I don’t need a calendar to tell me that summer is nearly here. The days get longer, the electric bill skyrockets, we enjoy weekend lunches by the pool, evenings are capped with dinner and a beautiful sunset on the patio, and the neighborhood kids get louder with each passing day as they pile off the school bus. They know that there’s an end in sight.
I totally remember those days.
Nearly two years ago, we decided that we just couldn’t take another Texas summer without a swimming pool. We loaded up our 8-month-old daughter and moved to the suburbs. We found the perfect pool that just happened to have a house attached. Lucky us.
When the school year ends, that new backyard quickly becomes family barbecue central. Nieces and nephews pour in from Dallas and San Antonio with my sisters, brothers, and in-laws in tow.
I love entertaining, but I’d much rather throw an informal, potluck-style backyard barbecue with friends and family than a fancy dinner party. One requires food that’s far less fussy and lets me spend more time with family. And one requires mascara. It’s really a no-brainer.
Carafes of margaritas, sweet tea, and fresh-squeezed lemonade sit on ice next to a stack of Solo Cups. The smell of pork ribs and mesquite smoke in the air mix with chlorine and 50+ SPF sunscreen. The little ones squeal with excitement when the Cannonball Championship starts – biggest splash has bragging rights for at least a week!
The picnic-style lunch menu is rounded out with dad’s baked beans (it’s not a barbecue without them), hot dogs and burgers with a spread of fixins to make everyone happy, grilled vegetables, and a bowl of potato chips.
An ice cold watermelon is perfectly chilled and sliced into wedges piled high on a platter next to the salt shaker. We are a family divided: 1) my mother and I, who salt our watermelon before eating it and 2) everyone else.
No one’s perfect.
And just when you think you couldn’t – shouldn’t – eat one more bite, out comes a bowl of banana pudding and a baking sheet full of ice cream cones for dessert!
Is there another dessert that makes people as happy as eating ice cream in a cone? Adults relish in memories of childhood summers; the melody of the ice cream truck and camping out in the backyard seem much more recent than 20 years ago. And the kids giggle as they race to catch the dripping ice cream before it hits the patio. It’s the stuff that makes 30-somethings feel like teenage-somethings and cannonball into the deep end of the pool.
Nestlé® Drumstick® Lil’ Drums are one of my favorite summer treats. They’re smaller than the classic Drumstick – something that’s extremely important when we’re talking about desserts and bathing suits in the same sentence – but still have that signature chocolate-coated sugar cone. Do not stand between me and the Caramel Graham cone. With a drizzle of caramel sauce and graham cracker pieces on top of vanilla ice cream, it was love at first bite – try it, you’ll see. There are several new flavors, you can check them out here.
My husband typically shuns the Lil’ Drums and heads straight for the classic full-sized Drumstick.
Regardless of the flavor, anyone who doesn’t bite the bottom of the cone off first doesn’t get invited back.
I kid, I kid.
And now for the giveaway! Nestlé is kicking off the summer in a very fabulous way for one lucky reader with a $100 Walmart gift card! To enter the giveaway, simply answer this question in the comments below: What is your favorite summer activity with your friends and family?
Giveaway Rules
1. No duplicate comments.
2. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
– Leave a comment in response to the question “What is your favorite summer activity with your friends and family?”
– Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
– Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
– For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
3. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
4. The Official Rules are available here.
5. This sweepstakes runs from 5/14/2012 to 6/15/2012.
Be sure to visit the Nestlé Drumstick page on BlogHer.com, where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!
This post was sponsored by BlogHer and Nestlé.
{ 313 comments… read them below or add one }
BBQ’S!!!
We love going to the pool and to the beach.
I love going camping with my family.
tweet–https://twitter.com/#!/mami2jcn/status/202071280432857088
Love going to the beach in the summer and watch the sunset.
https://twitter.com/#!/roso1946/status/202072331525423105
I love to go swimming– then BBQ while everyone is still in the pool- dessert and back in the pool!
My favorite summer activity is horseshowing with my friends!
My favorite summer activity is grilling on our patio…LOVE!
Going to the lake!
family74014 at gmail dot com
My favorite summer activity is hanging around the porch or pool with a cold drink in my hand.
Floating the river with friends and a drink!
