Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone! I hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday!

Cameron and I will be staying home tonight since we both need to be up by 5am tomorrow. I still hold on to the small hope that I will have Trick or Treaters come to my door. I grew up out in the country and no one would come to our door. We would have to migrate to town just to Trick or Treat ourselves. Now that Cameron and I have moved back out into a rural area, my hope has dwindled, but I am still prepared!

On a side note, I've been inside my head a lot lately thinking about my online presence and how I would like to continue. As of right now, my main focus will become this blog and it's written content. I want to make an effort to create a more visual style of writing, with screenshots and infographics, less video and audio content. I've stretched myself too thin between everything going on in my life right now, not to mention I've become very disillusioned with YouTube as of late and I want to pull myself away from supplying video content completely. There is the potential I will make personal videos (vlogs and the like) or podcasts in the future, but if I do I will take my work to Vimeo.

I appreciate your patience as I feel out this new format. It will take me a few weeks to prepare, but I'm confident it will be worth it once I've worked it all out. I remember the people who support and interact with me on here and when I am able, I'd like to reward you. Please let me know if you have any questions!

The Walking Dead - The First 30 Minutes

Hello and welcome to an introductory 30 minute look at The Walking Dead. This is not a review, this is a first impression for you, the viewer, to get an idea of what this game has in store for you should you choose to purchase and play it for yourself.

The Walking Dead is an adventure video game, developed and published by Telltale Games.

The Walking Dead is a five-part game series set in the same universe as Robert Kirkman’s award-winning comic book series. Play as Lee Everett, a convicted criminal, who has been given a second chance at life in a world devastated by the undead. With corpses returning to life and survivors stopping at nothing to maintain their own safety, protecting an orphaned girl named Clementine may offer him redemption in a world gone to hell.

You can find out more about The Walking Dead and purchase it here.

The Walking Dead is also available via Steam.

If you like this video please support me by subscribing to this blog and my YouTube channel.

Avila Barn and Gopher Glen

My husband, parents and I visited the Avila Barn and Gopher Glen Apple Farm this weekend to pick up pumpkins and cider.

Traditionally the Avila Barn is a great spot to buy the freshest locally grown seasonal fruit and vegetables, among other edible treats. During Halloween, you can pick your own pumpkin or choose one from the mounds of pumpkins piled high. There are hayrides, a hay bale maze and farm pets.

Besides our Jack-O-Lantern pumpkins, my husband picked up a couple of sugar pumpkins to make a soup he learned off of Alton Brown’s show. The original recipe called for goat cheese, but it’s actually much better with cream cheese.

After the Barn we were off to Gopher Glen Apple Farm, which has the hands down best apples on the Central Coast. Here, multiple apple products and several apple varieties are available for you to try samples of, and then you can select whichever is your favorite by the bagful.

Apples are amazing, but what I go for is the apple cider: sweet, juicy apple cider. Last year I bought a gallon of cider and between my husband and I, it was gone within a week. This year I bought two gallons, muahahaha!

Batman: Arkham City - The First 30 Minutes

Hello and welcome to an introductory 30 minute look at Batman: Arkham City. This is not a review, this is a first impression for you, the viewer, to get an idea of what this game has in store for you should you choose to purchase and play it for yourself.

Batman: Arkham City is an action adventure game, developed by Rocksteady Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

Batman is incarcerated in Arkham City, a massive new super-prison enclosing the decaying urban slums of fictional Gotham City, where he must uncover the secret behind the sinister scheme, "Protocol 10", orchestrated by the facilities warden, Hugo Strange. The game is presented from the third-person perspective with a primary focus on Batman's combat and stealth abilities, detective skills, and gadgets that can be used in both combat and exploration. Arkham City expands Batman's arsenal of gadgets and combat attacks and offers a more open world structure, allowing the player to complete side missions away from the primary storyline.

You can find out more about Batman: Arkham City here.

Batman: Arkham City is also available on steam.

If you like this video please support me by subscribing to this blog and my YouTube channel.

Batman: Arkham Asylum - The First 30 Minutes

Hello and welcome to an introductory 30 minute look at Batman: Arkham Asylum. This is not a review, this is a first impression for you, the viewer, to get an idea of what this game has in store for you should you choose to purchase and play it for yourself.

