I have blogged for The Susan G. Komen Foundation during Blogthon 2006 and Children’s Literacy Initiative during Day of Blogs 2008.  This year I am going to be blogging for The Actors Fund.

The Actors Fund is actually a bit of a misnomer since it benefits actors as well as all other performing arts and entertainment professionals (which, as you may have guessed, includes me, LOL).  Here’s some general information from their website:

The Actors Fund, a nonprofit human services organization founded in 1882, serves all professionals – and not just actors! – in film, theater, television, music, opera, and dance through programs that address their unique and essential needs. As a national organization with offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, The Fund directly serves over 8,000 entertainment and performing arts professionals across the country, and approximately 300,000 more through Web resource programs. In providing care and service to professionals throughout the industry, The Fund’s programs are wide in scope, responsive in nature, and produce significant results, affecting the lives of people in our community year after year.

Employment in any division of the entertainment and performing arts industry is unpredictable. The life of an entertainment professional is very similar to any worker or independent contractor that moves from job to job to make their living. Work is erratic, security is fleeting and health insurance is often just a dream. For all of these reasons and many more, The Actors Fund is an indispensable and deeply significant part of the entire entertainment community.

I always think it’s important to know the mission statement of an organization before I decide to give money to that organization, so here is their mission statement:

The Actors Fund Mission Statement

The Actors Fund is a nationwide human services organization that helps all professionals in performing arts and entertainment. The Fund is a safety net, providing programs and services for those who are in need, crisis or transition.

If you would like to view their profile on Charity Navigator, then click here.

As always, I will be sharing fun facts and trivia throughout the evening as well as some nice ramblings!  Please consider sponsoring me for Blogathon 2009. Even one dollar an hour would help! You can either sponsor by the hour or a flat sum for the day.  If you have questions about sponsoring, please visit the Blogathon FAQ.  Essentially, you click on my sponsor link to pledge your donation – then after the Blogathon you will receive an email directing you to the correct place to make your donation.  Yes, it’s that easy!

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask – otherwise, I’ll see you at Blogathon 2009!

This post is for the Blogathon 2009! I am blogging for The Actor’s Fund. For more information about what I am doing, please click here, or you can sponsor me!

• 7/22/2008 -- Are you ready to stay awake?
• 7/26/2008 -- Recycled Reading Meme (Day of Blogs ’08 #17)
• 12/18/2005 -- 101 in 1001 – 67.33% Complete

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (i.e. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (i.e. represent some amount of work on my part).

This project was taken from Triplux.

I completed my first 101 in 1001 on September 15, 2008!

The things that I say I want to MAINTAIN will be counted as completed if they are maintained for at least two months. I figure that if I maintain something for at least that long, then it’ll be habit.

Tasks I have completed will be struck through and a completion date will be listed that is linked to a post about the completion of that task. Tasks that I have begun will be italicized and a beginning date will be listed.

Started: September 15, 2008
Due Date: June 13, 2011
Tasks Completed: 36
Tasks in Progress: 9
Tasks Remaining:65

1. Make this list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. If anything was left incomplete from my previous 101 in 1001, then figure out why I didn’t do it, and see if I can rework the goal. If so, it has to be on this list (these items have a ** in front of them). Completed 9/15/08

Religious
2. Join a small group/women’s Bible study.
3. Start writing again at Reading Red Letters and MAINTAIN it. Completed 12/26/09
4. Find a church home wherever I move to after school. Completed 12/26/09
5. Read at least 10 books by C. S. Lewis.
6. MAINTAIN regular daily prayer time. Begun 12/15/09
7. **Plan a religious fast and complete said fast (probably 3 days, but that’s flexible).
8. **Read the Bible from beginning to end.

Family/Friends

9. Send Christmas cards in a timely fashion in 2008. Completed 12/30/08
10. Send Christmas cards in a timely fashion in 2009. Completed 12/26/09
11. Send Christmas cards in a timely fashion in 2010.
12. **Go to a concert with Daddy. Completed 8/15/09

Health
13. Get serious about meal planning and menus
14. Start and MAINTAIN drinking 8 glasses of water a day.
15. Get professionally fitted for a bra at a store that sells bras in my size. Completed 8/28/09
16. Learn to eat at least 3 new fruits and vegetables (doing this one again).
17. **Start and MAINTAIN regular exercise.
18. **Reach my weightloss goal and MAINTAIN it.
19. **Start and MAINTAIN regular flossing. Completed 10/28/09
20. **Get my stomach into fit enough condition so that a pierced bellybutton won’t look ridiculous (and if I keep my courage, actually pierce the bellybutton – but even if I don’t go through with it, the option is nice to have).
21. **MAINTAIN taking vitamins regularly.
22. **MAINTAIN monthly breast self exams.

