Gas prices, vacations, boardgames, and WoW

Looking forward to a couple of days down at my in-laws with my brother-in-law, Mike, and his family - Laura's sister, Kiley, and their two boys.

I have a number of old and new boardgames I need to try out with him. :)

And since we probably won't have the time (or the money for that matter) for any kind of significant vacation this year, my in-laws' house is a good bet for a quick (and close!) getaway.

Jessica is at a sleepover tonight - her friend, Sarah's birthday. Sarah's brother, Brice, is here with Rylan. Allaina is in bed and I'm blogging while Laura gets comfortable for the evening.

As I sit here and type, I'm resisting the urge to load up World of Warcraft and quest in the Searing Gorge with "FatherVader." ("ReverendVader" was too long to be accepted by the WoW name database. I had to go with my second choice.)

Maybe I'll go see if the boys want to play a boardgame...

:)

Things to NOT Try -- #1

Never try to videotape your two older children's musical production of the Pied Piper while balancing a 15-month-old on your lap.

Mommy isn't getting back from that retreat near soon enough...

A fedora, a whip... a beatbox and a flute...

Item of interest number 1:

The official title of the next adventure with our beloved fedora-wearing Dr. Jones is...

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Coming to a theater near you, May 2008.

Item of interest number 2:

Greg Patillo the beatboxing flautist. (!!?)

This guy is simply amazing.

Super Mario Brothers' Theme

Inspector Gadget Remix (with Axel F)

Birthday money... and being Dangerous

A yes, the quandry...

I have birthday money to spend. Should I just use it to help pay for the New Brunswick trip? Or should I buy a) Star Wars LEGO b) DVD(s) c) boardgame(s) d) something I need...

Decisions, decisions...

On an unrelated note, I ordered a copy of The Dangerous Book for Boys last week. Looks like it might be a fun thing to go through with Rylan. After reading Wild a Heart, I realized Rylan might like to learn how to be a little dangerous. At least we can figure out how to tie some cool knots, make the world's best paper airplane, and learn the best way to hunt and cook a rabbit...

He was pretty bummed out tonight. He was supposed to have a sleepover, but his friend bailed out at about 10 pm. (Not very dangerous when a 7-year old wants to go home to his mom during a sleepover...)

Oh, well... maybe tomorrow I can take him outside and we can attempt to throw a football at each other. (Special thanks to my little brother!) Or figure out 13 new uses for duct tape...

Hey, MacGyver was dangerous... wasn't he?

Traffic jams in the east...

Left Gettysburg this morning and drove to Hershey... got caught in a small traffic jam on our way to Hershey's Chocolate World. I had decided to avoid Newark and New York City by going north to Scranton and then west to Hartford... only adding about 30 miles to our total trip. (I knew we'd be arriving near New York City too close to the afternoon rush - and on Friday to boot.)

As it turns out, we ended up hitting a major jam just north of Harrisburg due to some minor road construction... the loss of one lane near an on-ramp completely and utterly immobilized traffic for miles. Sat completely still for 5 minutes. Then went about 4 miles in 40 minutes. Traffic was backed up behind us for even more miles and miles. Pretty much in the middle of nowhere too!

Then a log jam in Danbury, Connecticut, as well as two in Waterbury, and another in Hartford.

Maybe I should have taken my chances in New Jersey. (Not sure it would have been worse than Connecticut. I think Danbury, Waterbury, and Hartford are all just part of the same city... or will be soon.)

Then there was the offramp at I-465 off the Massachusetts turnpike... Wham!

(I really, really hate sitting in traffic on the Interstate with more passion than I can describe to you.)

On to New Brunswick tomorrow! (Where there is MUCH less traffic.)

Good deals, board games, and Tanga.com

Those of you who know me know I love to find a good deal online. You also know I have a "thing" for new board games...

Stay away from Tanga.com.

The people who run Tanga (the folks responsible for the well-known online board gaming Mecca and mega-site BoardGameGeek.com) usually run one special each day on Tanga. When it's a board game, it's hard to resist... almost always well below retail value.

Since October of 2006, I've purchased Oasis, Wolgang Kramer's Saga, Return of the Heroes and its expansion Under the Shadow of the Dragon, a 3-for-1 -- Nexus Ops, Vegas Showdown, and Rocketville -- all by Avalon Hill, Hoity Toity (Hilarious game!!), Aquadukt, and today's purchase, Sunken City.

10 games for a grand total of $138.88. (Taxes and shipping included.) A little less than $14 per game.

Now in order to justify my purchases to you the reader, I must show you how much these games would cost if I were to attempt to purchase them at the two most inexpensive online game stores which I have been able to find.

"Oasis" @ TimeWellSpent.org -- $22.75
"Saga" @ Cardhaus.com -- $8.99
"Return of the Heroes" @ TimeWellSpent.org-- $33.25
"Under the Shadow of the Dragon" @ TimeWellSpent.org -- $26.75
"Nexus Ops" @ Cardhaus.com -- $29.99
"Vegas Showdown" @ Cardhaus.com -- $33.45
"Rocketville" @ Cardhaus.com -- $26.00
"Hoity Toity" @ TimeWellSpent.org -- $20.75
"Aquadukt" @ TimeWellSpent.org -- $17.75
"Sunken City" @ TimeWellSpent.org -- $25.75

Grand total -- $245.43 (and that does NOT include shipping)

I rest my case.

Board Game addict? Or simply "Good deal" addict?

We report. You decide.

(Oh, great! They're running a Tangathon today and Power Grid just went up for sale... Curses, I say!)

Testing 1, 2, 3...

Please do not adjust your Internet connection. This is only a test...

Nothing profound to share... yet.