X-Factor UK 2011 Winner

Oh.Em.Gee! It's a dramz overload, and I'm up as early as 3:00 AM to witness (via YouTube) the final moment of the epic X Factor 2011 Final at Wembley Arena in front of 10,000 people. Drum roll, please! And the winner is...LITTLE MIX! They're my favorite act since the beginning of the Live Show. If you watch this one, you could relate with me...he..he...

Little Mix make X Factor history as they become first group EVER to take home the crown- win the ITV talent show! The members Jesy Nelson, Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall auditioned for the competition as solo artists. They weren't pick during the boot camp but was called up again to form the girl group. They were mentored by Tulisa Contostavlos, the N-Dubz star.

Little Mix have now released their cover of Damien Rice's Cannonball as their winner's single, and are hoping to clinch the coveted Christmas number one spot with the track.

Congratulations Little Mix! Watch them perform their first single, Cannonball.

Why Buy iPad 2? Here Are 7 Good Reasons

I heard a lot of good things about iPad but I wasn’t interested because I don’t have money to buy one…LOL! But it’s good not to buy the latest greatest thing immediately after its release because I’ve always noticed that a much better version will appear after just few months of introducing a new gadget like in the case of iPad 1. With the new version of the iPad now available, many people are quick to ask "why buy iPad 2?" Is it really worth buying the new model when there are other tablets on the market, and is it worth current iPad users upgrading their device? 

Why buy iPad 2? I also asked the same question when I saved enough money to spend for a new gadget. Brainstorming with my hubby and bro help me come up with 7 good reasons on why I need to buy iPad 2:

1. I don't have an iPad. Why need to buy one if I already have one?…LOL! Kidding aside, the success of the original iPad has shown the critics that this really is a useful, stylish, easy to use and worthwhile device that truly has a place on the market. 

2. Large Choice of Apps. Although there are a number of other tablets on the market, pretty much none of them have as many app choices as the iPad. There are hundreds of thousands of iPad apps available in the Apple App store, and more are being developed every single day. This is a huge advantage when it comes to choice, and the new iOS operating system upgrade brings even more potential.

You want educational games or interactive Bible Stories for your kids? You can download apps for FREE. You want Glamour, ELLE, Reader’s Digest, Disney’s Family Fun or National Geographic for Kids magazines for your iPad newsstands? You can download them all for very low prices compared to buying these magazines in hard copies. Even playing drums on iPad is made possible for you!

3. A Gyroscope for Better Gaming. Although the word gyroscope might not mean anything to you, what it can bring to the iPad 2 might. The iPad 2 now features an added gyroscope for much more accurate motion censoring. This means that a number of games and apps will become even better like car racing.  

4. Affordable. Apple have decided to price the iPad 2 at exactly the same price as the original model, which means we’re not going to have to pay any more money for getting a sleeker design, front and back cameras, faster operating system and more. I think the price 15,900 ThB for iPad 2 16 GB is reasonable.

5. Camera functionality. The new cameras on the front and back of the device are its main new features which are missing on the original iPad.

6. Students' Tool. iPad 2 not only offer students the chance to browse for information in quick fashions, but they also allow them to more easily collaborate on projects and become more engaged in their learning process. They have become exceptional tools that soon every classroom will strive to have. You could adopt iPad 2 for educational purposes. There are about 100 iPad Apps Perfect For Middle School, 100 + Apps for high school and about 65 Apps for elementary.

7. Teacher's Tool. With iPad 2, teachers could have hundreds of terrific last-minute digital resources that are perfect for a wide range of classrooms.

Because of these 7 reasons, I’m happy to buy iPad 2 for my family as my Christmas gift for them. We find it very useful for my high school teacher hubby. His class became even more fun and interactive! Like yesterday, their lesson is about types/genres of movies. He downloaded to his iPad 2 movie clips for every genre , played and showed them to his class and let them guess what type of movies are Twilight, Transformer, Toy Story 3 , Harry Potter and more! At home, Hyzyd has great time listening to stories like Aesop’s Fables and enjoyed helping the crow filled the pitcher so that he could drink or tapping on the fox to help him jump high so that he could eat the grapes. He’s also into connecting numbers to form a shape or animals. He loves it so much that I don’t have time to use it for myself! With iPad 2 comes a great responsibility for parents to control how many hours should you let your child play on it.

Have a great weekend friends!I'll sneak on our iPad 2 while the little owner is still sleeping..he..he...

Mommy’s Day out: Time for Us to De-Stress

Other moms asked me how I did it- teaching preschool, maintained 7 blogs, take care of my three-year old son, my hubby, household chores. I could say God is my strength and wisdom. Through the years, I learned how to organize my time even waking up at 3:00 am to start my day. But there are times I get stressed out especially now that Hyzyd is in preschool. As he’s still adjusting to his waking schedule and new environment, his demand for my attention, time and energy resources sap me out. While Hyzyd is my high priority this time, stress sometimes results, and too much stress is harmful both mentally and physically.

Research has shown that constant, chronic stress can compromise your immune system, leaving you with weakened defenses against illness and disease. Stress also takes a toll mentally and emotionally and can leave you with a reduced ability to cope with situations that require clear-headedness. I

When you’re really stressed out, the feelings eventually spill over into your entire life, your home life, your work and other aspects of your life. It’s known that stress can even contribute to heart disease, depression and the progression of cancer and other conditions.

