Arlene Manocot's Blog, page 5

World's Largest Buc-ee's in Luling, Texas

Buc-ee's in Luling, Texas is considered the largest of the franchised store and I was so excited to find out when my boyfriend mentioned that we would be going there during the weekend. 


After church, we head straight to Luling, Texas. From Austin, it was fifty minutes drive. The travel was smooth and the traffic was light. Google Maps took us to the toll road even though my boyfriend preferred the non-toll road, even though we proceeded to the route. 
The biggest Buc-ee's was the goal of this trip. I was looking forward for a huge or humongos infrastructure when I heard about the largest and biggest Buc-ee's. I have SM Mall of Asia in the Philippines as my reference. 
It turned out Luling's Buc-ee's was not as big as I imagined it. I thought a day would not be enough to explore the place. I guess I exaggerated my expectations and it was alright that my expecation was not met. I enjoyed the place and there were a lot of interesting products to check out from Buc-ee's merchandise to variety of foods. They got clothes, books, kitchen utensils, stationery, pastries, snacks, drinks, sandwiches, jerky, and a lot more. 

Who is Buc-ee's?
Ever since our inception in 1982, we have been committed to providing a clean, friendly, and in stock experience for our customers. Regardless of where you may find us, if the store is big or small, near or far, the mission remains the same.
Cleanest RestRooms in America!
If you’ve been to Buc-ee’s, you may already know that this friendly neighbor along the highways has the cleanest restrooms in America. In 2012, Cintas ran a nationwide restroom contest and made it official!

Food we got:

Dried ProductsBanana Chips. He got this for a healthy snacks. I have not tried it yet.Sweetened Mango Slices. My favorite fruit! I like mangoes. Dried mango from Cebu is really good. This one that I got from Buc-ee's is dried apple mango. 

PastriesLemon bar. Tasted sweet and tangy, it was not really my favorite but he liked it.Peanut Butter Cookies. Love the nuts and peanut chocolate chip style.
SandwichesSliced Brisket Sandwich. The beef brisket was what he got and it was really good as it was and also with the bun and barbecue sauce. Pulled Pork Sandwich. I got the this since he already had the brisket and in that way we could share our sandwiches with each other. It also tasted so good. I ate the Pulled Pork Sandwich with pickled cucumber, onion, and barbecue sauce.

You will keep in perfect peace    those whose minds are steadfast,    because they trust in you.~Isaiah 26:3

Tired, But Happy Feet in NY

We were tired on day 3 and desired to rest our feet. We walked less this time, but it was still a lot. As part of our goal to make the most out of our budget, we intended to visit some famous or well-known tourist attraction in NY. Though, we were tired we still walked towards our destinations. Tired, but happy feet!

Places we visited:

Greenwich Village. The place looked so vintage and imbibed liberalism for some reason maybe because from what I heard some of the most famous writers lived there.


Chelsea Market. Another vintage place we went to, and it was so fancy. I ate kimbap beef rolls and it was so good. I got the rolls from an Asian store inside the Chelsea Market. 



The High Line. I was not what we were looking for when we were trying to find this place. When we got there, I just realized that The High Line wa like a platform above the service road. It had glass walls to view the slightly busy road.



The Vessel. Another tourist spot that I was not do familiar with. When we got there, the infrastructure looked like a honey comb for me and I did not know what was the purpose of the honey comb like building. The Vessel was near another tourist spot called The Edge and we did not get to see it up close.

Macy's. The world's largest store. Wow! It has scalator made out of wood. Wood!


Edge Hudson Yards. We did not avail this tourist attraction. It was too pricey for and did not make any sense why would I wanted to go there.

Empire State Building. Tall, old, elegant, and wow! We did not do the tour for this one too because it was pricey for me too, and again did not make sense. We just took some pictures outside the building and inside which specifically at the lobby part only. 




Jollibee. We missed Jollibee food. The Jollibee branch was at Time Square. Yey! Yum! 

Food we ate:

Kimbap Beef Bulgogi Rolls. I had at Chelsea Market. It was a bit pricey and if I was in the Philippines I would hesitate to buy it. But I had to try it and treat myself a little. I felt like I was eating sushi rolls. 

Jollibee. Yey! We had fries, fried chicken joy, spaghetti, and pies. Yay! So yum!
Snickers. Sweet treat for my sweet tooth. Chocolate was my dessert. 

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” ~Matthew 11:28-30

Go Green in Greune, Texas

I was a fourth wheel in a parents and son trip. My boyfriend's parents were kind to let me tag along on the Gruene, Texas trip. Thank you. I enjoyed it!

