Fakit & Bakit

Welcome to my first real Christmas post of 2016 and with today being December 20th, I bet you thought I was going to forget.  Shame on you!  In today's post I'm going to make a Christmas tree ornament despite not even having a tree to put it on.  I'll be making a Makit & Bakit ornament kit...or will I?

Yes, but not really.

I got this at Michael's when they were "buy one, get one free" and kept this one for myself and sent three more back with my mom to give to Avery to make for his Christmas tree.  I wasn't sure if he has the attention span to actually do one, but I'll find out in a few days when I go back to Cranbrook.

I would've gotten an actual Makit & Bakit kit, but they didn't have any at all.  Yes, I actually looked for them.  I bought some there a couple years ago, but all they had was this knock off one from Creatology.  If I finish the kit does that make me a Creatologist?

I do like the way the package the plastic chunks in resealable tubes.  It makes it easier for dumping them out or just just keeping them sealed when you aren't using them.  They also gave a picture of what the tree should look like, but for some dumb reason part of the tree is yellow.  Did it die, is that why it is yellow??  I made my tree all green because that what trees like look dammit.

Ready to go in the oven!

I was putting the cookie sheet in the over when I dropped it totally messing everything up.  For a second I considering baking it as is, but then decided I had to do it all over again.

I actually followed the instructions of putting in the over at 375F for 15 - 25 minutes, but even as the 25 minute mark it wasn't melted.  I let it stay in a bit longer and it wasn't melted.  I turned up the over to 400F and at the 54 minute mark it was ready and I took it out.  At least the original Makit & Bakit would melt when there were supposed to.

Then again upon reading the instructions after I already made it, they state to not use an air bake cookie sheet.  I don't know if my cooking sheet is an air bake sheet or not.  I looked on it and it doesn't even say.

I changed the colour layout of some the tree decorations after dropping it, but it turned out "okay".  It's not Cara good, but more like Cam good and that's good enough for me.  You'd think by now I'd be getting better at these things, but this time I blame it on the fact that it's not a true Makit & Bakit kit.  Also, now I don't have to worry about not having a Christmas tree because I just made one.  I'll hang it up or more likely just prop it up somewhere.  Merry X-Mas!

Heat for a treat

I haven't been able to find those gingerbread Oreos since I bought that first bag.  I really liked them and was hoping to get them again.  I've seen the candy cane Oreos, but I'm holding out for gingerbread.  In the meantime I found these new Chips Ahoy! Hot Cocoa cookies.

Just in time for the winter comes a hot chocolate flavoured cookie with mini marshmallows in it.  Even better you can heat it up for a warm cookie!

I put my two cookies in for 7 seconds which I thought wouldn't be long enough, but still had melted chocolate on my fingers, but that is necessarily a bad thing.  They tasted okay, not as good as they looked or as good as I hoped.

Unfortunately, the cookies are so small!  These would be way better if they made them bigger.  Even the regular Chips Ahoy! soft cookies are this size which is too small.  I like the idea of hot cocoa cookies that can be warmed up, but Christie needs to refine the taste and the size.

Lately

It's been a while, but I've been busy leading a boring life, so I haven't had time to write about everything.  This post is a catch up post with a bunch of small lame things aren't worth a post on their own.  Here we go!

This is our front door and done up Christmas like.  This was Cody's doing not mine because I would rather spend my money on stuff for me than some wreath.  I took picture back before it snowed and got super cold here.  It's -21C here right now and that is without the windchill.  You can't see it in the picture, but there are even little snowflake stickers on the window.

My mom had a meeting in Calgary on Tuesday, but came down on Sunday afternoon and we went shopping on Monday.  I actually got some Christmas presents, but still managed to buy some shirts and socks for myself.  We went for a quick trip to Ikea, probably the fastest my mom has ever been in and out of there.

In the upstairs area where everything is laid up and set up into little rooms so you can get a feel of how thing look there was a little storage bench filled with bran discs or rye bran crisps to be exact.  They are frisbee sized and if you were to eat one you'd need a pitcher to water to keep from choking to death.  I imagine eating straw to about the the same as these.  Anyway, above the pile of bran discs were a couple coat hooks mounted on the wall...

