It's a Showdown... a gaming Showdown

{Image Credit: TheDiceTowerNetwork.com}

If you are one of the few people who visit my blog, you know that lately (for the last year or so) I have been obsessed with games of every type. I am still fairly new to gaming (since some have been doing it most of their lives) and one of the ways I have kept myself informed is by a site run by Tom Vasel called The Dice Tower. Not only has the site been informative, but they have a channel on YouTube as well. I got my hubby to sit down and watch a couple of reviews and the hubby has finally succumbed to the gaming obsession as well. Tom (like we are a first name basis) does such a great job and is so thorough with his reviews that we usually just add to our wish list from his recommendations.

Where is this going you ask, I mean yay you found a gaming site.. la dee da..

{Image Source: TheDiceTowerNetwork.com}

So anyway my buddy Tom started a Podcast called The Dice Tower Showdown. He moderates as gamers take on topics such as KickStarter, is it good for the gaming industry, which game is better and why, and other great gaming discussions. Whether you are new to gaming or have been doing it for quite some time, this podcast is highly entertaining and makes you stop to really think about the subjects being discussed.

So please go check out The Dice Tower Showdown either on iTunes or here: http://bit.ly/1f495kz


Until next time!

Update on my {Game} Crazy Life

Hi my name is Mercedes and I am addicted to gaming. What started with a little game called Ticket To Ride turned into a full blown addiction. I have no shame and there is no foreseeable end to my addiction in sight.

I thought I would talk a little bit about my current favorite games, what is on my wish list, games I want to try, and probably some other game related stuff. If your eyes have already glazed over I am going to assume you are not a gamer. I totally get it, but my hope is you may have a spark of interest and are going to stick around to read the rest of the post. So here we go!

Favorites: There aren't many games that I don't like, but within the group of games that I own and have played I have some favorites.

{Image Credit: Game Wright}

Forbidden Island: A cooperative game in which 2-4 players are attempting to collect the four (4) treasures and make it to the Fool's Landing to fly away before the island sinks. Each turn players get 3 actions which they can use to move spaces on the board, shore up tiles (flip tiles that are sinking), move other players (if you have that special power), or give cards.  Once a player has completed his or her action the player then receives 2 treasure cards and flips the appropriate number of Flood cards. I promise it is not as complicated as it sounds and is a lot of fun. One of the greatest things about this game is that you are working as a team to beat the island before the island beats you!

{Image Credit: Iello Games}

King of Tokyo: King of Tokyo is a fun and quick game in which the purpose of the game is to {you guessed it} become the King of Tokyo. Each player picks a monster and rolls dice that let you accumulate points, enter Tokyo, deal damage, and heal damage. The graphics are great and the game plays in about 20-30 minutes.

{Image Credit: Indie Boards and Cards}

Resistance The 2nd Edition: Resistance is a game for a slightly bigger group, it plays 5-10 players. In the game you are either part of The Resistance or a Spy. As part of the resistance you are fighting against a government who is corrupt. As a spy you are attempting to subvert the resistance from the inside. The game is fun and if you are a Battlestar Gallactica fan, then you will love this game!


Wish List:

{Image Credit: BoardGaming.com}

Lords of Waterdeep: A Dungeons & Dragons Board Game: Until a few months ago I had not even heard of this game, but thanks to Geek and Sundry it is on my MUST own list. I have not officially played it yet, but I suggest watching the game play on TableTop.

Dying to try:

{Image Credit: Asmodee}

Takenoko Board Game: I feel silly that I have just barely heard of this game, and I am still not 100% sure what the point of the game is, but it looks AMAZING! Hello Panda's and Bamboo, how cute is that?


Gaming Inspired Cooking Wishlist:

I enjoy cooking, but I am like a school girl when I get to do theme cooking (i.e. Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Star Trek). Recently Chris Rachael-Oseland from Kitchen Overload put out a Settler's of Catan themed cook book. Chris does a spectacular job with all of her different Catan themed food bars. She has totally inspired me to try some out. If you are going to pick up the cook book make sure to pick up some cooking essentials to help with the theme.






Of course all of this game talk only scratches the surface of my gaming addiction. I will be back with more soon(ish)!

The Hubby's B-Day

So I know oh so long ago I mentioned the hubby's up coming birthday. I didn't take as many pictures as I had intended, because my camera died (boo). I thought I would share the few pictures I managed to take.

