End of Feastmas

Could you believe it? Late Wednesday evening, my cable and internet gets cut off for some reason. It wasn’t a technical problem because the screen stated to call my cable provider. I don’t know why that happened but I had no internet until today, which sucked. At least I was able to mess with the cable wires so that I was able to get basic cable and see the Macy’s parade. But that also meant that I was unable to post this update yesterday.

In any case, I hope everyone had a happy and safe Thanksgiving. I really hate driving that day because there are a lot of crazy people making stupid mistakes on the road. However, I did not have that problem because for me, there’s no place like home for the holidays. My wife and I made our own dinner, pigged out, and watched The Expendables 2 after the airing of Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving. I also managed to squeeze in Garfield’s Thanksgiving, which I own on DVD.

Perfect again!

Another thing I realized is that this month marks the three-year anniversary of this blog. WordPress sent me an alert with the info and I was surprised because it certainly does not feel like three years. I have slowed down with the blog posts but I think I was more active this past year than last. Sometimes things get in the way but ideas eventually find me and then the blog gets active. I especially like to give props to Thanksgiving, a holiday that seems to get lost in between Halloween and Christmas. That is a shame because it is certainly one of my favorites.

I don’t plan on ending my blog anytime soon and should definitely find more time to write. I still have several more Thanksgiving themed posts that I haven’t gotten to but I’ll just save them for next year. Screw it; I should just do another Feastmas since I wasn’t satisfied with this year’s. A good strategy I should follow is to write all the posts ahead of schedule in case of any unforeseen circumstances that may delay any articles.

If I do continue Feastmas next year, it should be an interesting one due to some possible changes. If all goes according to plan, I may do a major relocation from the East Coast to the Midwest. I don’t want to get into major details at the moment but if everything works out, I should have all kinds of new material for the Thanksgiving countdown.

Hopefully I don’t run into people like this.

So this ends Feastmas for this year. It didn’t turn out exactly the way I wanted, but I am satisfied. Maybe I missed out posting this on Thanksgiving, but it still is Thanksgiving weekend. Enjoy the rest of the weekend and get all your Christmas shopping finished early!

Related articles

• Take That X-Factor: Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Dominates Ratings! (contactmusic.com)
• 15 Thanksgiving Day Parade Photos from Mashable Readers (mashable.com)

Thanksgiving Mobile Apps.

Thanksgiving is only two days away and I’m getting excited to eat turkey and watch the Macy’s parade. However, I wish I had more time to write more articles for Feastmas, but this 12 hour shift labor job is kicking my butt. I’ll just suck it up and work with what I got.

I’ve wanted to write this post for a while but there’s not much themed apps that fit Thanksgiving. I also wanted to include apps that are more holiday specific than simple ones that lets you book airplane tickets. Something more entertaining while letting you know what specific holiday is presented. I’ve covered 5 apps and most of them are for both iPhone and Android phones.

Cookie Dozer Thanksgiving. (iPhone/Android)

This dozer app is similar to those arcade machines where you drop a quarter and if that coin lands in a spot where it pushes other coins off a small ledge, you earn tickets or sometimes more coins. However, instead of coins, you get cookies in the shape of leaves and you get points when you push other cookies off the front ledge.

Cookies that fall off the side ledges get zero points. Randomly, special items such as pies or turkeys appear and you can get bonus points if they fall off the proper ledge. This is a fun way to kill time and is impressive considering that it’s free.

Thanksgiving Solitaire. (iPhone/Android)

I think the title is self explanatory. You’re basically playing solitaire on your phone. It is pretty cool though because it has holiday colors of maroon and orange and also have themed images on some of the cards such as pumpkin pie or turkeys.

I started playing the game to review it and forgotten how fun and challenging the game can be when trying to complete a set. It’s been a few years and I’ve started figuring out advanced strategies I never thought of when I was younger. Give it a shot.

Thanksgiving Dinner Coach by CHOW (iPhone)

If anyone is cooking a Thanksgiving dinner for the first time, this app is an essential tool. It lets you choose what you want to serve, create a shopping list, and how to cook everything.

