I want to grow the seeds

I just finished reading the article "Are You A Beggar Or A Farmer?" and I once again felt guilty of not doing enough. Time to move. Time to put some gas to the car that has been left idle in the garage. I got to work and come up with results. I don't want to be a beggar. I want to be a farmer who "receive and grow" my blessing. God ha been very generous to m and to my husband and I'm sure God wants us to grow the seeds and have "more than enough" so we can share and b a blessing to others.

I am thankful that God sends us people and materials that awaken us when we become too lazy and sleepy to realize we should be going.

*Are You A Beggar Or A Farmer by Bo Sanchez

Jake and the Never land Pirates

In one of the sources I read, a child age 4 may know a whopping 1,500 words or more though he may still mispronounce many words. In Gab's case, he mispronounces a lot of words specifically in song lyrics. Well, I guess it's not more of mispronouncing the words but unfamiliarity of the lyrics. One of the favorite theme songs he likes to sing recently is Jake and the Never land Pirates. My husband and I would laugh our hearts out each time we hear him sing this song. We wonder how he came up with his own lyrics.

Just now, I searched YouTube for this song and Google for the lyrics. For the past couple of hours, I have been playing the video and trying to sing the lyrics. It is very difficult, I realized. No wonder Gab is mumbling and faltering when singing this song.

I will master this and the next step is to make Gab familiar with the lyrics as well. I'm sure we will enjoy it more if Gab can sing this song with the right words.

No iPhone 5? Only what?

I'm seeing a lot of people reacting about the new Apple iPhone so I thought of searching for an update. Here's what I found. I think I know someone who will be as disappointed to know that there's no iPhone 5.

No iPhone 5? New iPhone 4S Announced by Apple; Includes Voice Recognition, Faster Processor

Apple, Inc., announced its new iPhone today -- a powerful updated model called the iPhone 4S, but a disappointment to investors and the tech world because it wasn't a completely-new iPhone 5 people had come to expect.

Apple stock, which had been up on a down day, dropped more than 4 percent as the product rollout went on at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. -- never mind that the 4S had many of the features widely expected in an iPhone 5.

Top 5: The iPhone, from debut to deluxe machine.

On the outside, the 4S is similar to the phone Apple has been selling for more than a year. But with an A5 processor (the same that runs the iPad 2) and dual-core graphics, Apple said it would be up to seven times faster than its predecessor. With both GSM and CDMA transmitters, it will be a phone that can be used in most countries around the world.

Perhaps the most striking new feature was called Assistant -- software that allows an iPhone user to work the apps in the phone by talking to it. As demonstrated by Apple, it can give you voice directions to the most highly-rated restaurants near you, help you exchange money if you're abroad, or set an alarm to wake you in the morning, all without the user having to enter any information manually.

This kind of intelligence is something that has been hard to package in a consumer device. The software, developed by an Apple subsidiary called Siri, understands spoken nuances -- so that if one asks it, "What is the weather like today?" or "Do I need a raincoat?" it will come back with the same, correct, answer.

Click Here for Pictures: Steve Jobs Through the Years

Apple's Phil Schiller showed how it could take dictation, read one's text messages aloud, and accept verbal requests to search the Web. When asked, "Tell me about Neil Armstrong," the phone's screen showed Armstrong's Wikipedia page.

The company said the phone has a powerful camera, capable of shooting still pictures in dim light with an f/2.4 lens, and 1080p high-definition video with automatic stabilization.

Prices for the iPhone 4S ranged from $199 with 16 GB of memory to $399 with 64 GB. It will come in a black or white case. An earlier model, the iPhone 3GS, will now be free with a cellphone contract. The new lineup, Apple said, will be available in the U.S. on Oct. 14. The iPhone 4S will be offered by Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and -- for the first time, Sprint Nextel.

Presiding over the announcement was Tim Cook, Apple's new CEO and Steve Jobs' chosen sucessor. "I love Apple," he said. "I am very excited about this new role."

Apple knocked down speculation that the iPod music player, which revolutionized the recording industry when it was introduced a decade ago, would disappear. "We're still making iPods," said Apple's Phil Schiller, before showing off enhancements to the iPod Nano, including an option that turns the little mp3 player into a Mickey Mouse watch.

Some other products included:

iOS5, a new operating system for iPads and iPhones. It has 200 new features, Cook said. He highlighted 10 updated apps, such as Camera, which allows one to zoom in on a subject in a picture by pinching the picture on one's touch screen.