School
23. Find an internship. Completed 3/23/09
24. Complete my graduate thesis. Completed 5/5/10
25. Graduate from UNCSA. Completed 5/29/10

Career

26. Find a job upon graduating.
27. File paperwork for LLC for virtual assistant business and become OFFICIAL. Completed 8/28/09
28. Have at least 6 clients for Tizzy Consulting.
29. Find a new format for my resume and rework it. Completed 11/8/08

Financial

30. Become financially independent from my parents.
31. Save $5 a day and deposit into my savings account (doing this one again).
32. Contribute every month to saving for a house down payment.
33. Fully fund Roth IRA in 2008. Completed 12/31/08
34. Fully fund Roth IRA in 2009.
35. Fully fund Roth IRA in 2010.
36. MAINTAIN using coupons as I grocery shop when able (many organic products do not get coupons).

Travel

37. Get a new car – and I’m the one paying for it. Completed 4/11/09
38. Visit Alaska.
39. Take another cruise.
40. See New York City when it’s decorated for Christmas. Completed 12/8/08
41. Travel to a different country.
42. Go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter once it opens.
43. **Take a vacation to Atlanta with Mama – go shopping and see an exhibit at the High Museum. Completed 1/26/09
44. **Travel to Washington, D.C. At least see major monuments, the White House, and the Smithsonian.
45. **Mount all my hat pins somehow (this replaces the previous “buy nice map and put a push-pin in every place I’ve been”)

Personal Betterment
46. Perform 10 random acts of kindness to complete strangers (0/10).
47. Have more involved communication with my sponsored children.
48. Get up the minute that the alarm goes off every day for a month.
49. Give blood if eligible (attempting to do this one again). Completed 9/10/09
50. Write a personal mission statement.
51. Wear makeup every day for a month. Completed 5/1/09
52. Write “to be read” letters to selected people (letters to be read upon my death by the people who mean the most to me).
53. Pay for the person behind me at a fast food drive thru (doing this one again).
54. Write a book.
55. **Stop biting fingernails.
56. **Update my journal and MAINTAIN it.

Organize/Purge

57. Organize, file, and store all my notes/keepsakes from my graduate classes.
58. Move a large portion of my items stored at my parents’ house to my place. Completed 8/15/09
59. Sell, donate, give, or throw away 101 items (doing this one again). Completed 3/27/09
60. Create a filing system for all paperwork and MAINTAIN it. Begun 3/22/09
61. Sort through all clothing three times (2/3).
62. Sort through all of my books and BookCross or give away a LARGE amount (at least 50). Completed 3/27/09
63. Rearrange books so that they truly are according to the Library of Congress system. Completed 6/30/09
64. **Finish entering all my books into a database. Completed 5/25/09
65. FLY. Begun 3/22/09

Technology
66. Write 500 blog posts (more attainable than 1001). (159/500) Begun 9/15/08
67. Participate in Blogathon 2009 Completed 7/26/09
68. Participate in Blogathon 2010
69. Participate in Blog Action Day 2008 Completed 10/15/08
70. Participate in Blog Action Day 2009 Completed 10/15/09
71. Participate in Blog Action Day 2010
72. Participate in NaNoWriMo
73. Build up a decent audio/visual system. Completed 6/17/10
74. Start a system for regularly backing up my computer(s) and MAINTAIN it. Completed 5/1/10
75. Complete an email purge of all unnecessary old emails. Completed 5/12/10

