Try My Bewitching Chocolate Chip & Walnut Cookies Recipe!

I'm having lunch with some friends today and am bringing the dessert-my bewitching cookies!  I named them that because they're like magic for your taste buds ;)  Before I give you my recipe I want to share with you a few tools that have made baking cookies more fun and less stressful for me:

-Big and heavy aluminum foil (I never cook right on the pan-it's too much clean up business for me!)

-Large cookie sheets (Ikea has some nice affordable ones)
-Mixing bowls that are not very heavy, easy to clean, and easy to hold onto-I love the Oxo soft grips bowls!
-A sturdy, silicon spatula instead of a mixing spoon

-An ice cream scoop or "disher"

-A sturdy cookie spatula (Oxo makes a really great one-works well with grilled cheeses too!)
-A cooling rack(s)

Ok so first thing's first!  Ingredients:

-1/2 cup of softened salted butter (I zap mine in the microwave for about 50 seconds)

-1/2 cup of white sugar

-1/2 cup of light brown sugar

-1 egg

-A little less than 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon (it's not enough to make it super cinnamony, but it adds that little tasty kick)
-1 and 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

-1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

-1 Tablespoon of hot water

-1/4 teaspoon of fine salt (table salt is just fine)

-1 and 1/2 cups of MILK CHOCOLATE chips

-1 and 1/2 cups of coarsely chopped walnuts

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and get to creaming that butter, white sugar, and brown sugar together.  Next add in your egg.  When the egg's fully mixed in add your cinnamon.  Mix together the baking soda and hot water in a little dish using a spoon and then add it into the batter.  Next add in your flour, then your chips and walnuts.  Foil a large cookie sheet (don't fold down the foil-let it be) and scoop rough balls of dough onto the sheet.  Once your tray is filled (these don't spread too much so I usually put them pretty close to each other) use your fingers to push the dough down lightly.  

Bake your cookies for about 7 minutes.  These will be done when you can see the tops and bottom edges are light brown.  After you take the pan out of the oven, hold the top right corner and bottom left corner of the foil in your hands and drop the foil from a few inches above a flat surface.  Let the cookies sit for a minute and then move them with a cookie spatula onto your cooling racks.  After a few minutes the cookies will be crunchy on the outside and a little gooey on the inside.  My recipe makes about 12-15 cookies.  Note: When the cookies have cooled, store them in a zip top bag or air tight storage container to keep them from getting stale.

Enjoy feeling clever when you've bewitched your friends with these ;)

Cute and Original Holiday card:

 

So last year  I started my holiday tradition of making my own holiday card using my favorite little piggies as the stars for the photos on the card :)  Last year I went on snapfish and used one of their templates to create a cute card.  Since the template I chose had candy canes and snow flakes on it, I went to the dollar store and found a snowflake dish towel and some plastic candy canes for the boys to pose with.  I didn't use a backdrop (you can see window blinds behind Monty) and I took the photo at night in a poorly lit room (which made everything look a little yellow). 

This year I thought I could do a little better with the shoot set up and chose to print the photo out as regular 4X6's (about $2 and I picked them up the same day from Walgreens!)  Since my home has better lighting during the day I took the picture during daylight hours and pulled the blinds up behind me (when I take pictures I've found that lighting from behind me is better than lighting from behind my subjects).  I also thought about my backdrop: I took an old sheet and threw it over our love seat; this made the boys stand out more and the background less busy. 

For props this year I found some "pet hats" from the dollar store!  They velcro underneath the chin or you can just put it on their head (Igore did not want to wear the chin strap!). 

 

For the text on the "card" I just thought about some funny holiday sayings and then used Photoshop Elements 8 to add text.  You could also add text using a basic paint program on your computer.  Just be sure to save the file as a JPEG.  When you've made your card the way you want, upload it online to Walgreens, Snapfish, CVS, etc. and add it to your cart.  On Walgreens you can click on your cart and preview how the photo will look when it's printed.  I used this feature and adjusted where I needed my text to be based on where the photo would be cropped when it was printed. 

If you choose to do this project with your pets and you're looking for ideas....you could put big bows on them and then type "Cute enough to go under the tree"  Or make some little scarves out of old clothes and type "Baby it's cold outside".  Those are just a couple off the top of my head; I'm sure you'll come up with some even more clever ideas ;)  Happy Holidays!!!!

