Blogs I Follow

Since I have covered all the Apps I use from my phone, but I want to try to keep up my regular posting, I am changing Thursday's Helpful Apps to Blogs I Follow. This week I will link to Organizational Blogs I Follow. I used to follow blogs via Google Reader, but since that site is no longer available, I use Feedly. It works great and since more people are using it, they continue to make nice updates.

Organizational Blogs I Follow:

1. Day One Blog-Day One is a great journaling app I use on my phone. I really like the way it looks and how easy it is to use. So, when I saw they had a blog, I began to follow it, too. 
2. Creative Organizing blog has become Simplify 101. I love this blog and their newsletters. I appreciate their tips and suggestions! For a while I was subscribed to both via feedly and got their posts twice! :)
3. I Heart Organizing Blog-I love this blog because they often show before and after projects, from the writer and from readers. It can spawn new project ideas or design ideas, and it also inspires me to just get going on a project!
4. The Art Of Simple/Simple Mom-I just recently found this blog through another site. I really like the articles and will continue to follow it! It's not just about organizing, but that was how I originally found it. Some nice words of wisdom in her last few posts.
5. Organized Home-Love the checklists posted! And the encouragement to break cleaning/organizing into small chunks, even with a busy life!
6. A Bowl Full of Lemons-I found this blog through Pinterest as I was looking up planner ideas. I really loved the approach I saw here and the many things she was organizing-files/papers, purse, planners, home!
7. Small Notebook-Ways to Simplify Your Home, some How-Tos and ideas for organization. This is another good blog with thoughts, feelings and words of wisdom thrown in, as well.

Do you have any organizational blogs you follow, Reader? And Happy Thanksgiving! I'm grateful you are here!

"There's An App For That"

Since I am still reading the same books as the last few weeks, I found a magazine article in Scrapbooks Etc.-which is no longer being published and that is sad- August 2012 issue (page 80) with a topic I wanted to share. I have posted about all the apps and games I have on my phone but here are some I'm interested in learning more about. *Side note-yes, I just found this article in a 2012 issue... I was cleaning out my craft room/office-yes, I organize it, but I really worked on purging and cleaning out again, recently-and found this issue.

The article is called "there's an app for that": "Here are a few of our favorite image-editing applications" {I haven't typed every bit and bob from the article, just linked the apps they listed. I linked them to their itunes page because itunes provides good information about each image-editing application.}

1. 100 Cameras in 1 Here is some info about it via itunes
2. Instagram I have posted about before here on my blog.
3. Adobe Photoshop Express
4. BeFunky
5. Camerabag
6. Camera Zoom FX
7. Diptic
8. ImgEdit-only available for blackberry
9. Lightbox Photos-available only for android
10. Pano
11. Photo Editor-available for blackberry
12. Picoli
13. PicSay-available only for android
14. Radical Draw with Photo Editing-available for blackberry 
15. Snapseed
16. Thumba Photo Editor

Social Media Monday

I got off track again the last few weeks. Been very busy. However, back on schedule for today... :)
Social Media for today is from my Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. I posted it to all three.
My sweet dogs-so glad Merlin is on the mend. Was pretty worried while stayed overnight at the vet. #dogs

Merlin had a spell Thursday. He couldn't stand and had some other odd symptoms, like leaning his head to one side. My youngest daughter and I were very worried, and my husband was on his way back from a business trip, not to arrive for two more hours. My father in law came to help me get him into the car, because his 83 lbs was a bit too much to do on my own. I was so thankful my in laws had made it back earlier in the day from their month long trip. Merlin couldn't get up on his own-not even half of himself, so I was worried it was his time. I called the vet and they said to bring him in. We got Merlin to the vet and he stayed overnight. They said it could be anything from an ear infection to a brain tumor! He ended up having an inner ear infection, way deep in his ear, causing dizziness so he couldn't get up. It also caused him to be ill a few times before we headed to the vet, too. After fluids and meds, he is very happy to be home. He still seems a little sleepy but doing much better! The vet said he doesn't seem to be near his "time", yet, even though he is 13-91 in dog years! And for that I am very thankful. :)

Recipes We Have Tried This Week

We currently do not own a grill. Ours rusted and fell apart. Instead of buying one, my husband started using our meat smoker like a grill to cook any burgers we may make. Sunday we wanted to make steaks... but no grill... Which is just as well since we had the storm blowing through. So, my husband looked up a recipe for broiled steak. He found a Michael Symon recipe that touted the success of broiling steaks. My husband followed the recipe below except for the lemon. It was delicious! Here is the link.

