My favorite thing about the site is the great videos that Bill Gurney created with his iPad. The visuals are great, the music is familiar and attention grabbing and they have a sense of humor. Bill has worked in automation engineering for his entire career, and wanted a site that would encourage networking and highlight sales and marketing tips curated throughout his career.

One tip that I wanted to share with you from creating this site is how to align text around videos.  You toggle to html and add this div code before the video code:

PS: I used the Classic with Video layout for the SmallBiz Theme for WordPress to build this site.

I was delighted when Dr. Matt Lyon of Network Wellness Charlotte asked me to work on the redesign of his website.  Dr. Lyon is a Chiropractor with a cult like following of clients that range from Olympic athletes to parents of children with ADHD to regular folks with chronic back or neck pain.  Our goal was to update his Thesis themed site to one that used the SmallBiz Theme.  We had a really cool testimonials video created to put on his homepage (All in One Layout) and check out his testimonials page!  I used lots of div codes to create the stripes, I did a tutorial on how to create call out boxes  a while back which you may find helpful.

If you are looking for a Chiropractic website or would like to learn more about WordPress, please feel free to give me a ring!

<a href=”http://TheSiteURLHere.com” target=”_blank”>put the code for the image here</a>

The same process works for any link, so if you wanted to link to Facebook, yet have Facebook open in another tab, the process is the same:

<a href=”http://www.facebook.com/EileenCLonergan” target=”_blank”>Visit me on Facebook!</a>

Now of course the question was for using the widgets, which you input all of the text into HTML, you most certainly can follow this process for pages and posts, but make sure you are in HTML mode, not visual.  Your end result will look like this:  Visit me on Facebook!

You may find some other nuggets of info in my recent post: 11 Tricks for Using WordPress.

So it’s important to make sure that both your actual WordPress install and your server are kept up to date and adequate security measures are taking – especially if you’re hosting your site on your own server, or your host gives you access to server related functions. Read on for some tips for both securing both WordPress and Linux-based Apache servers.

WordPress Security Tips

First, a caveat about keeping your WordPress system and plugins up to date. While this is generally a best practice in order to make sure all security vulnerabilities are patched, it’s not the only method you should use to protect yourself. Updating your site and it’s components is not a security silver bullet. If malware is built right into plugins or themes, updating those obviously won’t fix the security holes they themselves are introducing. And even after being uninstalled some malware can actually still reinfect your site by infecting the WordPress automatic update option itself so that it reintroduces the malware to your cleaned up site. So be proactive about security – lock down what things you can, and scan your site regularly!

Settings

• Strong Account Passwords
  This one’s a no brainer, but nonetheless many people still choose easy to crack passwords. If you don’t want to include special characters or numbers in you password, a good alternative is to choose a phrase instead of a word – something like “My password is secure!” is a much better choice than a word out of the dictionary. You can check your password strength using online tools such as How Secure is my Password or the Password Meter.  To change your password, log into your WordPress site and click on the “Profile” navigation menu item on the left.
• Changing Installation Default Settings
  While security by obfuscation won’t stop an experienced black hats, it’s certainly proof against the casual drive by attempts. One of the easiest ways you can protect yourself is by changing default settings when installing WordPress. The less that malicious hackers know about your installation in advance, the harder it is for them to crack into it.
  • Database Table Prefix: this is a big one! Change the default database table prefix of “wp_” to anything else! The database is where almost everything about your website is stored.  The simplest way to do this is via a plugin such as Better WP Security, or you can do it manually by (1) using a database tool such as phpMyAdmin to edit each table and change tables with the wp_ prefix to something else and then (2) editing your wp-config.php file (found in the root of your WordPress install on your web host, along with directories like wp-content) and replacing the “wp_” for the entry for “$table_prefix  = 'wp_';” with the new table prefix.
  • “Admin” User: this is another big one. Change the default administrator account username to anything else! Once they know an administrator username, they’re halfway into cracking into your site. If you already have an “admin” user account, create a new one and give it administrator privileges by logging into your WordPress site and clicking on the “Users” menu item from the left hand navigation bar. Then go back and delete the “admin” account.  Before you delete the “admin” account, you can either manually assign assign all posts, etc. to the account you just created or there will be an option to reassign posts, etc. during the WordPress account deletion process.
  • Randomize Authentication Keys and Salts: these weird things are the keys that WordPress uses to encrypt data. You can change them by editing your wp-config.phpfile:

    define('AUTH_KEY',         'change this to 65 or so random characters');
    define('SECURE_AUTH_KEY',  'change this to 65 or so random characters');
    define('LOGGED_IN_KEY',    'change this to 65 or so random characters');
    define('NONCE_KEY',        'change this to 65 or so random characters');
    define('AUTH_SALT',        'change this to 65 or so random characters');
    define('SECURE_AUTH_SALT', 'change this to 65 or so random characters');
    define('LOGGED_IN_SALT',   'change this to 65 or so random characters');
    define('NONCE_SALT',       'change this to 65 or so random characters');

    Change them to anything at all, or use the online generator to create random keys for you and paste them in.

