Thursday Thirteen #5- Link Love- Favorite Websites!!

So, I'm doing Thirteen Favorite Websites today. I'm not counting blogs in this, because there are sooo many great blogs out there that I love, my whole list would be consumed with them! So if you don't see your bloggy self on there, please don't feel shunned. And, without further adieu... Some of my faves :D



(1) I just found this website a couple of months ago and I LOVE it! The basic idea is this: it's a (free!) interactive wish list. You download a little button to put on your bookmarks toolbar at the top of your browser, and then whenever you come across ANYTHING on the web you want (whether it be from an etsy store, ebay, a retailer's website, etc.) you click on that button. The next thing that happens?? It's SOO nifty!

Above your window, a box will pop open with a photo of the item and most of its information, including the price and name, filled out. You can tag the item to put it in a category (i.e., clothes, art stuff, etc.) and add any notes about sizes or whatever in the comment box. You can keep as many lists as you want, and make them public, private, etc... For instance, I have one wish list for things I want, and one wish list for things my daughter wants and/or needs. My Mom is building a private list (which only she can see) for things she wants to buy for other people. I am SOOO trying to get everyone in my family to sign up and fill this out! It's great because you know EXACTLY what the person wants, and they never know you looked or what you're buying them. You can send your URL to whoever you want, and there is also an invite tool. If you want to check out MY list for an example, go ahead and click :D



(2) Of course, as always, a tried and true favorite of mine :) I find all things yummy on this website and could spend way too much time browsing (and drooling.) You can keep a recipe box on there of your favorites and also submit your own recipes.



(3) For games... I use I have since I was 16, and they are still the best.



(4) Of course, if you're a gambler, you can use This is how it works: you watch an ad, and they start you off with 1 penny. You bet that penny against someone else with a penny, watch another (short) ad, and play a game against them- whoever wins gets both cents. The other person starts over, and the winner moves on to bet their 2 cents... etc... etc... There's potential to win a LOT if you are lucky (and smart), but there are only three games. I haven't been on in a while because I was up to a few dollars and blew it all down to like 16 cents. Made me mad. But it's still a cool idea, and you COULD become a millionaire from it. If you want an invite (I think they're still invite-only right now), comment me with your email and I will send ya one! :D



(5) Another good foodie website- especially for slow cooker recipesI don't know why they have it listed under southern food, because it seems like there are dishes from all over. Yum, yum... and it makes dinner so much easier! Gotta <3 that Crockpot.




(6) is the BEST (hands-down) website for nutrition information, fitness tracking and food logs. It's free and it's how I managed to stay on track and lose the baby weight from the girl. I love this website, although I haven't used it as much lately as I should. I could go on and on about its benefits, but really, there's so much, you should just check it out! They have workouts, videos, articles, support groups, a food and fitness tracking system, and you can even keep track of and achieve your other goals through their system. There are some awesome people on there and they are so inspiring! This website is a GREAT motivation tool.



(7) For those of you, like me, who enjoy watching TV on the web (we lay in bed at night and watch it, because we don't have a TV in our room, just the computer), is a great place to find those shows you may not be able to on the network's website.
Sometimes, even if they DO have the show on the network's website, it's still better at Hulu because you can full screen it.



(8) If you can't find it there, it just might be on
So check them too. If you have no luck, it most likely isn't out there for streaming video. You'll just have to download (shhh... did I say that?!?!) ;)




(9)

I just love them. I like their website, too, and the fact that they usually hold the same sales online as in the stores (like that crazy jeans sale I somehow missed?!?! $12 per pair for adult jeans and $7 for kids. I shed a tear when I found out...) I do admit, I like going to the store better, because there's no shipping, and the clearance is way better. But, being as the closest one to me is about an hour away, I'll take the online shopping happily.




(10) is the best email. That's pretty much all there is to say about that. Once again, if you want an invite, give me a holler!




(11) online classifieds. I am always shocked when people tell me they haven't heard of Craigslist! It was so popular in NC when we lived there, we got almost everything in our house from there (we were very broke... lol) including our dishes, our couch, some blankets, our kitchen table (which we still use and got for $15!)... And, two weeks ago, I found a portable dishwasher for just $75! We also found both of our last two apartments on there, and they have a great job listing section as well as community listings for yard/ garage sales and events in your area. I have been keeping my eye out on there for an elliptical to get my butt in gear and do some cardio, since I know it's the best type of workout and I do... pretty much none of it.



(12) when you can't find things on the TV websites above, you can usually download them here, and they are much safer than using Napster, Limewire or another program like that. The trick with that is that you need to understand how torrents work (you can find an explanation there) and you need to have a torrent downloading program like uTorrent to download the files. Then you search on the net at different websites like The Pirate Bay for what you want. This is different than searching within the programs, like Napster, etc. Some other good websites to look for torrents are: Mininova, TorrentPortal, Isohunt, Torrentz, BitTorrent, and Demonoid. I'd say Demonoid is the best, but you need to be invited or sign up during open sign up, and they have strict requirements for seeding back to others.




(13) I <3 Disney, mostly due to the fact that my grandparents brought us up worshiping their movies, and for a time when I was about 6, I really thought it would be possible for me to grow up and be Ariel (yes, I know I don't have a fishy tail). I am constantly on their website planning fake vacations I can't yet afford, praying that somehow they will miraculously see me there and award me- their biggest fan- with free lovin' (i.e. vacation!) They have a fun new feature where you can actually interatively tour the parks. Sweeeeetttt. I can't wait to bring my little princess there! Hopefully next year.. or the year after... She may still be too young next year, but I am in total denial of this right now. If any of you have stories of bringing young children (mine would be 2 1/2 if we were to go next year), please share. I'm dying to know if she could enjoy it, or if it would be a total meltdown vacation.

There you have it... 13 of my best of the best. If you check any of them out, let me know what you think! :D