Every week it’s the same problem – trying to decide on seven days of meals for the family of four I have to feed and then grocery shopping what I need without forgetting something. Out of ideas? My persistent magazine reading unearthed two sets of useful links for online food resources and references.

For inspiration, Consumer Report’s ShopSmart magazine had a few great recipe sites listed that I use frequently to help put the ingredients I have on had to use. Their picks of the best of the best: Allrecipes.com, Eatingwell.com, Epicurious.com, and Recipe Central. Tonight I’m using these sites to look up simple recipes for mac and cheese to see if I can put an interesting spin on my usual preparations for these things.

Need to find a particular ingredient, or more earth-conscious food sources? Consumer Report’s ShopSmart also had a list of “Five Great Destinations for Special Ingredients” which of course included Amazon. I discovered how useful Amazon is for food when obtaining some of my favorite Gluten-Free mixes for much cheaper than in the health food stores. But in addition, there are some other pretty good resources out there, including:HeritageFoodsUSA.com for finding farm raised meat, Igourmet.com for artisanal foods, LocalHarvest.org for locally sourced food and TheSpiceHouse.com for reasonably priced seasonings.

While I have very little interest in the announcements made about the iPad (Just not suited for my computing lifestyle, I have no real need for an iPad, really I need a new desktop pc.) there was some great news about the new iPhone. So remember that iPhone that was found in a bar not that long ago? Yep, that was the new iPhone. Steve Jobs finally came forward today at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference and brought forth the new iPhone 4.0. I am so getting one of these!

Yes, there’s a front facing and rear facing 5.0 camera. Yes, there is a flash. Yes it runs faster. Check out all the details here: http://www.appleinsider.com/

I’ve got a great link today to share with you – http://freeappalert.com/. Visit this site or sign up for their twitter, facebook or RSS feed and get notifications every day for apps that are free for a limited time. Frequently, developers will offer a new app for free, or an existing app for free for a short amount of time to help with their download count or reviews. These opportunities happen fast, and if you check this site every day you’ll find some great apps (and some crappy apps, too) to play with. The best part is, you can download them and try it to see if you like it. If you don’t, just delete.

Ah, this is just still bothering me. I really don’t get how this passed through all the legal and creative minds.

Really, apple? This was the best you could come up with? Steve, you have lost a little bit of your edge here.

Get more info on the iPad HERE.

Starbucks had one app out previously that was somewhat useful – but their most recent addition to the app store is a true winner.

Their first app to market was MyStarbucks, one that let you locate the nearest Starbucks, see their operating hours, view the menu and nutrition (oh god I had no idea the fat content of some of these things until I looked …), customize drinks, and in general, just play around with the content that you see when you walk into the shop.  All in all, not that amazing – and information you could get by googling or visiting the Starbucks mobile site.  Cute, but kind of a waste of space on my iPhone screen.

The new app, Starbucks Card Mobile, is immensely more useful.  This app lets you log into your Starbucks card account, view the current balance on your card, and reload it.  While waiting in line this morning in the Starbucks drive thru near work, I downloaded and installed, logged into, and added money to my card.  I got to the front of the line and was able to quickly pay for my drink.  Now the folks in line behind me have no idea how much time I saved them by not using the cashier to load up the card and then pay for my drink, but I earn karma points for it I’m sure.  In addition, I can load up cards for my family – my husband’s, for example – and make sure that he is always able to get that cup of coffee that he needs too.

Even cooler, if you live in one of their test markets (Seattle, Cupertino and Mountain View) you can actually pay for your java using your iPhone.  Because that key chain is just SO cumbersome.    Still … I love that they’re trying, so Jetsons!

Click on the photo of each app for info and download links.  More info on these apps is also available at the Starbucks site, http://www.starbucks.com/mobile-apps/.

Like to shop off tv?  Have an iPhone?  Then you need these apps.  Here’s a brief comparison and highlights for both HSN’s and QVS’s iPhone apps now available at the App Store for (of course) no charge.

HSN is the clear winner of these two apps, but that doesn’t mean that if you are a fan of QVC that their app is useless.  It’s just nowhere near as cool.

Why is the HSN app so much cooler than QVCs’?  In addition to the basics that they both cover (search, see item currently on tv, see featured items) HSN offers a fun slot-machine-like experience where you get ten chances a day at winning a money-off coupon.  It also offers a link to watch HSN live on your iPhone.  And, what I was really looking for – a link to their clearance items.

Download and get more info on HSN’s app here.

Download and get more info on QVC’s app here.

And let me know of you agree.  I don’t shop on my tv (okay, I do have two sets of huggable hangers from many years ago purchased on tv, I admit it!) so I’m not the target market for these apps – however, I do love that they are both trying to move into the mobile space.

Everyone on the bus, I say!

Check out this cool online tool (currently in beta) if you need to create some wireframes and don’t have a) the time or b) the expertise. This tool that allows you to simply and quickly create a flow for a proposed web site or project.

Visit their site for more info at http://gomockingbird.com/, or launch right into their web software at http://gomockingbird.com/mockingbird/.

Mock things up fast, link many mockups together, and share your wireframes online. For once, it’s not built in Flash, but in Cappuccino.

I can’t wait to build my next wireframes with this!