Jennifer's 365 Project

After work Chris and I went hunting like all people in the urban and suburban area do from time to time - for packaged things. We were out and about looking for suitable wedding invitation stationary and accessories but we swung by Toys R Us to see what Green Lantern swag they had. As we near the movie release, more and more shelf space is dedicated to green-colored merchandise.

Another day of blue skies - in the middle of the day. The morning and afternoon (i.e. when I'm not at work) are still overcast. But I can go out on lunch and sit outside, which is always a wonderful thing.

I've played Portal on and off since I snagged it on Steam last year. It's a fun game, but I really only ever played it in small chunks.


Well, with the discount Amazon had over the weekend on Portal 2, I was in a rush to complete the first one before 2 arrived. Amazon shipped lightning fast and the game arrived a day ahead of schedule.

So I spent a chunk of the evening finishing up the last two levels. Level 19, the last level, in particular was amusing. While i enjoyed all the other levels, this was by far my favorite. And I finally understood the love and fandom that this game has.

Before the last level, I was mildly amused by the game and enjoyed the puzzles, but after playing the last level, I get it.

Plus the ending song [video] is incredibly amusing (and catchy). Now that some bonus maps are opened up I'm looking forward to playing those.

But first - I insisted that Chris and I play for a few minutes in the Portal 2 Co-Op. I'd heard reviews that it was harder, and frustrating, but so far we had nothing but fun. I'm sure the frustration comes in the later levels.

I'm really looking forward to playing more soon. And when Chris is busy, I still have the entire single player campaign.

Chris spent a large chunk of the evening crafting the wedding invitations. He really has an eye for what works and what doesn't, so I was excited to see the various versions throughout the evening without any of the stress of reconfiguring or redesigning anything. That also meant I was free to bounce around the apartment doing various random things.

I played a little bit of portal, and then I spent a chunk of the evening reading more of my book on the kindle.

The morning was slow going, but by afternoon Chris and I were ready to leave the house and do some errands. First up was vacuuming and washing the car. It was windy but sunny out, which is ok in my book.
We swung by an ice cream shop since I was craving a mint chocolate chip shake. I love those things.
After errands and shake purchasing we finally made it to Palmer Park for a quick stroll across the boardwalk and to enjoy some reading in the sun. They did repair the front portion of the boardwalk (which is better news than the boardwalk being permanently removed) but the back portion is still the warped and wobbly path we love. The boardwalk was even freshly adorned with religious graffiti.

We sat in the sun for a bit and did some reading, though it didn't last as long as I'd hoped. Clouds rolled in and the sky turned grey. *sigh*
Since we were kind of in the area of a Kmart, we swung by to see if they had any Green Lantern figures from the upcoming movie. Chris was able to find some more figures he was looking for, and he's slowly rounding out the group of movie figures he wants. Not bad since they technically hit the stores today.

Also, I see there's still selling NetZero service. Wow.

Today we headed back out to the east side of the state, this time to get some wedding plans cemented. First stop was the chapel in Davison, which is about 30 minutes south of Frankenmuth. So I can check that box as being done.

We had lunch with Chris's dad in Waterford then did some driving around in Troy looking for reception locations. We saw a couple of different places but an nice Italian restaurant near Somerset really stood out, so we're working to finalize that.

So we killed nearly two birds with one stone today, which is good progress. Being a small wedding we can cut out a lot of different things like a DJ and reception music selections. That relieves a lot of stress and hassle (and lets me get out of having to do any dancing, yay!).
On our way back we did a mini-toy hunt, hitting various stores just off the freeway looking for Green Lantern movie merchandise. Technically I guess stuff isn't supposed to hit shelves until May 1st, but we did run into several different action figures and party gear (which we found in the wedding supplies aisle). Now we're all set to hang out properly when Adam and Comfort (The Uniques) visit next weekend on Free Comic Book Day!

Nope! It's a blue sky, and on a Friday no less! Hooray!

I've had my DS since shortly after the platform launched. I loved my Game Boy Advance. I loved it so much that I had a friend help me install the afterburner kit so I could play it in the dark even. Then of course, the SP launched. I was less in love with it or the clamshell form factor. So I'm not really sure what prompted me to get a DS.

I've barely used it over the years. Instead I would just opt to play Game Boy games on my Advance. The DS was just too clunky and bulky. So as the DS handheld slimmed down in subsequent generations I've been eyeballing them waiting to get one decently (sub $100) priced.

With the 3DS I thought it might be a little easier to snag a DSi. I wouldn't say that there's been a larger flood of used DSi on the market, but I was able to get a used one relatively cheap. With all the upgrades (dsi shop, browser, cameras, etc) it's amusing, but to me it's really still just a gaming device. I have a phone (and an ipod) that can do all of those things and more.

Still, I'll dabble with homebrew once a workaround presents itself (since sudokuhax is now dead).

Now off to play some Pokemon Soulsilver.

Almost. There's a tail sticking out.

I'm amazed how much he enjoys balancing on things only slightly larger than himself.

The forecast over the next several days if that of rain. River flood warnings and tornadoes; all the hallmarks of spring in West Michigan.

Since it wasn't raining when I left for lunch, I headed over to the sheltered area at the Grand Rapids Art Museum to read a little and enjoy being outside.

I suspect the next several days will be darker and full of rain, so taking advantage while I can!

Enjoyed a brief lunch outdoors near Rosa Park Circle before the rain comes for the next few days. Lunch started out warm but toward the end it was chilly and starting to sprinkle. It was good to be outside a bit, even if it might be a few weeks before I can have most lunches outside again.

After making a pit stop in Davison to look at a wedding chapel, we arrived at my parents house around noon where an epic easter basket was waiting to be picked apart.
There was lots of candy to choose from so I took a few shots messing with a zoom filter I bought off of deal extreme a few months ago. It's designed to mostly distort the images around the edges and it does an interesting enough job. I really should more seriously mess with it and the extension tubes, especially now that flowers and greenery is starting to come up. But I digress...
It was a good visit with the family. Jeff showed off some cool video editing projects he'd been working on and Chris and I showed off Settlers of Catan to my parents. We'll have to carve out a Saturday to come back down and play with my dad - he seemed intrigued.
Tons of tasty food to be devoured, including lots of strawberries and bananas (both of which I ate copious amounts of). But the day wore on and we had to leave to start the long drive back to Grand Rapids. Most of the drive was visually interesting. Lots of clouds against the setting sun made for a nice view. So I was able to snap a few photos and just enjoy the ride.