Flight Memory is free to use. Once you create an account, you can input all of your future or past flight information. How much you input is up to you, so you can detail all the information you have (Continental Flight 1586, Leaving IAH at 7:00 PM, Arriving MCO at 10:15PM, Jan. 6, 2012, on a Boeing 757, sitting in First Class with a window seat for a business trip) or you can just put in what you can remember (I flew from Orlando to Houston on January 2nd) and Flight Memory will take care of the rest.

It can be a bit laborious to put in all of your previous flights, especially for the well-traveled, but if you are a numbers nut then the payoff is worth it. Not only can you keep track of your longest and shortest flights (in terms of distance and duration), but you can find out how your travel mileage stacks up to the circumference of the Earth or the distance to the Moon. It can also tell you, if you don’t already know, your most frequent airports and routes taken. Automatic tweets can be sent with your flight info if you so desire.

But the coolest feature of this site is the poster you can have made of your travels. You can spring for a personalized world map documenting all of your trips and statistics. Show off all of the cities and countries you’ve conquered!

Flight Memory is free to sign up and is a great way to put all of your travels in perspective.

For even more features, FlightMemory’s premium membership is $39 per year with other plans available. This gives you tons more stats, zoomable maps of the world, tracking of your full journeys (car rentals, for example) to compare costs amongst trips, access to the mobile version of FlightMemory for your phone, private mail to chat with other flyers, the ability to create pdf files for printing or archiving, plus more features.

Since the year has just begun, it’s a good time to start recording your flights for 2012.

The big story from the Consumer Electronics Show this year may be Microsoft, as much for what they did as what they won’t be doing. At his keynote speech, CEO Steve Balmer talked about applying their Metro interface to the new Windows 8 platform due out later this year. It will be not only for PC’s but also tablets and phones. Hands-on experience at the show says this will be a nice improvement over Windows 7. Nokia announced their new Lumia 900 phone will use Win 8. However, the jury is out on whether the platform can make serious inroads against Apple and Google-based phones.

Most disappointing was Balmer’s announcement that Microsoft will not have a booth at future CES events. He cited the same reasons as other majors in the consumer electronics arena: Too much pressure to work their production calendar around this event because everyone expects major announcements at CES. Their presence will be missed.

Elsewhere, Samsung is offering a new smartphone with a huge 5.3″ screen, sized between a standard phone and a 7″ tablet. It comes with a stylus, which is handy if you are a graphics artist or designer or just someone who loves to write or draw on a phone. These handwritten notes can even be sent as text messages. So who would buy such a large phone? Some women may enjoy the larger size because it will still fit in a handbag easily. Those who mostly use their phones for games or video definitely will enjoy the larger, brighter images. Perhaps some seniors also will appreciate the easy reading from a larger screen. The phone will be coming to AT&T shortly.

Samsung also used CES to introduce their line of “ultrabooks”. The 13-14″ screen size may be the sweet spot for most travelers, and the 1 TB hard drive should be sufficient for nearly everyone. On the downside, the inclusion of such a large drive brings the weight to over 4 lbs. They’re beautifully designed, but not “ultra” light weight.

Other vendors were showing ultrabooks (a term coined by Intel) which are far more practical for travelers. Most have screen sizes around 13″ but use the lighter (and smaller capacity) SSD instead of the traditional hard drives. Also, they eliminate the DVD drive to bring the weight down to a very appealing 3 lbs or less. Look for them to arrive later this year loaded with Windows newest operating system. Expect prices generally higher than current laptops.

Next week: More from CES 2012 featuring handy travel products.

To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com. Watch for my new book, Business Travel Success – How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel with Confidence, being published by Morgan James in early 2012.

Airline year-to-date status mileage amounts get reset to zero.

The number of hotel nights stayed gets reset to zero.

The number of rental car occurrences gets zapped.

We have to start all over again.

It’s pretty much a feeling of getting knocked down a mountain, looking up at the peak from the bottom and knowing you have to climb up all over again.

Not the type of new beginning that gets us excited – more like depressed instead.

For many of us, the previous year needed an extra month or two. You may have been oh so close to reaching a certain status level with an airline or hotel and now you’re sent back to Start.

This reminds me of the game of Parcheesi, when your token is almost home and you see the possibility of winning … when with a quick shake of the dice by your opponent, they land on your token and it gets sent back to the beginning to start the round-the-board trek again. Or how about Monopoly, when you’re just about ready to pass Go and collect $200 and instead get sent to jail? Okay, so resetting our yearly accruals isn’t that bad! But it does sort of feel like landing on Luxury Tax instead of Boardwalk or Park Place.

For others travelers, it was a squeaker in 2011 to reach status and you may have had to do a mileage or mattress run to reach your desired airline or hotel goal. I was in this category. I was 4,000 miles short of reaching 1K status on United/Continental. The day after Christmas, while many of you were celebrating Boxing Day, I was on a plane to LA for a same-day round trip mileage run to wrap up the year at their 1K level.

