I am back...again

I have been remiss in my postings but the last couple of months went from hectic to OMFG!

Things have calmed down now, so I can get back to boring everyone with the random crap that pops into my brain. Aren't you pleased? lol

Let's see...I finished Far Cry 3. Fantastic game. The voice acting was superb and there was enough tedious side quests to thrill me but not so many I wanted to club a baby seal. I got go to hang gliding. How cool is that?! Honestly, if you have picked this one up yet, go get it now. It'll give you hours of enjoyment.

I started Dragon Age Origins (again). Having fun with this one too. If Alistair was a real man, in my real life, I'd so date him. I love his snarky humor. Plus he comes off as a little awkward. Sorry hubby, you have competition.

I also started Dark Souls. Now having played Demon's Souls, I knew it was going to be rough but at this point in the game, I have died so often, I have completely lost the plot. No really. I have absolutely no idea what the story is anymore. I'll trudge through some more and see if I can pick up the story again.

On a sad note, my PS3 has died. I need to get it repaired but that's $130 I don't have right now. Yes, I will repair it. It's an original 60GB, 100% backwards compatible model. So not giving it up.

My 3 yr old is potty-trained now, thankfully, but requires an audience for every bathroom trip. Sorry but whomever coined the phrase "Terrible Twos" should have waited a year. The threes are far worse. Now I have to get to quit crawling into bed with me at night. I have no idea how someone 2 ft tall and around 30 lbs can take up 90% of a queen size bed.

I finally quit my job. Yes, it's true. I am done with my night job. As awesome as it is to be back at home with my kids full time, I am finding it a difficult adjustment. My body clock is not fully on daylight hours and I am finding the demands of the house to be exhausting - more so than they should be. I am suffering from some loneliness too. I got used to interacting with people on a daily basis (face to face). Now? Not so much. Plus I have Christmas and a move to Colorado looming in the future. I'll adjust though. It'll just take time.

Well that's all in a nutshell, so far. :)

A Mother's Dilemma

 A weirdness has taken hold of my life and today it came to a head. First, I will remind you all that I have five children with ages ranging from 22 to 3. It's odd to have one child graduate from college while you are attempting to potty train another. Believe me, it is super surreal. 

 Today all that strangeness came full circle, I guess. My oldest daughter moved into her own apartment in Cleveland today. So here we were packing the car to take some of her things to her new place (we have more that needs to go) and I am trying to coax the 3 year old into "pooping on the potty". When I stopped to think about it, it gave me pause. I am proud of the fact my daughter felt "ready to launch" and start her life on her own but I do admit it makes me a little sad. I will miss having her around to talk to. My 3 yr old is crushed. She adores her big sisters and now, the last one has moved (my 19 yr old went off to college and never came back home). Poor Lily is left with her two older brothers now. 

 I have never let my kids growing up bother me. Both girls are about an hour away from me, in different directions. However, when I finally get moved to Colorado, I think I will feel the separation more keenly. I won't be able to just drive over to see them and they won't be able to call up and say they are coming over. It'll be a two-day drive or a hefty ticket price to visit. My younger kids will miss both their sisters too. I have no idea how I am going to handle helping the youngest two to grasp the distance but I know they will adjust. 

Skype will get a workout in the future. 

 I also came to the realization that when I start packing the house up totally for the move to Colorado, I will be doing it alone since the Spousal Unit will already be in Colorado. That is a daunting thought and I have no idea how I am going to manage it. I have a 4-bedroom home with a garage and basement to deal with. I have less than a year to purge and pack. I need a dumpster. 

Up to 18 Now on Xbox 360

I have managed to finish two more games on the Xbox 360 to 100% completion in the past couple of days. Number 17 was Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7 and number 18 was Borderlands 2. I am feeling very proud of myself at this point, especially Borderlands 2. Of course that 100% will change when Gearbox drops the next two DLC packs later this year. It also means I will be forced to try that much harder to keep the 100% standing.

