Curiously Awesome

Like contests? Like winning? Who doesn’t!

Here’s an easy one with some great prizes. Blu World is sponsoring a BluFrog contest with five great grand prizes. See if any of these interest you (I don’t see how they couldn’t…):

1) BlueGamer Ultimate Gaming Package
2) Happy Blu Year New York
3) Blullapalooza Chicago
4) Blu Streak Orlando
5) Extreme Blu Aspen

I am definitely entering with the hope of winning the Happy Blu Year New York package. I would absolutely be thrilled to be the grand prize winner of that trip.

Entering is so easy. There are three ways to enter and each entrant can enter up to three times. Either leave a comment on the Blu Blog or Twitter Tweet an announcement about the contest and which prize you want to win or write a post about the contest on your blog and comment about your blog post. See? I told you it was easy.

The contest is going on from now until July 17…so there is not that much time to get going with your entries. This is one of those things that is just so easy to do that you have to wonder why everyone wouldn’t enter to win one of these great grand prizes.

Have you looked into webhosting lately? If not, you may want to take a quick peek at some of these links I’m throwing your way. Webhosting has come a long way over the last few years and there have been many technological improvements that customers definitely want to have available for them from their web host. You really should take a look at this site, especially if you are shopping for a new web host.

I was just reading around on the Webhosting Geeks site and found their blog to be interesting and informative. I especially liked their blog because it was full of a lot of useful information. For example…have you considered how Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is connected with your choice of web host? If you think about this, it really is important to consider how your web host will help you optimize your websites for the best SEO possible. I was reading some great SEO tips on their blog.

There are many web hosts available…but you need to make sure that the web host you choose has your best interests in mind. Do your research and be sure you choose the best one for your needs. If you don’t have a reliable web host, your website and your rankings will suffer.

My kids love fireflies…in fact it isn’t really and truly summer where we live until the fireflies come out at night…and that isn’t until the nights stay consistently in the 60s. This year we are a long way away from this it seems…temperatures have been so chilly!

But anyway…I digress.

I just heard about a contest with a grand prize of a $10,000 scholarship. How to enter? Name a cute little firefly! How fun is that? Kroger food stores are holding this contest. Parents can help Comforts baby formula name its cute little firefly mascot and you have a chance to win a $10,000 college scholarship.

Conforts for Baby formula is fortified with iron and is considered a complete source of protein for the first year. It contains those important lipids necessary for mental and visual development. It also has some of the natural nutrients found in breastmilk. No worries about where it’s made either…right here in the US.

I’m horrible with names…it’s amazing that we settled on names for all of our kids…but this sounds like fun. I would name the firefly “Flit.” Cute? Fitting? I think so. What would you name the firefly? Well…think up a name and go to the site and enter the contest. The winning entry will be announced after September 21, 2009.

Hey nurses! It’s almost summer…how is your scrubs selection? Have you considered that it might be a fun idea to update your scrubs wardrobe and incorporate a few fun new items for the coming summer season? If I was a nurse, I would totally be doing this for every season just to keep things refreshed and interesting.

Now…I’m not talking about throwing everything out and buying a whole new nursing wardrobe, but finding a few fresh pieces might make a big difference. I was just reading about how this can really help keep a nurse motivated on the Scrubs website. By the way…have you seen this site? It was created with the nurse in mind and is a great source of support, inspiration, and information for anyone in the nursing profession.

For instance, the “Wake Up Looking Younger” article that I found was full of great information that anyone could benefit from, really. It had five points that should be done daily to make sure that you are presenting your best (and youngest looking) face to the world…whether you’re pulling a double shift or what the situation might be. Simple things like washing your face properly and moisturizing were covered in the article. I also found an article about taking care of your fingernails (especially when they are subjected to the rigors of nursing) that would be helpful to many people.

This site is a must-see for anyone in the nursing profession.

When you have a family as diverse and large as I do, you learn to get creative about the vacations you plan. It can be extremely challenging to find a spot that will appeal to teenagers, toddlers, and parents as well. I’m not about to hang out at a waterpark for days on end even though my teenagers would love nothing better. They have little patience for the kind of nature getaways that my husband and I really enjoy. As far as the little ones…they like almost everything…but they don’t have the stamina to keep up with the bigger people and they need activities in smaller doses. This is why a place like Kissimmee, Florida, is made to order for my family.

There is something for everyone here. Water parks, theme parks, roller coasters, nature, beaches…it’s all there for the taking. And here is something that just makes it even better!

Kissimmee is giving away three weekend getaways for two and two week-long vacations for four! There is one more drawing coming up on June 1, 2009 so there is till time left to enter the sweepstakes for a great chance to win some time in Kissimmee!