For the rest of you, it was either a matter of smooth sailing to your desired status level or you were so far away that it just didn’t matter. You might even be enjoying the fresh start of the yearly accruals.

Regardless of where you finished the year, we’re all at the same spot now …. Back to zero and starting over again (unless you have rollover mileage on Delta or rollover nights on Marriott or any other travel companies offering rollover). You may be wondering how this year will be for award accrual. Will you be traveling more? Traveling less? Switching travel providers?

While you excitedly move forward in your life’s new beginnings for 2012, take a gander over at the many travel blogs over at BoardingArea.com and see what deals and promotions they are talking about. You may just find one or two that you want to set your sights on. And you’ll start to get excited about the New Year’s travel award possibilities.

Wishing you a very happy, healthy and prosperous travel New Year!

To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com. Watch for my new book, Business Travel Success – How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel with Confidence, being published by Morgan James in early 2012.

Talking on a cell phone while driving is dangerous. But a mid-transit chat pales in comparison to the distraction of driving with one (or two!) children wailing in the backseat. Nothing increases adrenaline and quick recall of four-letter words quite like crying kids.

As parents, we can mentally cope with crying kids to and from the grocery store. But long-distance trips need more finesse. Careful preparation and a few necessities can prevent a few glitches and keep your travel going smoothly. As you prepare for holiday travels, make the most of your trip with these handy gadgets.

1. Snack Container
A signature trademark of a kid-friendly car is a Hansel and Gretel-worthy crumb collection on every surface. If you can overlook this completely annoying parenthood perk, I applaud you; otherwise invest in some creative cups. Munchkin offers an ingenious design with handles and no spill rubber top–two for under $7. Sporting a similar design but with an attachable rope (and additional solid top) is the Spill-Proof Snack Buddy Cup from One Step Ahead.

2. Window Shade
Getting on the road is tough enough; stopping to shade a sunset shouldn’t be on your list of priorities. Grab a light-cutting window shade to curb the brightness. Measure your windows and buy the widest shade possible, making sure you have enough visibility in your back and rear passenger windows. Check out your options at Great Baby Products for window shade reviews.

3. Lacing Toys
Kids above age 3 (who don’t suffer from motion sickness) will work on lacing boards for hours. Growing Tree Toys has a fantastic range of simple lacing activities, like necklaces and ABCs, to complex connect-a-dot boards. Bring a bucket to set in your child’s lap so that she can contain the blocks without dropping them on the floor.

4. Finger Puppets
For the dramatic types in your crew, a set of finger puppets can be a space-saving lifesaver. My favorite are high-quality puppets that tell a familiar story, like Thumbelina or the Frog Prince from puppet master Folkmanis, but folks on a budget can definitely afford IKEA’s popular set of circus characters or animals for just $4.99.

5. Favorite Music
Not your favorite music, mind you. Junior may not appreciate the vocal stylings of Rihanna for hours on end (and, honestly, you shouldn’t either). Enjoy some traditional Disney favorites and throw in some award-winning movement songs from Hap Palmer and Joe Scruggs to keep the mood kid-friendly. Bring on talk radio when it’s time for a snooze.

6. Bubbles
So what if you have to clean up the residue later! Bubbles are total fun for all ages, especially when the road seems never-ending. Unless you have an older child, mom or dad needs to commandeer the liquid and blow them toward the back. The best bubbles on the market, hands down, come from Gymboree. These bubbles float forever and the solution never dries out.

7. Barf Bag
Close to 30% of people are susceptible to motion sickness, and kids are no exception. The barfies can strike at any time–there’s no guarantee that your child will or won’t get sick on a road trip. Prepare for the worst by investing in a few leak-proof barf bags with fun pictures printed on the outside and show your child how to “cough” into it if his tummy starts to hurt. And bring an extra couple of towels just in case.

8. Neck Pillow
This is a tricky one. Your younger child may or may not like the feeling of something so close to her neck. Try it on short stroller trips ahead of time to practice. If your kiddo will wear it, she’ll be far more comfortable during naps. Pillow companions like the Dora neck pillow attach to the straps of your car seat or stroller, making it a bit more accessible.

9. Small Baking Sheets
This ingenious idea from Family Fun keeps the ever-present I-dropped-it-on-the-floor wail at bay. Use a conventional (but smaller) lipped baking sheet as a drawing, magnetic and keep-it-all-in-one place surface. Glue one or two layers of foam shelf paper on the bottom to make it less likely to fall and affix white contact paper to the top for the drawing surface. Turn it into multiple activities by attaching magnets to buttons for checkers or bingo games. Older travelers might prefer a more sophisticated travel kit like this one from Martha Stewart.

