Safety continues to be the #1 issue facing today's woman travelers. There are many actions during the travel process (such as getting into a cab), where a woman is vulnerable but she takes with blind trust because that is the only way for her to get from point A to point B or conduct her business. By arming yourself with some tips, tricks and tools you'll be prepared to feel more confident and safe and handle the unexpected turbulence that might come your way.

Some key security tips that every traveler should use:

Check-in Checklist.

In a hotel, don't let the desk clerk announce your room in a voice that can be heard by anyone but you. If you are signing a hotel charge to your room, do not leave the signed receipt on the table; give it directly back to the server. Keep yourself safe and keep unwanted visitors out - check to be sure there's no one else in your room every time you enter, check the phone to make sure it works, and use door bolts and chains. Fire safety: don't trust the map on the back of the door; do a dry run - drop your bags and find the closest exits, then relax. When you go out, leave a note in your room detailing where you went, what time you left and what you were wearing.

Identity Insurance.

Do not allow your name, credit card number, home address or phone to be discussed or printed on any visible document, including luggage tags.

Put Your Best Foot Forward.

Do you like to run as part of your work out routine while on the road? You don't have to run alone - contact a health club or running store and inquire about running clubs; and join one of them for your daily run.

What's in your Wallet.

Minimize the number of credit cards you carry. Good rule: one for business and one for personal. If you are traveling internationally, alert your bank that you will be out of the country and to expect uncommon charges.

One of my favorite clients recently said to me, "You have to have fabulous hair in your forties". She certainly does, and it looks great. I have nice hair too when I color it, trim it regularly, and blow-dry it professionally. The whole process takes an entire Saturday morning and, in Los Angeles, costs about $200 plus tip. I have so much gray that I was running to the salon every 3 to 4 weeks, and the costs were mounting. Of course there are also the manicures, pedicures, occasional facials, and much needed botox treatments.

Well, I had to find a breakthrough, and I did...at my local beauty school. I have to admit, my mom always went to the local beauty school in Long island when we were growing up. I actually think the schools have gotten even better. I introduced myself to the head of the school. She is an experienced hairdresser with beautiful hair and great color. I asked for an advanced student and for her oversight with mixing the color. Once we found the right mix for me, she wrote it down for future visits and she promised to oversee my future visits. The cuts have been a little more inconsistent, but the blow dry always looks great. Then again, many of my $200 haircuts were inconsistent too. A great blow-dry can make most hair look fabulous. The whole treatment: $20...and that is in Los Angeles.

First, a quick word on the meaning of "Spirituality" so that no one confuses this with some type of religious statement. Religion can be a wonderful thing for some people, but just by naming it, it puts you into a specific category, which automatically puts other people outside of that category, if they happen not to share your religious beliefs.

Spirituality is simply the willingness to be open to the concept that there are forces at work in this world that are beyond our comprehension. Some people refer to those forces as Nature, The Universe, or G-d. It doesn't matter what you call it, as long as you know it isn't you, because it's when you think that you are running your own life, and that it's up to you to make everything work out perfectly, you are setting yourself up for stress-related illness and Depression.

As it pertains to divorce, which is one of the most stressful things a person can experience, there are certain Spiritual principles that are important to grasp:

1. People are put in your path for a reason. You never meet anyone by accident.

2. You never made a mistake in your life. It was all a learning experience, even if the lesson was just that you could learn what you do NOT want in your life.

3. Not everyone is meant to be in your life forever. Some people are only meant to be in your life for a certain amount of time, until you both learn what you need to learn.

Divorce is always painful. Even if you are the leaving party, the last months or years of an unraveling relationship take their toll on self-esteem and the ability to give and accept love and sex. If someone left you unexpectedly, the toll on your self-image can be more devastating.

The natural reaction is to hide and tend to one's wounds for awhile — and in many cases, that is a realistic and appropriate thing to do.

But there comes a time to stop all that and reclaim one's womanliness, one's sexuality and one's bliss and fun in life. My Rx is to go out and date, flirt, and see where it all leads — hopefully, eventually, to bed. I do think the best cure for a wounded heart is to re-engage in the world — and, if not find a new love, at least a new lover. There is much to be said about the healing properties of an orgasm.

A lover is just not that hard to find these days. Even if you are over fifty, even if you have thighs and a tummy, there is someone worthy out there who will adore you. I am living proof of that statement. After my divorce from a 23-year marriage, I had to get back out there and put my body and ego on the line. While I had the advantage of being a sex/relationship researcher (and the relationship expert for Perfectmatch.com), it still isn't easy to start dating and mating again.

However, it was and is worthwhile. Sex was no less passionate than it had been in my twenties.

My ego was actually more resilient. And good men and lovers — and love — were available too.

Online dating is a boon to older people and, while you may have to take an anthropological lens on some of your outings to find a way to enjoy some of your dates, eventually you will find someone special.

Here is some good news...orgasms relieve stress! If you are feeling stressed-out and overwhelmed, a good roll in the hay might be just what you need. Then again, if you're divorced, raising children, working full time and up to your knees in laundry, an orgasm may be the last thing on your mind.

If you're too stressed-out to focus on sex and the only sex organ you've come into contact with for months is your own, I've got some tips for you—tips that will at least get you thinking about sex and hopefully jump-start that libido you've put on the backburner. Try a couple of these tips and I promise your motor will be humming again in no time. All you will need is a partner and, as we all know, those are easy to come by.

