MY family enjoys a good bottle of wine once in a while. I’ve always wanted a house where I can store a few bottles of good wine saved for those special family gatherings. Wine Racks are actually the best ways to store your wines – aside from the fact that they should be stored in a cool places away from the sun.

The Vine Store (http://www.thevinestore.com/) offers the highest quality wine racks that can be shipped nationwide. They have wine racks made from wood and metal. Their racks can be hanging or wall mounted. They offer racks for both residential and commercial wine storages.

When you visit their website (http://www.thevinestore.com/), they categorize their website either by function or by price. Which really helps a lot when you’re shopping and trying to decide what kind of rack you want to buy. But just in case, it wasn’t the one you wanted, they also offer a 100% money-back guarantee on their wine racks, should you be unhappy with the item you purchase.

Purchasing with the Vine Store online is secured. They are hosted on Yahoo! Store’s servers and your orders are processed using Yahoo’s shopping cart which protects your personal information – your name, address and credit card. You’ll be assured that Yahoo usies SSL encryption to ensure privacy and security. Also, once ordered, your purchases are shipped with 100% satisfaction guaranteed.

Aside from Wine Racks , they also sell whisperkool and humidity control instruments for your wine cellars as well as Wine Labels, Wine Charms, Wine Corkskrews, Wine Bags and Wine Guides. They also have Wine Tasting Tables, Wine Coolers, and really cool Wine Glasses.

(This is a sponsored post.) 

So after reading a lot of blogs out there on the world wide web about anything and everything you can think of, you’re thinking that you might want to have your own blog site, too! Sure! Come on and join the wonderful world of blogosphere!

There are a couple of ways to have your own blogs. Some buy their own domains, most of them use free blog sites. There are a lot of popular ones but one blogsite that you’d probably want to try is thoughts.com n(http://www.thoughts.com/free-blog)

Thoughts.com is a free online Blog community that offers more features than other free blogs. Aside from the free blogspace, they offer their bloggers unlimited bandwidth, photo, video and podcast sharing. They also have a community forum so that you can interact with other Thoughts.com bloggers and you can also read and participate in the live news discussions.

Your blogs at Thoughts.com is interactive – your fellow thoughts.com bloggers can rate each of your blog posts, photos, podcasts and video blogs. IF you receive high average user ratings, you’ll be eligible to win a retreat to a new location – all expenses paid! Last 2007, the winner went to Las Vegas.

Aside from the all-expense paid trip, if you refer a friend to become an active member, Thoughts.com will give away a free 6-month Netflix membership. Cool, right?

But more than the perks, with Thoughts.com, their members get an instant audience from the thoughts.com community. Every post on your Blog will be displayed throughout the site and they can easily be found by other members – if you decide to make your entry private.

So if you’re looking for a unique place to house your blog, visit http://www.thoughts.com/free-blog and experience those cool features yourself!

(This is a sponsored post)

“Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.”

Weddings are romantic events not just for the marrying couples but for most people celebrating the moment with the couple. Planning a wedding should be exciting and not hectic. Altho most brides (and grooms) have a tendency to feel really panicky about every detail of their wedding, there are some agencies that could help make the wedding planning as happily memorable at the wedding day itself. I know that wedding planners can sometimes be very expensive but couples on a budget shouldn’t really worry too much. They can go to the internet and there would be websites that can show them tips and tricks on how to plan out their dream wedding.

The Wedding Museum (http://www.weddingmuseum.com) is a wedding website where couples can look up ideas and use their tools to plan out their big day – for free. They have articles on what to do when hiring wedding professions. They also have a wide variety of suggested music for the reception for the party dancing and formal dances. They also provide wedding timelines to be able to schedule all the activities coming up to the main event.

One of the wedding planning tool the Wedding Museum has is an interactive web pages created to plan and share your wedding information with your friends and everyone in your guest list. It also features an RSVP tracking and wedding notepad plus a budget calculator and reception worksheet. These tools will help the couples make sure that they’re right on track and on budget. The free wedding site also provides a webspace for couples to show off their wedding pictures in their online wedding album. There’s also a guestbook that lets the guests leave their heartfelt comments and well wishes for the couple.

