Monthly Archives: November 2013

Nostalgia of Owning a Volkswagen Bug

Queen Darlene - November 30, 2013 - Anniversary, Birthday, Business, Experiences, Father's Day, Gifts for Him

My boss Dennis and I have compared many stories of our Volkswagen Bugs we drove during our college years. There was no better car for poor college kids. They were inexpensive to buy, inexpensive to maintain, and inexpensive to fill up with gas. The key word here is inexpensive! And when other fancier vehicles were stuck in the snow, the Bug could travel on by.

My boss Dennis gets ready to drive down memory lane in his Volkswagen Bug rental car my co-workers and I bought him as a Christmas present.

The nostalgia of owning a VW Bug is a strong and wonderful feeling. Imagine giving someone the gift of reliving such a feeling!

We did just that for Dennis. Last year for Christmas, my co-workers and I gave our boss a VW Bug rental car for the weekend. After locating a rental car service that had a VW Bug, we had to be flexible with the timing.

You can rent a car anytime, anyplace but asking for a particular vehicle, you may have to wait for availability. Thankfully, a couple of weeks before Christmas, the rental car service called that a VW Bug had become available. Perfect!

Books of Significance & Meaning

Princess Diana - November 30, 2013 - $20 or Less, Anniversary, Baby Shower, Birthday, Business, Christmas, Condolence, Congratulations, Family, Get Well, Gifts for Him, Graduation, Thank You, Valentine's Day, Wedding

Earlier this year, my husband Kevin, our one-year old son Aiden, and I all flew to Boston. Kevin is a pedorthist – a pharmacist for the feet – and his colleagues from all across the country were gathering in Boston for their annual foot conference. (Foot fetish, anyone? Just teasing, honey!) I better call it the event by its proper name- the Pedorthic Footcare Association’s 54th Annual Symposium and Exhibition.

While Kevin worked, Aiden and I entertained ourselves one day by taking the subway train to Cambridge to tour Harvard University. (*ahem) I mean Haaahvard.

It was raining when we got off the train so we ducked into The World’s Only Curious George Store. Aiden didn’t own a single Curious George book so I looked through all of the different titles looking for just the right one. And I found it. Curious George Takes a Train

Oh, the Places We’ll Go! (And Been) | World Travel Map with Pins

Princess Diana - November 29, 2013 - Anniversary, Birthday, Christmas, Valentine's Day

When my husband Kevin and I were dating in college, he studied abroad in Costa Rica for five weeks so he could learn Spanish via language immersion. One day, I opened up my email and read, “When I’m finished with my classes, why don’t you fly down here so we can travel the country together?” How totally romantic!

Kevin and I hike the rainforest in Costa Rica in 2003.

But so last minute. He was talking about a date two weeks away and I had an expired passport!

I made it happen – but barely – because my passport literally arrived in the mail the day before I left. My plane landed in San Jose where my very tanned Spanish-speaking boyfriend met me.

We traveled for nine days together staying in beach towns, zip lining through the rain forest, and eating fresh papaya and drinking mango juice for breakfast. Traveling with my personal translator, we avoided touristy areas so we could experience Costa Rica culture up close and personal.

Being half Filipino, I am often mistaken for being Hispanic so locals would sometimes just randomly start speaking Spanish to me. When they did, I would get this embarrassed I’m-sorry-I’m-your-typical-spoiled- American-who-only-speaks-English look on my face. Then I would politely say, “No hablo espanol” and then quickly point at Kevin – “El Gringo” (you know, Spanish for “The Gringo”).

An Aloha Christmas | A Surprise Family Vacation

Queen Darlene - November 29, 2013 - Anniversary, Birthday, Christmas, Experiences, Kids

Our family tradition is to open presents on Christmas Eve. But in 1998, we opened gifts a few days earlier. We told our children there were family members going out of town, and they would not be here for Christmas. Luckily, they did not ask which family members because it was US!

For weeks, I had shopped for summer clothes in the winter. Not an easy feat trying to find bathing suits because Internet shopping wasn’t really a thing yet back then.

My sons parasailing over the ocean.

I purchased brand new suitcases for my two boys and packed shorts, t-shirts, snorkel gear, beach towels and sunscreen. On top of that, I placed what I wanted my children to first see – brochures and airline tickets of where we were going to be on Christmas Day!

That evening at my in-laws, we did the usual holiday ritual of eating, visiting and opening gifts. We had our children open their gifts from us last. When they opened their presents and found suitcases containing clothes, they were puzzled. The look in their eyes said, “Uh, what’s this? Clothes? Really?”

We all know 17 and 13 year old boys hate getting clothes of any kind. For any occasion.

I couldn’t believe they missed the brochures of beaches and surfers!

Let It Be Known That This is My First Blog Post Ever

Queen Darlene - November 28, 2013 - Catch All

Unlike Diana, I do not have a favorite holiday. New Year’s, Valentine’s, the holidays you are off work, Easter, Birthdays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and everything in between are all equally wonderful to me.

My family celebrated on every occasion because it was deemed important that family and friends get together to share stories, have fun, laugh, give gifts, take pictures, give hugs and kisses and genuinely show love for each other.

You see, for most of my life the only way my family could communicate was face to face. My grandparents on both sides were deaf, as well as my parents. There were no computers, video phones or cell phones to text. You could not call to wish someone a Happy Birthday or Thanksgiving. You physically had to be there in order to communicate through sign language.

Thanksgiving | My Favorite Holiday

Princess Diana - November 28, 2013 - Catch All

Since college, my favorite holiday has always been Thanksgiving. Why? Because people don’t give presents. I know that sounds silly coming from the co-author of a gift ideas blog but hear me out.

Instead of giving presents on Thanksgiving, people give their TIME to spend with their family. Nothing says “I love you” or “You are important to me” more than taking time to sit, talk and laugh together.

But the gift of time is abstract. You can’t see it or touch it. So that’s why there are many occasions where we want to SHOW someone we love them and care about them with an actual gift. Something they can physically unwrap.