Chicago

Well, it's almost time for my vacation to Chicago and I'm not sure I could be more excited. We picked up a CityPass for each of us, so we're looking forward to seeing the Museum of Science and Industry, Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum, Adler Planetarium and the Hancock Observatory. I've already planned to see the Museum at the Art Institute and Navy Pier again, but I need more ideas on things to do and see, other than shopping, and places to eat. If you have any ideas, please let me know.

America's Next Top Model Season 10

This season's girls are very different from the models from previous seasons. I don't know what Tyra was thinking, but none of these girls really seem like they could hack it in the modeling world. Maybe after some training they could, but I don't think the small amount they get on this show will be enough. As usual, I can hardly wait for their makeovers, those might help a bit with the problem I just mentioned. I love that they decided to continue on their concept from last season and started this season with a look at homelessness. I think Stacy Ann and Fatima are my favorites this season. Whitney looks too old to be on Top Model, but they might be able to fix that with a makeover. I've been watching Make Me a Supermodel and the one thing I like about that show more than Top Model is there are less cat-fights. Overall I'm not really into this season, but I love Top Model so I can't not watch it.

Tradewinds Legends

This adventure game is tons of fun. You can play as Nandi, The Tiger, Rihana, Hasan or once you beat the game a custom character of your design in story mode or free trade mode. Story mode has you running errands for kings and battling bad guys on the high seas. You can visit the port cities of Babelah, Rhamat, Al Khazam, Sabrallaj, Mahil Hai, Ak'wah, Afal'anj and my two personal favorites, Himalai Han and Shiang Lo. You get to trade Salt, Tea, Wine, Amber, Oil, Weapons, Parchment, Indigo, Rugs and Gunpowder, but be careful, not all of the ports accept all of the items and they could get confiscated and you lose a lot of money. You get to visit Kings, Banks, Moneylenders, Shipyards, Markets and Temples. You can buy Items to help you on your voyage, things that help you defeat other pirates and also you get to upgrade your ships eventually you get flying ships which you need to get to a couple of the ports. Once you beat the game you can continue trading and making more money or you can start again. So far I've found 5 different stories, but there might be more. This game has tons of replay value and is well worth the money.

Rocket Bowl

This bowling game is tons of fun and gets rather difficult. You can practice, play against a champ or play in a tournament on 10 different courses. The twist of this game is it's like bowling on a mini-golf course. You have 10 different lanes in each of the 10 courses and if you miss the pins you are aiming at, you can always try for pins on other lanes. It didn't take much to get through the first few courses, but the later courses took me what seemed like forever to beat. You have to score a certain amount on a course to open the next one and you have to be in the top 3 in a tournament to be invited to the next tournament. Like I said, the game is tons of fun and well worth the money.

Ukai Japanese Steakhouse

Ukai is a Hibachi restaurant with a Sushi bar in the Lansing, MI area. Their Hibachi shows aren't Benihana quality, but they get a passing grade and their food is really well cooked and tastes great. On the other side is the Sushi Bar which has some creative options, including the Spartan named after the local college's mascot and the Yummy Yummy which, I think, got it's name because it is just that, Yummy! The Yummy Yummy is a roll made with Tempura Shrimp and wrapped in Salmon. I'm not usually a huge fan of fish, but their sushi has changed my mind. If you're ever in the area, look up Ukai, it is well worth the time and money!

Yahtzee Texas Hold 'Em

I love Yahtzee and Texas Hold 'Em so I was excited about this game, until I played it. It's really not that great a game. The only Yahtzee part is the dice and Texas Hold 'Em with dice is just, well it just shouldn't be done. There are two modes of game play Tournament Mode where you have 20 locations to choose from and 7 leagues to beat to win the game and Quick Game where you can choose from 4 game options, 3 difficulty levels and play against 1-5 computer players. You can win 20 trophies including the Bluffer Award which is obtained by winning a hand with only two pair. The most interesting part of the game is that the computer tells you what your odds of winning the hand are. I'm not really a fan and definitely won't buy this game.

Flavor of Love 3

So, this is my secret shame, I love watching relationship shows that are as over the top as Flavor of Love, I love New York and Rock of Love. It's really funny to see what people will go through to get close to a celebrity or, in New York's case, pseudo-celebrity. The best of these shows is back for a third season, and I personally hope Flavor Flav finds love, not that I would mind watching another season, but he's really taken some hits the past couple years. This season so far has been just as over the top as the previous two and I think the mentality is there's nowhere to go but up. Some of the girls have personalities like New York and some seem to be genuinely nice. While some are there for Flav, others are there to be the next New York. In the most recent episode, Flav asked the girls to nurse his broken heart and I, like Flav, was moved by Hotlanta's gift. It was so thoughtful, and then jumping out of the plane with Flav showed she really is there for him. I have to say she's my favorite. Of the girls left, I think that at least Rayna, Sinceer and Seezinz are there for the wrong reasons and should go. I'm still not sure about the rest, but overall, I think this season he has some good choices. I will definitely continue watching and can't wait to see who Flav picks.

