In honor of President’s Day in the USA, try and name all the presidents of the United States off the top of your head in 8 minutes. I got all but 8. And I’m not really proud of that…lol! See if you can do better than I did!

I decided to revamp my whole link system and actually add a ton of links that I have in my feed reader, but not on my actual blog. I didn’t really want to take up a ton of space in my sidebar, so I made a separate page and then linked that in my sidebar. I did move some links from the sidebar to the new page, but I deleted nothing. So if you’re ever bored and want some new blogs to read, well check it out.

The links I left in my sidebar are people who actually comment on my blog, even if it’s only once in awhile (and/or people I know in real life). I figure they deserve a little something extra. ;) By the way, if you’re a regular commenter and I somehow managed to miss putting you on the blogroll (or I don’t have your link up to date), please leave a comment or drop me an email and I will correct that error posthaste!

Happy birthday to my good friend Theresa who is turning 39 today! (Which means I’ll be turning 39 in exactly 6 months, right? *wink*)

Go wish her a happy birthday!

The wonderful Susie did me the great honor of nominating me for a Thinking Blogger Award! Thank you Susie! And now I get to reciprocate and nominate other people!

In keeping with my policy of not tagging people, I’ll let those I nominated decide whether or not they want to do the meme themselves. Don’t feel obligated if you don’t have time or don’t have blogs you want to nominate. It’s all for fun! But, if you do choose to play, here are the rules:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.
3. Optional: Proudly display the “Thinking Blogger Award” with a link to the post that you wrote.

Now, without further adieu…here are the five blogs that make me think….

Here in the Hills makes me think about art in all its shapes and forms. Naomi has lived a rich, full life and knows so many interesting people. She writes about television, acting, music, art, her beautiful garden, and shares her amazing photographs. I rarely come away from reading her blog not having learned something or being enriched in some way.

Just*dot*Christina is such a strong lady and such an amazing writer. She makes me laugh and cry, sometimes, too, but she always makes me think.

I will finish my list with three of the favorite moms in my life - they each have four children and they make me think that I might not screw my little girl up too badly. They encourage me, answer my stupid questions, and make me laugh all the time (and not just in blogland)! So here’s to Marlene, Theresa, and Bernadette, my three best fellow-mom friends.

For those of you in Arizona (or those of you who are really interested in the state quarters), you can go here to vote on which quarter design you like best. The quarter will be coming out in May of next year.

Have you ever heard of Vienna Teng? If you haven’t, you are missing out on a very talented artist.

I “met” Vienna through her blog via Mr. Syndromes a few years ago, and the last time she was here on tour (when I was very very pregnant and couldn’t get out to see her), she came to this very house and visited with me. So, I can say from personal experience what a genuinely nice person she is. I can also say from having listened to her cds, that she is an extremely talented musician. I have yet to see her live (although she’s got Scottsdale on her tour schedule next month, and I’m going to do everything I can to get out to see her this time), but every review I have ever heard or read about her shows has been glowing.

All of that makes it very exciting for me to tell you about her Green Caravan Tour which starts this very night at the Wolf Trap in Vienna, Virginia (fitting huh?).

The Green Caravan Tour is not just about music. It’s about helping the environment by working with Habitat for Humanity, selling eco-friendly merchandise, and getting others involved in volunteering.

So, please, check out the website, see if there’s a show near you, and go see Vienna. I am positive you won’t regret it. (And if you can’t make it to a concert, buy some of her music and immerse yourself in her hypnotic tunes.)

Twisted Cinderella’s tagged me with a really interesting blogroll idea. It’s always fun to discover new blogs and that’s what this one is all about. If I linked you and you want to play along, feel free, but don’t feel obligated!

Here are the rules:

1. Write a short paragraph at the beginning of your post and link back to the blog that put you on the list in the paragraph. This isn’t a suggestion. You need to break up the duplicate content string. Someone took the time to add you so the least you can do is give them an extra linkback.

2. Copy the list of originals below COMPLETELY and add it to your blog. If you would like a different keyword for your blog then change it when you do your post and it should pass to most blogs with that keyword.