 I am not sure what game I am going to move onto now. Not sure I want to start another Lego game, actually. I do have quite a few games I own but have never played though I do not think I will even attempt to get all the achievements in those. I do not try to 100% every game I own. I know I cannot, especially the games that have multiplayer achievements. I hate MP achievements.

You know, I have a few games on the Playstation 3 I have 100% on as well. Maybe I will finish Flower and Unfinished Swan. I think I need to sit down and figure out my complete game total, Xbox 360 and PS3. 

 On a more personal note, Monday we find out exactly how badly the new company is going to screw us and we will have a better idea of when we will be moving. I loathe the idea of leaving my lovely home for an ugly ranch-style in Colorado but I know we must go. It makes the best financial sense. I am shooting to be out of my job by the end of September so I can start the whole packing and sorting project full force. 

I have no idea what the future will bring but I must face it head on and look it straight in the eye. I am positive there is a reason why fate is playing this hand and I will just have to see it through. 

A Little Magical Lego Action

 I have been playing Borderlands 2 and now that they are going to raise the level cap again, I am not in a big hurry to fight through Ultimate Vault Hunter. I am already a 61 so I am not gaining any experience points at all. I have a inventory full of Legendary, Pearlescent and even a couple Seriph weapons. I have yet to find a single Seriph Crystal and I can't get any of the Invincibles to drop any heads/skins (the ones that are supposed to drop them). So, I am taking my time.

 I was burnt out on intense games so I popped Lego Harry Potter 2 into my Xbox 360. I already have 100% in the first one and had thought I had finished the second one. However, once I started it up I realized I hadn't even gotten very far, the first two areas at best. My oldest daughter had borrowed it and taken it back to college with her so I hadn't even looked at it for a long while.

 Needless to say, this game fit the silly-but-fun bill and I have just completed the main story. Now to get some freeplay in and earn 100% in this one too. I think I am going to try to get 100% in every Lego game released on the 360.

Besides, I am trying to potty train a 3 year old so playing a game I can pause and walk away from at a moments notice is rather valuable at this time.

Tomorrow, it's fun in the sun at our friends' home so very little gaming tomorrow for me.

A Little Bit of Country

I have pretty much been stuck on playing Borderlands 2. I am down to needing two achievements and I'll need to get two characters up to level 31 before I can even attempt to unlock them - so play I must. I am also having a bitch of a time getting Terramorphous to drop the siren skin and head. It dropped once when I beat him but the head glitched and it couldn't be picked up. Haven't seen it since. The whole thing pisses me off really. I really need someone to create an app that has a list of heads and skins that will allow a person to check off what they have and give information on how to obtain each one. GO!

So on to the real reason for this post: a young lady I have watched grow, and has an amazing voice, has released a single through a record company. Apparently, this song was supposed to be done by Faith Hill but it was cut from her album so our little Candy got to record it instead. The recording was released on YouTube and it is going to be on iTunes (if it isn't already). I want to help give her a boost so I am posting the YouTube link here.

The song is "No Greater Love" and this singer is Candy Campana. Give it a listen and feel free to share it.

On a side note, I know for a fact she had a cold when she recorded this. not bad for a sick person. LOL

A New Goal (Or Two)

 Recently, I have been spending a lot of time playing games. Yes, more than usual. Don't judge me. Anyway, I am about to write up my 2 second review for the week and start my third review game. However, I have been trying to take some time out to play games just for fun. Enter Borderlands 2. 

 My dear friend Dave C. works at a camp in the summer and Borderlands is that series we love to play together and with out other friend Chris R. We have a ridiculous amount of fun whenever we are all together. Even if we are just dicking around and goofing off. Anyway, enter my nefarious plan -- I plan on having 100% of the achievements in Borderlands 2 before Dave gets back from camp. I know, I am truly evil. He hasn't even seen the new DLC because he's been away. I am down to needing three achievements, all character based so I had better get busy and get these knocked out. 

