I'm a full-time mummy

Oh yeah! Who said a full-time mummy can't be hip and happening at the same time?! What am I talking about? Well, I'm still feeling euphoric after being contacted by A&M/Octone Records to do a review on Maroon 5's latest album "Hands All Over" which was released on 21st September 2010!

Maroon 5 dude! 

And I'm doing their latest album review!

* Smack cheeks to check whether I'm dreaming *

I enjoyed listening to their songs and to get this opportunity to review their latest album is just so freaking thrilling!

Would you just look at their droolworthy pose!

Excerpts taken from the album's pressbook:

"Hands All Over is bright and poppy, and helped the band to find its focus all over again. Levine says the album's title tracks is about "desperately trying to work something out, but at the same time, trying to wash your hands of something too. It's that desperation of wanting everything to work somehow but being frustrated by the fact that it just won't." Ultimately, Levine says Hands All Over is the sound of Maroon 5 stepping back from their influences and embracing their originality."

OK, now that I'm a SAHM catering to the whims and fancies of my toddler at all times, time is of a very important essence in my daily life. So how do I get about to reviewing this album?

My first test was to give it a quick play, about 5 seconds for each song. If the song manages to get Ben's attention, I let the song continues on. Then I try to fast forward to the middle of the song and check out Ben's reactions. If it gets his attention, then I will continue to play the song. Else, next!

After I'm done with all the 12 songs in the album, I noted down the songs that got Ben's attention and mind you, these songs actually got him DANCING along to it!

* Misery

* Stutter

* How

* Out of Goodbyes (duet with Lady Antebellum) - this is my personal favorite!

What do I think about this album? Like Ben, the above songs got me listening to them over and over again and as for the rest of the songs, it gets better everytime you hear them, so yeah, I'd say this album is for keeps!

I can feel the signature tune of Maroon 5 is still all over the album but this time, it's like they get a little more refreshing and more bubbly and upbeat.

One thing I don't quite fancy is the album cover (which is why you don't see me posting it in this review). Maybe there's some artistic meaning for the cover image they used but I feel a more decent looking image would be better.. Oh heck, maybe because I'm older a mum now so I tend to get pretty uptight uncomfortable of seeing images like this.. Heh...

I think the other images used for their album promo is just as good. Just take a look and see if you don't agree with me:

Good enough to be used as the album cover, no?

OK, this is a bit Beatle-like but still a nice captivating image!

I just love this shot! It's simplicity is just so stunning! What do you think?

In summary, I'd recommend this album for those who is looking for something to brighten up their life and those who just want to dance along to some upbeat and catchy tunes.

Way to go Maroon 5! You guys still rocks!

You can purchase the album via Maroon 5's website.

I would like to give a note of thanks to Michael from A&M/Octone Records for this wonderful opportunity to review this awesome album!

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the authorised link to download the 12-track standard 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.

I have the privilege of reviewing my 1st book under Free Spirit Publishing, a children's alphabet book by Coleen Paratore (illustrated by Mike Reed) called "26 Big Things Small Hands Do".

Seriously, I have a thing with alphabets stuff. Books, posters, flash cards... and I'm not very keen on the common A for Apple, B for Book, C for Cat type of stuff. So, whenever I get the chance to review the out of ordinary alphabet books, I am superbly excited and this is one of the moments for me to be superbly excited!

Just look at this awesome book!

Look at the girl blowing bubbles with one of them looking like our planet Earth! What a neat idea!

Reminded me so much of a picture of Ben and his bubble thoughts...

Anyway, I'm not a fan of blurry illustrations but this book is OK for me. It is not so blurry that it annoys my eyesight.

The pictures on each page are a delight to see.

And the fact that they come packed with awesome ideas incorporating the 26 alphabets with positive actions which we (and our little ones especially!) can do in our daily lives. I love it!!

On the first night we got the book, Ben was already flipping through the pages, pointing at the things he's familiar with - dogs, birds, guitars and so on. There is a page at the end, where it said "Yy   Small hands... YES! Hurray! High five!" with a picture of several childrens' hands raise up high and Ben followed that after looking at the picture!  Cute!

The next morning, Ben goes through the book again, pointing at guitar, dogs and so on.

Ben pointing at the cute little doggie on the front cover and then staring long at it again on the back cover.

One thing I don't like about this book is the extra side flaps (also known as French flaps) on the front and back covers. Maybe it's meant to be some sort of bookmark for the book but I find it quite annoying as it keeps jutting out and I ended up taping the flaps to the cover. Other than that, nothing much bad or negative I can comment on this awesome book!

Overall, I give this book an 8 out of 10.

This book has a total of 32 pages, all nicely illustrated, has softcover, size: 11¼" x 9¼".

Feel free to view the excerpts or read a note from the author.

Btw, this book also won the following awards:

You can get this book from Free Spirit Publishing, Christianbook.com and many more.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with a copy of the book by Free Spirit Publishing in order to facilitate 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.

And if you'd like to read my previous book reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My Book Reviews"

This is the 3rd book by Andy Andrews that I have the privilege of reviewing as part of the Book Sneeze Blogger Reviewer program. Since I can't wait for the hardcopy of the book to arrive (it normally takes about 1 month time to reach my country), I decided to read the book online when I found out that the e-book version is also available for reviewing.

Like the previous Andy Andrew's "The Boy Who Changed the World" book that I reviewed, the "The Butterfly Effect: How Your Life Matters" is about how each decisions we made, be it big or small, is in some way contributing to the changes we see around us.

I would say that this book is the adult, more matured version of the "The Boy Who Changed the World" book.

One of the examples given in this book is how things are what it is now, all thanks to a 34 year old school teacher. As I'm not familiar with US history, I thought it was just a story or fictional character until I read the whole story about how this school teacher persevered on and fight for his beloved country. The other few examples are the same from the "The Boy Who Changed the World" book.

It is an amazing feeling to read that every little action and decisions we made can cause a ripple in the future. I also like the illustrations in this book, how it intertwined with the story. Overall, I'd give this book a 9 out of 10.

FYI, Andy Andrews has written over 20 books. This book was written because Andy wanted to inspire courage and wisdom in the decisions we make, as well as affect the way we treat others through our lifetime. You can read more about it and even view some of the preview pages at: http://www.andyandrews.com/ms/the-butterfly-effect/

You can get this book from Amazon, The Book Depository and many more.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with a copy of the book by Book Sneeze in order to facilitate 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.

And if you'd like to read my previous book reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My Book Reviews"