Celestia Promo Card (mini-review)

Time for a short review on one of my favorite board games! 

The first promo I got was the grappling hook. It allows you to jump back onto the ship if you jumped out too early. 

It's not necessary to get because it was included in later expansions but I picked up a few because they were free and didn't add anything to shipping. 

This next one is the "Instructor" He let's you dig through the deck and switch out a treasure card. Not as powerful as I thought it'd be because you only benefit from it on lower point cards, but fun to have in my set all the same. 

 The final one is a new city tile you start on called Martyoshburg. 

This let's you do one of 3 things at the beginning of a round:

1) Draw a card

2) Exchange cards in your hand with those from the deck

3) Discard your treasure card to the bottom of the deck for the next card on top

I like this one, though it isn't used that much in our games unless you're close to the win and are looking for a higher point card, OR you're hand sucks and you want to discard your cards for better ones. 

Worth having but not necessary to enjoy the game with. 

All in all, I'm glad I have them and can recommend them if you're a big fan of the game! 

Ranking the Bang drinks (part 3)

 

10) Bangster Berry

Blueberry flavor. My favorite. The problem with this drink is it's hard to find in stores these days. In fact, I never see it at all anymore which is why it's not higher on my list. You have to special order them online a cost, which sucks. Who knows how high it'd rank if I could try it again. 

9) Starblast

Another early favorite of mine when I first started drinking these. I've had it recently and moved it down the list a little. This is Megan's #1. 

8) Peach Mango

Another flavor that wouldn't have made it this high on the list unless I'd had it recently. It's amazing!! I love peach and it's such a smooth flavor that I plan on getting it more regularly from now on. 

7) Purple Kiddles

It taste like the purple Flintstone vitamins from my childhood. I know that sounds weird, but I love it! Unfortunately like Bangster Berry this is a very hard flavor for me to find. I see it very rarely and always get it if I do. 

6) Strawberry Blast

THE BEST strawberry flavored drink. It's like fresh strawberries. Really impressed by this one. Only one gas station in town carries it and when we lived in Monroe, I'd stop by every Sunday on the way to church and pick up a can. 

Now that we live in West Monroe I haven't been back but really should. It's one of the best flavors they have!

5) Sour Heads

A former #1 for me. I still love it just gotten a little tired of them since I have so many. It's also in the Sam's Club pack I get and is the best of the bunch as far as I'm concerned. 

4) Lemon Drop

Another former #1 that is incredibly hard to find. BUT I just discovered a gas station 2 miles down the road that carries it! So I'll be trying one again soon. I LOVE this flavor. Sweet and refreshing! Could climb back into my #1 if I could get it more regularly. 

3) Swirly Pop

Man. I hate that this exclusive drink from 7-11 is one of my absolute favorites! I had to order them straight from their website, which is the only way to get them. It taste different to everyone who's reviewed it, including me. 

I just ran out of my supply a month ago but won't order any more for the time being. Sucks there's not a single 7-11 near me. 

2) Candy Apple Crisp

I love this flavor more and more everyday. The apple is dominate in the flavor here and I don't know why but it's a really good taste!

1) Nectarine Blueberry

(sigh) I hate that this is my #1 only because it's another exclusive flavor from Vitamin Shoppe....which we don't have ANYWHERE near us! I got one when I went to Huntsville for my cousin's wedding. 

I loved it. Blueberry with a sweet nectarine flavor thrown in the mix. It unbelievable and unless I order it straight from Bang's website, I won't be able to get it again. 

Blueberry is a flavor I LOVE and this is the best one in the batch. 

All hail the current #1!

What new flavor will they come out with next? I don't know but I'm excited to find out!

Ranking the Bang drinks (part 2)

 Let's get back to it!

20) Radical Skadattle

Taste like tropical skittles. It's fine, and more unique than Power Punch which is why it outranks the rest I mentioned earlier. 

19) Rainbow Unicorn

Taste like regular skittles. The company is adamant these two drinks are different and they are....barely. The fact that they look similar tells me the company knows it too. If they would've changed the color scheme they may have fooled folks, but not the consumers know the truth at how similar these two flavors are.  

18) Cotton Candy

This was the very first flavor that I ever tried. Really enjoyed it and would try it again but since exploring other flavors it's moved way down on the list. It's a little too sweet to drink more than one back to back days. I haven't had one in years but would probably try one soon enough when the opportunity presented itself. 

17) Citrus Twist

The 3rd flavor found at Dollar Tree. It used to taste like orange peels to me at first but now it taste different and I like it! I get these all the time when I stop by the store. Best flavor available at a discount. 

