Thursday Things

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Time for an installment of Thursday Things

1. When I saw an email for this new iphone I got really excited

iPhone 4S is coming October 14. Pre-order online beginning October 7. Available in store at 8:00 am on October 14.

Why?

Well, because I love my iPhone and the camera on it is great, but…

iphone with white case on home page

The new iPhone is supposed to have an even better camera

All you need to say is better camera, and I want this phone.

I took the eligibility “quiz” and it seems that November 2, 2012 is the magic date for me for when I could get this for $199.  But, in 14 months, they could have iPhone version 9 out.  Way too long to wait.  Sigh.

Can you say, hello Ebay?  I must source one of these bad boys, asap.  And not at $750 bucks which is approximately the going rate if you’re not currently eligible for an upgrade.  At that price, the camera on my current iPhone is “fine”.  I guess.

2. Wordpress Bloggers, back up your blog.  It’s easy.

Install a plugin like this one, and then it will instruct you to go into your “Tools” from your Dashboard, click a few bubbles and the backup will run and will probably take a half hour or so to complete and you can have it saved to your computer, saved to your computer, or emailed to you.

It’s probably not “perfect” and if your site ever did get hacked like I thought mine did…

Or crash like mine actually did…

…Some form of backup is better than nothing.

Backup your blogs!

3. And while you’re at it, back up your computers, too, on an external drive

computer's silver external hard drive

4. Limited Edition Caramel Tootsie Pops

 

I found a bag of them at my local Rite Aid this week. And have done plenty of damage on the bag.  Super tasty.  Sort of like butterscotch hard candies but a bit more caramely tasting with that lovely Tootsie center.

I love Tootsie Pops, big time.

And I love caramel anything.

Case in point are the Caramel Apple Bars so it’s no surprise I’m lovin’ the caramel Tootsie Pops

Caramel Apple Bars

5. These Be Present Mobility Pants in Silver Fox

I just received them and I am in love.

I love the Be Present Mobility Pants in general and have a couple other pairs.

I wear them all the time.

To the mall…

averie taking picture in store mirror with pink purse and mac bag in front of her

To the hair salon..

Averie taking picture in hair salon mirrorExcuse the roots, that was the Before Picture

…And I just wear them everywhere.

They are lightweight, drawstring (hello comfortable!), wash up beautifully, air-dry in a hurry, fold up into next to nothing if you’re traveling, and have deep pockets.

Cannot recommend them enough or say enough awesome things about them.

I’ve raved about them in my Yoga FAQ’s post

And in this post

Be present made in the usa blue pants

6. A Cookie Scoop

Cookie ScoopKatie recommended this cookie scoop to me and in the past I have attempted to use a cookie scoop but the dough has always stuck to the metal and the “releasing” mechanism never really properly released the dough, and I ended up have to use my finger or a spoon to get the dough off the scoop and onto the cookie sheet.  Basically more of a PITA than it was worth.  But I trust you, Katie.  I think I need this gadget in my life

Along with all these gadgets

Uniform-sized cookies are the way to go.  Not even just for “pretty food” purposes but so that bake in a uniform amount of time

So they all get done at the same time and there’s no violations of any Baking Rules, i.e. dry or overdone

I want to make Snickers Bar Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies with a cookie scoop

Snickers Bar Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

7. The winner of the $25 Manna Bread Giveaway is:

kris (everyday oats) October 5, 2011

Favorite bread of all time…hmmm, this is a hard one! – I pretty much love ALL breads. Whole wheat, brioche, french baguettes, cinnamon raisin, banana, sourdough…you name it, I probably love it! ;)

Congrats, Kris!

Questions:

1. What are your Thursday Things?  Have you seen anything interesting, fun, or that you’re pining away for?

2.  Do you have an iPhone?  Do you want one?  Anyone planning to get the newest one?

I never thought I’d be able to handle touchscreen.  I still make tons of mistakes when I’m typing and auto-correct is both a blessing and a curse, but my iPhone is light years ahead of my Blackberry and I couldn’t imagine not having an iPhone now.

I don’t use anywhere near what the phone is capable of doing but one thing I adore about it is the camera.  I’d surmise it’s a better quality camera than most other phones have and for me, the ability to take pictures of my day as I am out and about without having to lug a separate camera of any sort (from a small P & S to a huge DSLR) is worth it’s weight in gold.

Other things I love are Instagram, and all the apps that you can download (the picture I used in this post of my phone is old and I have other apps on it now)

I mostly use my Instagram, Twitter, and just check my email/Gmail from my phone

I thought I’d be able to comment on blogs with the the phone and that’s been a bit of a disappointment because although y0u can do it in theory, it takes about 5 minutes per blog to leave even a 10 word comment after you fill in your name, email, your URL, and then type the comment.  Lots of little boxes to click in and out of and fields to fill in, and it’s not practical from a phone, even a smartphone, in my experience.

