Cheeks to Cheeks

It’s Friday and we are having the long weekend! Yup, it is Labor Day holiday next Monday! We have waited for over a month for this holiday. The last paid holiday was 4th of July. Unlike a lot of the Asian countries, U.S. has the least holidays. After Labor Day, we will have a long drought. Next holiday is end of November and I should plan something for it. It will be the last time us to be on a vacation as Family of 3.

Anyway, this weekend we will be bringing Belle to the San Francisco Zoo. I just pray it will not be too hot and humid. We are having the hot spells lately. In the evening, I’ll be picking up my friend, Shelly and her bf, Az from SJC airport. Shelly and Az are planning to move here from Boston. Can’t wait to see them again! Why? ‘Cos Az is a great dog-sitter! LOL! Junior, our Eskie, just loves to be with him.

It is almost the end of Summer but it is not too late to decorate your lawns. Online Discount Mart is having a Summer blow-out sales on their lawn decorations.  If you are an avid bargain shopper like me, now is the best time to do your Christmas shopping. Your family and friends who are into lawn decorations will be ecstatic to receive these gifts and they don’t have to know you got it at a bargain price. While you are shopping at Online Discount Mart, swing over to their Halloween decorations you will be thrill to see their latest collections.

Belle was napping and there wasn’t any new opportunity from PayPerPost last Saturday; so, I ended up baking some muffins. My friend, Vickie loaned her muffin mold to me.

Four out six were intact. The other two were broken into 2 pieces each.

Was it yummy? Take a look at my little tester’s face?

Now, that’s a satisfied diner.

I am so excited to do a review on an online printing website: GreatFX. This site offers a range of print products such as business cards, letterheads, envelopes and card holders. As every marketing guru will say, first impression counts. I was a bit bummed out that the site looks plain. The color contrast is a bit too bland. If it is a business website, it is best to make full use of the screen. The gray columns on both side are such a waste of space. The product links on the sidebar should at least have bright color(s) to make them stand out. The gray wordings blended in with the light gray background = no oomph! If it is a blog, that color contrast is fine but this is a business website. The company should makes their products ”jump out from the screen.”

Nonetheless, the site is rather easy to navigate. The products were  lined up well and maneuvering from one product to another is smooth. I must say they did a good job providing useful articles and information. There are many ways to custom-make business cards and I am impressed by all the given options. Not only that, I was able to find tutorials on designing a business card in this site. Now, this tells me the company is willing to share great designing tips just so their customers will be satisfied with their end results. Now, if only they can change the layout a bit. I find it too wordy. It is great to give out information but too much wordings will be overwhelming for the readers.

After comparing with other online print websites, the pricing is still not competitive. Other companies are willing to give free shipping. Because of that I will still shop around for better pricing. Unless GreatFX is willing to be more competitive in pricing, it will be difficult for them to get my business. What I seek for is reasonable pricing and great service. If I get both of them, you can bet on me recommending it to my readers.

My home country is celebrating her 50th Independence day today. Malaysia time is a day ahead of California, that makes it Aug 31st 2007 over there.

Selamat Hari Merdeka!

Many has asked about Belle’s transition from our bedroom to her own. Well, I must say, we’re very proud of her. She has no problem sleeping in her room BUT she needs one of us to be there with her. We have tried letting her sleep alone but she ended up waking up 3-4 times that night. Daddy is not willing to lose his precious sleep so he sacrificed by sleeping with her.

Jon has been sleeping in our room for the past week ‘cos I didn’t want him to infect Belle with his cough. Little girl slept well the first night. Second nights onwards, she would wake up and look for Daddy. Lately, she just climbed down the bed herself and walk towards the other room. For the past two nights she slept in her room for the first half of the night and ended up sleeping with Daddy in the other room.

Tonight Daddy is gonna sleep with her IN her own room. Mommy needs some rest.

Self Magazine rated it as A+. Celebrity like Jennifer Aniston is doing it. You will get training instructions AND cool workout music in the comfort of your own home. If you don’t want to waste your gym membership fee, you can even use it there. Not only that, you will be getting training instruction from fitness gurus like Kathy Smith, Mandy Ingber, Yumi Lee and many more. I am talking about Podfitness.com.

Music is a much needed tool in all types of workout. I know it first hand because my aunt is a Cardio-Aerobics and Yoga instructor. She told me her biggest headache is trying to get the right songs for the right moves. Podfitness has tapped into this weakness and the best instrument to provide unlimited compilation of songs is via the handy-dandy, MP3 player.

Podfitness will have songs compiled into each work out categories. Now, you would think what is so special about a list of compiled work out songs? Aha, the best has yet to come. You can actually custom-make your workouts according to your needs. Let’s say, you want to do cardio (focusing on your upper body) and end the work-out session with yoga on Monday and work on different parts of your body the next day. This cannot be done unless you have a trainer to walk you through it. This can be done via Podfitness! All you need to do is file out your Fitness details, choose the trainers and programs you want. There will be voice over the music to coach you through your workout. For fitness instructors like my aunt, it will not only save her time to get the right songs, she will also get some new workout tips from other gurus as well. Here is an example:

Is there a catch? None at all. This is a service after all so be prepared to pay a low monthly fee of $19.95. It is like getting your own celebrity fitness trainer for that low fee. You can’t really beat that!What are you waiting for? Check out the Podfitness Homepage today. Oh, did I mention you can try it for 10 days without charge? Now, where is that MP3 of mine? 

The in-laws are on their way to Beijing. We will be on our own for 3 weeks and that means, yours truly have to pick up cooking again. I’ve been blog-hopping to some of the mommy sites hoping to get some kids menu ideas. I have found a few and I hope Belle will like ‘em. I’m not too worried about Jon ‘cos he can eat anything. Belle is the picky eater.

If I have time, I’ll post some of the food photos providing it turns out to be yummy. That means Miss Picky-Eater has to give thumbs up to it. If she doesn’t like any of the food I cook, I will have to resort to the all-time favorite American food: Mac & Cheese.

Wish me luck!

Obesity is becoming a major health issue in the United States. This year the fattest city is also known as the sin city in U.S. Still don’t know where it is at? Las Vegas! Luckily there is help. JourneyLite specilizes in a non-invasive surgery called the Laporascopic Adjustable Gastric Banding, better known as the LAPBAND system procedure. JourneyLite facilities are located in major cities like Los Angeles, Houston and Tampa. Feel free to set up an appointment to get more details from their experts or just click on the link provided here.

I’m sure by now, everyone knows my Belle is a goofy toddler. I just have to show this pic. Look at her! Biting on the balloon string. She loves to make us laugh and she knew by doing that we would laugh.

Look, Ma!

She has grown a bit taller after her fever streak. She had mild fever for about 4 days last week. My Mom told me some kids will have fever whenever they are going through a growth spurt. How did we know she has grown taller? The tricycle is what we used to measure her. Two weeks ago her foot would not be able to touch the pedal when she made a turn. This week both feet are on the pedals and she can cycle by using the pedals.