Toshiba Back to School Event #ToshibaPopUp

A year ago we attended Future Shop Back To School event filled with innovative products and fancy designs from leading technology brands including Toshiba. It may seem just a start of the summer and the school year just finished up, but now is exactly the time to learn and stock up with the right tech for the next school year. These days it is does not matter if you are in elementary school or university, learning the ABC or biochemistry, everyone needs tech gadgets to be successful in their studies.


Last week we were lucky to attend Toshiba’s BTS event in Toronto held at Proper Reserve. We started with Excite series of tablets, first was Excite Write, the functionality is its name – sharp clarity display 10.1 inch PixelPure and True Pen arrange a real pen and paper experience, great for drawings or taking notes. I would love to have one for my kid; he is not much in writing but in drawing he feels pretty comfortable. Another tablet from Excite series is a budget- friendly Excite Pure, perfect for busy student life, mostly loved the presence of Mobile Office for Android.


Laptops could not escape our attention; we were introduced to the new Satellite series combining design and performance depends on a student’s needs from budget friendly like C to sleek and stylish with premium features like L and S. Better graphics, improved keyboard and Shock Protection making the laptops are perfect for busy schools days and gaming adventures. Take a look Qosmio X70 - Max Gaming Machine with mammoth multimedia features and a control from any Windows, Android or Apple device.


All-in-one PX30t Desktop turned out to be a multimedia station with HD touchscreen, and Toshiba Gesture Controller for Windows 8 gives an opportunity to multitask in a move of your hand.


I was impressed with L4300 Cloud TV, it has everything I want to see during my busy life - open browser ready for any request, Netflix, YouTube, Skype with HD TV webcam(see my pretty face) and Calendar, Alerts, cloud messaging and much more.

Also found this TY-SP1 Bluetooth Speaker pretty cool, they are less than less than 100 grams and doing an amazing job for volume control plus can be used as speakerphones for hands-free talking (I really need this one) .

Hope you like all the new tech hitting the stores, time to get them before new school year starts, glad we still have time to choose form such a variety of products.

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Safety, Performance and Value with Sailun Tires, Track Event #TrustSailun

When we think about vehicle safety what comes first to your mind, seat belts, mirrors properly set up, regular checkups and tires, yes tires. When I first learned about Sailun Tires on PTPA web site and reading parents reviews I was really impressed. I am not an experienced driver but safety is my first priority on the road considering that I take my kids with me and aging parents who purely rely on my driving skills and my car.

Few weeks ago I and other amazing Sailun Tires Brand Ambassadors joined 2013 PTPA Approved Sailun Track Day at the Brampton Powerade Center where we all had the opportunity to try and test Sailun Z4+AS’s against other leading competitive tires. We participated in series of tests called “blind” meaning that we did not know what tires we were driving until all the testing was done. We had only marking Car 1 and Car 2. All the tests were supervised by professional drivers sitting in the passenger seat.
First series was a regular road driving mostly maneuvering through orange pylons (happy I did not knock down any during the whole day) without strong turns and a speed. I did not notice much difference between driving Car 1 and Car 2, except some. To all my sharp moves and turns, Sailun Tires car responded smoothly and easily in comparison to other car and tried to keep my driving in stable position and I was feeling that.

The second series was full speed tracking with turns and obstacles; the route was longer to feel the speed. This time the difference between two cars was obvious. It was amazing to see and feel how tires could significantly change the driving, your control of the road. This time I put Sailun Tires car's stability and steering on the first place, I was driving with so much confidence, that my inexperienced driver fears just gone and I took multiple rides for the same track.


After that would you like to know more about Sailun Tires? Sailun currently sells tires on six continents and in over 50 countries. Every single tire is tested before hitting the road of any country including Canada. Building on real world testing, Sailun continues to build cost-efficient tires too which is good to know. With such a significant attention to safety, performance and value, Sailun only gains our trust with every tire and with every turn. It is great that Saliun tires received the PTPA Award and I am looking forward to see them more on Canadian roads.

