AA (Airport Aerobics)

When I travel, I have a VERY hard time because it requires a lot of sitting. Sitting in the car to get to the airport, sitting in the chairs waiting to board and sitting in the plane waiting to arrive. And that can be hours. So, one thing I really like to do is walk around while I am waiting to board the airplane. Now I am not a stroller, I like to move. People do look at me as I am pumping my arms walking briskly up and down the airport halls! It really makes me feel better and every little activity helps to keep my spirits up. When you are on the plane, it is harder to move around. I carry my ipod and listen to some high energy music and dance in my seat. Yes, I am sure I look silly, but it is definitely fun! Unfortunately, I like to sing too. I tap my toe, I rock side to side and yep, I even squeeze the glutes. The singing part works my face muscles! Quietly of course. I haven't tried to do squats yet but that is a great option. I think I look silly enough singing and dancing in my seat, but hey, movin' and grovin' keeps us healthy and strong.

I Want to Travel Like a Belle

So many of you have stopped me and said, "I want to travel like the belles," or, "It must be nice to be able to jetset away for the week - wish I could!" To those of you who know me personally the comments have been more like, "How can YOU afford to take trips to Vegas and Sundance?" Believe me, if I were you I would be making the same comments!

I am here to tell you that traveling like the belles is a possibility for anyone! We are a group of five women that are mothers (17 kids between us) who live on budgets just like everyone else. The difference is that we have made our "belle trips" a priority in our lives! The key to "belle travel" is planning, preparing and prioritizing.

As with any activity planning is key! When we started getting together and realizing that we NEED time with our friends and that we weren't interested in another book club or mommy play group we set out a plan on how to make this work. Key to our plan was being realistic about when we could travel, where we could go and how we were going to pay for the trips! We have found that after Christmas -- January/February has been a great time of the year for us to plan trips. Rates are low after the holiday boom, kids activities are at a minimum and for the most part our husband's jobs seem calmer this time of year. We are open to other times of the year but for the past couple of years looking at our calendars this has worked for us! Next on our planning is where we can go - our motto is be open to anything! When we are together we "dream" together of places to go and they all go on to a list. Then when we see a great deal available or a great event taking place in one of our "dream" spots we put the gears in motion. This year for example was Sundance -- dream trip for me and Angela -- perfect time of the year (January) -- available condo (thanks to Shannon's RCI points) and the trip was born!!!

Preparing started in August, so you can see that we had lots of time to find great airfare, eating establishments, register for tickets, and look for great activities with discounts. We also start saving for the trip as soon as we decide on where to go so that we aren't robbing our family budgets and also so we can pay for as much as possible before we arrive. A tip that many of the belles use is to save monthly -- set aside $50 into a savings account -- most often it isn't missed but there to spend when you need it. We find that budgeting is a key part of our preparation. It gives everyone a realistic view of the trip. We are very mindful of making sure that we aren't over the top with expenses and try and find deals in every possible way. We also prepare our families -- find sitters, plan meals, move appointments so that our travel isn't a burden on our husbands and children.

Once we enter the planning stage the prioritizing becomes very important! We want to include everyone's wants and desires in our trip so that no one is left wishing they hadn't come with us. Communication is key here -- speak now or forever hold your peace!!! We pull all the desires of the trip together and look and see what we can realistically afford to do. We dream big so when we score a great deal on ski lessons for example we add it to the trip. When we find a great dinner spot liked Snowed Inn we book it and find the coupons that make it more affordable. Knowing that shopping is a passion not a hobby for most of us we search for the best local boutiques and make finding them a must! We also decide what is the primary reason for the trip -- in the case of Park City it was to see movies so we bought as many tickets as possible to movies before we went and were able to see 17 movies in one week!

Gathering information about where we are going is key to the preparation, planning and prioritizing stages! We search all over the internet, join facebook pages, send for travel brochures, and ask, ask and ask questions of anyone we can find that has been before us!

