Hi, Wanna Run! Congratulations on your iPhone. It was something I didn't know I wanted, either, until I got mine. Now I can't bear the thought of not having one! My land lines were constantly out of service, and they would send out repairmen over and over, only to have them go down in two weeks. I had a basic cell phone, too. Finally, I got mad and decided I was going to cancel the land lines and go get a GOOD cell phone, and that would just be IT. I already had AT&T cell phone service, so I stopped by their kiosk at the mall...and fell in LUUUUV. I adore all the ringtones you can download, and I've learned how to make my own from snippets of favorite CD's. My default ringtone is the opening music from the HBO series, True Blood. ("Bad Things," by Jace Everett...it's so cool.) I found tutorials on how to make my own and spent a whole afternoon getting different ones to personalize for certain callers. I don't have nearly as many apps as Kate, though I do have a lot of the ones she mentioned. Since I'm back on Weight Watchers, I couldn't do without iWatcher. I also found the best birding field guide, EVER. (iBird South) It cost me $10 and was worth every penny. It not only has tons of info on each species, range maps, line drawings AND photos, but it plays their bird calls, too. It's so cool to always have my bird ID info with me when I'm out anywhere. That is the only app I paid more than $.99 for, I think. I don't do many games, but I do like Card Shark. (Everyone needs a game of solitaire for killing time now and then.) I also have a little game called Ant Hill. When I'm really mad at the fire ants in the yard, I come in, pull that up and spend fifteen minutes or so dropping land mines on them, just to hear 'em squeal. Unlike Kate, I don't care for audio books, but I do read all the time, so I got Classics, which she mentioned. (I'm finally reading Call Of The Wild, which I somehow missed in school). I read regular books at home, but in the waiting room or in line, I pull that up and read another chapter or two in it. And there are several others in there I plan to read, as well. I have another book one called Stanza, and I can download books from from several different bookstores into that, at a price. You pay for the books, of course, but not as much as a "real" book. I haven't used it yet, but I plan to. I found a free wildflower ID book called iPlant. It's not REAL comprehensive, but it was free, and I HAVE used it a few times with success. I like Nightstand, which is a great travel clock with several options, and free. I like Just Light, which is a terrific little flashlight. There is an app called iStat which lets you free up memory when things start to slow down a bit. It shows a pie chart of how much free memory you have available and with one click it dumps stuff (from a cache file, probably) and improves performance. It's free, too. I have a good dictionary and iWiki, Showtimes for local movie times, completely with synopsis of the film and reviews, and a real favorite, iTranslate. In that one, you can pick your From language and your To language, type in a phrase and it translates it for you. There are 42 languages to choose from. (If you want to call someone a jerk in Swahili, it's there!) We are AAA members, and I found a Discounts program that does a bunch of stuff, including tracking where you are and telling you what hotels, etc, in that area offer AAA discounts. But it also has a one touch button to call for your AAA roadside assistance, and because of the GPS feature, it can send a tow truck, etc, straight to you, from the nearest garage. Cool!! I love changing my wallpaper daily, and have an app that has hundreds of scenic photos to choose from, plus I use my own photos, as well. The camera is actually pretty darn good, too. It's a feature I just love, because I don't have to remember to take my regular camera along with me. There is a Voice Memo app that I didn't download, but that wasn't on the phone when I got it, so I'm guessing they have upgraded to include it, and it was installed automatically the last time I synched the phone. You can leave messages for yourself there, and it's a lot faster than typing on the tiny keyboard. Oh, yeah...synching...they did NOT explain that to me when I got it, and it was a couple of days before I found out you need to do that regularly. And that's how you add everything. They never even told me I NEEDED to have iTunes installed on my computer to make everything work properly. But I blundered my way along until I figured it all out. There is an app called Wallpaper Maker that lets you add text to your phone's wallpaper. You can put a contact number on there if you want, in case you lose it, and someone HONEST actually finds it. I'm nervous about doing that, but it is fun to add captions to family photos, etc, and use those as wallpapers. I made one with my dogs and a saying under them. Have2Eat is a restaurant finder that will give you a list of restaurants in your area, with info on them, wherever you happen to be. And I forgot, the Showtimes movie finder does that, too. So if you are out of town and want to go to a movie, it will tell you what's playing THERE. Another useful one is WhitePages. It's a phone directory, and saves you the charge of calling 411 for a number. Plus, it gives you a location map of the business or person you are searching for. This device is so amazing, I can't believe it. It's an entire computer in your pocket. I hope you love yours as much as I love mine. Nicki's says I'm obnoxious about it! Hahaha. So I downloaded a ringtone that has a girl with a really obnoxious voice saying, "Look, Everybody. I have an iPhone...and someone is CALLING me on it!" Hahaha. I set it to say that when SHE calls me! Have fun! Hugs, Marcia