Entertainment

76. Read through my A-Z Challenge.
77. Join local library. Completed 8/28/09
78. Decrease my LibraryThing TBR tags by at least 71 books (to less than 262 books, which was 50% of my books when I moved to Atlanta).
79. Re-read all the Harry Potter books.
80. Re-read all the Star Wars books.
81. Read at least 150 books (31/150).
82. Reach a Gamerscore of at least 3,000 on XBox360 (currently at 2,160).
83. Go see a famous jazz musician/group in concert.
84. See a Cirque du Soleil show I haven’t seen (doing this one again).
85. Go see a movie at the movie theater alone. Completed 8/30/09
86. See an opera. Completed 4/16/10
87. **Complete The Sims 2 Legacy Challenge. Completed 9/15/09
88. **Finish clearing my previous Netflix queue. (298/494) Begun 12/19/05
89. **Read 75% of the list of books that my friends have sent me. (24/85) Begun 12/19/05
90. **Watch 90% of the Greatest Films in 101 Things to Do Before You Die. (99/119) Begun 12/19/05
91. **See 100% of AFI top 100 movies. (81/100) Begun 12/19/05
92. **See 75% of Entertainment Weekly’s top 100 movies. (57/75) Begun 12/19/05

In the Kitchen
93. Rework my chocolate chip cookies recipe so that it is healthier.
94. **Learn to use cast iron skillets without messing up the seasoning.
95. **Find and make a good cheese fondue recipe (may require several tries).

Just for Fun
96. Find some attractive skirts that I can wear daily (not just on special occasions) and wear them! Completed 10/28/09
97. Complete a New York Times crossword (any day of the week)
98. Be super silly – take Oprah’s product recommendation. Completed 5/2/09
99. **Learn to drive a stick shift.
100. **Win something (anything) from a lottery ticket.

101. On June 13, 2011, publish a new 101 in 1001.

• 12/18/2005 -- 101 in 1001 – 67.33% Complete
• 7/19/2006 -- About
• 7/27/2008 -- Longest Meme Ever (Day of Blogs ’08 #32)

The past year had been more difficult for her. While her mind had been gone for some time, her physical health hadn’t been too bad until recently. Her episodes of low blood pressure and breathing problems became more frequent, and we knew that her body was beginning to shut down.

This evening around 8:45pm, Nana passed away in her home. My mother and her sisters were there by her side. I will be leaving in about 4 hours to drive with my brother to Georgia to be with our family. While I am sad that she is gone, I am more relieved that she can finally be at rest. This is a difficult and awful disease, and I know that she tried her hardest as long as she could.

Please pray for my family as we travel to be together to honor her. She lived a very full and successful life, and I have great respect for all that she accomplished.

• 1/2/2005 -- Sad news about Grandmama
• 9/15/2008 -- 101 in 1001 #2 – 35.64% Complete
• 7/27/2008 -- Longest Meme Ever (Day of Blogs ’08 #32)

For those unfamiliar with Club 17, it is a reminder system for the female blogosphere to do their Basically it’s a reminder for the female blogosphere to do their monthly Breast Self Exams (BSE). It is recommended that women begin BSEs at age 20.

Also, word to the wise – don’t overdo it on Turkey Day! It’s OK to eat smaller portions, and make sure you are still exercising! While these are good tips in general, it is especially important that women maintain a healthy diet and exercise to decrease their chances for breast cancer.

• 10/19/2007 -- Club 17: Time for the October check!
• 3/18/2007 -- March’s Club 17
• 2/19/2007 -- February’s Club 17!

In an effort to get a better handle on my finances, I’ve started to learn about credit . . . specifically, the magical credit score that determines all of your financial future. It influences your ability to obtain a credit card (and the card’s interest rate and credit limit), mortgage, loan, or any other number of things that I may or may not need to do in the future. Poor financial decisions will create bad credit which limits what you can and cannot do in the future.

One of the best things you can do for your personal financial health is to regularly check your credit report. It is now FREE to obtain a copy of your credit report once a year from each of the three credit reporting bureaus. Because of this, many financial advisers are now recommending that every four months you check your credit report.

What exactly is this credit report, and why do you need to check it so often? It is a listing of all the accounts that you have on record. Remember that credit card that you opened at the mall one day three years ago and only used once? It’s on your credit report, and every time an employer/lender/bank/etc. checks your credit, they see this card. You forgot to pay your cable bill when you moved to a new state? You’ve got a missed payment on your credit report that shows up and detracts from your credit! Or perhaps you thought you paid off that outstanding rent payment, but for some reason it’s still there . . . four years later, giving you bad credit. It’s important to keep tabs on your credit report so that you know what is happening in your life. This can also be VERY useful if you think you may have been a victim of identity theft, because if someone else has been doing things in your name that you don’t know of, this is where you can catch it.

