Well kids, it’s no secret that we love to give out money here at How2Blogger. January’s $100 contest was a success and we’ll be announcing the winner here within the next day, but that doesn’t mean we can’t start this month’s contest.

So, we’ll make this quick and simple - here’s the rules for February’s contest.

To gain entries into the contest, just do any of the following:
- Make a comment of value (not just “i agree”, etc.) on a post = 1 entry (remember to comment on all blogs)
- Subscribe to RSS via email = 2 entries (per blog you subscribe to!)
- Write a post about the contest on your blog (must include a link to this page and the links below to participating blogs) = 25 entries

How much easier can we make it? So you can sneak in with just one entry by simply posting a comment here, you can increase your odds by reading and commenting on a few more posts here and at one of the blogs below and maybe subscribe to a couple, or you can really up the odds and subscribe to all all of our blogs (which you’ll enjoy reading anyway), comment on a bunch of posts, and blog about this contest. The more entries you earn, the better your odds, of course. If you’re going to post about this contest, just grab the image and code from here.

The deadline for this contest is 12:00 AM March 1, 2008.

Who wants to pay you?
- JoeTech.com
- Link Bait
- Gorilla Sushi
- CK Marketing
- The Big Bald Blog
- How 2 Blogger
- Dot Sauce Magazine
- Jason Boom

Good luck kids!

This post was guest written by BetShopBoy - one of the fan favorites here at How2Blogger. Be sure and check out BSB’s blog over at BetShopBoy.net.

Ah yes, Valentine’s Day is upon us again. That sacred time of the year when smitten couples stroll hand in hand, and whisper sweet nothings over a romantic candle-lit dinner accompanied with lavish gifts that may have cost the man’s entire month’s paycheck!

Whatever gifts you are buying for your love this Valentine’s day, a definite must-do is to front it with something flora so that your loved one can show the whole wide world she was being pampered by her man. A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do – buy his sweetheart flowers.

Img Credit: Felix Francis

If you think buying flowers for your sweetheart is child’s play, then you may find yourself in for a thorny time. While sticking with the dozen romantic red roses is a safe choice, do you think that is really the sort of petal to impress and touch that special someone?

All flowers have specific flower meanings, which symbolize one emotion or another, ranging from true love, to friendship, to gratitude, to farewell. The number of stalks and the flowers’ colors also have their own meaning altogether.

Here are some basic Do’s and Don’ts in choosing the right flowers for your date:

Do’s

1. Roses are a safe choice but it won’t hurt to find out what flowers your girl actually likes – some adventurous gal may find roses a tad boring. Take it as an opportunity to customize a unique bouquet of flowers that represents your “unyielding adoration” for her or symbolizes you are madly in love with her.
2. Find out her color preference – some girls like soft pastel tones while others prefer them loud and cheerful.
3. Choose hand held bouquets or hand posies as your girl can then take her flowers and show them off at dinner. You don’t expect her to carry those vases or bulky baskets to dinner, do you?
4. Send flowers together with a personalized message to your love’s office in the morning to brighten her mood for the rest of the day. Have the florist seal the envelope (especially if the contents are very mushy)

Don’ts

1. Avoid inappropriate flowers such as chrysanthemums and carnations. Yellow chrysanthemums symbolize slighted love and pink carnation is the emblem of mother’s day!
2. Unless your girl has a special fondness for all things yellow, don’t give yellow roses as it symbolize just friendship. You wouldn’t want her to think you are treating the relationship as just friendship, would you?
3. Don’t rely on the florist bulk chocolates to complement your flower order. If possible, make the chocolate yourself, it will surely melt her heart.
4. Avoid bulky bouquets – unless you want to break her delicate hands, or you want to carry a basket of flowers to dinner

Besides the different flowers and colors which symbolize different meanings, the number of stalks you give also has its own meaning.