Somebody decided to impale the rye bran discs on the coat hooks.  It's an unorthodox decorating technique, but I appreciate the effort.  Sorry for the blurry picture, but the camera on my phone couldn't decide what to focus on with all those colours and patterns.

When I was back in Cranbrook last time Avery told me he wanted a set of drums and I was like, "I already got you a set of drums once!"  His mom got rid of the drums a while ago and while another set of drums is out of the question I did find these at Winners which are the next best thing.

I also got him a Kris Kross CD at the thrift store, so he can rock out to it with his new drum sticks.  Don't worry I'll get him something good.  I'm still looking for Young MC.

Later!

For Me!

Well it's almost December and I haven't even started my Christmas shopping and it doesn't help that I have no idea what to buy anyone and have no money!  Pay day was last week, so I thought I should try and get some shopping done, but as usual I just ended up spending my money on crap I don't need.

I picked up another Disney Infinity figure, but at least Fett was down to $3.97 for Black Friday sales.

I went to good old Cash Converters (now renamed the original Buy and Sell Store) to look for some used movies for Matt and Logan and see what they had for used PS4 games for Logan.  Didn't find anything interesting, but I bought some cheap 3D blu-rays for myself and a Chemical Brothers CD.

Never heard of this particular Chemical Brothers album?  Well that's because it's a bootleg!  At least they did it up right with disc art and everything.  I picked it up for the decent selection of songs and the bonus tracks.  FYI, the Bros. just released a new single and you can watch the video for it here, https://youtu.be/3yiVDrX6vG0.

They still had the balls to put the following warning on the disc, "This DVD is for private home viewing only.  It's not licensed for any other use.  Unauthorized public performance, broadcasting or copying is violation of applicable laws."  I think they just put that on there as a joke because well it's a BOOTLEG!

Well so far I've only spent money on cheap things.  Hahaha!  We went to Market Mall the other day and Cody went to HMV and I went to the Vans store which is directly across from it.  I was just going to look.  Then I was just going to try on a pair of shoes.  Then I walked out with $140 in my bank account.

I got a pair of "weatherized" Vans for the cold Canadian winters.  The are lined with faux fur and the outsides are Scotchgarded.  I still bought some spray to help keep them water resistant.  I used to wear a pair of Merrell shoes for the winters and I've worn these Vans a couple times and they are already way more comfortable.  Plus they look way more cooler.

While I was there I bought this pair of half price Vans Nintendo socks with Donkey Kong on them.  I'm hoping the Van Toy Story socks go half price soon.

Hopefully, I'll get some Christmas ideas soon and won't run into anymore stuff I like.  I have no will power.  

Been there, done that

The other day Cody told me about a new burger place he wanted to try.  I said okay, lets do it.  Today we both had the day off, so it was time to go.  Cody was driving and before he had mentioned going to Mackenzie which is in the south, but the way he was driving was to the north.

I asked him where we were going and he said Beacon Hill which is way north up Sarcee Trail.  I told him we went there already and he said, "No, I haven't been there and I'd remember if I had."  I kept telling him I found it and we went there like a year ago, but he still denied.  Until we actually got there and he was like, "Okay, I remember now."

I'm pretty sure I even wrote something about our first visit on here.  Just to be sure I took pictures, so next time Cody forgets I have photographic proof.  This is what happens when you get old kids, it ain't pretty.

I got the Nacho Burger and it was pretty good.  I had it on a whole wheat bun, just to trick myself that I'm sort of eating healthy.  Last time I had the Hawaiian burger which had a slice of pineapple on it.  Eating healthy again!

Free Toy

I was getting groceries and spotted some Kellogg's cereal boxes with "FREE TOY" on the box and I was like, "You have my attention."

...or Game!

The back of the box has at the details including that you need two PIN codes to get a coupon for a toy or game, not an actual toy or game.  Once you enter your PINs you can choose from a coupon for a toy/game up to $10 or a $10 off coupon for a toy/game valued $25 or more.  The box also states there are 50,000 coupons for the free toy and 90,000 coupons for the $10 off coupons.  I have a feeling the free toy/game coupons are going to run out first.  Two boxes of cereal are cheaper than $10!  Also, limit of three coupons per mailing address.

