The Best Souvenir to enjoy once a year!

Who loves souvenirs? Not me!  Well, at least not most of the them and I definitely don't care for getting them from people who have gone somewhere I've never been.  I can't display the knickknack you gave me because if I do, someone is going to ask "where did you get this interesting thing?" and I probably won't remember and I won't have the interesting story they are waiting to hear. So there it would sit, no story, no love and collecting dust!

My One and only Souvenir collection

One souvenir I do collect for myself though is Ornaments.  You know, "Ho Ho Ho, here comes Santa Claus", lets decorate the tree! 

My first ornament was from my honeymoon in Maui and I didn't really collect any for a while after that.  It was a few years later that I had picked up a couple more on a trip and just in the past couple of years have made it a tradition when I travel.  Since we take a lot of little trips here and there I mostly collect them on my longer more memorable trips we take.  Although I did pick one up last weekend in Ocean Shores just because we travel there often and it will hang on the tree in memory of all those great beach trips we take each year.

The best part about these souvenirs is that you won't find yourself spending a ton of money on something you may never use again.  I can typically find a nice ornament for $3-$10.  If you can't find an ornament, pick up one of those knickknacks your friends don't want, something that resembles the destination your visiting, and attach a string to it.  If an ornament doesn't have a year on it, just write the date on the back or bottom when you get home. 

The Ornament is a great souvenir that you don't have to keep out year-round or try to match with your house decor.  They can look like anything and in fact, having them unique is what makes it fun.  If you don't want to mis-match your beautiful tree decor you can set up a fun little mini tree some where else in the house, just with your travel ornaments.  Enjoy the time putting up your Christmas tree while reminiscing in past travels, telling stories and maybe even giving you the urge to plan your next adventure!

(PS - If you want to buy me a sweatshirt, I do like them, even if I haven't been to "I ♥ New York")

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Credit Card Stolen...Lesson learned!

Unfortunately these days we will still have to deal with the fact that vacations might not always be full of joy, and credit cards, wallets and important items can get lost or stolen during our travels.  Even booking our trips online can lead to fraud with someone hacking into our personal information.  Thankfully there's also the other great part of the story! Credit card companies are very helpful and giving in these situations and for the most part will cover these fraudulent charges and go after the Theif and not your wallet for the stolen money. So everyone lives Happily Ever After, right? Wrong! 

Don't make the mistake (as I did) in thinking that since your credit card company is taking care of things on their end by cancelling your stolen card and sending you a new shiny one - that it's all over. 

Auto Pay - How convenient
Remember those nice and easy auto pays you agreed to do for your club membership, phone bill, and kids swimming lessons?  Well, they are still "auto-taking" your money, but guess what, it's not there! And did you read the fine print when you agreed to auto-pay? If you don't pay (for whatever reason) they charge you a fee or interest charge.  Not just to be mean, but because their bank charged them for your card not going through.  So, my $5 a month payment to hold my membership, became 5+5+20(fee) for those two months while I forgot to call them with a new credit card number!  Can someone say I was Piss...Furious!

So, lesson learned and now shared with all my lovely fans!  Don't forget to pull out your last credit card statement and call any vendors you have set up on a monthly auto-pay.  If you don't, you'll be hitting yourself in the head like I was and mad all over again at the person who stole your card in the first place! ShareThis

I need a Vacation from my Vacation!

Ever mumbled these words to someone when you've come home from a vacation? "I need a Vacation from my Vacation!". I can't count how many times I've wanted to hop back onto a plane and jet back to where ever I came from, usually somewhere tropical or unique that I can't get at home. 

Most of this feeling for me comes from the overwhelming feeling of having so much to catch up on when you return home.  I mean, who wouldn't rather be lying on the beach or watching their kid ride Dumbo for the fifth time in a row, instead of doing the dishes? 
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