Gently resisting change since 1872. -Gruene, Texas

When I heard Gruene, Texas, I thought it was spelled as 'Green' and it turned it was not. Tada! It was one of the coolest places I visited in the US. I am fond of the downtown vibes and Gruene downtown did let me down. I am glad the government continue to preserve and take care of the place. 

What about Gruene, Texas?
Originally settled over a century ago, Gruene is a snapshot of Texas culture and history come-to-life. With 15 walkable acres designated a National Historic District, visitors can shop, dine, and dance within the walls of the original township buildings.
The ideal balance of preservation and progress, Gruene Historic District is a Texas travel industry darling for good reason. From tacos to onion rings, antiques to cowboy hats, and Americana music to blues, every doorway leads you to something unforgettable. Gruene is for people who love good music, fun times, and old things!

Cool places we visited in Gruene, Texas:

Gruene Outfitters. It has a lot of cool stuffs for the wild. From shirts to fishing rod, the store has a lot to offer for you to be born to be wild.The Pomegranate. It has a lot of girly things and they are little pricey. There was a sale but I did not get any that I might need.

Gruene Hat Company. Yeehaw hats for y'all! I tried one hat and it fell on the floor a few minutes after I hanged it back on the hook. My bad! I thought I embarassed my boyfriend and his parents because of what happened because he asked me to move on to the next store heheGreune Antique Company. Lots of old, vintage, and curious stuff and memorabilia were in the store. Wow! Cotton Eyed Joe's. It is a souvenir shop for y'all! I got a small pocket keychain kinfe for my father.Gruene General Store. My boyfriend and I tried a lot of different peanut butter spread with free itsy bitsy crackers too. Free taste is for the go always y'all! My favorite was salted caramel paenut butter. Yum! I also tried the coin vending machine souvenir at this store. I forgot what it was called, I have to asked my boyfriend. Gristmill River Restaurant & Bar. We had our lunch at Gristmill and I ordered Chicken Fried Steak with Original Round Cut Fries. It was so good, but they could make the fries crispy. My boyfriend got BBQ Ribs and I got a taste of it. Yum! His mom ordered the same as mine but had green beans on the side, and it was also good in all fairness, and it provided the additional fiber I needed.  Yay! Healthy! hehe His father got a burger and fries. The weather was getting cold and it was expected since there was a storm warning. It was winter season after all. 







The Company Store. It was another souvenir shop we went to and I noticed on the informational brochure that the store was not listed there. Probably, a new shop. They had shirts, caps, and Christmas tree ornaments.

Gruene Hall. The Texas Oldest Dance Hall, y'all! It looked so olds and there was a lot of framed pictures on the wall of singers and actors who performed songs and shot a film. My boyfriend and I got to dance on the hall and it was a silly-sweet dance, that was so much fun!








The Great Texas Pecan Candy Co. They all got varieties of candied pecan. The store staff handed us free pecans for tasting. Yum! I ended up buying Pecan Beer Nuts. Yum! I thought it had beer, but when I read the ingredients it only had pecan, salt, and sugar.The Black Smith. The name spoke for itself. The store had tools made out of metal. They forged most of their products on sale. They had knives, bags, and accessories. San Marcos Premium Outlet. Last stop was the outlet. I did not buy any and my boyfriend got two books from BAM which stood for Books A Million. They had a lot of books and a huge manga collection. Yippie! Yey!

Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”-Luke 12:15

The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.-1 Corinthian 13:13

The Great Divorce is one of the many books written by C. S. Lewis. I just have known recently that he is a Christian and some of his books deal with idea, philosophical, or spiritual views of Christianity. Growing up, I have known him for the movie series The Chronicles of Narnia which based of the book he wrote. 
This is the first book I finished reading this year 2025, thanks to our reading date I finally made a little progress to my books to read backlogs. 

What is the book about? 
C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce is a classic Christian allegorical tale about a bus ride from hell to heaven. An extraordinary meditation upon good and evil, grace and judgment, Lewis’s revolutionary idea in the The Great Divorce is that the gates of Hell are locked from the inside. Using his extraordinary descriptive powers, Lewis’ The Great Divorce will change the way we think about good and evil.

