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!

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.

Julia Roberts’s Lancome Debut–What Do You Think?

Back in December, news broke of Julia Roberts joining the ranks of Anne Hathaway and Kate Winslet, becoming the newest face of Lancome. The news excited Roberts fans tremendously, since the actress has been busy raising a family, putting Hollywood on the backburner. Even in the newest movie she is in, Valentine’s Day, she only appeared in the film for about 6 minutes total. It may have taken a few months, but the famous smile of Julia Roberts has finally made its debut for Lancome in their just-launched French television ad with Roberts wearing their forthcoming European-market mascara, Hypnôse Precious Cells. Check out the television ad below and weigh in on what you think of it in the comments.

The first thing you may have realized about the above television ad is that yes, it is completely in French, which is a little disheartening and confusing. Julia Roberts is an actress; she’s pretty good with saying words out loud, memorizing lines and even the models of America’s Next Top Model have to try their hand at semi-perfecting foreign languages for their CoverGirl commercials. Was it just easier to have a male voiceover be the only thing you hear in this commercial? The fact that this was the debut of Julia Roberts for Lancome and her advertisement is completely in French is a bit of a letdown as well; especially considering that she is still a pretty big deal in Hollywood, retaining every bit of class she has had throughout the years. Hopefully we can see more of Julia Roberts for Lancome television advertisements in the future and perhaps they will even be in English.

Perfect Skin Probably isn’t Possible; Take Tips for Prettier Skin

I have been doing some very frequent research on simple things every day, regular women can do to help keep skin looking healthy and happy. I know as much as anyone out there who has ever scoffed at a commercial or advertisement from some beauty product or another claiming to give you flawless skin that perfect skin is probably not possible, especially when you don’t have an exuberant amount of money to toss at beauty experts. So I have come across a few tips that may help all of my fellow women out there who do all they can to keep themselves together every day and know that while we can’t strive and expect perfection in the way we look, we can aim for skin that looks healthy and keeps us happy.

I am told that I have to drink more water very frequently. With my skin that is very prone to eczema breakouts and my bouts with adult acne, every time someone feels the need to comment on any of this, they always tell me that I need to drink more water. Low and behold, the first rule of getting healthier skin is to drink two to three liters of water a day.

Yoga is already known to help stress, trauma and illnesses that affect the body and mind, but yoga can aid the skin in many different ways and it has been said that some beauty courses even use yoga exercises. While some experts will say that exercise helps acne, a lot of people found that this claim cannot be further from the truth for them because exercise obviously produces sweat and sweat often irritates the skin, which causes acne to become inflamed and makes it look even worse. Yoga, on the other hand, keeps you relaxed, fit, healthy and healthy looking and gives the people who perform yoga a glowing complexion, very much like that “after sex glow” we women (hopefully) know so well.

Switching from product to product is incredibly dangerous to your skin and when you’re trying to find that perfect product, the worst place to take that gamble is on your face. Once you get into a stable routine, from what you apply to your face after washing and before going to bed at night and what you apply to protect your skin throughout the day, you shouldn’t have surprise breakouts or bad reactions to products out of the blue. It’s best to apply a gentle face wash and moisturizing cream every morning and night and if you don’t know what products are best for you, try the greatly-rated Olay Gentle Foaming Face Wash ($4.86) or consult a dermatologist.

Frequent pimples, sudden breakouts and premature aging can all be attributed to one thing in a lot of cases–not removing your makeup every night. It is so simple to fall asleep at night after a very long day without removing your makeup, especially your eye makeup that can take a little while to get off completely. There are a ton of eye makeup removers on the market, including a formula developed by Lancome ($19.99).

What causes acne in the first place? Waste and toxins built up in your system. Your bowels and kidneys are the primary ways to get that waste out of your body, so the best way to make sure your kidneys and bowels are working the best they can is to maintain a diet high in fiber. Foods with the highest amount of fiber are apples, bananas, oranges, raspberries, strawberries, broccoli, brussel sprouts, spinach, parsnips and potatoes. If you cannot keep these foods in your diet daily, it’s also important to take fiber supplements, like Benefiber.

Who has the money and the time to get a professional facial? Yeah, not many people in the least, but facial masks do wonders for your skin and a lot of women with some pretty awesome skin have long relied on weekly DIY facial masks to suck out impurities and refresh the skin. One of the best ingredients used in a facial mask is clay–try the Lather White Clay Mask ($22).

Toys R Us and Babies R Us Expand to Include Full Infant Care Line

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

Toys R Us has long been a resource for parents, extended family and friends of parents to retreat to as their own, personal toy haven where the perfect toy for any child (or immature adult) could be found. Babies R Us has long been known as the place for all of your infant and toddler needs from nursery furniture and decor to health, cleansers and clothing. Regardless of which one of these stores you and your family frequent, both stores have expanded their inventory to include an entire line of infant and baby care essentials.

Now the next time you’re cruising down the aisles of Toys R Us, trying to find your husband who has Ooohed and Aaahed in the direction of some totally awesome toys, you can also pick up anything you may need for the littlest family members without having to stop at another store or two on your way home, which will definitely end up saving you some time.

The decision for Toys R Us and Babies R Us to stock a line of Babies R Us-branded infant care line in its stores was formally announced this past week. The products of this line include powdered infant formula, diapers, baby wipes, laundry detergent and purified water–all of the basic essentials needed at home, at all times. Better yet, the Babies R Us branded line of products are said to be up to 50% less than other brands of the same products.

