Fridays 5 Phone Apps

 

It was not too long ago that I didn't know what a Smart phone Application was...heck I only got a Smart phone beginning in 2011.  Yep, till then I was perfectly content with a flip phone.  Even that I didn't utilize to its full capacity.

But now I have my hands on some modern technology and I am just starting to see the wonders of the Smart phone.  I can only say that I will never, ever, be bored again!

Here are my top five applications:

Netflix - What a great idea! You can stream hundreds of movies and TV shows instantly if you are a member.  Last week when I was stuck in the airport for an extra 2 hours, I enjoyed 3episodes of Glee, season 1.  This also provides entertainment while at the gym and I needed a little extra distraction to finish my workout.

Pandora - Bye bye itunes!  This is a constant stream of music.  You can pick genres, songs, basically anything and you get a custom radio station.  Again, this is great for gym distraction.

Nook -  Ever get stuck at a doctor's office, or a line at the post office.  Well pop open a book on the Nook application and that wait doesn't seem so bad.

Facebook - I don't think this needs an explanation!

Detla - OK these makes me seem a bit geeky but I do travel alot.  This allows to me to check in at the click of a buttom. It stores all of my flights and confirmation numbers.  You can check flight statuses, and gate locations before getting off the plane.   

You may be question why Angry birds didn't make the cut. Well, I am too scared to try it out.  I heard it sucks your life away.  After seeing a 60 some year old business man playing it non-stop during a 4 hour flight, I realized I am probably better off without it.  



Hump Day

It is Hump Day today.  Yesterday was one of those days that seemed to last forever and yet it went by so fast. 

My day started with an 8am meeting.  It was a phone conference call.  These calls are always inherently awkward.  My co-worker were giving a presentation to a group of 13 people.  I judge a conversation a lot by the body and facial expressions of the people I am speaking with.  Over the phone you cannot do that. I could not tell if they were bored, interested, confused.   So an hour later I was sitting there wondering was it good or bad?

Our office also seems to have bathroom problems.  I wonder if every office has these issues.  The women's restroom, the only one in the office with 3 stalls always smells funky.  Is it one person or do multiple people have stomach issues.   I am always running in and out as fast as possible trying not to breathe too deeply.  

These pictures are just to prove that I do feed Mr. J red meat on occasion. We had flank steak on Sunday.  I was pretty impressed with the results.  I marinated the meat for 6 hours before throwing it under the broiler.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Whisk together.
Tonight is a "on your own" night.  This means there are lots of random leftovers in the fridge.  Not enough for a complete meal separately but if you take a little of each you would have quite the smorgousboard.  The best part is that there is little preparation, the oven stays off, and the refridgerator gets cleaned. out. 

First Day of Summer

Today is the first day of summer.  Can you believe it?  A year ago I still lived in New York.   A year ago I was still single, preparing for my wedding.  Seriously, where does the time go?  This weekend I had some incredible urgings to have chocolate and coconut.  I mean, I am really hard pressed to think of a better food combination.  They I got to thinking about my delicious dough balls that were not the brightest idea to try.  I cannot get them out of my head. 

Somehow I logically thought that a blend of dough balls and coconut and chocolate would make the situation better. I blame Mr. J because he spent the better half of Saturday golfing.  Whenever he goes golfing I end up in the kitchen.  So there blame Mr. J.

I took the Oatmeal Carrot Cookie recipe and made a few minor adjustments.  The end result is heavenly.  They are vegan so snacking on the dough is perfectly acceptable safe.

Vegan Coconut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

Ingredients:

1 cup oat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup chocolate chunks
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup unrefined (fragrant) coconut oil, warmed until just melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and oats. Add the nuts, coconut, and chocolate. In a separate smaller bowl use a whisk to combine the agave nectar and coconut oil. Add this to the flour mixture and stir until just combined.


Eat a bit of the dough for quality control.

Drop onto prepared baking sheets, one level tablespoonful at a time, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. Bake in the top 1/3 of the oven for 10 - 12 minutes or until the cookies are golden on top and bottom.

My chocolate chunks were a bit too big for the recipe.  It was hard to form solid balls and some of the cookie exploded a bit when baking.  We cannot all be perfect right?

It is OK though.  I ate destroyed the evidence before anyone noticed.