Music Review - Escapes (Jeff Gold)

~ Posted on Sunday, November 6, 2011 at 12:18 PM ~

Few days ago, I received an email from Jeff Gold with regards to his music album and after reading his email that he composes relaxation music for spas, massage and yoga, that has also become popular with parents of special needs kids (mainly children with autism) who listen to help them relax and sleep, I decided to review his "Escapes" music album. 

To tell you the truth, I've never been to a spa before (not kidding!), so I have no idea what sort of music they played at the spa, and my children are not autistic so, my reason for reviewing this is to see whether it does help me to relax or not. Being a SAHM, I'm cooped up in the house (our bedroom mainly) 24/7/365 and I'd love to give this a try! Anyway, my review as below...

* Title: Escapes - Music for Relaxing
* Price: $8.00 (Digital Album), $15.00 (CD includes download of 15 tracks album)
* ASIN: B0027CHR6Y
* Label: Jeff Gold Music

What's good?

* The songs are really relaxing and helps take your mind off from the hectic life and just enjoy the peaceful moment.

* These are some of the songs that I kept playing over and over on my laptop:

#2 - Hanalei (Love this! You can click on the song title to hear it on YouTube)
#3 - Escapes
#4 - Fine by Me Slowly
#7 - Gentle Rain

* In song #15 (Safe Harbour), I could imagine myself sitting on a beach staring at the sunset, watching as the sun goes down and the sky turning dark... nice!!!

Room for Improvement?

* In song #3 (Escapes), there are certain part during the chorus where I thought I heard sighing sound (very fast) - got me creep out initially wondering where the sighing sound came from.

You can purchase it from Jeff Gold's website, Amazon or the iTunes Store.

Now, Jeff has graciously offered my blog readers and visitors a discount coupon code when you purchase his album.

The code for the 25% coupon discount is "Relax" (no quotes) and can only be used in the cart on his website. He is also offering a free song download for "Del Playa" by visiting http://jeffgold.bandcamp.com/track/del-playa-2

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the authorised password to download the 15-track album in MP3 format to assist my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine.

Baby Room Review - Viva Mall, Cheras

~ Posted on Monday, October 31, 2011 at 8:26 AM ~

It has been a while since I blog about my review on baby room. The last post I wrote which can be found on my old blog was on 4th June 2010. If you are interested, you can read them at: http://imafulltimemummy.blogspot.com/search/label/baby%20room

So anyway, since I'm back to breastfeeding Alyson (oh well, not that I ever STOP breastfeeding since 4th March 2009 - oh my., come to think of it.. I HAVE NOT STOP BREASTFEEDING SINCE MARCH 2009!!!), I thought I'll resume back blogging about baby rooms that we used - oh well, just the new ones that we've never use during Ben's time. I didn't blog about baby rooms so long because it's always the same places we have been to since then and I would prefer to just blog about the new baby rooms we tried.

I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy sneaking in my camera along with my baby and sheepishly taking pictures during the nursing session hehehehe...


When: 30th October 2011
Why: Family outing, also to lunch with my BFF and catch up on MY latest gossips with her (she is my gossip outlet muahahaha...)
Location: 3rd floor 

MY FEEDBACK

Facilities:

~The baby room is easy to locate, love the cute signage outside the room.

~ There are 2 partitions available for nursing, each one comes with a comfortable sofa and its own full length curtain. I chose the one next to the wall deco so I could have something to look at while nursing.

~ There is a 2 seater sofa outside which I think is for the spouse or others to sit while waiting. There's a small coffee table too.

~ Two diaper changing station with a very deep water sink right in the middle. The changing mat is really comfy and plush.

Comfort Level:

~ I like the separate curtain partitioning and even after I close off the curtain, there are still a lot of space left, enough to put a stroller in your nursing area as well.

~ I also like that the curtain length is long enough though I'd prefer it to be about 3-5 inches off the ground,  as even though the curtains are close, it might be safer IMO if I can see from outside that there's someone inside just by looking on the floor for tell tale of shoes, stroller or something.

What I don't like:

~ The baby room is quite cool (or maybe cos I sat right under the vent)

~ The music played in the baby room is not too loud, just nice, however, the same cannot be said for the sound from OUTSIDE of the baby room. Some shops outside played their music really loud which is annoying!

~ From my nursing section, I realised when I looked up why my nursing section is darker than the other one... turns out the light bulb is burnt.

~ And I'm not sure what went on the mind of the mall's management as there are NO dustbin provided in the baby room. And NO liquid dispenser or paper towel provided for you to wash your hands after changing the diaper.

Summary: The management really need to look into providing AT LEAST a dustbin in the baby room. Other than that, it is a nice and comfortable baby room that I would definitely go again the next time we visit Viva Mall.

iPad App Review - FarmMatch

~ Posted on Saturday, October 29, 2011 at 2:22 PM ~

I received a pitch to review an app called "FarmMatch" few months ago and just found out few days ago that I have been selected to review the app. Anyway, my review as below...

* Title: FarmMatch
* Price: FREE (at time of review)
* Category: Games
* Updated: Oct 17, 2011
* Version: 1.1
* Size: 1.2 MB
* Language: English
* Seller: LearningAppsforKids.com, LLC
* Rated: 4+
* Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.1.3 or later

Description from the product page:

"FarmMatch is a fun matching and memory game developed by parents for young children and is not only loved by children, but the entire family will have a great time!  FarmMatch is not only fun, but this matching game is educational as well.  While matching images and sounds, kids work on their cognitive, concentration, recognition and memorization skills.  The best part of this game is that kids do not realize they are learning because they are having so much fun!

Beyond the educational value, kids will also find FarmMatch extremely entertaining.  They can play for fun or use the score option if they are feeling competitive.  And of course there is a silent mode, making FarmMatch the perfect game for quiet play in a restaurant or on a plane!

As an app developed for kids, we felt it was important for the game to be easy and kid-friendly.  There are no complicated menus and no in-app purchases. Simply select your game level and play starts!  FarmMatch is so easy, your kids will grasp it on the first try and never want to put it down! "

What's good?

* The app is FREE and there is NO in-app purchases or upgrades!!!!

* It is a simple and fun game where you try to memorise and match 2 same animals which can be found on a farm!

Room for Improvement?

* Some of the animals look kind of similar, for example the goat and donkey (which actually does not look like a donkey to me).

* This app was not able to hold my boy's attention for long and this was probably because he is more into transportation and robotic stuff.

You can find the "FarmMatch" app from the iTunes App Store.

I was compensated for this review, however, all opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous iPad Apps reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My iPad App Reviews"