Book review and information for the itinerant traveler to make life more enjoyable while you’re on the road.
Inspired by “Fun With Fidget Spinners: 50 Super cool Tricks & Activities,” my nephew, Andrew, practices a forehead spin. Photos by Joan Mead-Matsui, travel writer and photographer.
What do kids fall back on when they’re bored? Of course, most children FIDGET.
Travel by car, plane or train can drain a kid’s patience. When my son, Yoshi, bought his first Fidget Spinner, I thought the constant buzzing sound coming from my car’s back seat was REALLY annoying. But the idea behind this toy makes sense for children who are by nature, busy, young human beings inclined to keep their hands and minds busy at all times.
“FUN WITH FIDGET SPINNERS: 50 Super Cool Tricks & Activities” teaches kids the ABCs of Fidget Spinner tricks.
“Fun With Fidget Spinners: 50 Super Cool Tricks & Activities,” by David King of “Geek Bite” – with Colleen Dorsey & Katie Weeber, is the bible, or guidebook to the ABCs of fidget spinning tricks. If you’ve never seen a Fidget Spinner, it’s a multi-lobed flat toy that spins on its axis, resulting in a gentle hum or buzzing noise. They were invented as far back as 1993 but became popular in spring 2017.
My nephews, (shown from left to right) Matthew, Noah, and Andrew, review some of author David King’s basic tricks kids of all ages can practice.
With some practice, kids can show off their skills with “The Hot Potato,” “The Tower of Power,” “Dinner is Served,” and 14 other impressive tricks. “Stop Fidgeting’ and Other Bad Advice,” and “The Origin Story” are two bonus items kids will also find entertaining. Tricks and activities are categorized for the beginner, intermediate and advanced fidgeters.
Fun With Fidget Spinners is published by Design Originals, an imprint of Fox Chapel Publishing. For more details, or to buy a copy, visit d-originals.com.
Are you overwhelmed by the thought of traveling by plane with your children?
More than likely, there’ll come a time when you’ll contemplate a trip abroad or a visit with family. If traveling by plane with your kids evokes fear and anxiety and doubts about whether you have the parenting skills to pull off family travel, you’ll want to read “Super Flyers: A Parent Guidebook for Airplane Travel With Children” byDr. Lori Baudino, PsyD, BC-DMT, a licensed clinical psychologist and board-certified dance/movement therapist.
If you’re like Dr. Baudino and you love to travel, why shy away from what could be a memorable journey with your children and a valuable learning experience for children and adults?
Super Flyers is a parent’s manual that’s jam-packed with strategies you can utilize when you need support to handle those trying and awkward moments.
Dr. Baudino shares her tips to handle those fleeting moments of upset and chaos that can occur during travel when children are overtired, overstimulated or restless. She outlines skills parents can employ that will set the stage for a more joyous time.
“If you are a parent then you will eventually come across traveling with your children,” says Dr. Baudino.
Whether your child is an infant, toddler, pre-teen, or teenager, or you’ll have more than one of your brood traveling with you, Dr. Baudino’s suggestions will get you on your way. In 127 pages, she offers tips and delightful progress updates from her children, Aiden and Lyla.
Why should you buy a copy of her book?
Dr. Baudino explains, “With all that we know about parenting and helping our children succeed – I can empower parents to use these skills and take children to new heights exploring cultures, change and travel in the sky.The analogies of flying and parenting are vast- it’s a journey so we might as well share and model enjoyment for and with our children.”
You can learn more about Dr. Baudino and Super Flyers at drloribaudino.com.
DISCLOSURE:
Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase but at no additional cost to you. I have experience with all of these companies and by linking to their product or a party that sells their products, I recommend the product based on their helpful and useful nature, and definitely not because of the small commissions I make if you decide to buy something.
David Essel, M.A. is the author of nine books, a Master Life Coach and Teacher, Business, Relationship and Addiction Recovery Coach, International Speaker and Radio/TV Host.
David Essel believes positive thinking will never change your life.
By utilizing more than 30 years of experience as a life coach and educator, addiction recovery coach, international speaker and radio/TV host, Essel has transformed his own life through diligence and hard work – the keys to facilitating change. Rather than relying solely on positive thinking, he translated those positive thoughts into an actionable plan to achieve his goals.
Positive thinking, alone, is not a vehicle for change, explains Essel, but coming to terms with the truth: the good, the bad and the ugly in your life, is an integral part of the process he avows.
Whether you need to be motivated to lose weight, resolve debt and achieve financial freedom, save your marriage, or give up bad habits like addiction and codependency, Essel will help you to understand the distinction between positive thinking and quantum thinking.
David Essel, M.S. is the author of nine books. His most recent book, “Positive Thinking Will Never Change Your Life…But This Book Will!” debunks “the myth of the power of positive thinking.”
What’s the ideal age to begin your journey from positive thinking to quantum thinking?
Essel takes his readers to a place beyond wishful thinking and “fantastical affirmations.”
