2011: A Year in Review

2011 has been an eventful one.  We've experienced some amazing highs, some moments of frustration, and moments of sadness.  Like my father always says, "You can't appreciate the good if you don't experience the bad".

January
Balancing family, the farm, freelance jobs and teaching ESL proved to be more difficult than I thought. Thankfully, I have some very supportive family members (thanks to my Hubby, Lola, Grampy, and MIL). I also have great friends who help me get through even the toughest, most challenging moments of mommyhood.

February
There were moments when I thought I was going to completely lose it.

 I don't think I ever told anyone (except my husband and my best friend) how difficult a time I was having trying to keep things together. I struggled immensely with trying to balance motherhood and all the zillions of other things I had on my plate (like work, committees, farm, house, and everything else). To this day, I am still amazed at how women all over the world just do it and not get burnt out. I don't believe it has to be an either or decision - motherhood or work. I believe the two can be happily married, but it is a challenge. It's a lot of figuring out how to do both and do them both well.

Little One moved into her "big girl" bed. Everything is changing. I'm not sure if I'm ready for all this change.

March
I try to always trust my gut instinct. Thank goodness too. I was almost a victim to an online scam where this person tried to swindle me out of my money by posing as an ESL student in need of assistance. Luckily, I'm not that gullible. Luckily, I do my research. I just hope he/she/they don't take advantage of any other good, kindhearted people. If you see a suspicious-looking e-mail, always report it. I hope the police can nail this person. It just makes me sick to think of all the unsuspecting people who have already fallen victim to him.

Little One is still as busy as can be. Some days, I wonder if I'll be alive by the time she's five.

April
We said goodbye to my ESL student. I taught him for eight months. It was really sad to say goodbye. Little One was particularly fond of him and thought he was part of the family. It's amazing that he saw her from not really talking to all of a sudden speaking in sentences. I love that Little One is exposed to people from different cultures.

May
Little One's vocabulary has increased tenfold. I've been learning how to cook more Korean dishes. That's one of the great things about teaching ESL. My students learn English and they learn about Canadian culture. In return, I learn so much from them (like cooking Korean Bulgogi)!

June
Hubby and I celebrated five years of marriage.

We took Little One to the Mount Sinai Hospital NICU/Preemie Picnic. Hard to believe our healthy, happy, fiercely independent toddler was once a 980 g baby. It was a very emotional day. It was great to meet up with some of the nurses, staff, and other NICU parents who helped us through Little One's first few weeks of life.

July
Every now and then, I am reminded of how blessed we are to be living in our little corner of Ontario. Though I sometimes miss my city life, I am reminded of how breathtakingly beautiful Manitoulin Island is. We're surrounded by beaches and we're not too far from Tobermory. I took my students to Tobermory for a class trip. The glass bottom boat tour and the shipwrecks were a hit with the students.

August
August is always a busy time of the year on the farm. Our students learn a lot here. They don't only learn English, but they learn about where their food comes from. 

Little One won the Cutest Baby contest over at PhotoCaptiva.

I am excited to say that I am a recipient of the Mom Central Canada Blogger Grant! What an incredible honour!

September

I was invited to the She's Connected Conference in Toronto, where I was able to network with brands, meet some fabulous ladies, learn more about the social media world and what brands are looking for in social media women, and just hang out with some of my favourite Tweeps.

Okay, I was a bit starstruck when I got to meet one of my favourite TV cooking personalities!Yes, it's Christine Cushing! Does this woman ever know how to cook!? Amazing!

Little One was weaned from her soother/pacifier. We went to Montreal for my godson's baptism and I conveniently forgot to pack her soothers. She was forced to go cold turkey and hasn't looked back. It was a brutal few days and she kept asking for it. Okay, she kept crying screaming for it! She survived and hasn't had it since.


I was given the opportunity to be an official food blogger for Food Network Canada's reality TV show, Recipe to Riches! 

October
We learned that a good friend of ours died. He and his wife used to come to the Island every Fall and spend a week with us. The news had me so depressed. With each announcement of the passing of friends, I am more and more aware of how finite life on earth is. With loved ones and family members getting to the age where death or serious illness is not surprising, I think about my grandmother in the Philippines and wish she could be closer to us. It makes me really sad to think about losing family members.

I won a Toshiba Tablet from a ShesConnected Twitter party. Love, love, love!

November
Little One turned three years old. 11/11/11. Lucky year, maybe? She seemed to have gone from my sweet little preemie to all of a sudden a little girl. She feeds herself, dresses herself, and wants to do everything herself. I have to be honest and say that I really, really miss the baby years. It's true when people say, "cherish these moments forever, because they grow up fast". They really do.