3. Take the adds from the blog that added you and place them in the Originals list.

4. Add up to 5 new parenting or (Mommy/Daddy) blogs to the list in the My Adds section.

My add ons:
Party of Six
Controlled Chaos
Never a Dull Moment
It’s Just the Coffee Talking
Supermom

The originals:
A Work of Art: Raising Our Exceptional Son
Ever After … My Way
Adventures In The 100 Acre Wood
An Island Life
Adoption and Fire
Lala Girl
The Bookworm Broadcast
Parenting Sites 411
Cass Knits
Geni Desu Yo
No Average Mom
Notes From The Trenches
Busy Mom.net
Groovy Mom
Coffee Time
My Thoughts, Ideas, and Ramblings
Toil
My Single Mom Life
Tips From The Money Goddess
Army Mom: New Jersey
Melissa’s Place
Three Sons and a Princess
Moot Thoughts and Musings
A family runs through it
Uglyhead
Parenting Toddlers
arewethereyetmom.com
HeartSongs
Kitchen Ramblings from a fairly odd Tofu mom
My Splatter Painted Life
The Adventures of Fantastagirl

For those of you who live in the weird parts of the country that observe Daylight Saving Time and all of that, don’t forget to set your clocks ahead tonight! It’s starting a few weeks early this year and will continue to do that every year from now on. You also might want to check your electronic devices as well, such as computers, dvrs, pdas, etc. etc.

Of course, all of us in Arizona? Don’t have to do that since we don’t observe DST. Because as my father always used to say, we do not need any extra daylight here. Amen.

Here are some interesting links about DST.

I’ve noticed a few people have jumped on the Project 365 bandwagon that I jumped on back on my birthday in October. I just posted my 80th photo this evening over at my photoblog. Susie has started her own Project 365 photoblog as well.

If you’re not familiar with Project 365, basically it’s pledging to take a photo every day for a year of what is going on in your life that particular day.

Another interesting photoblog that I’ve discovered in the same vein is 3191 - a year of mornings. This one is two friends who live 3191 miles apart and each post a photo of their morning. It’s fascinating to see how eerily similar their photos are each day.

I’m sure there are others - maybe yours! If you’re doing some kind of year long photo project or you know of one, please leave me a comment with a link. I’d love to come and check it out. :)

This may be the funniest post I’ve ever read. Ever.

Thanks to Amalah for the link.

According to Beloit College’s Mindset List for the Class of 2010, the following things are true for the freshmen class (mostly born in 1988):

• The Soviet Union has never existed.

• There has always been only one Germany.

• They have never heard anyone actually “ring it up” on a cash register.

• Smoking has never been permitted on U.S. airlines.

• They grew up with and have outgrown faxing as a means of communication.

• “Google” has always been a verb.

• Text messaging is their email.

• Reality shows have always been on television.

• They have rarely mailed anything using a stamp.

• They have always been able to watch wars and revolutions live on television.

• Public school officials have always had the right to censor school newspapers.

• Small white holiday lights have always been in style.

• There have always been live organ donors.

• Disneyland has always been in Europe and Asia.

• Beach volleyball has always been a recognized sport.

• Television stations have never concluded the broadcast day with the national anthem.

• Professional athletes have always competed in the Olympics.

For more of the list, click here.

It’s my good friend Theresa’s birthday today so go on over there and wish her a happy one. I will be good and not tell you how young she is, though. ;-)

Today is Rochelle’s 20th birthday. Do you remember when you were 20? That was before I met my husband, so life has definitely changed a lot since then. Anyway, go on over there and wish her a happy birthday!

The Blog Olympics have ended and I came away with one gold (for longevity which I think may have worked against me in the other rounds…hehehe) and five silvers. The Olympic Champions were Running2Ks and Uisce who both came away with four gold medals and two silvers. Congratulations to them - good work, good job, and just wait until next year! But seriously, good job to both of you and if you haven’t visited their blogs in the past, make a point of doing so, because such blogging greatness cannot go unnoticed!

Thanks to Barbara for coming up with a great idea and a way to have a little fun and meet new bloggers. Don’t forget to visit her blog either! And thanks to all the people who participated in some way. It was fun!

Tinkertoys? Mr. Potato Head? Lincoln Logs? View-Master? Silly Putty? Slinky?

Of course you do! I bet most of you played with them when you were kids and your kids probably play with them now. What do they have in common besides being awesome toys that have stood the test of time? They’re all part of the National Toy Hall of Fame. This year’s inductees are Jack-in-the-Box, Candy Land, and the old standard Cardboard Box. They join other great toys such as Barbie, Lego, Tonka Trucks, Play-Doh, Teddy Bear…the list goes on and on and it’s full of toys that definitely deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. Toys I hope my daughter plays with because…well…because they’re great toys. And they’ll outlast a lot of the crap lovely items out there on the market today. You know what I notice about most of these toys? They require a child to use his or her imagination. And that’s a good thing.

P.S. Does Hasbro own EVERYTHING?
P.P.S. Tip of the hat to Blogging Baby for the link.
P.P.P.S. ‘Scuse me while I go make my Christmas/Birthday shopping lists for the next 5 or 10 years.