Img Credit: Missty

Stalk symbolism

• One stalk: Love at first sight
• Three stalks: I love you
• Nine stalks: Till death do us part
• 11 stalks: There is only you in my heart
• 12 stalks: All of my utmost love
• 24 stalks: Missing you always
• 99 stalks: My love will last till the end of time
• 999 stalks: Infinite love

There you have it, the above basic flowers tips will put you in good stead to get the right flowers and impress your girl this Valentine’s Day. Now go have yourselves a passionate Valentine’s Day!

Well, now that How2Blogger is back from his mini-vacation, it’s time to get down to the business of planning your upcoming Superbowl party.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I believe that you can’t really have a great Superbowl party unless you have the following:

• Friends
• A big screen television
• Beer
• At least 1 Cheese Ball

So, seeing as the first three things on that list are something that I can’t really help you with - we’re going to be focusing on the Cheese Ball.

There are a great number of variations on the Cheese Ball, and sure, you could buy one in a store. But there really isn’t any greater satisfaction in life than putting your cheese ball that you made out on a plate with some crackers and watching your friends dig into it and then say, “Wow. Good cheese ball.” I’m pretty sure it’s a feeling of pride similar to that of sending your kids to their first day of school.

Anyways - for your first cheese ball we’re going to stick to a basic recipe so we don’t lose anybody. For future Superbowls, feel free to venture out and get a little creative with it. Shoot, you might even want to fashion your cheese ball into a football! Brilliant.

How To Create A Cheese Ball

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. 8 oz Cream Cheese
• 8 green onion tops
• 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 pkg. dried beef
• 1 tsp. Accent

1. Leave the cream cheese out to soften it. Not over night, just for like an hour. Don’t be silly.

2. Chop up green onion tops and mix into the cream cheese.

3. Cut the dried beef into small pieces. Add half of it to the cream cheese mixture.

4. Add Worcestershire sauce and Accent to the mix. Mix it all up good.

5. Shape it into a ball or a rabbit or some other cute animal. Roll it in the other half of the beef.

6. Put it on a plate, chill, and serve with crackers.

Easy. Good luck.
If you’re planning on betting on the game - you might want to consider entering the $100 Contest to cover any losses!

I would love to claim that I came up with this all on my own, but that just wouldn’t be the the case. I found this while stumbling here. Apparently it was originally on the journal of Kevin Pease who does a web comic called Absurd Notions which looks pretty interesting and is worth a read as well - though I couldn’t find the original posting of this project.

But here it is reprinted for your fun and enjoyment.

So enjoy it, damn it.

How To Create Your First Album

1. You’re going to need a name for your band. Click here - take the article title as your band’s name. If you just so happen to load a page about a band - you might want to cheat and hit reload.

2. Next you’ll need a name for your album. Again - click here. Use the last 4 words of the last quote on the page as your album title.

3. No good album can be complete without some great cover art. For the last time - click here. The third picture on the page, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4. Open the graphics program of your choice and put them all together and voila! your first album.

Be sure to look out for NHotR on tour this summer.

Alright kids - it’s not often that How2Blogger asks for help as I’m usually too busy writing Haiku, growing mullets, or training for American Gladiators. But today - your favorite ‘How To’ Blogger has been nominated in the prestigious, world famous, taking over the blogosphere Mapiles Blogging Cup.

Yes, you read that correctly. It’s our first blogging competition and I’m desperate for a win.

Actually I’m begging for a win.

How2Blogger is battling it out in the Mapiles Cup. I’ve been pitted to go up against 15 other world class blogs - and somehow, someway, I’m determined to bring this one home. But that’s only if you vote for me.

And of course - if I win, I’m taking the trophy/banner and my winnings and I’m going to Disney World.

So, if you could take a minute and head over to the competition arena and vote/cheer for your favorite How To Blog, I’d very much appreciate it.

In the first round I’m going head to head with another wonderful blogger over at TechTreak. Unfortunately for them, this competition is looking to be short as they’ve drawn How2Blogger in the first round. So TechTreak - like Ivan Drago says to Rocky in Rocky IV - sorry dude, but “I must break you.”

Shoot, did Rocky win that one?

And don’t forget, if you could use an extra hundred bucks you can still enter our January Contest for $100 smackers.