I was selected as a #ToshibaBrandAmbassador! Thank you, ShesConnected!

December
I attended the taping of Recipe to Riches' season finale. I also had dim sum with Melaney Gleeson-Lyall as well as a coffee date with Melissa Lam (Recipe to Riches contestants). Through the Twitter world, we've become friends (online and offline).

Grampy and Little One enjoyed dim sum with Melaney in Chinatown as well!

With Melissa (Banana Chocolate Wow Cake) and Brad (Maple Pouding au Chomeur) at the taping of the finale.

I was selected as one of the #FisherPriceMoms! So excited! Thank you, Mom Central Canada!


We also started a new tradition with our friends - Olde Fashioned Christmas! A few friends with children Little One's age will celebrate each Christmas (well, the weekend before Christmas) with a potluck party and good times for all. The kids made Christmas ornaments, the adults had a good visit, and before the night was done, the kids exchanged homemade presents with each other.


Little One seems to be completely toilet trained. After a few weeks of potty retraining, a few set backs and accidents, she seems to have finally mastered peeing and pooping in the toilet. She is so proud of herself! I am so proud of her. I am also so relieved for myself. That had to be the most frustrating two weeks of my life.

BabyBro came to the Island to spend Christmas with us. One week is definitely too short. He's only been gone two days, but I already miss him.


Looking forward to another wonderful year with friends and family. May the New Year be a very happy and healthy one for everyone.

There's Still Time! Nominate Your Holiday Hero (Toshiba Canada)

As a Mom, for some reason the responsibility of getting special presents for our loved ones always seems to fall upon me. If I leave things to my husband, everyone would get something from the home hardware store. No, really. They would!

Not that there's anything wrong with receiving tools or building supplies. I just like getting things that are a little more personal. Practical is good, but personal shows that lots of thought and effort went into getting the present.

As a Toshiba Holiday Hero Ambassador, I was able to check out some of the amazing products Toshiba has to offer for everyone on our holiday list! I know everyone in our family is all about technology. Our teenaged nieces are way ahead of me when it comes to all things electronic! My brothers, brother-in-law, parents, and even Little One are really into what's new and exciting in the world of all things techie. Electronic gifts are both practical and personal. 

 

On my Toshiba Ambassador mission, I checked out the Toshiba Tablet (one of my teen nieces and my husband are interested in the Tablet). I also inquired about the Toshiba 3D HDTV - a present for me. Oh, okay...for everyone en "la casa de C"! Check out my findings here.

Every year, Hubby says I'm a hero to my little family. I have to get Christmas dinner organized, make all the baked goods, do the shopping, entertaining, gift wrapping, writing/mailing out all the Christmas cards...

Being a hero isn't just what I've mentioned though. My neighbour down the road is a hero in my eyes. He saw one of our cows on the highway and helped me get her back where she was supposed to be. My husband is a hero because he does so much for everyone, works so hard on the farm and off the farm...and never complains about being exhausted.

Do you have someone in your life that you think is a hero?

Nominate your hero today for a chance to WIN: a Toshiba Prize Pack for your nominee, and a Toshiba Tablet for yourself.

Prize Packs include:

*A Mobile Office Pack

*An Extreme Laptop Pack

*A 3D Entertainment Pack

There isn't much time left to nominate your hero! Head over to the Toshiba Canada Facebook page and be a Holiday Hero today! 
**Nominations end November 28th, 2011! (Open to residents of Canada only)**

Check out the Toshiba Canada website and join in on all the Toshiba fun on Twitter and Facebook.

ShesConnected & Toshiba Holiday Heroes Brand Ambassador Program: Honey, I Want a Toshiba 3D TV!

I was recently selected as a Toshiba Brand Ambassador.  ShesConnected has partnered up with Toshiba Canada to help spread the word about the new Toshiba Tablet and 3D televisions. My mission was to visit a local retailer and check out either the Toshiba Tablet or the Toshiba Passive 3D TL515 Series.

Thanks to ShesConnected and Toshiba Canada! To facilitate my "mission", I was given a Toshiba Camileo camcorder to take videos and stills of our excursion. The Camileo is a really impressive camcorder. It's so tiny and slim...it can fit in your pocket! It's perfect for its high-res still images, high-def movie recording, face detect, and a whole slew of other neat features! Mine came in a vibrant yellow colour!

