BIG BUGS...13 OF THEM

"Insects play a vital role in a garden, but are unnoticed, so I put them on on such a large scale that you can't help but notice them."
- David Rogers, the Artist

MY GOOD FRIEND Karen (we also work with the same company) and I have one thing in common... we find so much joy in gardening. Yesterday we spent most of the day exploring the beauty and wonders of the Garden in the Woods in Framingham, MA. RI is so tiny that visiting the nearby states of Connecticut or Massachusetts is such a breeze.

The garden is a living museum of 1,500 native plant varieties including rare and endangered species. And the highlights of the garden are David Roger's 13 gigantic natural wood insect sculptures. I am not squeemish at all when it comes to insects or bugs but I loathe snakes! When I was young, I found so much joy in catching dragonflies and sometimes I would ripped their little wings off! Would that make them a dragon since they can't fly anymore? o^_^o

Enjoy the photos...or may I say... proceed at your own risk!



















And to view the rest of the photos (I took over 40 of them!), please click HERE.

PINK PHILIPPINES

WELCOME TO MY 2nd Pink Saturday and thanks to everyone who visited and left lovely comments on my very 1st PS. In case you missed it, please click HERE.

And as always, thanks to Beverly @ How Sweet the Sound for hosting this fun and cool event.

Today, I'll take you all for a quick virtual tour of my country. I'm originally from the Philippines but I recently became a US citizen. Our culture may be different but we surely share the same passion for PINKNESS. Enjoy...

And since we don't need a car (it's considered a luxury)...we can hop in on one of these. The tricycles are the preferred ride when travelling short distances. And this town (wherever it is) only knows one color!

Image via Flickr

For long distance travel, we can take the jeepney (aka The King of the Road). They were originally made from US military jeeps left over from the World War II and are well known for their flamboyant decoration and crowded seating...

Image via Flickr


Image via Flickr

I've never been to a SINULOG parade (this might be similar to the MARDI GRAS in New Orleans). This is an annual festival to honor the child Jesus and and is actually a dance ritual that commemorates our pagan past and our acceptance of Christianity. PINK is obviously the color of choice for this "queen"!

Image via Flickr

And this is one of my favorite desserts. Halo halo (literally means "mix mix") is the Philippine version of the sundae but with a tropical twist. I wish you all lived near me and we can have a halo halo party... o^-^o

Image via Pinoy Recipe


Image via Flickr

My friend Karen and I are going to Framingham, MA today to visit the New England Wild Flower Society. I will visit everyone's PS as soon as I get home.

I wish everyone a happy weekend!

WE HAVE A WINNER & I'VE BEEN TAGGED!

AND THE WINNER is...#5 and that would be you "FANCYHORSE"... selected @ random. Please e-mail me your complete address and the goodies will be on your way. I hope you'll enjoy the rasberry teas as much as I do. Thanks to everyone who left a comment.

o O o

My very good friend and fellow blogger DEB @ Wisteria and Roses just tagged me. She's also new to the blogging world and if you have a chance... stop by over @ her new place to say "hello".

This is kind of hard for me for I am still getting to know myself ^_^ and I'm also going through the most difficult time in my life. So, ready or not (to myself)... here are a few facts and tidbits of me...me and more about me...

I AM Filipino, I'm 40 years old and my full legal name is MARIA CONCEPCION ARABEJO BRENNAN. I don't answer to MARIA but I do love the sound of it on my blog name.
I THINK of my whole family in the Philippines and my sister Helen in Japan all the time.
I KNOW how to speak 3 languages: Filipino, English and Spanish. I gave up on learning Japanese! I have too much on my plate already!
I HAVE a BS degree in Elementary Education and taught elementary Art and Spanish in RI for a while. I failed 2x on the teaching exams. I'm not a dumb-dumb! Just had a couple of bad luck or just need to study harder :(
I WISH that there's a magic cure for cancer (or for any diseases). My BF Joe was diagnosed with esophageal cancer this past December and thankfully he's able to eat again.
I HATE snakes!
I MISS authentic Filipino food.
I FEAR (I cannot express it @ this moment...)
I FEEL blessed everyday...
I HEAR my BF snoring and it makes me smile... (he doesn't sleep too well).
I SMELL the neighbor grilling something delicious which turned out to be chicken kabobs and they gladly shared some with us (Thanks, Dave & Ali).
I CRAVE nothing else but fresh coconuts ..sigh...
I SEARCH all the time for wisdom and strength.
I WONDER what my mother is cooking right now. I should give her a call.
I REGRET...too many to count...but wasted precious time is number one on the list.
I LOVE soy sauce a lot!
I ACHE (I can skip this one)...
I AM NOT a huge fan of chocolates. So, don't give me any for Christmas unless they're loaded with nuts...
I BELIEVE in the power of prayer... always.
I DANCE all the time...so pump up the volume.
I SING if you hand me the microphone...(with karaoke only)
I CRY easily...
I DON'T ALWAYS pay attention to the news...
I FIGHT not to cry while doing this post!
I WRITE ONLY when I blog...
I WIN if I play harder...
I NEVER smoke nor learned how to swim considering I came from a country surrounded by over 1,700 islands.
I ALWAYS wanted to be an architect.
I LISTEN NOT too well.
I CAN USUALLY BE FOUND (if time permits) power napping or crafting or gardening...I could just go on and on...
I AM SCARED (skip this one)
I NEED more confidence...I tend to sell myself short.
I AM HAPPY ABOUT anything... it doesn't take much to make me happy...
I IMAGINE of a world without hunger and pain...

