Ipad obsession

Hanukkah came a little to our house this weekend. I don't exactly know why (I think it's because my mom would have been unable to keep the secret), but my husband and I, my brother and his wife, and my sister were all invited over to my parents' on Friday night to get our Hanukkah gifts.

Just some quick background for you: Hanukkah (or Chanukah, same thing!) kicks off at sundown this Wednesday, December 1st. It runs for eight crazy nights. The modern-day tradition is that presents are given/received on each of those nights. A few years back, my family made the unanimous decision to nix the 8 gifts in exchange for one "bigger" item. With my sister living out of town, we usually exchange some time around Christmas, but with Hanukkah being early this year, and what I think was my mom's impatience, we all found ourselves gathered in their condo Friday evening, when all of a sudden, just like a moment on "Oprah's Favorite Things,"5 of these came out...

And one for you, and you, and you... yep, that's an IPad...the greatest thing I never knew I wanted. After having this thing in my posession for 48+ hours now, I can tell you it really is the coolest piece of technology out there, and I'm not one to usually get excited about this kind of thing. Obviously, you can play games and listen to music on the thing, but there really is an app for everything. So far, I have downloaded some recipes to save in my "recipe book," used those same recipes to automatically construct my grocery store shopping list for the week, and browsed some amazing home decor photos and articles on houzz.
I can honestly say I think the Ipad is going to change my life for the positive. And I can also honestly say, it is a good thing my husband and I are so spoiled because I think World War III would have commenced in this house this weekend if we had both been trying to share one instead of blissfully playing away on our own.

I share this with you in case you're in need of a gift idea for that perpetually hard to shop for person (my brother fits that category and is in love with his) or maybe you're like me and usually turn your head from techy things...trust me, this time, add it to your list. Or maybe you already have one, and can recommend some apps for me?