A Mama's Rant

My Best western experience: On the road to/from BlogHer09

Once again, I want to thank my BlogHer09 sponsor, Best Western for their support. Being able to stay at their properties for free was a big help to our strained budgets on our GM sponsored carpool to Chicago.

(To learn more about my sponsorship, see my post An interview with my BlogHer '09 sponsor, Best Western to find out how Best Western is making travel affordable for families and small business people.)

We stayed at two Best Western properties – one in Ames, Iowa and the other in Ogallala, Nebraska. In between we stayed at the Sheraton Towers in Chicago.

Great customer service on the phone and online

I made the reservations online and entered an incomplete email address. So when I was trying to find my reservation, I panicked and called their reservation line. The very nice person on the phone gave me my reservation numbers and corrected the email address. Then she resent my reservation confirmation emails.

After we got to Chicago, I decided to change our reservation on the way back. We were originally going to stay again in Ames, but we decided to push on through Nebraska so we’d have a short drive through Colorado the next day.

Again, I called the reservation line and the customer service agent and I looked up the properties in Nebraska between the Colorado border and Lincoln. She gave me three properties, looked up prices and availability and quickly rebooked the reservation using the same confirmation number.

Also, just before and during my trip I was emailed a reservation reminder.

Into buying gifts to support a charity? Check out the Art of Possibility Studios Phenominoes Pendant

I’m very particular about the jewelry I like. It doesn’t have to be high end and expensive, so much as unique and have meaning for me in some way. So when I was emailed about the Phenominoes® Art of Possibility® Studios Collection Pendants, I was intrigued.

These reasonably price necklaces feature artwork done on the back of dominoes that were created by a group of blind painters. You can choose from 27 designs, and each comes with a color-coordinated ribbon necklace.

The pendant has a special clasp that allows you to wear them on other chains or cords, and you can wear them either painting or domino side up. For $26.95 (price of the pendant plus shipping), you get a lot of fashion flexibility out of one piece of jewelry – talk about your recessionwear! Plus, Art of Possibility sales support the blind artists whose work adorns the pendants, so it’s a purchase you can feel good about.