Plugins

• Better WP Security
  This is one of the most well established and thorough security plugins, and can take care of a lot of checking server security settings. Unfortunately the sheer number of options can be intimidating for new users. As well, be aware that it’s possible to break your WordPress site by using this plugin, so be sure to back up before trying anything at all, and again before trying anything that you’re unsure of. If you’re a newcomer to WordPress or not very technically savvy, you’ll probably want to wait until you have a little more experience before trying this one out. It’s also much better to use when first setting up a site than on an older, well-established site with lots of plugins, etc.
• Limit Login Attempts
  One way to help secure your site against brute force attackers trying to gain access to your administrator accounts is to limit the number of times a login attempt can be made before the account is locked out for a set amount of time.  This makes the overall amount of time it would take to crack a password by brute force effectively forever, and can help protect your site against user accounts that have weak passwords.
• Wordfence
  This is a newcomer to the security plugin scene, and so far it’s been doing a decent job on my sites. It has both free and paid versions, with the paid version including scanning theme & plugin files for infections an the ability to repair plugins along with technical support. However, other plugins can step in to fill the gaps for scanning themes and plugins (such as AntiVirus).
• WordPress Firewall 2
  This pluging defends your blog from malicious web-based attackes such as including SQL queries or WordPress function keywords in applications parameters, and politely sends you an email whenever it detects hackers trying to use these intrusion methods to gain site access. Very handy!
• AntiVirus
  AntiVirus does an excellent job of scanning for suspicious code in theme template files. However, some code that can be used for malware can also be used quite legitimately by a theme as well (eg,”include()“). AntiVirus gives you the option in the report to mark this as a ‘safe’ usage and won’t bug you again about it. While this requires a little knowledge of coding and a little work on the site owner’s part to be truly helpful, it can at least warn the less knowledgeable that there might be a problem and to keep an eye on things.
• Exploit Scanner
  Similar to AntiVirus, but it scans every file and database entry for your WordPress site. This takes up a lot of time and server resources, but is very thorough. Useful if you think you may have been hacked, or after you’ve installed new plugins and as a general monthly maintenance chore.
• WP Security Scan
  This one works well in conjunction with checking server security settings. It scans for weak passwords, insecure file permissions, hides WordPress versions from hackers, etc.
• Akismet
  No list of security plugins would be complete without Akismet. This tried and true spam blocker will shut out 99% of spam and maliciously crafted URLs from your comments. This protects not only visitors that might click on a maliciously-crafted URL, but keeps your Google page rank high (Google’s algorithms penalize spam links). It costs a few dollars, but well worth it if you don’t want to annoy and frustrate your visitors with CAPTCHAs.

Server Security Tips

First off, let’s talk about the aforementioned PHP vulnerability. Thankfully it only affects the few servers that are using the PHP CGI binary, rather than the Apache mod (note: Windows servers are much more likely to run PHP as a CGI). If you don’t know if your server or host is using the CGI, it’s easy to check to see if you’re vulnerable: just add ?-s to the end of any of your website’s URLs (eg, http://www.mysolutions.it/?-s). If you see PHP source code gobbledy-gook, you are vulnerable. If your page shows up normally, you don’t have a problem.

• File Permissions
  It’s important that files can only be edited by the webserver account. If black hat hackers have gained access to your server – say via a poorly secure user account – this will prevent them from being able to damage your website by editing files directly.  You should also ensure that your wp-config.php file is not writable by any user, as well as any .htaccess files.  If you need to edit them later you can always change the file permissions to writable temporarily.
• Database User Account Password Strength
  Just like WordPress user account passwords, the database user account needs a strong password as well to keep the baddies from being able to change your site’s settings directly – for example, by creating a new administrator account with a blank password.
• .htaccess Files
  This files are powerful tools that shouldn’t be meddled with lightly – they can really screw up your site.  Editing .htaccess files is definitely for advanced users only; they are are lists of instructions (“directives”) to the webserver on how to handle showing web pages to the world and can be very complicated.  If you’re tempted to change these files yourself, make absolutely sure that you know what you’re doing and that you have an alternate way to restore these files back the way they were originally in case you make an error (for example, uploading a backup via FTP or changing the file back from an SSH console session).

