February 4, 2010
Many of us save our air miles and hotel points for that special international trip or for retirement when we dream of having lots of time (and hopefully money!) to travel. In a perfect world, the day we expire is the day we’re on a trip enjoying the last of our rewards. But chance are, there may be a few miles, or million miles, in your account when you head to your permanent vacation spot in the skies.
So can you will your miles to someone else? Read more of this article »
Posted by Carol Margolis under Current Affairs, Health, Random Thoughts, Relationships |
July 2, 2009
As we are now in summer vacation season, sharing a great idea from Jack Canfield, author of Chicken Soup for the Soul books and The Success Principles, seems appropriate. And Jack was happy to let me share this idea with you.
His idea is for a family to create a Memory a Year, a memory so big and memorable that your family will remember it forever (it works with friends also). This memory could be on an incredible vacation idea or an unforgettable local event and it doesn't need to be a huge financial burden … just make it big and outrageous and memorable! The example that Jack used was of a family who planned a car trip across the country. They decided to pull the car over whenever they saw a body of water and jump in! Out of the car they'd hop and into the water they'd jump. Whether it was a pond, river, lake, or pool, the family jumped in. How fun, and what a great memory! Since I live in Florida with countless alligator-inhabited lakes, this wouldn't be my first idea of a great plan, but what the memory is doesn't matter. What matters is that an outrageous memory for each year is created, a memory that you can reminisce about forever. These memories can be made with your spouse, kids, girlfriends, or anyone you'd like to reminisce with.
Much of the fun is in the planning of the outrageous memory. How fun it would be each week to give the kids an assignment to come up with ideas, start the planning, get the maps put together, etc.
When Jack shared this story, I immediately thought of how wonderful an idea this was for traveling wives and moms. The guilt we load up on our shoulders over not being with our family at all times is heavy. Yet this idea is so easy and so fun and such a great way to focus on the anticipation and carry-through of an annual event, the guilt load may possibly lighten up. My adult kids and I can reminisce over past vacations or family events, but hearing this idea makes me wish I could relive the years when my kids were younger so that we'd have special great memories from each year.
Some ideas to get you started….
- A charity walk for the entire family to train, fundraise and walk in. Get t-shirts for everyone in the family.
- A trip to a city based on the alphabet … Year 1, select a city beginning with the letter 'A', the next year select a city starting with 'B', etc …
- A different mode of transportation each year (hot air balloon, helicopter)
- A friends-weekend with several couples, with lots of game-playing with our childhood favorites (Parcheesi or Twister, anyone?)
Be sure to put together a photo album (online or print) for each year's outrageous memory. Use the photos in family calendars that you create for the new year. Have 'reminiscing' talks frequently to bring back the memorable feelings, and start planning the next Memory a Year!
Thanks, Jack, for letting us share this story with our members.
Traveling women, please share your stories with us of your outrageous annual memories!
Jack Canfield is the founder and co-creator of the billion-dollar brand Chicken Soup for the Soul. The New York Times #1 best-selling book series has more than 200 titles in print and over 100 million copies sold in 41 languages. As an internationally recognized leader in personal development and peak performance strategies, Jack has spent the last 35 years teaching millions of people how to up-level everything they do. His bestselling book, The Success Principles: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be contains dozens of the most powerful secrets to success used by top achievers from all walks of life.
Posted by Carol Margolis under Relationships |
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 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 |