Think about sex. Think about it for more than a few seconds. Dive feet-first into delicious sexual fantasy. The great thing about fantasy is you can have sex with anyone you want and do anything you desire. So, pick someone who floats your boat, let him into your brain, and let the good times roll.

Practice Kegel exercises. You know what Kegels are -- they're the squeezing exercises your doctor told you to do after pregnancy. What your doctor probably didn't tell you is that they're also great for strengthening the pubococcygeus muscle, essential for orgasm. To do Kegels, take note of the muscle you use to stop urinary flow, then practice contracting that muscle, then gradually releasing it. Work up to 20 contractions three times a day.

Divorced, middle-aged women are 60 percent more likely to get cardiovascular disease—even when they remarry—than women who remain married, according to a study from the University of Texas at Austin.

"We found that divorced women have the lowest household income and wealth, compared to married women, widows and women who remarry," the article's author, Dr. Mark Hayward, writes. "Divorce clearly leads to a drop in financial resources. Add that to the emotional distress that can stem from a change in residence, loss of social support or the potential of single parenting, and divorced middle-aged women are facing incredible stress that puts them at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to their cardiovascular health."

When I read this study, my first thought was, "damned if that doesn't give new meaning to the term ‘broken heart'."

I received an email from our "Chief Executive Girlfriend" Debbie Nigro the other day. In it, she described herself as "the man of the house". I'm sure there are quite a few reading this article who have taken on the role of both mom and dad. You've become the person who worries about keeping a roof over your family's head and keeping up with all your financial obligations. You may have elderly parents who require help or teenage and college-age children who come with their own set of issues to deal with.

If you have become the "man of the house", you are one person dealing with stress that is normally dealt with by two people. You've got one heart that is doing double duty. The good news is there are techniques you can use to manage stress and reduce its negative effects on your heart:

I spoke with a woman recently who was surprised by how raw her emotions were after her divorce was final. She thought separating and going through the divorce process would heal the pain she had been in for so many years. She had no idea that healing after a divorce meant dealing with unprocessed emotions. She wanted to move ahead full steam and had no idea how to respond when the pain got in the way of her plans.

Maybe you have found yourself in the same situation. If so, here is some good news for you...you are normal!

Emotions are neither good nor bad, they just are. If you're experiencing negative emotions when you think you should be feeling great, don't beat yourself up over it.  Painful emotions are, after all, an opportunity to grow.

Pain acted upon appropriately leads to growth and healing. Pain ignored or acted upon inappropriately leads to further pain and suffering. That post-divorce pain should be considered a tangible asset. It is your choice whether this asset will be used in a self-destructive way or channeled positively toward building a new and rewarding future.

Below are a few tips for processing the pain and turning it into an asset that will help you move on:

Divorce means change. Realize that every divorce brings about change, and change is not always easy. There are times we are tempted to look back, because it is easier than facing the fact that we now have to rebuild ourlives. Trust yourself that you can handle anything that comes along and that you have made the right decision to divorce. Don't let fear overtake your judgment or cause you to doubt your abilities.

Divorce is a time when many physical, emotional and spiritual changes occur. You can use these changes to help guide you into a new phase of your life.

As a life coach, I believe these changes can have a positive momentum to lead you to a better place. GoGirlCoach is a place to put on your red shoes, get soulful and stay spirited. You can identify your passions, clarify your dreams and go after them in “haute” pursuit!

Exercise your option for beautiful changes. GoGirlCoach is designed to facilitate your own co-creation of life experience. It's not about advice, therapy or direction. It's about living your questions, finding your voice and trusting the presence of grace in the process.

Are you ready to …

• fuel your ideas?

• get unstuck, or minimize stress?

• write a book?

• meet the love of your life?

• find a more fulfilling job?

Do you want to …

• transcend limitations?

• do away with mundane habits?

• dig deeper to access your latent spiritual wisdom?

Are you wondering what’s possible?

Through a process of artful inquiry and focused reflection…

• GoGirlCoach can help you define what you really, really want.

• identify what may be holding you back.

• plot a path forward that’s consistent with your personal style.

You can do this at any age:

•In your 30s, begin to assess your goals and strategies in order to live your dreams.

•In your 40s, gather inner resources and move with awareness through perimenopause.

•In your 50s, get gutsy and begin to release energy for a burst of productivity.

•In your 60s —the cocktail hour of life — dress up and throw a party, travel beyond borders, participate in a mission, write your life story.

A few weeks ago, I read a few articles on the inevitability of depression as middle age draws closer. Did you see those stories? They were everywhere, but no need to scramble around for any; they all read pretty much exactly like this one, from US News and World Reports.

I focused on this particularly un-uplifting passage: "The researchers cautioned that cheerful people tend to live longer than unhappy people — a fact that might have skewed the overall finding. But they also suggested that evidence of a happiness curve might simply reflect a midlife choice to give up long-held but no longer tenable aspirations, followed by a senior's sense of gratitude for having successfully endured while others did not.

Giving up your dreams plus gratitude you're not dead yet, and those are supposed to be the good parts

Oh well. The real point of the articles, if not the study itself, was meant to be "Feel better about not feeling so great — it's normal!" And I do know from my sex education work that normalizing, the mere act of telling people how many others there are in their cohort, can be surprisingly therapeutic.