I am so thankful to PTPA, Sailun and the instructors of Max Performance Driving for the great day.

Would love to learn more, then, please check these posts of other incredible Sailun Ambassadors, who participated in 2013 PTPA Approved Sailun Track Day and shared their experiences with Sailun Tires:

• @Mommy_Jennof3  -  “With You Through Every Turn” #Trust Sailun tires  
• @ChickyMara - Burning Rubber with Sailun Tires

    


And now giveaway time, how exciting - 3 lucky winners will receive $100 Petro Canada Gift Card and 1 very lucky person will receive a set of Sailun Tires!
For your chance to win please fill the Rafflecopter form below, this giveaway is open to Canadian residents only.

Winners:
1 Grand Prize Winner: Set of Sailun Tires
  Tammy Hedden

3 Winners: 3x $100 Petro Canada Gift Cards
  Ken Willie
  Sean MacDonald
  Kimmy Dalrymple

a Rafflecopter giveaway  
 

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Teddy in Paris Day 7: The Louvre

It is impossible to explore the Louvre in one day. It is one of the world’s largest museums where nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century are exhibited over an area of 60,600 square meters. It was cold and rainy day - the best time to visit a central landmark of Paris the world's most visited museum with more than 8 million visitors each year.


We started with the Denon Wing because we can’t wait to see the original - Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. The closest distance to the painting that is covered by bullet proved glass was about 3 meters. The room where Mona Lisa located is always crowded and it is a challenge to reach the first line to take a picture without other people around.
Teddy didn’t like crowed rooms and paintings in the Louvre. He liked more statues and sculptures.

Of course, we couldn’t skip the most famous of them: Aphrodite of Milos and Ramesses II. We explored Louvre as much as we could for those several hours that we spent there.

What caught our attention that themes of majority of painting was not that cheering in comparison to   collections of impressionist paintings in Musée d'Orsay. It affected our mood, so Teddy fell asleep and we went shopping in Louvre boutiques and got outside to check Louvre Pyramids and Arc de Triomphe du Carroussel and made some pictures.
It was a light rain outside and we noticed that one couple had a wedding photoshoot. I bet they were very thankful for the weather. All tourist hid inside and the Napoleon Courtyard and the Louvre Pyramids were only for them.

That day we realized that only two days left for us in Paris and our next day we planned to get on the top of Eiffel Tower. Finally!

This post is a part of the series of our travel adventures in Paris: March-April 2013. The other posts from this series can be found here:
Teddy in Paris Day 1: Arrival, Hotel, Eiffel Tower  
Teddy in Paris Day 2 Part I
Teddy in Paris Day 2 Part II: The Sainte Chapelle, The Conciergerie, The Pont-Neuf  
Teddy in Paris Day 3 The Château de Versailles
Teddy in Paris Day 4: Musée de l'Orangerie, Place de la Concorde, Champs-Élysées, Arc de Triomphe
Teddy in Paris Day 5: Disneyland
Teddy in Paris Day 6: Les Invalides, Musée de l'Armée, Musée Rodin and Musée d'Orsay  

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Our Father's Day Weekend 2013 - Wordless Wednesday

This year we had a quite busy Father's Day week-end with BBQ, Splash and Canada's Wonderland.

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DonateNaturally.com – Shop, Fundraise and Enjoy Natural and Organic Products Delivered to Your Door

    Fundraise while you shop, what you think about that? Donate Naturally.com is an organic grocery delivery company within the GTA that donates 15% of each order to the charity of the customer’s choice.


When I was offered to review Donate Naturally Weekly Staples bin I was truly excited. I received 1L 2% Organic Harmony Bottled milk, 1 whole wheat multigrain loaf of bread from Toronto’s Brick Street Bakery and 1 dozen Green Valley free run eggs. The delivery happened almost next day I was asked to review products from Donate Naturally shop. Everything was fresh and tasty, my little one liked Organic Harmony Bottled milk the most. We all were impressed with quality; you cannot go wrong with organic products.