Let's start out with the birthday boy, the whole reason for the party:

{Don at his favorite Burger Joint the day of his Birthday}

We did a Star Trek color schemed setup:

 {Left: Medical/Sciences, Center: Command, Right: Engineering/Security}

 Each place setting had a black plate, color coordinating napkin, silverware set, cup with color coordinated straw and a Star Trek Milk Carton filled with Dilithium Crystals (or Pop Rocks and Zots). The Milk Carton was printed from a file I got on Etsy courtesy of aLittleBirdTweetme.

 Now no party is complete without presents, and so I thought I would share some pics of the birthday boy opening some of his:

All the gifts were Nerd approved, but the wrapping on one of the gifts was spectacular:

{Our friend wrapped my hubby's gift like the TARDIS, complete with blinking light on top. As if that was not enough, she photoshopped a picture of my hubby's favorite Doctor (David Tennant) peeking out the TARDIS window right next to my hubby was was photoshopped into the TARDIS too! BEST.WRAPPING.JOB. EVER.}

As guest left, they got the second party favor:

{A chocolate covered Oreo, shaped like the Millennium Falcon} 

I have a couple friends who took pictures, so I am hoping to add more soon! Thank you to all who came, ate, and gamed!

To throw a NERDTASTIC Birthday or not?

The hubby's birthday is coming around and I am tossing around the idea of throwing a birthday party for him. I mean look at this face. How could you NOT want to throw a party for this guy? I suppose then the question isn't if I want to throw it, but if I can work it all out.

The main idea is a NERDTASTIC birthday. For those that may not know us, the hubby and I are both HUGE nerds. We got married in Las Vegas at the Star Trek Experience (when it was there) on board the bridge of the Enterprise.

 See I told you so.

 Nerds,

  through and through. 

The hubby and I are fans of so many movies, shows, and games that are considered nerdy I thought why not embrace it. I currently have more than a few ideas thanks to Pinterest. I even have a board dedicated to Nerdtastic Birthday Ideas (check it out). I just need to see if I can make all the different elements work together without going broke. 

I will say that thanks to Pinterest I have found quite a few DIY party projects. Obviously themed food and possibly even themed tables would be involved. My hope is that we can get party goers to share their inner nerd by either dressing up or even just wearing a T-Shirt of their favorite show, character, or superhero. 

Gaming should also be a part of this spectacular nerd birthday. Food, friends, drinks, and games like Bang, or Guillotine, how can you go wrong? 

Wish me luck!

Oh Doctor Who, what did I do before you?

So the hubby and I  have this friend who we will call Bill, because his name is Bill. The hubby and I have tons in common with Bill. We all love the same types of games, we watch a lot of the same movies, and watch the same shows. Over the years we have shared some suggestions for Bill's T.V. entertainment. Some he loved, some not so much. Bill has done the same for us with the same results.

For quite some time Bill has been telling the hubby and I to watch Doctor Who. He said that we would love it. I had tried a couple of episodes that had Christopher Eccleston in them. They were campy, but good. The hubby caught me watching without him and asked me to wait so we could watch together. So I waited, and waited, and waited. All the while I kept seeing references on Pinterest that were piquing my interest. I finally told the hubby if he wasn't going to make time to watch with me, then I would watch alone.

We sat down and started watching. As I stated previously the some of the episodes in the first season were campy, but still wonderful. I loved Christopher Eccleston as the ninth Doctor. I was shocked when his run was over after only one season and was sad to see him go. In stepped David Tennant. Oh how he changed my life. I resisted is quirky, charming ways as long as I could. Before too long I was hooked. David made me laugh, he made me angry at times, and he made me cry.

**SPOILER ALERT** 

(If you have never seen Doctor Who, look away now)

I knew enough about Doctor Who to know that the Doctors change every few years. I had become so attached to David's incarnation of the Doctor, that even though I knew his run was coming to an end, I was not emotionally prepared for it.

I cried, a lot. I cried like I did when I was a kid, almost unable to breathe. Even now as I write this my eyes are filling up with what Bill would call "Awesome Sauce".

{Img Src: Fanpop.com}

I told my buddy Bill that I blamed him for my emotional distress. How had I not seen this show sooner? And if you haven't seen Doctor Who, you should ask yourself the same question.

While there will be many emotional ups and downs, the show is well written and has great production value, and makes you think.

Even better? Doctor Who is on Netflix and Amazon Prime. There is no reason not to watch it. So go now and watch, then come back and blame me for your emotional distress.

As a side note, now that I am an official Whovian, I have taken on my first Doctor Who crafty project. Blogger Karen Kavett shared on her blog files and directions on how to make Doctor Who Guess Who. Yup you read that right. You can find the directions and files here.

