Listen to Lena

Perfecting the Art of Conversuasion

New York City

I May Not be Sporty, But I Am a Shopaholic!

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Twist my arm: When Six Star Pro Nutrition asked me to help spread the word about their latest Facebook promotion, I said sure… but only after I entered myself!

(Hello! Shopping spree in the world’s most fabulous city, with a celebrity athlete? My bags are already packed!)

Here’s the deal: Six Star Pro Nutrition wants to send you and a guest to New York City for a $2,500 shopping spree with the world’s top-ranked female tennis player (and fashionista extraordinaire) Victoria (Vika) Azarenka! If you’re tennis buff, I don’t have to tell you that she’s currently ranked NUMBER 1 in the world – and if you’re a fashion buff, you’ve certainly noticed her eye for style; combining bright, bold colors both on and off the court.

So… you, a guest – and the top-ranked female tennis player? All shopping til you drop in NYC? Allow me to channel my inner infomercial host… “But wait! There’s more!”

In addition to the $2,500 shopping spree, the grand prize also includes accommodations and round-trip air fare for two, an additional $500.00 in spending money and a Six Star supplements package valued at approximately $250.00.

(Side note: tell my mom you’re going on a shopping spree with Rachel Zoe, Lady Gaga or Blake Lively, and she’ll give you a blank stare. Tell her you’re going shopping with Victoria Azarenka and she’ll fight you for your win. Yes, Vika is THAT revered in the world of tennis!)

For your chance to win visit the Six Star Pro Nutrition Facebook page, click the like button, then follow the instructions under the Sweepstakes tap. You have until October 1st, 2012 to be eligible; the Grand Prize draw will take place on or around October 2, 2012. (Official rules can be found here.)

Good luck everyone – if you need a shopping buddy, you know where to look!

 

This post is sponsored by Six Star Pro Nutrition. The opinions on this blog are my own.

BlogHer: Three Totally Cool Things

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I'm going to BlogHer '12Kids, it’s that time of year again!

Ah, blogger conference season. When we bloggers make the very pained decision to leave our families behind while we come together for personal and professional development.

And, sometimes we attend a party or two (or twelve), toss back Cake Vodka shots and find ourselves crashing and burning in someone else’s hotel room. In a different hotel. And they’re not even attending the conference.

Yes, it’s time to don a fancy dress and flip flops (I learned the hard way last year – you MUST bring your flip flops!) and party among your peers. These are the women who support you, cheer you on and share battle scars – and sometimes, they happen to live on the other side of the country. To BlogHer’12, and the mass gathering of online friends: I’m so excited!!!

Now with the conference a mere six (6) weeks away, I thought of a few totally cool things that I just had to share. It makes the conference personal and special to me – so without further ado:

1. In my former life, I was a Customer Satisfaction Specialist for Honeywell. A large part of my role was to analyze satisfaction scores and create training modules/best practices to improve overall engagement, morale, and subsequently raise the level of service. Now not to toot my own horn (warning: I’m about to toot my own horn) – I developed a program that raised the satisfaction score from 6.2 to 8.5 in just six months. And it didn’t go unnoticed; MarketTools CustomerSat, our partner who provided the survey data, asked me to come and speak at their conference in San Jose, to share with other business leaders the success of my training program.

Now at the conference, in conversation with one of the MarketTools directors, she told me about her daughter, who had recently started a media company called “BlogHer.” I nodded politely, but I barely knew what a blog was – never mind this network based on a bunch of women who ranted online. She asked if I had ever considered starting an online journal – LAUGH! I had too much on my plate to find free time to blog.

The next year, when I once again attended the conference, the director and I had a great conversation about the success that her daughter had achieved and the immense popularity of blogs written by women. I offered heartfelt congratulations and was absolutely touched by the pride in her voice.

And years later, when I met Elise Camahort Page, Co-Founder of BlogHer in person – I had this very awesome introductory line:

“Hi Elisa, my name is Lena. I actually know your mother. Please give her my love.”

(Somehow, I think I stood out from everyone else’s intro that day. BOO-YAH!)

2. Last year, BlogHer’11 was in San Diego, which was both thrilling (I’d never been) and terrifying (I only had about two weeks notice to wrap my head around the fact that I was going). One of the articles that helped me immensely was Jen Taylor’s “What Should You Bring to a Conference?” post in her blog, Little Miss Mocha. It served as a soothing reality check, and I encourage all conference attendees to read it at at least once.

3. This year, BlogHer’12 is in New York City. And even though I’ve been to NYC more times than I’ve been to Burlington, I’ve never visited New York with a gaggle of bloggers. To say I’m excited is an understatement. Making it even more spectacular?

I’m going thanks to the good folks at Maple Leaf Foods! 

LOVE this partnership – as you all know, my family is a huge fan of Maple Leaf Foods and their umbrella of brands, especially Dempsters, Olivieri, Tenderflake, and more. In fact, at any given time, you can see my boys munching on a slice of Natural Selections Salami (sooo garlicky but sooo good!)

I look forward the official countdown to BlogHer’12 and over the next few months, you’ll definitely see me paying delicious homage to my sponsor. The good news? There will always be something in it for you too – whether it be tasty recipes, fabulous giveaways or the chance to grab free coupons!

New York City, here we come!