What I don't like is that it doesn't even state what type of toy/game the coupons can be used for.  Any specific brands?  Can the coupons be redeemed at any stores or just certain ones?  I'm going to pass on this offer, it is just too much work!  Getting PINs, redeeming them for a coupon that then gets mailed to you, then you still have to go out to the store (which ones I don't know) and redeem your coupon.  If anyone wants my PIN let me know and I'll hook you up yo.

WORST EVER

I haven't posted in a while because I've been slowly recovering, not from an illness, but from an experience.  Last week Cody took out this blu-ray from the library called, Dangerous Men.  The cover made it sounds decent enough and it was released by Drafthouse Films.  Drafthouse Films is the releasing arm of the hipster Alamo Drafthouse film theater chain.  Knowing that I went in expecting something cheesy, but fun.  What I witnessed in, Dangerous Men was the worst movie I'd ever seen in my life.

I've seen a lot of movies, I've seen a lot of bad movies and this was the worst.  I had no idea what the hell was going in the first 20 minutes, it was jumping around with terrible cuts and was so confusing.  The actors that start out just disappear and the story takes a turn with some new characters.  Apparently, the movie took 28 years to be released and it shows, although you think if it took that long they had lots of time to iron out the wrinkles.  There are shots of cop cars from the 70's, some 80's footage and a shot of a cop at his desk and the calendar reads 1995.

There are a couple scenes that are unintentionally funny, but those don't make up for the rest of the movie.  Thankfully, Dangerous Men only runs a lean 80 minutes, but it sure felt a lot longer to me.  I gotta give Cody some credit for finally finding a movie that I can truly call the "worst movie I've ever seen."

Of course, I can't just let this go, I've got to try and get back at him somehow.  I think I'll make him watch National Lampoon's Last Resort with Corey Haim and Corey Feldman.  That'll do it!

Fewd

If you're hungry here is a round up of a bunch of new snack foods on the shelves of your local grocery store.

I actually saw this sitting in the back room at work over a month ago, but just never got around to actually checking the shelf until just this week.  They are dirt cheap at $1.67 a bag, I think, and at that price I'd have to say they are good.  If they cost more than that then I'd have to rate them significantly lower.  They do smell like stuffing and vaguely taste like it.  I was hoping they would take more like roast turkey I guess.  Why isn't that a chip flavour?

I found out about these Swiss Chalet chips after seeing a picture on Instagram.  I had been looking at work and Safeway for them, but could never find any until I looked at Wal-Mart.  Wal-Mart is the best!  The chips are okay too.

Now, these are awesome!  It's been a while since we've seen a new flavour of Oreo, not only did I see Pumpkin Spice but also Candy Cane.  I only bought one package of Pumpkin Spice, but it;s so good I'm going to have to get some more as it is limited edition.

STAR WARS!  General Mills have released various cereals with Star Wars characters on the boxes.  It's just the regular cereal with Star Wars art, nothing new and no toys.  They done screwed up again, where are the toys, posters or something free goodie?!  Despite that you can't help but not love this box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch with Chewie on it!  This box is definitely going on the cereal box display shelf.  I think they should've had him holding a spoon though.

Spend thrift

I hadn't been to the thrift store in a while, so today I was driving by and decided to stop and have a look.  Good thing I did because all CDs, DVDs and games were one dollar each.

I got these two for $2.00 (duh) even, no tax at WINS unlike some other thrift stores.  I haven't actually seen Ju-On or it's American remake The Grudge.  It's the perfect the Christmas movie, now that Halloween is over.

I left the store and went to listen to the Fresh Prince & Jazzy Jeff album once I got in my car.  When I opened the case I found that there were two CDs inside!  I got DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince's Code Red as a bonus.  Sadly, this is the closest I'll ever get to winning the lottery.  Although, it wasn't entirely unexpected as I saw a Rage Against the Machine CD single, so I opened it to have a closer look and found two RATM CDs inside the case.  Someone must've donated a pile of their old CDs and for some reason kept multiple discs in the cases.  Saves room I guess??