DonateNaturally.com work really fast as they target health conscious, urban families with children of all ages; their customer service is exceptional, for on-line store it is important. I browsed products on DonateNaturally.com, to my opinion prices are less than ones at any natural store close to me, I would rather say the prices more like at Organic & Natural section at any regular grocery store. In addition to that DonateNaturally.com donates 15% of each order to the charity of your choice and delivers free to your doorstep. They save my time twice: I do not need to leave my home for shopping, I fundraise and ask other people to do the same and finally, shipping is free.

It does not matter if you live outside the GTA, DonateNaturally.com also offer free shipment Canada wide but only non-perishable items.

Recently DonateNaturally.com were featured in LCBO’s Food and Drink Magazine by recommendation by one of their customers, I think they truly deserved that.

And now giveaway time, enter to win DonateNaturally.com Weekly Staples Bin(see the pic above)  just  fill the Rafflecopter form below and Good Luck!

The giveaway is open to GTA (Greater Toronto Area) residents only and ends July 7, 2013. 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Shrine Circus is coming to Ontario and Quebec with Incredible 250th Anniversary Show

Do you love Circus? For my little one Shrine Circus was the first real Circus he saw in 2011. That time he was just one year old boy and was so excited about flying acrobats, funny clowns and elephants. Teddy even wanted to join other kids to take a ride. It looked like we are part of a fairy tale but everything was real. After that we visited different circus shows in different countries, but we still remember that Shrine Circus show we attended.

This year the Shrine Circus celebrates 250th anniversary, 250 years of tradition and family values of the Zerbini Family dedicated totally to the Circus, audiences and spectacular performances. During the summer Shrine Circus is hitting Ontario & Quebec with breathtaking shows, so we have a great chance to see the amazing entertainment for the whole family under the guidance of TARZAN Zerbini.

The anniversary show includes an act with 10 tigers, the TARZAN Zerbini performing Elephants, the Zerbini Liberty Equestrian Horses, astounding Trapeze & Aerial artistry, juggling, unicycles, high flying Acrobats, Clowns and much more.


Check the schedule, the show will be taken place in these Ontario cities:
Rexdale Jun 21, 2013 - Jul 01, 2013
Brampton Jul 05, 2013 - Jul 14, 2013
Vaughan Jul 18, 2013 - Jul 21, 2013
Oakville Jul 25, 2013 - Jul 28, 2013
Ottawa Aug 09, 2013 - Aug 11, 2013

You can buy tickets On-line and receive 50% off: GET TWO (2) FOR ONE (1) Tickets by using "FUN" in the coupon code space provided (once you get to the ticketing page).

Next Tuesday, on June 18, #SHRINECIRCUS invites everyone to join Twitter party at 8-9pm ET. Ten sets of family for four passes to Ontario and Quebec shows will be given away to the party guests and the most exciting is the GRAND PRIZE a FAMILY TRIP FOR 4 TO TWO TAILS RANCH in FLORIDA , approximate value $4,000: http://www.allaboutelephants.com/

Twitter party is open to all, only Canadians (except Quebec) can win the GRAND PRIZE. To RSVP and more information please check: http://shrine-circus.com/blog/2013/06/10/shrinecircus-twitter-party-trip-to-florida/.

If you cannot attend twitter party, here is another chance to win a FAMILY TRIP on Shrine Circus website https://twotailscontest.gettickets-sharing.com/

These are definitely the events not to miss out this summer.

Photos courtesy of http://shrine-circus.com

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Teddy in Paris Day 6: Les Invalides, Musée de l'Armée, Musée Rodin and Musée d'Orsay

We were tired after having emotionally and physically active day in Paris Disneyland Park and decided to relax and spend day enjoying amazing works of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin in Musée Rodin and the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces in the world in Musée d'Orsay.

