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Wanderlust Better Late Than Never I
don’t know about you, but in between the laundry, the carpooling and the many hours I spend in front of my computer working, I’m also secretly thinking about how to fit in a family vacation. Not just any trip mind you, but a “fantasy” one – with cheap flights – so I can take my entire family on a Mediterranean cruise or on a cross country trip to the Grand Canyon. Inevitably, I always find myself a day late and several dollars short. Here’s the good news: All this late booking has taught me that a travel procrastinator like myself can still dream big – and go where you want -- as long as you know how to navigate deals. You also have to be willing to compromise (that means all of you) and be flexbile on days you plan to fly (Mondays and Tuesdays are better than Fridays and Saturdays, for example.)
courtesy of Jake’s Resort
Want to plan a trip for your family but have no time? No worries. There are lots of options for travel procrastinors…. trust me…I’m one of them! By Beth Feldman
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project you go see the Eiffel Tower or the Coliseum in 80 degree heat. Beat the crowds, save some cash, and try out these options below to snag a travel deal that could have you thinking of a whole new scenario where your (day) dreams do come true. ● Travel Zoo (www.TravelZoo.com) offers affordable options to Paris and London this holiday season. Sure it might be chilly - but layer up and explore the history, the food, the beauty and romance. ● SniqueAway (www.SniqueAway.com) offers daily deals on places you can “Snique Away” to at the last minute. Sign up for their newsletter and get ready to be tantalized by their daily deals. ● Call your travel agent - Nightline recently featured a segment dedicated to travel agents and guess what? It turns out that even if you think you’re saving a boat load on an online deal, when you work with a travel agent, you have the security of knowing that if something goes wrong on your trip (like when your flight is cancelled due to a hurricane), they can re-book you on a new flight while you’re enjoying a margarita at the swim up bar. I like ProTravel Inc. (www.ProTravelInc. com). ■
Treasure Beach/Beth Feldman
And so, while many people I know zigged their way to New England this summer—which happened to be hit hard by Hurricane Irene— we zagged our way to Jamaica in August. Now I’m sure you’re thinking—Jamaica in August? Are you insane? Isn’t it as hot as the equator during that time of year? And what about all those bugs? Well, I’m here to tell you, despite the humidity (I have that at home anyway), if you stay near the water or explore the mountains, you’ll find the nights are chilly enough for a sweater. As for bugs, it’s again something we deal with at home: Bring bug spray. We stayed at Jake’s Resort( www.JakesHotel.com) in Treasure Beach on the southern side of Jamaica and within a matter of five days, we snorkeled, swung from tree vines at YS Falls, explored the farmland, found the coolest conch shells, and tasted some of the best local food and fruit we’ve ever eaten in our lives. The prices were reasonable—it’s the off-season after all—which means you can snag a gorgeous four bedroom home complete with a pool, veranda, barbecue, access to the beach and a staff for $500 per night—nearly 50% off the normal price. So, my fellow procrastinating comrades, why not consider Europe this winter? Sure it might be chilly, but it’s not like you need to
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A Role Mommy Magazine l Back AT School 2011
Fall Travel is All About Foliage, Fun and Fear A A guide to the celebrating the season! By Cindy Richards
utumn has arrived and you still haven’t made a plan for a fall family vacation? Not to worry. Fall is the perfect time for procrastinators. After all, the thing we want to do most in the fall—seeing the brilliant fall colors and picking apples at the peak of flavor—aren’t things one can plan. They depend on fickle fall weather, so it’s actually best to wait until October to decide whether to take that long drive into the country this weekend or next.
Wanderlust
Autumn is a great time for family trips.