Much like practicing yoga, the perfect age to feed the “5000-pound gorilla,” within you, is “anywhere from eight years of age until 80 years of age,” says Essel. He cites yoga as a technique we can employ to build confidence and work through uncomfortable circumstances we face on a day-to-day basis.
The bottom line Essel spells out in black and white over and over in his book is we need to get uncomfortable in our approach to letting go of a lifestyle and habits that are not healthy for us.
“Yoga primarily is such a powerful weight loss technique because it allows us to deal with the present moment, it allows us to deal with being a little uncomfortable in a pose but not giving up. It’s the same thing with weight loss.” ~David Essel
Self-discipline is paramount to overcoming obstacles and roadblocks to success. Since the philosophy of yoga is to become one with ourselves, a regular practice will help you to become more centered, more focused, and filled with more inner peace.
“If you look around at people who have practiced yoga for years you’ll find that most of them walk with a distinct confident style. Their body alignment is excellent. They breathe from the diaphragm instead of the lungs,” he noted in a email interview.
“Flexibility is a key part of yoga practice. Focusing on the core muscles, the abdomen, and the lower back,” he says helps people to age gracefully and reduce stress. It may even take lines off of our faces. It’s powerful.”
You can read about yoga and how to use this centuries’ old discipline to accomplish your goals and reduce stress in Chapter 5, “The Top Positive Thinkers in the World Concur: Action is the Pathway to Success.”
How can you get started today?
Use “Affirmations,” “Visualization,” and “Prayer” as adjunct action tools for success
Here’s an excerpt from Chapter 6, “Using Affirmations, Visualization and Prayer as Action Tools for Success and A Look at the ‘Dark Side” of Our Lives.” His words hit home.
“Let’s use affirmations, statements of intention, for the weight you want to lose, the money you want to make, the relationships you want to have.”
You might also find shades of your own life in contributions from New York Times best-selling authors Eldon Taylor, Scarlett Lewis, Arielle Ford, Natalie Pace, JJ Virgin, Dianne Collins, Dianne Gray, as well as other top experts in the fields of personal growth and business.
I think you’ll find Positive Thinking Will Never Change Your Life…But This Book Will! refreshing and compelling.
Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase but at no additional cost to you. I have experience with all of these companies and by linking to their product or a party that sells their products, I recommend the product based on their helpful and useful nature, and definitely not because of the small commissions I make if you decide to buy something.
“A Guide to the City of Light Following in the Footsteps of Famous Parisians Throughout History”
What did I enjoy most about Susan Cahill’s “The Streets of Paris: A Guide to the City of Light Following in the Footsteps of Famous Parisians Throughout History?”
The Parisian history lesson begins from the moment you open her book.
Plan a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the City of Light and Cahill is there by your side to guide you along. Whether you’re planning a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the City of Light or you have a thirst for French history, Cahill walks you through the romance and sometimes tumultuous streets of Paris from the Middle Ages to the present (800 years). Paris is often considered to be one of the most romantic cities in the world. Lovers, Heloise and Abelard; Louis IX, Robespierre’s victim, Albert Camus, Edith Piaf, and Henri IV are among the 22 famed Parisians she profiled in her 276-page guide.
Each chapter begins with a spectacular photo of a Paris landmark. Photo by Marion Ranoux
Each chapter begins with a magnificent four-color illustration by Marion Ranoux, a native Parisienne, and photographer, followed by a tour that begins with a metro-stop. Cafes, gardens, squares, museums, bookstores, churches, and patisseries and other points of interest you’ll want to visit are featured in her lists of “Nearbys.”
The Streets of Paris is one of five travel books Cahill has published. You can find more information about “Hidden Gardens of Paris,” “The Smiles of Rome,” “Desiring Italy,” “For the Love of Ireland,” and “A Literary Guide to Ireland” (with Thomas Cahill) at http://www.susancahill.net/books-list.
Freelance food and wine writer and Author Demet Güzey, Ph.D., has climbed some rather high mountains in her lifetime.
“Food on Foot” is a captivating look at famous expeditions and unknown explorers who have demonstrated their ability or lack thereof to carry or forage food.
Guzey is a consummate hiker and food enthusiast with many published articles to her credit and Food on Foot (April 8, 2017; ISBN: 978-1-4422-5506-7) is the next installment in the “Food on the Go” series.
History on the Go
She introduces readers to the history of the human expedition, from the Incan pilgrimages at Machu Picchu to what we’ve come to know today as street vendors and food trucks. She guides her readers through the Arctic, across barren deserts, and over mountains to give firsthand accounts through “the lens of food.” In addition to her thought-provoking writing, you’ll also find photographs, expert opinions, and recipes.
Humanity is limited by the food we can find along the way and her book is dedicated to examining the ways we have approached the problem. Her book is also an invaluable educational guide with an extensive bibliography that can be used for follow-up learning. Pages and pages of sources illustrate Guzey’s thirst for knowledge and her commitment to providing accurate and compelling information.