BBQ with friends and family!
family barbeques!
My favorite summer activity is going to the beach with my extended family. I love that we all go on vacations together.
We live in New Jersey so my favorite summer activity is spending the day at the beach and then having a BBQ for dinner. It’s just the best!
i like to go boating
I love going to the pool!
i tweeted: https://twitter.com/#!/onitnaram/status/202076261441474561
I love picnics, bbq’s, bonfires, and anything that involves FOOD!!
we like going to the beach
https://twitter.com/#!/ElenaIstomina/status/202077325548990466
Eating a huge lunch after swimming for hours outside!
Backyard BBQ’s!
I love going to the ocean!
demureprincess7(at)gmail(dot)com
we love going to the pool
tweeted
https://twitter.com/#!/karinaroselee/status/202089158443925506
Camping with my family – beach or mountains – just being away with no distractions
Back yard bbq’s with my son and his wife.
My favorite summer activity is cookouts followed by a bonfire!
Our annual weekend trip to San Antonio. I love all of the great food and culture!
I did the alternate form of entry
My absolute favorite thing about the summer is being at the POOL! There is nothing else I’d rather do on a hot summer day than be at the pool with my husband and friends and having a coctail!
I love BBQ’s with the friends and family!!! It is so nice to enjoy time outside with everyone
Baseball games – go Rangers!
There are so many!! IF I had to pick one (which apparently I do), I’d have to go with barbecues as well. We do slip n slide like nobody’s business cause Hubs and I decided long ago that we are not the type of people that can keep up a pool (waaaaay too much work)…. But picnics and waterparks and the beach and camping all deserve a mention too!!
I love camping!
My family and I love to hang out at the lake. We grill, boat, swim and just hang out.
I love playing badminton with my family in the backyard. It’s a good workout and it’s fun!
we go swimming with friends and have a huge bbq with skewers. we invite lots of people and make it a big party!
Definitely the beach!
tweet
https://twitter.com/#!/MeandBells/status/202101469107847169
Floating the river!!!!!!
We love spending time in and around our pool in the Summertime. Everyone knows they’re welcome!
going to the beach
https://twitter.com/#!/akronugurl/status/202104148349562880
I enjoy just being able to relax with my family and friends – summer gives me that I don’t need to rush attitude and i love absolutely that!
Picninc, barbecue…call it what you want. There’s nothing I love more than just hanging out with friends and family, eating (more food and desserts than I would any regular day of the week,) drinking and talking.
My favorite summer activity has to be going down to the shore! We love to bar hop on our bicycles during perfect weather nights in Cape May!
Summer calls for a trip to the beach with kids and grandkids…preferably the Florida Gulf coast!
I love boating/tubing!
fire pits and corn hole with friends!
picnic in wine country!
Bike riding!
My grandfather’s birthday is on the 4th of July, so we always have a family gathering to celebrate the holiday and grandpa on the 4th. That celebration is definitely my favorite part of summer.
I like going to six flags or florida with my immediate family and other family members.
https://twitter.com/#!/vivaciousgold/status/202117098758090752- tweeted
Family and friends over for cookouts and game night!
Hanging out by the pool, going to the beach, eating outside, playing tennis!
I love driving up the canyon with friends and having a bonfire and cookout. And I also love summer for road trips/vacays with friends and family.
Swimming.
I simply don’t think you could have made a summer party sound more appealing! What a fantastic party it looks like it was. Great giveaway, too! My favorite summer activity with friends and family is laying by Barton Springs Pool with a cool drink and a good read.
Lots of swimming with the kids and of course popsicles and pudding pops!
I love having friends over to bbq!!
I love going to our lake house on the weekends! Best part of summer, hands down.
Cookouts and campfires with friends!
I love to go swimming at the local water park!
being in a freshly mowed, shady back yard in the evening. The faint smell of the BBQ grill in the background. With a tub full of icy cold beer.
I love to go camping and hiking
Camping, swimming and the waterslides!
https://twitter.com/#!/peapot76/status/202132568517246977
Hiking with the dogs is the best!
