Are you trying to cut down on credit card debt and expenses? I know I am. Although the country is in an economic downturn that will hopefully pick up within the next year, it’s always good to have at least one credit card for emergencies.

Over the weekend, my sister-in-law announced that she rented a condo for 2 months this winter in Florida ~ and she invited me down for a few days!

Now, I consider that an emergency! I need some R & R, and actually haven’t had a winter vacation where I relaxed down South since I was a teenager. No winter breaks for me!

To fund this little road trip, I’m going to Apply for a credit card that issues rewards for every time I use it. I’m also looking for one that is unsecured and has a low regular rate, and no annual fees. Cardhub makes it easy for me to find exactly what I’m looking for.

Do you have any ‘emergencies’ that you might like to have a card on-hand for? Check them out! It’s an awsome site!  They’ve covered every option to help you out ~ search capabilities, saved searches ~ the only thing they need to improve on is making the print larger for these Baby Boomer eyes!

Can you say “Early Bird Special?”

It’s amazing how time passes so quickly. Many of you may be aware that I really like hot, humid weather. My loyal readers know I live in New England, but I really believe I was meant to live down South.

When the kids were 11 and 7, we took them to Orlando in August for a family vacation. It wasn’t as crowded as in the winter months, and many of the children who live down south were already back in school. August was considered “off-season,” so our rates were really reasonable

Reminiscing about what a fantastic time we had taking in all the things to do in Orlando, my oldest daughter is already making suggestions that she would like all of us to take a family vacation next year. By then, my soon-to-be-born grandson will be old enough to be portable, and ‘Lil Moomette will be at a great age to enjoy all the activity. Family vacation includes Charming Son-in-Law’s parents from Vermont.

Now that my daughter’s a married Mom herself, I’m passing the baton, and am going to suggest that she obtain all the online travel guides from Trusted Tours & Attractions and make arrangements for everyone. I’m even going to hint that since I Love New York, I wouldn’t mind her looking into things to do in New York for my Birthday, which is in January and taking some New York City tours.  It would be a terrific opportunity to visit the shopping district and do some serious shopping to stock my eBay store, or spend New Year’s Eve in the Big Apple!

Planning your next vacation? Looking for ideas on what to do?  Sign up for the Trusted Travels eNewsletter and enter to win a $150 iTunes gift card Offer ends July 31st, 2008.

My youngest daughter, the College Student, just returned from a 10-day tour.  Actually, it was supposed to be a 3-day tour, and got extended.  Her boyfriend’s Grandfather has a yacht, and his extended family invited her along to got on a seafaring adventure.   My husband and I started referring to her as “Gilligan” whenever she called to tell us what port-of-call the SS Minnow was in on any given day.

Several years ago, my oldest daughter, then also a College Student, had the opportunity to travel to the Outer Banks with her friends and their extended families.  Arrangements had been made for Outer Banks rentals, and they all ended up staying in some fantastic beach-front houses in Nags Head, one of which had an elevator and pool!

Something is wrong with this picture.   I have travel-envy.  Why is it that my husband and I get to labor all summer long, and take National Lampoon-type vacations, while the kiddos are off doing Lewis & Clark expeditions?

To add insult to injury, while at the top of Hatteras Lighthouse, oldest darling daughter called me from her cell phone while I was sitting in my office cubicle, and then had the nerve to send me a cell phone picture as well!

I’m adding a trip to North Carolina’s Outer Banks to my ‘Bucket List.’ If you haven’t been yet, I think you should too.

This week has been so slow at my cubicle job. It seems as if everyone has chosen to take some time off in July.

Not only are my office co-workers away on vacation, it seems like everyone else is too, as the phones aren’t ringing off the hook!

If you haven’t made plans yet, and are the type to decide to take off on the spur-of-the-moment, don’t despair. Should you decide to travel by air, you can always make arrangements for a car rental.

Advantage Car Rental has special offers and discounts up to 50% on Luxury and Convertible car rentals in select cities and airports in the U.S. Make your reservation and selection easily online, and get a quote right away!

Whether you’re traveling for business, relaxation or going to see Grandma, enjoy your trip & drive safely!

Charming Son-in-Law is originally from Vermont, and my daughter and ‘Lil Moomette travel to visit his family up there frequently. His family is very big into camping.

Our family enjoys camping too, and when the kids were little, we always used to vacation up in Cape Cod, many times staying for a week or so. We’ve also done local mini “family reunions” camping trips with extended family at various Connecticut State Campgrounds.

Darling Daughter and her husband are expecting my new grandson in August. They’re looking to get out of the tent business and are scouting around for Motorhomes to give ‘Lil Moomette and her new brother more room to run around in. Oh, and also to add some creature comforts for themselves, such as a personal bathroom. I had an ex sister-in-law once say about camping in a tent, “if it’s not nicer than my own home, it’s not a vacation.”

With gas prices going up every day, don’t forfeit family vacation time together. With a RV, you can still vacation close to home in comfort! Check out your local state campgrounds!

Now that summer’s officially here, along with the hot, humid weather that I absolutely love (really), Darling Daughter and I were talking about the memorable family vacation we took to Disneyworld in August many years ago.

