More for Mother's Day!

I was just checking 1800flowers again, still deciding on Mother’s day gifts, when I noticed the Spotlight A Mom contest. In 500 words, you can describe a fabulous mom. There are daily winners selected with great prizes, including a $100 gift card to 1800flowers, which means she could choose her own Mothers day gifts. The Grand Prize Winner will receive a Beaches Resorts vacation to Turks & Caicos or Jamaica! So, if anyone wanted to nominate me, I certainly wouldn’t say no….hint, hint.

While we’re on the subject of…me….someone might be wondering what I would like to receive as Gifts for mothers day. Well….the Godiva Jewelry Box combines two things I really love—chocolate and a place to keep my jewelry! Then, there is the Vineyard Elegance basket, combining chocolate and wine…how can you go wrong? And the Chocolate Spa Gift Basket? Hello?! Have you met me?! Perfect!

So, those are just some hints to get you started. Let me know if you need a hint for a mother in your life.

1800flowers for Mother's Day

Mother’s Day is May 10, so I started doing some Internet research this weekend. My husband and I are last-minute shoppers. Not just for mother’s day, but even when shopping for each other. Typically, we end up sending our moms last-minute flower arrangements. This year, I decided to get ahead of the game and found that at 1800flowers, if you order flowers for mothers day before April 30, you will save 20%.

This website has a Mother’s Day Gift Center that has many great suggestions for the mom in your life. My mom would love the Azalea in the Garden Tote, as she has the green thumb in the family. My mother-in-law would be smitten with the Martha Stewart Vibrant Purple Bouquet, since that is her favorite color. I truly think you could find something for every mom here, including a lovely bubble bath set for the new mom. They have tons of gifts sets, including candy and cookies.

Seriously, I’m a mom and I have to say that you just can’t go wrong with ordering flowers for mothers day. But, if you aren’t sure what she’d like, you can always order a gift card to ensure that she’s happy. I was also excited to see that there is an 1800flowers iPhone application available, so now I can order flowers on the go, if I do happen to need some at the last minute. Happy Mother’s Day!! (Hopefully, my moms aren’t reading this. :)

YMT Vacations

We had a lovely Easter weekend with extended family and by the end of the afternoon, the kids were bouncing off the walls from the outrageous amounts of sugar they consumed. My aunt and uncle are taking their two children to Disney World next month, so they are busy packing and planning. As it is now the middle of April (somehow it snuck on me again), I’m sure lots of other people are making summer vacation plans, as well. Alas, we are now a single-income family, so we will not be planning a trip this year…but that doesn’t mean I can’t dream!

YMT Vacations offers discount vacation packages on both cruises and land tours. Oh, the choices! It is amazing to me the amount of things you can amuse yourself with on a cruise. And just think of the cute nautical outfits you could wear! YMT Vacations has new tour packages to choose from including a 25-day European cruise and land tour or a 17-day Alaskan luxury cruise! Or, wouldn’t Hawaii be lovely? That answer is always “yes!” YMT Vacations is a member of United States Tour Operators Association and has been in business for over 40 years. We’ve been thinking about a fall foliage tour, so maybe we’ll be able to plan one of those this year. The itinerary shows stops in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New York, Quebec, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. That sounds like fun!!

Well, wherever you are traveling to, have a safe and enjoyable journey! (And think of me, back here on my couch.)

What is YOUR online reputation?

I hadn't given a single thought to reputation management until I was reading one of my favorite blogs recently. Mindy, the author, sells advertising on her blog, which is the source of her family's income. She frequently participates in Momversations, which are video discussions between successful mommy bloggers on selected topics.

In one particular session, the ladies were discussing "Post Baby Body." In the clip, which is edited together with the other women's responses by the Momversation website, Mindy made a comment about how the changes to a mom's body are like changing from a girl to a woman (I'm paraphrasing a bit.) One viewer took this comment out of the context in which it was meant and was actually offended by it. This viewer had her own highly trafficked website, No Pasa Nada, so she wrote a post harshly criticizing (and unfairly, I might add) Mindy and ended up with over 100 readers posting their displeasure over the comment, as well.

The scathing comments continued on the website until Mindy wrote a follow-up apology on her own blog. She attempted to comment on NPN's blog post, but the author had closed the comments. After Mindy's apology, NPN opened comments back up and Mindy was able to confront her critics. She commented that these hurtful comments were putting her integrity and livelihood in jeopardy by tarnishing her online reputation. NPN finally closed the discussion and comments and appears to have moved on. But, what if she hadn't moved on? If this woman had decided to continue her tirade, she could have launched an all out campaign against Mindy and her blog, effectively cutting off her revenue source and putting her family's financial security at risk. (Thank God she didn't. I applaud NPN for not going any further, BTW.)

The Internet is such an enormous part of our lives now that we look to the web to be our reference guide on all things. With the incredible number of personal blogs and watchdog websites, there are a lot of opinions floating around on the Internet. You can find entire sites dedicated to consumer complaints against companies. Some of these vitriolic tirades are well-deserved, but some are isolated incidents and some are even competition-inspired fabrications.

So, what to do when your name is smeared? Call the experts, of course. Oh, yes, there are experts in online reputation management. Check out the site if you don't believe me. You can actually pay public relations consultants and web experts to monitor and correct negative online attacks on your reputation. As it turns out, all publicity isn't good publicity.

See all the fun things you can discover when you have nothing better to do with your day?! I'd LOVE to know what you think! ;)