Tackle it Tuesday

I love to review products!  I enjoy receiving free product for my opinion.  I love hosting giveaways.  But my blog is definitely NOT one big commercial enterprise.  There are many more regular posts than there are sponsored posts on my blog.

Today I am tackling my feed reader and my feelings.  Some blogs have to be cleaned out.

I used to be a huge fan of 5 Minutes for Mom.  Lately, almost every post is sponsored, and this really bothers me.  The site is so commercialized now.  There is very little actual content.  I want to read about what other moms are coping with and how they handle the balance between being a wife/mother/business person/daughter, etc.  I am so disappointed in 5M4M.  When I began reading that blog in ... probably 2006, there was engaging content.  Now it's just another commercial enterprise where the moms receive fabulous products, prizes, and vacations in exchange for advertising on their site.  I love to read the opinions of other moms... as long as they are true and honest and not influenced by expensive vacations or compensation.  If I wanted commercials, I would watch television!  How can an opinion truly be honest when the "reviewer" has received a trip to Disney World?  Wouldn't you say nice things about a company that paid for your vacation?  Beauty products?  Computer software?

Thanks for reading my rant while I tackle my blog reader.
Ironically, Tackle it Tuesday links to Five Minutes for Mom.

National Sister's Day

National Sister's Day is coming on Sunday, August 4th.
Save $10 on all orders over $50. Show sis how much you care with a beautiful bouquet from Teleflora.com. AFSIS10. Offer valid 7/28- 8/5!

Something on Saturday

So many blogs don't post content on Saturdays, but I've decided to change that!  The challenge is to post SOMETHING on Saturday.  It can be a regular blog post, a video, a photo, a question for your readers, or whatever you want.  It's your blog!  So, post "Something on Saturday," grab the photo to use in your post, and leave your link in the comments.  I'm going to figure out how to get a Mr. Linky up, so if you have suggestions or a tutorial to offer, that would be great.

Here's my "Something..."

There's nothing like getting a flat tire when you are driving home alone at midnight on a highway with a 70 speed limit.  And did I mention there were toll plazas and construction?

I went to my sister's to scrapbook at our favorite place, and while I was driving home, I noticed the car was becoming difficult to control.  Then, there was an unusual sound.  Unusual, yes, but unmistakable.  Crrrraaaaapppp!  Flat tire.

Luckily, my husband hadn't gone to bed yet, and he rescued me.  I was only about 20-25 minutes from home, but it was kind of scary sitting in my car at night, almost in the middle of nowhere, but I survived.  Hubs arrived, changed my tire, and followed me home.  What a sweet, considerate man!

Have you ever had a flat tire or car trouble at night in the middle of nowhere?  What happened?

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Thursday Thirteen - Phone Apps

13 Apps I use frequently on my android phone.

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1.   Words with Friends
2.   Hanging with Friends
3.   What's the Phrase
4.   Viggle (get rewarded for watching TV)
5.   Alarm Clock Xtreme
6.   Shazam (recognizes music)
7.   Calendar
8.   Calculator
9.   Maps
10. Brightest Flashlight
11. Draw Free
12. Facebook
13.  Nook

Play along with Thursday 13!

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Thursday Thirteen

Welcome to Thursday 13!

We just got back from a trip to New Orleans.  Here are 13 things about NOLA.

1.  You can take a train all the way from Los Angeles to New Orleans.  The Superliner used to continue on to Florida, but since "the hurricane," it doesn't go all the way there.  We boarded in Houston and rode to NOLA from there.  The train station in NOLA is so much bigger and better than the one we have here in Houston.

2.  Bourbon Street is not a place for youngsters and teenagers.  So many strip clubs, I couldn't count them!  And the strippers stand right at the door to lure people in.

3.  There are also lots of great live music venues whether you like jazz, blues, country, rock, or even dueling pianos.

4.  Pat O'Brien's makes a tasty hurricane and has a super-fun piano bar!

5.  A great place to go for coffee and beignets is Café DuMonde.  The original café opened in 1862.  Their specialty is café au' lait - a dark roasted coffee with chicory and steamed milk. Chicory is the root of the endive plant (a type of lettuce).  The root is roasted and ground and takes the bitterness out of the dark roasted coffee.  A beignet is a French style square doughnut covered in powdered sugar.  It's almost like fried bread, only sweet from the powdered sugar.

