I anticipate a new advertising gimmick unfurled on Times Square yesterday will go national at the speed of light. Thompson Reuter linked its digital billboard to its web site, then invited people to upload photos of their mothers and accompanying greetings. These photos and greetings were then displayed on the billboard for five seconds apiece on Mother's Day. The company did not charge for this service, but is offering to sell photos of the display to those who uploaded the materials for $69 each.

The idea of posting individual messages on large billboards has been used to great profit in sports stadiums for some time, but the idea of integrating it with an online application dramatically expands the marketing possiblities. If I were Amazon, I'd be buying space on such billboards across the country, and offer my customers the chance to upload their portraits. Gee, to see my own picture overlooking the I-70/I-71 split, just for buying a couple of books...

Thanks to Advertising Age.

Salary.com has a cute little tool that lets you find out how much your mom's services at home are worth. You enter in the number of children and their age ranges, and you identify whether or not she's has a job outside the home. I did a calculation for a stay-at-home mom with one small child and one school-age child.

Her value? In the range of $64,374 and $174,061 per year. You can even take it a step further by entering your zip code and getting a local estimate. And the highlight of the whole exercise? Printing a fake check to give to your mom to let her know that you appreciate everything she does.

For the most part, this is just a fun post to honor mom's holiday. But I can add one practical tip for readers. When buying life insurance, don't forget the value of the stay-at-home mom. Many families make the mistake of only buying a substantial policy on the dad, if he's the "breadwinner" for the family. They forget that if something happens to mom, a considerable amount of money could be spent on child care and household help. Make sure mom is covered with life insurance too!

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

"It is possible to go away for a weekend and have a life changing experience," author Joan Anderson has said. "Retreat is a form of pause -- it is a time apart in solitude, a precious space in which we can see our world in a different light."

Anderson knows. Overriding both her own fears and the criticism that her venture triggered, she spent a year by herself on Cape Cod. She returned and wrote, "A Year By the Sea -- Thoughts of an Unfinished Woman." The memoir spent 30 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. While most women can't go away for a year, a day or weekend is another matter.

You might want to consider Anderson's book for a Mother's Day gift -- along with some add-ons.

A few years back, I decided that Mother's day was no longer a concern for me. My mother died a long time ago, I wasn't married, and I had no plans to become a baby daddy. Moreover, as I was staring down the barrel at 30, it didn't look like my situation was going to change anytime soon. I decided that Mother's day, like Washington's Birthday and the Feast of the Epiphany, was among the many holidays that I could more or less wipe off the calendar.

Needless to say, things have changed.

I now find myself the father of a two-year-old. Quite apart from the other little stresses associated with having a daughter in my life, I'm reliving the joy of buying Mother's day presents. When I was a kid, Mother's day was easy -- I'd pick up some bath salts, a kitchen tool, or some other innocuous item that my father told me to buy. I'd wrap it, pass it on to Mom and revel in her thanks. I'd get to feel like a big guy, my mom would get a little appreciation, and we'd both ignore the fact that the little present was hardly payback for the endless things that she did over the course of the year.

A good friend and coworker of mine was having trouble finding the right Mother's day gift for his mom. He dearly loves the lady, and wanted to get or do something very special for her. His problem was that available cash was in short supply. After careful consideration he came up with the perfect Mother's Day gift.

He shaved off his beard and cut his hair, something she had been asking him to do for a number of years. His mom is joyous about the change.

I think I'm safe in saying that most mothers couldn't care less about whether or not we spend any money on commemorating their government-declared special day. Moms want sincere hugs and kisses. They want babbling grandchildren close at hand. They want their hands held firmly as you tell them how special they are to you. They want to know how the lessons they taught you still serve as guides in your daily life. Moms invest their whole lives in their kids. The dividends of motherhood should be just as sincere.

Not only is my mother is really hard to buy for, she's a bit ungrateful to boot. She told my sister yesterday not to get her a gift for Mother's Day because she was probably going to have to return it anyway. Nonetheless, I can't show up at her house empty-handed, so I began to look though my emails for ideas for last minute Mother's Day gifts that might pass muster. Here's a roundup of what I found:

Flowers: I recommend 1800flowers, where you can opt for fresh flowers or plants. I'm considering the gardenia (mom's favorite flower) in a green planter for $29.99. If you order-and have them delivered today-there's free shipping although some products are not eligible. Also, you can save money by ordering bouquets without a vase, which most moms have plenty of.