It’s NERF or NOTHING’

If you have kids like we do, you probably have heard of NERF and their numerous blasters.   I am privilege to present you the NERF MEGA MASTODON today.  Initially, I thought it would be perfect for my 10 years old son to bring to the famous NERF Nights that are held at our church.  But seeing how big this blaster is I think I need to rethink the usage of it.

When we went to close our RV and take our boat out of the water last week, our mailman delivered the package on the porch.  Fortunately, our neighbor picked it up for us and brought it on Saturday when he saw we were back.   My husband brought it upstairs and without my knowledge proceeded to open it.   You should have seen his eyes shining as he looked at the box.  You see he has big plans for our family pictures this year and I could see his plans forming in his head.   I won’t say more because I do not want to kill the surprise for those who will receive our family picture.

This blaster is very big and would be preferable for teenagers or adults though the box does mention ages 8+…  The MEGA MASTODON will definitely crush your opponents with its motorized blasting of mega darts.   Nobody can stand a chance when facing this NERF Blaster!

The device comes with 24 darts and a revolving drum.   It also comes with a shoulder strap which helps you to keep it close to you at all times. 

The Mega darts will travel great distance as well compared to the regular NERF darts.   About 80% of them will travel less than 28 meters (95 feet) while 20% of them would travel between 28-30 meters (95-100 feet).   I would recommend to have a fannypack in order to store these bullets and to purchase extra bullets in order to keep our MEGA MASTODON ready to use.  Come to think of it, I think Hasbro should design and offer a NERF MEGA fannypack to fans.  I think it could be a popular items among the fans of NERF blasters.

The MEGA MASTODON is not very heavy but the size of it could make it awkward to manipulate.  It was a great idea to include a shoulder strap for carrying it while have a war with friends.

Note that the MEGA MASTODON also require 6 D batteries in order to function. Assembly will be required though no tools are necessary.   When opening the box you will see that the revolving drum needs to be put together.   

Also be extremely cautious when using the MEGA MASTODON.   Do not aim at the eyes or face in order to avoid unnecessary injuries.  Play safely and have a blast!

This NERF MEGA MASTODON is a great gift for someone who is really into NERF blasters and love to have activities like the ones they are putting at our church.   The junior high kids enjoy getting together about 5-6 times a year and create some challenging courses where two teams are fighting against each other.   My boys sure enjoy that evening with friends and pizza.   They are already looking forward to the next one on November 5th.   

The NERF MEGA MASTODON is available for purchase anywhere, even on amazon.ca and amazon.com.

  

Disclaimer: Thanks to Hasbro Canada for sending me the above mentioned products for review purposes . I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

LEGO Christmas Ornaments Book

The LEGO Christmas Ornaments Book
Written by CHris McVeigh
Published at No Starch Press

About the book

This Christmas, LEGO is moving from under the tree to on the tree! With The LEGO Christmas Ornaments Book as your guide, you’ll make classic globe and barrel ornaments, all out of LEGO, as well as original gingerbread houses, a charming wreath, arcade cabinets, and many more.

Packed with step-by-step instructions for 15 charming builds, The LEGO Christmas Ornaments Book is the perfect family activity this holiday season.

My Thoughts

When I saw this book, I knew it would be a great activity to do during the Advent season this year.   And I am not disappointed whatsoever with the possibilities of new ornaments in our Christmas tree.  In all you will find fifteen beautiful creations to make with your kids this Christmas season and once you are done you can hang them in your Christmas tree for all to enjoy.

The table of content clearly identify which ornaments can be done with this book: poinsettia, snowflake, wreath, present, Christmas tree, gingerbread house, barrel, ball, bow, frill, lantern, arcade, computer, camera, and burger.

Each ornament start with a list (with images) of the pieces of LEGO you will need to collect in order to make it.   Then, the author clearly illustrate the steps for make the ornament itself.   However, if you have mixed up pieces of LEGO the only thing you will need to have would be patience while you dig the ones you will need.   Some ornaments might require special pieces of LEGO but rest assure that if you really need to build the ornament you can always order individual components from the LEGO website.  The book clearly identify the piece number in the list of pieces needed for the ornaments.

As I perused the book I have identified the ones that I really like – the Christmas tree, the burger and the camera.   These are my own personal favorite but they are all special in many ways.   I can’t hardly wait until the first day of Advent to take this book out and give it to my kids so that they can have fun building out-of-the-ordinary ornaments for the family this year.  

If you are looking for a fun activity to do this Christmas season with your kids, why not getting the LEGO Christmas Ornaments Book and let them explore a whole new way of building with LEGO.   This will definitely bring numerous memories for years to come.

The LEGO Christmas Ornaments Book is available for purchase at any bookstore, even on amazon.ca and amazon.com.

  

Disclaimer: Thanks to no starch press for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes . I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus

I recently received the new Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus.  This new machine will be available on the market in October.  Right after I selected this item from Vine Voices I debated about where I would put it due to the fact we already had another coffee machine from another company.   We thought that this specific Nespresso Creatista Plus would take a lot of counter space in our kitchen.   The product was quickly shipped to me and when I received the box I was surprised – not only it isn’t that big but it naturally fit next to our other machine.   In a way both machines are different – one being more specialized than the other…

The Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus is the first Nespresso machine able to create a barista-calibre latte art.  The partnership of Breville’s customizable Oracle microfoam milk frothing technology with Nespresso’s convenient portioned coffee system makes it possible.   Now I do not have any experience in doing art in latte but I am willing to try for sure.   Before I venture to this new “art” I will check on Pinterest for how-to lessons and ideas.

