​I love to eat fresh food. I hope you do too. Especially with all the health advice out there that admonishes us to be eating healthy FRESH FOOD to stay healthy, live longer, be disease free, be at your ideal weight, etc. How can you not ignore all the good things we hear daily reminding us to eat fresh food?

​We buy fresh fruit and vegetables in the market knowing that we must eat it soon while it is still fresh.

We buy meat and eggs and dairy products knowing that we must eat it before the expiration date stamped on the packaging.
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We even buy a lot of “bad” food that has expiration dates stamped on the packaging.
We have so much food (aren’t we grateful) to eat in a limited amount of time what can be wrong?

Well, first off Fresh Food must be eaten within a few days, sometimes within the same day you buy it, because otherwise it will spoil or go stale or just lose all the good freshness to it. So, we end up having to eat more of it in a short amount of time, right? 

​What’s that you say? You put your fresh food in plastic baggies? You re-wrap it in its original container? You say it stays fresh for you that way. No problems of mold showing up a day later. No rancid smell or bad taste. All which could be signs of the freshness being gone. Signs which indicated unhealthiness. Unhealthy food staring you in the face making you feel bad because you want that fresh food taste you ate yesterday and now today, its gone because the food went bad. Sigh.

​What can you do about this worldwide epidemic? (Ok, its not as dramatic as that but if you think about it, it is one of those daily things we have to deal with as a human being on the planet. Fresh food vs. stale food – to eat or not to eat that is the question)
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Don’t tell me there are people eating non-fresh food. I know there are, I know I sometimes do too. And sometimes that is all a person can eat because that is all that is available to them. I am grateful for the fresh food I can get daily.
But the worst thing about eating all this fresh food is that you must eat it quickly or in a relatively short amount of time before it goes bad.

​I don’t know about you, but I can’t eat that much. I like to be able to make my fresh food last for more than a few days. I want to have my non-wrinkled blueberries in my morning breakfast as fresh as if they were first picked and quickly put into a container and sent to market where I get them the next day. (Well that’s one day lost and each day they sit in the market adds up to a shorter shelf life)
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How can we solve this problem we have with fresh food not lasting so long? 

​Here comes the sell. I found two companies that help solve that problem. Rubbermaid and Fit & Fresh.

Rubbermaid has a line called Freshworks produce saver. You can see it here or in the ad below.
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Fit & Fresh has a variety of containers from meal prep to travel bags. (See how this relates to travel information?) You can keep your fresh food fresher longer at home or on-the-go. Here is a deal for you -- click on the link below

Oh sure, anyone can create a website and start writing words on it. How easy is that?

But the real test is in how well you write, how well you get your message across to your readers.
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And that is where branding comes in. Branding is the overall theme to the content you put out there. ​

So how do you differentiate between your content and the millions of others out there? --Without having to stand on your head and post silly videos of you standing on your head.
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I’m not really interested in gimmicky things to post just to draw attention. It works for many people but it’s not my thing. ​

​I’m interested more in the integrity of my content, so my message can be heard by the right kind of people who resonate with the things I say. I want real connections with real people looking for ideas to help them with their own travel adventures. I want somebody to say to me, “you know, I was thinking of going to Taiwan and started reading up on it. I came across your website and read your article on Taiwan. In your post you said “Kaohsiung has bad air quality, well, I didn’t know that. I just assumed the air was good there. I didn’t know a lot of people wear air filtering masks as they walk around in Kaohsiung.” The take-away from this reader was that they learned something new. Something that was helpful to them. It may be miniscule and seem inconsequential to other readers, but the point is that if even one person is helped with a bit of information it makes the difference to that person. So now when that person travels to Kaohsiung they’ll be on the lookout for the bad air quality. Maybe they won’t find much of it, maybe they’ll have to buy a cheap air mask like I did. In any case, some relevant information was passed on to the reader. ​

And that is my goal in sharing my travel journeys. I wanted to first document my travels with the photos I took all for my own personal posterity. The second thing is to share it with people, after all, there is no point in just keeping it to yourself.
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So what started out as something “simple” ahem, writing a travel blog, has become something even more in terms of branding what you write about (content) to fit yourself authentically. ​

​Summer has started; which means it's time for a fun-filled vacation! If you're wondering what that means for your fur-baby, I have the perfect solution to keep your family together... Extended Stay America! If you haven't heard, Extended Stay America isn't just a superior choice in lodging for the family, but they're also one of the biggest pet-friendly hotels with over 600 hotels across the U.S. Your pet is more than just a cute and cuddly companion and Extended Stay America understands this.

