It is day 2 in Hawaii and we managed to get a lot accomplished today.

I went to get some surfing lessons from Dane Kealoha who is a previous surfing champion. I did manage to stand on the board however I got tired shortly after and had a hard time getting up on that surfboard. For our first time surfing, apparently that is supposed to be decent.

Then we went up hiking at the Diamond Head crater with the kids. The kidlet managed to trek up there on his own (his motivation was that he gets to have his own shaved iced if he makes it to the top on his own). What a trooper!

Anyhow, I won’t be able to post updates all the time but I have been posting some pictures on TripColor of our trip. So go visit my TripColor trip here to keep up with our family trip.

Thanks for reading!

Well today is a new day and we should be enjoying the beach and sun very shortly.

Just wanted to write a quick post to say hello and to also post a picture of the sunrise this morning.

Anyhow, I am sitting at the Chinese Consulate office in Vancouver applying for my Hong Kong ID and visa. Since I am waiting I have decided that I actually have time to write a post.

Some updates about me and the family is that we went to Hong Kong in January with the kiddies. This was their first long plane ride and first time in Asian. It is definitely challenging traveling with children especially a young child who was sick. Anyhow, we survived through it and I am crazy enough to decide I travel again with my kids next month.

We will be heading to Honolulu in Hawaii (yes Hawaii again!) before little j turns 2. This time around I am looking forward to it.

I actually have another drafted post about Hawaii but haven’t had the chance to edit and post yet. Perhaps I will try to post it before our trip next month!

Alright, I should focus on this application thing. It is chaotic. Everybody looks lost… Bye for now!

Happy Halloween!

I am going to be participating in the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure 5K race on October 2 to help raise some funds for the worthy cause of Breast Cancer.

I personally know someone who is battling with breast cancer, and my co-workers and I have grouped together to fund-raise and to bring awareness about breast cancer. If you would like to support this cause, please consider donating by visiting my donation page http://www.runforthecure.com/goto/ghislaine or by clicking on the image below.

Thanks for reading!

And the winner of the Coach Wrislet (sponsored by the ABREVA program by Mom Central ) is…

Drumroll please.

Entry # 12!

Entry #12 was submitted by Christine. Christine’s top 5 “must-have” items were:

1) cell phone
2) wallet
3) keys
4) lip balm
5) pen

Congratulations Christine!

I think it is awesome that I can use my iPad instead of my laptop most of the time when I am at home with my wifi. I can even connect to my work PC by using VPN on the iPad and then remote desktop. That is just so fantastic that I can just switch on my tablet and be able to connect without starting up my computer with minimal loading time.

Right now I am actually typing this post in the WordPress app on the iPad. I have done this before on the iPhone as well but typing on a larger screen resolution than my phone is just so much better.

I am also really liking some of the photo editing apps on my iPad. I just paid $4.99 for the Snapseed app 2 days ago and I am loving it. If I wanted similar photo software on my PC I would probably have to pay at least $30 for the filters.

Anyhow, I think that the future in computing will be the movement towards tablet devices and less of laptops or PCs. I can even plug in a Bluetooth keyboard with my iPad and use my tablet with a netbook-like feel (without mouse though). I am definitely planning to get an external keyboard sometime.

I wish I could have gotten my hands on one of those $100 discounted HP Touchpad. I would definitely recommend tablets as a productivity tool.

To end off, below are some of the pictures I have edited with Snapseed on the iPad. It may seem like a lot to pay $5 for an app but if you think about that is less than the cost of eating out for lunch. The last picture was taken and edited with the iPad. Not too shabby right?

We have attended the PNE every year for as long as I can remember (last year was the only exception though since we had a new baby). I even remember going to the PNE when my first son was about 3 months old and we would carry him around in the baby carrier. We probably would have gone last year if the “free admission” day wasn’t on Sunday.