The book style of story telling got me confused at first. I did not know who's who. The point of view had me questioning what was happening in the story. In the quarter part of the book, I finally realized that it was being told in the first person point of view. There were ghost, bus ride, hell, heaven, life on earth, and after life on earth throughout the story.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.-Matthew 6:19-20

I stayed with the book despite of being confused and totally lost at the plot of the story, since it was giving me a sense of promise about the great divorce between heaven and hell which the book title strongly suggested.
The ongoing war between good and evil has been existing even before human race realized it is actually happening. The Great Divorce will give a refreshing view of good and evil. At one point while reading the book, I was reminded that what may be considered good on earth may not be good in heaven, and sometimes what humans may consider bad or evil on earth is what is right in heaven.
The bus ride with C.S. Lewis maybe one of the rides you may be needing right now. I enjoyed reading this book even though I had difficulty in the beginning of the story and was able to reach the end. Life is the same. No matter how hard life is we just have to keep moving towards the end of our story. The end that is orchestrated by the most powerful being. He is in our story, God is in this story. I just pray and hope we all make it according to His purpose. 

Woe to those who call evil good    and good evil,who put darkness for light    and light for darkness,who put bitter for sweet    and sweet for bitter.-Isaiah 5:20

NY: Traveling on a Tight Budget (NY Trip Part 2)

One my of goals when travelling is to make the most out of the expenses. I am travelling on a particular budget I set. I do not want to spend too much, but at the same time I do not want to miss anything during the trip just because I am sticking on my set budget. As much as possible I try to decipher the negotiable and non-negotiable during the trip and so far I have happy and memorable moments and contented with all the experiences.

Here is a list of places we visited on the second day in NY:

The Brooklyn Bridge. It was a long walk. The bridge looked so vintage. Wow!

Staten Island Ferry and Statue of Liberty. We got free rides back and forth on a boat ship. We saw the Statue of Liberty from a far. We did not get to explore the island and I wished we could have. 


Wall Street. The New York Stock Exchange building was impressive. Wow! It was a street for stock exchange.


Charging Bull. The charging bull statue was also at Wall Street. I was not so fond of taking a photo with it, so I decided not to, and I was fine with it.


9/11 Memorial. There were two huge water fountain or waterfalls in place of the two tall building in memory of those who died on the 9/11 bombing of the twin towers.


New York Public Library. It was closed and just took a picture outside for posterity sake. Yay!


Grand Central Terminal. It was big. So huge! So vintage! Wow! So grand!




Time Square. meh :( rainy :( cold :( I have to say it is a Divisoria of New York. In the Philippines, we have a shopping district called Divisoria and it is somewhere in Manila. 

The foods we tried:

Churros. They were cold already. It cost me $5 to buy 3 pieces of Churros. I had been curios how a churros would taste like and finally got to try it at the Brooklyn Bridge. Nathan's Chili-dog. Cheesy and meaty hotdog in a bun. Yum!Mcdonald's. Fastfood for y'all! hehe We wanted Jollibee, but could not get into the closed parameter around Time Square because of the ball drop. So we just settled for Mcdonald's that day.Starbucks. Yey! Chocolate chip creme frappe hehe 

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ~Matthew 6:19-20

In NY, You Never Stop Walking (NY Trip Part 1)

New York is one of the many top destinations of most of the Filipinos I know. Like everyone wants to mark it check on their bucket list. I was not prepared of what was in store for me in New York, yet I was so looking forward to what it could offer. I had this impression that NY was an amazing and magical place, maybe like Disneyland or Universal Studio. That's the kind of expectations that I had even though I was aware that NY was not a theme park. 
I never thought that New York would be a state I so badly wanted to go and I am not saying that I just forced myself to go there. I was in for it more to experience and had a say that I got to visit one of the most famous cities in the world. 
My NY experience was okay. I was glad I got to visit the place but it would not be something that I would be so keen to visit it again. We did a lot of walking and for me it was a form of exercise so I was fond of it. My friends and I heard from one of the people who were passing the Ray's Pizza place that in New York you never stop walking and I definitely agree with whoever said that. We did thousands and thousands of steps on the first day. Our feet got sore from walking.

These are the places we visited and truly in New York we never stop walking:

The Central Park Manhattan. Wooooooooow! The Mall and Literary Walk. Wow!Shakespeare Garden. It was closed and under renovation.The Belverde Castle. We just saw it from a far.The Bow Bridge. The floor of the bridge is made out of wood. Alice in Wonderland Statue. It is made out of wood, I think. The children seemed to enjoy the statue as they climbed on it.  Fifth Avenue. It is where the luxury stores are and some of the historical landmarks. It looked so classy. Roosevelt Island Tramway. We had a view of the city, bridge, and river as we rode the tramway. We need a two-way ticket to go back where we came from. The price ticket per ride was three and twenty five cents US dollars. The view was magnificent. St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was huge and we saw a number of few Filipinos.  The Rink at the Rockefeller Center. We did not do the skating, but we saw the huge tall Christmas tree. There was a luxury chocolate store too nearby and the price was a little expensive and beyond my budget at that moment. Broadway. Only one of us had the budget to watch a broadway. I was not that one. Maybe, next time I would be able to watch a broadway musical. God willing.