Fall Foliage
© www.istock.com/ericmichaud
A pilgrimage to catch the seasonal wonders of fall colors at their peak is best left to a last minute decision. A fall that is too warm or too wet could result in a well-planned vacation that misses the color altogether. The only way to know for sure it to wait and make a lastminute decision to go. In general, though, the season starts in northern states in mid to late September and continues rolling south until it peaks in Kentucky in late October or early November. A trip to enjoy fall foliage can require nothing more than a leisurely drive into the country, or a family vacation to a breathtaking venue such as Yosemite National Park, the mountains outside Salt Lake City, Utah, or South Dakota’s Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Head to Mount Rushmore in late September to catch the Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup and Arts Festival. It’s a throwback to the Old West when cowboys, cowgirls and park staff round up nearly 1,500 free-roaming bison.
boring, look for a farm that really celebrates autumn. A lot of the farms offer fall festivals that include kid-pleasing hay rides, spooky corn mazes and maybe a fright house. Cherry Crest Adventure Farms in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, changes its 5-acre corn maze design every year. If you manage to find your way out quickly during the day, try it again by flashlight at night for a spookier challenge.
Get Frightened (at least a little)
Amusement parks from Disney World to Great America dress themselves up for Halloween. Some go for a not-so-scary kid-friendly celebration while others aim directly at those bold teenagers who think the scarier it is, the better it is. Fall Harvest But the mecca for all things Halloween (and Apple picking and pumpkin patches are as at least a little scary) is none other than Salem, American as, well, the pies you make with ap- Massachusetts. If you go at Halloween, expect a ples and pumpkins. Farms across the country huge crowd, including many visitors who take the offer you-pick specials, tours, and nutrition whole fright thing quite seriously. There’s plenty lessons on how these fruits are grown, har- to do in Salem, but the crowds at Halloween can vested and prepared. mean long lines that make it tough to see everyYou-pick farms are a great way to kids to get thing in a day. close to nature and let them learn about the Don’t like crowds? Procrastinate a little more! origins of the food they eat. If that seems too Salem turns into a ghost town after Halloween. ■
Cindy Richards is a veteran travel writer and the editor of TravelingMom. com. projectyou
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Weight Loss Wonder
Getting motivation through Mama-vation. By Beth Feldman
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ere at Project You, we always love cheering on moms who have transformed their lives. Amy Lupold Bair recently lost 25 pounds through a big heaping dose of Mamavation. Here’s what she had to say:
What finally made you decide to make a change in your life and truly work at losing weight?
It was a few weeks until the Type-A Parent blogging conference and I realized that I just did not want to attend one more conference feeling so overweight and unhealthy. I could already see the pictures of me tagged on Facebook, tweeted out by attendees. It was just time.
Do you remember that first week? How hard was it?
Amy Lupold Bair, blogger, social media marketer, and mom, is the founder of Resourceful Mommy Media. The Global Influence Network has grown to include nearly 1500 social media savvy bloggers. A former English teacher and a writer at heart, Amy continues to blog on her personal site, ResourcefulMommy.com. You can hear more of what Amy has to say at LifetimeMoms.com where Amy is a Parenting Channel leader. If you would like just a small dose of Amy, she is always available in 140 characters or less at @ResourcefulMom on Twitter. 22
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The first week actually wasn’t the hard week, surprisingly. I had one week where I really only gave a partial effort. I think a part of me still thought I could think myself thin. But then the first week that I really dove in and tried, the weight fell away quickly. What was frustrating was the second week when my body screamed, “WAIT! What’s happening!” and held on to the weight. I wrote about it here.
Did the weight come off easily? What did you do?
It came off easily at first, but then it slowed down. I immediately joined the Mamavation community of women, and their support has been key in my success. I started by working out with the Wii and changing the way I eat based on the information at MyFitnessPal.com (recommended by the Mamavation Sistas). I followed the MyFitnessPal.com nutritional recommendations and calorie goals and the weight fell away. I also began drinking about 100 ounces of water a day. At one point when I began running regularly to train for my first 5K, I went several weeks with no weight loss
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at all. That was incredibly frustrating, but at the same time I could see changes in my body. Suddenly I liked my shoulders and had these strange things on my face…cheekbones! I realized that my body was converting fat to muscle as I ran, and that was far better than numbers on a scale.
