For many people it can be tough to travel because they have to leave their furry friends behind. However, there are many options available to make your traveling worry- and guilt-free, even having to leave your cat behind.

Utilize this checklist to make sure your cat is left in the proper conditions and will be happy and healthy for your return:

1) Does your cat need any medication? If so, assign a sitter to come medicate your cat as needed, or you can find a friend that will take your cat into their home for closer supervision.

2) Does your cat like to claw/tear at furniture and the like? You may want to look into a kennel for you cat to make sure you are not coming home to a mess.

3) Can your cat handle a large bowl of food without spilling it over or over-eating? If so, you can leave your cat for a longer period of time without worrying about your kitty going hungry. You can also have a friend check in from time to time to make sure your cat’s food does not run empty.

4) Is your cat needy? Arrange for a friend or familiar who is ok with taking your cat in for the duration of your trip. Or you can check with the local kennel to see if that will be a good option for your cat.

5) If you are deciding to leave your cat at your house, do a run through the house to make sure that you eliminate anything that would be dangerous or harmful to your cat if they found or got a hold of it. Also check to make sure all of your windows and doors are closed and locked so your cat will not run off. Also remove glass objects like vases that can be knocked over.

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When you’re traveling it’s easy to indulge yourself when it comes to diet; isn’t that what vacation is for? Yes and no. While it’s nice to experience the food and culture of a new place, it’s still very important to keep a healthy diet while you’re there. Here are a few quick and easy tips that may help you keep off unwanted and unforeseen traveling weight:

Avoid Airplane Meals – Have the foresight to pack a meal for yourself or your family to have on the plane, and avoid to sodas and aiport/airplane food, which can often be less than nutritious. Just don’t pack anything that will get crushed or smashed in your carry on!

Drink A Lot Of Water – You would think this goes without saying, but drinking water is a huge benefit when you are traveling. Try to avoid sodas and alcoholic beverages on the plane since they can increase the effects of jet lag. And stock your hotel room with water, preferably bottled; you can never have too much clean water while traveling.

Avoid Fast Food – This may seem like a no-brainer, but imagine you are road-weary and super hungry, and there’s a fast food chain up ahead; you will probably be stopping there to eat. It may be cheap and convenient, and something familiar in a new place, but not only is it unhealthy, but it’s also keeping your from a new experience, the food of the location you are at.

Eat Breakfast – When there are a million things to see and do, breakfast may seem pretty low on the list of things to do; you can always eat later right? However, not only does breakfast get you energized an ready to face the start of what is surely going to be a active day, it also boosts your metabolism, especially if you eat within an hour of waking. If your hotel offers complimentary breakfast, wake up early and take advantage of it.

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The Christian County Cattlemen’s Association Presents Lone Star Championship Rodeo Aug. 18-19 2013 will be held at the Western Kentucky State Fairgrounds in Hopkinsville, KY. Box seats available upon request, General admission – Adults in Advance $10, at the Gate $15, Children in advance $8, at the Gate $10. Contest Events include: Bareback Riding, Saddle Bronc Riding, Calf Roping, Cowgirl’s Breakaway Roping, Steer Wrestling, Team Roping, Cowgirl’s Barrel Racing, and Brahma Bull Riding. Special added attractions include: Best Dressed Cowboy and Cowgirl Contest for Kids 10 & Under, Gold Rush for Kids 10 & Under, Cowboy Kid Cutter and his Trick Horse Stormy, Authentic Chuckwagon Racing, Rodeo Clown and Barrelman Brian Hope.

Everyone knows the feeling of getting off of a long flight, and feeling like a wrung out washcloth. Air travel can really take it out of you, and in the modern day and age where flight is becoming more and more important to our business and personal life, you need to know the best ways to recuperate and recover so that you can get down to doing the things you flew in for in the first place.

