Family Vacations

Over the last week, I've been encouraging my past and new clients to plan their family vacation. Most of them say "It's January!" or "I don't know what we're going to do this summer." These are common sentiments. However, most summer vacations run a couple roughly $200 a day and a family of four $300 a day. Those are jaw dropping figure when you think about a seven day trip. Mind you this includes lodging, transportation, entertainment, and food. Another thing to keep in mind is that there is a significant percent of families who book their vacation 4-6 months in advance. Why? The earlier you book, the more likely you will find exactly what you want.

Last year my mom turned 60. My sister and I wanted to do something really nice for her. While she enjoyed her 50th surprise party, she made it clear that she really didn't want a party. However, we knew she would like to celebrate with family and friends. She likes the beach and Captain George's is her favorite restaurant. We decided to rent a place on the beach and invite everyone to come to Captain George's for her birthday. Her birthday is in August. As my sister contacted people to let them know and invite them to stay at the beach, they had me wait on booking the house, because we didn't know how many people were coming. By May, it was getting harder and harder to find something reasonably priced and just for the weekend. Luckily a travel friend of mine had a cancellation that we were able to utilize. I will say we got what we wanted, but we paid a lot more than if we had booked in February or March.

This is something I don't want for any of my customers. One, because I know that everyone has a budget. And two, it's very frustrating when you know what you want, but can't get it at your budgeted price. 

Each year I personally plan two family vacations. The first is with my in-laws and the second is just my husband and me. Because the vacation with my in-laws is in the middle of the summer, I start talking about it at Thanksgiving. Most people are like "Wow, why so soon?" I know that we will have to pay over time and I know that we have to decide on a house wherever we go. The week of Thanksgiving, I look at prices for places that we talked about going last year or previously for vacation. When I bring up vacation after Thanksgiving dinner, I'll have some estimates for them. Then I follow up on Christmas or New Years talking about vacation. I really push for a destination, so that we can put a deposit down by the end of January. I also do this, because I have a budget. I know I like to go on excursions and I love a theme park. I love to find nice places to eat and try something new. These are my goals for all of my vacations. I also know that everyone wants to enjoy themselves and not by weighed down about finances.

With that being said, here's my recipe for planning a family vacation. This works with just your immediate family and extended family vacations.

1. Plan early! Based on when and where you want to travel, give your family 5-12 months. For example, if you would like to take a five to seven day cruise, you may want to book six to twelve months in advance. If you want to go somewhere that is in driving distance, you may want to book four to six months in advance.
2. Once you have your plan and know about where you'll be going, have a face-to-face meeting. Having everyone in the same room will get everyone on the same page. This may seem strange if it's just the immediate family, but you want to make sure everyone enjoys the family vacations, so yes, include the children. 
3. Finally, communicate, communicate, communicate! Keep the lines of communication open. Make sure everyone knows when they have to make a payment at least a week before the payment is due. Make sure everyone knows how they are getting to the location. Make sure everyone knows the dates you'll be traveling. Iron out all the small details at least two months before you are scheduled to leave.

I know this was a long one, but I wanted to give you something to consider during the nice cold weather. Let me know what you think and any family vacation ideas you may have. Tell me how using these three tips helped you plan your family vacation. And if you don't know where to go, visit www.sweetestevent.com for some destination ideas. You can also go over to our Travel Search page to get some pricing for the destinations you have in mind.

Happy traveling!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone has had a wonderful start to 2016. Mine came in like a whirl wind!

Each year in January I do a cleanse. I do about 90% juice, reduced carbs, no sweets, no caffeine and no supplements. Trying to break the habit of relying on caffeine and chocolate to get me through the day and stress eating. Hard, but I'm going to get through these 31 days. My resolution this year is not to revert back to my bad eating habits. (Fingers crossed!)

But juicing for more than 10 days can get a little boring. Everything tends to literally blend together and this can make you lose motivation. I am an experimentive (not really a word, but an idea) soul who loves basically all fruits and vegetables. Basically, I'll juice anything. So, this weeks blog is about my favorite juice blends.

Behold the Power of Beets

1 medium sized beet cut up
2 celery sticks
5 baby carrots or 1 carrot cut up
1 navel orange
1/2 lemon
1 inch diameter piece of ginger
1/2 cup of water
Makes two 20 oz. cups

Remember to wash all vegetables well, especially your beet. Peel your orange and lemon well and remove the seeds. The juice comes out best if you add the ingredients as listed. I normally blend this juice in my Nutri-Ninja Bullet, but my mom has done it in her blender. Blend until the mixture is a deep red color with no other color specks. In the Nutri-Ninja Bullet, this takes about two minutes. With a blender, it will take about five minutes. If after a minute (Nutri-Ninja Bullet or similar) or 2 minutes (blender) you still see whole veggies or fruit, stop blending, and shake the mixture to loosen it up a little. Once you finish blending, the juice will be very thick. Add additional water to make it seem less "healthy". Don't exceed 10 oz. of water per 20 oz. Warning:  Don't be alarmed, but your urine will turn red for a little while (like half a day or so) after you drink this. It's just the beets cleaning your liver.

Ravishing Radishes
1/2 cup spinach
2 small radishes (about an inch in diameter)
1 medium apple
5 baby carrots or one carrot cut up
2 sticks of celery
1 inch diameter piece of ginger
1/2 cup of water
Makes two 16 oz cups

Always wash fruits and veggies well. Again, putting the ingredients in the order they're listed yields the best results. You don't have to cut up the radishes, but definitely cut and core your apple. It normally takes about a minute and a half to blend this juice in the Nutri-Ninja and about three minutes in a regular blender. This juice is a light green color, even with a red apple. Once you finish blending, the juice will be thick, add an additional cup of water to each 16 oz serving.

You can also use these recipes in a juicer. Double the amount of fruits, veggies, and water when using a juicer.

And side note:  I love ginger. I put ginger in my juices and tea. Haven't had a sinus infection in almost two years, because when I start feeling that sinus pressure, I eat a piece of ginger. I used to go straight to the medicine cabinet only to find a little relief and eventually ending up at the hospital getting a prescription. However, a lot of people don't like ginger, because it's so strong. I found adding fresh lemon or orange to a juice takes the bite out of the ginger.

Let me know how you enjoyed the juice recipes and share your own with me, Happy juicing!