Now that I have fulfilled my bloggy duty I am going to tag ONLY 2 friends: Nancy @ FancyHorse and Cielo @ The House in the Roses.

PRETTY IN PINK

WELCOME TO MY very first PINK SATURDAY with fellow blogger Beverly @ How Sweet The Sound. Thanks a million for hosting this event!

PINK is one of my favorite colors aside from white and green. So, here are a few of my favorite finds...

I have three pink tea cups in my small collection and I use them all the time...


Another good find from an antique store. As far as usage, they're not worth the yen I paid for them but they're very good decorative pieces.


Blogging has inspired me again to work on tons of unfinished projects that has been tucked away in the drawer for years and years...'Ashley' is one them and the poor girl has not seen the light of day since 2002! All she needs is a TLC and a good frame and I'm working on it!


Another WIP...I still don't know what to do with them! Maybe a small blanket... that means I only need about 1000 more of them!


Although, I said "no men allowed"...this little critter seemed to lick his way in...Say "hello" to Floppy!

I AM NOW FAMOUS!

FOOLED Y'ALL! I'm up early. And I have nothing much better to do than fool around with my photos with some help from Big Huge Labs. Make one for yourself from HERE.

Have a nice weekend everyone! It's in the 80's around here and no humidity...love it...love it...love it. Yup, you read that right but try living in RI for a while... the humidity is a big killer around here! I am heading to Block Island tomorrow with her (again)...^_^

ICED TEA, ANYONE?

THE RASPBERRIES ARE growing wild in my backyard so why not make some iced tea?

And who couldn't resist taking pictures of these beauties? I don't know about you but I just find blogging not only mentally exhausting but also physically demanding...^_^ Just trying to get the best angle possible wasn't that easy for my aging back!


If you're an iced tea lover like me, I'd like to introduce you to my new obsession. The aroma of this tea can fill up the whole room and they just smell fruity and wonderful. They're kind of hard to find. And because I'm being nice I'd like to send you a box of these... just leave me a comment by Saturday @ 12midnight/EST. I will also throw in a few surprises for you (sorry...the crosstitched towel is not included). And who said I have to wait till my 100th post to do a giveaway. Let's break some rules. I'll draw the winner's name on Sunday, July 13th.


It's getting humid here in my neck of the woods...there's nothing better to quench your thirst than having a glass or two of freshly brewed raspberry iced tea. Please feel free to share your favorite iced tea recipe... I would love to try them all.

AAHHH, THE JOYS OF SUMMER, cont'd

THIS POST IS loooong overdue! It's has been super busy around here in my little casa but I've accomplished a lot of things.

A couple weeks ago, my "walking buddy" @ work, Jodie and I went to Plymouth, MA for her church's annual meeting and for some R&R.

PLYMOUTH is best known for being the landing site of the Mayflower and the Pilgrims.

If you want to learn more about the historical city of Plymouth, then click here and here. I'm originally from the Phillipines and I found this trip interesting and informative.

Please click or right click on photos to see larger images...

When you're in New England...you can't go wrong with fresh lobsters.


The Plymouth Rock was closed for some renovations... *sigh*


On board the Mayflower replica. This ship is seaworthy and sailed to Providence, RI in 2002. I just cannot imagine how life was like for the 102 pilgrims especially for the women who were on board the ship for 2 months!


View of the harbor...


The sound of the brook and the rustling of the leaves were still vivid in my mind...


We followed the town brook and it brought us here @ Jenny Grist Mill, "America's First Grist Mill" (1636).


And a typical New England home is not complete without white picket fences...

The window box is simply charming and that car is GORGEOUS!


The most beautiful B&B in Plymouth! And we had the chance to meet and talk to the beautiful owner Brenda who was happy to pose for my blog. Her husband is the gardener and he did a wonderful job! She was going to show us the inside of the house but she was on her way out.


Everyone meet Jodie...


And the Best Catch of the Day (and after I handed out my hard earned dollars)... this vintage stoneware round tray is mine.