Ultimate Blog Party @ 5MFM

Have you ever wanted to meet new bloggers? Have you ever wanted an insane amount of comments? Yea, I think we all have to be honest. If that’s the case, well, then you should check out the blog party going on over at 5 Minutes for Mom next month (April 9-16).

Every year for the past couple of years, the ladies over at 5MFM hold the Ultimate Blog Party. It’s an annual event where you can visit a shit’ton of bloggers and people, win prizes and make some new friends in the process. I’ve personally made some new friends in the 2 years I’ve participated in the party and gotten some new regular readers to my blog as well. But the awesome part is *leansinclose*, you don’t have to be a parent or a blogger to join either. Non-parents and non-bloggers are welcome to party as well.

If you wanna find out more about it, just check out their post here. I hope you do join. You’ll love it and you get so much out of it.

Pi Day Dessert Menu Must-Haves

There are many different ways to celebrate Pi Day; some mathematicians, teachers, museum directors, math students and well-rounded geeks celebrate by baking and eating pies and having pie-eating contests. Some people take that tradition quite literally, creating Pi pies, like this one created by Flickr member megpi.

For those of you out there planning on donning your baker’s hat for Pi Day, you may want to fully indulge in the holiday and serve your pies in this Pi Dish ($24.95) that features the pi symbol in the center and is trimmed with the first few dozen digits of the ratio. This is definitely a dish that no mathematically-inclined baker could pass up.

If you want to be a complete rebel and still enjoy Pi Day, bake some cookies! But don’t forget to use this extremely awesome Pi Cookie Cutter ($12.95). You could also create some really great pie embellishments or even pocket pies with the Pi Cookie Cutter; the possibilities here are virtually endless!

Happy Pi Day, Geeks!

Today is March 14th, a date geeks and math enthusiasts around the world know as Pi Day.

Sure, most of us know that = 3.1415926535… but you can brush up on your pi facts by learning more about pi, send friends Pi Day greetings, and keep up with what people around the world are doing to celebrate Pi Day by checking out Google Trends. Even Google is celebrating Pi Day by changing their Google Doodle of the day (seen to the right). You can also feel free to call all of your friends and family members and sing some Pi Day songs to those you know will appreciate them (and your singing voice, of course.)

There is anything but a short in awesomely geeky novelty items for every Pi lover out there to go nuts over–like these Pi and pie earrings ($7.50) from Etsy user nerdgoddess. These are made from polymer clay, glaze and wire and are water-resistant, rather than waterproof, so while you may be able to wear them while it’s drizzling during a summer afternoon, you cannot take them into the shower or swimming without ruining them. They are sure to relay the message to each and every single person you come into contact with that you don’t need to present them with your Official Geek Card, because you have something better–and it’s dangling from your earlobes.

If you’re looking for a gift for a math enthusiast or just have a thing for all things plush, Etsy user Kim Payne has the perfect solution–a Pi Guy ($6.00). This guy is made of cotton fabric with a green crackle print and has embroidered eyes and mouth and polyester stuffing. If green isn’t your style, take a look at the many other Pi Guys available of differing colors and prints.

Don’t forget to spread the word about Pi Day, or just send a lovely message, letter, thank you, words of encouragement and so on to a friend using these utterly awesome Pi notecards ($8.00) from Etsy user ziggybaby. The stamps used to make these notecards were carved from linoleum and were inked onto archival quality cardstock, so you are getting a completely handmade, straight from the heart of a fellow geek item when you get these notecards. I especially love how when you open these notecards, the first 17 decimal places of pi is stamped along the bottom.

You can effortlessly search Etsy for all pi-related items to satisfy your pi-loving, geeky soul and enjoy your Pi Day!

Conan O’Brien Launches TeamCoco.com to Spread the Word of 30-City Tour

Conan O’Brien isn’t just going to take his severance check from NBC and hide behind his Twitter; albeit changing a random girl’s life while basking in the glory of his internet-based fans. Conan has officially announced the next phase of his career and he swears, it’s half-assed.

TeamCoco.com was launched to promote Conan O’Brien’s upcoming 30-city comedy show that is said to be a night of music, comedy, hugging, and the occasional awkward silence. The tour will kick off in Eugene, Oregon and end in Atlanta, Georgia (at the time of writing this post.)

Are you excited about Conan going on tour? Will you be attending one of his shows?

Temptation is Beautiful Sweepstakes: Your Chance to Win Amazing, Tempting Prizes

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of KAO Brands. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have spoken about my slight (okay, maybe a little more than slight) obsession with bath and body products here before; so when I heard about the Temptation is Beautiful sweepstakes, I was more than just a little excited.

The Temptation is Beautiful sweepstakes began March 10th and every day up until May 8th a lucky winner who has successfully registered through the sweepstakes website will receive a gift basket full of tempting, luxurious Kao Brands products with a retail value of approximately $75. Those who successfully register will also be entered to win the grand prize of a 3 day/2night trip to Las Vegas for four; the package includes round trip air transportation, ground transportation, hotel accomodations and $1500 spending money with the approximate retail value of $6,000. That is amazing!