With this app, there is nothing you will forget to pick up and you’ll avoid ending up on a long line at the supermarket on Wednesday night for one damn can of cranberry sauce. Definitely check this one out.

Thanksgiving Mahjong. (iPhone/Android)

Just like the solitiare game, this is a free Mahjong game with a Thanksgiving theme. Unlike that game, I have never played this game before. I’ve been so busy and truthfully, I’ve included this because there aren’t many themed apps to be so picky about. It does seem like an interesting game and I do plan on learning how to play it at some point. Maybe I will learn in time to play the Christmas version offered by the same app company.

It would be interesting if more games adapted holiday themes in their games. I know Angry Birds has done it, which I love. I wonder what kind of missions would be in Grand Theft Auto and Thanksgiving. Stealing turkeys? Floatjacking at the Thanksgiving parade? The possibilities are endless.

Jive Turkey. (iPhone)

This is the only game that is solely available for iPhone but I wanted to include it because it is fun. It reminds me of Fruit Ninja in which items would quickly move in and out of the screen and instead of slicing the items, you have to tap the screen in order to shoot the targets.

There are turkeys of course and other power ups like timers to extend time and bullets to replenish your ammo, along with the dreaded skull which will end your game if shot. It is another simple yet fun time killer. You know, in case you hate to read books.

I’m sure as time goes on, there will be even more Thanksgiving apps since the popularity of mobile apps is still going very strong and doesn’t seem like they’re leaving anytime soon. Try these apps out and get into the holiday spirit!

Related articles

• Thanksgiving Apps Go Well With Turkey (hispanicbusiness.com)
• Make The Best Thanksgiving Dinner Ever With These Apps (appadvice.com)
• Thanksgiving smartphone apps look to make dinner prep easier (fox6now.com)

 

I am Thankful.

I can’t believe that it’s Thanksgiving week. I was just out today shopping for extra sides for Thursday’s meals and waiting in line at the supermarket longer than usual with others who had the same plans. I was planning on buying my turkey today, however my son came home from school with the basic essentials for a Thanksgiving meal. I’m assuming that because of the hurricane, there must have been holiday donations given out at the school. I’ve gotten rolls, sweet potatoes in a can, corn, carrots, a turkey, and Stove Top stuffing. I guess it does make sense since my neighborhood is basically a disaster area and there have been a tremendous amount of donations given in the area. Since things are tight at the moment, I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

I’ve taken a picture of the corn and carrots in the can because I did not recognize the logos or brand names. The carrots brand name is Happy Harvest and the corn is from Foodtown. Foodtown does sound a bit familiar but I couldn’t place it. I did a search and Foodtown is the name of a supermarket, which is around certain areas of NYC, but not around me. Happy Harvest is a brand name from the Aldi supermarkets, which have several stores in the local New Jersey area.

It’s also hard to see in the picture but the turkey brand is Round Hill, a brand that can locally be found in Wegman’s supermarket, which are also located in New Jersey. After completing this small sleuthing, it occurred to me that this food was donated here from surrounding areas looking to help out people affected by Hurricane Sandy. I think it shows the goodness in people, which is something to be thankful for, whether or not you see the generosity up close and personal.

I now also see the eagerness of others wanting to help with my new job. There are people making food and serving it for free near where I work. It helps the neighborhood because there are still people in the immediate area without power. People I work with and others who are cleaning up the area get free lunch willingly from these awesome people.

I started this week as part of park and beach cleanup, which has fellow coworkers and I relocating sand due to extreme beach erosion. The job is pretty tough and our crew is slowly getting smaller, but my body is adjusting to the work and I really like what the primary goal is. For the past year, I have been running on the boardwalk and bike paths in this area, but can no longer do so due to the storm. It was quite depressing to see all the damage in the area and a complete sense of normalcy will not come until the park and beach reopens.

Sand from the beach on the nearby street.

It’s also the tiredness of my job that has made me miss a few days of posting for Feastmas, but I plan to post daily until Thanksgiving, one of my most favorite holidays ever. It’s only three more posts left until Feastmas is over and I really want to get a few more articles in. Nothing specific, but just to celebrate Thanksgiving my way.

Related articles

• 6 Budget Friendly Thanksgiving Traditions (fatwallet.com)