Home Sweet Home

This puzzle game is tons of fun and has lots of replay value. You can play as a design protege, a top designer or a design guru, though they have different game play for each style. The Top Designer has no client satisfaction meter so you may have to play the level a few times before you get it right and the Design Guru again has no client satisfaction meter and a 50% sell back penalty. You get to design houses for clients that give you information on what it is they want. Sometimes that information is specific and sometimes it in cryptograms or written backwards. You can choose from Asian, Country and Retro styles and you get to create everything from the floors and walls to the plants and accessories. Another thing that adds to the difficulty of the game is actually building the rooms you design. You have 3 builders and have to manage them to complete the rooms in the time given. To add to that difficulty you have to give them coffee if they get tired, tools that they need while working and if they get injured there is a medical kit, but have fun trying to give it to them because they run all over when they need medical attention. I beat this game in around 10 hours game play, but I've only played the easy mode. I will definitely play it again and again, completely worth the money.

Fab Fashion

You play as Kate Masters who gets a visit from a fashion critic designer who asks you to be part of a fashion show. This time management game has an extra design twist though. You get to decide at the fashion show how much your designs sell for. Buyers give prices and you have to choose the highest one. You also get to buy additional machines and new designs. You buy water and music to keep the models happy, and keeping them happy is hard. As the game progresses, the models get crankier and crankier, culminating with the black-robed model who is very impatient. You will also have to accessorize and do the models hair as the game progresses so make sure you move like the wind. One of the best parts about this game is that it has an option to show icons for people who are color-blind. The game is fun and has replay value, definitely worth the price.

Stupidity

Well, here's another Writer's Toolbox story.

Stupidity

I was dressed in a completely inappropriate shade of pink when I walked into the bar that night. I didn’t care though; I was desperate to know what happened in the last hours of my true love’s life. As I walked through the doors, the baby growing in my stomach kicked hard, “I know, I know, no drinking, but I have to know what happened to your daddy. I have to know if it really was my fault, my fault you’ll grow up without a daddy.”

The bartender recognized me from the pictures Quinn showed him, “You’re Mae right?”

“Yeah, could I get a juice and some answers, please?”

As he poured the juice for me he said, “I’m Jake, what can I do for you?”

“I need to know what happened the night Quinn died, for me and the baby,” I answered, tears welling in my eyes. Quinn was the love of my life. We had been dating for three years. And just six months ago, he asked me to marry him. I don’t know how I’m going to live without him, how I’m going to raise this baby without him.

“I’m not sure I feel comfortable talking about this with you. He was really distraught and the things he said, they were well, not at all nice and I don’t want you to think that his death was your fault; I don’t want you to lose the baby from the distress this might cause. Are you really sure you want to know?”

He looked at me like I wasn’t strong enough, like he knew Quinn’s death was completely my fault. I already knew that though, there was no other reason Quinn would have been at that place, at that time, he was running from me, from my betrayal, it’s all my fault he’s dead. “I can handle it, I already know it’s my fault, I know, I know he was running from me, just tell me what he said, what he did and I’ll be on my way.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he said pulling up a chair next to me. “That night Quinn came here because, because he had just found you asleep in another guy’s arms. Because he thought that you were cheating on him. Because that night was the night he found out you were pregnant, and he thought the baby was this other guy’s. He couldn’t think of any other reason you could be five months pregnant and not tell him. If the baby was his, he said you would never have kept it from him. That night he drank and drank. I tried to talk him into letting me drive him home, but he knocked me out and took off before I could stop him.”

I couldn’t stop the tears as they flowed down my face. The baby was moving and kicking, I think he was punishing me, punishing me for being responsible for his daddy’s death. I think Jake could tell that he was right, that I wasn’t strong enough to hear all of that; he put his arm around me and said, “It’s not your fault, it really isn’t. He was determined to be stupid that night. I tried to talk to him, to reason with him. I told him to talk to you, that there had to be extenuating circumstances, but he just wouldn’t listen to me. You know how hard headed, pig headed Quinn could be.”

“I know, but that doesn’t make it any less my fault. That guy, Gabe, I was tutoring him. We got really close, I care about him, love him even, but not like I love Quinn. For Quinn to think that I would ever do that, that this baby is someone else’s, that’s what hurts more than anything. That he didn’t trust me, after everything we’ve been through, that he could think that of me,” I said as the tears started to flow again.

