Totally Techie Thursday - A few more Favorite Apps

This week I have a couple of more of my favorite mobile apps to share with you. The tough part about writing these Techie blog posts is choosing which apps to show you! I have so many that I love. Some are fun, some are real time savers. These are Android apps, but there is usually an i app that is comparable to any Android app.

Let's start with an app that is purely for fun. Ever hear a song and start going nuts trying to figure out what song it is? OR who sang it? Well wonder no more. Soundhound to the rescue!

SoundHound is free! Download SoundHound and open the app, hold your mobile device up so that SoundHound can hear the music, it doesn't even need to be real close to the source.  SoundHound will listen and beep when it identifies the song, usually a few seconds, amazing, right? Now look at the screen on your mobile device, it will not only tell you the song playing, it will also tell you who sings it, the lyrics, what year the song was made and give you several options to purchase the song right there on the spot! I love technology!


This next app is like having a pack of post its on your mobile :-) It's called Colornote. It is essentially an endless pack of post-it notes.

Colornote is a free app that is a place to jot notes to yourself. You can make them different colors, so it's easier to pick out the one you want quicker. Some of my notes include a wine I tried somewhere, so I can easily remember it for the next time I'm in a wine shop, restaurants we liked when on a road trip, so next time in that area, we know the name and what exit to get off the highway. The name of a band someone told me about, a book title, a brand of sundried tomatos we really preferred and a few reminders like get cat litter today! You can also use a note to help you remember something, like your daily pills or a DR. appointment. Colornote gives you the option of adding a reminder alarm to any of your notes. IT can be a one time alarm or scheduled for every day or once a week.You can drop and drag the app onto your mobile desktop/display for handy access to all of your notes and within easy reach for future notes. That's how I use it. For me, if it's not right at my fingertips, I won't use it.

I hope you like these 2 free apps I shared today. I would really love to just post a bunch more right now, but time does not allow. So next week, I'll post a some more. These android apps can be found here GooglePlayStore Have a great week.

Totally Techie Thursday - Favorite Apps

Favorite Apps

Anyone who knows me, knows that techie stuff thrills me. I light up and ya can't shut me up when I get going on that kinda thing. Now I don't claim to be an IT person, I'm not able to "root" or anything that deep. I just like to know all of the in's and out's of the electronics that I buy. I like to research stuff to death and comparison shop before I buy. I'm a big fan of CNET

Today I thought I would share a couple of my favorite apps for Android. I'm guessing that a lot of these will have comparable apps for the i crowd as well. I'm always surprised how many smartphone users don't know of these easy to use time savers.

Key Ring - ya know all those little cards that you carry around on your key ring to get discounts at stores? Well, this free app. let's you scan each of those little cards right into your phone. You don't need to carry them around anymore, shuffling through them when you are at the check out to find the correct one - yahoo! Simply bring up the correct store on your phone, hold your phone up and the store clerk scans it, voila! Quite a few stores have their coupons come right up on the phone. Shoprite is set up so that all of their weekly store coupons are on the app. Simply check off the ones you want to use and when the clerk scans your phone each coupon will be deducted as that item is scanned. AC Moore and Michaels Reward Cards bring up the 40% off coupons right on your phone. You can even create a card for local places like your gym or library by typing your member number in and label accordingly and they work!

http://ow.ly/cQycy

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Out Of Milk - Awesome Shopping list. So simple, I have not had a paper list in my house in months. My phone is always near by, need mayo? Pick up my phone, open the app. touch microphone, say "mayo" DONE! Or you can type it in. I'll be bringing my phone to the grocery store anyway, so this way I always have my list with me. I scroll through my list as I shop, tap things I get, it crosses them off my list! It will let you edit, delete or move to your pantry list. Yes, there's a permanent pantry. My sister filled her pantry with all of her "staples" and drags and drops to her grocery list. I don't use mine. You can drag items around on your list too. For instance, put all of your dairy together. I separate mine by stores too. It also has a "to Do' List on this app. which I use to list all the places I need to stop on my errand day.
I would recommend buying the Pro Unlocker for $1.99. First you need to install the freebie, then upgrade to Pro Unlocker. With this you have more flexibility of arranging your shopping  lists. A favorite feature on the Pro is that you can share your list with other Pro users. Like your spouse. If he picks up milk and crosses it off of his list it is crossed off of yours automatically. Since my Bill has an old dinosaur phone I have never used this feature but people tell me it's great for busy families.

http://ow.ly/cQzvx

I hope that you enjoy these time saving apps. You can get them at  Google Play Store  There are a few others that I'm dying to share with you, but I really have to get back to my work  @Tink's I'll show you a couple of more of my favorites next Thursday. Have a great day!

