I Won A Free Template!

I've been blogging for almost five years now, trying to document our life as expatriate family in Dubai. I am very thankful for this hobby because I get to make new friends online. I meet a lot of fellow blogging Moms out there who also has a very limited social life due to chores at home. When it gets lonely here in the desert, I simply visit other blogs and for awhile I do not feel so alone anymore.

I currently own two blogs, one for personal and one for fashion. Last week, Mommy Chris informed me that I won a free template through her Thanksgiving Blog Contest (just one of the many perks of blogging). I was  very delighted because as I read more on  website development, I learned that to get more traffic,  it it very important that your blog should be as unique as possible - starting with the header. I felt guilty because even though I bought my own domain,  I  always use the free templates available. When I started to ask around, it costs around 30USD to 50 USD. I started to save up for it but when I learned about the contest and the prizes, I wasted no time to join.

I'm very thankful that I won because February also happens to be my birthday month. ((^_^))

Avoid Recreational Water Illnesses

My son's all time favorite activity is swimming. People give a big smile of approval when they see him confidently jump on the water or when he imitates adults floating, lying on their back. I'm thankful that so far, he has not suffered any serious Recreational Water Illnesses (RWI). We owe this largely to our ever-cheerful building watchman, Narsa, an Indian national.

Our brave, little floater.

Narsa regularly cleans the rooftop swimming - even on days nobody is using it (when the weather is too cold for a dip). Sometimes when we just feel like catching some fresh air, we go up and there is Narsa armed with pool cleaners. He vacuums, scrubs the tiles, sweeps the deck, and empty the strainer basket.

Earlier on, I wondered why the pool never smelled strongly of chlorine despite the regular cleaning. I learned that the smell is actually chloramines - a combination of chlorine, sweat, and urine. A perfectly clean and safe swimming pool should be odorless. 

Here are other steps to avoid Recreational Water Illnesses:

  a) The pool's bottom should be clearly visible.

  b) Shower before going into a pool

  c) Take small children on frequent bathroom breaks

  d) Wash hands after going to the bathroom

  e) The tiles of the pool should feel smooth not slimy

  f) Listen for the sound of working pool pump

  g) Avoid swallowing pool water

LED Lights For Healthier Plants

Like us, all our friends here in  Dubai tried indoor gardening to cool our villas and apartments from the scorching heat. Apparently, we all have the same problem: the desert sun is too much for our herbs and money plants so we leav them indoors, relying on the florescent lamp to provide sunlight. The result is an unhealthy and withering plant that makes gardening somewhat frustrating.

LED Grow Lights should come as good news to us. It is all the rage right now with positive reviews. There are many types of LED Growing Lights but perhaps the most popular is called UFO LED Grow Lights. It uses 90 watts of power which is more intense thus making plants grow faster. It does not produce heat so we can breath a sigh of relief that it will not burn our plants. Moreover, the light emitted parallels the spectrum of light needed in photosynthesis.

This will be a very interesting topic when I share to friends over the weekend. Maybe all of us can finally enjoy the hobby of indoor gardening.

Gulf Bike Expo 2010

I am joining a new meme called Ruby Tuesday. Here you can share any photo you have that has color red in it - could be all red, some red, or just a lil' red. The thing is, there should be something ruby, red, and luscious (kidding!).

I posted the heart-stopping bike stunts on my Kero's Celebration so now, I want to share one of my favorite display among those Ducati's and Harley Davidson.

Check this out.

When I first saw the bike, the white wall tires reminded me of the movie Cars. The one that Luigi insisted perfect for Lightning McQueen's Piston Cup Race =)

My first entry for