Almost App-tastic: Get Unstuck!

While reading a few new blogs this week, I discovered a new app written up in one of the blogs called Unstuck.  I have to admit, I usually avoid all apps that aren't social media or photography,  but this one sounded intriguing.  It's basically a crystal ball - not really but it's easier to explain it like that - that helps you determine where you're stuck in life or in relationships or in other areas of your life.  You answer a few questions and out pops an answer - and, I was told, ways to help get unstuck.

Mostly drawn by the design itself, I gave it a try.  I answered all the questions honestly.  There were only a few and none were that difficult.  And as it turns out, it mapped my personality perfectly.  I can see pretty much every part of this particular personality type in myself.  It's not a fantastic trait that I'm happy about, but it was most definitely true.  But this app was going to help stop me from continuing down this path, right?

It was supposed to give me tips on how to be more decisive and make a decision.  However, their helpful tips were nothing more than good ideas.  They wanted me to give myself time limits for decisions and decide if the decision I needed to make was life or death.  Apparently, taking the jeopardy out of the decision, helps you decide quicker.  That's all well and good.  But if it's difficult for me to make a decision, telling me to logic my way out of it, isn't really going to help.  

So if you're looking for a great descriptor for how you are or if you want to confirm you are how you think you are, I would give it a try. If you're looking for ways to be more decisive, or ways to change your thinking - maybe try another app.  I hear Facebook is nice...

Friday Five

1. This interview is pretty much flawless.  It's how I imagine myself conducting an interview with pretty much anyone on the planet: entering with loads of intelligent questions and flailing as soon as the interviewee arrives. Though, I must say, I'm in love with all of the Sherlock love that's being shared around the web these days (#SherlockLives!!!!), but this interview takes precedent above them all.

2. Collect App: I was reading about this app in an article on Project Life.  Now I know I've come out against the whole Project Life craziness, but I can't help but be impressed with some of the gorgeous albums I see on Pinterest.  Apparently, a lot of Project Lifers use this app to keep track of when photos are taken.  You can create different albums then upload the photos you take onto a calendar.  You can also label them in a variety of styles.  The best part is it reminds you when you haven't taken a picture on a particular day so if you are trying to complete 365 pics in a year, you have that little push you need when other things get in the way of remembering.

3. I never really bought into the whole right brain left brain thing but after reading this article, I'm convinced I'm right brained. It's actually quite creepy how accurate these depictions are except the whole not knowing the grammar rules thing.  I rocked out Language Arts in elementary school : ) (PS: Excuse the language on #9, it's a little risque..)

4. Unexpected Snow Days: Based on the weather forecasts for the last week, you'd think we here in the NorthEast would have been prepared for the storm of the century.  But the last time the storm of the century was coming, we received not one single snowflake and yet all schools, government agencies and churches were closed long before they realized NOThing was happening.  So when it started snowing yesterday, and snowing, and snowing and snowing, we were pleasantly surprised.  It wasn't the storm of the century but it was enough to look gorgeous on the trees and close enough down to give us a pretty nice 3 day weekend.  Now if it would get above 8 degrees tomorrow, I'd be a much happier girl!

5. Travel Planning: Not only has next week's trek to DC to see Frankenstein been shored up, but also the Summer trip to NYC to see Cabaret (with Alan Cumming!!!!) has been booked and tentative dates for Boston are set.  Things are looking up in the travel department!

Mac vs. PC

So I'm currently writing this blog on a Mac and I have to say I hate it!  I have an iPad and an iPhone which I love dearly.  I make daily trips to the App Store and keep up to date on all the new Apple happenings.  However, attempting to type on a MacBook is just about impossible!

First off, the gosh darn delete key is too little.  Every time I try to use it, I wind up adding a plus sign or a bracket.  Secondly, the whole scrolling thing on the mouse being backward is enough to make me pull my hair out.  Then there's the whole weird red, yellow, green thing which in theory is a good idea, but it's on the wrong side of each screen and is therefore just annoying.

Sorry Mac, you may be the cool kid in town, but PCs still have my ultimate love.

Friday Five: App-y Edition

In preparation for my trip and because of my new found creative spark (better milk it while it lasts), I've been searching for fun apps to use for Project Life, which is the way I'm scrapbooking my trip photos.  It turns out there are MANY to choose from.  I won't be downloading them all, because if I have to worry about updating things on 30 different apps, I'm so neurotic that I'll miss the whole trip buried in my phone.  However, there are some quite cool ones that I've downloaded or will be downloading very soon.

1. Daily Weather: This one is purely fluff but it's cute fluff so I don't mind.  You can enter any city into the app and it will "print" a newspaper like printout with the weather information that you can screenshot and drop into any album. Much cuter than just using the iWeather app and therefore will look nicer in the smaller pockets of my soon-to-be masterpiece.

2. A Beautiful Mess: My new favorite app and I've only just downloaded it 10 minutes ago. It's from the creators of A Beautiful Mess online.  It's basically Instagram, however you can add text, doodles, phrases and borders to the pictures as well as change exposures.  It comes with a ton already but there are also in-app purchases too, if you go for that sort of thing. 

3. PicFrame + Costco: Since my initial download of Instagram, I've been completely baffled as to what would be a good way to print them.  Apparently sending them as is to Costco, completely distorts the image (learned that the hard way...)  However, I read this article this week and found it to be a revelation!  If you stitch the pictures together using PicFrame, you get an image like the one above, which just happens to be 4x6.  Then you just upload it to Costo Photocenter, and voila!  Perfect print every time!

4. MindSnacks: I've mentioned this one before.  As Paris has now been added, I REALLY need to learn at least a little French, at least enough to get me to the nearest macaron. Luckily I have this handy dandy little app to play with in my free time.  I'm pretty sure it's geared towards 5 year olds but at least learning a new language is fun instead of painful!

5. Edinburgh Book Trail: How can you not be in love with an app that tells you exactly where the closest book store is?

Bonus:  Some others that I'm contemplating buying are:
Day One vs. Momento: Both are journaling apps that you can add photos to.  They let you keep track of what happened when.  But I'm hearing mixed reviews so I can't decide which to purchase.
InstaWeather: Allows you to overlay weather information (in cutesy typography) onto pictures you take.  If I didn't already have the Daily Weather app, I'd be all over this.  As it turns out, I might still be all over this: it really is adorable!
London Travel Guide (with Offline Maps): It's the offline maps that really sell this one, though I've done so much research, I may not need it...

Oui!

I've recently realized that the 6 years of Spanish I took, means just about nothing to those in Europe.  It's not even that helpful here.  But it's useless in Europe, French is much more popular and useful.  So I've decided to teach myself French.  Thank goodness for technology.  My new favorite and cheap App, is MindSnacks. 

I'm fairly certain it's a kids game and would probably go over like gangbusters in an elementary school classroom, which is why I most likely enjoy it so much.  In a week I've mastered numbers and now I'm learning colors and days of the week.  And there are 49 other lessons ahead of me.  I've read that the only thing I'll be learning is vocab so it may be quite difficult to get around the streets of Paris, but it's a start.  Afterall, all I really need to know is "where's the nearest patisserie for macarons or Pain au chocolat?" : )

My only observations so far are that French is way more difficult than Spanish and my French accent needs some serious work. However, I'm a big fan so far.  France here I come(after the UK of course)!