Anyhow, we went on opening day Saturday and surprisingly it was not too crowded. Still a lot of people but not as busy as it has been in the past (maybe that is because we have usually gone on the free admission days!).

The boys had a good time of just strolling around the fair grounds and of course enjoyed all that food at the fair! When I think of the PNE I usually think of junk food like corn dogs, fish and chips, hot dogs, wiggle chips, fried donuts, cotton candy, candied apples, funnel cakes, whale’s tails, and everything else deep fried. Let me tell you this, the PNE is definitely not a good place to visit if you are on a diet. We ate calamari, fish and chips, garlic fries, cotton candy, a whale’s tail, and a slushy. Way too much deep fried and sugary items. Oh well, you have to indulge at the fair otherwise it just isn’t fun. I guess I will be eating salads for the rest of the week.

Some of the activities that we did (besides eating all the time) were:

• We ate lunch by the water fountain area. The kiddies loved walking in the fountain bare-footed (in fact, both of them didn’t want to leave and we had to drag them away so that we could visit the rest of the fair grounds).
• We visited the barn (children just love the farm animals).
• We watched the Superdogs show. Sometimes I want to train my dog to do tricks like that. Dogs are such amazing animals.
• Big J went on a couple of Playland rides in the Kidzone area. He rode a boat and a car. He said he really enjoyed the rides.
• Big J played a fishing game and won a stuffed penguin. For some reason he picked the bright pink one.
• We walked inside the Marketplace. We always go there to check out the products. Nothing too exciting this year. I did like the Zoku popsicle makers but they were ridiculously expensive at $75 to make 3 pops at a time.

The PNE is definitely a fun day for the family. We definitely plan to make this an annual event. Have you been to the fair yet this summer?

• Lip Balm or Lip Gloss - Something to moisturize the lips is a must.
• iPhone - Let’s face it. I cannot live without my iPhone. It also works great to entertain my kids if I need a distraction for them (I know some of you are thinking “bad mommy” for letting your kids play with your smartphone. Well my kids are tech kids and they don’t always respond to traditional toys.)
• Wallet & Keys - OK that is 2 items but they are necessities for obvious reasons (cash, credit cards, bus pass, locking the house)
• Chewing Gum - Sometimes I like ordering the dish with the garlic or the onions.
• Wysi Wipes - These are one of the greatest inventions ever. It is a biodegradable disposable wipe. They come in a small round pellet and expand when you soak them in water. They are fantastic at wiping up those yucky messes my kids make and when I am done with them I just toss them like a napkin.

So why am I sharing my “must-have” items in this post? Well because I am actually having my first blog giveaway ever! What am I giving away? A free Coach Wristlet for participating in the contest.

Abreva is sponsoring this post and has offered a free Coach Wristlet to one of my blog readers. Just a little bit of background, Abreva is a cold sore medicine and I do personally occasionally suffer from cold sores. When I do, I always keep a small tube of Abreva handy in my purse and reapply the ointment often to speed up the healing of the cold sore. I find that it works better than even the prescription ointment that my doctor usually prescribes for me. Cold sores are embarrassing so Abreva definitely helps keep the healing period to a minimum compared to other over-the-counter brands of cold sore medicine.

I also want to encourage you to visit the Abreva website www.abreva.ca to get your free $5 off coupon between August 15 and September 2 (they have limited quantities of the coupon so act fast!).

So how do you enter the Coach Wristlet contest? Simply comment on this post with 5 of your “must-have” items in your purse and you will be entered for the giveaway. Also leave me an email address where I can contact you should you be the winner. Contest closes on September 2. I will randomly choose a winner after September 2 and post the winner on my blog.

The contest is open to Canadian residents only. (Sorry my non Canadian friends but Abreva can only ship to Canadian addresses.)

What are you waiting for? Go comment and enter the giveaway now! Good luck .

Disclosure – I am participating in the ABREVA program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of GlaxoSmithKline. I received a Coach wristlet as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.