True, without the discount I wouldn't drink as many of these but that being said, if you like orange flavor, this one's pretty good!

16) Raging Raspberry Hibiscus

Sadly this newer flavor didn't perform as well as I'd hoped. It good and I'll try it again when I see one, but it doesn't beat their previous Raspberry flavor which is a shame, so it sits a little lower here on the list. 

15) Cherry Blade Lemonade

A lot of folks LOVE this flavor. I think it got 2nd place on a poll hosted by Bang. It taste like the sonic Cherry Limade so it's good but again, I wish they'd let the cherry flavor go solo on its own for once. That said, I have this one all the time because it's included in the Sam's Club pack I frequently buy. 

14) Purple Haze

A grape flavor I enjoy more and more these days. Again, it comes in the Sam's Club pack but I like it better than #15 so that's saying something. Megan hasn't tried this one yet but she loves grape so I'm sure this would make her Top 5. 

13) Delish Strawberry Kiss

The 2nd strawberry drink they came out with and it's better than the first one. Again, it'd rank higher on my list if they hadn't have come out with an even BETTER one down the road. 

12) Blue Razz

This is fans #1 flavor. I love it too but it's certainly not in my Top 10! It's part of the Sam's Club pack I get and IS good. But like you see...there's 11 more flavors I love more! That being said, this is a solid flavor and I can see why it's everyone's favorite. 

11) Purple Guava Pear

I'd forgotten how good this was until Megan brought me one back from the grocery store a few weeks ago and it was GREAT! Very unique flavor and surprisingly good!

I'll be back tomorrow with the Top 10

Ranking the Bang drinks!

 Here I go, on a quest to rank all 32 flavors!

32) Birthday Bash

Nasty. Plain out nasty. Tastes like someone ate too much birthday cake and puked in a can for people to drink it. 

31) Key Lime Pie

I hate Key Lime Pie so no surprise here. Oddly enough, this is one of Megan's favorites. But I see it at the discount store Ollies all the time so that tells me it isn't selling much either. 

30) Pina Colada

Another one I hate but I also hate Pina Colada's. Again, this is one of Megan's favorites and if you enjoy the taste of the real thing, you'd like this too. 

29) Blue and Yellow Lemoncello

Walmart exclusive that taste AWFUL. Though I'd try it above the rest I've mentioned so far. Sucks that the one exclusive drink I can easily get, is the worst tasting one out of the bunch.

28) Whole Lotta Chocolata

If Tootsie Roll made an energy drink this would be it. It's not the worst. I've had it more than once and maybe would try it again after a few more months, so now my list is going from "garbage" to "meh"

27) Champagne

There are 3 Bang flavors at Dollar Tree. This is one of them. It used to be one of my favorites back in the early days but now it's near the bottom of my list. I'll drink it every once in a while but mainly because it only cost $1.25

26) Wyldin' Watermelon

I hate the taste of watermelon....but....this one isn't the worst. Not sure I'd try it again, but the fact I wasn't repulsed by it surely doesn't place it last on this list. 

25) Root Beer Blaze

The 2nd available flavor at Dollar Tree. The first time I had one back in the day I thought it was the worst flavor of the batch! But since trying it more at Dollar Tree, I've discovered it's not so bad after all. I've actually drank a few since then. 

24) Frose Rose

Back when this was the only strawberry flavor they had it wasn't so bad. But since then, they've come out with 2 better tasting flavors which has bumped this one lower on my list. 

23) Miami Cola

A lot of people say this is their least favorite. But it taste so much like Josta, an old drink from the 90's before energy drinks were created. It was a highly caffeinated cola that didn't taste that good but we loved drinking it because it was banned in a lot of states for having too much caffeine.  

I'll have one every once in a while but I can't have too many of them. They'd get old fast. 

22) Black Cherry Vanilla

If it didn't have vanilla, this one would be higher up on my list. In fact, I'd wish they'd make something more like that. But this one isn't terrible. If Megan brought me back one from the grocery store I wouldn't complain. 

21) Power Punch

This one is right down the middle for me. It's fine but nothing that special. There's nothing I dislike about it, just 20 more flavors I'd rather choose is all. Not really a ringing endorsement but this is one I have no complaints about (unlike the others) so I ranked it here. 

I'll be back with more tomorrow!

Closed down (3)

 This place closed down around here back in January. I like their subs but stopped going to this location years ago because they don't honor the customer reward cards like EVERY OTHER Jimmy Johns does. 