The Wedding Museum (http://www.weddingmuseum.com) offers a lot of other ideas, tools and pages that will surely make the bride and groom’s planning phase less stressful.

(This is a sponsored post)

Just some of the more recent goings-on around pansitan.net:

… Tunyfishbowl quips about pimples

… Tissuepaperworld announces some of her friend’s stuff on sale

… Roguereborn shouts to the world her father’s homecoming to the motherland

… Psych0sis recaps her previous activities

… Pondahan talks about her soon-to-leave boss

… Milkolate announces a unique Creative Advocacy Campaign

… Haringliwanag discusses parenting pointers

… Dejabrew writes an entry about her dear brother

… Darvin shows off a photo he took in Japan

… Coatablecoats lends some tips for bad credit scores

… Blackbaies talks about Midnight Wanderers

… Balikbayanbox raves about the best things about being Pinoy

… Ala-ism tells us why she’s been busy lately

It’s a busy week around pansitan.net

I admit, I have this habit of looking people up on the internet.  I look up old classmates, old crushes, ex-boyfriends, neighbors, relatives.  When I suddenly remember a person and have this big curiosity on knowing where and how they are or what they might be into or how they look like, I use the internet to search for them. 

There are a lot of people searches on the ‘net.  One of them is Spock People Search (http://www.spock.com). 

You can type in a name, an email address or a “tag”.  A “tag” information could be anything that could describe the person, i.e, doctor, teacher, black hair, programmer, father, sister, etc.  The tags could have been thought about by a user or other Spock members. 

If you want to find old friends, old classmates on the web, Spock.com (http://www.spock.com) could be the search engine for you.  Your results will show you some information about whoever you are looking for.  Once you register, you can connect with trusted contacts (people you know) and search within their networks. 

A company started in 2006,  Spock.com has the technology to organize their search results.  They go thru biography pages,  other social websites, blogs, directories, news pages.  If the person you’re looking for is on the internet, one way or another, Spock will find the person.  It will also show you if the person is in MySpace, Wikipedia, LinkedIn, any blog or any other social network on the net.

Spock was selected Best of Show at the Web 2.0 conference and one of the “Top 25 Websites to Watch” according to PC Magazine in 2007. 

Co-founders Jaideep Singh and Jay Bhatti envision Spock to be a very excellent people search where everyone in the world had a unique search result.  They’ve already managed to have over 300 million unique people search results and maintain about 3 billion people data records.  You can view pictures, data, tags, quotes and news.   Like what they really strive to be – Spock.com – the best for people search

It has amazed me, one time I was counting, that I’ve been hanging around the internet for about 10 years now. In fact, I met my first very serious relationship over the internet. He actually taught me a lot of things about the internet, Photoshop and websites. Altho we didn’t end up together and I know the main reason is because that relationship was just the bridge for me to meet up with a schoolmate from 25 years ago who eventually became my husband – my ultimate relationship of all.

Ok… where was I? Oh yeah, the internet. Since I could consider myself quite a veteran already, some people have asked me about webhostings and putting up their own sites. In fact, I’d helped quite a few people putting up their own websites in the past. I guided them through getting their own domain name (that thing that comes after the “www” thing) and getting their own hosts. For the domain name, I usually point them to one of the most popular websites for that because they’ve gotten really dirt cheap. For the server, I point them to my own domain – Hostgator.

I’ve had some problems with other hostings before and they’ve really gotten expensive then. But when you compare features point by point Hostgator actually gave you more bang for the buck. And actually, more than the features and the inexpensive plans, it’s their customer service that has always made me stay with them. Whatever problem I had, it was really easy to get a hold of them and they’d be able to troubleshoot really fast. That, for me, is very important. I wouldn’t want a cheap host but get really annoyed and irritated when I talk with them (much like when you want to get a hold with a customer support person from your phone service and you get this voice-activated system that’s really so annoying!)

