Travel Safety Tips

Feb23

Travel Safety Tips

 

 

Many women travel as part of their business. If you stay at a hotel here are a few suggestions on how to stay safe:

  1. Don’t let the front desk attendant publicize your room number. If he or she announces it out loud when giving you your key, ask for a different room.
  2. Start with the basics: always beware of your surroundings when approaching your room.
  3. Avoid staying on the first floor. Many safety experts recommend staying somewhere between the third and sixth floors — where rooms are high enough to be difficult to break into, but not so high that they’re out of the reach of most fire engine ladders.
  1. Keep      the door to your room locked at all times. If you are inside the room,      turn the deadbolt and fasten the security chain.
  2. Check      the locks on the windows (and balcony door, if applicable) as soon as you      arrive, and notify the front desk if any are not functioning. It’s a good      idea to check these locks again each time you return to the room, as      housekeeping may open them and forget to close them again.
  3. If      you travel often, consider buying a portable alarm system like a security      door stop for added protection. These movement-sensitive devices can      awaken you if a door lock should happen to fail. If you don’t have one,      place a chair under the door knob.
  4. When      you leave your hotel room, pull the door completely closed behind you.      Make sure the latch has engaged. Take a moment before you leave to try the      door and make sure it is closed and locked.
  5. Do      not open your door to strangers. Use the security viewport to see who is      outside your door. Do not trust someone claiming to be a hotel employee if      you are not expecting one. If you are unsure, call the front desk to      check. Leave the security chain engaged while opening the door for further      protection.
  6. When      you leave the room, leave the TV or radio on, or put your “Do Not      Disturb” sign on the door; both of these tricks will give potential      thieves the impression that you’re still there. (You can contact the front      desk to arrange a housekeeping visit even if the “Do Not      Disturb” sign is up.)
  7. The      hotel parking lot and hallways should be well lit. Report any outages to      the front desk and ask for a security escort if you feel unsafe.
  8. When      entering or leaving the hotel after dark, use the main entrance.

Remember, safety can be simple!

Aw, What a Cute Puppy!

