Plan Your Trip with Microsoft Office 365

My family loves to travel. We have family all over the world, so it is really fun when we can visit them when we are on a trip.  My aunt and uncle live in Northern California. We have been out there a few times in the past. We are planning a trip to see them this summer.  I love visiting my aunt and uncle because it is so relaxed and we don’t really have a schedule to keep.  I think that is a good thing because of the time difference. Packing and planning has become more difficult now that I am a mom. Before I was a mom, I would go do things on a whim. I would take off and go on trips at a moment’s notice sometimes. I also have all kinds of extra things to pack. Not only Noah’s clothes, but his toys after making sure a few times that no Legos have made it in his suitcase. He also needs to bring lots of books to read and activities to do. I used to pack light before I was a mom.  I also have to make sure he brings his turtle pillow.  I really need packing lists, because I always forget something. In an effort to become more organized and a better planner I was able to try out Office 365 Office with OneNote. I was able to download the OneNote Travel Notebook from Travel + Leisure. It is full of travel tips and ideas for you to use.  I really like sticky notes but I can’t take them all with me.  I like with One Note I can take them anywhere I want without worrying about them getting lost. I can even make a digital notebook with all my information.

I am one of those people that go to a self-check in at the airport and has to look through my emails for my confirmation code when I don’t use curbside. I always get to the airport extra early, but not everyone does. It would be great not to have to worry about it because you can add all of your confirmation numbers in. You can also put hotel names, addresses and directions in there too.  It provides you with everything you need, you don’t have to write things down and worry about it falling out of your purse at some point.

  

One of the things I have to keep in mind when I go on a trip with my family, is the finances. I need to keep track of every cent I spend or need to spend. I have to make sure I can afford it. Traveling can be expensive when you add in airfare, food and related expenses. Thankfully, we are staying at their house, so there will not be any hotel charges. I always end up spending a lot at the airports. I have tried to bring snacks, but even then there is drinks, meals and somehow I am always talked in to getting something at a gift shop.  I need to add in a little bit of money for gambling, because we are going to be in both Vegas and Reno.  I will have to mark down a few bucks for that. I don’t really gamble but this is my tradition when seeing my aunt and uncle. Here’s a good tip, don’t bring a bunch of change with you and put it in a zip top bag, you will be stopped at security. I know this, but I still have done this a few times.  You can’t use change in the machines anyways. 

There really isn’t a lot of expense with this particular trip when it comes to the actual trip. My aunt is an amazing cook and since we are secluded in the mountains we don’t do a lot of shopping. However to fly from Florida to Reno is expensive. So, that takes planning and budgeting.  Every trip varies in price so it is always a great idea to have a budget. Microsoft Excel is great for keeping track of your budgets. You could use it not only for a travel budget, home budget and even for work.

I also like that I will be able to write notes while I am in California. It is great for memories. I won’t have to try and remember or email myself a bunch only for my emails to get lost in my inbox. I also love to blog about vacations I take, so it will be awesome for blog ideas. My aunt and uncle have dogs and I am sure I will have puppy and dog pictures to share.  My Grandma Rose used to keep travel journals when they went places. They are so much fun to read through. It would say what they did, where they ate and even how much they spent on gas.  I would love to be able to look through the travel notebook in a few years just to show Noah who may not remember everything. 

You can purchase Microsoft 365 for $99

For More information on OneNote

 

You can download the OneNote Travel Notebook template.

This is a sponsored post from One2One Network and Microsoft Office 365. All opinions stated are my own.

Must Have Tips for Caregivers and Finding them too.

My Grandma Rose was an amazing woman. She always had heart problems. She had her first bypass surgery in 1979, and didn’t have another one for sixteen years. You are only supposed to go ten. She was very independent and strong. My grandpa passed away in 1993 and she lived alone for seven years.  She always had visitors, especially me.  We were best friends. I would go to visit her almost every other weekend, even when I was older.  We always had a great time.  I would go everywhere with her, even when she was an honorary pall bearer at a funeral for a fellow Catholic Daughter. Eventually she had Alzheimer’s disease, and could no longer live without someone around.  I moved in with her for a while to make sure she took her medicine, ate, and that she didn’t wander off. My aunt lived close by too, in case she needed anything.  It was very hard for everyone involved. It was hard because you have to watch someone you love deteriorate mentally.  We had become her caregivers. Genworth has a great article about how the caregiver’s lives are rerouted and all the changes you have to make.CNN reports a growing trend of people caring for aging parents or in this case, grandparents. I know that as one of the main caregivers, I wasn’t able to work outside of the home and I had to spend less time with friends. At the beginning I even moved away from everyone to be there for her.I knew that it was the most important thing for me to do at the time.

