Checklist For Vacation – A Woman’s Guide to Stress Free Travel

I, like most women, love vacations, but hate to pack.  It seems I always wait until the very last minute to get things done.  I have learned a few things along the way to make this chore a little less stressful.  Here are a few tips for making your next trip a little bit easier.

Like so many women, I can have trouble deciding what I am going to wear for a single day.  So knowing that I have to plan for ten days at once can put me in a tailspin.

Men seem to have it easy when it comes to packing.  They end up with the standard 2 pairs of jeans, 3 shirts, underwear, sports jacket, swimsuit and a shaving kit.  While it can take a woman hours to pack, a man can have it done in just a few minutes.  The funny thing is, no matter where they’re going and for how long, they pack the same thing and it seems to work every time.  How is that possible?

Vacation check List - By following this list you can simply check things off

Personal Items (make-up, sundries, hair products, prescriptions)

I keep a few of these pre-packed.  A large make-up kit for driving trips and zip lock bags for when I have to fly.  I simply restock them when I return.  Having the personal items pre-packed eliminates some of the stress and then I don’t have to worry about forgetting something.

Clothes

Pack according to the season.  Packing Mix and Match tops and bottoms will give you more flexibility and options after you arrive at your destination.

Shoes

Pack shoes that go with most of your outfits and that are versatile.  Pack a good pair of walking shoes as well.  Put all of your shoes in plastic bag so they don’t soil your clothing.

Accessories (jewelry, purses, belts, hats etc…)

Go with basic “Mix and match” and try to take only costume jewelry.  Don’t take your heirloom jewelry as it can become lost or stolen.  I know this from personal experience.

Travel folder

Keep a folder in your carry on with copies of your reservations, passports, charge card phone number (In case of theft), and a list of addresses for postcards.

Technology (phone, camera, iPod/MP3 player, GPS, etc)

Charge all your electronics before you leave and pack all the coordinating batteries, chargers, cables and power cords.  If you are flying, don’t pack electronics or batteries in checked luggage and spare or loose batteries should be individually wrapped for safety.  Pre-purchase and pack your foreign power converter as well if you will need one.

Carry-on bag

Unfortunately suitcases do get lost so pack your carry on with basic items such as a change of clothes, medication, your travel folder, snacks such as nuts, glasses if you wear them, and sun glasses.
Wearers should remember to toss in a lens container, solution and a pair of eyeglasses.

Tips for stress free packing

• Create vacation checklist.
• Check weather reports for clothing requirements.
• Pick up any needed sundries for your toiletry bag
• Make travel folder.
• Launder clothes needing to be packed
• Pack…  You’re done…

Enjoy a stress free vacation

With just a little bit of prep work you can see than packing doesn’t have to be a dreaded chore that you have to psych yourself up for.  This little system will alleviate some of the stress and help you to enjoy your much needed vacation.

 

Keeping the family together after foreclosure

The weak economy and financial crisis this country has experienced has caused roughly four million American families to lose their homes to foreclosure according to some recent statistics.  The stress of foreclosure changes and significantly impacts families and can often leave  them in a state of crisis.  Historically, certain events such as job loss, illness, accident or divorce triggered foreclosure, now it has been spurred on by a weak economy,  bad loans, declining property values, and a global recession.  More and more Americans from all different economic classes have found themselves in this situation.  Chances are you probably know at least one family who has been affected by a foreclosure crisis.

Foreclosure may mean the end of your house but it does not have to mean the end of your family.  Some families will strengthen their bond in a time of crisis.  Here are a few things that you can do to ensure that your family survives the foreclosure process.

• Grieve your loss.  A house is a home and not just shelter, it’s a place of security where family memories are made.
• Avoid the blame game.  It’s okay to be sad but don’t allow it to fester and become anger.  Decide to work on a new game plan together..
• Keep the children’s school & activities the same if possible.  Children need continuity and routine.  If at all possible keep them in the same school and with the same friends.  If that’s not an option arrange for play dates with their friends.
• Should we go public and how public.  Discuss with your spouse what needs to be said and who needs to know.  This is a very difficult time for some people so please respect your spouse’s need for privacy.
• Regroup.  Rent for a while and rework your finances.  Give yourself at least a year to regroup emotionally and financially.  Work as a team and make saving a new habit and family goal.

Foreclosure can set you back but it doesn’t have to mean the end for your family.  Learn from your mistakes, set some realistic economic goals and move on.

See Lea Haben discussing this topic, How to survive foreclosure as a family, on Good Morning Arizona on KTVK Channel 3 with Javier Soto.

Choosing Your Wellness Team – A Guide to Long Term Health

In the old days, people went to their doctors only when they were sick, usually very sick, received some advice and/or treatment, and then went home to heal, following the doctor’s instructions the best they could.

But in modern family health care, there is more to it. There are any number of health and wellness experts who don’t only help you through health crisis and emergency, but actually make recommendations about how to improve your quality of life and longevity, whether you are sick at this particular moment or not.

Developing a relationship with a team of wellness professionals is one smart way to do it, so you already have experts who know you and your family and can advise you properly, regardless of your current health status. But how do you select the right types of professionals, and once you know what you want, how do you pick someone you can count on?

