A few recent happiness-makers…
The Epicurious iPhone app: I have come to discover that it’s not the act of cooking that keeps me from preparing homemade meals; it’s really the act of meal planning that I find so daunting. I’m overwhelmed by the possibilities and the unknowns (c’mon Martha, demi-glace???) when considering what to make, and so I resort to the same rotation of stir-fry with store-bought curry sauce, pasta with store-bought marinara sauce, and soup that has “NOT HOMEMADE†practically printed on the label of the can. But thanks to the convenience of having a number of simple, healthy, non-pretentious recipes at my fingertips via the Epicurious iPhone app, I’ve been on a cooking streak as of late. I can scan their recipe collection on my phone while on my way home from work or while I’m lounging on the couch, tag a few favorites, make a shopping list and send Shane off to the store for the week’s ingredients, and voila! Lots of hearty soups (we made this the other night and really liked it), veggie-filled pasta dishes (this one is on the list for next week), and plenty of muffin recipes to keep my baking streak on track.
Black Raspberry Green Tea by Republic of Tea: I picked up a can of this at the Coffee Mill while I was back in Florida, and I have quickly become a believer in the difference between quality tea, and the cheap stuff that you pick up at the grocery store, just ‘cause it’s on sale. Full of flavor and fragrance, and so, so good on a cold rainy night when all you want to do is curl up on the couch with Harry Potter and something hot to drink (I have had a number of these nights recently).
The new iPad: I will admit that as with all things technological, I rolled my eyes when Shane started his sales pitch to me.  With two laptops, two iPhones, and a desktop computer in the house, I was hard-pressed to understand why we needed yet another gadget.  But dang, it’s pretty cool. It’s going to be perfect for travel, considering the backache that usually ensues when I try to lug around my laptop in addition to my camera and Mary Poppins-esqe purse.  Super-sleek, super-light, super…Apple. Kudos to Shane for not giving up in his tireless week-long hunt to get his hands on one so soon after their release.  Only strike against it is that it is so stinkin’ perfect for techie time-wasting: Angry Birds, YouTube surfing, Zappos browsing – I’ve been sucked into it all…
Survivor – Redemption Island: It’s true – the latest season of this reality trash has me hooked. Don’t judge.  Until you’ve bitten your nails throughout an intense Tribal Council, hoping that the nice guy will be spared over the back-stabbing hussie, you just don’t know how good it is.