​Their pet policy is just one of their budget-friendly amenities that will have you booking pronto. Each suite has a fully equipped kitchen to save money on eating out; also a way to stay close to Fido or Mittens, as well as FREE Wi-Fi and free grab-and-go breakfast. All this on top of the boarding fees you'll save!

​Extended Stay America really does want you to be close to your beloved pets and they're showing their animal love by starring in a movie. That's right! Extended Stay America is going Hollywood and teamed up with Air Bud Entertainment to have their hotel room appear in the new movie "Pup Star: World Tour". Released on Netflix last month (May 5th), this family-friendly film is loaded with music, adventure, and plenty of comedy.

As part of this partnership, Extended Stay America launched a Pup Star Pawsome Pup Pet Photo Contest to get your four-legged friend in on the action. The grand prize is a walk-on role in a future Air Bud Entertainment film and 25 first prize winners will get a two-night stay with their pet at an Extended Stay America hotel of their choice. This contest ends July 19, 2018, so learn more here and get snapping!

here you have it - the best solution for your summer vacation for the WHOLE family. Go online and book early to save up to 10%. You can check out their most popular vacation spots here or search by the map instead.

Check Out the Pup Star: World Tour Trailer >

Let me help you find a gift for that always-on-the-go travel person in your life.

Gifts for the intrepid travel junkie or gifts for a friend, coworker or relative who wants to travel.

For their last birthday did you get them a special travel-theme related gift?

You may have not thought to get something travel related for that person, but I have a curated selection ready to go for you.

Take a look at these Amazon products and see if one might be the right gift. (Or use the search bar below the ad to find more items)

Here is a unique travel gift: A Priority Pass that gives a person access to 1200 airport lounges around the world!

But if you are on a budget and want to give something practical as a gift, socks are always a good thing! Especially socks as comfortable as Bombas! I know because I own several pairs. They are soft & cushiony and hold up well wash after wash.

Here is a link to another travel blogger's ideas for travel gifts.

Fresh, clean and healthy. We all need that in our lives especially for travelling. We want ease of items when we pack. We want to be able to not worry about the little things. The little things that can suddenly make your travel adventure either a little bit problematic or a little bit easy. Let’s pick easy.

I want to share with you a new product by St. Ives that is a game-changer for travelers. It's easy to use, easy to buy, healthy and good for you and is priced very economically.

First off, everybody knows there are limits to what you can carry on board when it comes to toiletries and cosmetics. 3 oz. or less is the rule. These liquid items must fit in 1-quart size plastic baggie.

So how to get around that when you have either 1.) More liquid items to carry or 2.) Larger than 3 oz. items?

You can put extra or larger liquid items into your checked luggage. Ok, we know that.
What is the work around? This game-changer I mentioned?

Substitute solids for liquids where you can. Specifically, for face wash.

St. Ives now puts out a solid condensed stick weighing 1.59 oz. It swivels up to reveal a little at a time. It lathers up great to remove all the dirt, makeup, and grime. Even better is that this product is made with 100% coconut oil combined with other natural ingredients like honey, green tea, or cactus water. Three different formulas for different skin concerns such as dry, oily, or normal.

They smell great too! Refreshing to use after a workout or a long flight. Everyone could always use a little pick-me-up aromatherapy. My favorite is the Cactus Water & Hibiscus. Not too heavy of a scent either.

Now when you travel by plane you sometimes might worry about what happens to liquid items when you land. The up and down pressurization in the plane can lead to leakage if a liquid item’s cap wasn’t tightened enough before you left. What a mess to find when you check into your hotel and start to unpack, discovering a baggy mess of glop! Not to mention the waste and then you have to buy something else to replace the lost liquid or use the standard hotel hand soap which just might be too harsh for your facial skin.

Enter St. Ives solid cleansing stick and you won’t have that problem again – at least when it comes to your liquid facial cleanser. Pack it with your solid deodorant and you’re good to go!
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Find your favorite at Wal-Mart starting at $7.52. Click on the image below to buy.