My space...not the social networking site ;)

Hi you!  I know I haven't posted in a while and I apologize for that.  Right now I'm going through a career transition...this is a greatly exciting and terrifying thing.  The lesson that I think I've been learning the most is how to love and care about myself.  How can I confidently apply for a job if I'm not my biggest fan?  I guess I can say that I'm a work in progress ;)  Part of this process has allowed me to realize that I need to have an inspiring space to give me some positive assurance.  I'm a huge fan of the show The Big C.  In the show the main character, Cathy, is fighting cancer.  One of the things that Cathy used to "keep her head in the game" is she created a happiness tree.  Basically Cathy took pictures and placed them in a tree shape above her bed.  Every morning she is reminded of things to be happy about/be inspired by.  One day last week I realized that I needed something like Cathy's happiness tree.

I have a corner in our spare bed room with my desk in it.  I started filling my blank corner with a Van Gogh print that my dad gave me when I was a kid and then a calendar which starts on January 1, 2011.  I don't have a lot of spare cash right now so I went through some old magazines and cut out pictures that I felt a connection with.  One of my favorite pictures is of a White Oak tree.  The picture was actually a part of an ad which started off, "White Oaks are synonymous with strength and longevity."  I cut the ad off, but wrote that sentence on the picture and then added "You are a White Oak." :)  I put up a clever picture with a quote, "No one will grant your wishes.  You better make them happen."

My corner, like myself, is a work in progress and I'm happy that I will never be finished with it; like me!  Thanks for reading-I appreciate knowing that you're out there rooting for me :)

Thanks for coming out!

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Ypsi Art in the Park art show/fundraiser yesterday.  It was great talking with everyone and hearing such nice comments :)  

If you're visiting this site and wondering where my online store is, its located at: http://cleverjenoe.yolasite.com/
:)

Thanks David Bromstad!

Awesome Update: "Anonymous" posted David Bromstad's actual technique video with the 'how to' for this project.  Thank you Anonymous!!!  :)  Here's the link: http://www.hgtv.com/video/celebrity-art-project-video/index.html

I was watching "Color Splash" on HGTV one day and the host of the show, David Bromstad, was creating a great painting using acrylic paint and a water spray bottle. He'd paint a little and then spray it. The water would give it a kind of rained-on look, but in a good way.

I thought it was pretty clever so I made a painting using this technique.

Try out this out, but be prepared to catch the dripping water and paint with something besides your carpet!

Additional Comments: Folk Art is the brand of acrylic paint that I used.  I find that the acrylics that come in the tubes are thick and hard to manipulate so try to get it in the container-I think it's pre-mixed with water.

It's like making a mixed tape for the whole world ;)

http://8tracks.com/ is a music site where you can listen for free to mixes made by fellow music lovers!  You can also create a mix; which, to me, feels like I'm making a mixed tape for the whole world to hear :)  Ahhh mixed tapes!  how I miss them....

So go to the site and click where appropriate to listen to some great mixes or you can search for specifics up on the right hand side at the top.  If you want to hear a clever mix from me type in "sounds from jenoe" and get to listening!  Another great mix is called "music for the reluctant studyer".  You can also (on the right hand side) listen to Halloween-type mixes; I just saw one called "Vampire Dance Party" ;)  And if you make a mix, post it on here so we can listen to it too!
--- ---
Ok, I forgot to put this the first time: If you are creating a mix, when you get to the "select tracks for your mix" page, click on the "all tracks" tab, type what you want to search for in the box, and then hit enter.  Once you see the song you want appear, drag it over to the left side box.  It took me a little bit to figure this out on my own ;)

A clever book club you'll have time and energy for:

Real Simple Magazine has an option for those of us who want to have the literary joy ;) of belonging to a book club, but without the pressure, planning, or even leaving our houses!

Each month people vote online which book they want to read (there's 3 or 4 options posted and you just have to pick one).  After the votes are in, the book is announced, and you get to reading.  During the month you can go on Real Simple's website and submit comments about the book/comment on what others have said.  Didn't finish the book within the month?  You're not the only one!  You can still go on after the month and post/comment.  Sometimes I just use this club to find good books to read and I skip the book club all together ;)

Check it out for yourself: http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/entertainment/arts-culture/no-obligation-book-club-00000000009249/index.html

Google Docs ;)

Have you used Google Docs yet?  If you haven't, you will after you hear more about them!  It's a clever tool to create a document online and share it with others.  No more emailing drafts back and forth to others-do everything in real time.  It is great for working on projects with colleagues who are in a different location, or even on a different computer ;)  It would also be great for students working on group projects together.  My friend and I are constantly creating/updating our resume's.  Google Docs lets us show each other what we're working on and then invite one another to view and edit OR just view what we've put together.  It's very handy!