Feb11

Aw What a Cute Puppy! Have you noticed how many advertisements have those cute little lab puppies in them? You know why that is right? They are one of the cutest puppies around! Like everyone in my family I love cats and dogs. Growing up as a child we always had animals… cats, dogs, hamsters, birds, you name it! Would I have helped someone who was looking for their missing puppy? Just like any other kid I wanted to help, but we were always told to stay away from strangers. And be especially careful of anyone claiming to have lost an animal or offering candy. Naturally like any other good parent I have instilled the same values in my children, nieces, nephews, etc… So now let me tell you a story about my daughter’s best friend in school. Like with any BFF she went everywhere with us, including family vacations. She would get to hear all of the life lessons learned by kids traveling in a car on vacation. We treated her like our own and watched her just the same. Returning from one of our summer road trips we happen to stop at one of the popular fast food restaurants for a break and French fries (the diet of preteen girls). Like all kids, they didn’t want to wait for the parents so they rushed outside to the car. Needless to say I was shocked when I walked outside to find “the friend” leaning into the car next to us saying “aw what a cute puppy! I couldn’t believe it! The crazy thing is that the male occupant of the car didn’t stop her. Now maybe it was all harmless but I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Thinking about it now something didn’t seem right. An older man with a puppy on his lap sitting outside a fast food restaurant by the playground? Maybe I am being too suspicious, but wouldn’t you think that the person in the car would have discouraged her or reminded her about talking to strangers? That probably happened 8-10 years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday. Recently my daughter (now older) found a lab puppy. It’s absolutely adorable! Grandma who is an animal lover doesn’t have a dog so she was the first choice of who to give it to. Now here’s a lucky animal that receives royal treatment! Of course we promised to pet sit when she goes on vacation. Well grandma already had a vacation planned so we began our week of puppy sitting forAw What a Cute Puppy! Have you noticed how many advertisements have those cute little lab puppies in them? You know why that is right? They are one of the cutest puppies around! Like everyone in my family I love cats and dogs. Growing up as a child we always had animals… cats, dogs, hamsters, birds, you name it! Would I have helped someone who was looking for their missing puppy? Just like any other kid I wanted to help, but we were always told to stay away from strangers. And be especially careful of anyone claiming to have lost an animal or offering candy. Naturally like any other good parent I have instilled the same values in my children, nieces, nephews, etc… So now let me tell you a story about my daughter’s best friend in school. Like with any BFF she went everywhere with us, including family vacations. She would get to hear all of the life lessons learned by kids traveling in a car on vacation. We treated her like our own and watched her just the same. Returning from one of our summer road trips we happen to stop at one of the popular fast food restaurants for a break and French fries (the diet of preteen girls). Like all kids, they didn’t want to wait for the parents so they rushed outside to the car. Needless to say I was shocked when I walked outside to find “the friend” leaning into the car next to us saying “aw what a cute puppy! I couldn’t believe it! The crazy thing is that the male occupant of the car didn’t stop her. Now maybe it was all harmless but I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Thinking about it now something didn’t seem right. An older man with a puppy on his lap sitting outside a fast food restaurant by the playground? Maybe I am being too suspicious, but wouldn’t you think that the person in the car would have discouraged her or reminded her about talking to strangers? That probably happened 8-10 years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday. Recently my daughter (now older) found a lab puppy. It’s absolutely adorable! Grandma who is an animal lover doesn’t have a dog so she was the first choice of who to give it to. Now here’s a lucky animal that receives royal treatment! Of course we promised to pet sit when she goes on vacation. Well grandma already had a vacation planned so we began our week of puppy sitting for Snickers as promised and I found myself on the other side of “aw, what a cute puppy”! We took Snickers with us everywhere that she was allowed. I was completely amazed how many complete strangers walked up to us to play with her. We took her to a bonfire the first night and a woman actually swooped her up off the ground to snuggle with her. Remember, we teach women and girls how to escape from a potential attack so I was starting to feel funny when kids and young girls were walking up to play with Snickers. Obviously not because I didn’t want them to play with her, but because the parents weren’t around! I am a good person and I live in a relatively safe community but the parents had no way to know that. Over the weekend we were at an outside café and a little girl came up to pet Snickers. Her parents were inside. I told she needed to be with her parents and then she could play with the puppy. She could have been kidnapped before they knew what happened. It’s sad that as much as the world has changed, the oldest gimmicks are still around. Please make sure your children aren’t the victim of a missing puppy scenario. Remind your children that if an adult is asking for help they should go tell their parents, teachers, or another adult. Tracy Vega- Simple Self Defense for Women Snickers as promised and I found myself on the other side of “aw, what a cute puppy”! We took Snickers with us everywhere that she was allowed. I was completely amazed how many complete strangers walked up to us to play with her. We took her to a bonfire the first night and a woman actually swooped her up off the ground to snuggle with her. Remember, we teach women and girls how to escape from a potential attack so I was starting to feel funny when kids and young girls were walking up to play with Snickers. Obviously not because I didn’t want them to play with her, but because the parents weren’t around! I am a good person and I live in a relatively safe community but the parents had no way to know that. Over the weekend we were at an outside café and a little girl came up to pet Snickers. Her parents were inside. I told she needed to be with her parents and then she could play with the puppy. She could have been kidnapped before they knew what happened. It’s sad that as much as the world has changed, the oldest gimmicks are still around. Please make sure your children aren’t the victim of a missing puppy scenario. Remind your children that if an adult is asking for help they should go tell their parents, teachers, or another adult. Tracy Vega- Simple Self Defense for Women

Why NOT a Whistle

Jan21

Why NOT a whistle?  We have women ask us all the time about using a whistle to draw attention or when they are in danger. We would prefer that you use pepper spray (which we have available on our website) and let me explain why.

How many times a day do you hear a car alarm go off? After a while you don’t pay any attention to it. I actually watched a couple looking for their car in a parking lot and started clicking the key fob to set up the alarm so they could find it. Not really what they were intended for.

In our workshops I always talk about women carrying whistles. If you are walking on a beach, by a pool, a soccer field, football field etc.. there are whistles going off like crazy. If someone was blowing one because they were in danger, I dont’ think it would get the attention it deserves. I was reminded of that tonight. My husband and I were at a community bonfire, there were kids running everywhere, dogs, cars and whistles! If someone was blowing a whistle because they were in danger, it would take a long time for people to make the connection. It was a very common sound for the evening.