Our day 6 we decided to start with Les Invalides - a complex of buildings containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France. Our hotel was just 10 minutes walk from the complex and we got there very fast. Teddy was impressed by large part of the artillery collections, gathered during the French Revolution and located in the Main Courtyard is the center of the Hôtel National des Invalides. He climbed on every cannon and asked how they work. We checked Napoleon Bonaparte tomb and Musée de l'Armée that tells the story of the French Army from 1871 to 1945. Of course, Teddy’s attention there was mainly on howitzers and mortars.


Musée Rodin is located conveniently across the street of Les Invalides complex and contains most of Rodin's significant creations, including The Thinker, The Kiss and The Gates of Hell.

The gardens around the museum building contain many of the famous sculptures in natural settings. It was chilly and sunny day and we just relaxed and enjoyed sculptures and garden. Then we visited museum and saw all Roden’s original sculptures.

Our last stop was Musée d'Orsay that is only 20 minutes walk from Musée Rodin.

Teddy fell asleep and we had some time to check architecture and beauty of Paris’ downtown buildings and streets. We headed directly to 5th floor to see so anticipated collections of masterpieces by painters such as Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Sisley and Van Gogh. Teddy liked paintings with animals and nature. All paintings in Musée d'Orsay have a positive theme and emitted so much energy that after visit we felt like we were in church.


That was one of these fabulous days in Paris, why, because everything tuned to be better than expected, starting from nice weather, people on the streets, amazing art, paintings and sculptures to absolutely not crowded tourist spots during the whole day.

Our next day was planned for The Louvre— one of the world's largest museums, and a historic monument.

This post is a part of the series of our travel adventures in Paris: March-April 2013. The other posts from this series can be found here:
Teddy in Paris Day 1: Arrival, Hotel, Eiffel Tower  
Teddy in Paris Day 2 Part I
Teddy in Paris Day 2 Part II: The Sainte Chapelle, The Conciergerie, The Pont-Neuf  
Teddy in Paris Day 3 The Château de Versailles
Teddy in Paris Day 4: Musée de l'Orangerie, Place de la Concorde, Champs-Élysées, Arc de Triomphe
Teddy in Paris Day 5: Disneyland

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Four Types of Insurance You Need

Buying insurance is one of those things that none of us think we need, but are mighty glad to have when the need arises. The old saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure is very true in this case. By looking around for deals, on sites such as MyInsuranceShopper.ca, you will be able to find the right insurance to fit your needs and your budget. Here are the 4 different types of insurance that you need.

Auto Insurance: In Canada, you need auto insurance to drive your car. Period. However, many different factors affect your premiums. Things such as age, make of car, driving experience and many other can affect how much of a premium you pay. You can be rewarded for good driving practices with lesser insurance premiums on your vehicle. This insurance cost can actually go down with the passage of time.

House Insurance: House insurance protects your house and its contents. Your house is often your biggest investment, so it is important to treat it as such. People need to insure their house, from unexpected damage, caused by a variety of factors. You also need protection if someone hurts themselves on your property. Finally both renters and home owners, should allows insure the contents of the house. Your prized possessions are important to you for a reason, and although money, can never replace the sentimental value, it is better than nothing.

Travel Insurance: At some point during your travels you will get sick. It is bad enough to have a cold while travelling and be far away from the comfort of your bed. It is quite another story if you need to seek medical attention when abroad. Hospitalization and medical transportation while abroad, can costs hundreds of thousands of dollars and a lot of headaches for your family. None of us plan on getting sick, but for a few dollars a day you can protect yourself when you are abroad.

Life Insurance: Your life is priceless, especially when you have a family. Many people choose life insurance as a way of protecting the financial future of their family if they were to pass away. It is not a pleasant thing to think about, but life insurance can leave one less worry for your family if you were to pass away. Emotional worries are tough enough, so financial worries should never be added at that time.

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