Here is a link for more information and how to use Google Docs (Google says it better than I can and why reinvent the wheel?!)  http://www.google.com/google-d-s/tour1.html

Caprese Pasta and Garlic Bread

I love Caprese salad and I love pasta so I thought, why not combine the two?  This is what you'll need for this easy and scrumptious dinner:

-Fresh mozzarella (I usually can't find this anywhere except Whole Foods or a local dairy)
-A thing of Grape or Cherry tomatoes
-Some fresh Basil leaves
-Pasta you like
-Good extra virgin olive oil (I like the Filippo Berio Extra Virgin)
-2 Elephant garlic cloves or 4-5 regular garlic cloves
-A loaf or already baked bread from the bakery/deli (Kroger, Meijer, and Whole Foods by me makes these)
-Mc Cormick 'Italian Herb Seasoning' Grinder (so delicious on any savory foods)
-Some sea salt

Let's get cooking!  (haha)
-Preheat your oven to 400 degrees (for the garlic bread)
-Start chopping up your garlic (I like pieces a little bigger than a dice, but you pick what you like best)
-Line a cookie sheet with foil
-Cut your loaf in half and place cut-side up on the cookie sheet
-Drizzle the bread with a little oil, put some garlic on it, then season it, and put it aside

-Fill a pot with enough water for your pasta (directions for pasta cooking are usually on the box) and set that to boil
-Rinse your basil and tomatoes and start chopping up the basil-I grab as many leaves as I want, stack them up on top of each other and start making strips

-When your water starts to boil, throw a little bit of salt in, and your pasta
-When the pasta's cooked, drain it, return it to pot, throw in tomatoes and mozzarella (drained), and put the pot lid back on

-Put your garlic bread into the oven for 4-5 minutes depending on how done you like it
-In a small/medium size skillet pour in enough oil to cover about 3/4 of the surface and then add in the rest of your garlic

-Turn your burner up and fry for about 2 minutes then pour into a larger bowl

-Pour your pasta mix into the bowl, add the basil strips and use tongs or a spoon to mix everything up

Take your bread out, dish out the pasta (season it with the grinder!), and enjoy a great and easy dinner!

Try taking a picture "from the ground up" ;)

Recently my friend Arika, (she has a great blog: http://happyhomeypsi.blogspot.com), was looking at some photos I'd taken.  She commented that her favorites were the ones that were taken a little below the "view" of the subject. 

Usually when I take shots like these I get down in the dirt and angle the camera upwards.  (dirty knees and a few bug bites can be clever if you get a great shot!)  I don't always see a great preview of the picture when I take the shot so I take probably 5-10 and then review after each.  I know it sounds a little obsessive, but I really like getting those eye catching stills-like the ones you're enjoying now ;)  I also like to have the "macro" mode and "foliage" mode on.  I have a cannon so these things might be called different things on your camera-basically a mode that shoots small things and a mode that is good for outdoors. 

From a previous entry I mentioned that I always keep my camera on me for when I see something I want to get a shot of.  The vines are from a couple of days ago in a parking lot-go figure! 
I hope this encourages you to try a different angle the next time you take a shot.  Happy hunting ;)

My new favorite biscuit ingredient...sour cream!

I like to play around with biscuit recipes and tonight I read one for
plain biscuits that included using sour cream along with milk.  I'm
pretty picky about my sour cream-I think Daisy is really fresh
tasting and I just bought a new thing of it so I thought I'd give it a
try.  Ammmmaaazing results!  It's a little tangy, but makes it more
rich too.  I didn't think something could taste clever haha ;)  Give
it a try and you won't be disappointed.
 