Any smart phone these days, purchased now, will give good results. Just play smart/dumb when you are in the store and ask for quick hints...like "hey, this is so new to me"...(show them your old flip phone)..."I need and want a photo help lesson now". "show me how to take a pic and how to delete"... That way, when home, you can toy with it...take many pics and delete as you experiment setting up a piece of fruit or veggie here and there trying different lighting...not when a hot meal needs to be on the table...experimenting you will know what works. Just get the basics down if this is your first...then go through the manual.... Ann-t is correct on better phone cameras but often i am satisfied with what i have. A good pic is the one taken, and handy. Our phones are with us always and more often than a side camera bag lugged around. I would follow ann's advice if it fits the budget. (my eyes spin when deciding a new phone and all the gab speak and hidden costs but it is not at all like it used to be). I doubt you will be spending much more than you are now per month? And have a much better tool in your pocket or bag. Or not notice the cost as it is so great having so many options at hand...

SPAMî Curry Ingredients * 1 340g SPAMî Chopped Pork and Ham * 1 Medium Onion * 1 tbsp Curry powder * 2 tbsp Vegetable oil * 2 oz Frozen peas * 1 pint Cold water * 1 large tsp Bisto * 1 large tsp Cornflour * 1 large tsp Marmite * Dash of Worcester Sauce (optional) Method Chop SPAMî into small cubes and fry until crisp on outside, drain and put to one side Put 2tbsp of oil into a saucepan and heat Add roughly chopped onion. Fry until just getting soft and add the curry powder (more if preferred stronger) Stir well and take off the heat and add SPAMî In a jug mix Bisto, cornflour and water making sure that there are no lumps Add SPAMî to the mixture Stir in the Marmite and put on cooker to simmer, stirring all the time until sauce thickens Add frozen peas and cook for another 5 minutes Serve with rice

LOL muspic...ok..here it is :) The directions look wordy but after you get the method, it's a breeze. I only do 1 egg at a time but I suppose you can do 2...I wouldn't try more than that until you get the hang of it. Just start with 1 egg. This only takes me less than 2 minutes. Try to have a dedicated 'egg pan'; good quality, heavy bottomed. The secret is NOT cooking the egg too much in the beginning. I use a large Pampered Chef rubber spatula. Flop it over on the cheese as soon as you can do it in one movement. Once the egg is on top of the cheese, leave it alone. Another tip is to NOT use too much cheese (if you do, it won't get crispy, just melt-y...you need the Maillard affect to create the "brownness". I'll link what that is below.) CRISPY CHEESE OMELET Have all ingredients prepared before starting. 1 egg scrambled with salt & freshly ground black pepper Dash of hot sauce if desired 1 - 1.5 Tablespoons cheddar cheese...use real Cheddar, not American. The sharper the better :) Put the cheese aside. 1 heavy-bottomed, good quality non-stick pan. (I use a non-stick crepe pan.) Olive oil for oiling pan. 1 large rubber spatula Salsa if desired for garnish. Heat pan a bit on high, put in a tiny bit of extra-virgin olive oil, spread around with rubber spatula. Put egg in hot pan, turn immediately to MEDIUM. When almost halfway done, push eggs to side. This only takes a few seconds. Spread cheese on other half of pan and turn the egg on top of the cheese & let cook browning the cheese, don't stir. When ready to remove, use the rubber spatula to gently scrape it off the bottom of the pan in case the cheese sticks...you want the cheese to stay on the egg! You can also use a non-stick turner. Don't worry if the egg isn't perfectly shaped...the cheese covers a lot of imperfection. :) Plop cheese side down on plate. If you want, you can use a paper towel to blot some of the fat from the cheese. But, there's not much there and that's where all the flavor is :) Really jazzes up that 1 egg! Salsa would be good on it, too. Hope this is clear - I tried to imagine myself walking through what I do. This picture shows the omelet on a salad plate and using 1 egg. Here is a link that might be useful: The Maillard Reaction