Monday, December 31, 2012

2012 Reflections

As 2012 is coming to an end a lot of us are looking back on our year and thinking about what we are going to achieve or do different in 2013.

My 2012 has been a fantastic year.  It has been full of laughter, hard work, heartbreak, and happiness.  By far it has been the most exciting travel year of my life.

  • January - Listening to a lecture about the RMS Atlantic - largest civilian Maritime disaster in history (bigger than Titanic) 
  • February - Seeing the amazing Sutton Foster in "Anything Goes" on Broadway in NYC
  • March - Jeep riding in Sedona, AZ with great friends
  • April - 2 weeks in England
  • May - 3weeks (combined) Switzerland, Italy, Istanbul, Canada
  • June - Work and family in Texas
  • July - Making new friends and seeing old friends in California
  • August - Family, Friends, BBQ, and Jetski on Lake Erie; Two weeks falling in love with the mountains (and steak) of Montana
  • September - Learning there is nothing good to eat in Columbus, GA but there are some great places to run
  • October - Baltimore Relay with the LM Lunch Run Crew;  Halloween at The Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood
  • November - Ragnar Relay in Las Vegas; Thanksgiving with fantastic friends in Chicago
  • December - My brother graduating from his Masters program; A festive Christmas celebration like I've never experienced before.

More than travel and what I've seen, its what 2012 has taught me


  • The value of sleeping in my own bed is better than a free week  in a 5 star luxury hotel.  Don't get me wrong I love a nicely appointed hotel room as much as the next person, but when you've been on the road for weeks at a time, being able to be home, if only for one night, can recharge you.

  • Having my dog greet me at the door can bring a weary traveler to happy tears.  There is nothing that says "Welcome Home" than a happy dog, with a waggly tail to greet you at the door.

  • I miss my life.  This didn't actually hit me until mid-December.  I've been working from home on internal corporate projects and it was during this time home it hit me "I don't live here anymore".  Sure I pay mortgage, have a bed, roommate, pets, etc, but I don't have a life anymore.  I realized, I missed a lot of mid-week birthday celebrations, dinners with friends, and races because 36 hours on a weekend home is enough time to catch up on laundry, buy dog/cat food, and re-pack for the next trip, but not much of anything else.

  • Living out of a suitcase taught me what I REALLY need.  Living for weeks out of a suitcase makes it so made it so much easier to declutter my house.  Cleaning out closets and drawers is not the chore it used to be because I've learned what I really need and what is just taking up space.


Still, 2012 has been one of those years that I will look back on with a smile.  So many great memories have been made.  I'm not sure what 2013 will bring but I'm ready, so bring it on!!

Monday, December 17, 2012

Keeping Track of Your Loyalty Cards

Are you one of those women who have more of those annoying (and ugly) plastic loyalty store cards on your key ring than actual keys?  Yeah me too: Grocery stores, pet store, Bebe, gym card, library card, Godiva card (HELLO free truffle each month!).  At least I was that woman until I looked at my smartphone and said "what have you done for me lately?"

Well it turns out there are several apps out there to help you keep track of everything.



Keyring is great because of all the smartphones its available on. It has a great catalog of stores available for you.   Its easy to use and quick to upload your cards and share with your family.  You can also take a picture of your card (front and back).  It will show you any coupons or circulars available.  What I liked about this is being able to sign up for new loyalty cards from the app.
Cost: Free
Available: iPhone, Droid, Windows Mobile, Blackberry


Cardstar
Cardstar is probably the more popular one out there.  They have a ton of merchants in their catalog ready for use.  What I like about this one is being able to back up and sync to any mobile device so you can share cards with everyone in your family and save big (or at least spend more in my case).
Cost : Free
Available: Droid, iPhone, Blackberry


Passbook
Passbook is another popular one out there and I really liked the looks of it.  Sadly its only available on iPhone.  One thing I really liked about this, is it can show you when your coupons expire, where your concert seats are, and your all important boarding pass without having to launch a separate app.
Cost: Free
Available: iPhone

There are some other ones out there like Lemon, but I found these three the best with the design of the app and ease of use.  When it comes down to it, no matter which one you use, you will be glad to have gotten rid of your key ring clutter.  And having a key ring with only keys on it has made this gadget girl very happy.






Sunday, December 2, 2012

10 Best Gifts for Your Traveler - Under $50

Luggage Tag - A great way to help your traveler find their black roll aboard bag in a sea of black roll aboard bags.  I love the pink, but they have green too.

Lucha Libre Luggage Tag - $12


Perfume/Cologne Atomizer - I have several of these. They make great stocking stuffers for anyone who carries a suitcase, gym bag, baby bag, anyone who wears perfume or cologne.

Silver Atomizer - $12

Noise Canceling Headphones - Or as I like to call them, loud-flight-sanity-savers!

Skullcandy Fix Headpones - $31

Adapter/Converter Combo - Packing light mean consolidating as much as possible.  This little gadget is my best friend when I travel overseas.

Travel Smart TS253AD Adapter Converter - $30

Portable Charger/Battery - Charge any USB device?  Juice up your nearly dead smartphone?  Yes please!

iGO Charge Anywhere - $40


Gadget Car Charger - Two outlets and a USB port, perfect for the road tripper....And how cute is the coffee cup shape!

Gadget Car Charger - $50
Personalized Leather Jewelry Case - Tangled free jewelry in a  feminine, yet sturdy case.

Leather Travel Jewelry Case - $40



36 Hours - 150 Weekends in the U.S.A. and Canada (by NY Times) - The ultimate layover travel guide.  This is on my list!



Deluxe Travel Kit - This 8-piece ready to fill travel kit in a slim, sleek bag will get through TSA and won't take much space in their suitcase.


Sephora Deluxe Travel Kit - $36
Leather Passport Holder - Important documents have never looked so cute.  I love this one by Brookstone... They come in a lot of different colors and have an extra pocket.

Brookstone Passport Holder - $31