Batman: Arkham Asylum is an action adventure game, developed by Rocksteady Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

Batman's archenemy, the Joker, instigates an elaborate plot to seize control of Arkham Asylum and trap Batman inside with many of his incarcerated foes. With Joker threatening to detonate hidden bombs around fictional Gotham City, Batman is forced to fight his way through the asylum's inmates and put an end to the Joker's plans. The game is presented from the third-person perspective with a primary focus on Batman's combat and stealth abilities, detective skills, and gadgets that can be used in combat and exploration.

You can find out more about Batman: Arkham Asylum and purchase it on Steam.

If you like this video please support me by subscribing to this blog and my YouTube channel.

DIY bat cave

Although Cameron and I rent three rooms in a house, there is no excuse for not getting into the Halloween spirit! Not only do I love autumn, I love showing my appreciation and passion for different occasions. It also gives someone who is artistically inclined a creative outlet for their talents.

Today we’re making felt and paper bat Halloween décor to turn our office room into a bat cave. I originally found the idea off of Pinterest and the bat pattern is from Country Living. I’m using the felt bats I made last year combined with a new batch of paper bats to create a huge amount of bats. Cameron and I love Batman, so I thought I would make us a “Bat Cave”.

YOU CAN FIND DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO MAKE THE BATS, HERE.

DIY Halloween garland

Although Cameron and I rent three rooms in a house, there is no excuse for not getting into the Halloween spirit! Not only do I love autumn, I love showing my appreciation and passion for different occasions. It also gives someone who is artistically inclined a creative outlet for their talents.

Today we’re making a Halloween garland to start theming out our office room into a bat cave. I’m using the felt bats I made last year combined with a new batch of paper bats to create a huge amount of bats, but more about bats on Monday, for now let’s work on setting the mood with lighting.

Let’s talk about supplies:

• I’ve purchased a twenty foot light strand to drape around the room with purple bulbs and black cords to fit with the theme of the room and Halloween. 
• To cover the exposed wiring in between each bulb I’ve purchased a yard and a half each of three different Halloween inspired fabrics. 
• To cut the fabric into strips, I borrowed a rotary cutter from my craftacular Mom. If you are cutting fabric this way, make sure to also use a cutting mat of some sort so you don’t damage your tables/floors. You can also use fabric scissors instead.

Cut each fabric into strips about 9 inches long by 1 to 2 inches wide.

Lay out the light strand and begin tying the fabric strips in knots on the exposed wiring between each bulb. You can do this any way you want, I like alternating fabrics.

Hang and enjoy!

Dead Island - The First 30 Minutes

Hello and welcome to an introductory 30 minute look at Dead Island. This is not a review, this is a first impression for you, the viewer, to get an idea of what this game has in store for you should you choose to purchase and play it for yourself.

Dead Island is a single player or co-op action role-playing video game, developed by Techland and published by Deep Silver.

Terror. Violence. Madness. Bedlam. A holiday paradise gone mad. A tropical island turns into total chaos after a mysterious zombie outbreak. Cut off from the rest of the world, the player’s only chance to survive is to fight to the death and find a way to escape from the island. Dead Island combines first-person action with a heavy focus on melee combat, character development and customization of a vast array of weapons. All of these gameplay features are presented in a dark story inspired by classic zombie movies with a gritty and engrossing campaign that can be played with up to four players in co-op mode.

You can find out more about Dead Island and purchase it here.

Dead Island is also available via Steam.

If you like this video please support me by subscribing to this blog and my YouTube channel.

Horror game poll

I am a huge coward when it comes to horror games, horror movies I can handle no problem, but horror games? I can’t…I can’t cope. My theory is that I am somewhat removed from a movie, watching their actions and events unfold without my involvement. Video games on the other hand require the player to propel events forward. I get so tense and focused on any little action that I jump out of my skin when anything on the screen suddenly changes, ANYTHING.

Through purchasing humble bundles I’ve come into the possession of Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Dead Space. In celebration of Halloween, I will play the first 30 minutes of one or the other, alone in a room, in the dark and post it on Halloween. The choice is up to you, leave a comment below and whichever one you pick, I will suffer through…

The choice is yours…

Left 4 Dead 2 - The First 30 Minutes

Hello and welcome to an introductory 30 minute look at Left 4 Dead 2. This is not a review, this is a first impression for you, the viewer, to get an idea of what this game has in store for you should you choose to purchase and play it for yourself.

Left 4 Dead 2 is a single player or co-op action video game, developed and published by Valve.

