in life.

Though we downsized from a mansion to a bahay kubo, but we had many rooms. Our rooms include: cooking made easy, travelougue, chic a la mode, Poetic Murmurings, Inspirational Stories, Craft Bug, Fun with Photos, Flower Hunt, and Varied themes. The creation of this multiple themes was based from what our topics were always were at Friendster, with hopes of "walking the dream" together. Our dream: transform some of our leisure time online to bring a positive difference to a child's life.

Congratulations To Our First Scholar who Recently Graduated from Elementary, thank you Micah for being a gift to The Salitype Society

A little bit of our history:

The Salitype Society was founded July 2008 at Friendster. But it was in April 2009 that they dreamed together of moving their mansion to blogger, a place they can call home of their own. They dreamed that their new home would be able to generate enough income to send a child to school, somebody with a name, a face. May 2009, The Salitype Society was born in blogger.

Yes, it was three years ago, not so long ago, that this site was born. December of 2009, this site was able to generate enough income to support its first scholar, Micah Ramirez, who was Grade 4 then. Time flies, now Micah graduated in elementary and is going to high school. We are now entering the 4th school year of supporting Micah. From elementary....to high school....maybe to college, God willing and with God's blessings, we hope to walk the dream with Micah, and now, with Nonoy, The Salitype Society second scholar.

The Salitype Society Second Scholar

We also found Nonoy from Tapulanga Foundation. We are grateful to Tapulanga Foundation for allowing The Salitype Society's celebration of friendship in this site extend to Micah and Nonoy. If you are thinking of also sponsoring a child, and want to learn more about Tapulanga Foundation, you can click the link here in this post, or the "send a child to school" icon we have in the right side menu of this site.

Three years ago, we move from Friendster to here. Now, Friendster is gone, but this site continues to live on. Each time one of us remembers to share her thoughts here (contributing posts, commenting, etc), the "bahay kubo" becomes transformed to a "Mansion" of happiness. We pray that the celebration of friendship continues and live in our hearts, and in the process of celebrating the joys of friendship, we will be walking the dream we have founded three years ago.

The Salitype on Local Search Engine

noreply@blogger.com (Salitype) — Wed, 23 May 2012 05:04:00 +0000

As Salitype turns four years old in July, I wanted to reflect on our group’s simple journey from where we started to where we are now. We all met in a website called “Friendster”. The site allowed us to post short blogs and connect with people who have similar interests. We all met online, got to know each other and became friends in a short period of time. Everybody agreed when some members of the group suggested to bring our blogging to a whole new level. The purpose is to create a shared blog, start earning an income, and make it our group project to donate the income to a charitable institution.

A fun page was born and it was our baby – we call it

The Salitype Society !

The website officially launched in July 2008, members who have technical expertise put a lot of time and effort creating introduction, designing the page, and the rest of us started putting together blogs regarding: travel, cooking articles and recipes, fashion tips ideas, poems, and inspirational stories.

Tesya

Beth

Twinzy (my error and I decided to leave it here LOL )

Chay

Betchai

Zen

Eng

Car

Cher

As we completed the process we faced more challenges than what we initially anticipated. We learned that to get offers for paid blogs we had to increase our page ranking. We researched ways to make our articles and website more visible on major search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing. Our website from time to time gets offers to review products, restaurants and places. These are all earning potentials for our site and a chance to get a higher page ranking. We also have Facebook and Twitter accounts and we used those social media platforms to market our website. Most of our page visitors are from these social media places.

We learned a lot of new things like Web hosting, Local search engine optimization, and Search engine maximization. This is where RevLocal comes in, they find small and medium sized businesses who need help with local search engine marketing with focus on their Google place page. New business owners may not be fully aware that things online are changing fast and may not know strategy on how to handle these issues should hire a professional who have been in business for many years and a company who has a proven track record, relationships, tools and effective process.

Are you a small or medium-size business and want to connect with a broader audience? Give Revlocal a try and see for yourself the benefits of getting a high rank in the search engines would do to your business !

A year ago, Salitype supported one scholar from our savings and today we added one more. We are proud of this accomplishment. Way to go Salitypers! May God bless us all as we move forward.

We thank everyone for your support!

Submitted by Aligaga for TSS

The Gifts

noreply@blogger.com (Salitype) — Sun, 20 May 2012 06:06:00 +0000

My kids are still in school full time and do not have a job. I know they only live with their allowances, so in advance I told them to not worry about getting me anything for Mother's day and I understand if I don't get anything. They also know I don't like expensive gifts and I prefer that we all get together for a simple dinner. Spending time together as a family is more important to me than anything else.

I came home from work and the kitchen counter top was well decorated with balloons, flowers, and all these cute gifts. My husband played along and even snapped photos as soon as I walked in.. I was surprised, almost made me cry...

The kids told me these are inexpensive gifts, and they knew I would love each one of them... they are right, I love them all ! I took as many pictures as I could and I thought I share this with all of you...