6.The Mississippi River is a popular sight-seeing attraction in New Orleans.  I enjoy watching the old paddle boats.

7.  I ate THE BEST char-grilled oysters at the Acme Oyster House.  I don't eat raw oysters, but I like them fried.  These were char-grilled in their shells with garlic butter and parmesan cheese.  Delicious!

8.  Jackson Square is one of the most breathtaking sites in the city.  It is named after Andrew Jackson, hero of the Battle of New Orleans.

9.  The architecture is eclectic.  My favorite type of building has a courtyard and wrought iron balconies.

10.  The streetcars (trollies) are a handy and affordable way to get around the city without the hassle of a car.  Parking is very expensive in New Orleans.  The St. Charles line is the oldest continuously operating street railway system in the United States.  It was built in 1835.

11.  Gambling is legal.  There is a huge Harrah's casino right by the Riverwalk.

12.  Voodoo seems to be a big part of the culture of New Orleans.  There is an extensive Voodoo historical museum right in the heart of the French Quarter.

13.  The most famous sandwich of New Orleans is the po-boy, short for poor boy.  There is a great story about the inventors of the sandwich who apparently created it to help the poor boys who went on strike from their streetcar drivers jobs in 1929.  There are dozens of varieties, but the original was made with bits of roast beef on French bread dipped in gravy.  We had a great roast beef Po-boy at Johnny's.

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My Team

You may (or perhaps may not) know that I consider myself a big Houston Rockets fan. I have for some years now. When I was pregnant and on bed rest with my twins over 17 years ago, I have vivid memories of watching the Rockets.  For a few years, I quit watching, but about 7 years ago, I began again. They are MY team!

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I've been listening to news about Dwight Howard becoming a Rocket for a couple of hours now. I'm happy for him, and I know that he made a tough decision, leaving behind millions of dollars in LA in hopes to help the Rockets become a championship team again. But, he's a center, and we already have a center that we like. Omer Asik (pronounced O' mare Ah' shik). We've trained Asik, watched him grow, seen him improve so much, and he is starting quality, but now that we have Howard, who also plays center, they will either move Asik to second string, a different position, or worse, possibly trade him. So, I do have mixed feelings about Howard. I'm pretty sure they won't move Howard to power forward

Not to mention... getting our "good" lower bowl seats may become more difficult with Howard on board. We got spoiled this past season by being able to get some great seats at several games as well as seats at two playoff games. With Howard on board, that may make getting our prized seats a bit more difficult.

I'm going to have to learn more about our newest Rocket, but one thing I do like is that he is a man of faith. He's also a southern man (from Georgia). And there's no doubt he's a great basketball player. So, welcome to the Houston Rockets, Dwight Howard!

Fourth of July Fun!

Happy Independence Day to the United States!

I thought it would be fun to compile some fun facts about our July 4th holiday.

For example, did you know that the Declaration of Independence was actually approved in a closed session of Congress on July 2nd?  And did you know that only two of our founding fathers actually signed the Declaration on July 4th?  Most of the signatures were done much later.

Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the US, was born on the 4th of July.

How many of you celebrate with barbecue?  There is a 1 in 6 chance that any beef you consume on the 4th of July came from my home state of Texas!

Did you know that our National Anthem is actually set to the tune of an old English drinking song?  How fun is that?

You may know that it is a felony to shoot a bald eagle (our nation's symbol) in the US.  But you may not know is that Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be our nation's symbol.  Can you picture it?

And last, a corny joke for you:  What is the difference between a duck and George Washington?  A duck has a bill on its face, and George Washington has his face on a bill!  I told you it was corny!

Have a safe and happy 4th of July!

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Replacement for Google Reader

Hi everyone.  I have been using Google Reader for a long time to keep track of all the blogs I like.  Reader kept all my favorite blogs in one place; I could organize them in folders; I was notified when there were new blog posts; and I could mark posts that I had read.  Google Reader was sent to App Heaven yesterday, and I am searching for a replacement.  If you have any suggestions, please let me know.  If I subscribe to an RSS feed, where does it go now?