Set in the zombie apocalypse, Left 4 Dead 2 takes you (and your friends) through the cities, swamps and cemeteries of the Deep South, from Savannah to New Orleans across five expansive campaigns. You'll play as one of four new survivors armed with a wide and devastating array of classic and upgraded weapons. In addition to firearms, you'll also get a chance to take out some aggression on infected with a variety of carnage-creating melee weapons, from chainsaws to axes and even the deadly frying pan.

You can find out more about Left 4 Dead 2 here.

Left 4 Dead 2 is also available via Steam.

If you like this video please support me by subscribing to this blog and my YouTube channel.

Halloween movie list 2013

Viewers beware you're in for a scare! Or...something like that…

Welcome to the spooky month of October my friends! This month hosts one of my favorite holidays of the year, Halloween!

If you're looking to get yourself in the mood for the season, I (and my friends and family) have devised a list of "scary" movies we thought fit this time of year with a section of tamer movies for younger audiences. Undoubtedly there are many movies out there that are categorized under "horror", but we tried to aim it a little more towards the supernatural for the sake of length. Originals and remakes were not specified as I normally enjoy watching both. You are welcome to contribute your thoughts on movies we may have missed or left out that you feel should be included.

I am going draw a line through the movies we've watched this year!

Ghostly Activity

• 13 Ghosts 
• Beetlejuice 
• Christine 
• Creepshow 
• Ghostbusters 
• House on Haunted Hill 
• Poltergeist 
• Sleepy Hollow 
• Sometimes They Come Back 
• The Fog 
• The Frighteners 
• The Haunting 
• The Legend of Hell House 
• The Others 
• The Ring 
• The Shining 
• The Wraith

Hell

• Children of the Corn 
• Drag Me to Hell 
• Exorcist: The Beginning 
• Hellraiser 
• Rosemary’s Baby 
• Something Wicked This Way Comes 
• The Exorcist 
• The Omen

Monsters

• Bride of Frankenstein 
• Cujo 
• Edward Scissorhands 
• Frankenstein 
• Gremlins 
• Swamp Thing 
• The Blob 
• Young Frankenstein

Murderers

• Arsenic and Old Lace 
• Halloween 
• Friday the 13th 
• Nightmare on Elm Street 
• Psycho 
• Scream 
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre 
• The House of Wax

Out of this World

• Cabin in the Woods 
• Little Shop of Horrors 
• Phantasm 
• The Mist 
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show 
• The Thing 
• The Watcher in the Woods 
• Village of the Damned

Psychic

• Carrie 
• Flatliners 
• Rose Red 
• The Dead Zone

Vampires

• Bram Stoker's Dracula 
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer 
• Dark Shadows 
• Dracula Dracula Dead and Loving it
• Fright Night
• From Dusk 'Til Dawn
• Interview with the Vampire
• Let Me In
• Lost Boys
• Salem's Lot

Werewolves

• An American Werewolf in London
• Silver Bullet
• The Howling
• The Wolfman
• Wolf

Witches

• Lord of Illusions
• The Craft
• The Witches

Young Audience

• Casper
• Coraline
• Frankenweenie
• Hocus Pocus
• Hotel Transylvania
• Igor
• It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
• Little Monsters
• Monster House
• Monster Squad
• The Addams Family
• The Adventures of Ichabod Crane
• The Corpse Bride
• The Haunted Mansion
• The Nightmare Before Christmas
• Tower of Terror
• Scooby Doo (Any)

Zombie

• 28 Days Later
• Dawn of the Dead
• Day of the Dead
• Evil Dead
• House of the Dead
• Land of the Dead
• Night of the Living Dead
• Pet Sematary
• Resident Evil
• Shaun of the Dead
• Zombieland

Left 4 Dead - The First 30 Minutes

Hello and welcome to an introductory 30 minute look at Left 4 Dead. This is not a review, this is a first impression for you, the viewer, to get an idea of what this game has in store for you should you choose to purchase and play it for yourself.

Left 4 Dead is a single player or co-op. action video game, developed and published by Valve.

Set in the immediate aftermath of the zombie apocalypse, Left 4 Dead’s survival mode lets you blast a path through the infected in four unique “movies,” guiding your survivors across the rooftops of an abandoned metropolis, through rural ghost towns and pitch-black forests in your quest to escape a devastated Ground Zero crawling with infected enemies. Each "movie" is comprised of five large maps, and can be played by one to four human players, with an emphasis on team-based strategy and objectives.

You can find out more about Left 4 Dead and purchase it here.

Left 4 Dead is also available via Steam.

If you like this video please support me by subscribing to this blog and my YouTube channel.