Here's the recipe that I came up with to make mine:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees

-2 packed cups of biscuit mix
-1/2 cup of shredded mild cheese like cheddar+ monterey jack cheese
(Kraft has a good blend)
-1/3 cup of sour cream (Daisy regular works great)
-1/3 cup of at least 2 percent milk
Optional: add a little bit of salt and pepper or Italian seasoning when mixing

Mix the biscuit mix, cheese, sour cream, and milk in a bowl and fold
over a few times.  Place the dough on a big, flat plate and spread it
out and down into about a half inch thick.  Spray a cookie sheet with
cooking spray.  Use a cup to cut rings into the dough and place them
onto the cookie sheet.  Spread a little less than a half of teaspoon
of spreadable butter on top of each raw biscuit.  Before you put the
biscuits into the oven place sheets of tin foil on the whole oven
shelf under where you’ll put your cookie sheet (to catch the butter
drip-it smells bad if it burns on the bottom of the oven).  Bake for
about 9 minutes and let them sit for 1 or 2 minutes before eating them up! 

Do you doodle? Use your drawings to make interesting and original paintings!

The picture on the lined paper is a doodle that I drew and thought looked neat and a little whimsical.  I wanted to make some art for my living room, so I used parts of the drawing to make three paintings.

I really enjoyed this project and felt very clever when I saw the results.  I hope this inspires you to try this. 

To make your own:
Get a canvas-I get mine from Jo Ann's-the Michael's Crafts' ones just don't seem to be as nice and the Jo Ann's ones come in a lot of different sizes and shapes.  Because Jo Ann's offers coupons, do a google search before you go of Jo Ann's coupons-I found some for 40% off!  While at the store grab acrylic paint in a small bottle of a color you love or will match your decor and a bottle of white or a lighter complementing color.  Also grab a smaller brush and a larger spongy brush. 

When you get home paint the canvas the color with the spongy brush.  I painted one coat and let it dry and repeated the process two more times.  While you're waiting for your paint to dry, look through your notebook/whatever you doodle on and find a drawing that you think might be interesting if painted on a canvas.

Before I painted on my doodle in white, I edited my smaller paint brush by first cutting it a little shorter and then I cut it on an angle. 

When I painted my first line I dabbed my paint brush in white and then started from the top of the canvas down.  I started with the highest point of the paint brush and just took my time.  That's it!  Good luck and if you do this project please show me the results!  I can't wait to see how it worked out for you :)

Want to "meet up" with other people who share your interests?

Some of your have heard of this and use it, but for those who don't MeetUp.com is a cool site where you can organize a group online and then meet out in the community.  For example, The Ann Arbor Indie Filmgoers is a online group on meet up.  They use the meet up site to pick which movie to see, when to see it, find out how many people are going, etc. and then meet up at the movie theater to see the movie together-I think that they do like a short discussion after at a nearby coffee shop.  Usually the only cost involved is the movie ticket and sometimes you get a discount for going as a group.  It's free to use MeetUp.com, but if you want to create a group that costs a small amount of $. 

How it works:
-Go to http://www.meetup.com
-On the right side of the screen you can enter in a top/interest and see if there's any groups that you can join
-OR-enter in your zip code and see what's around you
-If you find something and want to join, create a free account (you can set up how many emails you want to receive) and RSVP!

I entered in my zip and found the Indie Filmgoers, Ann Arbor Boardgame Group, Ann Arbor Classics Book Group, a knitting group, a diving group, a LGTBQA group, etc.  Try it and see for yourself :)  You can meet some new people in a clever way!

Marshmallow Shortbread!

So one night this week I wanted a treat, but didn't want to go out to the store to buy one.  I had enough sugar, flour, and butter to make something, but didn't know what I could make.  I google searched "what can I make with sugar, flour, and butter?" and found a shortbread cookie recipe (my new recipe for this is near the bottom of this post).  It didn't call for vanilla, and the shortbread that I've made before has called for it, so I looked around my pantry in search for a flavor I could mix in.  I found a bag of mini marshmallows and thought, hmm clever, why not try it? 

The recipe says to mix the butter and the sugar together well before adding in the flour, so I added in melted marshmallows after I creamed the butter and sugar.  I took about 1/3 of a cup of mini marshmallows and put them in a single layer on a plate.  I microwaved them for about 20 seconds and then spooned them into the butter/sugar mixture.  Note: I didn't spray my plate with non-stick spray before using it, but I think that would have helped in getting the sticky mallows off of the plate after they'd been nuked.

 Next I added in the flour-I added in a little extra to compensate for the extra moister from the mallows, and my shortbread came out a little thick-so I recommend just putting in the cup of flour and making sure that you have 8 full tablespoons of butter to avoid this. 

The recipe that I was going off of told me to cut the dough into shapes, but I wanted to put it in an 8 inch round pan in stead.  I packed my dough into the pan and pushed down the edges of the dough. 