Chocolate cake from 85 degrees bakery cafe'

A really cute picture frame

If there was a day for everything you have given to me as a mother, it would be Mother's Day every day. Thanks for always helping me to remember what is important in life... and today it is you! You're the best! Thanks for all you do.
(From Quotes online)

Rubber Mulch by RubberEcycle

noreply@blogger.com (Salitype) — Sun, 20 May 2012 06:05:00 +0000

The colorful rubber ground cover caught my attention when I pass by the park one afternoon while walking Cottonball. A week earlier, a group of four people were working in the park putting down new playground toys - swing set and slide, gorilla playset, and water fountain. One of the workers told me they will put rubber mulch on the playground surfaces. Rubber Mulch is a unique rubber granules made from 100% scrap tires. It is safe, economical, they last long and environment-friendly.

This is now very common in school playgrounds, they come in different colors, they are long lasting and economical ground cover that will keep the yard looking beautiful and healthy. The rubber mulch serves as in insulating cover for the soil that allows water and nutrients in the soil and also blocking the weeds from coming out.

The playground surfacing is safe for children and reduced the number of playground related injuries. Parents can relax now while watching their kids have a great time in the playground.

Looking at the environment, it is also important and with this product it is very protective of our environment and it lasts for many years. If rubber can hold up on the highways under the weight of a car how much more will it withstand the tiny feet of children or even horses--to me this product is very exciting.

Rubberecycle started in 1996 when they introduced rubber surfacing products in the military, commercial playgrounds and residential markets. Today, they are the leader in the rubber surfacing which they manufacture from scrap tires.

Submitted by Aligaga for TSS

Canon Batteries

noreply@blogger.com (Salitype) — Thu, 17 May 2012 23:00:00 +0000

Two things I learned since I started blogging, 1) To appreciate the beauty of things around me. I am always on the look out for things that could possibly be an article or a photo to blog about. 2) I never leave the house without my camera and my cell phone. As a matter of habit I carry an extra Canon camera batteries so I never worry if I get in the mood to take lots of pictures or spend hours outside photo shooting. I have learned to take pictures using my HTC cell phone camera while I am stuck in California traffic jams. When I find interesting photo objects while stuck in traffic it actually makes my 2 MPH driving time less boring.

On my birthday, my husband asked me what I wanted as a gift and I told him I want a bigger lens for my camera. I also requested more canon battery chargers. These gifts will really help me take my photography hobby to the next level.

I took these photos while I was stuck in traffic using my cell phone. The beauty of the sky and the clouds always fascinates me.

Looking for digital camera and camcorder batteries ? Please check BatteryHeads, they have a wide selection of batteries compatible with most brands. Their Canon camera batteries are name-brand quality without the name brand prices. It comes with one-year warranty and 30-day money back guarantee.

The website can help you find the replacement battery for your digital camera or camcorder by entering the part number in the power search window.

Aligaga for TSS

POWOW Messenger for Android

noreply@blogger.com (Salitype) — Thu, 17 May 2012 22:20:00 +0000

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of POWOW Messenger for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I was thrilled when I heard about POWOW Messenger for Android. This app is made for people like me who owns an android phone and who sends a lot of group text messaging, really cool, isn’t it ?

Let me tell you what I did, I went to the App store and downloaded the App – it is FREE ! It took me less than five minutes to download the file and save it on my celphone. I created a short cut on my celphone so I can just click it when I want to use it. The app design is pretty straight and simple, you’ll see up on the top individual text message, group text message, favorites and zipped . ZipIT allows you to Blacklist unwanted texters so you don't see notifications or messages.

It will allow you to create different groups from your contacts. I have friends from different groups, so I created different groups and identified each one of them by a Group name. I made one I called "MC High" for my high school friends, "The Nurses" for my co-workers from the hospital, The WHez from my accounting job, TSS for my special Salitype friends and Fam Bam for my family.

To test the App if it is working, I quickly sent a message to my family saying “ I have a new found friend – Powow” . The message went through and each one of them text me back asking“who is Powow” ? I got their attention and that is a confirmation that the app is working great ! The group text sent a message to everyone in the group informing them that I created a group, and that they could then send a message to the entire group, simply by texting to the number it assigned to us! It also then listed everyone in the group, so everyone could see who was included in the group.

If you find yourself texting a lot, you should give POWOW Messenger for Android a try!

Again it's simple to download from your app store and it is FREE !

Have you tried POWOW Messenger?

Do you do a lot of texting? Could POWOW Messenger help you?

Submitted by Aligaga for TSS

A Man, a Car and a Dream

noreply@blogger.com (Aligaga) — Mon, 14 May 2012 07:00:00 +0000

One of the local events my husband loves to attend is the old cars show. To make him happy I went along with him to the event and even brought my camera to show that I support things he enjoys. The truth is the only thing I know about cars is how to drive them and where to put the gas.