She was in an assisted living place for a while; we had some concerns about other residents being rough with my grandma. We took her out of there. We heard on the news a woman in her unit was able to escape and froze to death in their courtyard.  This was after she moved in with us. We continued to take care of her; I would make sure she had whatever she needed while my mom was at work. It was a full time job. I didn’t mind because this was my best friend and she took care of me when I was little. We kept her with us as long as we could until her health started to deteriorate, and she needed to be in a nursing home. No one in our family had medical training, and was such a hard decision. We visited her and took her out all the time; she was only fifteen minutes away from us.  At this point it was extremely hard; we would bring her over for holidays and she wouldn’t know who we were or where she was.  In 2005, she had congestive heart failure and just was her time to go.  We all received a gift the last few days, she was able to remember everyone and tell them things only she would know to say.  I would do it all over again if I could just see her and give her a million hugs. I think about her every single day.

Being a caregiver is hard work but it is worth it.  My family took care of my grandma for years. It was definitely a group effort.  You really need a great support system.  I am thankful that everyone was there and could help in some way.  Sometimes, family care isn’t an option, it is very important to find someone qualified to take care of your loved one.  It is tough to know what to look for. There are tools and articles from companies like Genworth that can help you find out more information.  I would recommend researching the caregiver or the facility.  Make sure they are licensed. I know that you can usually find health department records and see if they have had any violations. If they aren’t online, you can call the health department and ask them as the records are public. Look for reviews of the facility. Use search engines and learn as much as you can about the caregiver or facility. If you are using an in home caregiver, have them do a criminal background check and drug tests.  Many states have online court records, if they are available, search court records.  Again it is public records.  By searching court records you get things that may not be criminal but could raise a red flag. I know I wouldn’t want someone who has been sued a lot to be responsible for my loved one.  

Thankfully Genworth has a tool that can help you find caregivers in your area, so you can avoid Craigslist to find a caregiver.

Stay away from places like Craigslist when looking.  I am leery about a total stranger taking care of a family member that answers an online advertisement. Who knows if they know what they are doing or properly trained? I would try and find an agency that has well trained, professional workers that are really passionate about taking care of people.  I hope these tips help you if you ever need a caregiver for a loved one.

This post was inspired by Genworth and Brandfluential. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love Paula Deen

As an amateur chef, I like to watch cooking shows. I admire  some of the famous chefs. I really look up to Paula Deen. I love that she is so down to earth and seems really sweet. I totally love her story and how she went though a lot. She started by making sack lunches and selling them. It may be that she is a single mom like I am. She started out with nothing but determination and turned in to one of most recognizable faces and voices in America.  She is truly an inspirational woman.

I am a sucker for southern cooking too. Growing up one of my best friends lived in North Carolina so I embraced everything southern especially the food. I used to try and talk with a southern accent horribly. I remember that  we used to visit our friends and had delicious southern feasts.  Usually their neighbors would also cook too and it would be a pitch in meal that we enjoyed after sitting in chairs on the lawn or on the deck.

When I started watching Paula Deen, I really loved her style and thought she had great tools to work with. I was extremely excited when I learned she has her own line of kitchen accessories. I immediately fell in love with her line and just had to have everything. I love that it really shows off her southern charm. I love how classic everything is. Everything is amazing quality too. It would last a long time. Every cook needs a few things that have a history and that are aged and well loved.

I believe you can never have too many measuring cups or measuring spoons. I have an extensive collection of kitchen tools that I use often. I love to bake and cook different dishes at the same time and it is easier for me to just grab another item than take the time to wash and dry it, just to use it again.  I know in theory that makes more dishes to clean up later, but I just put everything in the dishwasher.  Another reason to have extra sets on hand because you can lose them. I have many measuring cups but only a couple fourth of a cups or a bunch of teaspoons.  Noah has been known to walk off with something and it never is found again. It gets lost somewhere in a toy box or thrown in the trash. It is essential to have a full set of kitchen tools. I have also lost them in moving over the years. I lost a spatula once that was never found even after we packed everything.

I would love to go to The Lady and Sons restaurant in Savannah someday. My sister and brother in law have been there a few times and really like it.  I think the next time we visit my sister and  brother in law i will see if we can go to Savannah.  It sounds like such a cool place to visit with lots of shops and history. Maybe we can even find out where Paula Deen lives and knock on her front door.  A girl can dream can't she? I would love to meet Paula Deen. Maybe someday I will. 

What are your most used kitchen tools? Do you have multiples of the same items too?

This post is inspired by BlogDash. All thoughts and opinions are my own.