SodaStream Sparkling Summer House Party: MISSION COMPLETE!

So our SodaStream Sparkling Summer House Party (made possible courtesy of HouseParty.com and SodaStream) was a success for the most part... it would have been a complete success if the weather had permitted it!

Everyone seemed to have a good time, and had fun learning how to use the SodaStream. I planned it as a potluck style party, so I was able to have some fun too for a change... that was definitely nice! I was originally aiming to have an outdoor party, but it was so gloomy out that I never moved the party to my front yard. We still found some fun stuff to do though; we ended up watching Finding Nemo and playing Apples To Apples and Uno.

Foodwise, I think we had a pretty good mix. I made Ramen Salad, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies, and a turkey. Yes, you heard (or read...) me right, a turkey! We had it in the freezer, so I figured, "Why not?" My friend Heather made gluten-free Chocolate Cupcakes w/ Peanut Butter Frosting. Megan, my friend and awesome co-worker, made crock-pot little weenies... yum! And my mom made vegan no-bake cookies... SOOO GOOOD!!! So much good food... which is why I love my friends and family. Well, that, and they are also AWESOME! (^_^)

During the party, we tried four different SodaStream Soda Mixes: Root Beer, Cola, Orange, and Ginger Ale. We also made a soda with some vegan friendly syrup my mom bought for my sister (who, as you may have just guessed, is vegan). The Ginger Ale was a big hit, as was the Root Beer, which we used to make root beer floats later in the day! The Orange Soda was a bit of a miss... no one was really sure if they liked that much.

I have to say, after seeing how quickly I can supply soda during a party with my SodaStream, I'm certain it will be included in all of my future parties. Not to mention I get a kick out of watching peoples initial reaction to the machine in action. I swear they think it's going to blow up or something... though with the sounds it makes I suppose it is a bit scary at first, haha.

My mom is planning on buying one now, as is one of my friends. I suppose the $20 rebates I was given to hand out to my guest might have helped in the decision making process, haha. So I guess I could call that a success, right?

Here are some photos from the party!

(As well some from the days leading up to it...)

The Party Pack Arrives

Reading the welcome letter and having a quick peek inside...

Taking a selfie with the Party Pack... of course I had to inflate the beach ball first, haha!

Our brand new SodaStream Source, courtesy of HouseParty and SodaStream!

Look at all of the nifty things I pulled out of the Party Pack!

Goodie Bags All Ready To Go!

Baking some Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies the night before the party... NOM!

Party day is here! Snapping a photo of the sign I made the night before.

The first bottle of soda of the day! I was Ginger Ale, if you were curious. (Awesome photo taken by Megan)

Playing Apples To Apples and watching Finding Nemo, haha.

My friend Heather made these delicious gluten-free Chocolate Cupcakes w/ Peanut Butter Frosting! As you can see, one of the cupcakes had too much fun at our party. Go home Cupcake, you are drunk!

Root Beer Floats FTW!!!!

The aftermath of the party... judging from this mess, I believe the party was a success... yes?

Thanks again to HouseParty and SodaStream for this awesome opportunity! We had a blast! (^_^)

---

Questions and comments are always welcome, read, and replied to...

So go ahead and leave me something!

And as always...

Thanks for reading! (^_^)

'The Last Airbender': Why Did I Watch You Again?

First of all, I am NOT just being a whiny fangirl. I'm usually pretty open when it comes to adaptations of my favorite books/tv shows/etc. into different forms of media. I mean, I loved Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series, but I still gave the TV adaptation, Legend of the Seeker, a chance, and ended up loving that too... although it had very little in common with the books.

Having recently finished Season 1 of Avatar: The Last Airbender, I was excited to finally get to watch the movie. I had heard some griping about it, but I usually ignore others opinions on movies until I have watched them myself. I like to at least give movies a chance.

However...

The Last Airbender ≠ Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Not in any way, shape, or form. It's not just that it was almost NOTHING like the TV show. That was besides the point. The mispronunciation of character names, the not so interesting take on the story, those things bugged me. It was like M. Night Shyamalan didn't even TRY to make a good movie. That is probably not the case, but he kinda failed, and that makes me a little disappointed in him.


The visuals were ok at points... but to tell you the truth, the movie just wasn't memorable. Seriously, If you asked me to tell you something I remembered from the movie right now, I could basically only tell you that how Katara and Sokka found Aang in the movie was nothing like in the show, and that the mispronunciation of Aang and Sokka's names was just stupid and make me want to kick M. Night Shyamalan in the shins. 

I'm sorry to be so harsh... Shyamalan has been involved in some pretty good movies (The Sixth Sense, Stuart Little... two movie I liked.). I just wish he had put a little more effort into this one... I was SOOO excited about this movie.

I usually do not like when movies are re-done... best example would be Charlie and the Chocolate Factory... what a mess that was! But I really think if someone decided to re-make The Last Airbender, I would be perfectly fine with it. That is, as long as they didn't screw things up too... then we would be stuck with TWO bad films! Ouch!

---

Do you think I'm wrong? Right? Just have something to say? Then feel free to leave me a comment! I always read/reply!

Thanks to my friend Amanda for suggesting this topic. (^_^)

And as always...

Thanks for reading!

Shantelle's Video Game Adventures - LEGO® Harry Potter™: Years 5-7

My boyfriend bought me LEGO® Harry Potter™: Years 5-7 for Christmas. I was super excited about him getting it because one, I love the Harry Potter books/movies, and two, I thought it would fun to play as LEGO® people. However, while the game is pretty fun and I like playing it, I am VERY confused about it right now.

First of all, I completed the first level, but I did so not even knowing what I did. I've also found that a lot of things are not explained very well in the game, and even looking in the booklet that came with the game doesn't really help. Another frustrating thing is that I can't seem to find any walkthroughs for the game, which would be VERY useful in helping to make sure I'm not missing anything important instruction-wise.


(BTW, if anyone out there knows of a good walkthrough, I would appreciate it immensely if you could link me to it. Thanks in advance!)
Other than those issues, the game is pretty amusing. It's obviously aimed more towards children, but it's great for my short attention span, haha. I like that you get to play as so many different characters; you even get to play as the kids' pets at certain points! I also think it's neat seeing the buildings and everything in LEGO® form.
 

I'm hoping I get through this game fairly quickly in comparison to how long it takes me to complete my other games... even if it takes a year that would be quick enough. I'm pretty sure I'm the least speedy gamer on Earth, haha.

Want to check the game out for yourself? Here's a link to the game's website, where you can watch gameplay videos and such: LEGO.com Harry Potter Years 5-7, The Videogame

---

Don't forget to leave me something in the comments! And as always. thanks for reading!