Houston, we have some linkage.

One of the blogs I visit regularly is Good Mom/Bad Mom on the Houston Chronicle's site.
One of the writers for that site is Jenny, the Bloggess, who's personal blog I also follow.

Twice in the last month I've been featured (along with others) on their Sunday post called BS Sunday.
The BS stands for "blog share." I think.

I've had this post about the boys and this post about Annie linked to on different Sundays.

You just never know what Bloggers they're going to link to.
I've found hilarious posts, serious ones, and everything in between.
I've discovered lots of new blogs to read this way.

I've got tons of family living in the Houston area (including two sisters I miss terribly!),
and my dad was born there.
Random Rhea Facts.

Eights

Today's theme is 8's.

First I saw a news story about a Hexapus. I like to root for the underdog, the odd man out, the weird gene mutation, the octopus named Henry with six legs instead of eight. I'm kind of surprised we haven't run into more of these. I have to admit, I'm not sure I'd stop to count if I did run into Henry...I'm kind of wimpy about scary looking sea creatures.

Secondly, I was reading a hilarious blog where a woman was chronicling everything in her pantry, and I ran across something I had never heard of before. She had an Octodog Frankfurter Converter. Oh my gosh. I was falling off my chair laughing at this thing. Such a simple little contraption, hilarious, not sure I'd ever use it, but I find myself wanting one. Not sure if the kids would love it or run screaming.

Thirdly, I'm going to share eight of my favorite websites today. Drumroll please...I know you're waiting with baited breath...

Amazon is my best friend. Everyone knows about Amazon (unless they've been living under a rock or in a cave for the past ten years but even then, if these people have access to Internet, then there's no excuse for you). If I'm not buying books online, then I'm spending time researching subjects, finding authors and titles for me and the kids to check them out at our local library. I have that nifty Amazon Prime service where everything I order shows up on my doorstep within two days (and since I do most my Christmas shopping on Amazon, it pays for itself!). Gotta love it. I also put up wishlists for the whole family for Christmas and birthdays, so relatives can find a variety of gift ideas.

WebMD is another old friend of mine. I go there regularly to research exotic diseases I'm convinced I have and to discover all the bizarre side effects I'm sure I have from the meds I might be taking. WebMD is the paranoid girl's best friend!

Sometimes a girl needs to just veg a little, and People is a good website for that. If you need to catch up on the celebrity gossip or see all those beautiful Oscar gowns you might buy one day. US Magazine is fun also, albeit a little more smutty. But, smutty is fun.

In case you're counting, those are four of my favorite websites. Here come four more:

I have hundreds (or maybe thousands) of photos stored on Shutterfly. I have tried other photo-sharing websites and most of them are fine, but Shutterfly is my favorite. I share photos, upload from my camera, and am constantly making photo books and photo gifts for people. I could spends lots of money there if I had it!! Photography is a big passion of mine.

I love the mother's bracelet I bought from Sterling Sisters. I don't visit this site much, but I've had my bracelet (and made other bracelets as gifts) for years, and they're beautiful!

Another great website for making photo gifts for women is Contessa Bags. They're awesome! I had pictures of the boys made into make-up bags for my mom and mother-in-law a while back, and I've made photos into pillows and purses. Great gift ideas.

Finally, each year I faithfully order my new Mom Agenda. I couldn't make it through the year without it and it's my lifeline!

This is just a small snipit from my massive favorites file.

Weird Link Wednesday

I'm procrastinating today...lots of things I should be doing but haven't worked up the energy to do yet. So, I decided to put up a post with links to weird things...

There's this guy in England who has spent the equivalent of $93,403 on modifying his car. What kind of car, you ask? Not a BMW or a Mercedes or a sports car of any sort...a Ford Escort! It's got 29 speakers, 8 amplifiers, 6 TV screens, a DVD player, a Sony Playstation, an iPod, Sat Nav and more. BBC Essex wrote a short article on him and has a photo gallery of the car. It's nice to see someone enjoying their car and having fun, isn't it? I personally think 29 speakers is a little overkill for such a tiny space...but maybe he has hearing problems? His wife's a good sport, but notice she mentions wanting a BMW...and sometimes he lets her drive!! sheesh.

I was wandering through other people's blogs today and found a very creative woman who made Easter Egg Rice Krispie Treats. (Scroll down the page to see the picture) Some people are so amazingly crafty. I think of myself as somewhat so, until I see what others can do.

I let my sons order some Greek mythology figures off the Internet the other night. They used their allowance money. Surprisingly there weren't many options out there for mythology action figures. I'm always on the lookout for good start-up business ideas...maybe I've found my market! lol

Last one for now...my 11 yr old loves his subscription to National Geographic Kids Magazine. He always learns interesting facts and looks forward to receiving something in the mail regularly. In one of the last issues, there was an article on a mysterious mummy uncovered deep inside an ancient pyramid in Peru. What makes this a mystery is that this tribe was ruled by men...but this mummy that was buried in the VIP spot is a woman and she's covered in tattoos they don't understand. It's a very interesting article!!

There is also a National Geographic Little Kids Magazine that my 6 yr old receives and enjoys that is more age appropriate for him.

ok, I lied, one more. My friend Seth sent a Tibetan Personality Test that's pretty short and sweet. Interesting...

As I continue to procrastinate today, I may add more...