Foods we tried:

Hotdog in a Bun. At Central Park, tasted like New York! Gongcha. Pearl Milk Tea with Coconut Jelly. Favorite!
Ray's Hawaiian Pizza. Yum! Tasted like island experience. Chinese Restaurant. We were craving for rice and satisfied it at a Chinese Resto for our lunch. It was okay and pricey.

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.-Galatians 5:16 NIV

NJ: An Entry Point to NY

New Jersey was not I expected it to be. It looked like a setting of an apocalypse movie and I did wonder if some of the end-of-the-world films I watched were actually shot there. It was not as vibrant as I anticipated it would be, probably because we visited during winter. As I landed on Newark International Airport late at night, I realized it was a humble airport. I had to ride a train to leave the airport just to bring me to another train station. I thought the places I saw seem old and experienced. I could sense the mark left by humans who used or maybe abused the place. The New Jersey Transit reminded me of the Philippine National Railroad I used to ride on when I was taking my master's and doctor's degree at PUP Santa Mesa, it felt nostalgic. 
New Jersey was our entry point to our main goal, New York. With my friends, we did not do much exploration in New Jersey. We stayed in a hotel located in NJ throughout our trip. It was only on the last day that we decided to see at least one tourist attraction from our entry point. 
Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park







On the last day of our New Jersey X New York trip, we visited one of the historical parks in New Jersey. That visit gave me more joy than any exploration we made in the famous city of New York. I tend to enjoy more. of the nature rather than man-made attraction. Thought the temperature was below freezing point, it did not hinder me to enjoy the magnificent sight of the falls. There is always something relaxing and calming with water, but waterfalls have that relaxing and exciting effect on me. 





I also got to see a statue of Hamilton where the Paterson Great Falls were and I only have a vague idea about him. The statue looked poetic and diplomatic, so I thought he must be involved to something literary or like politics. He must be a writer, that was my thought. 
Athens Coffee Shop






You are not wrong. The coffee shop sounded Greek, but we were still somewhere in New Jersey. We decided to have our lunch, and for me it was more like a brunch, my breakfast and lunch. I ordered a regular American breakfast, pancakes and sunny side up eggs with coconut cream iced coffee. It was a sumptuos amount of breakfast and lunch that I badly needed to get me through the travel going back to Austin. 
Newark International Airport


It was mid afternoon when we decided to head to the airport. Newark Internationa Airport appeared more bright and new in the broad day light. I judged to soon when I said it was old and not so vibrant, it was a nice airport I must say. We were comfortable waiting for flight back to the different states we all came from. 
I am glad I got to experience New Jersey even as a side trip. I have another state marked check on my bucket list. Thank You, LORD!

Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power    and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,    for everything in heaven and earth is yours.Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;    you are exalted as head over all.-1 Chronicles 29:11

Life Updates Before 2024 Ends

Hi everyone. It has been four months since I posted something here on my blog. It has been lots of super busy days and lots of challenges and difficulties, but with lots of happy days too. Everything is a lot! Praise the Lord for the good days and bad days! 

2024 is more meaningful, exciting, colorful, and challenging at the same time.

My second year of teaching here in th US has been more challenging and hard to the point of giving up and questioning my ability and all those years of experience I gained back in the Philippines. It feels more like I am back to zero. I guess that is how it is. Teaching in the US introduced a different environment, culture, and diverse set of colleagues and students. I just do the best I could as a teacher. I always pray to God to give strength, endurance, patience and wisdom to survive every school day, every class period,levery encounter with my colleagues and students. I surrender every single day to God and cry to Him for help.
At the age of 34, I have my first boyfriend. It was a long waiting season for me. I had always wonder what it was like to have someone special, aside from my family of course. My friends had their boyfriend and my sister and they eventually got married. I am genuinely happy for them, always been, yet there was a part of me that persistently wonder what it would be like to have a boyfriend or get married.
We started dating January of 2024 and it was a nerve-wracking but exciting new chapter of my life. This dating season in my life was one of the many things I prayed for. Everything that I have and I don't have is an answered prayered. Then, here came a lot of overthinking when the dating gets going. 
I always tell God if it is not from Him and not for me, please take it away from me. I know it is going to be a hard process. Letting go is always a difficult job to do. So far He wants me to be in this season.
This year has been good to me and my family. I thank God for being with us as we went through arduos challenges and joyful moments in our lives. It has been an overwhelming year for me, but thank You God.