Going to the free summer concerts in the park, or the minor league baseball games and sitting in the lawn seats.
soluckyducky at gmail dot com
https://twitter.com/#!/DuckyBunny/status/202138065714688000
soluckyducky at gmail dot com
My favorite summer activity is camping out and grilling
I tweeted about the giveaway https://twitter.com/#!/thespiffycookie/status/202140319469404160
Favorite summer activity is swimming!
BBQs with friends and family are the best!
we love going to the pool and have family BBQs.
Bbq at the beach! Charred hotdogs smothered with yellow mustard and dill pickle relish
Backyard BBQ, volleyball, and swimming with family and friends.
My favorite activity during the summer is getting together with friends to BBQ and enjoy margaritas.
Having a BBQ with family and friends!
Swimming in the pool… and slip-n-slides!
We love to swim. I wish we could do it more. We live in TX and have been dealing with droughts so we haven’t been able to even put up the kiddie pool all last summer. Thanks for the chance to enter.
Making S;Mores
I love kayaking in a canal behind our beach house on cool summer mornings followed by a delicious brunch!
A Summer family vacation at the beach.
Hanging out with my kiddos (3, almost 2 and 6 months) in our backyard baby pool, the swing, the sprinkler, the sandbox. These are the days…I know they won’t last too long so I try and soak them up!
Going to the jersey shore!!
We love going to the pool.
butt rafting down the river!!!
I love to spend the day at the beach with my friends and family and then follow up back at home with a BBQ and margaritas!
Games of bocce ball & gimlets on the deck (your family enjoys tequila… we enjoy GIN!)
Beach dinners that turn into bonfires, and taking jet ski rides!
Going to the beach and Barbequing!
My favorite summer activity is too have parties with friends and family outside under the stars!
an afternoon in the backyard pool… floating all day!
going to the beach!
tweeted – https://twitter.com/#!/thepajamachef/status/202183722819272705
We love the beach!
I love being back home and outside walking around the river with my two dogs! Best way to soak up the sunshine.
sitting on my patio with friends and a pitcher of margaritas!
Going to the beach.
Definitely BBQs with friends and family!
I love a good ole family game of softball!
Spending time at the lake and the beach!
Swimming!!
I love grilling, so this is my favorite time of year. Nothing beats a great steak on the grill!
I love cook-outs with family and friends! So much fun!!
I love to ride my horses in the summer!
Bonfires
I love relaxing at my Aunt’s pool with friends and family!
My favorite summertime activity is taking a family vacation!
I love having campfires with the kids and toasting marshmallows!
Tweet!
https://twitter.com/#!/tcrowley122/status/202206813016424449
We love grilling out and hanging at the pool!
I really like grilling out! We’ve just really started to experiment with grilling different things!
Swimming… well not me much anymore… but watching the kids swim just like I did ( when bathing suits were fun ) at my grandparents pool!!
Gathering at the lake an BBQ’ing, riding on tube and just chilling with familyand friends.
hiking!
BBQ and go to the pool!
kayaking !
I love going out for ice cream. We have some of the world’s best ice cream here in Columbus at Jeni’s and Graeters.
Going to the beach!!!
tweet https://twitter.com/#!/SaraMama/status/202225119664406529
tweeted
https://twitter.com/#!/amylou61/status/202228147599589376
Being on the boat with family and friends! Cannot wait.
Tweeted https://twitter.com/#!/leesastokes/status/202234937871564800
We love going to the beach. And I love bonfires/cookouts on the beach, especially if they include s’mores!
We love having dinner and drinks outside in the evenings.
Schlitterbahn! Love the open picnic area, plentiful shade and river water! And it’s just down the road from Austin
I tweeted! https://twitter.com/#!/tasteandseeblog/status/202255478355537920
We love to have bonfires with all of our friends and families during the summer!
Cooking out or sitting by the pool!
My family summer activity is the trip we take together as a family every year. We vote on location, and every year it’s something different, and it’s ALWAYS an adventure. Great times, memories, and pictures.
swimming!!
my favorite summer activity with your friends and family spending a week at the beach
I TWEETED about your give-away here: https://twitter.com/#!/iluvstbernards/status/202376630793019392
I belong to a women’s motorcycle club and we love to ride the twisties all summer long!
Tubing down the river!
Playing volleyball then grilling out with friends.
I teach so summers are my time to reconnect with my girls. My favorite summer activity is sleeping until the bedroom fills with light.