This was one of Megan's favorite places to eat so I only went there to get her something from time to time. I won't miss the one at this location, but would gladly visit another one on my travels....if Megan has a craving for it again. 

Closed down (2)

 Another heartbreaking closure for me was the 5 Guys that was by our new house. (2 min away) In fact, we ate there on what ended up being their LAST week open and we never knew! Sure they were expensive but I LOVE their burgers and fries. 

I even kidded with Megan that now that we were so close I would be going a lot more often. 

We never found out why they closed (end of last November) but it's too bad. I'm really going to miss those burgers!

Closed down (1)

 We had a few chain stores close in the past year in Monroe and I wanted to talk about one my wife and I will miss. 

It happened right at the same time we moved in November. This was THE BEST place for chicken! It was always hot a juicy fresh! And EVERY side on their menu was excellent. Megan and I never knew which ones to get so we just went down the list ordering different ones each time and NEVER being disappointed!

They had an 8 piece meal for $8 that fed both of us. With today's inflation, I'm sure that would've risen to $12 but it'd still be a deal. 

Turns out the pandemic hit them hard and the owners were already thinking of retiring so that ended up being the perfect time. 

Too bad. One of the reasons we loved the location of our new house was this place. 

Top 5 Home Improvements I'd like to have!

 My mortgage company recently ran a promo for $50,000 renovations for your house. I didn't win (of course) but thought about what things I'd love to have done to the home!

Even though the bathrooms are tiled for some strange reason the areas where the sink is located are carpeted here at my house. I'd love to get tiles or wood panels to cover it in something that won't obtain water damage over the years. 

Seriously, what was the designer of the house thinking?!

I'd also put window inserts all over the house. We live next to the highway and it isn't bad except for the girls room which faces the highway. SO LOUD! But the girls don't seem to mind and sleep right through it. It's VERY expensive to purchase but I'd put them all over the house for good measure. 

Old house had a terrible mail box, this house does too. I'd love to get a brick one and never have to see an ugly mail box in our front driveway again. 

I'd love to finish off our attic and convert it into yet another room. I believe a door can be made through another rooms closet so if so, I'd make that into the kids playroom so that my game room can have more room to expand. (Or Megan could set up her office there. 

A small one room guest house. Only for entertaining guest or moving my game nights to. I'd have a small kitchen and half bath added as well but over all it's be relatively small. Though $50,000 wouldn't cover the cost, It would've taken a decent chunk out of the total. 

Oh well, maybe they'll run it again next year....and I still won't win. 

Top 5 big ticket items I'd like to own!

 We all got a wish list of things we'd like to have around the house. Here's my Top 5!

I've used a pressure washer before and fell in love with it! I had built up the Amazon gifts cards to purchase one last year but instead decided to use them all to pay for a Christmas present for the Mrs. Yep....I $400 present that she wanted real badly.....and still hasn't used.  

At our old house during a hurricane we lost power for over a day. I was miserable. Now that we've moved to a new location I worry about it happening more often (since we're not located across from a water pump which got top priority for electricity or else the city would flood) So next time, we'll at least have minimal power to carry us through the nights. 

I've borrowed steam cleaners before in the past and LOVE them! I wish I could own one, I'd use it every 4 months guaranteed! And the more frequent the cleanings the more effective it is at keeping the carpet looking brand new!

A leaf blower would be great. Not needed at the old house but now we're surrounded by trees and I'm really in need of one now. This may be my #1 priority to purchase the next time I have the money to spend on one. 

Shark vacuums are THE BEST! The former owner left us theirs and it's been INCREDIBLE! I hate our old one and want it replaced with another one of these beauties! Probably #2 on my "buy list" at this point. 

Games I got rid of (127)

 Really good dutch auction bidding game that impressed me....but upon my 2nd time playing it....the timer broke. 

Cheap production. Garbage. Thrown away. Pity they could put together a good game but provide such cheap components to play it with. 

Regrets: I'm sure my garbage can was upset with me for a week while it stayed inside it. 

Games I got rid of (126)

 Whew. This one was a tough one to get rid of. I really enjoyed the game where you're building up your own farmland, controlling how well or poorly the sheep market is (due to VP at the end of the game) and having to pitch in for the dam or suffer penalties at the end of a round. Really great balance. 

But when my long time gaming buddy moved away, I wanted him to leave with some solid games to start his collection so I looked at my shelf and this was one of the games I was willing to let go. 

Regrets: Nah. I got plenty of other games to occupy time with. I won't be searching for another copy.