10. iPad
No, I’m not a fan of hours of screen time for little eyes, but during a road trip this godsend is a total catchall. From apps for all ages to music and movies, the iPad is the perfect device for tiny travelers. Purchasing gift cards at a discount from sites like GiftCardGranny can help you pay for the pricey device at such retailers as Target and Walmart, who are currently offering deals on iPad 2 bundles. Then, let your kiddos learn letters with Starfall or everything nursery-rhyme cooky from Duck Duck Moose. When all else fails, strap it to the seat and watch a movie.

Ashley Grimaldo comes from a long line of penny pinchers and enjoys blogging on money-saving tips and advice for frugal-minded parents. She lives with her husband and three children in Bryan, Texas. Ashley has been featured among such media outlets as Redbook, The Chicago Tribune, Time.com, and CBS News-Houston.

For info on any of these great Top 10 Kid Gadgets for Holiday Road trip, contact Ashley@kinoliinc.com

To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com. Watch for my new book, Business Travel Success – How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel with Confidence, being published by Morgan James in early 2012.

My hotel room has a 3-inch gap in the curtain closure and the room overlooks a courtyard. So it’s easy to see into rooms, especially at night when the lights are on. I know … since I took a glance out the window to see how many other rooms could be peeped into.

For times like this when you want closure to the issue, a few things will work and all depends on what may be in your suitcase:

1. Use duct tape to tape the curtain panels closed. A small amount of duct tape wrapped around a pencil and tossed into your bag before you travel is a good pre-emptive measure.
2. Use a chip clip to pull the curtains closed. Again, this needs forethought to have a multi-purpose clip in your bag … the type of clips typically sold to keep bags of chips or snacks closed.
3. Use a slacks hanger from the closet. Assuming the hotel hangers are not permanently affixed to the closet rod (said hotels are usually off my list once I find this!), a slacks hanger does the trick!

Option 3 worked perfectly for me in my current hotel room. I’m now comfortable in my room sitting at the desk knowing the courtyard peepers will have to find another place to peep.

To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com. Watch for my new book, Business Travel Success – How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel with Confidence, being published by Morgan James in early 2012.

Smart women on the rise often set their sights high … and so they should! We can see much further from the top and the view is so exciting. And I’m not talking about the board room!

No, some of the highest places in the world are open to tourists! In the United States if you want to go up, New York City offers you the most options with more than 216 skyscrapers over 497 ft. (150 m) tall. Since September 11, 2001, the Empire State Building is once again the tallest building. Originally completed in 1931 at 1,250 ft., it usurped the Chrysler Building completed the year before at 1,046 ft.

Currently the Willis Tower in Chicago (formerly the Sears Tower) is the tallest in the US at 1, 451 ft. The observation deck gives you a spectacular view of Chicago and the Lake Michigan shoreline. When I lived in Chicago, I worked on the 81^st floor of the Sears Tower (it’ll forever be the Sears Tower to me) and loved looking down at the great skyline of Chicago.

But the new One World Trade Center will once again top the Empire State Building and the Willis Tower when it is completed in 2013. Called the “Freedom Tower,” it’s on the site of Ground Zero and will soar 1,776 ft., once again punching into the clouds and defining the Manhattan skyline with a patriotic spirit: “You might knock me down but I can pull myself up by my new high heeled leather boot straps!”

This rivalry of who’s going higher seems never ending. In Houston the JP Morgan Chase Tower is the tallest building in Texas (where their motto is “Everything’s bigger in Texas.”). At 1,002 ft. completed in 1982, it rises 75 stories to the 12^th largest in the US. Its observation deck is open to the public during the working hours of 8:00 a.m. — 5:00 p.m. Monday–Friday, free of charge. In 1989 Los Angles U.S. Bank Tower (formerly the Library Tower) rose to 1,018 ft. but only 73 stories.

If you want to go even higher, several of the tallest buildings in the world are in China. So when you are in Shenzhen you’ll want to see the Kingkey 100, or the Nanjing Greenland Financial Centre in Nanjing, or the World Financial Centre in Shanghai. These scrape the skies at heights at or above the height of the Willis Tower in Chicago. From 2004 until 2010, the Taipei 101 was the highest you could go without boarding a plane. It’s 1,670 ft. tall.

Today going up, up, and away, means going to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. In 2010, the Burj Khalifa became the tallest building in the world: two thousand, seven hundred and seventeen feet high. The Observation Deck is on the 124^th floor! Here are my photos of Burj Khalifa as I looked up from the ground and down from the top. Now that’s really going on an ear-popping ride!

If you want to go higher than that, I hear you can actually pay to go on a rocket into outer-space at the Spaceport America in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Now wouldn’t that be some great air miles? Keep your sights high and share your photos from skydecks around the world at the Smart Women Travelers Facebook Page.

To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com. Watch for my new book, Business Travel Success – How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel with Confidence, being published by Morgan James in early 2012.

To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com. Watch for my new book, Business Travel Success – How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel with Confidence, being published by Morgan James in early 2012.