The kiddos were about 7 and 11, and we had saved for a year to take that trip and stay at the Polynesian. My granddaughter, ‘Lil Moomette, will turn 2 in October, and Darling Daughter is already making noises that she would like to make the trip again, only this time with both sets of grandparents in tow!

I think we’d have a blast, and hope that my Baby Boomer body will be able to keep up the pace like I did so long ago!

This time around, I’m going to let my daughter do the planning, and suggest she contact Trusted Tours & Attractions for reservations. There’s plenty of things to do in Orlando that we didn’t get to do the first time around. Charming Son-In-Law has been there with his family too, so we’ll have to put our collaborative heads together and check out the online travel guides.

Since we’re all from New England, we can get a jump start by flying out of New York, and maybe even leave a day ahead and take in some New York City tours!

Trusted Tours and Attractions offers discounted tickets to the best sightseeing tours in 23 cities across America.

Planning your next vacation? Looking for ideas on what to do? Sign up for the Trusted Travels newsletter and enter to win a handheld GPS Offer ends June 30th, 2008.

As you can see, I’ve been Musing quite a bit about vacationing lately. Around this time last year, our family spent some delightful day-tripping time in Newport, Rhode Island, which is home to The National Lawn Tennis Hall of Fame and Tennis Museum. There’s a terrific little restaurant on the grounds, and it’s fun to walk around and check out the history of tennis ~ you might even catch some players out on the lawn and watch their game while you eat some great fresh seafood!

When I was 17, I spent several weeks in England. I didn’t get to see Wimbledon, which is the most prestigious championship tennis court in the world. I love how the Brits call it “Lawn Tennis,” as it’s played on grass courts. Did you know that women have been allowed to play since 1884? Can you imagine what they wore at that time, which was right during the Victorian Era? We’ve come a long way baby with those cute little outfits the gals wear now!

There’s still time to grab some Wimbledon tickets!

If I can’t make Wimbledon, maybe you can. Each year New Haven, Connecticut hosts one of the major tennis tournments in the United States. It’s usually a big-draw for tourism, and our state can really use all the tourists we can get! Unfortunately, it also almost always rains that week.

Keep your fingers crossed for clear skies!

I belong to several social networking forums for WAHMs, and the topic being discussed was the hazard involved in personalized items for kids.

Now, all young children love to see their name in print – and since many will be traveling, vacationing with the family or going off to summer camp – they’ll be toting towels , pillows, backpacks and more with their names emblazoned on them.

I’d never given it a second thought when my daughters were younger – but did you know even children can become the victims of identity theft? Many times all it takes is for someone to know their first name ~ oftentimes from something as simple as a towel?

In its January 2008 Press Release, LifeLock announced that Ident-A-Kid selected them to provide identity theft protection to millions of its clients at a discounted rate.

Visit LifeLock as they’re also looking for good people to join their great team.

One of my duties at my cubicle job is to read about 20 major newspapers online each day. I scour the Internet for relevant newsworthy material pertaining to our industry.

Today I happened to notice an article in one of the “Entertainment” sections of the news discussing the virtues of dining at the perfect crab house. We New Englanders’ love our seafood ~ but the best crab dinner I’ve ever had was at a crab house on the Jersey Shore.

Several years ago my family vacationed at Cape May. While we all enjoyed the serenity and ambiance of the Cape May hotels, Victorian houses & mansions, the kiddos were itching for something a little more…teenager-ish. It was just a hop, skip & a jump over to Wildwood.

So if you’ll be traveling to the Jersey Shore, be sure to schedule your itinerary around all the Wildwood events that are coming up this summer! Morey’s Piers is a great place to check out for a New Jersey vacation.

The upcoming Radio Disney Summer Concert Series will be held in Wildwood, New Jersey at Morey’s Piers in the month of July. These are FREE concerts and many of the Top Radio Disney artists will be there.

Highlights of the event and the exciting Thing to do in New Jersey include:

-July 7th, 14th and 21st - Magic Mondays - Radio Disney’s hottest musical artists will appear live on Morey’s Piers. These FREE concerts will take place at the Radio Disney stage next to the Giant Ferris Wheel on Morey’s Mariner’s Landing pier. Show times are scheduled for 1 pm and 4 pm.

-The Radio Disney Summer Concert Series finale is scheduled for 2 pm Saturday, July 26, 2008 at the Wildwoods Convention Center Oceanfront Arena with Raven-Symone from Disney Channel’s “That’s so Raven” and the currently showing Walt Disney movie, “College Road Trip” starring Martin Lawrence and Raven-Symone. The July 26th concert will also feature Mitchell Musso from the “Hannah Montana Show”.

-July 26th Concert ticket holders may enjoy super savings at Morey’s Piers from the time of purchase through July 27, 2008. Simply show your official July 26 Radio Disney Summer Concert Series finale ticket at Guest Services on Mariner’s Landing and receive $10 off an all-day water park ticket for either Raging Waters or Ocean Oasis, or $10 off an amusement pier wristband valid for all three of Morey’s Piers, or $15 off a one-day splash and ride combination ticket.