Too Much Snow

Snow, Winter

angry-carOn Friday, I posted about how sick I am of snow.  I really didn’t want to make another post so soon about it, but the levels of snow we have just seem to warrant it.  On Friday, the official total seems to be (as near as I can tell), 15 inches of snow.  However, when I measured our snow amounts, I got closer to 20 inches.  This tremendous snow fall meant cancelling plans to see family that we were really looking forward to.  (The roads just weren’t safe to travel on and I’d rather survive the trip.)

Friday, we mostly spent a lot of time shoveling and roof raking (to prevent ice dams on our roof).  The snow banks at the end of our driveway are about as tall as I am now.  Getting in and out of our driveway is a very tricky affair with my little sedan.  We haven’t even *tried* getting B’s car out.  I don’t think it’s possible the way the snow is.

Of course, the ton of snow meant that the boys had fun playing.  Our next door neighbor’s daughter dug a snow tunnel for them and JSL pretended to hibernate.

hibernate

Ah, if only I could go to sleep and wake up when it was spring.

A couple of days later, we decided to take the boys sledding.  The only problem was that we only had one sled.  We looked around, but the stores don’t stock sleds in February.  I need new boots too and those are gone as well.  Instead, they have flip-flops, lawn care products, and other spring merchandise out now.  You would think they would retain some stock to sell to people who will still need winter products for the next two months.  Instead, retailers seem to perpetually live three months in the future.

Given that we only had one sled (and that we weren’t sure how snow pant would work in my car, we opted to sled at home.  I piled some snow up and made a ramp.  The boys had fun helping me make the ramp and then going down it.

sledding

Next, they wanted to build a snow fort.  I grabbed my shovel and began piling snow in a big circle around JSL while NHL helped strengthen the walls.  Eventually, they had a nice, defensible fort.

snow-fort

Of course, there’s one part about playing outside that seems to be their favorite.  Warming up inside with a nice video game!  (In this case, Lego Marvel Super Heroes – which I plan to review soon.)

The forecast calls for warmer weather soon.  I’m half looking forward to it and half dreading the slushy, flood-prone mess that will result when all this water melts at once.

(By the way, head on over to B’s blog for – among other things – a video of what happened when I decided to use the snow as a comfy chair.)

I’m Sick Of All The Snow, Man

Disney, Snow, Winter

The snow has been coming down heavy all day.  We’ve gone from predictions of 6 to 8 inches, to 8 to 12 inches, and finally (as I write this) 12 to 20 inches.  We’re getting buried and are breaking our backs trying to shovel our way out of it.  Meanwhile, the boys are having a blast.

snow-play

As much as I love the Disney movie Frozen, I definitely DON’T want to build a snow man.  Instead, I’m dreaming of warmer weather and am sick of the snow.  As I shoveled, I became inspired and had to sing.

I didn’t say I sang well… Just that I sang.  And now you know why the song parodies I come up with aren’t videos of me singing them.

So here’s a parody of the first part of "Do You Wanna Build A Snowman".

*Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock*
I’m sick of all this snow, man!
I want it to go away 
There’s white stuff piling by the door 
Boots on the floor 
Just make it go away
We used to walk around the block
Without a coat 
My fingers are going numb! 
I’m sick of all this snow, man!
Don’t wanna keep shoveling snow, man.

Just say, bye…

The Lego Movie And My Inner President Business

Lego, Movies

president_businessOver the weekend, we took the boys to see The Lego Movie.  We all loved the fun romp through a world comprised of Lego bricks populated by people who could build anything that they could imagine using only the pieces around them.  The villain in the movie is President Business.  Without giving too many spoilers, he sees random Lego creations as chaotic and craves the order of following instructions.  As President Business strived to enforce order, I realized something.  Inside me in a bit of President Business.

My boys love Lego sets.  They also love the minifigs that they get with the sets or in blind bags.  We can’t pass a display without them begging for just one more figure.  When you get a minifig, they come in pieces and are quickly assembled into the character.

However, my boys rarely keep the characters that way.  JSL, for example, has lately been combining various Lego minifigures to create "He-Man" Legos (based on the old He-Man cartoons they’ve discovered).

lego_minifig_mashup

While I didn’t discourage them, I admit that deep down I felt that this was wrong.  Part of me thought they should keep the figures together "the way they were supposed to be."  Watching the movie made me realize that Legos are all about creativity.  Yes, there are instructions and building what the instructions say can be fun.  However, mixing and matching various pieces and sets to create something new can be wonderful too.

You might even say that it is awesome.

Paint Blobs On A Smartphone

Games, Smartphone/Tablet Apps, Smartphones/Tablets

Screenshot_2014-02-06-21-59-27Last month, I wrote about a fun Smartphone game called Buttons and Scissors by KyWorks.  A couple of days ago, another of their games, Color Oil, was Amazon’s free app of the day.  I downloaded it and have been hooked ever since.

Like Buttons and Scissors, you need to use your brain to match colors and beat levels.  Unlike Buttons and Scissors, though, you don’t deal with buttons on denim, but with drops of oil paint on a canvas.  The paint only joins up with blobs of same colored paint.  Luckily, you can change the color of your main blob.  As you do so, it will join with any adjacent, similar colored paint.  As your blob grows, it can join with more and more paint until all of the paint is joined.

Sounds easy, right?  Well, there’s a twist.  You only have a certain amount of turns to complete each level.  For example, you might have five different colors on the board and only six turns.  This gives you a mere one move before you need to start eliminating colors.  If you go over the allotted number of turns, you start losing stars.  Lose all three and you’ll need to start all over again.

The levels begin easy but ramp up in complexity.  This game is not one that is won by quickly tapping the screen.  Instead, it forces you to think about your next move, the one after that, and the ones after that one.  Only by planning out your moves in advance will you have any hope of finishing the board in the required number of steps.

This is definitely another fun game from KYWorks.  It’s sure to give both me and my boys hours of fun while also challenging our minds.

Links to Color Oil for Android, iOS, and Blackberry are available from KyWorks’ website.

NOTE: I obtained Color Oil as Amazon’s Free App Of The Day, I wasn’t required to write about the app, though.  I did that because I liked it.  All opinions above are my own.

What Happens When Frozen And Exhaustion Meet On Twitter

Disney, Music, Social Media, Twitter, Winter

Take one couple who are active on social media.  Mix in a generous helping of exhaustion.  Stir in a love for Disney in general, and for the songs from the movie Frozen in particular.  Blend and bake in Twitter.  What do you get?  A hilarious exchange that B & I had a few nights back.  At least it seemed hilarious at the time.  A well-rested mind might not find it funny which only goes to prove that well rested minds know less about humor than Olaf knows about summer!

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