Then I baked this in a hot oven at 275 degrees for about 24 minutes-mine came out a little too crunchy for me so I would try 18-20 minutes.  You want it just turning light brown.

When my shortbread was done baking I put some mini marshmallows on top to give a clue of what's inside.  I did a little pattern on mine, but I wish I would have just put them all over the bread to give it a more even crust-might want to try that. Put the marshmallows on the hot shortbread, and then place a heat safe plate on top of the pan to help the marshmallows melt on to the surface.

Here's my recipe for Marshmallow Shortbread:

-8 full Tablespoons of butter (or a 1/2 of a cup)
-1/2 cup of white sugar (the finer the better)
-1 cup of white flour
-1 cup of mini marshmallows (1/3 cup for in the shortbread, and the rest for the crust)
-Have some cooking spray or something like it available

Cream together the butter and the sugar.  Spray a small plate with a light coating of cooking spray.  Melt 1/3 cup of mini marshmallows on the plate in a single layer in the microwave for 20 seconds.  Spoon the marshmallows into the sugar/butter and thoroughly mix together.  Add in about a 1/4 of a cup of a flour, mix well, and then keep adding until you've put a cup in.

Pack the dough in a 8 inch round pan and bake at 275 for 18-20 minutes (until just light brown).  To make a marshmallow crust take rest of the mini mallows and place on top of the hot surface then cover with a plate for a minute or two.

That's it!  I hope you like it :)

Out and About: Free wireless internet!

Go get your internet on at Starbucks!  Some locations are open 24 hours, here's the address where you can find a location near you: http://www.starbucks.com/store-locator

Here are some other places that have free wireless (out where I live at least):
-Biggby Coffee
-Caribou Coffee
-Borders Books
-Barnes and Noble Book Sellers
-Wendy's
-Panera
-Local Libraries

(If you know of more, post what they are and what area they're in for us)

Something fun my friends and I do at some of the places above is all bring our laptops and play online scrabble together-I think that might be called a Local Area Connection or LAN party!  Here's the site for free online, mulitplayer games: http://www.pogo.com/

If you don't have a mobile computer and want to have a LAN party, meet up at the library-yes it IS cool...and clever ;)

Coordinating Room Decorations

My friend recently gave me a framed mirror that she had bought at ikea a few years back ( http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90044151 ).  I wanted to hang it in my living room, but I also wanted to give it some more character.  I have a quilt in my living room that has this cool sea foam color and was able to find paint that matched it-I used a little bottle of acrylic from Jo Ann's.  I painted the frame the sea foam, but decided that I didn't like the mirror inside and wanted to spruce that up too.

I thought a little and came up with gluing little glass pieces in the same color family from the dollar store on top of the mirror (Gorilla Glue in the smaller clear bottle works the best).  While at the dollar store buying the glass pieces I saw a small box the same wood tone as the frame and bought it too.  When I got home I painted all the wood sea foam, glued the glass on top of the mirror and on the top of the box's lid.  I think it turned out pretty good and it was a cheap a clever way to decorate my space.

Sometimes it's better just to buy it ;)

I love Chipotle's cilantro lime rice and I thought I'd try to make it myself.  I got the recipe off Chipotle's fan recipe site ( http://www.chipotlefan.com/index.php?id=rice_recipe ), I bought all of the ingredients that I needed except for the basmati rice (I substituted with Uncle Ben's minute rice), and I got to cooking!  I followed the recipe thoroughly, but sadly when it was time to test, the rice tasted so bad!!!  It was super sour and the rice that I substituted was not a good match.  I think that if I would have used basmati rice it might have been better, but still too sour.  If I had an hour to tweak and test different methods I might have come close to Chipotle's, but I know myself.  ;)  I was hungry and impatient so I let it go and am planning on going to Chipolte tomorrow for some delicious hassle-free rice ;)

Sometimes for some people it's better and more clever just to buy it.  We can appreciate the final product that someone else has worked very hard to perfect!

Haha Happy Father's Day!

Is your dad hard to shop for?  I know mine is! 
This year I had to get clever.  I'm giving him the gift that he won't want to return-himself!  I used a popular photo processing site to help me make a mock cover of TV Guide with my dad as the "star".  To try this with your dad (or whoever you want) go to walgreens.com


When you've gone to Walgreens.com:
-Click the "photo" link at the top near the center
-Create or log in to your account
-Click on "gifts" at the top near the center
-Click on "Under $10" on the left hand side
-Scroll down and select "8X10 Magazine Covers"

You can choose from lots of different mock-a-zine covers from Dog Fancy to Field and Stream!  Have fun with it!

