Rant: New Board Games

I broke open a new game to play with my kids called "Don't Spill the Beans." Well, it's not really new, try the original came out in 1967. However, the one my kids were about to play was the modern version. I opened the box and out popped stickers, plastic parts, and of course the pouch of beans. My question is why in this day and age do we need to slap stickers on a board game before we use it? When I was little I don't ever remember having to wait for my mom to apply stickers to any of my games. After I applied the stickers I then realized I had to divide up the little beans but there was no trays or cups to sort them in so I had to go get some mugs from my cabinet. This to me is like having to supply the marbles to hungry, hungry hippos. What if I was out some where and didn't have these mugs? I'm just saying.

After further research I found a picture of the old game....low and behold, it came with cups/trays that each player kept their beans in.

My kids and I got tired of it after a couple of rounds and they went to grab something else out of the laundry room. This time it was Sorry Sliders. We played it once before just after Christmas but hadn't used it since and the pieces, were of course, all over the place because the gaming company always gives you that cheap ass bag that you have to rip open by applying too much pressure with your thumb just to get the pieces out. Why is it I can buy hot dogs that come in a resealable package which I may or may not need the package after I've made the meal, but something I KNOW I will be using the package over again comes in a throw away bag-like cellophane. Does it really cost that much more to add a ziploc of some kind to the board game? It just seems like such an odd thing that game board companies have either not figured out but can figure out a way to use a debit card for monopoly, or choose not to in hopes that you will be one of those poor souls out of a ziploc and will then have the misfortune of losing the pieces and then having to buy a new game all together just to replace one simple, tiny piece.

Rave: George Forman Grill

Since I am the ultimate penny pincher, deal finder, price haggler, etc....I did not buy the George Forman Grill like everyone else did like 10 years ago. I don't usually believe the hype of "as seen on tv" products and tend to shy away from even considering them.

I have come to own a George Forman Grill because I went to a penny party and happened to put in only a couple tickets since I was assuming if it was there it either sucked or was broken. Needless to say I was very skeptical of this product as it seemed to be more of a fad than a regular household product. I've never went over someone's house and saw a George Forman Grill just sitting out like a blender or a toaster. Obviously, I won the grill at the penny party, which means I paid literally about 5 cents for it...GOOD DEAL!

I went shopping yesterday and bought some hamburgers and hot dogs because I was in the mood to try out the BBQ Grill that we have in the garage. When we moved in the landlord said we can have anything that was still in the garage which included a BBQ grill, charcoal, and lighter fluid. Well when I got home and went to set up the grill I saw that someone had stolen the charcoal and lighter fluid but left the grill. I think I know who did it. The landlord had some guys come in and paint upstairs and where the charcoal was is now where the left over paint barrels are and plus no one else has the key that we know of.

So..I was stuck for a grill and that's when I remembered I had won the George Forman Grill. I said what the hell plugged it in and slapped a burger on it. It worked beautifully. The burger was all the way done and even though the grease had drained off it had still remained juicy. I was expecting dried out shoe leather honestly but I was pleasantly amazed. I then figured if it can do hamburgers then what about hot dogs so I put 2 on and viola it worked, 2 perfect hot dogs with the BBQ lines. I got to say I was very amazed with this product and the fact it only cost me 5 cents just further does it for my love of the George Forman Grill. I would have paid more for it if I knew it was going to be so convenient. Another plus side of this item is that there was very little smoke. If I would have cooked this on the stove it would have set off every smoke detector in the house and I would have been getting grease splatter all over the place and burning me. This didn't do that. YAY for the George Forman Grill...5 stars!