I went to Walmart and FutureShop in Sudbury, Ontario with my Camileo in hand to check out the Toshiba 3D HDTV.  I had Hubby and Little One with me for this exciting excursion. The salespeople I chatted with were great. They were knowledgeable about the products and took the time to answer all my questions.

This *was* going to be my first attempt at a vlog. I got a bit nervous, my hair wasn't cooperative, I hate the way I sound on video, and I had a toddler who was trying to stuff a ShesConnected Chicken Farmers of Canada chicken down my shirt in the video. I still have the video. It's actually kind of funny, but I decided last minute to just scrap the whole vlog this time and just write a blog post. Sorry! Maybe next time!

Neither the Sudbury Walmart nor the FutureShop had the 3D TV available, so I couldn't check out the features of the TV. I just went on what the product experts told me.

Interesting things I learned about the Toshiba 3D TV:
Derek, the product expert, said that "Quite a few customers think that 3D is just a fad and that it won't stick around for very long. I think that 3D is here to stay and with TVs like Toshiba's 3D TV, people will realize how much it will enhance their viewing experience." He said he thinks 3D is here to stay and that it will eventually become a standard part of every TV package.

A neat feature I learned about is that the Toshiba 3D TV has Digital Noise Reduction. Hubby is more interested in the tech stuff than I am. I just like a TV that looks good, has great viewing/imaging, some cool features, and fits our budget. Hubby will tell you how exciting it is that the Toshiba 3D TV has AutoView, ColorMaster 3D, Color Temperator, etc. Basically, all these features included in the Toshiba TV technology make viewing experience improved. They make for higher quality images, superior contrast and image detail, etc.

I learn something new everyday!

What I also liked was that with Toshiba's 2D to 3D technology, we can watch regular movies in 3D too.  Shhhh...Don't tell anyone, but I also like a bit of gaming every now and then. This would be ideal for gaming!
Since I felt badly that I didn't get to complete my mission (with the 3D TV not being in stock at both locations I went to), I did get to ask questions about the Tablet. Sudbury FutureShop had the Tablet available.

What I learned about the Tablet:
The great thing is that the Tablet is powered by Android Honeycomb 3.1 and is easily customizable. It's great for viewing HD videos (so thankful for this, since it keeps my toddler busy for a few moments every now and then). It's also great for listening to music, surfing the web, and best of all, doing all my social media "stuff". It's perfect for all the social media things I love to do (like write blog posts like this ShesConnected/Toshiba Canada Ambassador Program, then Tweet and Facebook it)!

One of the most interesting things I learned about the Tablet is that it has an easily replaceable battery. It has a removable and rechargeable Lithium battery.

I love the double camera (front and rear) and large screen surface. I would highly recommend the Tablet to friends and family. In fact, I'm thinking of getting Hubby one for Christmas. He was going to get me one for my birthday, but I won my Tablet at the ShesConnected Twitter party a few weeks ago! I'm thinking His & Hers Toshiba Tablets would be great for Christmas! Well, especially since Hubby hogs my Tablet now anyway!

I absolutely love my Tablet. It's so "handy". When I'm in the kitchen and need to look up a recipe, I can quickly check online recipe sites on my Tablet. Just the other day, Hubby needed an aerial view of our property and was able to get a great image online when he took the Tablet with him. He is continually more and more amazed by the things he can accomplish with the Tablet in hand. He said it's great for GPS coordinates on the farm, conversions, looking up information quickly...Ha! A farmer with a Tablet! 

I'd like to learn more about the Toshiba 3D HDTV since I didn't get to see one in person. The product experts told me what they knew of the product, but I would have liked to actually see it. We're in the market for a new TV, so this is the perfect opportunity to do some research and get to know the product more. Our "good" TV (a wedding present from my bridal party 6 years ago) just *died*. We are in need of a new TV and I'm hoping it will be the Toshiba 3D TV! From what the product experts at the store told us, Hubby seems more inclined to getting one now.

Thank you to ShesConnected and Toshiba Canada for giving me the opportunity to do some "field research" on products we would have looked into for our Holiday gift giving. Hubby *may* get his own Tablet and hopefully we'll get a new TV for Christmas!

For more information on the Toshiba Tablet and/or the Toshiba TL515 3D HDTV, visit the Toshiba Canada website or Toshiba Canada on Facebook and Twitter! Toshiba Canada is having their Holiday Heroes campaign on Facebook right now. Check it out and nominate your Holiday Hero!

Disclosure - I am participating in the Toshiba Brand Ambassador Program by ShesConnected.  I received a Toshiba Camileo in exchange for my participation in this campaign.  All the opinions on this blog are my own.