 My 3 year old has decided potty training is a good thing. My next goal is to get her to grasp the concept of pulling her panties down BEFORE peeing in the potty. She just doesn't seem to get that part. I am proud of her for understanding the idea of the potty so quickly but damn, I am tired of washing tiny undies. 

I really need to start going through my embroidery and getting more serious about packing stuff up. This move to Colorado will come quicker than I think and even though we are in limbo right now as to when, it's better to be ready than not. 

This heatwave we are having isn't helping my motivation to do anything. It's hot and not just hot, it's bloody humid. I swear I am living in Hell's sauna right now. The kids refuse to play outside, not that I blame them, and would rather sit in the air conditioned house. I was going to go for a run but decided to forget about it. I don't think it's safe to be running in this heat. The last thing I need is to end up with heatstroke or worse. 

Chaos, Inc.

My life has turned from nearly normal, for me anyway, to sheer chaos. The move date for Colorado is still up in the air and all this instability is making me crazy. I hate being "held hostage" by a company that hasn't released all the details to its employees. IT and other departments know what is going on for them but labor does not. Labor has a union contract to contend with and while I know that is making things far more difficult for the negotiations--can we get some information PLEASE! My needs are simple: I want to know when I can expect the new company to take over, are the other regions locking out hires from Ohio and when do I need to plan to move. Is it really that difficult to tell me these things?

My anxiety and stress levels have been so high, I actually dreamed my bed was trying to eat me. Of course that led me to not be able to sleep since every time I dozed off, it felt like I was sinking into my bed and it was trying to swallow me. Crazy, I know but I can't help what my subconscious gets up to. Next time, I sleep on the couch.

 On the home front, my poor college graduate daughter can't find a job. She's frustrated beyond belief and I do not blame her one bit. She has experience but no one wants to give her a break. She's now looking in the Cleveland area for a job in the hopes she has a better chance there. If she gets one, we will be saying goodbye to her much sooner and she won't have a car so we won't see her often. She really needs a car just so she can travel to Akron to visit her younger sister. I made them promise to stay close and see each other even though we (their parents) have moved to another state. They both have the option of moving with us but they are just starting their lives here and aren't ready to move. I get that.

 I am attempting to get my now 3 year old to potty train. I would probably have better luck teaching a cat to love water. She is so damned stubborn. She has the basic concept down but doesn't want to take the time to use the potty. My washer is getting worked over that's for sure.

 As for gaming; I am working on getting all the achievements in Borderlands 2 before my friend Dave gets back from his summer job in the Poconos. I just want to see his face when he has to catch up to me. *giggle* Yeah, I know, I am pure evil.

 I just finished a review for The Last Door. If you are a fan at all of point-and-click games, grab this one. It's pretty awesome. It's being done in chapters and the devs are asking for donations so they can keep making it. Please fund them if you like the game at all. On a side note, I saw people griping about the "terrible graphics" and I think those people missed the point of the game. It's a throw back to the old days of 80's adventure games so they went with 80's graphics. It's supposed to look like that. Not sure why some people think the only way a game is good is if it has the most realistic graphics ever. Hell, that's probably why most of these great companies are now closed or bankrupt. They are trying to meet the demands of an unreasonable community when a game can be fantastic with a good story and gameplay. Borderlands 2 is a perfect example. When the first Borderlands was released there were people bitching and moaning about graphics. I am not kidding. But, the game was amazing and the second one built upon the things that made the first one so fun. See? It doesn't have to look real to be good. Geez.

 I have two more games I am reviewing, a couple of JRPGs so my gaming time has been taking up by that. Anyone that has played a JRPG knows how time consuming this genre is. My PS3 is getting a workout. Installing these games has convinced me I need a bigger HDD for my old 60GB. I guess it's time to upgrade to a 500GB. I am still trying to save some money for a 3DS XL and Animal Crossing: New Leaf. I'd like to get it before the move since I will be stuck in a hotel and I will have 3 kids with me.