This sweepstakes is so unbelievably simple to enter; all you have to do is register on the official website and this sweepstakes is open to US residents (sorry beauty product fanatics of other countries, this giveaway is open only to US residents,) and you also must be 21 years of age or older to enter. While that is simple enough, you can enter to win the daily sweepstakes once per day and by entering every day, you will automatically be entered to win the grand prize trip to Las Vegas with three friends; so by the end of the sweepstakes period, you can have up to 60 entries for the grand prize sweepstakes! Even better, you can score up to four bonus entries into both sweepstakes prizes by taking a short, sweet and fun quiz, finding your Temptress Temperature (see my score below!) and sharing the results of the quiz with your friends on Twitter and Facebook.

Enter the Temptation is Beautiful sweepstakes daily for a chance to win a gift basket full of fabulous products and to be entered to win a trip to Las Vegas.

Calling All Business Owners: Tips on Your Phone Service that Will Save You Money

This is a guest post by Nicole Hayward, Marketing Director at Junction Networks.

If you are a start up or small business owner, odds are you’re going to need a business phone service. (You’re not going to tell prospective clients to call your cell phone much longer…) Here’s a tip that’s going to make your business look bigger, better, and smarter: Use a Hosted VoIP service.

What is Hosted VoIP?

Voice over IP (VoIP) is the growing technology that allows you to make phone calls over your internet connection. You may associate Skype with VoIP, which is an app that allows you to call another Skype user. However, there are phone services that integrate with the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), allowing you to make and receive phone calls like you would on a traditional phone.

Because of its relatively new emergence to the market, a VoIP service may seen intimidating. But, I’m here to assure you it’s actually cost efficient, reliable, AND easy to set up!

Why is VoIP Great for Small Businesses?

First and foremost, VoIP is great for small businesses because of its cost efficiency and ease in setting up. Frankly, if you choose a hosted VoIP service, you won’t need to pay a phone company to wire a business phone at your office or home. Instead, you’ll sign up for the service, purchase an IP phone to plug into your internet connection, and you’re set. Also, the actual phone service is cheaper because long distance calls are essentially local calls; voice data travels over the internet until it reaches a local PSTN to transfer to the recipient.

Secondly, VoIP has great features and scalability. You will find, using a hosted VoIP service, that you can choose a package that fits your business needs and budget. “This technology allows for businesses to take advantage of services like auto attendants, conference bridges, voicemail servers, video conferencing, click-to-call website integration, business hours routing, and voicemail-to-email notifications…” says TechCrunch. In addition to these features, you will be able to:

• Add users (extensions) in a matter of a few clicks as your business grows
• Answer your phone from the road using a smart phone app or your laptop in your hotel room
• Transfer calls to your remote employees with extension dialing (available with some services like OnSIP)
• Take your phone system with you when you move to a new office.

How Do You Get Hosted VoIP?

Well, of course I am biased, since I work for a great Business VoIP Service, OnSIP. You can easily sign up and try our service. But, feel free to weigh your options by Googling “Business VoIP”. Remember if you choose Hosted VoIP, all you will need are IP phones (e.g. Cisco or Polycom) and a broadband connection. Or, you can always email me with questions. Good luck in growing your business and communications!

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Nicole Hayward is the Marketing Director at Junction Networks, the creators of OnSIP Business Phone Service. Joining the software development industry after a traditional engineering education, she became passionate about discovering new software tolls for business efficiency and success. Follow Nicole and the rest of her team on Twitter @OnSIP and on the OnSIP blog. Or, you can email her at Nicole [AT] JunctionNetworks [DOT] Com.

Hulu Users aren’t Impressed with the Return of Jay Leno

After Conan O’Brien clearly won the hearts and minds of the Internet when he announced he would be leaving NBC after they decided they had made a huge mistake by putting Jay Leno on prime time. But now that Jay Leno’s The Tonight Show is airing later and pulling in great ratings while Conan O’Brien joined Twitter to be amongst his people, the internet doesn’t seem to be letting up on Jay Leno anytime soon. Example A: Hulu.

Hulu users have added more than 441 tags to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno’s page. There are more than 7 pages of adjectives to describe exactly how people feel about Jay Leno and subsequently, how people feel about Conan O’Brien no longer being on the air. Hulu users have tagged The Tonight Show with Jay Leno with terrible, unwatchable, must not see tv, go away jay, depressing, retirement home entertainment, vomit-inducing, and many other, much worse tags.

If anything, what this little demonstration has proven is that late night television audiences are really comprised of a few different generations who all latch onto the late night personality that best relates to their generation. This Hulu debacle really drives home the point that Jay Leno’s audience just really hasn’t caught on to how Hulu works yet and we can now all rest assured knowing that Conan O’Brien is truly with the people who loved him most now–on Twitter.

