Sunday, May 29, 2011

Sunday Blatherings & Weekend Cooking

What an eventful week.  This school year ends this coming week, my BFF leaves for residency, and I leave for my trip to England and France in less than two weeks.  In preparation for my trip, I splurged a little early and bought the iPad 2.  I was going to get it for myself for my birthday in October, but realized that with my trip coming up, it might be better to get it now so I could leave my kindle and laptop behind and just use the slim little iPad instead.  Because I teach online classes, I really do need access to new contracts that will come rolling in while I'm on my trip, so this was a convenient excuse to purchase now and not later.  Yes, it was a nice excuse to get a new toy and I'm loving it!


Any suggestions on your favorite apps?  Please, share!

I've been playing on my iPad and not reading as much as usual, but I'm surrounded by family & friends this weekend.  Although I don't have great bookish news to share, I wanted to jump back into Weekend Cooking over at Beth Fish Reads and share my favorite drink.  It's not really cooking, but it's super simple and one of my FAVES. 

Let me give you a little back story to this drink.  I have real issues with orange juice.  I'm talking, take-me-to-the-hospital issues if I drink even a teeny glass in the morning.  Well, I saw this  OJ/Mango blend and had to try a sip.  I found that if mixed (in small doses) with Diet Sprite over ice, I could not only tolerate it, but also enjoy!  So, here's my simple drink.  I know.  It's not really cooking, but trust me when I say that this mix is great and gives you the yummy taste of OJ with the sparkling taste of a Sprite.  (My BFF says this is a cheap version of a mimosa, so there you go!)

Fool Yourself OJ
Serves 1

--1 c. ice
--1 can Diet Sprite
--1 c. OJ w/ Mango

Pour the Sprite over the ice, followed by the juice.  If you do it the other way around, it foams up too much.  Then enjoy!

There's my recipe for the day.  Do you have a drink mix that you love, that's super easy like this? 

8 comments:

  1. You'll love your iPad2, I guarantee it. I can only recommend that you use caution if you decide to taste the free trial of The Daily. It's the Rupert Murdoch-owned news magazine that feels a lot like you're watching the unholy spawn of CNN and The National Inquirer. I tried it and now I can't stop.

    Big-time thanks for the tip on Simply Orange with mango. I didn't even know it existed. This shall be my drink of the summer.

    Gratzi.

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  2. Yeah, carrying a laptop around Europe is totally not worth it. Trust me on this one.

    Some of my favorite apps are AccuWeather, Cheap Gas (always useful), GoodReads (although atm it's not working properly), Stanza, UrbanSpoon, WordBook (dictionary), AmbiSci (this one is great; it really helps me sleep), and Twitter.

    And since you're traveling to the Louvre, you MUST download the Louvre app; it's very cool and has lots of information in it. It would be worth it to see if any other museums you plan on visiting have apps, too.

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  3. I don't know any cool apps but I do know a great drink when I see it. Yummm -- very cooling and perfect for summer.

    Drinks and anything foodie whatsoever count for Weekend Cooking! Glad you joined us this week.

    Now, how to figure out a way to hide in your suitcase so I can return to Europe.

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  4. Enjoy your new iPad. I love the Epicurious app, Scrabble, Urbanspoon, Kindle, Xfinity, and well, I could go on and on.

    I actually use apps more frequently on my iPhone 4 than my iPad, just because it is 100% at my side.

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  5. Every time I see the commercial for the IPad2 I get the bug to try it...Hope you have a great time in Europe :)

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  6. Todd--Thanks! I downloaded The Daily, so we'll see if I get sucked in. :) I hope you enjoy the drink too!

    Heidenkind--Thank for the advice, especially about the sleep one! I downloaded that one and will have to give it a try tonight.

    Beth F.--I'm glad that drink works. :) It really is one of my current faves for after work, so I thought, "Why not share?!?" It's fun joining in on the Weekend Cooking, so thanks for hosting!

    Diane--I downloaded some of those, so thanks for the advice! I love when people can share so that I can cut to the chase and get some great new apps. :)

    The Book Girl--I hope I have fun in Europe too! It will be my first time in England and France, so I'm really excited. I'll hope to hear if you do end up getting an iPad2! It has been fun so far. :)

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  7. Congrats on your iPad. I have the first one and I love it! I don't have a ton of apps on mine - really only games and bookish things like Kobo and Kindle - also one called Bluefire which enables you to download ePub books from NetGalley to read. I'm so envious of your trip! enjoy!

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  8. I have a new Playbook and am checking out the apps. I rather enjoy it for reading.

    Your recipe is great. Sounds very refreshing.

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