However, there are scams out there trying to GET all your credit information by posing as “free credit report” websites. Don’t be fooled! THE website to go to is AnnualCreditReport.com. This one is not a scam and is safe to use. You can go to this site to get your report from Equifax, TransUnion, or Experian (the three reporting bureaus). They also make it available to get your actual credit score, but this costs a little money (I got mine from TransUnion for $7.95). From what I’ve researched, it’s recommended that you get your credit REPORT every four months (since it’s free) and your credit SCORE once a year, just so you know where you stand.

I was quite pleasantly surprised when I checked mine. I figured since I’ve only been building my credit for about 18 months that it would not be very good, and there wouldn’t be much information, but there was quite a bit on there, including an account that I had forgotten about. The report also gave me some thoughts as to why my score isn’t higher (accounts haven’t been open really long and I don’t have any involvement with real estate).

You can find way more information on credit by reading any good personal finance blog (check out the links in my sidebar). For more specific information about this topic, read How to Obtain Your Free Credit Report @ Get Rich Slowly.

Taking control of your financial situation by keeping tabs on your credit? Works for me!

• 9/14/2006 -- Thursday Thirteen #27
• 12/18/2005 -- 101 in 1001 – 67.33% Complete
• 9/5/2007 -- Works for Me: Brand Loyal Edition

(I meant to post this yesterday, but my mom was here in town, so things got away from me!)

It’s October, and that means that it’s Breast Cancer Awareness month! As many of you know, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2000 – she found the cancer through a self-exam, and it NEVER showed up on the mammogram (so do your self-exam!). She has been in remission since August 2000, and she is an incredible woman!

There are so many things that we can do to help prevent the risk of breast cancer – exercise, watching what we eat (somethings are good for us – others not so much), and maintaining a healthy lifestyle that includes breast self-exams (BSE) and mammograms. Throughout the month I’ll be posting things that will help us be more aware!

Here are some links to national sites about breast cancer: FitSugar

Don’t forget to stop by The Breast Cancer Site to click – this helps give free mammograms to underprivileged women, and it’s so easy to go click once a day: The Breast Cancer Site

Here are my other posts about breast cancer: Breast Cancer Posts

Here is one post that I want EVERYONE to read: Inflammatory Breast Cancer

If you have any questions about breast cancer or my family’s personal experience with it, I am VERY open about this topic, and will answer any questions you may have – please don’t take this subject lightly!

Breast Cancer Awarenss Ribbon Gifts originally uploaded by The Taif Healthy City Programme.

• 7/19/2006 -- About
• 7/29/2006 -- Design-her Gals (Blogathon #26)
• 9/7/2006 -- Thursday Thirteen #26

• 9/15/2008 -- 101 in 1001 #2 – 35.64% Complete
• 7/26/2008 -- Top of Amazon in 2007 (Day of Blogs ’08 #20)
• 12/29/2006 -- Thursday Thirteen #35

First off, I’m transferring to a new store . . . today was my last shift at the Starbucks that was “my Starbucks” as a customer, and my first Starbucks home. Our new store is said to be opening on August 4th, but sometimes these things get pushed back a bit, so we’ll see if that actually winds up happening like it’s supposed to. It was sad today though – MANY regulars talked about how they will miss me, and there was a banner and a cake . . . it was really sweet. Oh, and I hit 6 months with the company on the 5th of August, so woo hoo!

OK, enough sadness, onto the AMAZING news! I have been accepted into grad school for next year! This whole things has come together very quickly. A former director of mine (I stage managed Marvin’s Room for him) got me in touch with his wife who is apparently very well connected in the theatre community in this region. I spoke with her on the phone, and she told me about this new program (just graduated their first class this year) that North Carolina School of the Arts is offering – it’s an MFA in Performing Arts Management. Not only is it right up my alley, but it’s right down the road (NCSA is in Winston-Salem). So I contacted the head of the program and went in for what I thought was an informal chat, but wound up being my first interview. We discussed the program (which is set up very similarly to the FSU program), and the possibility of me jumping into their class for this fall at the last minute. This was just over a month ago. Things were left very much up in the air, and then he had to leave town for a couple of weeks.