Boost Mobile’s SANYO Incognito: Nationwide Coverage, Monthly Unlimited Plan, No Contract Required

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Boost Mobile. All opinions are 100% mine.

In our very fast-paced, technologically-advanced and demanding society, if you’re going to buy a phone, chances are you’re going to buy one that can pretty much do anything and everything your computer can do–and then some.

Every time a new phone comes out, I am blown away by all of its features and add-ons you can choose. Technology has truly made it possible to accomplish everything you need to get done while you’re on the go. However, one thing I have noticed with the phones that seem to have everything you would ever need or want it to have so you can work while you’re out running errands or on business trips, is the price tag and even more crucial than that, the committment. When different companies are always coming out with new phones possessing a whole new web of technology, needing to commit to one provider and one phone becomes a problem for me. I don’t want to limit myself, I don’t want to be stuck with something that my friends and colleagues laugh at because they’ve got the brand new, super awesome phone with everything and I’m still stuck with the equivalent to an archaic piece of tech that no one uses anymore–or wants to use. Staying true to the message of our instant gratification society, I want the best that my money can buy right now and I want everything that goes along with it. I’m greedy like that.

Enter: Boost Mobile.

Boost Mobile knows what we all want when buying a new phone and isn’t afraid to offer it up at an affordable price without all the strings that come with other providers. They are launching the brand new SANYO Incognito; a sleek, sexy phone with nationwide coverage, EVDO capabilities, a full QWERTY keyboard, 2MP camera with VGA camcorder, music and video player and enhanced web browsing. The SANYO Incognito comes with the price tag of $129.99 (plus tax), comes with a $50 monthly unlimited plan and absolutely no contract is required. That is an absolutely awesome plan, if you ask me! If purchased through the above link, the SANYO Incognito SCP6760 will also come to you with free shipping, which is a huge perk because I know how much I hate getting my debit card out to pay for something, after frugally selecting my items and making sure I’m in my budget, only to have my jaw drop when I see the shipping fees.

The SANYO Incognito also has a list of additional features, making it easy for you to do any kind of business on your phone wherever you are, like multi-media messaging, so you can send videos and pictures to your friends, family and colleagues in a snap, it is stereo Bluetooth capable and it also has a GPS so you (hopefully) won’t ever get lost again. All in all, the SANYO Incognito from Boost Mobile is the absolutely perfect phone containing everything and anything you could ever want in a smartphone for a fraction of the cost of most leading brands out there, and without all of the hassle of the contract. The contract is always the killer.

Conan O’Brien Joins His Fans on Twitter

When news first broke of Jay Leno being pushed back into late night by NBC, the masses began siding with Conan O’Brien, also affectionately known as “Coco.” He became the most popular he had been for what seemed like his entire career, as he faced unemployment from NBC.

While Conan was host of the Tonight Show for a mere 7 months, his popularity has not died down since we all tuned in to see his last show and it was only a matter of time until Coco came to join his fans on the internet–starting his very own twitter account.

@ConanOBrien became active on Twitter a mere 19 hours ago and since then his identity has been verified by Twitter and he has accumulated over 270,000 followers and has been listed over 6,000 times. He has only tweeted once since his account has become active, but that isn’t stopping his fans from flocking to his Twitter account.

Will you follow Conan O’Brien on Twitter? Do you think it’s about time he hopped on the Twitter bandwagon?

Apple-Obsessed Couple Tie the Knot on V-Day at Apple Store

Happy newlyweds Josh and Ting Li had a Valentine’s Day wedding, and while V-Day is a very, very cliche day for engagements, weddings and vow renewals, the Li’s wedding was anything but run of the mill.

The two said “iDo” in an Apple store at New York’s Fifth Avenue Apple store. The ceremony referenced Steve Jobs, the ring bearer was a first generation iPod and the priest who officiated the ceremony was dressed as Steve Jobs.

While this may just seem like two geeks who fell in love and because of their epic fandom, chose to have their wedding at an Apple store, but the location actually bears a great deal of meaning to the couple, since it was where they met. Ting was looking to buy an iPod and Josh struck up a conversation with her and the rest was history. Josh also accounts that he used to joke that the Apple store was his church because he is not religious and obviously, loves everything Apple, so it was only natural for the couple to tie the knot at a location that was very much important to them both.

Check out video of the couple’s wedding:

I absolutely love that this couple was able to have their wedding in a setting that they felt passionate for, but check out all of those people taking obsessive amounts of pictures! I know I would personally opt for a more intimate setting where I didn’t feel like I had a flock of paparazzi after me trying to get as many pictures of me as possible. While there are definitely some people out there who do crave that celebrity treatment, when it comes to your wedding, I would personally keep it a bit more private.

Have you or would you ever want to have a fan-based wedding?

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