Here is a pic of her finished product:

{Img Src: Karen Kavett}

I managed to score two copies of guess who at a recent rummage sale so I could make my own (well one for me and one for my baby sister).

My copies are a couple of years newer than hers, but not by much. I won't get to make Sonic Screw Driver Pegs, but I have a couple of ideas on how to work a Sonic Screw Driver into the game board.

I started by painting the boards with the same type of paint Karen did, but I didn't like the look. I will ultimately have to track down some TARDIS blue spray paint and go from there. I will share pictures once I am done.

Until next time, remember, Don't Blink!

Diet Friendly Pizza Rolls

Not sure how many of you are familiar with Pintrest. Pintrest is a wonderful site that lets you set up boards to organize your favorite stuff, whatever it may be. I have used Pintrest in the past to get ideas for craft projects and to find new recipes.

The hubby has been craving pizza like crazy for the last week. I know that with weight watchers we can have a slice or two, but they have a lot of fat. I was about to break down and pick up pizza when inspiration hit. I had previously saved a pizza roll recipe on one of Pintrest boards. I brought that bad boy up, adjusted it for my tastes and the result was delicious and diet friendly.

The original recipe is from Plain Chicken. Now there was nothing wrong with Steph's recipe. In fact I am sure her's is marvelous, but it didn't provide me the super important weight watchers numbers I needed and I love Hormel's Turkey Pepperoni Minis! Steph's original post can be found here: Crescent Pepperoni Roll-Ups.

{Image Source: Plain Chicken}

{Image Source: Plain Chicken}

Before I share the recipe I have bad news. The hubby and I were pretty hungry when I made them so unfortunately pictures were not taken. I assure you that they were yummy, since the hubby ate all his up and refused to share with his friends!


Pizza Crescents

Makes 8

Old WW Points: 3 (Per 1 Roll)
WW Points Plus: 4 (Per 1 Roll)

Pizza Crescents: 123.75 Calories / 5.5 g Fat / 0 g Fiber / 6.13 g Protein / 15 g Carbohydrates

Pizza Sauce:  30 Calories / 1 g Fat / 1 g Fiber / 1 g Protein / 4 g Carbohydrates

Ingredients:
1 tube low fat crescent rolls (I used Pillsbury)
1 ounce Hormel Turkey Pepperoni Minis
4 low fat string cheese (I used Weight Watchers brand)

Optional:
1/4 Cup Pizza sauce for dipping

Directions:

Cut string cheese in half so you have 8 equal pieces. Roll out crescents and evenly distribute 1 hunk of cheese and pepperoni between all 8 crescents. Roll them up gently and pinch the ends so the cheese doesn't escape (it should be a cheese prison). Place on an cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 11-13 minutes (I found that 12 minutes was PERFECT for my oven).

While the crescents are in the oven, put a 1/4 cup of pizza sauce in a microwave friendly container and heat for 30 seconds in your microwave.

Once the crescents are done, let them cool for 1-2 minutes so you don't burn the roof of your mouth. I highly suggest serving a couple of these with a big green salad like we did. It's yummy and definitely hits the spot if you are craving pizza!

Hope you enjoy (I promise to take pictures net time),

New Reads and a Contest

From time to time I post about books I've read or want to read, but it has been a long time. I thought well now is as good a time as any.

Rose Pressey, who is best know for her Larue Donavan and Rylie Cruz series, has just come out with a new book that kicks off a whole new series (and a contest to promote it).

The book description on Amazon.com states the following about Forever Charmed:

Halloween LaVeau is descended from a long line of witches. (Yes, her name is Halloween.) When Halloween inherits her great-aunt’s manor, she decides to put the house to good use as a bed-and-breakfast. Her first guest is the sinfully good-looking Nicolas Marcos, but he’s not here for the continental breakfast. Halloween discovers a ratty old book in the attic. It’s written in an unfamiliar language.

Halloween soon learns this is not an ordinary spell book  The tome brings her a new talent, but her new skills come with a catch. When a rival witch comes after the book, Halloween doesn't know who to trust–the sexy vampire who says he wants to save the day, or the warlock who says he can destroy the book once and for all.

Since Forever Charmed is the first in a new series, Rose is selling it for an insanely low price of $0.99. You really can't beat that.

If that isn't enough to tempt you into Rose's world, she is also currently running a contest where the grand prize is an iPad Mini. Think about reading your Kindle or Barnes and Noble books on one of those babies! If you want more information on the contest head on over to Rose's Website and check it out:

{Image Courtesy of Rose Pressey}

-TTFN

Four letter word ... DIET

Everyone has New Year's resolutions. The problem with many of these resolutions is they quickly fall by the wayside. Instead of making resolutions, I planned.


