June 29, 2009
Today's post is by guest blogger and traveling mom, Phaedra Cucina.
What a treat to spend the day with smart women travelers! I’d first like to thank Carol, not only for hosting me today but for creating this wonderful site. I find it to be a great resource, and I’m sure you do too. Today, we’re talking about one of the more inevitable career challenges for working moms – the business trip. Whether you are one, or have them on your team, there’s no doubt, business trips are a touchy issue in most homes and offices. Often trips start with tearful goodbyes from the children, and the nightly calls don’t always go so well either. Kids can certainly tug at your heartstrings and heap extra helpings of worry onto your already guilty conscious. To make matters worse, those few moms who don’t feel guilty about their time away often tell me they feel guilty about not feeling guilty! Let’s put a stop to this self-inflicted nonsense!
Traveling on business is GOOD for kids – and for mom! Here are just a few reasons why:
At Home:
· Kids and the grown-up taking care of them get special bonding time together that simply isn’t possible when you’re at home
· Kids learn to be more reliant and gain self-confidence (this does require a certain degree of proper preparation, which we can talk about in another post)
· The grown-up in charge gains a special appreciation for everything you do while you’re home, and vice versa
On the Road:
· You get a rare, uninterrupted night’s sleep!
· You get to walk through the airport with only your own bags to worry about, stroller-free, nicely dressed, with perhaps even a hot latte in hand!
· You get to catch up on your reading!
· You get to be so thankful that the crying kid on the plane is not yours!
· You get grown-up conversation over dinner, hopefully with your girlfriends living in whatever part of the country/world you’re visiting!
· You get to give yourself a mani and pedi in the hotel room!
· You get to watch a movie – of your own choice!
· You can get your inbox under control while on the plane/train!
· You can call a long lost friend or family member!
· You can organize your computer files, playlists, and photos!
· You can workout!
· You can REST!
The choice is always yours – you can sit in your hotel room, worried about what’s going on at home and the office, or enjoy this special opportunity to treat yourself to whatever simple pleasure strikes you in the moment.
What’s one of your favorite things about business, or kid-free, travel? What do you think you will do (or not do!) to make your next trip more rewarding?
Posted by traveling mom, Phaedra Cucina, author of the children’s book, My Mommy’s on a Business Trip.
Posted by Carol Margolis under Relationships |
June 22, 2009
The Clear Card and Clear Lanes will discontinue service at 11pm pst tonight. I had an 8:30 flight out of Orlando this evening and used the Clear Lane for the last time without knowing. I saw my favorite manager, and although he seemed a bit out of sorts, I could never have guessed that they were shutting down.
Here is the quote on whats left of their site.
"Clear Lanes Are No Longer Available.
At 11:00 p.m. PST on June 22, 2009, Clear will cease operations. Clear’s parent company, Verified Identity Pass, Inc. has been unable to negotiate an agreement with its senior creditor to continue operations."
Eerie… not only was I one of Clear's first ever customers when they launched in Orlando, I was now in their last group of travelers using their service.
Clear has saved me so many hours of waiting in line over the past few years . . . I will greatly miss them.
Posted by Carol Margolis under Travel |
June 19, 2009
Smart Women Travelers is proud to announce our partnership with Clear. Orlando was one of the first airports to offer the Clear premier Registered Traveler Program program, and I was one of the first to apply and get my own Clear Card. Since 2007, I've saved hours of time waiting in TSA security lines and couldn't be happier. I arrive on Monday morning to an airport full of families who just departed Disney World (you can imagine the bags of souvenirs and all the strollers that have to go through x-ray!). Instead of getting in line behind all of their chaos, I go to a private Clear lane, give my thumbprint on their machine, and a Clear attendant then finds a spot at the front of the x-ray line for me. They get two bins out for me, and I'm whisked through security in just a few minutes. Sooooo worth it!
How does it work? Application requires some forms, a background check and your fingerprints. Once you are accepted, you get priority access to the security checkpoints at participating airports (you can find a list of them here as well as venues which support Clear).
For frequent travelers, the card pays for itself in the time you save. Less waiting, less hassle, totally worth it.
Sign up for your Clear Card today!
Posted by Carol Margolis under Travel |
June 17, 2009
I am excited to welcome Phaedra Cucina, author of the children’s book, My Mommy’s on a Business Trip, in joining me on June 29th to talk about why feeling guilty about your business travel is like carrying unnecessary baggage onto the plane. Getting through TSA is hard enough without having your little ones tugging at your heart strings as well! Phaedra will also share her tips on how to help kids get more comfortable with your trips and talk in-depth about the silver linings of business trips – there’s more than one, if you know where to look! Not a business traveler? Phaedra’s tips and philosophies work well for all kinds of parental separation from the kids. Maybe you really can take that well-deserved kid-free vacation!
If you have any questions you'd like to ask of Phaedra, either post them here today or join the blog discussion on Monday, June 29th.
Posted by Carol Margolis under Relationships |
June 15, 2009
It's another travel Monday. My bag is packed, my laptop tote is ready to go, bills have been paid and the house has been organized (the maid is coming this week so I need to pre-clean). All that needs to get done is to put a fresh coat of nail polish on. Unfortunately, there is no time to do so before heading out the door, and I did not even think about getting my nails done while I was home over the weekend. So what's a girl to do when nails are bare, time is slim and an airport visit is in your future?