Jetsetting with the belles is a pleasure but it is also necessary. We find that spending time together as friends rejuvenates us and revives our relationships with each other and our families. We don't take these trips lightly -- we plan, we prepare and we prioritize. Keep these steps in mind and "belle" trips will be in your future!

The Importance of Women Friends

Sometimes in our society, women are portrayed as back-stabbing, jealous, gossipy busy queens, with out real friends. I can honestly say I am grateful for this friendship the belles have together. It is true, that we only had one common denominator when we started this wonderful adventure, Shannon. But as our wise leader noted, we came together for a purpose. That purpose binds us 5 different, opinionated, loving women and shows all women it can be done. As Leslie posted earlier it is about compromises. We are there for each other, to build each other up and to learn how to be a better friend. I want my daughters to see how wonderful and meaningful it is to have true women friends! To see the comradeship, the laughter, the silliness, the work it takes to get along. There are times when only another women knows what you are going through. That connection that is there from being a wife, a mom, a sister, a daughter, a friend , a women. I give a loud HALLELUJAH for all the true friendship that have survived through time and distance. It is hard. I know I have lost some along the way, but I have wonderful memories and I have a hope that there will be a reconnection one day. I also have those who have been with me for years and will always be there. I have been blessed in my life with all different women friends. I meet new ones everyday. I learn from every single one. I say to all women out there," WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER" and that would be surviving true friendship. I will have these belles with me forever!

RE......think.

So I thought that I would blog a little bit about the "theme" of Sundance this year... REBEL. It is something, that I am sure many of you find, not a bit surprising, that I am an expert in!! Well, I have to say, I am glad to see Sundance heading back into the original direction it was in when I first started attending the festival, almost 10 years ago. Back in the day, and even before.... Sundance was a festival committed to bringing new artist, directors, writer, actors together, exposing the broader public to a grittier, somehow more "real", raw, gorilia style of film making. It was an artistic endevour for all "small fish in a VERY big pond" filmmakers to have their film even considered for the festival, even greater to get in! I have seen some genius films in the past, made for very little money ($25,000 or so) and being SO happy for the director when he / she stands up in the crowd to accept the accolades of the cheering film aficionados and shyly answer intriguing questions at the Q&A..... But then, something changed, around 2004 or '05.... films started appearing on the roster that were already "picked-up" by MAJOR labels.... no more of the "poor filmmaker, 'I put it all on my credit card'", kind of stories. Instead, they were all "tapped" by the institute (Sundance Institute). They all "knew the right people".....

So, why go to an "independent" film festival, if it's "corporate"?? I think that must be the question many people began to ask not only themselves, but Sundance, as well..... When you have to be bothered by hoping traffic is not cut off because Brittany Spears is coming down the sidewalk with an entourage, you know it's gotten WAY TOO TRENDY. Trendy is NOT independent!

This year, though, was a breath of fresh air. Maybe it was because of the recession, and only people who really WANTED to watch movies came. Or maybe it was the selection of very indie feeling, gritty films about rebellion, rock & roll and freedom movements that kept the weaker away..... THANK GOODNESS! This year, the theme was "rebel" but it was also "re _____" in general.... you know, rethink, renew, redux, reveal...etc... you get the picture. Basically, rethink what you know, what you do, who you see and make it all better, more original, more.... REal.

Shannon

Gazing at the Stars...and I don't mean the ones in the sky!