For these reasons, it’s important to schedule time each to day de-stress and work on keeping stress levels manageable. One of my ways to de-stress is get out of the house with other mommies and has a day out! As important as it is for me to spend lots of time with my kid, I need time to myself too. Last month my sis-in-law and another friend schedule a monthly mommy’s day out and do something fun! We’re blessed to have hubby’s who saw our needs to de-stress and agree to leave our babies to them while we have time for ourselves.

Yesterday we had our much anticipated Mommy’s Day Out! We do our hair and make-up before heading to JB Hotel for an eat-all-you-can buffet lunch, swimming and massage. Thanks to my younger sis who captured the moment- sweet bonding of friendship:

The mommies riding on Thailand's famous taxi- the tuktuk!

What we chose for this month's venue for our mommy's day out is J.B. Hotel at  99 Jootee-Anusorn Road, Hat Yai,

In the hotel's restaurant, they offer a promo for eat-all-you-can buffet lunch: Buy 2 tickets, free 1. So , we're able to save 179 baht! Sweet deal for a delicious, sumptous, luxurious lunch with Thai and Japanese dishes and delicacies! The chat we had is priceless! We talked about how is it being able to work outside the home while also raising children, how we admire my sis-in-law in her decision to stop working to personally take care of her baby. We chatted like we haven't chatted for years that we even discussed about the benefits of buying used restaurant equipments! Yeah, one of us is planning to open up a new restaurant in the future. 

There's so many food . Sky is the limit! 

We dived into the coldest water on earth! Brrrrrrrr!!! It's sunny but the moment we decided to go on swimming, it started to rain! We supposed to have a sauna bath afterward but sad to say that it was broken on that day! For only 100 baht, you can have your time in the swimming pool, sauna bath plus a time to use their fitness equipment in the hotel's fitness center.

Last stop for our day is at the hotel's massage parlor. Instead of Thai massage, we choose the aromatherapy full body massage (600 baht each for 1 hour and 30 minutes). Aromatherapy uses essential oils that are thought to have healing properties. Aromatherapists believe aromatherapy can boost well being, relieve stress and help to refresh your body.. Aromatherapy massage uses essential oils derived from plants to achieve therapeutic benefits.

The subtle aroma of the essential oils fill the air around us during the massage.

AROMATHERAPY FULL BODY MASSAGE BENEFITS:

* Relaxes, balances and harmonizes the body.
* Reduces stress.
* Strengthens the entire body and supports the body in its own healing process.
* Encourages a healthy immune system to fight infection.

 We get back home feeling refreshed and recharged! We're ready to face mommyhood again!

I had indeed a colorful weekend and I wanna share this here:

Thanksgiving on December!

It’s December already! Few more days and we’re going to welcome another year. Though Thanksgiving Day has passed, for me, each day is worth celebrating and thanking God for everything He’s done to my life and to my family. I welcome December filled with hope, gratitude, and happiness. It is a time of togetherness and for appreciation of our family and friends. I learned to live each day with joy and liveliness.

Last night before we go to bed, I teach Hyzyd a new memory verse (after he learnt 2 other memory verses: 1 Thessalonians 5:16 and 17), 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “In every thing give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” It reminded me how our dear mother used to teach us this memory verse and encouraged us to be thankful even we don’t have new dress for Christmas or Christmas dinner on Christmas Day as long as we have good health or that we’re still alive and kicking amidst financial challenges. This helps us develop a happy and thankful attitude.

This December, why not try to start your day with a thankful mindset. You can involve your family so that you can see how blessed your life is. To start, you read this post because you have computer and internet connection. Millions of people out there don’t have computers and internet connection.

Here are a few ideas to get you started having thankful attitude:

1. Celebrate the gift of life. Every time you wake up in the morning, thank God for a new day. Lots of people didn’t wake up this day. Celebrate life, not only by saying "Thank You" but also by stepping out of the home to experience something fun (e.g., pick up your samsung digital cameras or your DSLR and explore the world of photography with your family, try family sport game, go hiking, pick wild flowers, appreciate the nature, watch sunsets and more!). Joy and happiness are the best vehicles to gratitude and a zest for life. You can ask all family members to write down one positive thing about each of the other family members they are grateful for. Decide to read these notes out loud when you are together at the dinner.

2. Cook together and eat together. Cooking and eating are important for human bonding. Sharing a meal with others is what makes the food even more enjoyable. This is an opportunity to share your daily experiences (the good and the bad) with those you love and those who love you the most. Why not organize a tea party every Sunday afternoon. You can invite your friends too. It’s a good time to catch-up with each others life within the week. Share your gratitude with each other. When we share positive ideas with people we grow closer to them. Remember that food is more than just nutrition for the body and brain. It is nutrition for the mind and soul. 

3. Build family connections. Christmas time is a good time to put aside any family disputes. Model good family relations to your children so they can grow up and value the relationships they have with their siblings and extended family. 

4. Be thankful for your family. Use this month to remember all the positives about everyone and to recall all the positives they have done for you. Find a subtle way to tell everyone what you appreciate about this family member and watch his or her attitude change that night. This is a great opportunity to show your kids how family can connect.

5. New and old tradition. Sometimes it's just easier not to cook the traditional favorites or put up the decorations. But believe it or not, this little, seemingly unimportant traditions are what we crave and what we remember from our youth. Celebrate your yearly traditions and think about developing a new tradition that incorporates the uniqueness of your family! As a family unit, what is your strength and what are your interests (e.g., using arts and crafts, visually represent what each of you is thankful for)? Use your family's uniqueness to establish a new yearly ritual.

Happy Christmas everyone!