For now, I have about 26 bloggers on my Pansitan.net domain, with about 2 to 3 more coming up soon. And honestly, I have not had any problems with my maintenance with them as far as hosting them is concerned. Most of them hosting their blogs on WordPress, too.

Continue reading this post…

I used to go to the gym before I left for California. I’ve always wanted to go back but my work schedules from then until now that I’m in Maryland just doesn’t allow me to do so. But I promise myself that I will, once I get my commute and work-routine pegged down.

I actually enjoy going to the gym. I like that electrifying atmosphere as soon as you walk thru the doors – everyone is getting pumped up, aiming to get fit, get toned and just living healthier. It’s really contagious.

But sometimes some gym-goers work hard that the body can’t catch up with producing the essential elements it needs. It’s not really a bad thing, it’s just that the body’s metabolism is really gearing up now and that’s actually good news. This is where nutritional supplements come in.

That’s why it’s good to have websites like Stronger Nutrition (http://www.strongernutrition.com). It’s a company founded by fitness-minded individuals whose aim is to make buying your nutritional supplements online as easy, friendly and secured as possible. They have 3,000 name brand products to offer with the most competitive prices. And with their advanced web technology, they guarantee a safe and reliable online-shopping experience.

Stronger Nutrition has a comprehensive product catalog page where it would ask you what you want in your supplements and what you would need it for and the product results from your search are tailored to what you want and need.

Like, if you want to build muscles, they have 1518 products you can choose from. They also have products for boosting energy or your immune system, losing fat among others.

Stronger Nutrition is a very user-friendly website since it lets you shop by goal, or by category or by brand. So you’ll know exactly what you’re getting or you’ll easily find your favorite products right away. Whether you want Soy Protein in your favorite strawberry flavor or you’re an athlete and would need a Carb Component for muscle recovery and glycogen replenishment – they have it all.

Your online transactions and payments are secured and since it’s safe, you can use your credit card. They also accept Paypal and Google Checkout. Also new members of the site get 10% off their first order thru their email referral. Frequent buyers also collect SN Reward Points everytime you order with them that earns you discounts on the store.

(This is a sponsored post.)

It’s time for everybody’s favorite portion. film showing. one of my girls from the ballet, ea, brought me over to help her put together an audition video. she’s left the old company. let it be noted that nothing followed after that statement to qualify it. too much paranoia these days from certain people have made simple statements mean too many things. Anyway, I couldn’t do too much editing with the ballet class and the variations portion so i asked her if we can do an extra piece that we can make like an mtv. it didn’t have to be a complete piece because i was just going to piece them together and make a video of the footages. so we came up with red. set to chopin’s revolutionary etude. it’s the techno version by maksim. I was gonna clean it up but i have so much backlog on my own personal projects I can’t touch it anymore.

then we thought of making an mtv of her own contemporary choreographic work which won her an award at airdance’s yearly choreographic competition.

this dance made me cry the first time i saw it. i guess we give it meaning with what we already hold inside us. i hope there’s still enough of the dance for you to like after my editing. I wanted to add other dimensions to the dance. i suppose you can’t collaborate without putting some of your own ideas into the piece. i was so involved with the piece, ea and i almost fought during the filming and the editing.

I haven’t seen my girls dance for the longest time. i think the last time was when i left the company. I almost cried to see how beautiful a dancer my negra has become. she’s learned so much in the short span of time that she’s tried her own wings. i am so proud of her. like some middle-aged mother at some public high school, I want to shout: tangina! anak ko yan!

how i wish I could see the rest of my girls. how they must have grown artistically too. those of you who watch these videos and like it, take a moment and close your eyes and send your love to the dancer. she’s one brave soul for baring herself to us.

I have another daughter out there. taking her chance. taking on the world. auditioning for ballet companies in the states. send her your love too. every dancer adrift on the wind can use it.

sit back and enjoy.

I was tagged for a meme by another blogger and published my rejoinder recently. I’m supposed to go through my archives and choose five favorite posts about my family, friends, myself, something I love, and lastly, one of my choice.

