100% in Fun, If Not in Score

My favourite video games are the Lego series of video games, as I'm the type of gamer who loves smashing stuff, collecting stuff, and playing through an action/adventure. I also love cute characters. Over the past few weeks I played Lego Marvel Superheroes, which was a lot of fun and reminded me that I really enjoy superheroes. I never read comics as a kid, but I have seen a lot of superhero movies and this game introduced me to a lot of characters I had never heard of before. So if they ever do make the Deadpool movie, I have a better idea of who he is now. Playing through these Marvel characters also encouraged me to get caught up with the X-Men movies, which were pretty good.

My only complaint with Lego Marvel Superheroes, was the controls for flying characters (and some of the driving controls, also). In non-timed events I could fly well enough to do what needed to be done, but there were a number of flying races that I just could not complete. The last day I played this game, I spent over an hour racing Silver Surfer, re-trying over and over, and I showed absolutely no signs of improvement. As I didn't want to spend countless hours attempting (and failing) the remaining flying races (there were seven races left to complete) I decided to call it a day on the game. I had a lot of fun with the 99.2% of the game I did complete, and didn't want to ruin my experience with hours of feeling frustrated just to get the other 0.08%.

So I didn't quite get 100%, but I did pretty damn good and had a fun filled time along the way.

Character tokens: 114/115. Missing: Silver Surfer (unlocked after beating him in a flying race and completing two additional missions at his command)

Gold Bricks: 241/250. Missing: Nine bricks.

• Two of the bricks are earned with Silver Surfer (beating him in a flying race and completing a mission for him)
• Six of the bricks are earned by completing timed flying races throughout New York:
• Race on top of X Mansion
• Race on top of a gas station
• Race at the Dockyards
• Race in the sky above the water by the Dockyards
• Race between and around two buildings
• Race just off the helicarrier
• One brick earned from a long and tedious remote control car timed race (I spent way too long trying to get this one. I had real difficulty with the driving controls in some places.) 

This was my first time playing a Lego game on the Xbox 360, so I also unlocked most of the Xbox achievements too (44/45). The missing achievement was get 100% in the game.

Previous Lego Video Game Posts
On A Lego Kick
Lego Batman 100%
Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 100%
Lego Indiana Jones 100% and Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7 100%
Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes 100%
Lego Pirates of the Caribbean 100% and Lego Lord of the Rings 100%
Lego Video Gaming 

Blogging in 2015

April 2015 will mark my 5th anniversary of blogging on My Adorable Small Town Life. Holy shitsnacks!

Over the years I have posted regularly on the blog (2013), irregularly (2012), and a mixture between regularly and irregularly (2014).

My goal this year is to have a blog up at least Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Three days a week instead of five will help me be more consistent, and at that rate I will still total around 150 posts by year's end (a good number, I think).

My preferred way to blog is to write my posts in advance and schedule them, which is what I will continue to do this year. The odd time I'll write the same day I post, but mostly I'll stick to scheduling.

There is also a shiny new "Subscribe By Email" button in the right hand side bar of the blog (just above my Twitter feed). So if you want posts to go strait to your inbox, feel free to subscribe. On post days, the emails are sent out around 7:00am (EST).

Happy Blogging in 2015!

Caramel Popcorn #FoodPicFriday

Having a cold over Christmas means a slight delay in treat making/consumption. Once I was feeling better I made a big batch of caramel corn, a tradition of mine around the holidays. This was more of a New Year's treat, but it was yummy as always. You can find the recipe here.

Happy New Year!!!

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year. Wishing you all the best in 2015! :)

Reading Even More of ALL the Books

Last year I participated in the Goodreads reading challenge, setting a goal of 25 books. I ended up reading 31 books and decided to take the challenge again this year. I kept the goal the same (25 books) as I didn't want to pressure myself to do something fun. Early in the year it was clear I had to up the goal to 30, as I was on a steady course to surpass 25 books again. And I didn't stop at 30. As of today I have read 41 books this year! Holy jumping!! In the past two years I've read 72 books, and that makes me feel really happy. I also read some really great books, and that makes me feel even happier!

To check out the 41 books I read in 2014, click on over to Goodreads to check out my list. 

The following is the Top 6 books/series I read this year, in no particular order.

The Dark Tower by Stephen King
I read the first four in this eight book series this year and I am hooked. I love Roland and his ka-tet and I can often be heard quoting the sayings of the Gunslinger around the house. I absolutely love it, and am happy there are still four more books for me to read.



The Parker Novels by Richard Stark
I realized last year that I like the genre Hardboiled. I started with Elmore Leonard and then our friend James told us about the Parker novels. He was so excited about them that I had to look them up. This year I read the first two in the series, and then books 19 and 20 (there are 24 novels in total). I am hooked. They are fun and fast.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman
I have seen the movie about a zillion times and decided to pick up the book. I read it so fast, even though I knew what was coming. I loved it as much as I love the movie. Which is a lot.





The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)
I love J.K. Rowling and she has never given me a reason not to. Each book is better than the last, and this latest mystery under the Robert Galbraith pseudonym was so much fun to read. Cormoran Strike is a well written dude that I love reading about.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I never picked up this book before this year and somehow avoided all spoilers on what it was about. When I got to the finish it blew my mind, hitting every note I love in good drama. I loved it and totally get why people are still talking about it.




The Circle by Dave Eggers
This was a recommendation from my friend Tasha (who famously recommended to me one of favourite series: The Dresden Files). This is one of the last books I read in 2014 and I couldn't put it down. It was so fast paced and fun to read. It was a near-future dystopia where privacy was viewed as a bad thing and there were many horrifying ideas on how to make everything "open". It was really scary and really fun to read.