I love going to the beach!
https://twitter.com/#!/aes529/status/202395795557842945
swimming in the backyard!!
My favorite summer activity is definitely a good cookout with family and friends
margaritas are a must!
Our favorite summer past time would be relaxing out back overlooking the pond and mountain,
building a huge fire in our 12 foot fire pit, playing horseshoes and eating lots of good grilled food.
Our favorite summer activity is to pack up a picnic lunch and head to the beach for the day.
I love bucknight (hotdogs, popcorn & beer) at the local minor league baseball game – entertainment, food , friends and a beautiful summer night – can’t wait!
loading up the kids, the dogs and the trailer and heading for higher ground! nothing better than no cell reception, cooking over an open flame and actually reconnecting as a family – no electronics involved! kristinmik at gmail
We love grilling in the backyard.
Grilling out and playing lawn games!
My favorite summer activity with friends and family is going for a nice long hike!
We love the simple things- getting out the baby pool for my daughter, and cooking hot dogs on a charcoal grill.
chambanachik@gmail.com
Cookouts!
We love to take our puppy to the park or the beach!
going fishing and taking a nice picnic with us
thepryfamily@gmail.com
https://twitter.com/#!/thepryfamily2/status/202450519883661312
thepryfamily@gmail.com
Definitely BBQs. I love getting together with friends or family and cooking a delicious meal. We just got a portable canopy and I can’t wait to use it in the backyard since we get SO much sun.
Definitely hitting the beach for the day!
Pony Penning! The round up all the horses on our neighboring shelter island, bring them over to our island via swimming them across a small channel – then auction the foals and swim them back. You see faces you haven’t seen all year long (along with the faces of 70,000+ tourists), it’s truly a homecoming!
Hanging at the pool and having a bbq!!!
Camping with friends. This year we are taking a canoe camping trip.
going to the beach!
Definitely BBQ-ing!!
I love camping and hiking!
Cooking out with family and friends of course!!!!
We love to go to the beach.
Summer just screams snowballs to me. It’s the best way to beat the heat out here, and just waiting in line and having a snowball with family is one of my favorite Summer memories as a kid! Oh, and of course swimming!
I love the family reunions!
(Wish I had a pool in the backyard!)
Tweet: https://twitter.com/#!/sharonjo2/status/202584160026624002
Biking, my friends and I explore the country side and bike from city to city. Love it!
I love to cookout with friends and family
https://twitter.com/#!/rjs682/status/202608336439480320
Having a picnic by grilling and playing badminton in our backyard!
Picnics!
Tweet
https://twitter.com/#!/BBirdie2/status/202632697972133888
My favorite summer activity is to take the kids to visit my In-Laws and stay over for the weekends! We prepare great food together; spend the day at the back yard pool, pick fresh fruit from their garden etc.
Amy [at] utry [dot] it
tweeted: https://twitter.com/#!/uTry_it/status/202636721781866496
Amy [at] utry [dot] it
My favorite summer activity is hosting BBQs in the backyard or taking fun weekend trips out of town
My favorite summer activity with friends are outdoor summer bbqs.
I like taking my kids to amusement parks.
tweeted
https://twitter.com/#!/kellysaver/status/202800516055568385
Cookouts with lots of fresh salads, burgers, & ice cream!
I love going to the lake/beach with my family and friends!
Tubing on the river.
Hanging out by the pool!
Love grilling out and being with family and friends! Oh and lots of water activities too!!
BBQ’s
Long days hanging out in Central Park with friends, food, and Scrabble!
I love to travel during the summer, and I really, really love Nestle drumsticks–no other brand comes close! Sometimes I crave them!!!!
Thanks for a chance to win and have a great day!
kmassmanATgmailDOTcom
My favorite summer activity with friends and family is a picnic at the beach, the fresh air, sun on your skin, sea salt in your hair its amazing and so summer. Also at the end of summer we have a bonfire
It’s tradition. 
I tweeted: https://twitter.com/#!/abitnerdy/status/203197940272074752
We love to have barbecues in the summer with yummy food and desserts
We always do one Ice Cream for Dinner Night – how perfect would these be for that?! – that we look forward to AllYearLong.
(Stunning photos!)
