On the Road Again: Disney Travel Kit for Kids!

The Alcazar, Cordoba, Spain, June 1974

Some of my fondest memories are of traveling with my family when I was a child. I spent my early years living in Madrid, Spain, and we took many trips in the car, on trains, and even on military planes, exploring the Spanish countryside as well as neighboring European countries. My mom was always super prepared with snacks and activities that would occupy us for hours.

Lunch in the Spanish countryside, 1973. My dad took this photo (self-timer!) and developed it in a makeshift darkroom in our home.

I found this awesome travel kit via RockandRollMama.com, perfect for traveling with the kids this summer. The Disney Travel Kit includes a travel pillow (kid-sized, of course), a copy of Dr. Seuss' There's A Map in My Lap, a travel game, notepad, pen, and a tote bag to keep it all in one place in the plane/train/automobile.

Way cool travel kit. Photo borrowed from RockAndRollMama.com.

Leave a comment on her site and enter for a chance to win one of these kits (a $30 value) for FREE! Also, be sure to check out DisneyFamily.com for tips on traveling with kids. They have ideas for games you can play in the car (other than Punch Buggy...ow!) and "healthy" road trip snacks. I would ixnay the roasted soy nuts or any product labeled "sugar-free," substituting nutritious (not roasted or salted) nuts such as almonds, brazil nuts, or walnuts for the soy nuts, as long as the child is old enough to chew them well. You can also bring nut butters or hummus for dipping carrot sticks, apple slices, or celery. Forgo the sweets for protein snacks, which are important for keeping blood sugar stable and avoiding sugar-crash meltdowns. Artificial sweeteners for kids are not a good thing, either, as they have never been tested on children. Actually, they aren't so good for adults, either (Splenda has been found to alter the efficacy of certain medications and also reduce good intestinal bacteria).

I've compiled some of my favorite products that are perfect for traveling and created a virtual dispensary on the Holistica Healthcare website. Check out my travel-friendly picks at the secure site for H2: On the Road, Again. Contact me for the access code at holisticahealth [at] gmail.com. Additional custom dispensaries for each of the Holistica Healthcare packages are in the works!

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• Hitting the road? Keep the kids happy! Disney travel kit giveaway (rockandrollmama.com)
• The train reigns in Spain (guardian.co.uk)

Rock 'n' Wellness: Music in the News

Music makes the heart beat faster (or slower). Medical applications of music, from hospital to rehab. From MedlinePlus.

Your favorite songs can motivate you to workout and even fight fatigue. This article from the New York Times explains how to help pick out music for your workout playlist. For the more tech minded athlete, here are more ideas to use music to boost your workout.

As a peer educator in my pre-med days, we used humor and games to teach first year students about issues such as safer sex and substance use. Music Inspires Health promotes education through music and was founded to teach young adults about health topics including smoking prevention, HIV/sexually transmitted infections, nutrition and drug abuse.

First Friday: July 3rd Open House

Image by Joep de Graaff via Flickr

Been busy planning the next First Friday Holistica Healthcare Open House. Dr. Anya Chang and I will be providing mini-sessions of massage and foot reflexology (respectively). I will be setting up a schedule for folks to sign up in advance, so stay tuned!

What a perfectly relaxing way to wash away stress from the week and start the July 4th holiday weekend!

Full length appointments can be scheduled with Dr. Chang or myself at holisticahealth.clickbook.net.

Holistica Teabag Tote!

My friend, Lisa, and I met for lunch today. She happens to be a stylin' owner of a Holistica Pill Pocket Protector, made by the crafty Cari Carter at Motokitty. I was brainstorming, thinking of new ways to use the P.P.P. when Lisa took hers from her purse and, lo and behold...she uses it as a Teabag Tote! The small square size is perfect for carrying your favorite teabags around (her fav is Tazo Wild Sweet Orange).

Holistica Pill Pocket Protectors Teabag Totes are available exclusively at Holistica Healthcare.

Surfin' the 'net: Calendar Girls

Image by Zawezome via Flickr

This goes out to all the ladies out there...

I don't know what I was Googling, but I came across these two entries from Self Magazine. Fun, frivalous, but good advice, nonetheless.

Sex Calendar: Get inspired to get busy! Sleep better, lose weight, fight infections and wrinkles! How? Get frisky!

Self Beauty Calendar 31 Days to a More Gorgeous You. Really simple beauty tips for the woman on the go, from eyebrow tweezing to "Fight a midday work slump by sniffing a sachet..."