That really was the hardest thing for me, to know that Quinn thought that of me. I loved him more than anything in the world, and he thought I could cheat on him. That I could cheat with someone I had known for less than a year. Someone who was the complete opposite of him. Life really couldn’t have gotten much worse, to have lost Quinn because of my stupidity. I say life couldn’t have gotten much worse, but the problem was, it had gotten worse. The person driving the car that was in the accident with Quinn’s motorcycle, that person died too, so not only did my stupidity cause the death of the love of my life, but the person in the other car. A person who I knew all too well. A person who loved me, who knew me possibly better than I knew myself. A person who wouldn’t have been in that car if it weren’t for me. A person who went looking for Quinn, who went looking for Quinn as a favor for me. A person whose death now makes me understand how my baby is going to feel for the rest of his life. That person was my dad. How am I supposed to go on living after that?

All writing is property of author and cannot be used unless written permission is given.

Big Brother 9

I've always loved Big Brother, the challenges, the larger than life personalities, most of the twists, but this season just seems lame to me. I don't get how they are going to have the couples leave together, but still make it three months. Putting two exes together where one of them cheated on the other was beyond bad taste. The idea that the one couple that is in the game together are actually with other partners who are supposed to be their perfect mate is kind of funny, but I also wonder if the producers didn't make sure that they were in different pairs. I do love the new look of the house, the guinea pigs being a couple and the ways they are making the backyard still usable in winter. I'm not really expecting too much from this Big Brother, mostly because you can tell that it was hastily thrown together to get something on TV during the writers' strike. It's really funny that the day this Big Brother started, the strike ended. I am also wondering if they will put together a summer version this year or if this is our only chance to get our Big Brother fix for the year. I'll keep watching, hopefully it will get better.

Coincidence?

Well, here is my first use of the Writer's Toolbox. Enjoy!

Coincidence?

There she was, Amy Gerstein, over by the pool, kissing my father. Mom and Dad divorced three years ago, but I never stopped hoping that they would some day get back together, even after my mom married Tom, a desperately boring plumber from the wrong side of the tracks, if you ask me. I can’t believe she left Dad for him. Dad started dating Amy about six months ago, and things have been great ever since. She has made my dad the happiest he has ever been and in turn made me very happy too. Not many girls can say this, but Dad is one of my best friends. When I was in elementary school, he coached my little league softball and soccer teams. We spent all of our free time together. Fishing, watching the stars, reading to each other; he was my first crush. I know it sounds gross, but a lot of my friends were that way, and don’t they always say that girls grow up to marry someone just like their dad. I know I did.

We attended the same high school, but didn’t really get to know each other until Mom’s wedding, he was my cousin’s date. We were drinking champagne. I was drinking a lot to get over my mom marrying Tom and he just came over and started talking. We reminisced about high school, how being in the band made him less than desirable for a cheerleader like me, how he had always had a crush on me, but never had the nerve to talk to me, how of all the people in the band, this one, this guy had always sort of fascinated me, because he reminded me so much of my dad, shy and self-conscious, cute in his own way and really smart. That night was the beginning of a new life for me.

The only problem was, I was terrified to marry Greg because I didn’t know what had broken up my parent’s marriage and I really didn’t want that to happen to me. I had to ask them. I had to confront my parents to know it wasn’t me who caused the problems. With all the time my dad spent with me, did my mom feel abandoned, left out? Did she hate me for stealing my dad away from her? Nope. What a relief it was to know that, but it was the stupidest thing, the last time they saw a movie together, Dad didn’t buy her Rolos. They didn’t have any, but somehow that was it, she didn’t care. She thought he should have gone to the gas station to get her some if he had to, but their whole divorce over Rolos, crazy. In my mind, I knew that wasn’t really the reason, that there was more behind the Rolos, that it really was her feeling left out, like he loved me more than he loved her, but I accepted the Rolos because marrying Greg was a dream come true for me, and I wasn’t about to let my parent’s divorce ruin my happiness.

We married in this intimate little ceremony in Dad’s backyard. We had some of our high school friends there, a few of my cheerleader friends, a few of his band friends and our families. That’s when Dad and Amy met. She was the band director at our high school. They didn’t start dating for about a year after the wedding, but they had cultivated a real friendship during that time. Dad even asked Greg and me if it was okay for him to date her, of course we were both ecstatic. Amy was like a second mother to Greg, so them dating was perfect. That day by the pool was the day Dad asked Amy to marry him. Of course, she said, “Yes.”

And that brings us to now, me standing here in a beautiful green dress, Greg in a tux across from me, and Dad, watching with tear-filled eyes as his bride walks toward him, radiant in her wedding dress, smiling, happy. Isn’t it amazing how much life can change for the better even through something as horrible as Mom marrying Tom?

