Fresh is Best! A Mother's Day Hint. #FYBF

*This is a sponsored post.*

For those of you that are mothers you might be really looking forward to Mother's Day next month.  Or for those of you that have mothers (or a mother-in-law) you are either planning the perfect gift or tearing your hair out because you're afraid of getting it very, very wrong.

I think there's way too much pressure on gift giving. Some people go to a lot of trouble and think that the more lavish the gift, the more the giftee thinks you love them.  But guess what? Mothers are different (well most mothers anyway).  They'll most probably just be glad you remembered them.

When my kids were little I loved that they went to the trouble of making a card and picking some flowers from the garden. As they got older I would give them $5 to buy something from the Mother's Day stall at school, which would invariably be some lavender hand cream, a coin purse or a glass figurine you have to hide in a cupboard for about 40 years.

I often used to get a version of this home made treasure:

(from here)

Now that they're older and, I assume, a lot more capable of taking themselves up the shops and spending their own pocket money on a very heartfelt gift they would spend weeks thinking of .... ,  in reality they mostly leave it to their Dad to buy a present on their behalf. Sometimes I let them know what I would like but I secretly wish they could magically know and present me with the perfect gift. 

So I have become that Mother. I've become bored with being a matyr and now demand their love be demonstrated by a gift chosen (and sometimes purchased) by me.

As I do quite a bit of online shopping for gifts for family and friends (OK mostly for myself), I've started to subtly email links of my wish list to my husband and kids when it gets close to special occasions, like Mother's Day!

But it would be wonderful if they were to plan a bit more than a day before that special Sunday and actively go to a website and buy something beautiful delivered in time that they could present to me while I languish queen-like in my bed eating smoked salmon omelette and champagne (or in reality, burnt toast and cold tea).

Which brings me to FreshFlowers - this is a total hint, family! - absolutely beautiful bunches of blooms (and chocolates!) that can be chosen from the privacy of their room, delivered same day or next day, hidden in their closet and sprung upon their wonderful Mum first thing on Mother's Day.

Also it is the perfect solution for that mother-in-law that is impossible to buy for - you can even leave it for the last possible moment!

FreshFlowers also offer a great Reminder Service where you can sign up to receive an email for all those birthdays and anniversaries that get forgotten until the last minute. You'll look like a star! Personally, I think I"ll sign the hubby up to receive the reminders, that way he'll never forget the 101 anniversaries we have (first met, first went out, first started living together, wedding - you've got to celebrate!).

Hint, hint!

Aside from offering Mother's Day flowers, another big plus for me is that they support Daffodil Day and Heart Research Australia. Love it when a company gives back.

On top of all that they have great prices. I know with previous experience in sending flowers through work that many companies charge an arm and a leg for flowers which are pretty ordinary, but FreshFlowers are not only very reasonable every day, they have regular specials like:

Find out here!

Lastly, FreshFlowers know the joy that a surprise bunch of flowers can give someone and after reading 'Flowers and Faith in Humanity', I think I'll be sending a bit of that joy more often.

Or if you'd rather, send yourself a thank you for just being you, signed 'Anonymous Admirer' - think of the attention you'll receive from your partner after receiving that!

**Joining With Some Grace for #FYBF**

One year blogging, eleven years married

So tomorrow marks one year of (serious) blogging. I wrote "A brand new view" one year ago after four half arsed attempts in 2010.

And I guess more importantly, Sunday marks our 11th wedding anniversary.  We've actually been together 15 years but on the 19th February in 2001 (just after our daughter turned 2), we scooted off to Fiji with some friends and got married barefoot on the edge of the sea.  But that's another post/story.

I can only hope my blog lasts as long as it was also launched by the water.  I do love a view of the aquatic nature, after all, I am a Pisces.

Not long after getting into the blogging game, I started to read the blog posts and Tweets from  the lucky ones going to the Aussie Mums Conference in Sydney.  I promised myself (while listening to the live twittering from the conference) that I would do my darndest to get there in 2011.  Then I heard it was going to be in Melbourne.  When it was getting closer I realised that our first year in our dream house was costing enough to stop us from living the lifestyle we had only just got used to living.

But as blogging is my hobby (and it hasn't cost me much moola at all over the last year) and Mr Moneymaker's hobby (soccer) has cost hundreds (rego, shoes, dinners, weekends etc), I negotiated a couple of trips this year.  And yes, DPCON12 is one of them (YAY!).  (The other one is a return with sisters and cousin to the Broadbeach Blues Festival in May! Woohoo!)

This means I can combine a nerve wracking but thrilling mixup with the bloggers I love and a weekend with my bestie (the one who moved to Melbourne a year ago).  Win Win!  And was even able to buy the plane tickets with Mr Moneymaker's frequent flyer points (soooo many work trips, let's not even mention him going to New York without me).

Reading back on that post a year ago, I hope I've improved a little (or alot?) and I know since then I've achieved alot - not just on Birdy Num Num but also in the real world.

• My job is much busier and more interesting.
• I've made new friends through blogging, with parents from new schools and new sporting teams (my kids', not mine!).
• I've won some great rewards through blogging too.  Not only in competitions but involvement in reviews and trials (thanks Soup!).
• I've managed to do alot of walking (try to do the bay at least once a week, striving for three times a week).  
• I've fixed alot of my health issues by having a hysterectomy (which was much easier than I thought).  You can read about it here and here and here and here .
• I've also seen my mother lose her battle with dementia and many physical ailments.  She hung on for much longer than any of us thought possible and just showed not only lifelong stubborness but also her resiliance that got her through a tough 86 years.
• I've joined my siblings and cousins at a wonderful wake for both our parents where we wished their ashes farewell by the water in Ballina.

Happy anniversary Birdy Num Num!  Here's cheers to many more.

Joining up with the crowd at Where's My Glow? for FlogYoBlog Friday who is also having an anniversary of the bloggy kind. Well fostered, Glow!