Pepper spray allows you to aim directly at your target allowing you the time you need to escape. If you pull out a whistle someone may not back away, but most anyone that see’s pepper spray will back away.

Remember, Don’t talk to Strangers!

Jan17

I think we have heard that sentence our whole lives! DON’T TALK TO STRANGERS!!  As kids we figure this out pretty quickly and as parents we feel good that they have listened. As we grow a little older we use some common sense. We know who is a stranger, and who we really just don’t want to talk to. But what happens when we get older or our parents get older?? Now it’s our time to watch them and tell them who to talk to, who to give money to, who they should open the door to.

My husband and I have been teaching women to escape for some time now and we are very fortunate to have our mothers around to watch our success and even participate in our workshops. They hear us talk about all of the scenarios and you would think they might have picked up a few tips right? Ok, so I have to share my funny “mom” story.

We were heading out to a restaurant for a family celebration. Most of us live pretty close and mom still drives so she said she would meet us there. When we were younger she never got anywhere early and now that we are older, she’s never late! So as we are pulling into the restaurant I said to my husband, “who is that mom is sitting with”? We had no idea. As we are walking up mom gets up to greet us and the two (much younger) men say goodbye to her using her first name. I had to ask… so who are your friends? To which she replies, I just met them but they are very nice. They are from around the same area we were from back north. She continues on with the whole story and I realize how much information she has given to TOTAL STRANGERS!! She was convinced they were waiting for a friend to eat. Well, they were still sitting outside the restaurant when we were finished about 90 minutes later.

I had to laugh as I said to my mother “so do you know anyone that teaches women about personal safety”?

So when we are teaching people close to us about talking to strangers, please be sure to include the elders in your life as well! I think most of us want to believe that all people are good and nobody will hurt or take advantage of us.

New Years Resolution

Jan9

So is everyone keeping up with their New Years resolution? Maybe you joined a weight center like Weight Watchers or Nutri-Systems, maybe a gym or perhaps you have a home program you are keeping up with?  Now that you are used to going you are probably getting into a routine and you are feeling comfortable. I say congratulations and good luck to everyone with a goal! I would like to remind you not to get so comfortable that you forget about your personal safety.

Remember to park in lighted areas, if you are walking or jogging do it with a friend. If you are alone, carry your pepper spray! If you don’t have any you can find it on our website.

When you go to the gym do you feel more comfortable leaving your pursue in the car? If you do, lock it in the trunk BEFORE you get to the gym. You don’t want anyone to see you putting it in the trunk and then walking away.  A lot of the gyms have pegs when you walk inside to hang your keys. I would suggest keeping your keys with you. Everyone has access to them when you just hang them up.

When you are walking out at night keep your pepper spray and car keys in your hand. Try to park close and under a light. I know you are there to lose weight, but safety first!

Jan1

Happy New Year! We were out celebrating last night like so many others and I was surprisingly awake at 1:00am. (That almost never happens). So I was paying a lot of attention to everyone and everything around me. We went to a great street party with thousands of other people. Everyone there would have to think it’s perfectly safe, they’re so many people around. As we walked about a mile back to our car I noticed what I talk about all the time at our workshops. All these women walking around, several alone or just with a friend looking down, typing on their PDA not at all aware of anything or anyone around them. Not a big deal right? We all live in a safe area don’t we? Well, we all like to think so and nobody ever wants to think they will be a victim. Fortunately I did not see anything in our local paper today so hopefully all made it home safely.

As we drove home down major roads I saw many area parking lots completely black and in the middle of one was a man just standing there. You have to wonder why?? It reminded me of a night we had been out to dinner and I was so focused on watching my daughter get safely into her car that I was completely oblivious to the man standing in the dark at the edge of the woods in front of my car. I wasn’t paying any attention because “I was in a very familiar place and I was comfortable with my surroundings.” My daughter called me from her car (just like a teenager) and asked me what “that guy” was doing? My answer… What guy?

It may be familiar and you may be comfortable but you should always be aware of your surroundings.

Welcome 2012!