Twitter will integrate into the operating system. Once you log onto your Apple device, Cook said, you'll have logged onto Twitter as well, so users can tweet photos, videos and locations seamlessly.

A new app called Find My Friends shows you if your kids, carrying iPhones, made it to school or exactly where your buddies are at the beach. It comes with privacy and parental controls, just one of the features of iCloud. iCloud stores music, photos, books and apps and syncs them across all your Apple devices automatically and wirelessly. The free service comes with 5GB of free storage.

Cards, a new mobile app for an iPhone or iPad allows users to write messages to friends or loved ones, transmit the wirelessly and have them printed on high-quality paper for delivery through old-fashioned mail. Price: $2.99 per card in the United States. The app itself, for download after Oct. 12, will be free.

It was the first major product announcement Apple has made since Jobs, its co-founder and one of the great technological innovators of recent decades, stepped down as Apple's CEO. Jobs announced in August that his health would force him to hand off day-to-day leadership. He remains a the company's chairman.

People who watch the company said Jobs' hand was clearly in the design of the new phone. Jobs has famously resisted market research in the development of Apple's lineup. "We just want to make great products," he has said more than once.

Click Here for Pictures: Apple Products Since the Beginning

The iPhone has been America's iconic smartphone since the first version was released in 2007, though phones running on Google's Android software now outsell it by a 2-to-1 ratio. Cook said Apple has 5 percent of the overall market in cellphone handsets, though it certainly has enjoyed more media coverage and attention from consumers.

Cook cited surveys showing that 96 percent of users of existing iPhone models said they were "very satisfied" or better with their purchases.

Cook pointed out that 23 percent of personal computers sold today are made by Apple. He called it a stunning accomplishment given their premium niche status just a few years ago.

Cook said the iPod continues its dominance of the music player market, with over 300 million sold since 2002 and 45 million sold in just the last year. Over 16 billion songs have been sold through the iTunes store.

"I am so proud," said Cook as he wrapped up the announcement.

Users on Twitter were less kind. As one put it, "It's like expecting George Clooney and getting your old boyfriend in a new car."

Gab is 4 in 2 weeks!

How time flies! My son is turning 4 two weeks from now. We are scheduled to go to Malaysia for his birthday so we're not really throwing a birthday party at home. I only need to prepare a cake and some loot bags for Gab's nursery class.

When I asked him what kind of design he wants, he told me he wants Octonauts or Angry Birds. These are the cartoons that he's been watching recently.

Angry Birds is pretty popular so I think it will be easier for me to find one. But I don't like Gab watching this show. It's very violent and does not really teach anything.

Octonauts on the other hand is a very nice TV series about undersea adventures. What I like about this show is that it teaches kids to care about animals and it shows examples of team work.

I guess finding a store that will design Octonauts cake will be a bit difficult but I guess I will have to try.

Oh my goodness, 5 KGs more?!?

Oh my goodness, 5 KGs more?!? I started feeling conscious about my weight (almost 3 months ago) when my ankle learned to shout "OUCH!". For almost half a year now, I have been experiencing pins and needles on my feet. The doctor advised that I should lose weight and that the extra KGs I have put on over the past year is making me suffer. Since I started controlling my eating habits, I lost 3 KGs. But there's 5 KGs more!!

I wonder what I should do to not lose my patience in trying to lose such big excess on my weight. My grade says "SLIGHTLY OVERWEIGHT".

HELP! Feel free to drop me your advice on how I can successfully work this out. I'm scared to get more sickness because of this condition.

Note: Below is the Body Weight Chart in case you wish to check how normal your weight is.

God is always there in your heart

Another nice post from a friend's wall on Facebook.