Well after spending the last week, okay maybe two, in a state of SWD...or Sundance Withdrawal Depression...I am now ready to write (type) my little fingers off about the Belles wonderful trip. What an experience...one that I have wanted to have for SO long...thank you Shannon for asking me every year and for allowing it to happen this time!
When the Belles talked about seeing films...I mean, thats why you go to Sundance...never in my wildest dreams did I envision seeing as many as we did. I figured we would probably see one a day...ummmm....that would be a negative! We saw movies from sun up to sun down...factor in also the times we waited in line to get tickets to those movies we didn't already have tickets to and you can say our days and nights revolved around seeing amazing films. Not to mention the question and answer sessions after each movie. I had heard about these but I was blown away when the actual actors would come out and talk to the audience.
I am a pop culture junkie...and I love celebrity news. I am a faithful and loyal subscriber to US Weekly and watch the "news" every evening on the E channel. But nothing truly prepared me for actually seeing with my own two eyes actual movie stars walking beside me, in stores, in restaurants and in the various theaters where we viewed the films. Of course Shannon informed me I had to act cool and not take pictures or gawk at them...and I did...but the wonderful memories I have of seeing them, being next to them on a shuttle bus or get this...having them sit behind me in the theater...and YES...this happened... are all memories I will cherish!
Orlando Bloom was probably one of the biggest stars we saw....others were Mark Ruffalo, Juliette Lewis, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Josh Radnor, Parker Posey, Jason Ritter...just to name a few. We also saw the actors and directors from many of the foreign films and documentaries we saw and a few times you could even see a celebrity while you were waiting to get in the theater. James Franco anyone?? And for all you reality television show viewers out there....I saw Constantine from American Idol fame and in the fur boutique I was standing next to Gretchen from the Real Housewives of Orange County. Jon Gosselin was also there that week but much to my dismay I didn't get to run into him~rats!!!
Yes, I did indeed have stars in my eyes...I will never forget being that close to some of Hollywood's finest. For this Southern Belle it was a dream come true!

Sundance shopping: Main Street in Park City offers a bounty of stylish boutiques - Salt Lake Tribune

Sundance shopping: Main Street in Park City offers a bounty of stylish boutiques - Salt Lake Tribune

So if you read my post below about the great deals I researched online before I went you will see that I should be a professional shopper. Check out the article link above and look how their picks match mine!!!

Keep the Belles Hopping

Traveling with friends can either strengthen the friendship or break it. As belles we find it important to remember to take precautions to make traveling together enjoyable and fun! When traveling with friends make sure to keep these things in mind: flexibility, patience and selflessness and compromise.

Flexibility is key when traveling. We are five different belles with five different personalities and interests. Without flexibility our belle hopping escapades would quickly come to an end. I think it is important to meet, email, talk on the phone before the trip and state each person's expectations before leaving. It is best to put this in writing so that it can be referred to during the planning of activities before arrival. Often you may want to try something new, like skiing on our Sundance trip and everyone agrees to this activity, but there might also be an activity that you just aren't interested in that you might want to sit out such as a movie that you just aren't interested in seeing. Remember that when you are on a trip with friends there will be activities that you should all do together so you should be flexible but at the same time you should express what you want out of the trip and have that heard and included in the plans. For the Sundance trip we planned many together activities like the Snowed Inn dinner, shopping, movie watching and skiing. This was the result of listening and planning based on everyones' wants! By being flexible we were all able to enjoy activities that we wanted.

Patience is a virtue! How true that statement is -- especially with the belles! Remember that not everyone is like you and that usually is a good thing because it takes all kinds to make the world go round right??? So, when you are traveling with that friend that has the need to take a picture of EVERYTHING be patient! When you are all ready to go and one friend needs to apply that last layer of hairspray for the perfect touch -- be patient!! When you are a light sleeper and go to bed early and your friends need to pass by you for a glass of water, shower, etc -- be patient!!! Try to keep in mind that most likely if you are being patient with your friends they are most likely being patient with your need to look up everything and be two hours early just in case :)

Selflessness and compromise make traveling with the belles a success! I can honestly say that we wouldn't work as a group if any one of us had to have our way all the time. It is all about compromise and giving of self. Sometimes you want to do it your way -- we are all like that! There are those that naturally seem to insert their thoughts and tend to lead the group in one direction but remember to be honest about your feelings. Remember to give and take with your friends. Treat everyone as you would want to be treated. The golden rule is imperative!

So, traveling with friends is about building relationships, sharing in fun times and trying something new! It is important to check your egos at the door of the plane. Remember that you are with your friends because you love them and want to spend time with them. Most of all, remember that the trip is about strengthening the relationships with others and not tearing them apart. Be like the belles and try traveling with friends keeping these ideas in mind.