The first night we got the Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus, my husband and I decided to make a Latte Macchiato and share it.   The instructions in the manual were very clear and numerous images will guide you to do it properly.   We selected the capsule we wanted and our coffee was quickly made before our eyes.  The next day, my 15 year old son came to me and asked if I could make him one to which I said I will make one and we can share it together.   He really enjoyed drinking this and he also learned how to use the machine at the same time.

Now it is specified in the user manual that for best texturing results, it is recommended to use 3.25% milk – even the 2% milk would deliver results..   Well we usually buy skim milk and I knew that I could easily request skim milk when ordering a latte at McDonald’s.  Since we didn’t had any whole milk in the house, we decided to try it with our skim milk.  Result – it frothed pretty well.  The beauty of this machine is that I can adjust the milk temperature and the texture to create a wonderful café experience from the comfort on our home.  I am debating to try it with soy milk to see if the frothing will work with this as well.  

The machine itselt is very stylish.   The water tank is located in the back of the machine which could be an issue for certain people who would prefer not to move the machine all the time to fill it up.  However, the tank is quite large and numerous coffee cups can be made out of that water.   There are various things that I am quite impressed with the Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus; 1) the removable drip tray, 2) the pop out cup support , 3) the capsule container, and finally 4) the display.

The removable drip tray is very useful as it will receive the steam produce from the milk wand when it is cleaned.  The machine cleans the wand every time you use the milk frother by using steam.   The steam turns to water and is collected in the removable drip tray.  You have two choices when this happen, you can decide to clean the drip tray every time you use it or you can decide to let the water there until the indicator let you know that the drip tray is full.   Yes the drip tray possess an indicator which will lit up if the tray is full.    Personally, since I am not using the machine on a daily basis, I prefer to clean it right away.

The machine also has a pop out cup support allows you to use smaller kind of cups (if you possess any of them).  For example, if you have espresso cup, you could use the pop out cup support in order to bring you espresso cup close to the coffee spout and avoid spills to be made. 

The capsule container is a nice bonus on this machine.  You can see that the engineers behind this specific machine has thought of all the little things that would be nice to have in a specialized coffee machine.  The container is nicely hidden above the pop out cup support and can be accessible by a simple push on it.  The capsule container receives the coffee capsules once the coffee is made.  Simple yet so useful when you come to think about it.   I was first introduce to this kind of idea when I took a coffee cup at the orthodontist when my son was having an appointment.  their coffee machine was a bit more sophisticated than mine as it was a business one but I liked the idea very much.  Now my Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus is doing it too!

The display is very easy to use.  Before you even start using the machine, you will go through a little training with the display in order to show you how/when to press the buttons.   There are two buttons – the start/cancel button and the select dial which navigate left or right to allow you to select your drink.   If you press the select dial, you will be able to adjust the espresso volume, the milk temperature or the milk froth.   The display itself is very clear and also display images during the steps of making the coffee.   Depending of the type of drink you have selected, you might have to press the start/cancel button a couple of times.  

There are a few other things that impressed me quite a bit with the Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus.  First, you can empty the system if you will have a period of non-use or for frost protection.   This is definitely not an option on the machine we have at our RV.  Consequently, we need to bring the machine back home to make sure the water do not freeze in it during the winter.   And when spring time come, I need to proceed with a huge clean up before bringing it back to the RV because the water had sat in it for a long period of time.   Anyhow, having this option on the Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus is great for people who would prefer to leave it in their RV or cottage during the winter.  Second, the machine minimizes power use when not making a drink.  The display itself will dims after 2 minutes of no use and will turn itself off after 10 minutes.   However, it would be nice to have a shut off button of some sort for families where only one person drink coffee.  Third, the system also has a milk system cleaning procedure that is recommended to perform on a monthly basis in order to prevent steam tip blockages.

A descaling process is also recommended and you will have to use the Nespresso descaling kit to do so.   At this point in time, I am unsure how much this kit cost.

Needless to say our first hesitation was totally wrong.  This machine is a beauty in itself, will provide you with delicious coffee not made by a regular coffee machine and could be a wonderful addition on your counter top.  

The Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus would be a wonderful gift for someone in your life who really enjoy coffee whether for a birthday, Christmas, or a wedding gift.

UPDATE:   One day I wanted to make a hot chocolate.   However, I totally dislike hot chocolate made out of water.  I usually warm up the milk in the microwave but as I looked at the Breville Nespresso Creatista I wondered if I could froth the milk only.   It turns out that you can choose the option of dealing with only milk and doing so I frothed the milk and then poured it in a cup containing my hot chocolate powder.  The result was impressive.  It was the most delicious hot chocolate I ever had!

The Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus is available for purchase on Amazon Canada.

Disclaimer: This product has been provided courtesy of Amazon.ca Vine Voices for review purpose. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by Amazon.ca or the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.