My must-have iPad apps -- and no, Flipboard isn't one of them.

I recently had the good fortune to catch up with one of my besties, Alexis. She's a high powered business woman currently on rotations all over the world, so seeing her is a rare treat. Over delish salads at our usual Houston restaurant (Brasil), we chatted and gossiped about all the normal stuff -- works, travel plans, boys. She also picked my brain about my iPad. Her bro (another high powered business person -- what's with the Jhamb family??) upgraded to an iPad2, so he gave Lex his "old" first generation iPad. "What are the must-have applications I need to download?" she asked.

To be completely honest, I'm not a huge app person. I have about 30 or so downloaded on my iPad, significantly less than the hundreds occupying space on my friends' iPads. Generally speaking, I wouldn't call myself a "simple woman" but when it comes to my iPad, less seems to be more. (And as much as I love technology, I'm pretty retarded when it comes to using it. I won't elaborate, but it's often kind of embarrassing.)

So, what are some of my fave, MUST HAVE, MY LIFE WOULD SUCK WITHOUT THEM apps?? Here you go. They're not fancy (I have Flipboard and have it used all of two times) or popular (Angry Birds? What's that?) but having them on my iPad has, as cliche as it sounds, sorta changed my life. Or at the very least, changed the way I absorb, share and use information on a daily basis.

- The New York Times. This is probably the only app I use almost EVERY SINGLE DAY. I love the NYT and the iPad interface makes reading articles fun and easy. It's like having the paper version, only without the messy black fingers afterward. And although the NYT is no longer free, it is worth every penny to get access to some of the best journalism in the country.

- NPR. Like the NYT, I *heart* NPR. I grew up listening to it and still tune in to it everyday during my commute. The NPR app is one of the cleanest and easiest to use, and I love that I can listen to hundreds of my favorite programs while also reading other NPR news through the app.

- Kindle. After my first disappointing jaunt into the Apple iBook store, the Kindle app saved my life. With it, I have access to Amazon's entire collection of e-books (I think it's close to a 1 million) including free classics I can download. My only issue with the app: it's one stop shopping, meaning I can buy dozens of books -- and spend hundreds of dollars -- in a matter of minutes. Which I've done. A lot.

- Hootsuite. Nothing particularly exciting here, but as a frequently tweeter, Hootsuite on my iPad is essential. Hootsuite doesn't work through Safari on the iPad, so you have to download the app.

- Sketchbook Pro. For all intents and purposes, a canvas on your iPad. Gorgeous interface and extensive options when it comes to creating digital artwork. Not super easy to use, but some of the sample work produced through it is incredible. (My art work, not so much.)

- Evernote. Like I said above, I generally wouldn't call myself a simple woman. In fact, if we're going to be completely honest here, I'm pretty complicated -- and so is my life. Evernote helps me capture and organize all the random notes, ideas, pictures, etc. that I come across and think of on a daily basis. And it works from my phone, my desktop, my laptop, and (of course) my iPad. For someone whose professional success is determined largely by the ideas and innovations I provide my clients, this is an essential tool.

- Epicurious. There is nothing particularly special about this app, but it's my usual kitchen companion. I just prop my iPad up and it becomes an instant digital cookbook with recipes covering everything from appetizers to cupcakes. It also has cool search options for finding specific recipes and it creates shopping lists based on the recipes you pick.

Other apps that I love and use frequently -- Netflix, ABC Player, and Sex Trivia. Ok, I'm kidding on the last one. (Don't bother with it. It's lame.)

What are your fave apps? Share!!