These are just a few ways you can secure your server.  The WordPress Codex has a lot more detail on how to harden your WordPress installation on the server side.

Whew! That’s a lot of information, and if you’re hosting your site on your own server, this introduction only just scratches the surface of what you need to know to keep your site safe.  Fortunately for most WordPress users, the web host shoulders the rest of the responsibility by keeping the web server secure and thus your site safe from black hats.  So if you’ve made it all the way through here to the end – congratulations!  You should have a good start on how to secure your WordPress web site and keep it secure using security plugins, WordPress settings and a few server settings.

Tyler Style is a systems architect for My Solutions IT Consultants and Head Tech for TechAlberta.ca. 

My Solutions IT can help you with your website, systems administration, telecommunications and more!  Contact My Solutions IT today to find out how we can streamline your business operations and help you leverage internet and telecommunications technologies to your company’s best advantage.

I landed  Turks Seafood, in Mattapoisett, MA because I donated a free website to a local fundraiser. The person who bought it is my friend, who was gracious enough to bid so my silent auction item didn’t look naked on the table! My friend had no need for a website, so I convinced her family to let me create a site for their restaurant.

This is an interesting way to find a new client: a donation:

• lots of people at the auction learned about my business,
• I get a tax credit,
• a nice site for my portfolio,
• an opportunity to work with the restaurant on other areas of digital marketing for their business,
• and, best of all, a donation was made to a cause that is important to me.

Another awesome motivator and mentor to follow is Beate Chelette, author of the Women’s Code.  I took her online coaching course and I found it extremely valuable in both my personal and professional life.  I also follow Marie Forelo and she has lots of fun videos that offer advice on getting and running your business.

How are you finding new clients?   It really is one of the biggest challenges all businesses face, so any insider 411 is appreciated!

1.  Why can’t Google find my website?

Make sure search engines are crawling your website.

Dashboard ->Settings ->Privacy (check the top box ALLOW)

2.  How do I create a Back to the Top of Page link at the bottom of a page?

Toggle to html, before the first word of text insert <a name=”top”></a> then at the end of all the text insert <a href=”#top” title=”RETURN TO TOP”>RETURN TO TOP</a>

3. When I hit save the video html or div codes go missing!

When you have video or div codes, save in HTML view or your code will be stripped out.

4. I need more space in my text window!

Look at the bottom right corner of the text box, drag it down and your box lengthens.

5.  I made a mistake and want to look at a previous version of my post (or page).

Look for the Revisions box beneath the text box, or go to the the top right corner and click on Screen Options, select the Revisions box.  Restore a previously saved version of the page.

6.  How do I make a page Private?

Go to the right hand column of the Edit Page or Edit Post and look in the Publish box, under Visibility, select Edit, and change the status to public, password or Private.  You can also choose “Stick this post to the front page”.

7.  Can I schedule a blog post to go live at some point in the future?

Yes Mam!  Go to the right hand column of the Edit Page or Edit Post and look in the Publish box, next to Publish Immediately, select Edit, and change the the date, hit ok and then SCHEDULE.

8.  Can I change the name of the posts author?

Sure.  Go into the Page or Posts Dashboard.  Click Quick Edit, change the author of that particular post or page.

9.  I have one or two blog posts that I don’t want to allow comments on, is that possible?

Yes, Go into the Page or Posts Dashboard.  Click Quick Edit, uncheck the option for Allow Comments.

10.  How do I create an email link?

mailto:Name@url.com (ie mailto:eileen@eileenlonergan.com)

11.  How do I get an extra space between lines of text?

Shift + Enter gives you an extra space between lines.

 Share your tips please!  We are all constantly learning, and any time saving tidbit is always appreciated!

Bonus:

This came through from Tyler (see comments)

(Q) How do I get a line right below another line of text – that is, not a new paragraph, but a linebreak within a paragraph?

(A) CTRL + ENTER gives you a linebreak without generating a new paragraph

And from someone in my Expand2Web Experts Group:

(Q) How do I get the | symbol?

(A) Shift and the key just above the return key (on my Mac keyboard it is the key furthest to the right in the third row from the top, on a PC keyboard it looks like two dots, on both keyboards the \ shares the key).