Self-publishing is changing the scene of publishing. This new trend is rapidly picking up steam as an effective and advantageous alternative to the traditional New York publishing houses. And it’s about time!

Outskirts Press is a full-service self publishing and book marketing company. Outskirts Press has recently announced that one of its authors has earned over $100,000 in author royalties in just six short months.

Gang Chen is the self published author of Planting Design Illustrated and LEED AP Exam Guide. He will receive a first-quarter royalty check for $77,611.88 for books sold during the first quarter of 2009. Chen received a royalty check for $33,679.56 from Outskirts Press for books sold during the fourth quarter of 2008.

Chen contacted hundreds of traditional publishers for his first book. He finally made an agreement with one major publisher, but then realized that he couldn’t accept the substantial revisions they were wanted. He canceled this traditional publishing contract and decided to publish his book himself.

Outskirts Press knows that marketing is an integral part of an author’s success. Unlike most self-publishing firms, Outskirts Press offers promotional advice and marketing services that extend for years after the initial publication.

If you have pets that you love, you should know about the Home Again Web Site.

This site has helped find over 500,000 lost pets through microchipping. Microchipping is an effective way of identifying animals without relying on a tag that may fall off or become so worn that it cannot be read. When pets are microchipped, they stand a much better chance of being found if they are lost. Well…HomeAgain has gone beyond microchipping. When you subscribe to their service, HomeAgain gives members access to pet-recovery specialists and an emergency medical assistance number to call when needed. There is also up to $3,000 in medical pet insurance for lost pets available and up to $500 that will be reimbursed for travel expenses if your pet is found more than 500 miles away from your home.

Consider registering your pet now and HomeAgain will make a donation with a fundraising Web site specifically created to help shelter animals. A percentage of purchases made through this site will go to animal shelters for food and medical care.

Apparently there is no shortage of celebrities in the Kissimmee area…and who can blame them…seriously! This is a totally cool spot for many different activities. If you love theme parks…they’re here. If you love nature…that’s here. If you love pampering and shopping…that’s here too! There is something for everyone here. My girls would love to meet a few of the Disney princesses and spend a day at a spa being pampered and attended to. I have to admit…I could get into this too. This would be a fun vacation filled with spa treatments, shopping, and girl fun.

Speaking of vacations…have you heard about this? Kissimmee is giving away three weekend getaways for two; and two week-long vacations for four. They have already had two drawings and awarded some great vacations…but there is still one more drawing going to be held on June 1, 2009, so there is still time to enter this amazing sweepstakes and have a chance to win.

If you haven’t given the Kissimmee area much thought lately, I’d urge you to do so. This is an area that has something for everyone so the entire family could be happy vacationing here. Check out the sweepstakes and maybe you’ll get lucky!

Needing a vacation? Life for me has entered an unbelievably fast lane pace lately and it has no signs of slowing down for the foreseeable future. It is really enough for me to start dreaming about escaping to someplace like…Kissimmee! I haven’t been there for years, but I love this area of Florida.

I am not an amusement park person. Never have been and I don’t expect that I ever will be. That is why the Kissimmee area appeals to me, I guess. I love nature settings, hiking trails, and watching wildlife. The Everglades are ready to be explored here! In fact, from what I understand this area is the largest nesting place for Bald Eagles in the entire continental US. These wetlands are brimming with interesting wildlife and nature just ready to be explored.

Sound great? There’s more, though! Kissimmee is giving away three weekend getaways for two and two week-long vacations for four. Two drawings have already occurred, but there is still one more on June 1, 2009. Enter the sweepstakes and win one of these cool vacations!

It’s been awhile since I talked about C’elle, but I thought that since May is Stroke Awareness Month this would be an excellent time to revisit C’elle and the products and services they offer.

C’elle is a service that helps women collect and preserve stem cells from their monthly menstrual flow. These stem cells have amazing possibilities for healing, new techniques, and treatments for serious illnesses. Strokes are one such illness that stem cell therapy may be effective for treating.

Some quick talking points about strokes:

• Stroke is the top cause of disability in the US
• 100,000 young and middle-aged women will suffer strokes in 2009
• One third of these will be in women under 65

Adult stem cells harvested from bone marrow have been used to treat stroke victims. Research has also indicated that stem cells may be able to help repair damage done during a stroke. Harvesting bone marrow has its downsides, however. It happens to be an extremely painful procedure. Wouldn’t it be so much easier to collect stem cells from a monthly menstrual flow instead?

C’elle’s service is surprisingly affordable. When you really think about it, though…can we even put a price tag on something like this? Visit C’elle’s about page to get all the details and information you want about this company. Then visit their order now page to get yourself set up to begin collecting precious stem cells and ensuring the health of you and your family.