Living in Ohio we love going to the Amusement Parks, the fight is between the two biggies, Cedar Point or Kings Island, I will go to both but love Cedar Point and then we end the summer with the Ohio State Fair, that is summer for us
We like to visit different parks around town and when we travel. Picnics are fun followed by ice cream =]
https://twitter.com/#!/YamiYali/status/203323333767462912
We love grilling with friends!
BBQing is my favorite!
My favorite summer activity is having all the family together and grilling up a storm while the grandchildren are playing in the pool.
Riding bikes around town, picking fruit, and eating!
Favorite summer activity is hiking through the Rocky Mountains and then devouring a hard earned bowl of ice cream!
I love swimming!
I love going to the water park!
I love spending time with my family at our cabin in Northern MN
https://twitter.com/#!/Gingersnoop/status/203616338969759745
Being lazy, eating outdoors, and trying to fit myself into a swimsuit.
I love to hang at the pool…. floating on my raft!
love swimming
https://twitter.com/#!/kj20082006/status/203904442175725568
I love camping
https://twitter.com/#!/HappyTina0115/status/203965397584723970
I love to go on hikes and picnic at the summit. Hard to pack ice cream…but can have when we get home.
Grilling out by the pool!
Our favorite summer activity is visiting my in-laws and swimming in the pool all weekend
thismomwins@gmail.com
My favorite summer activity is riding horses with friends.
We like camping!
tcarolinep at gmail dot com
https://twitter.com/#!/tcarolinep/status/204428320044093441
I enjoy grilling out with family and friends
https://twitter.com/#!/tmc480/status/204714357261729792
Having a cookout with a fish fry and taking my kids to the movies in the park
tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com
tweet
https://twitter.com/#!/ChelleB36/status/204773499053682689
tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com
swimming is our favorite
https://twitter.com/#!/sohamolina/status/204785187639402497
I like having cookouts with friends and family.
Tweeted: https://twitter.com/#!/rhoneygee/status/204839522352111617
i love going swimming/tubing in the river!
Going to see the Brewers play!
It doesn’t get better than sitting outside on a Friday night with a glass of wine
OMG, your Summer in Texas sounds so perfect! I live in Houston where we have a pool, too. We love having family over to swim and ice cream would be perfect for the family!
There are many favorite activities, but the July 4th picnic is the best with both sides of my family at my uncles house/pool, swimming and eating amazing food!
we enjoy cooking outside on the grill
tweeted here
https://twitter.com/bellows22/status/205258400949481472
BBQ!!! And I’ll bring the baked good
Summer is just the perfect time of year for various reasons — hot Oklahoma days and the cold local watermelons that taste so good, and then taking a little vacation to somewhere a little cooler than home!!
Cheese and crackers at dusk on my parents’ deck.
Going to the pool!
We love long walks in the park, fireworks, outdoor dining, ice cream on the patio!
tweeted here:
https://twitter.com/kelliechio/status/205530904876167168
Outdoor theater. Every summer, my family heads to the Muny every Monday night. This year, I’m taking my oldest daughter with me. I’m so pumped to share it with her!
When I was little our favorite thing was always piling the family up in the car, grabbing some sandwiches from the corner deli and heading to the beach to surf, boogie board and play in the sand. My parents best friends would come and bring their kids and it would turn into a day party for all ages
hiking in the mountains and then coming home and jumping into the pool at our condo before showering and eating too much for dinner
tweet https://twitter.com/thismomwins2/status/206144640200622080
thismomwins@gmail.com
I like popsicles with kids and vacations during the summer. Picnics are also fun.
aandj8804[at]gmail.com
tweeted — https://twitter.com/aandj8804/status/206379021389398016
aandj8804[at]gmail.com
Posted on my blog — http://aandj8804.blogspot.com/2012/05/giveaways-527-62.html
Definitely love going to the beach and boating!
Our favorite activity is going to the beach and building sand castles (they’re never that great but we make a good attempt)
tweeted http://twitter.com/DeeGee13/status/206793729275727872
Fave summer activity = camping! boating! s’moring!!
gmk1219@yahoo.com
Tweeted!! https://twitter.com/gknupp/status/206834320999067649
spending time at our shore house!