Tweet

Techy Bits:

DNS (Domain Name Service) is how the web organizes its addresses. This means you can type eileenlonergan.com into the url bar instead of a long string of characters. Your computer talks to a DNS server operated by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) to access websites. (Phew, that was technical, still with me?)

The Situation: Some “bad guys” set up a redirect which sends all traffic through malicious servers. So you type in EileenLonergan.com and wind up in a nasty infected hornets nest.

The Good News: last November The FBI shut down the operation and their malicious servers.

A Nice Gesture: To ensure infected computers wouldn’t be cut off from the Internet entirely, the FBI set up its own DNS servers which rerouted your computer to a happy place, allowing you to continue accessing the internet and to conduct business as usual.

The Caveat: Those friendly servers will soon be shut down. They were originally going to run only four months, but a judge ordered an extension of their operation until July 9, 2012 since it’s estimated that hundreds of thousands of computers are still infected.

What it means for you: If a machine is still has the trojan and tries to access the web on July 9, it won’t be able to access anything, (yes, this does include downloading and installing anti-virus software).

My friend Ron first told me about this problem, he is always ahead of the curve, so thank you Ron! If this is interesting to you, you may find the Vanity Fair article World War 3.0 a fascinating story.

Please leave a comment if you have other information or strategies on handling this problem, I appreciate it and so do the other readers!

• Add a New Post
• Upload an Image
• When Adding the details of an image, complete the link url section.  Use the url of the page to where you want the image to be linked to (your About Page, Blog, etc)
• Click Insert Image into Post
• Toggle to HTML View
• copy the HTML code
• Go to the SmallBiz Options Panel
• Scroll to the area where you want the image to appear
• Toggle to HTML – past the code beneath <hr /><p> (the hr is the horizontal rule and the p is for the space)
• Save
• Viola!

The SmallBiz Options Panel – where you paste the code for your link.

Any quetsions?  Feel free to post here or send me an email.

Please note: change the color to the hex color that suits your design.

To find the CSS file:

Dashboard -> Appearance -> Editor -> Paste the code below the line that says “add your own styles below this line”.

“Snap a picture, choose a filter to transform its look and feel, then post to Instagram. Share to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr too – it’s as easy as pie. It’s photo sharing, reinvented.”

Instagram allows for user engagement in the same was as Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest.

Some ideas for your business:

>Photo Contest.  Ask people to take pictures of themselves in the process of using your product.
Event Marketing – ask people who are at an event you are hosting to capture the moments with Instagram!  As they share & tag the message about your business and the event will be shared.

Showcase your product- show your product in a new light (literally).  I have a client that does both commercial and residential paving one of the things they do are Rec Courts for your backyard.  Of course we didn’t have something so luxurious as a personal Rec Court when we were kids (because our mothers threw us out of the house and locked the door and we all roamed the streets until the lights came on and our parents didn’t live in fear of some crazy person stealing you and keeping you in a basement for 15 years)…..but wouldn’t it be fun to use Instagram to take photos of kids on the Rec Courts, add a 70′s filter and bring your target audience back in time to when they were kids?  It would take a somewhat flat subject matter (pun intended) and zip it up a little bit.

Find Your Fans – Instagram will let you know who is using your product and what they are doing with it.

Big names that are using Instagram: National Geographic, NPR, NBC News, Playboy, Pepsi, CNN, Starbucks, Grammys, and David Blaine.

On another note – how can you not be impressed with Facebook?  They aren’t even churning a profit and they are spending a Billion dollars, I am in awe.  Now, how do I bring the attention of EileenLonergan.com to Mark….. any good ideas please feel free to comment below.

We would never walk into a brick and mortar establishment and take a CD, video or piece of art. Yet in our current digital age using something that we have found on the internet doesn’t match the sinister definition of stealing.  In reality someone else owns that image and I know that you, like me, want to figure out how to do the right thing.   So, I have turned to my peer group (and online colleagues), at the Expand2Web Experts Group.

This post is a compilation from members in the group as we address the issue of using images on our WordPress Websites and Blog Posts.

Julie Larson – I use 123rf.com

CJ Hallock – I have been using stockfresh.com for a while … great images and not too expensive!  Or if you are good with Photoshop … if you manipulate an image over 50% than the copyright no longer valid!  Another idea is the Zemanta Plugin, a tutorial from CJ on how to use the Zemanta Plugin is at the bottom of this post.