Lime-Beer Soft Pretzels and Cheese Sauce!

Recently I found a couple of recipes on Leinenkugel's website that I wanted to try and make-Soft Pretzels and Beer Cheese Spread.  They sounded so easy to make and, as I learned today, they are (and tasty!)  To view the recipes go to their site www.leinie.com , (sorry-I can't link the recipes because they're a beer site, so you have to enter your bday), and on the left side of the page click on "Peg's Kitchen" and then choose "Breads and Breakfasts" and you'll see the soft pretzel recipe.  For the cheese spread click on "Appetizers" and you'll see it.  Both these recipes call for Leinenkugel beer so I was happy to add that, but when I got to the store today, they didn't have the kind I wanted.  Instead I subbed it with Miller Chill (a light lime beer).  I also grabbed a couple of limes to throw into the recipe.

For the bread I added, along with the lime beer, the zest from one lime in with the flour, and a half of lime's juice on top of the pretzels to help the salt stick instead of using an egg.  When I bit into the warm, soft pretzel it was so fresh tasting because of the lime!  Very refreshing!

For the cheese spread (really more a sauce) I added, along with the lime beer, a half of lime's juice instead of the horseradish.  It turned out to be a good spread, but ended up being a little tart from the sharp cheddar it calls for along with the lime flavors that I added.  I suggest using mild cheddar or a mix of white and yellow cheeses.  Enjoy and if the store doesn't have the beer you're looking for, just be clever and mix it up!

Smells like summer time!!!

 I don't know about your neck of the woods, but here in Washtenaw County for the past week or so it's been dreary and cold.  Usually this time of year it's warm and sunny-ish (It's Michigan, I can't say "sunny" with confidence).  I've been missing our usual rays and anticipating summer.

I went to the store recently and smelled a candle that gave me a mental picture of being on the beach :) ahhhh :)  It's called  Sun & Sand and it makes me so happy on these rainy days.  I also stopped by Michael's crafts and picked up a candle Ocean Breeze on sale.  The other day I stopped into TJ Maxx and saw that they had a fancy selection of candles for discounted prices.  I didn't pick one up there, but I saw that they had seasonal scents too and might be a clever place to look too.  Happy scent searching :)

:) :( :/ :S Music for whatever mood you're in

"behind every song there's always an emotion. we don't know why but maybe that's why we love music.
so we've created a way to suggest songs that follow your feelings: stereomood is the emotional internet radio, providing music that best suits your mood and your activities.
how do i feel? what am i doing now?" (From their website-main page)

How do you use this very clever internet radio?  Click this post's title above (open in new tab b/c it will take you to the site) and choose how you're feeling/what's going on.  They have categories like "happy" (of course, right?!), "melancholy", "homework", "dressing up", "epic", "chill", "snuggle", etc.  I'm pretty sure that you're find a few that match your current mood.  I'm listening to their mood category called "sunday morning" right now-no religious stuff, just stuff that, well, fits a Sunday morning of slacking ;)

This is good music too-not just popular car radio stuff.  I'm hearing songs that I never had before and liking them!  And with this program you can skip songs AND repeat the ones that you like; haven't seen any ad's on here yet either!

Text Google? Why would you do that?

I love google and all it's awesome programs.  Sometimes I joke with friends that I'm going to get a google tattoo one day;)  One of their awesome and totally free services is google text.  What does this do?  Ok, here's an example of how I use this really cool service.

I usually wake up in the morning want to know what the weather will be for the day.  I don't have internet on my phone and I'm usually too lazy to turn on my computer to check.  What do I do?  I text "weather 48103" to 466453 (or GOOGLE).  The text that I get back from google gives me a couple of current weather details as well as a 3 day forecast for my area!  Try it!  Type "weather" and your zipcode to Google.  But wait, there's more....;)

Google text also answers other questions I may have, like, how many cups are in a gallon, what the definition of a word is, what time a movie plays at a theater, or how far my $5 American will get me in another country.  It will even send you turn by turn directions from one location to another all for free!  There's so much more this service does and I recommend you check out this website by them: http://www.google.com/mobile/products/sms.html#p=default

So the next time someone asks you how to get to that awesome new art gallery is, text google and feel clever ;)