I love having bonfires in the summer!
BBQ – anything that includes food and family!
tweeted:
https://twitter.com/cappytweet/status/207134153043480576
My favorite summer activity with my friends and family is having BBQ at the back yard and the kids hanging in the pool.
ctong2[at]gmail[dot]com
I tweeted about this giveaway: https://twitter.com/ctong2/status/207383638956974081
ctong2[at]gmail[dot]com
Hanging out by the pool!
Traveling on the the road with my dad, stepmother, and brother, and of course, our dog, Slim.
I love having outdoor bar-b-q’s with friends and family during the summer!
Thanks for the chance to win!
gina.m.maddox (AT) gmail (DOT) com
tweet-https://twitter.com/CrazyItalian0/status/207636962411155456
gina.m.maddox (AT) gmail (DOT) com
Goin to the pool!
I love looking at the stars with my kids. When school is out, they can stay up late enough to enjoy it with me.
My favorite summer event is having a bbq with family and friends. My husband and I love entertaining!!!
Love drumsticks! My favorite summer activity is taking picnics up to the lake and just relaxing. I can’t wait!
Catching fireflies!!!
We bbq, play board games, and snack on icecream, nestle drumsticks is one of my favorites. Thanks for the review and giveaway.
songyueyu at gmail
tweet: https://twitter.com/syytta/status/208076045012828161
songyueyu at gmail
grilling out
We like to bbq.
I like camping and making smores
I love to BBQ!
I enjoy picnics at some of the local concerts in the park
https://twitter.com/LAMusing/status/208428121064611842
I enjoy going berry picking and having picnics
Tweeted https://twitter.com/patis2000/status/209015294683910145
Camping!
tweeted: https://twitter.com/KerryBishop/status/209076773948891140
Going to the beach!
Best summer activity. Barbecueing in the backyard
We all like to go to local baseball games together!
tweeted https://twitter.com/mermont84/status/211240609682432000
swimming in the pool for sure!
https://twitter.com/DesMoinesDealin/status/211280163537825793
Going to the beach!
Tweeted the giveaway:
https://twitter.com/calidreamin87/status/211321085021523968
tweet http://twitter.com/tnshadylady/status/211845034658643968
blog post http://tnshadylady.blogspot.com/2012/06/more-great-bloghercom-giveaways.html
Going to the beach with a picnic is our favorite activity!
Going to the park
Tweet
https://twitter.com/disneyfan40/status/212000575573852160
I can’t pick just one favorite activity. Camping, day trips to the lake for fishing and swimming, backyard barbeques, they are all favorites depending on the day of the week!!
Tweet – https://twitter.com/willitara/status/212419729439199232
I love to garden with my hubby! Our yard is a source of great pride and beauty to us!!
I tweeted here: https://twitter.com/MsTofuFairy/status/212556454429859842
My favorite parts of summer are sleeping in, swimming with my daughter during the day and the annual vacation that we try to plan. They don’t always happen and the length and location depend on finances but we always try to get away for at least a few days and its priceless when we do.
Thanks!
Samantha
I love spending time outside in the summer with friends and family around the pool. I love the smell of the grill and enjoying the day together in the sun!
Love riding 4 wheelers and all the cookouts.
https://twitter.com/jen_r_horn/status/212972443772518400
My favorite family activity in summer is going to the beach!
Digicats {at} Sbcglobal {dot} Net
I tweeted
https://twitter.com/MsCarolsueA/status/213064873968537600
Digicats {at} Sbcglobal {dot} Net
I would to go to park and have a picnic.
https://twitter.com/purplelover04/status/213288474516783105
Summer here are 2 things. BBQ’s and swimming. Nothing like having some friends over at the last minute for good food and a dip in the pool.
One of our favorite summer activities is geocaching. sweepmorey at gmail dot com
tweeted https://twitter.com/mommysdizzy/status/213387787255296001
I love to go swimming.
Thanks for the contest.
blogged:
http://slehan.blogspot.com/2012/06/win-100-walmart-gc-from-blogher-0615.html
We love going over to the beach.
We like swimming and barbequing afterwards.
runningmatey at hotmail dot com
https://twitter.com/LuckyDuckyToo/status/213668834345877505
runningmatey at hotmail dot com