The hubby and I are what comedian Gabriel Iglesias calls "Fluffy". While it is great as a comedy skit in everyday life it SUCKS!

{Hubby and I, cute but definitely Fluffy!}

Part of my 2013 plan is to be healthier, which means making healthier food choices and exercising  more and when I say more I mean exercising period!

Step One: We gave up soda regular and diet. This was actually pretty hard for me because even though I was drinking diet soda, I was definitely addicted to the stuff. The hubby and I figured out that we love the carbonation in soda, so we switched to bubbly water instead. We are currently toying with the idea of getting a soda stream to save on all the bottled bubbly water, but I am curious if it is cost effective if you are not actually making soda with it.

Step Two: The diet. I really hate that word, DIET. The minute I think I am on a diet, I start craving everything I shouldn't since my assumption is that I am going to be deprived. My answer to that, Weight Watchers. I love the whole points system because not only is it teaching us portion control, but I can still have what I want. If I am absolutely dying for a slice of pizza, I can do it, I just need to make sure I stay within points by making better choices the rest of the day. The flexibility in the points system makes me feel like I am not missing a thing!

The only time I have really struggled with the points system is when it comes to sweets. I LOVE sweets. Sweets are not always points friendly or very filling. I did a lot of research as to alternatives, but many of the low fat or low sugar candies use strange chemicals or large amounts of sodium, which defeats the purpose of becoming healthy. I was starting to think I was doomed. Then I stumbled across this nifty device that turns frozen bananas into a soft serve ice cream like texture.

I was a little skeptical at first, but was willing to try just about anything. I bought the Yonanas machine (yup unfortunate name but great machine) and took it for a spin. I unpacked the machine, washed it and set it up. I  used two frozen bananas and then sat down to watch a movie while I ate my "ice cream". It was AMAZING! My bananas definitely had a soft serve consistency, was healthy, and appeased the sweet tooth gods. Let me tell you that Yonanas is super easy to put together, easier to use, and kid friendly (for those of you with little ones).

Since opening my Yonanas machine, I have tried it a few times and even added mix-ins. I wanted to try bananas and peanut butter, but peanut butter has a lot of fat, so I tried bananas and PB2. It was DELICIOUS. Seriously if you have not tried PB2, you should.

Look I get that real peanut butter has healthy fats, but it is a lot. PB2 is a great alternative for me and lets me save some points! 

{Image Source: Bell Plantation}

Yea, so these are a couple of my saving graces when it comes to the Weight Watchers plan. 

Step Three: Exercise (Coming Soon)

I realize that we need to exercise, but I thought that making changes in increments would make it easier to make these changes stick. Truth is I REALLY want these changes to be permanent, which makes this journey a marathon and not a race. I will be back with more updates on our journey, along with updates on movies, games, crafts, or anything that catches my fancy. 

Until next time,

-TTFN

Messing with Nate

I love all kinds of stuff. More stuff than you probably have time to read about. Today I am going to talk about my love of watching WWE Wrestling.

There are a group of us who watch wrestling or keep up with it quite frequently. We love it so much we joined a Fantasy Wrestling League (similar to a Fantasy Football League), through Drop the Belt. We also thought it would be a great idea if we each had an action figure (NEVER call it a doll around boys) of our favorite wrestler on our team. (Hey I am a self proclaimed nerd). Anyway, we each got a figure of our favorite, everyone EXCEPT for Nate. Poor Nate could not find the figure of Dolph Ziggler (Yup, that's the guy's name). You know who did find that figure? I did!

I decided I should have a little fun at Nate's and Dolph's expense.. So here is the adventure Dolph went on:

Dolph's day started in the car, he enjoyed the view from Highway 1!

Next Dolph, made a quick stop by Twin Lakes Church to drop off gifts for charity. 

See this is him right outside! 

Charity work and driving sure made Dolph hungry.

He made a stop by his and Nate's favorite burger joint in Los Gatos, CA.

Always the gentleman, Dolph offers to pay for lunch.

(Thanks Dolph!)

Dolph's got quite an appetite. A cheese hound, fries, and a burger?

Good thing he works out a lot!

No job is too big for Dolph, even this burger.

The master of all fries.

Dolph was so great. He even shared with Don (Left) and Bill (Right). But Nate was missed!

It was so much fun sending Nate periodic texts. And he was such a good sport about it, but who knows where Dolph will take us next...