I first checked online to see if the Orlando airport offered any spa or nail service. Sure enough, a facility named XpresSpa is located in MCO. They offer a Mani-Xpress, custom fit for traveling schedules. XpresSpa also offer massages, facials, pedicures, waxing and cater to both female and male. They sell products at their stores and online and are located in several U.S. airports as well as international. Each spa is open 7 days a week, 16 hours a day. Check XpresSpa's website to see if they are in an airport near you. D_Parture Spa is also in Orlando. They offer similar services to XpresSpa and also offer haircuts for the entire family. Their menu of services has a nice feature of showing the number of minutes involved in each service so you can plan accordingly before a flight. A third choice you may find in your airport (or mall) is 10MinuteManicure. Not only can you get a quick manicure, teeth whitening is an option as well. Between these three companies (as well as others offering spa services at many airports), there is something for everyone, and hopefully within the right time schedule.
Unfortunately for my timeframe, I will be at the airport in the early morning hours and the spas in Orlando are not yet open, so I'll be getting on the plane without a fresh coat of polish. However, it might be easier for me to find a nail spa in my arrival city, as it will be easier to get my nails polished and not have to worry about going through security, extracting my driver's license from my wallet, and pulling my laptop out of my tote … things that can easily destroy just-polished nails.
A massage would be fantastic if a long flight delay is now in your schedule. Why stress over the flight delay? Go find a spa and enjoy a wonderful massage, then get on the flight and fall asleep. Though If I had a massage prior to boarding, I would probably be a no-show for my flight – I'd be sleeping right on the massage table.
If your schedule is always go, go, go like mine, whether at home or on the road, you rarely make time to enjoy a massage or even a manicure. Some of these great airport services may be just the ticket to relax and put a bit of enjoyment into your journey.
To find a spa in an airport you travel through, there is a good list by airport tracked by Travel To Wellness. About.com also has a list of airport spas for the U.S. and Canada.
If you have used any airport spa services, let us know your thoughts. I'd really like to know if nail polish really hardens within 10 minutes so I can stroll though the TSA process with no dings to my just-done nails.
Posted by Carol Margolis under Health |
June 11, 2009
It’s so easy to say that weight loss is futile when you travel. With unhealthy airline food (when you can even get food), dining out for all your meals, conference luncheons of pasta and dessert that follow the morning bagel and sweet roll … no wonder you can get off the plane with an extra pound or two. Add in years of travel and the pounds add up faster than your air miles do.
Thousands of times I have used the excuse of “I travel” to explain why I am over my desired weight. Long work days and hours spent in travel time are great for explaining why I have little time to exercise. And when girl-talk gets going, I find I am not the only one with digestive issues when on the road. Now, all of that is changing. I am on my way to a lean, fit body and travel will no longer be an excuse.
So what am I doing differently that I have not been doing in my many years of travel?
First, I am bringing a high-quality protein shake mix that I can make in my hotel room for my breakfast. I’ve mixed up my protein shake mix with a spoon in a 12 oz. cup and added ice. If I am using the blender (I like to have my Magic Bullet
with me), I also blend in a cup of berries. Without the blender, the berries can be eaten separately.
Second, I am asking restaurants to prepare a meal without sauces, gravies, butter or lots of oil. Instead, I ask for a grilled chicken breast or salmon, for example, with a double-side of grilled vegetables. No pasta, potato or bread. Salads topped with the same types of grilled protein, along with oil and vinegar dressing, and I have a great lunch. I also like to grab lunch or dinner at Whole Foods if there is one nearby, as their salads and meat choices make for great meals.
Third, I am traveling with exercise bands. They’re a great way to get in a decent workout when there is either no fitness center in a hotel or very limited time to exercise. I also have my X-Iser in my hotel room so I can get a great workout in just minutes (you can travel with the X-Iser as it fits in many roller bags and weighs just 14 pounds).
Fourth, and very importantly, I am using a coach to help me accomplish my goals. I have tried unsuccessfully over the years to get fit myself (“I’m smart enough to do this on my own,” or so I thought), and have realized that I need to enlist the help of an expert. I am working via phone and email with JJ Virgin, Nutritionist to the Stars and expert from shows like Dr. Phil and Extreme Makeover. In just a few weeks, I have gotten into a very healthy eating habit, even in hotels and airports, my weight is heading down and I’m losing inches. I am very excited! JJ has a free call this Saturday if you’d like to hear about the 21-day Detox program that I followed. Go to JJ’s Lose Weight call and listen in.
I’ll put together a list of healthier eating choices in airports so you, too, can grab a better meal before boarding a flight. If you have favorites that you’d like to share, post a comment and we’ll get it on the list.
Posted by Carol Margolis under Health |
June 1, 2009
We've posted a new resource on Smart Women Travelers under the "Flight Resources" section entitled "A to Z Travel Rolodex". Executive Travel Magazine has put together a list of valuable links to find seat maps of airplanes, currency converters, wi-fi hotspots and more.
So visit Smart Women Travelers' Online Resources page to find what you're looking for when it comes to Travel!
Posted by Carol Margolis under Web/Tech |