It is what it is. All is well. Whatever will be will be.

Every moment is a gift from above. Treasure them more. Every person we meet is purposefully placed in our lives. Show them kindness and love. It is written that every good and perfect gift is from above, and yes it is. 
Merry Christmas and a happy new yeary'all!

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. -James 1:17 NIV

the sun and her vulnerable flowers

Another book done, and it’s finally one of the books of Rupi Kaur. I have been intrigued by her books ever since she became popular with her first book Milk and Honey, I couldn’t afford to buy her books back in the Philippines, and probably here in the US I would still consider the book as a bit pricey. And that’s just for me, it is never a professional valuation I just set a specific range of budget for the books I buy.
the sun and her flowers by rupi kaur is the recent book I finished reading for my reading challenge this year. I must say it was a short read, and I like it. I have been taking more interest in poetry books ever since year 2024 began. One thing that got me into it is, yeah, you guessed it right maybe, it is a short read. Another thing is most of the poetry books released nowadays talks about human emotions with all the mental health issues we are dealing with right now make them more so relevant. Short read and relevant.

Also, honesty is something that I really appreciate in this book of Rupi Kaur. She made herself vulnerable while solidifying as strong identity of who she has become as a person and a woman. Her sincerest intention of making herself relevant in order to reach other people who might be going or have gone through touched the little girl, teenager, and the woman who is in a working progress in me.
The book has five (5) parts which all the delicate yet vigorous pieces of poems were chronologically arranged based on the life experience of the author, at least that’s how I see it as I read the poem and reached the final page.
Here’s the blurb of the book, check if you like and make you want to read the whole book.
this is the recipe of lifesaid my motheras she held me in her arms as i wept this of those of flowers you plant In the garden each yearthey will teach youthat people toomust wiltfallrootrisein order to bloom

Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character10 [a]A wife of noble character who can find?    She is worth far more than rubies.11 Her husband has full confidence in her    and lacks nothing of value.12 She brings him good, not harm,    all the days of her life.13 She selects wool and flax    and works with eager hands.14 She is like the merchant ships,    bringing her food from afar.15 She gets up while it is still night;    she provides food for her family    and portions for her female servants.16 She considers a field and buys it;    out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.17 She sets about her work vigorously;    her arms are strong for her tasks.18 She sees that her trading is profitable,    and her lamp does not go out at night.19 In her hand she holds the distaff    and grasps the spindle with her fingers.20 She opens her arms to the poor    and extends her hands to the needy.21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;    for all of them are clothed in scarlet.22 She makes coverings for her bed;    she is clothed in fine linen and purple.23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,    where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.24 She makes linen garments and sells them,    and supplies the merchants with sashes.25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;    she can laugh at the days to come.26 She speaks with wisdom,    and faithful instruction is on her tongue.27 She watches over the affairs of her household    and does not eat the bread of idleness.28 Her children arise and call her blessed;    her husband also, and he praises her:29 “Many women do noble things,    but you surpass them all.”30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,    and let her works bring her praise at the city gate. -Proverbs 31:10-31 

This is the Journey, Live it Through God's Grace

This is the Journey is the second book I read from Alison Malee. It is a collection of poems published by Andrews McMeel Publishing. If I may be honest it is my dream to be published by them too. I also have a collection of poems too and I hope they keep on piling up. 
Just like the first book that I read from the Malee, the book cover also got me. Surprise, I love flowers. There is just something beautiful and iridescent about them and I cannot help but be attracted, allured, captivated, charmed, and be enchanted by these delightful creations. Some may say it is shallow, well if it is I do not care really (hehe, peace yow). The book cover is beautiful and it has caused me to get the book and read it. It was what made me interested in the book aside from it was being a poetry book and shorter to read.

This is the Journey by Alison Malee is a poetry collection about moving on, and some few reasons why we should keep on going forward until we finish the race, the journey. Life is not easy and there are extra baggage that we have to carry as we go along in life, and sometimes they get heavier and heavier, that is why forgiving yourself and giving grace to yourself are essential skills that we must cultivate throughout our lives. Life is already hard as it can be, so don't be harder on yourself. Be gracious and forgive. 

Life is a journey, it doesn't end, it just only gets more exciting. Life is not just about us. It is more than us. 

Acts 20:24 NIVHowever, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

This is the journey. Live it! Love it! May our lives be a living testimony of God's amazing grace.