For a brand already synonymous with being a leading, heavy-hitter in the infant and baby market and whose customers know as an establishment where they will receive quality products to expand their line in this fashion is an outstanding move. Not only will stocking a line of infant and baby essentials save busy parents some time by not having to go store-to-store looking for diapers and formula, but this will boost Babies R Us, specifically, in the registry department. Expectant mothers flock to Babies R Us to complete their baby shower gift registries and now, they will also be able to add diapers, baby wipes, formula, purified water and laundry detergent onto that registry; all very in-demand products any parent cannot possibly have enough of–So be sure to keep Toys R Us and Babies R Us in mind for those essentials you need at the highest quality you can find and for the most affordable price.

The Babies R Us brand infant care items are currently on shelves at Babies R Us and Toys R Us now!

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.

Old Navy FUNdamentals Sale–Tons of Styles and Colors for Spring and Free Shipping until March 4th

We have all seen the spring and summer emails coming in from our favorite stores we receive email alerts from. I have been known to complain about these emails, shouting in their bold-faced type that it’s almost spring and time to buy flip flops, which isn’t surprising since at this exact moment, I am sitting in front of a window watching inches upon inches of snow layer the ground. Hopefully spring will come to Northeastern Pennsylvania soon because I am getting ridiculously tired of snow and to prepare for those spring and summer seasons, Old Navy has a ton of styles, colors and sizes for all the men in your family.

The Old Navy FUNdamentals Sale is well underway and from now until March 4th you can get baseball tees, v-neck tees, boxers and socks for just $5, shorts for $15 and cargos, khaki and jeans for just $19. What makes this deal even sweeter is that not only will you cash in on Old Navy’s lowest prices of the season, but you will also receive free shipping on your purchase over $75 or more by using promo code ONFREE75 at checkout.

Last Night’s Red Carpet at the BAFTAs

The British Academy Film Awards, also popularly known as the BAFTAs, took place in London last night at the Royal Opera House. Check out the gorgeous stars that walked the red carpet in the season’s best fashion.

17/365 Days: Me (and Friends) Time

We all have lives. We all have families, regardless of whether we simply live our lives as people who have grown around, with and because of a group of people, or whether we are taken care of our own. We all have responsibilities and that last episode of LOST to catch up on before the next episode airs. Very, very few of us take time out of our days and nights to indulge in purely recreational, self-fulfilling activities that are completely and utterly selfish and one-sided. While words such as self-fulfilling and selfish may latch onto you as very negative things to do, when it comes to relaxation, it is just about the best thing you can do.

We have all heard of the term “mental health days,” but the term is often tossed around as a joke between women as to what they wish they could do–if only they could afford the day off or were able shirk their daily duties to a fellow co-worker for the day. When it comes to women actually taking a true mental health day to do something fun and fulfilling for themselves, we may as well be living in a fantasy world because we just don’t do that and if they do, they take that dangerous day off of work to catch up on their list of errands that must be completed in order to live in a house that doesn’t smell faintly of gym socks or for functions or other obligations we really couldn’t fit into our schedule, but tried to convince ourselves we could.

I did not post on Woman Tribune yesterday. I thought about it and really sat down at the computer with the intention of writing and putting more content out there, but when it came down to it, my head and my heart wasn’t in it and the worst kind of blogging you can do is forced blogging when you’re just not feeling it. Through the years, I’ve noticed that when I forced myself to put content out there when I really just didn’t feel like it and wasn’t passionate about it, my hits would decline over time and my number of subscribers would follow suit. I was creating the same amount of content, but really, I knew it was all filler–and so did my readers. So instead of posting here yesterday, my partner and I hit up the store (in the middle of a snow storm, woops,) and filled up on the most junk food we have bought in a very long time. When we got home, we both went to our computers, but instead of working, we decided that it was time to spend some time together doing something we both love–play video games. And yes, we do consider him sitting in his office upstairs at his computer and me sitting downstairs at my computer “spending time together” if we’re both logged into the same video game and talking through Skype. We’re nerds like that.

We ended up playing Empire Builder with a friend of ours last night for over nine hours. That sounds extreme and of course I do not want to imply that everyone has nine hours to sit at the computer getting nothing but high scores on a video game accomplished, but being such a creature of the computer and such a video game nut, I needed a day of nothing but gaming to let me relax, rid my head of my absolutely insane list of things I need to accomplish, have been wanting to accomplish and have been trying to make myself accomplish. After last night and sitting here today, I don’t have to force a thing and I’m back to my normal, workaholic self.

So, in conclusion, regardless of your list of errands or the amount of minutes or hours you have to spare in a day, take some time to do something that you genuinely enjoy doing; something you may even feel guilty about because it is so self-indulgent. Do it and when you’re through and you have allowed yourself that time, you will come back to your list of errands, because they never do just disappear, regardless of how much we may want them to, an you will feel refreshed and be ready to get to work.

6/365 Days: Kick Ass Black Boots

It is my profound belief that no woman should ever be without a pair of truly kick ass black boots. Much like the little black dress, kick ass black boots serve a distinct purpose in a woman’s life. While the dress is something brought out of the closet when nothing else seems just right and is guaranteed to look fabulous regardless of what event you are attending or who you’re looking to impress, kick ass black boots make their appearance when women are feeling confident, strong, powerful and fearless; and if women weren’t exuding these attributes at first, as soon as they lace up those boots, they become a bit transformed. Black boots never go without being noticed and pair perfectly with those vintage graphic tees and jeans that hug your hips just right.

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