After much back and forth trying to arrange a time for me to meet with him and the other full time faculty member (who I had not met previously), we finally set a meeting for this past Wednesday. We sat down, talked, reviewed my application (which I had submitted while the head of the program was out of town). They told me that they couldn’t officially tell me if I was in, the admissions department had to do that, but they could tell me if they were recommending me for admission, and they said they would get back to me in the next few days to let me know if they were, in fact, recommending me.

I was quite shocked to check my email Wednesday night with an email saying that they were going to recommend me for admission! So, unless I fail the background check (like that will happen), I’m in! I am currently an unofficial member for the NCSA grad class of 2010! I will be here in Winston-Salem for the next two years, and then the third year of the program is spent in an internship . . . somewhere. They have some people that stay nearby, some people in NYC, some in Boston . . . it just depends.

So yes, I have a life plan, I am SUPER pumped about it, and I can’t wait to get started in September!

Aside from that, my family is doing well, AJ is great, my new apartment is slowly coming together (did I mention I moved 2 weeks ago? – living by myself for the first time EVER – eek!), and I’m loving my job with E. Webscapes. Yay!

Now if only I could convince my mom to let me get a kitten like I want . . .

Oh yeah, almost forgot about the kittens! About a month ago, I helped AJ remodel his condo (repainted EVERYTHING, ripped out the carpet and sanded down and refinished the hardwood floors, picked out all new furniture, the works)! While we were waiting outside for the Chinese delivery guy, a very tiny and very cute little kitten came up to us! We figured he was just a kitten that got loose (actually, at the time we thought he was a she), so we pet him, gave him some water, and then were going to go about our business. Well, the food came and we walked across the street to the park so we could sit at the picnic table to eat. And the kitten followed us! He played in the tree the whole time we ate, coming to us every once and a while for a bite of chicken, and then he followed us back across the street when we went back to AJ’s. At this point we realized he was a stray, so we took him in for the night. The next day we took him to the vet and found out that he was a very healthy 10 week old kitten that we decided to name Jazz.

He is such an awesome cat – so lovable, and playful! I have always always ALWAYS been a dog person, and never in a million years would I think of getting a cat. But Jazz absolutely won my heart over, and I will never feel that way about cats again. Here’s a picture of Jazz when we first got him (he’s grown a lot now) – he’s got really cool markings, including spots on his back:

Well, after about 3 weeks we decided Jazz needed a playmate. So we went to the Humane Society and got another little kitten. This one is even tinier, and we named him Ninja (well, AJ named him . . . I disapproved of that name because it doesn’t suit him, and we never call him that, we always call him “the little one” . . . so there). Here’s a picture of him giving me kisses (bad pic of me, but he’s so cute) – he is COMPLETELY black . . . no white at all:

Anyways, they’re technically AJ’s kittens, and they get to live with him, and I love them so much and they act like I’m their mommy, so I think they’re mine too. But I really would like one (or two) to have at my own place. So, must talk Mama and Daddy into this . . .

Oh yeah – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows? AWESOME!!!!!

• 12/18/2005 -- 101 in 1001 – 67.33% Complete
• 7/19/2006 -- About
• 9/15/2008 -- 101 in 1001 #2 – 35.64% Complete

1. In honor of the retirement of the Thursday Thirteen, I figured this was an appropriate theme. And number one on my list is the confidence I have gained from the Thursday Thirteen! My blog wasn’t read by many before the T13, and when the first set of management changes happened, Leanne trusted me enough to be one of the new co-hostesses of the T13! This brought me new readers, thus boosting my confidence. My posts are VERY different now than they were pre-13, and so most of the things I have gained from blogging came out of the T13!!

2. Friendships! I have met so many amazing people through blogging, and that is soooo the stereotypical answer, but it is very true.

3. A new outlet for writing! I used to write creatively alllllll the time, but once I got into college I was writing so much for my classes that I didn’t want to write anymore. Blogging brought me a way to write and enjoy it again, and it’s even renewed my desire to write creatively!

4. My 101 in 1001 has given me a visible platform to write down goals that I’ve been wanting to achieve, and an audience to keep me accountable.

5. The Works-for-Me Wednesday meme has given me so many fantastic tips that I have used in my everyday life!

6. Through blogging I found FlyLady, which is a life altering event! ‘Nuff said!

7. Also through blogging I found Bookcrossing.com, which has revolutionized my thoughts on books and has jumpstarted my pleasure reading, which also stagnated with all my college reading!