Werd

I took a screencap of this game of Word Search I did the other day because it had the word "buttocking" in it.  It's funny sounding, but I wasn't sure if it was actually even a real word because I couldn't even think on instance where you would even use the word "buttocking" or what it would mean for that matter.  I tried looking it up on Dictionary.com, but I couldn't get a result.  Does that mean it is not an actual word then?  Maybe it's an old timey word that nobody uses anymore.  We should try and bring it back into the modern vocabulary.  Quit buttocking around and get on it!

To Infinity and Beyond

I bought these cool looking Disney Infinity 3.0 Han Solo and Chewbacca figures.  I was hoping to get the accompanying video game they go with, but I couldn't find a copy after visiting all four Toys 'R Us stores in town.

Infinity is one of the games where you require figures to play with it, so publishers hope you'll spend more money on buying extra figures.  You put the figures on the game base and they appear in the game.  I guess it's a form of physical DLC.  I admit I like the cartoony style of the Star Wars characters.  It would be really cool to seem them in an actually TV show or movie.

They go with Disney Infinity 3.0 which is obviously the Star Wars expansion.  Disney has said it no longer plans to further the series, so Toys 'R Us cut the price on the main game from $75 down to $15 which is why I wanted to pick it up cuz it's cheap!  The mission add on packs were $40, now $10 and figures were $16 now $5.  I do have Infinity 2.0 which is the Marvel expansion, but I didn't find it all that exciting.  Reviews for the Star Wars one were quite a bit better saying level design and combat are improved.  Hopefully, it will turn up eventually.

I even searched EB Games and Wal-Mart who both still stock the games, but at full price.  Full price is for suckers!  Best Buy doesn't even carry it anymore.  Good news is that if you have a Wii U then Toys 'R Us has lots of those left, PS4 only a couple and XBox One nothing.

When I got my Infinity 2.0 I bought a bunch of extra figures and ended up not even using them.  I bought a few based on the fact that I thought they just looked cool like Venom and Iron Fist.  I don't feel bad about getting the Star Wars ones even though I don't even had the game because they're cheap.  If I end up getting the game at some point (Christmas?) then I'll be ready to go.

RIP CHIP

On Monday I was getting some groceries at Safeway and some back up Halloween candy in case we ran out.  We didn't run out, in fact we had lots of extras.  Anyway, I saw a set up along the front tills and couldn't say no to this.

I paid $4.99 for ONE chip!  Of course, it could probably kill you, or in this case Cody.  I don't mind food that is a little spicy, but I don't like spicy hot food especially if it has the "Deadly Heat" rating on it.  Cody likes hot food, so I bought it for him.

Now, he's too scared to eat it.  It is not only made with the hottest pepper in the world, the Carolina Reaper pepper, but it also contains Ghost Pepper and Chipotle pepper.  I'd suggest just it throwing inside an open bag of nachos and then go around offering them to people and see who ends up eating it.  

After reading the warning label on the back of "coffin" box I'm scared to even touch it let alone eat it.   Maybe I'll just throw the chip in the garbage and replace it and then around pretending I'm all badass and eating the Reaper Pepper chip when really it was just an Old Dutch taco chip.

Save the oceans

When I was in Cranbrook I found this pamphlet in the back of a drawer.  It was some old school assignment and I'm guessing it was for a science class.  Its from the Parkland days, so my memory is extremely fuzzy.  I probably did all the work though.

I totally traced that fish.  And the words.  

Its a photocopied pamphlet, so maybe we made more than one, but I have no idea why.

Nice work filling up an entire page with a tiny graph!

Since I don't remember writing it, what we were in or even what class it was for I certainly don't remember what grade we got.  I hope it was a good one, but probably not after seeing all the glaring spelling mistakes.  I guess there is a reason I ended up working at Superstore.

Convo

Est. 1979

I went outside yesterday afternoon for a walk up to the powerline.  The sun was out when I started, but then it disappeared behind the clouds.  I wanted to take some pictures and the sun would've helped.  I still took some bad pictures and I don't think the sun would've helped much anyway, so it didn't matter.