"A teenage girl about 17 had gone to visit some friends one evening and time passed quickly as each shared their various experiences of the past year. She ended up staying longer than planned, and had to walk home alone. She wasn’t afraid because it was a small town and she lived only a few blocks away. As she walked along under the tall elm trees, Diane asked God to keep her safe from harm and danger. When she reached the alley, which was a short cut to her house, she decided to take it. However, halfway down the alley she noticed a man standing at the end as though he was waiting for her. She became uneasy and began to pray, asking for God’s protection. Instantly a comforting feeling of quietness and security wrapped round her, she felt as though someone was walking with her. When she reached the end of the alley, she walked right past the man and arrived home safely. The following day, she read in the newspaper that a young girl had been raped in the same alley just twenty minutes after she had been there. Feeling overwhelmed by this tragedy and the fact that it could have been her, she began to weep. Thanking the Lord for her safety and to help this young woman, she decided to go to the police station. She felt she could recognize the man, so she told them her story. The police asked her if she would be willing to look at a lineup to see if she could identify him. She agreed and immediately pointed out the man she had seen in the alley the night before. When the man was told he had been identified, he immediately broke down and confessed. The officer thanked Diane for her bravery and asked if there was anything they could do for her. She asked if they would ask the man one question. Diane was curious as to why he had not attacked her. When the policeman asked him, he answered, “Because she wasn’t alone. She had two tall men walking on either side of her.” Amazingly, whether you believe or not, you’re never alone. " Did you know that 98% of teenagers will not stand up for God? Repost this as Love vs. Sex if you truly believe in God.
PS: God is always there in your heart and loves you no matter what and if you stand up for him he will stand up for you. I bet 93% of the people that read this wont repost it. I read this and reposted it. Well I bet you read this note because of the title, didn’t you. *GOD IS MOVING!* :) *Share it to everyone! feel free to copy-paste OR share this note. This is not a private note. Repost it even if you're not a teenager."

God is always there in your heart.

Prayer

One of the reasons I enjoy "facebooking" is because I read a lot of nice things on people's walls. Today, I am blessed to come across a prayer that I believe is very nice and I shared it to my friends as well.

"DEAR FATHER, we are so tired and desperate for Your help. Our needs are great and we don't know what to do except turn to You. All we know is to cry out to You because we know that Your Love is great and big enough to fix all the healing our Hearts and World needs. Our hearts are broken. Use us Lord to help others in need. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen! Simply hit Share to encourage others today ♥"

When things are so challenging and problems are so draining, Jesus is there to water us with His grace.

Moira Kelly, legal guardian of Emmanuel Kelly

I was totally touched by the Emmanuel Kelly video that I did a little bit more of reading. I admire Moira Kelly and for me, she deserves high respect for standing as the legal guardian of both Emmanuel and his brother Ahmed Mustafa. Considering the physical impairment of them both, it is very commendable for her to bring them to her care.

I found out that Moira Kelly is an Australian humanitarian worker who has been (for many years of her life) doing service to disadvantaged children. She is also the legal guardian of the originally cranially conjoined twins from Bangladesh, Trishna and Krishna, separated in 2009 in a 32-hour operation at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital. (source: wikipedia)

Such a selfless person. It is very humbling to realize how huge a person of her kind can give and how little some of us can share, and yet we think we are all so consumed already.

I like what one of the judges said after Emmanuel Kelly's performance. "It just makes everything that you worry about so pathetic." True enough, sometimes we think that we are too burdened. Yet when we look around, everything that we worry about is just really pathetic.

count your blessings

This video made me stop and say thanks for all the blessings in my life.

Be quite content whatever my circumstances

I love what I just read.

I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. - Philippians 4:11-13

Nice reminder.

Work from Home. Earn $2000/month. No Investment. Part Time, 1-2h/day.

Work from Home. Earn $2000/month. No Investment. Part Time, 1-2h/day.

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work from home opportunity

just now, i received an invite from a friend who is also a full time mom herself. it's an invitation to earn extra income while working from home either full time or part time. this is very exciting. i got to do this and see how it will work for me. will keep you posted!!

i wanna call him BLUE

It was gab's lucky day yesterday.. He said he wanted a blue fish and the store luckily got one blue fighting fish for sale. Half a month ago, we went to Pasir Ris Kid's Kampong and gab had fun fishing and animal feeding. He's been telling us a lot that he wants to have a pet fish and yesterday we got him one.

He was so happy!
Dad is so happy!
I am also very happy!

It's nice when we get the chance to spend weekend time getting things or going to places that we know will be forever part of the history of our family!

It's a Monday morning and gab excitedly woke up and greeted his fish!

Good morning blue! It's a sunny day, see?!

:-)

teaching your toddler to read

I have been thinking a lot lately when the right time is for parents to start teaching their kids how to read. I've seen kids who are 8 or 10 and they could not read smoothly... I also have seen as young as 3 (congratulations to their parents).

I think that my son does not have the attention span needed for some kind of a structured "teaching how to read" setup. He can spell his name though. He can identify words like zoo, spell, dog, wolf, tall, ball, wall, book, sheep, duck, and some other words that he normally sees when watching TV. He also knows the alphabet so well... and the sound of every letter. But every time I try to teach him how to combine the sounds of letters to form a word, he just listens and then after a few minutes he's all over the place doing whatever he wants to do.