Gary Smith – I buy them all. When i search for images I find the ones I like then I use TinEye to find where else they are used I then go and try to purchase the image. If I cant purchase I don’t use. You could also buy a disk of stock images from ebay to use.

Blaine Smitley -  I bought a 1 month subscription to Shutter Stock that allowed me to download 750 hi res images. I created topical folders with various categories inside each folder and went to town. Downloaded 25 every evening and now I will always have them. If you opt to use their super size it’s amazing how many collages they have that can be easily broken into multiple great looking images… Beyond that Wikimedia.com has tons of great looking hi res open source images that are free from all over the world.

Dannah Rossignol I have fallen in Love with Deposit Photos they have RF pics starting at .50 there is also a plugin for chrome called TinEye it can search the web and tell you about copyright and also where to find the pic to buy. I also use sxc.hu they are free but sometimes you have to get a model release.

Laura Heuer Hi Eileen I did what Blaine did via Deposit Photo downloaded so many a day at a great price and now have them to use. I even called to see if it was ok to use for a logo and it was ok!

Eileen Lonergan – WikiMedia Commons is a treasure trove of images. Note: some licenses may require that the original creator be attributed.

Sarah Peters – I have been using PhotoDune for stock images. Reasonably priced and I like that they tend to look like regular people and not models.

Bottom line, looks like paying for images or using your own is the safest way to go. Make sure you review the Creative Commons license before you post an image on your website, and providing credit is always appreciated and encouraged.   Let us know if you have some other ideas. We would love to learn what you are doing or any sources that you recommend that we have missed.

To Claim Your Local Listing with Google (which is free):
Go to Google Places (you can also just Google, Google local listings).

Add Business Information

You need to be certain that you are using the exact business name, address and phone number (NAP).

Categories

The other important element to note is choosing the correct “Category” or “Categories”. Be sure to add as many relevant categories to your listing as possible. You can be listed in up to 5 categories.

Just type in the start of the keywords and the category box will autofill. For example if I type in “eye” , eye care center, lasik surgeon, optometrist, ophthalmologist, etc.. pop up.

Select the categories that apply to your business in 1 of the 5 category boxes. This video on the Google Places Category Tool is very helpful.

For each competitor click “more” or their “reviews” button and note which categories they are using. Try your hardest to use all 5 categories!

Photos & Videos

You need to go the distance and complete this section. You may add up to 10 images, don’t use stock photos, if you must get outside and photograph your building, ask your staff to pose, show off images from your portfolio, you with clients, ect.

Videos are great. It is an opportunity for you to introduce yourself to your potential clients, tour your facility, or showcase your portfolio.

Additional Details

This is an opportunity to highlight what makes your business special.  Make sure to add “keywords” about your services. In the case of the Marion MA acupuncturist, we added specialties such as, acupuncture to quit smoking, fertility, weight loss, allergies, etc. You could include:

• Your education
• Languages Spoken
• Specialties
• Treatments
• Services
• Parking
• Brands Carried
• Areas Served
• Office Location
• Etc

Submit

If you are lucky, you will be able to have an auto generated phone call that will allow you to confirm your listing, otherwise within a week or two a postcard with a PIN code will arrive in the mail, log back into your Google Listing and enter the PIN.

ProTip: Use div codes to create this eye catching call out box to bring attention to specific parts of your copy.

<div style=”border: 2px solid #B1D764; margin: 0pt 0pt 20px; padding: 15px; width: 625px; background-color: #89adbc;”> Text Here </div>

Getting someone to your blog or website can be a challenge. Readers typically skim the content, by putting your main points in a call out box, you will make it easy for them to get what they need – and actually may keep them around your site longer.

For the code above:

• Make sure you place this code in the HTML area (not the visual editor)
• Edit the border width to whatever you want.
• Change the hex code of the border and background to match your site’s color scheme
• Change the width of the box to fix the width of your text area
SAVE IN HTML MODE – if you toggle back to visual and save the code will be stripped out and this won’t work.

If you need help with the design of your WordPress website please be in touch eileen@eileenlonergan.com.

I also did several customizations to the mobile version of the theme, including a custom header and changing the font color.

Dr. Phan is located in an iconic location in Brookline, MA, but driving directions and parking can be a bit of a challenge, so I wanted to provide a really descriptive map for patients to find Dr. Lawrence Phan’s office.  I used a plugin called WordPress Google Maps Plugin.  It allowed me to put a marker right on his location on the map.  It also allowed me to customize the map to any size I saw fit.