What foods do you miss most? Do you deprive yourself or just eat less?
I don’t deprive myself at all because everything is fine in moderation. For awhile I missed convenience foods, which I avoided simply because it made more sense to be able to eat a larger quantity of healthy foods and feel more full. But now I find that my old favorites actually make me feel ill. I love healthier foods!
How long did it take you to lost the weight?
I lost 25 pounds in four months, but I anticipate the last 10 or 15 pounds to require much more time and effort.
What’s next on your to do list?
I’d love to run more 5K’s, tackle a larger race like a half marathon, and eventually do sprint triathlons. And I’d love to get down 15 more pounds and weigh even less than I did in high school! ■
Makeover Madness
Wanderlust
My very organized journey.... By Lorraine Brock
I grew up loving organizing my closet.
courtesy of lorraine brock
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hen I was a little girl my mom often gave family friends a tour of my bedroom. My bedroom was the most organized and clean space in our home and I was the teenager. I remember clearly one year that I had requested my birthday gift to be a room makeover. Thinking the first step was painting the walls, I was told the paint color I chose was off limits. So instead I chose to paint the inside of my reach-in closet; a small space but neverthe-less it gave me the freedom to use color. My decorating skills were good, but what my parents and others saw in me were my incred-
ible organizing skills. I could organize and put together anything. I would plan and organize back to school parties, organize small spaces to hold lots of items, and early on I even started budgeting with my humble allowance. Then one day I decided I wanted to get a job. I walked from my childhood home in Garland, Texas to the main street near my home where many fast food restaurants were located. I walked into my first interview at Long John Silver’s™ without knowing how to prepare or even telling my parents what I was doing. While I did not land that job, I did at the very next interview at Bonanza projectyou
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Steakhouse®. might be because of your habits and lifestyle. While walking was my main source of trans- As parents you play a major role in influencing portation, I decided I would learn how to use your children to acquire these skills and habthe local Dart transit system. I began taking the its. Often parents decide that it is easier to do bus to friends that lived across town and to the things themselves than to teach their children mall and at times I even hired a taxi to get me how to manage responsibilities. Remember where I needed to be…all using my own money that handling responsibilities well as children and my own know how. helps them become responsible adults. I had a very healthy home life and my parents As a busy mom, I need all the help I can gave me a large amount of responsibility around get keeping my home picked up, clean and the home even while I worked part-time, organized, and I want to raise my boys attended school, and had extracurricto be young men of honor, courage ular activities. My responsibilities and yes, to be organized. Given the included all the household laundry, opportunity, they will figure out GetOrganized.ws ironing, unloading the dishwasher, with time and practice how to balgardening, and mowing our entire, ance the responsibilities with havextremely large, yard. ing fun. Set clear expectations, give Now that I am all grown up, I can them the right tools, avoid giving look back and see how accepting responinto their complaints, and be upfront sibilities and my upbringing has placed me in a with the consequences of not accomplishing career as a Professional Organizer. I can see the their tasks. traits starting at a young age that I mirrored Take it from me, whether your child is orgafrom watching my father. He was, and still is, nizing a lemonade stand, a party, or their room, very organized. Dad always worked from a cal- organizing is an important skill that will follow endar and planned ahead for everything. Even your child into college, their first apartment, a to this day my dad starts thinking of what to future home, and their workplace. Instilling purchase as a baby gift for his great grandchild this skill in your child will be a great way your at just the announcement of the pregnancy. child can stand out amongst their peers and So why are your kids organized….. or not? It create a successful future. ■
Lorraine Brock is a professional organizer, family coach, speaker, and president and founder of “Get Organized!” “Get Organized!” is a professional organizing company in the Dallas, Texas area. “Get Organized!” specializes in organizing and decluttering homes for moms as well as implementing systems in the home for better family management. 24
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Start your kids young at cleaning their rooms.
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© www.istock.com/ Imgorthand
Lorraine Brock