Medical doctors have divided the body up into an assortment of specific specialties, with doctors whose primary focus might be the heart, the lungs, the kidneys, the digestive system, or some other body part. The wellness process is a little different – you may still need a variety of specialists, but you start with the big picture – good body function.

Good body function comes from all the body parts working together in harmony, and that happens through the master system of the body, the brain and nerve system. So, you would want a chiropractor, who specializes in keeping the nerve system working well, to be on the team.

You must provide the right amount of the right kind of fuel for your body to burn, so you’d need someone to direct your attention on nutrition and proper eating habits.

You want to keep your muscles, bones and ligaments healthy, and build strength and coordination, so you must include the right amount of the right kind of exercise, and you may need a personal trainer or exercise physiologist to help you there.

You may need to learn to deal effectively with stress, so you may want to have a massage therapist, meditation teacher, some bio feedback training or a counselor of some sort to help in that area. Often, exercise and good nutrition work hand in hand with stress-reduction techniques to create more inner peace and less irritability in common situations that might otherwise bother you.

When you improve your eating, resting, exercising, thinking, and get your body in better working order, especially your spine and nerve system that control the other systems, it is only logical that you will experience better quality of life – and that’s the point of developing relationships with trustworthy wellness professionals, to enjoy the best quality of life and greatest longevity possible.

Your investment of time, energy and capital in this process takes you closer to that end, so start building your team of wellness advisors now, and reap the rewards for the rest of your life.

Ask your chiropractor about his or her recommendations for lifestyle habits and decisions, and refine your personal and family choices to take you toward health and wellness. Many doctors of chiropractic offer a variety of these services and products in addition to their chiropractic care, while others choose to interface with other professionals in their area to provide their patients with these worthwhile experiences.

Whichever strategy you choose, appreciate the logic of a natural wellness approach, and decide which improvements you’re going to make in your habits and lifestyle choices to move yourself and your family in this rewarding and life-enriching direction.

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Dr. Thomas Tuzzolino, of North Scottsdale Family Chiropractic is SmartFem’s featured health expert on Chiropractic Care.

 

Children and Violent Video Games – How to Keep Control

When it comes to kids and video games, most parents cringe at the thought of what their children are playing and whom they’re playing with online.  How does a parent know if the game their child is playing is age appropriate, or a violent, explicit, video game that would make Quentin Tarantino blush?

The video game industry, to its credit, has voluntarily adopted a useful and informative rating system that should be followed when making a decision to allow your child to play.  Known as the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), it can be broken down as follows:

• EC (Early Childhood) - Suitable for ages 3 and older.  Games with this rating are marketed for toddlers who may not grasp most other video games.
• E (Everyone) – Suitable for ages 6 and older.  There is an E10+ rating for games designed for ages 10 and older.   Basically nothing to worry about.
• T (Teen) – Think PG movies.  Games will have mild or non explicit violence and language, only mildly suggestive content, and contain strategies or plots that are understandable and appreciated by teenagers.
• M (Mature) - These games contain mature content such as language, graphic violence, and possibly sexual content that is inappropriate for children.  Think R rated movies.  Such games should be discouraged for children and never be played without direct adult supervision.

There are some who blame the video game industry for the production and marketing of violent video games to children.  There may be some truth to these allegations but the industry has made the ratings as clear as they can be and expect parents to do the job of raising their own children.  There are plenty of adults who enjoy playing video games.

There are some really well designed games out there that are not only appropriate for children but can offer enjoyment for all ages.  Most games are best played with friends either sitting side by side on the living room sofa or networked across the house or the Internet.  One of my favorites games for playing with my own children is Portal 2 from Valve (rated E10+), available on the Xbox360, PS3, and PC/Mac.  Portal 2 is a single or multiplayer science fiction puzzle game with a dazzling array of special effects and imagery along with superb voice acting and intense interactive puzzles that require both imagination and teamwork to solve.    My other favorite is Minecraft by Mojang  (not rated), a superb multiplayer building, survival, and exploration game available on PC/Mac, iOS, and Android that is enjoyed worldwide by people of all ages.  Minecraft is a recently released online game that uses simpler block style graphics allowing it to run on older, less powerful computers or tablets.  It offers a vast interactive virtual world where your children build or explore cities, castles, tunnels, or just about anything they can imagine while fending off an assortment of not so scary monsters.  It’s inexpensive and simple enough to play for the inexperienced parent.

Always be aware of who may be playing with your children online.  Game publishers have no way of predicting or regulating what other players might do or say.  Getting involved and joining your kids once in a while is essential to being aware of the virtual world they play in.  I’m betting if you haven’t tried playing video games with your kids, you’re in for a surprisingly fun treat.

Talk to your children about why they can’t play Battlefield, Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, and other excessively violent and explicit video games.  Instead try to steer them toward something more constructive and creative that you can enjoy with them.  Talk to their friends’ parents and avoid the old – “but my friend plays it” – trap that causes many parents to give in.  You don’t need to be a gaming junkie to stay on top of your children and protect them from violent video games.

Sunscreen isn’t Just for Summer!