I read an article "When and how can I teach my toddler to read?" and it said "Children usually don't start reading before the age of 5 or 6, and for good reason. Researchers believe that until that age, most children have not yet formed certain neural connections that allow them to decode printed letters and then mentally combine them to make words. A few children are able to read earlier, but most of them just pick it up; they don't learn through direct instruction."

It is good to know that I'm on the right track because a lot of articles that I read about this topic tell me that the key to preparing my child is through indirect instruction. This includes introducing him to letters, books, letter sounds, words with pictures, etc.

Perhaps I should try searching for other materials like videos and flash cards. These sorts of things catch his interest. I think it's time I get a new set because he already memorized those that are on his desk. One more question popped on my mind though, how often do I need to "upgrade" the materials?

Love is in the Air

Keep on Loving You

You should've seen by the look in my eyes, baby
There was somethin' missin'
You should've known by the tone of my voice, maybe
But you didn't listen

You played dead but you never bled
Instead you lay still in the grass
All coiled up and hissin'

And though I know all about those men
Still I don't remember
'Cause it was us baby, way before then
And we're still together

And I meant, every word I said
When I said that I love you
I meant that I love you forever

And I'm gonna keep on lovin' you
'Cause it's the only thing I wanna do
I don't wanna sleep, I just wanna keep on lovin' you

And I meant every word I said
When I said that I love you
I meant that I love you forever

And I'm gonna keep on lovin' you
'Cause it's the only thing I wanna do
I don't wanna sleep, I just wanna keep on lovin' you

Baby, I'm gonna keep on lovin' you
'Cause it's the only thing I wanna do
I don't wanna sleep, I just wanna keep on lovin' you

Keep on lovin' you, baby


I love singing this song to my husband.... it's just so nice and romantic and sweet!!! I wish Gabriel will also sing this song to his future girlfriend/s. LOL

Is this an after effect of Valentine's day? I don't know what I'm thinking but I've had this song on repeat mode for like a week now.

Did some reading and found this info in Wikipedia....

"Keep On Loving You" is a power ballad written by Kevin Cronin and performed by REO Speedwagon. It features the lead guitar work of Gary Richrath. It was one of many REO Speedwagon songs to become a pop hit, reaching the number-one spot for one week in March 1981 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and peaking at number seven in the UK Singles Chart. The single was certified Platinum for US sales of over 2 million copies.

The song has been featured in numerous films, beginning with the 1982 film The Last American Virgin. It has subsequently featured in Crank: High Voltage as well as appearing on the soundtrack to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. A cover version by The Donnas appears in the 1999 film Drive Me Crazy and in the TV series Cougar Town.

house decorating

We've recently made some changes in the living room, at last! We've stayed there for a year and a half and whatever was there when we started renting out the place, we had until recently. My husband is thinking of getting an XBOX with Kinect for me and my son. And before he does, he wants everything to be in order. He put all the toys in the other room. Left the TV set, DVD player and the cable TV box. He bought a new shelf and put some photo frames. He arranged the living room in such a way that there will be enough space for us to play and maybe do the dance moves when he gets the game station.

My husband is not quite satisfied though. In the effort to have a lot of space, he now has some space on one corner where something has to be put. He's now thinking of getting a floor lamp. I'm not sure when he will get it but it will definitely mean the Kinect purchase will be moved as well.

The TV set that we used to have at the living room is too big he replaced it with the one we have in our room. Now, I am happier because I have never really wanted a TV inside the room. He put a small table where we used to have the TV. And then he bought a very nice table lamp. Now it's nicer to read inside the room. I don't have to disturb my son when he's already asleep.

Doing some interior design work is really fun. It's so pleasant to have an organized home. I'm just so glad my husband likes to arrange and put things in the proper places. All I'm left to do is enjoy and relax.

funny frog

Kids are so amazing. They have this very special power of stopping their parents from losing patience.

This afternoon, this was what happened while we were trying to make my son sleep.

Dad (slapping my son on the leg): Gabriel, you sleep or Daddy will get the stick!!! (this was after 3 hours of trying to make him sleep)
Gabriel: buhuhuhuhuhu!!! ribbit, ribbit!!!

Oh my goodness, such a funny frog! I just love being mom to my son!