We arrived at the show and as soon as I saw the Louie Mattar automobile I fell in love on its details. I snapped as many pictures as I could and engaged in small conversations with the guys as if I know stuff about cars.

This is what I found out about the Louie Mattar cars. With a goal of absolute non-stop driving, he built his 1947 Cadillac into quite the road warrior, including a shower, a complex on-to-go tire-changing system and a combination toilet/washing machine. In 1952, he and two other men established a cross-country endurance record by driving the Cadillac from San Diego to New York and back without stopping. Their trip totaled 6,320 miles and required refueling from a moving gas truck three times!

Up front, in addition to the many switches and dials surrounding the dashboard, are a nationwide mobile telephone, a tape recorder, a bar, a public address system (which has speakers in both the trailer and on the hood of the car), and a Turkish water pipe.

The equipment in the back seat includes an electric stove, a refrigerator, a washing machine, a chemical toilet, an ironing board, a medicine cabinet, and a kitchen sink. All of these appliances can be stored under the back seat cushions.

It took Louie Mattar 5 years and $75,000 to make his dream a reality. But this car was worth far more to Louie. He said "If I sold that car and had all the money in the bank, I wouldn’t meet the important people I do. That's worth all the money in the world".

Aligaga

Happy Mother's Day !

noreply@blogger.com (Salitype) — Sat, 12 May 2012 07:00:00 +0000

These words still echo in my ears ... "This is my daughter, she is smart, she is beautiful and she will go far in life.". Thanks be to the women who understand the power of words and how they can build a child. Whenever I feel down on myself I always replay my mom's message to me which in a thousand occasions return me to a position of strength.... believing in myself again.

To my mom and to all mothers who can read my message... this day is for all of you. You are the best thing that ever happened to us...

Aligaga

Torrey Pines to Del Mar on a Windy Day

noreply@blogger.com (betchai) — Thu, 10 May 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve (cell phone shot)

April 14, Saturday, time for me to relax my very tired mind in the healing power of nature. Though I very much love my job, but I always look forward to weekends as my reward for having a good week. The best reward for me always is a time spent with our natural world, whether it be hiking or riding the ocean's waves with my boogie board. I am happiest when I am out, though I am not saying I am not happy when I am indoors. Quoting fellow TSS sister Cher of Sweet Memoirs, " I am too blessed to be stressed", so that makes me happy anywhere. :)

That weekend however, the weather forecast was not very pleasant: periods of heavy rain, strong wind with gusts of up to 50 mph, and temperature was in the high 40s or low 50s but with the strong winds, it felt like low 40s. It was for this reason that all pictures here were taken by cell phone, no storm could stop us from enjoying the healing power of nature.

Armed with rain pants and breathable windproof rain jackets, we were one of the very few souls walking on the trails of Torrey Pines early that morning.

this is usually a busy bikers' and hikers' path at Torrey Pines, but that one extremely windy day, it sure felt like we had nature all to ourselves

Torrey Pines-Del Mar Beach Trail

We started our hike at Torrey Pines Golf Course to Del Mar Beach via Torrey Pines State Reserve, a total of 9 miles round trip. The strong wind made us walk very cautiously that we will not be blown down the cliffs. Perhaps being so focused on not being blown down the cliffs that I did not even notice my beanie was blown away by the wind. I only realized I did not have it anymore when I felt my hair whipping my face and tickling my skin as they were blown by the wind. Though the wind was extremely strong, but its whipping sure felt a therapy, blowing away all stresses and mental tiredness from a work week.
One of the reasons why we love a hike from Torrey Pines to Del Mar aside from seeing parading dolphins is that at Del Mar, we get to enjoy beach front dining, which we consider our another reward for both a good work week and a hike. :)

Jake's and Poseidon's Restaurant at Del Mar

At that time, we arrived too early for lunch, that only brunch was served. But what I love about Poseidon's is that they have wide selection in their menu even for brunch. I was confused whether to get Crab Cake Benedict or Dungeness Crab Omelette, but anyway, I settled for Dungeness Crab Omelette, while hubby had Thai chicken salad.

Dungeness Crab Omelette

Thai Chicken Salad

After our brunch, the wind had calmed down a little bit (just a little bit) that I had my chances of taking picture of these Pride of Madeira flowers using my cell phone which really has slow shutter thus any motion would produce blurred photo. Thankfully, there were periods of calmer wind, thus, able to get some of these cell phone shots.

Pride of Madeira

Wildflowers ( Coreopsis) in the trail

When we finally got back to where we started, there were already few people enjoying the promise of a beautiful afternoon after the morning rain. It was still very windy, but then, if you can't stop us from hiking and enjoying nature, who could stop them from playing golf?

Let me end this post with this quote from Anne Frank. I share her thoughts on why I always seek nature,

"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles."- Anne Frank

all images in this post were taken by cell phone