Sunscreen protection is vital to skin cancer protection all year long, not just when you head to the beach in the summer.  The winter isn’t the best time to break out the board shorts and bikinis and head to the beach for a day of fun in the sun.

Even in a subtropical climate such as South Florida, the temperatures can dip during the winter months, and people trade in their halter tops for light jackets.

But don’t let the early evenings and the brisk mornings fool you: the sun is out. You can never be too careful when protecting yourself from its harmful rays. You might think winters the right time to lay off the sunscreen and bundle up rather than slather up, but you’re wrong.

Here are six reasons why it’s more important to wear sunscreen in the winter than the summer.

1. The Sun is Dangerous in Every Season

You might think because the weather is hotter in the summer months that the sun’s rays are more powerful, but that isn’t true. The truth is that ultraviolet rays, or UV rays, are just as powerful in below-freezing temperatures as they are in the midst of a heat wave.

So don’t think because you can’t feel your feet that the sun’s rays can’t get you. If you have primo seats to the big college football game you probably grab your hat, scarf, parka, boots and thermal underwear.

What you forget to bring is your sunscreen, and that’s your most important accessory. Your body will be warm and toasty when you get home, but your exposed skin will have paid the price.

2. Winter Sports Make Sun Exposure Dangerous

Quick, name the most popular winter sports.

You probably said skiing, snowboarding, sledding, and — of course — the luge.

The one thing all these winter activities have in common? They are all done on the tops of mountains or hills. The higher altitudes and elevations are actually a skin disaster waiting to happen.

The higher the altitude, the more powerful the UV rays. Not wearing sun block of at least 15 SPF when spending a day on the hill can cause real problems down the road.

The next time you’re at the top of the mountain ready to be the cool guy snowboarding without your hat and without any sunscreen, think about how cool it is to have skin cancer. Maybe you’ll put the hat on then.

3. Sunburn Danger

Just because you’re not sweating doesn’t mean you aren’t burning.

As we’ve already established that the UV rays retain their power no matter the temperature, you should realize they burn too.

Standing out in the hot July sun for six hours will do damage. The December sun can burn you just the same, and worse.

At least in July you have enough common sense to apply sunscreen. In December you’re lucky if you remember to dress warm enough to prevent hypothermia.

Ideally you’d be wearing a hat with a wide brim when you go outside. You should be wearing something to cover your ears, nose, and neck. And here you thought the big funny hats your grandma always wore were a sign of her losing her mind.

Looks like you were the crazy one.

4. You’re Not Watching The Weather

In the summer, the temperatures mean something to you if you’re particularly fair-skinned.

When it’s 95 degrees, you need to consider a day in air-conditioned comfort.

Winter temps often mean nothing to you, but they should. UV rays can be more potent on certain days, any time of year.

In the summer you are assuming the high temps are more dangerous for you. In the wintertime you pay attention to the wind chill when you should pay attention to the sun.

A day in January making snow angels and playing tackle football could be far more dangerous than a mid-August day at the beach in little more than your self respect.

5. Don’t Forget The Wind

Don’t you just the love the feeling of the wind whipping at your face on a frigidly cold day? How it feels to wish you didn’t have to suffer through the freezing cold wind pummeling you?

Everyone talks about sunburn, but no one ever talks about the nice tomato-red look you can get from wind burn.

How do you prevent this ugly winter look? That’s right; a proper sunscreen will help ward off the effects of wind burn. While it might seem silly to lather on sunscreen to ward off the wind, just think of how silly you’ll look if you don’t apply it.

6. The Ultimate Moisturizer

There is nothing crueler to your skin than the cold of the winter. It ruins your face and leaves you with dreaded dry skin.

You might think of jumping in a hot shower to soothe it. Terrible idea. That only makes it worse. The temperature of the water and the dry air in your house will only deepen the problem.

So how do you fix it?

Simple: prevention. Make sure you stop dry skin by moisturizing it. Even better – a sunscreen with a moisturizer built-in.

How Will You Divorce?

If you were to inform me that you (or someone you care about) are planning to divorce, my first question would be, “How do you plan to divorce?” This question catches most people by surprise. Too often, the couple lacks the knowledge of the various choices available and therefore the corresponding costs and benefits of each option. Deciding how to divorce is a critical step in this often difficult process. This choice has a direct impact on your post-divorce life. Some questions you could consider when determining the solution that is best for you include:

Do you understand the long-term impact of the financial, legal and parental decisions stated in your final agreement?

Would you benefit from voluntary full-disclosure of information?

Would you prefer to keep your divorce private?

Should you make the financial, legal, emotional and parenting decisions or should those decisions be left to the court?

Would you benefit from professional guidance by experts in their areas of expertise?

What is the long-term cost (emotionally and financially) of coming to a resolution that one or both participants CAN’T live with?

A divorce can be one of the most costly – emotionally and financially – periods in your life. If you or someone you care about is getting divorced, take the time to understand all your options before proceeding. Reviewing the important aspects of divorce may “cost” more today. Yet, knowing you came to an informed decision, one that you and your soon-to-be ex spouse can live with, will undoubtedly minimize the costs in the long run.