8. As I have discussed before, I was very environmentally-conscious when I was younger. Blogging brought that back!

9. As someone who is committed to breast health awareness, blogging has been a great platform for sharing what I know and connecting with women on something that may save their lives!

10. An outlet, of course! When I get excited or worked up about something, online is on of the first places that I go!

11. Blogging has also led me into the world of personal finance management. It’s made me aware as I am leaving college on the importance of saving, budgeting, and investing, something that I will be thankful for for the rest of my life!

12. Blogging on my personal blog has led me to create another blog, Reading Red Letters, my faith blog. This has been a great way to connect with other Christians online, and has led me to many great online blogs and resources that have aided me in my walk.

13. And, in case there was any doubt . . . BLOGGING IS FUN!!!!!!!!!

Thanks so much for a great couple of years with the T13!!! I have so much enjoyed getting to know people, and I hope to stay in touch with you as we continue blogging!!!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Leave me a comment and I’ll give you a shout out!

• 1/26/2006 -- Thursday Thirteen #23
• 12/29/2006 -- Thursday Thirteen #35
• 12/29/2005 -- Thursday Thirteen – 19

1. First off, I have 4 friends that I read pretty much religiously – every time that I get one of their posts in my feed reader I immediately go to their website, and I often comment. These friends are:

Bug – An Indian Summer
Mouse – My Bitch Files
Brittany – Bitter Amalgamations
Amy – Perches in the Soul

2. Lisa @ justagirlintheworld.com – she’s the mastermind behind E. Webscapes and Blogs-About Hosting, and she’s also super nice and funny. She doesn’t post a ton, but I always read when she does. And, to top it off, she’s famous! She’s currently writing WordPress for Dummies!

3. And two of my favorite “mommy bloggers” – Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer and Anne from PalmTree Pundit! These ladies always have great parenting anecdotes, links to great articles and sites, and an uncanny knowledge for what’s going on in the blogosphere!

4. And of course, Leanne at Intricate Art. Her beautiful art always lifts my day!

5. To get my OCD fix, I always turn to the organization queen at I’m an organization junkie! – she’s the best. She has great organization tips all the time, as well as neat and creative uses for bins, baskets, and more. Plus, she hosted that great Organization Challenge last year that forced me to get my closet into shape!

6. Stephanie over at Back in skinny jeans knows all about what’s going on with our self-image issues. She uses all the senseless reporting on celebrities to showcase our culture’s obsession with thinness – and she’s not taking it anymore. It’s refreshing to see someone with a healthy world view so prominent in the blogosphere.

7. Mama over at mamaVISION is an ex-model who lived through the horrors and is here to share all the nitty-gritty with us. Her real life experience in the fashion industry shows us how women are literally killing themselves to be beautiful and skinny. It’s disgusting, but it’s all true, and my heart aches. I’m glad that she lived through it and is now strong enough to share with the world.

8. I could not live without Lifehacker. It is an AMAZING site. Updated constantly, this site shows the latest downloads and techniques for making technology work for us instead of the other way around. From backing up your computer to managing your finances to figuring out the most efficient way to grocery shop, this site is on top of things.

9. As the proud owner of a Palm Treo, I have to post my favorite resource for programs and products for my Treo – Treonauts. This site is a wonderful resource for any questions you may have about Treos.

10. And my two favorite gadget sites – CrunchGear and Engadget. They are on top of the latest in technology news, constantly updating with reviews and announcements, with a healthy dose of commentary. Invaluable for any technophile!

11. For interesting religious commentary on current issues, I turn to ThinkChristian. The slant is a little more intellectual and theological, but still down to earth enough that I don’t feel like I’m reading a text book!

12. For quick headlines that are of interest, SmartChristian.com is the way to go. The posts don’t really say much, but I’m always directed to interesting material!

13. And to round things up, my two favorite green sites – TreeHugger and WorldChanging. These sites update constantly to show the latest in the news, renewable resources, sustainable design, and basic green living. If you want to learn anything at all to help our planet, these sites are a GREAT starting point. Not too much political agenda, they’re designed as resources to help us figure out the smartest and greenest way to live.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Leave me a comment and I’ll give you a shout out!

• 8/10/2006 -- Thursday Thirteen #23
• 1/26/2006 -- Thursday Thirteen #23
• 12/29/2005 -- Thursday Thirteen – 19