This Week's Color Palette Design August 8 2012

Once again I participated in the "Inspiration Wednesday" Color Palette that was posted last week on our team blog http://hvetsyians.blogspot.com/

http://design-seeds.com/index.php/home/entry/color-salad1

Aren't those interesting colors? Yeah, I thought so too.
Here is the bracelet that I created using the color palette as inspiration.

          https://www.etsy.com/listing/106340184/beaded-magnetic-bracelet-fuschia-crystal   

Simple Yummy Desserts - Oreo Cookie Dough Brownie

Simple Yummy Desserts
Cookie Dough, Oreo, Brownie Bars

I found this dessert on Pinterest. I don't know who to give credit to. I tried to follow the recipe back to the  original posting but that didn't work. Whoever thought this one up - thank you! It is so simple and incredibly delicious. Cuts easily into brownie like bars and will travel well. Oh - and easy clean up.

Preheat oven to 350º

What you need; 1 roll of Toll House refrigerated Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough - at room temperature
1 pkg. of Oreo Cookies
1 box of Brownie mix - prepared but not baked
8x11 baking pan

The Pinterest post that I read said to line the pan with parchment paper, I used a baking spray with flour added to it and coated sides and bottom of my pan. I experienced no sticking and easy clean up.

Line or spray your baking pan. Cut the roll of cookie dough open length wise and spread it into the bottom of the pan evenly.

Top with the Oreos in a single layer

Pour the prepared brownie mix over the Oreos

Bake @ 350º for 45 minutes

I baked mine for 50 minutes. I wasn't sure if it was cooked through so I decided to go for 5 extra minutes. At 50 minutes I could see that the brownie top was separating from the sides of my pan so I felt that it was done. It was perfect! Cut beautifully after 15 minutes of cooling.

Bill pointed out that I could cut them into squares the size of each Oreo for perfect portions - smart man I got there, huh?

Here's a bite -  Brownie, Oreo, Chocolate Chip Cookie YUM - it's a circus in your mouth - enjoy!

This Week's Color Palette Design August 1st

Wow! Two posts in 2 days, I'm proud of myself.
This post is about jewelry making. I don't think that I have ever posted about making jewelry before. Well, for those of you that don't know, this is what I do all day long. It's my passion. I absolutely love to make jewelry. My focus is on easy to wear jewelry. That means I like to design jewelry that you can easily put on and take off by yourself. Ok, enough background. Here's what I want to share with you today.

I'm a member of The Hudson Valley Etsy Team. A group of artisans that live in the Hudson Valley Region of New York State and sell our handmade items on etsy.com Our blog http://hvetsyians.blogspot.com/  recently started doing "Inspiration Wednesday" Posts. On Wednesday my  teammate Shannon from http://www.etsy.com/shop/ForMySweetDaughter posts a color palette that she chooses from http://design-seeds.com/ Readers are asked to use all or part of the color palette as inspiration to create something and post the link on the blog the following Wednesday. Up until now, I had not created anything with the color palettes selected on previous weeks.This past week, as soon as I saw these colors, I felt compelled to create something, immediately.

Palette from design-seed.com

I saw these colors and instantly knew which beads I wanted to work with. I had to drop everything I was doing. Plans went out the window. I had to break out those beads and create! I felt incredibly energized. Everything got tuned out, it's just me and those beautiful beads. I tried them this way and that way, until I  created a necklace that I just love. 

  

Decisions - decisions! All so pretty!

When I finished the necklace I suddenly realized how inspired I became by a few colors in a blog post. Color is a huge part of  my world. I am very influenced by the colors around me, my response is powerful, good or bad. This time, good. 
Here is the piece that I created. I used these unusual denim blue cut out beads I had recently acquired, along with blue Lapis beads and lime green glass twists and accentuated by tiny light blue beads and daisy rondelles. Keeping with my mantra, of "easy to wear" I closed it with a strong magnetic barrel clasp -  so very easy for you to put this on by yourself :-)    

http://www.tinkstreasure.etsy.com

http://www.tinkstreasure.etsy.com

Does color influence you in a powerful way? Check out the color palette for next week's design inspiration  here http://hvetsyians.blogspot.com/ maybe you will be inspired to create something. If you are, please feel free to share what you made by posting a link in the comments section of the team blog or here on my blog or both.  Oh, by the way, it does not have to be jewelry - it could be knitting, painting, sculpting, sewing whatever you like to create with. 