The other drawback, because of the way Apple protects music, there is trouble interfacing between the phone and my iTunes and having all my music, all in one place between my various Apple computers and iPhones.  I have 3 computers: an old Mac desktop, my new Mac desktop, and my Macbook; and then the iPhone.  And that music is not all synced which is unfortunate because I paid for it.  I own it.  But they have these precautions in place to prevent music pirating.

If anyone knows a way to centralize your music so that all your computers and all your phones are all “current” with all the music you own, I’m all ears.  I have googled this and have talked to the Genius Bar people and I think I am out of luck.  I know others must have this issue too because many of us have an old/new computer or a desktop/laptop plus a phone.  But I digress.

All in all, I love my iPhone.  No plans to switch!

If you have an iPhone, what do you do the most with it?  What features do you love about it?

Keep those Silpat Giveaway entries coming!

About the Author

Welcome to AverieCooks! Here you’ll find fast and easy recipes that taste amazing and are geared for real life. Nothing fussy or complicated, just awesome tasting dishes everyone loves!

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Comments

  1. I don’t have an iphone, but I think I qualify for a free one pretty soon here, so I may get one.

  2. Do you even need to ask what dessert if yours I would bake on a silpat? FLOURLESS. PEANUT. BUTTER. COOKIES. There’s just no other answer!

  3. There is something called home sharing on ITunes. I got my own laptop a year and a half ago after using the family computer for years because I needed it for schoolwork (I am only a high school frosh). I needed this to transfer my library of 500+ songs to my new laptop. In Itunes you go to advanced at the top, and then home sharing. YOUR LIFE WILL BE SO MUCH EASIER! Good Luck!

    1. thanks for the info and yes i do have home sharing turned on…for some reason on my new iphone, it won’t let me sync up all the stuff on my mac/desktop.

      My options are to remove everything from itunes on my desktop (no way!) or just not have my phone synced up to it (which is what i do b/c there’s no way i am erasing 5000 songs!)…

      Wish it was as simple as turning on home sharing for me…sigh.

  4. I’m totally looking forward to the new iPhone, my 3GS is getting slow! :-P Luckily we’re eligible for it since our iPhones are over 2 years old and have survived the years of abuse nicely.

    Yup on Wordpress, thanks for the reminder.

    1. Glass cutting blocks, iPhone 4S, and new winter running gear.
    2. Yes, yes, and yes. :-) I use it for so much, my running GPS, iPod, portably gaming device, email, messaging, research, reservations, and annoying my sister by sending tons of texts to her on her old school key pad cell phone that she can barely reply on. :-)

  5. I am soooo sooo getting the new iphone! i’m running on 3G right now and i def need to upgrade!!! and i just recently found pinterest. oh my new obession!!

    1. ok you have to tell me how you like it!!!

      and follow me on pinterest that way I can follow you back :)

  6. I love my iPhone. We just got them (and disconnected the landline) and opted to get the old version (3GS old) because it was free with our phone contract :) I’ve never used a newer one so i don’t know the difference and I still love it! Besides Twitter, Facebook, email and reading blogs i am slightly addicted to Words with Friends :)

    I dont know how you can sync all your computers but my husband and I are both able to put the music from one iTunes account onto both our phones with no problem. We even share apps. But we only have the one computer.

    1. so you both have the same music, i.e. 1000 songs on each of your phones?

      see when i got my newest iphone, it wouldnt let me sync up anything that I had purchased with my old phone and I was able to get some of my itunes library on the new phone but not all of it. Such a pain, wish I could! I am definitely not re-purchasing all that music, that’s for sure :)

      1. I think I figured it out – do you have home sharing turned on? If not here is the link from Apple explaining it. With it turned on you can share your iTunes media library between up to 5 computers or devices (phone, pod, pad) http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3819

        We also don’t automatically sync our phones with our iTunes account and instead just drag and drop the songs we want onto our phones (same goes for apps).

        Hope this helps!

      2. thanks for the info and yes i do have home sharing turned on…for some reason on my new iphone, it won’t let me sync up all the stuff on my mac/desktop. My options are to remove everything from itunes on my desktop (no way!) or just not have my phone synced up to it (which is what i do b/c there’s no way i am erasing 5000 songs!) sigh.

  7. I guess this is kind of a Steve Jobs tribute post, also, with all the iPhone love! I don’t have an iPhone–I’ve only even had a very basic cellphone for about three years… But practically everyone I know seems to have one, and I envy the quality of the pics they take and the fact that you can email them, much more streamlined process to the blog than uploading from camera…

    Those pants look so comfy and nice-looking into the bargain. I guess they might be too thin for up here where it’s cold, but they look like just the kind of pants I’d love to wear (I don’t like a lot of clothes, really).

    1. I wear mine year round, thin is ok. I just pair them with boots or socks. I am not much of a jeans girl. I am all about the loose, drawstring, comfy action :) But yeah it’s way colder where you are but you’d love them.