Broiled Porterhouse with Roasted Garlic and Lemon

Recipe courtesy Michael Symon

Total Time:

9 hr 15 min

Prep:

10 min

|

Inactive Prep:

8 hr 50 min

|

Cook:

15 min

Level:

Easy

Yield:

4 to 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

• Two 24-ounce dry-aged prime porterhouse steaks
• Kosher salt

• 4 strips bacon or 2 tablespoons bacon fat
• Roasted Garlic Schmear, recipe follows

• Roasted Garlic Schmear
• 1 head roasted garlic, peeled
• Juice and zest of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped oregano
• 1 tablespoon sea salt

DIRECTIONS

The night before you serve the steaks, season them liberally with salt on both sides and store in the refrigerator overnight. Remove them from the fridge 45 minutes before cooking, to take the chill off. 

Turn the oven to broil. 

Prepare your pan(s). Note: depending on the size of the steaks and the size of your pan, you may need two pans. If using the bacon, place in a large cast-iron pan(s) and cook over medium heat until crispy. Remove from the pan, leaving the melted bacon fat, and set aside for another use. If using the cold bacon fat, add it to a cast-iron pan(s) over medium-high heat and melt. 

Open a window or two because it may get a little smoky. Place the steaks in the pan(s) and place under the broiler for 4 minutes. Flip the steaks carefully and return to the broiler for another 4 minutes. 

At this point your steaks will be about medium rare. Leave them under the broiler a little longer if you prefer them more cooked. 

Spread the Roasted Garlic Schmear over the tops of the steaks. Let rest for 5 minutes, and then slice and serve.

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl or a mortar and pestle. Mix to combine. Yield: about 1/2 cup

Thursday's Apps

Usually the apps I link here are Thursday's "Helpful" Apps. However, the category I am placing here today is "Time Waster" Apps-these are games I play in down time, like while waiting at the doctor's office or in the car when my husband is driving and my eyes are too tired to read. I actually have a segment on my phone labeled "Time Wasters" with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and some of the games listed below. Sometimes it helps to remind me that I will look up again in a few minutes and realize time has disappeared... Also, every so often I can find a fun game to try and it will be free, but as it gains in popularity prices appear/rise. Some below are still free, as well. So, I didn't pay the full price for all the games below, fyi. ;)

1. Angry Birds-I have loved almost all versions of this game since it first came out. However, the one I play right now is seasons. I like to play the season we are in. I have played them all and achieved three stars on most on our ipad, but that was long before I got my iphone. Now I get to work on them on my phone. With multiple seasons for three different years, it feels like new. I wonder if they will update those this year... I don't care for the Star Wars or Space versions as well, but I don't have those on my phone right now.
2. Another game/app I enjoy is Ski Safari. I played it quite a bit last year on the ipad, as well. Then, with winter approaching, I was in the mood to play this again and started on my phone. itunes has this to say about it: Ski Safari is where Animals, Avalanches and Action come together to create a new casual gameplay experience.
   
   Our deep sleeping hero has to stay ahead of a relentless avalanche that threatens the local mountainsides. Sven, as we like to call him, can use animals to aid his escape from an icey end. Each of the hillside animals have different attributes to make a speedier escape. Penguins glide further, Yetis are tougher, Eagles soar to great heights, each of these can provide useful advantage for Sven. Sometimes on the slopes Sven can find fast Snowmobiles which can ferry multiple animals a maintain a very high top speed.
   
   Staying ahead of the avalanche has its advantages and perks. Completing objectives can 'level up' Sven and increase his score multiplier. Riding animals, performing backflips add to the score and with an increased score multiplier Sven will rocketing up the highscore table with ease.
3. I also play a variety of "with friends" games. They sync with Facebook and your opponents can be your facebook friends. I play Words Free/With Friends, which is like Scrabble, Scramble With Friends which is like Boggle, and Hanging Free which is like hangman. All are word games and I usually try to get to a game of each every other day or so since I'm playing against my friends. You can play them via facebook, too, I think.
4. Tiny Wings is a fun game my girls and I enjoy every so often, too. Cute and simple. 
5. I have other games that I don't play regularly, but every now and again I am inclined to try a game or two. These games include: Plants vs Zombies (I don't like zombies or the zombie craze that is popular right now, but this is a cute game involving some strategy, which a lot of the games I like to play do.) Bejeweled Blitz, which I can also play via Facebook with friends and family, Triple Town, Link That Gugl, Little Things which is a search and find game with great graphics, Search 60 which is also search and find but all in 60 seconds, Word Ladder and Cribbage Lite.