So I haven't been here in forever. Needless to say my "Forever Tour" Bus ran off a cliff and crashed. The tour was canceled ;)
No, in reality, I fell off the Weight Watcher wagon once again. Once again I just got so sick of tracking every ounce with so little weight loss to show for it.
So nowadays, I'm back with that loser Wes (my Weslo treadmill) almost every day. I'm walking all over him and bitching endlessly. We have a love - hate relationship. I only love him when I step off and head for the shower. The rest of the time I hate stupid Wes. So to get through that time each day, I am watching The Housewives Of NYC, On Demand. The show is 48 minutes, so that is how long I spend with Wes. I have to admit, they are some crazy ladies. The time flies by watching them. When I've watched all of those past episodes I figured I'll start on one of the other House Wives series. I know there are more. Whatever it takes to keep me from being bored on that treadmill. I'm focusing on moving and staying strong. I have not gained any more weight so I must be doing something right. Oh, it is probably because I've been forced to be more active recently. I have been blessed with a new baby grandson, William, born late April. Since my daughter's return to work in mid June I have been the "Gammy-Nanny" 2-4 days per week for William (now known as Mr. Delicious). Because of this I have once again needed to become more organized with my time. So I'm quite a bit more active since starting this new phase of my life. I am loving every minute of it too. I was blessed to be able to be Grammy-Nanny to my 7 yr. old grandson, Patrick from when he was a 12 week old baby til he was approx. 3 yrs old. After that Mom & Dad thought Pre-School would be good for him, I agree that it was good to prepare him for "big boy school". That time we had together forged a strong bond between us that carries forward to this day. Tink's has had to take a bit of a backseat while I adjust to all of this and try to manage my time more efficiently. I'm getting a bit better at it every week. One thing that has helped make it easier is that my incredible husband bought me a a little 14 inch laptop to take to my daughters home with me so that I can edit jewelry photos and list jewelry in my Etsy shop on the days that I spend at her house caring for Mr. Delicious. I took some photos today here in my studio that I can edit while the baby is sleeping the next time I'm on Grammy-Nanny duty. See, I'm getting organized :-)

Tink's Tips: Online Shopping

 Happy Cyber Monday. I'm going to share a few of my tips for shopping online. I haven't been near a mall in years. I do all of my shopping online and this is how I get the best deals and make shopping as easy as possible on me and my wallet. Here are 2 websites that are a huge help while online shopping.
The 1st one http://www.thefind.com/  is a comparison shopping site. I know that there are lots of these but I like this one because you can check a box that will have all the prices shown include the shipping. This site also says if there are special deals going on at a particular site. I have also used this site successfully to locate hard to find gift requests. It hasn't failed me yet! The 2nd site I use is http://www.retailmenot.com/ Again, I know there are many coupon code sites. I like this one because I have found that the codes really work. No sign up, no junk Email, just money saving coupon codes on stuff I want to buy.      
         
 Just in case your not computer savy and don't know how to have multiple windows open at once. Here's how you do this. In this image you can see I have 2 windows open - my yahoo and blogger. To the right of blogger see the square? Clicking on that will open a new blank window. Type in the url for TheFind and then open another blank window and type in the url for RetailMeNot. Now you can shop in your 1st window (where mine says my yahoo) and switch back and forth between the other 2 sites to make sure that you are getting the best deals. In the pic I can go back and forth between the 2 open windows my yahoo and blogger.

   Yesterday I needed more business cards for Tink's and went to my usual site to buy them http://www.123print.com/  After I redesigned the cards (can't wait to see them!!) I checked retailMeNot and sure enough an extra 20%off. Worth mentioning - this site always has free shipping AND right now Christmas cards are 50% off!

I also bought myself a new printer from http://www.hp.com/  (Yes, that's how I shop - I buy 2 gifts and then 1 for me!) I've been shopping around for one lately and found a deal here that I was very happy with. Checked RetailMeNot sure enough a code for an extra $10.00 off! While I am speaking of the HP website. I will mention that they have the best prices on ink (yes, I've even checked WalMart prices) and they often give me free stuff when I order. 4x6 photo paper, full size paper, a wireless mouse. Shipping is always free and it's overnight shipping. My new printer will be here today or tomorrow. I have owned 3 HP printers and each was a good product and lasted a long time. When my printer gets low on ink, a window pops up on my computer screen and gives me the option to connect directly to hp and order some ink. It could not be easier, quicker OR cheaper.

I also found a coupon code for http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/  buy $10.00 and get 1 free item of my choice up to a $13.00 value. I bought some stocking stuffers for the fam and got myself a free bottle of my fav - Cotton Blossom body lotion.

I also bought some gifts that I obviously can't discuss but I will say that 2 hard to find gifs were found on TheFind and 1 of these was on sale at the website $10.00 off. I checked RetailMeNot and got a code for an additional 20% off. Yes, sometimes you can use more then one coupon or code. It's called "stacking" and it is always worth trying .

One last tip from Tink's - Shop online where "site to store" shipping is offered. It is free and I get a text message when my order arrives and then I just go and pick it up. Walmart offers this. I used it to shop for all of Patrick's toys.

Please shop on sites like ArtFire http://www.artfire.com/  and Etsy http://www.etsy.com/  These are real people - artisans - who sell quality handcrafted items that you will be buying from NOT CHINA. So many are offering wonderful sales and free shipping. Please support a small business and buy handmade.

I hope these tips will make your Christmas shopping a bit easier on you and your wallet. Oooh - and while you're bargain hunting be sure to check out Tink's sale for unique and affordable hand made jewelry. http://www.tinkstreasure.artfire.com/  20% off storewide on your entire order. That includes the shipping too!!! Today, Monday November 29th 2010 is the final day. Use the coupon code SAVE20 at check out. Remember that each purchase arrives in a decorated gift box.

 Happy Shopping and blessings for a stress free Christmas season.

Please feel free to leave any comments. I would like to hear other people's tips :-)