      1. Me too on preferring loose/drawstring/comfy! I actually just bought my first two pairs of jeans for a lot of years recently and it was quite a process–been meaning to blog about it. But, when I decided to go for a run on the spur of the moment, wearing jeans–bad idea! I like clothes in which you can be spontaneous, and your pants sound like that.

  8. I LOVE my iPhone! I had a Blackberry for the past 3 years and switched over this summer and never looked back : )

  9. thanks for the reminder for back ups… I will make a post-it for further remindment (so I make back ups regularly). It´s a thing I always forget to do (or am too lazy to), but I would go absolute NUTS if my data would go missing!
    Planning to buy an iPhone very soon :) In 4, in 4 weeks, and I am so excited :) (I will buy 4GS, so happy I was waiting, bc the bad camera quality was the reason I didn´t buy the then current 3GS!)

  10. RIP Steve Jobs :( But I’m actually in an iDilemna right now because I’m not due for a phone upgrade until March 2012 (I don’t have a smartphone right now). If I wanted one now, I would have to pay full price. Can you get them for a really decent price on ebay? And do the wireless companies charge additional fees for that? Otherwise, I’m thinking about the iPad but I was hoping that I could see how much I love the iPhone first before springing for something so extravagant!

    1. Well they are usually less on ebay than they are retail. If retail is $750, I’d say half. Sometimes they are not new and are refurbished and of course caveat emptor goes without saying but it may be worth it to save hundreds. I’ve gotten a few Blackberries over the years like that but never an iphone.

      I personally see no point to the ipad. The iphone is great and then just use a laptop. But that’s me…millions of people see a benefit and use them :)

  11. i do have an iphone and LOVE it…no need to jump righton the new one yet though mine works juuust fine!!! I would rather wait until I really need a new one and by then maybe a new version will be out! I love your smile, averie! it always puts me in a good mood!!

    caramel tootsie pops!?! holy moly!! i need to try one of those! i love tootsies too way more then blow pops…the gum inside blow pops is gross and the middle is the best part! tootsies all the way!!!

  12. Thanks for the backup tip! Just did it. And I definitely learned my lesson once about backing up my computer. I love how Time Machine gives you the “Hey dummy, back me up!” warning. No iPhone for me, I have a Droid, but if the iPhone were available for Verizon when I upgraded I would have gone with that. Alas, I am iPhoneless until my next upgrade. But I love Apple products so I’d love to make the switch. R.I.P. Steve Jobs.

    1. what back up did did you use to backup your blog? I am always looking for better/easier ones.

      1. I used the one you linked to. I thought about using Dropbox, because Dropbox is the best thing on the planet, but I don’t think I have enough Dropbox storage space.

  13. Hey Averie,
    I got a text yesterday from Rogers saying you can download the new ISO?? I believe it’s on Oct 16th!? I know that won’t improve the quality of the camera – but you’ll get some of the other features!

    1. Ok that’s really cool and if you take advantage of this or use it, will you email me…or comment back b/c I’d love to make that happen, too…(but will forget about it…haha!)

  14. I remember Tootsie Pops from my American Days!! Although I dont really like any candy anymore (say what?!) I did used to LOVE them.
    My favourite I-phone application is Instagram defo – although I think Im absuing it a bit at the moment by instagramming up photos I just want to use on my blog – so Im sending out weird things like instagrammed pictures of Quorn – probably explaining why my husband is my only follower!
    on another note – i LOVE your tatoos, which I had never seen before. I wish I could have tatoos but sadly I dont think my body is quite toned enough for them. :)
    This thursday Im getting excited about it being Friday tomorrow!!!!!! xox

    1. you look awesome…just popped to your blog and saw your coffee post, mmm love it.

      but yes, IG is sooo handy, isn’t it! I am pretty sure other ppl take pics of things and IG them JUST so they can use the pics on their blogs later. I see it all the time :)

  15. That’s so funny, I just mentioned in my blog today my favourite cookie scoop. It’s not metal, it’s plastic but uses rubber for the actual scoop part so all you do is push the rubber in with your finger and it releases the dough perfectly! (I’m probably not explaining that very well).

    I was talking to someone just today about how it’s so sad Steve Jobs died but he left such an amazing legacy. Who do you know that doesn’t have at least one Apple product in their home? I can’t think of anyone! I am still using my old and dying Blackberry Curve because I was waiting for the new iPhone to come out so I could switch. Yay!

    Also, is that an Apple back-up hard drive? Just wondered if they had one in particular that we should buy when we buy our iMac. Can one hard drive back up more than one computer (ie an iMac and a laptop or two?). Sorry, I should probably save these questions for the Apple guys :). Thanks Averie!

    1. no it’s a western digital (the link in this post takes you back to the orig post where I featured it with product info)…and you can use most any brand you want, but WD is very reputable which is why I went with them.