My blog has always been a personal assay and picking just 5 was an impossible task. Here then (in no particular order) are my top picks.

Time for some shameless self-promotion *gasps*

My favorite Pinoy posts…….

Super Tsuper: An Overview of Filipino Public Ultility Drivers because you just have to live with them! *Grrrrrrr*
The Sub Genuses Of Filipino Traffic Violators Este Drivers. Pardon the a**holes.
Pinoy Daredevils. Yet another pet peeve.
My Shungak Awards. They deserve the honor………..Really………
Only In The Philippines, Filipino ‘SIGNS’ Of Wit. Filipnos are quite inventive.
Only In The Philippines, Mga Pamahiing Filipino. Filipinos are just plain superstitious.
Pinoy Folk Illnesses. Not only are we superstitious……….
The Philippines Through The Eyes Of A Filipina. I’m (still) downright proud to be Filipino!
Filipinos: The Good, The Bad, & The Chaka. Duh???  

And my favorite and most commented posts…….

Disambiguated Seity because even at age 30, I still can’t quite figure IT out.
Temporary Madness as I’m perpetually IN love.
An Ode To Snow White. Physical Beauty is so f***in’ overrated!
Battle Scars. Believe it or not, I’m proud of ALL my scars, superficial or otherwise.
Dreamweaving because I (still) believe hope springs eternal.
Highly Evolved Defense Mechanisms. To some degree, aren’t we all equipped???
Diabolical Idiosyncrasies because I believe in God-given free will.
Hyperspeed because I seriously think one could lose oneself in a notional world.
The Fine Art Of Conversation because I keep finding myself soliloquizing.
Mastering The Art Of Falling as it was written for a friend in denial about a very serious problem.
The Ultimate Secret To Happiness. Sorry to burst your bubble, there is none.
Hey Handsome. A birthday pressie for my main man.
A Skeleton Out Of My Closet. Probably the most personal piece I’ve written, not to mention the only one with ‘tears’ to match.
Shiver Me Timbers: Drastic Measures (Part 2) (in which I did the unthinkable!!!) as it was written to exorcise the ghost of an ex flame.
Denounging Suffrage which explains why I have denounced my right to vote and why I hate politicians.
Of Sex Scandals & Pinays. Seriously, in this day and age, do you still think that the world is flat, or were you born yesterday?!!!
Holiday Anathema as I hate spoiled brats!
Conservation 101 For Dumdums. Sedira is beautiful! Call her otherwise and I’d kick you right smack in the balls!!!!
My wakeboarding posts because I’d wakeboard everyday if I could!!!
Turning Over A New Leaf as I’m so grateful to have had my blog ‘adopted’. *Yay*

Thanks again Ate Gigi! I’m so proud to be a member of the Pansitan community!

Tito Rolly is one of my very, very dear friends. We, together with other Filipino bloggers (which I am so proud to be a part of) are from the blog group “Blogging Berks” with a community blog at Blogkadahan.com.

In one of our very many emails to each other, Tito Rolly mentioned about a couple. Tom and Kathy Spencer, who became good friends of his in his poetry circle. They finally got the chance to meet when Tito Rolly and Tita Nitz went to Canada in 2001 for a vacation. The couple flew all the way from Indiana to meet them. This prompted their host, Arlene, to put up an impromptu poetry reading in Richmond, BC, Canada.

Tom and Kathy Spencer own the Inntown Bed and Breakfast in Lowell, Indiana. So if you’re planning on heading midwest or the vicinity, and would like to stay in a cozy bed and breakfast, this is your chance. The Inntown Bed and Breakfast was awarded “Best of the Midwest” by Rand McNally June, 2007 Midwest Get-Away Guide, Page 88-89. It’s just an hour’s drive away from Chicago also.

I have always wanted to check in at a B&B because it does seem like a friendlier, homier place to stay in. Actually, when hubbie and I were daydreaming of driving towards the west for a vacation, I told him that I’d like to experience staying in a B&B. So maybe, come summer time, if we do head that way, we’d surely stop by this place.

Check out their website!