All writing is property of author and cannot be used unless written permission is given.

Survivor: Micronesia

I was excited to see that some of our favorite Survivors were coming back and even more excited to see that fans would get the chance to kick their butts, but after the first episode, I think I'm even more excited about this season. I loved Yau-Man tackling Jonny Fairplay to get the first individual immunity idol, though a little disappointed he could only use it at the first tribal council. Jonny was really funny saying that Yau-Man isn't America's hero, but I beg to differ, anyone who can beat Jonny at his own game is my hero. I also love seeing Cirie and James back, though James and Parvati could get a little annoying. On the Fans side, Kathy is funny and sticking her foot in her mouth as much as Jonny lies. My favorites are Mikey B, Joel and Erik. Of those Erik is my favorite. He was awesome in the sandpit throwing sand on the favorites to distract them, it might not have done much for this challenge, but he might come in handy in future challenges with his calculating. I might be a little biased when it comes to Erik though, he's from my home state and so far is making Michigan look good. Besides that anyone who is known as the "Ice Cream Scooper from Hell" has my respect. I have high hopes for this season of survivor, but then again, I had high hope for China too and was let down.

Big City Adventures - Sydney

I was a huge fan of Big City Adventures - San Francisco so when I saw the this game I had high hopes, and all of them were met. Aside from the very cheesy opening sequence, the game is tons of fun. I think the thing I like most about these games is they are also educational. You learn about the Sydney Opera House, the Harbor Bridge, Hyde Park - Sydney, the Sydney Observatory, Powerhouse Museum and 20 more exciting locations around Sydney. A couple of my favorite tidbits are that they used to raise a "Time Ball" over the observatory at 1 o'clock everyday so everyone could check the accuracy of their clocks and the seals at the aquarium eat up to 16 pounds of fish daily. As with all Hidden Object games, I loved this one. It's tons of fun and has great replay value.

On another subject, isn't my dog so cute?

The Writer's Toolbox

I picked up The Writer's Toolbox by Jamie Cat Callan today from Barnes & Noble to help get my writing going. It says there are exercises for inspiring the "write" side of your brain. I'm going to try them and put what I come up with here. Hope there are some really interesting things to write about. Stay tuned for some short stories.

Family Restaurant

Family Restaurant is a very fun time management game with tons of replay value. You get to prepare salads, cook steaks, wings and fries and Create your own Pizza and Ice Cream. I needed some practice before I could get through some of the levels and they get harder as you go along, a lot harder. After a few days, I still haven't beaten the game, but am continuing to try. It is well worth the money.

Learning Python

So recently my husband suggested I learn Python for something to do because being a housewife is much more boring than I ever thought it would be. I haven't programmed in 15 years and then I was programming on an Apple IIe in Basic with a teacher who didn't know anything about programming. I have been looking for something to help teach me Python because my husband is quite busy with his work, so I looked at the Python Tutorial by Guido van Rossum and I guess that my brunette hair is covering blond roots because it took me an hour to get through Whetting Your Appetite. Then I had another half hour where I had to ask my husband what the different things meant. Needless to say, probably not the best place to start. I mean I asked my husband about stupid things like what is GUI and Batch Files. I'm not the person who comes to mind when thinking of the person who wants to learn Python, but I do. So here's my plea, I need help. I've been looking for Python for the Non-Programmer, but not finding much. If you know of any books or websites that might help me in my quest to learn Python, please let me know.

Election Coverage

I understand that we haven't had a primary election where both the Republicans and Democrats were in need of a candidate, but do we really need 3 hours of election coverage? NO!! I have to give it to NBC for limiting their election coverage to 1 hour. I watched a few minutes of CBS' election coverage and they were just going over everything that the Early Show has been going over for the past month. I'm so sick of this election I'd almost take Bush back to not have to deal with it, and I'm a not at all a Bush fan.

Dream Chronicles

In this very entertaining game you play Faye, trying to save the world from Lilith the Queen of Dreams who has put everyone in an enchanted sleep including your daughter, Lyra. She has also kidnapped your husband Fidget. As the game progresses, you find that your husband and his family are fairies. His parents are Aeval, Queen of Flora and Tangle, King of Knowlegde. Fidget was supposed to marry Lilith, but his parents wanted him to marry for love. You look for gems and complete puzzles that are said to be obstacles from Lilith to keep you away from Fidget. By far the hardest puzzle is the Piano puzzle. You will see puzzles in many places, some are your daughter's tree house, your in-law's house, the town in which you live, the woods and finally the mansion where Fidget is being held. In the end, you don't make it back to Lyra, so stay tuned for the sequel. It took me just over 2 hours to complete the game. Overall, it is a fun game and has good replay value, totally worth the price.