One of the most important things that you need to do is to not ignore the effects that flight has on your body. Yes, you are busy, and yes, you may have a limited time at your destination, but if you want to be at 100% you need to listen to what your body is trying to tell you or it may take days to recover. A big part of this is to plan ahead, by scheduling meetings according to your home time zone so your internal clock doesn’t feel too off kilter. Also plan whether or not it would be a good idea to sleep or stay awake on your flight, depending on where you are going and how long the flight is.

Also, it’s important to remember to stay hydrated, and exercise on the plane by walking up and down the aisle, and stretch, in order to keep your blood flowing. As much as possible stay away from caffeine and alcohol on the plane, since they are both diuretics and make you have to go to the restroom more often.

Lastly, if you land and need to stay awake, obviously some coffee or tea will help you do the trick, but also in the morning after you land go for a walk or exercise in the room with the curtains open. This will wake you up faster and stimulate your body to help reset your natural clock to fit your location.

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Sometimes you just want to get away from it all, and one of the most luxurious ways to do so is to take a cruise to some place exotic that you’ve never been before, all while being pampered in the lap of luxury. Before you book your cruise though, there are a few things that a good to know for safety before you can fully relax and enjoy yourself.

There will always be a safety briefing, usually on the first day of the cruise, and as boring as you or your kids may find it, it does pay to pay attention. This briefing will include information on what to do in the case of an emergency, and will let you know how to get from your cabin to the emergency grouping area. This is very important information, don’t miss it; you don’t want to be the only one who doesn’t know where to go!

Try to use your private restroom as opposed to the public ones as much as possible. Also take hand sanitizer with you or antibacterial wipes. All of this will lessen your likelihood of catching any disease or illness. You are in a finite space with a large group of people and contagions can spread easily so take care.

Wear shoes that have good traction or grip, flip flops and the like won’t cut it. Even though for the most part cruise ships are very stable, you want to take extra precautions to prevent injury. Ladies, this means no heels – at all.

Most of the other warnings are common sense: Leave anything of high value at your house, make sure to stow your money out of sight and in a secure place, use some sort of buddy system and never travel alone on the ship, and of course, drink responsibly; many of these cruises are stocked with adult beverages, but keep in mind you are in the midst of strangers so don’t get too carried away at the bar, even if it is free.

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Aug. 16-17 2013: The Third Annual Kelly “Little Green Men” Days, Sponsored by the Kelly Community Organization  is the third Saturday in August every year! Join the thousands who will attend this event. All activities are geared to family entertainment. Stage entertainment throughout the day. The Kelly “Little Green Men” Days Festival 2013 will be much larger and will consist of various entertainment, carnival rides, children games, arts and crafts booths, and of course food vendor booths. For more information you can find us on Facebook at Kelly Little Green Men Days and visit our website at www.kellygreenmen.com, or you can call chairperson Joann Smithey at 270-881-8843 or Frank Brown at 270-885-1530.

It’s a common worry while traveling that your important and sensitive documents will be lost or stolen. The best way to avoid this is to have specific safe places to stow such documents, such as driver’s license, passport, money, and medical information. Here is a list of the best ways to travel with these things in a safe way.

A money belt can be a great investment for a regular traveler. It is a garment worn underneath the clothes with a pouch or several to house your money, but can also be great for passports and the like, as they stay on your person and are safe from pick-pockets. You can find money belts at most travel or department stores.

Another option is to get a travel wallet, and though it’s not really any different from a regular wallet, it is at least one specific location where you know your sensitive materials are, so there will be no chance of misplacing them. Also the travel wallet is slightly large than a normal one, so as to better hold things like passports.

Medical information can be a bit more tricky, since a lot of the documentation you use in the U.S. will not work as well in a country where English is not the primary language. Be sure to get documentation from your doctor explaining your condition, and keep this in a safe place like the money belt or travel wallet. Alternately you can stow these in a front-facing messenger bag; it’s important that the bag rest on the front of your person, that way it is harder for pickpockets to access.

You can also always make copies of your ID’s and documents and keep them in separate bags in the event that one of the bags is lost or stolen.

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