I love the black background with the pops of color on this site!  If you are looking for a custom designed WordPress website, please be in touch.

When you type in the dollar sign $ and the amount in the comments section a little banner will appear on the left hand side of the image with the price prominently displayed.

You may enjoy this other article I wrote about Pinterest interesting:

• Do I need Pinterest for my Business

Or this one for Search Engine People:

• Fast Facts About Pinterest: What Your Business Needs to Know

If you need help with your digital marketing, give me a ring, 508.317.7355.

Recently I was searching for an image of fruit and came across one I really liked on by photographer Lori Greig on Flickr. Flickr has what is called a Creative Commons license. If you right click on any image you will see what the restrictions are on use of that photo.

In the case of the photo that I wanted to use, there were some restrictions. I wasn’t sure how to find Lori, but if you look at the Photographers Photostream page you will notice a little envelope. I clicked on this, sent Lori a note asking for approval, and before I knew it I had a response and her approval!

Here is a handy Flickr FAQ piece you may find interesting.  This is a link to Free Use Images on Flickr.

A huge shout out to Lori, you can see more of her work on Getty Images.

Copy this code and paste it into your CSS:

Appearance ->Editor ->CSS will open by default. Modify #ffffff to any color. The hr is the little line beneath the text, again change that color to whatever suits your scheme.

#homepage-box1{background:#ffffff;}
#homepage-box2{background:#ffffff;}
#homepage-box3{background:#ffffff;}
#homepage-box4{background:#ffffff;}

hr {
background-color:#9FC10A;
border:0 none;
height:2px;
margin-bottom:8px;
margin-top:2px;
}
Have questions about the SmallBiz theme? Send me a quick note and I will be happy to help.

For this site I used the The SmallBiz WordPress Theme from Expand2Web. I choose the All-In-One Layout, which is one of 11 layouts offers with the theme.

I also installed a Members Only area, which members of the group can access with the secret password. Protected pages include videos from previous meetings. Visit this previous post on how to Password Protect a WordPress Page.

For a group calendar function I used Kieran O’Shea’s calendar plugin. It is very simple to use and with a few tweaks of the CSS I could customize the color scheme.

I would love to design your Chiropractic Website with WordPress, to begin the collaboration please be in touch, 508.317.7355.

Follow these simple steps and take a look at the video and you will be all set:

• Login to your WordPress website.
• Look on the left hand side of the screen under Appearance, click on Editor
• On the right side look for and click on Header.php
• Look for Look for #access{background-color:#<?php echo biz_option(‘smallbiz_menu_color’)?>;}
• Change to #access{background-image:url(‘YOUR-IMAGE-URL’);}

To get YOUR-IMAGE-URL

• Use PhotoShop or some other photo editing tool (I use the very affordable PhotoShop Elements) to create an image that is 900 pixels wide x 30 pixles high, save this as a .png or .jpg.
• Dashboard ->Media ->Add New
• upload the .jpg or .png file you created

Troubleshoot:

• If your navigation colors are thrown off by any of the above steps, make sure you have closed the string with ;}

Please, add a link to any sites you have created with an image as the navigation (menu) bar, I would love to see your work.

Since this time my trip is virtual, I am doing all the fun stuff. To start: Kiteboarding in Cairns. On my previous visit I was pregnant + carting around a 9 month old, the closest I came to the Great Barrier Reef was one of those charter boats with a glass section that allows you to look out at the people who were diving (the husband) and some random fish.  This time I am going vertical!  My first stop is with Andrew Bamford of Kiteboarding Cairns Australia. Andrew stresses safety first, which is a priority for a first timer! Since I may not find myself back in Oz any time soon I am investing in the Go Pro Camera so record each thrilling moment!

Next I will circle in my friend Eamon FitzGerald of Naked Wines. Eamon will be my guide for all things grape related, maybe he will give me a guest gig writing for his wine blog, My Grape Escape.

I am lucky enough to have two clients that are personal shoppers | stylists! Since this is a virtual vacation and money isn’t standing in the way of my looking my best, I will ask both Boston Personal Shopper Missy McInnis and Greenville, SC personal stylist Corey Urbina to shop and pack for me.

I love my iPad, so the timing seems perfect to upgrade! Have you heard of this new App that allows you to organize and share your photos from around the world?  I don’t know the name of it, so if you do, can you post it in the  comments?  Also, share any of your travel tips, obviously I am not restricted by a budget

I should plan more virtual holidays, this has been quite fun!