A new feature here at Romperz will be the Game of the Week. Just look for it on the sidebar. Each Monday there will be a new game featured, followed by a review of the game sometime that week. This week’s game is The Sims Carnival SnapCity.

For those who have read my blog before know that I am a huge fan of The Sims, so naturally I couldn’t wait to try this game. I was a little disheartened by the tutorial since playing this game is a multi-step process. It’s not just one element to do like brick busting or matching three in a row.

Puzzle meets Sim City. First place those Tetris-inspired pieces onto the landscape, carefully matching colors. Then build connecting roads to watch your city flourish. With progress comes a price as fires, burglars, and other disasters can wreak havoc on your districts, losing the city money as well as the people’s confidence.

You match colored pieces together, then connect those pieces with roads to watch your city grow. When you’ve earned enough points, you are rewarded with a special block that will become something to benefit the neighborhood like a police station, fire station, or park. It’s your choice. Place it where you would like on the board. Then fill it with dropping pieces. Once it is full it becomes the object you chose.

As Mayor, you have ultimate control over your city, so if you need to bulldoze an area, then do it. Just keep your residents happy and attend to problems quickly.

The Sims Carnival SnapCity is entertaining and of course, I enjoy most Sim titles. It is good to see the creators of The Sims branching out into the casual game market. Maybe this innovative puzzle/sim is only the beginning of what is to come.

This month I began my personal Fitness Revolution, a vow to change the way I eat and exercise for good. So far, one side of the equation is going well while I have faltered with the other.

I have changed my eating habits and have lost 8 pounds this month. I haven’t done much in the way of exercising, so I’m going to call that phase 2 and hopefully start that in full force in February.

I haven’t used anything like ephedra diet pills to lose the weight. I’ve been counting calories and try to hit the 1200-1700 calorie mark every day. Some days I might go slightly over but try not to sweat it too much and just tighten up the next day.

It’s working well as I haven’t felt that hungry in between planned meals and snacks. Usually when I restrict calories all I want to do is eat.

So, it’s time to dust off that DDR mat and get some exercising done. I can’t wait for Wii Fit to come to the U.S. since that will offer even more video game workout possibilities.

I hate when I misplace games. It happens way too often, so I’ve decided to organize all of our media once and for all.

CDs aren’t the only things that get lost in our home. Socks, belts, even mens gold watches have gone missing for days at a time. But when you lose a game, it drives me crazy since it then becomes THE game I want to play. Since we still have stuff boxed up from the move, it’s possible that lost games haven’t been unpacked.

I’ve bought a CD notebook holder to organize games. We already have one for music, so now we will have one for our other media as well. It has worked amazingly well, so if we can organize all of our CDs in such a manner, maybe it will be the beginning of a new, uncluttered life. Well, at least where our entertainment is concerned.

Rae may not know how to play games, but she loves playing with game pieces. In a way I’m glad she already has an interest in games but worry that we will be playing games in a few years with missing pieces.

It does keep her occupied, and she does let us play with her. In fact she prefers us to play with her. Each night she gravitates to a new game that is on the shelf. It’s fun because we can play with her and also hopefully introduce games to her at an early age.

She can learn so much from playing games like being a good sport to developmental skills. There are a lot of games that soon she should be able to play like Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, Froggie Boogie. I’m not sure who is going to have more fun: her or me.

It’s hard to believe that Valentine’s Day is approaching. I was just thinking today about what to get Rae and my husband for Valentines. Then I learned of Overstock’s Game O Love Valentine’s Day giveaway. Who knows? I might can win a gift instead of buying one.

The Overstock.com’s “Game O Love” contest begins January 25th and runs through February 11th. I’ve already picked out what I would like to win. Surprise, it’s an Xbox 360 since my husband really wants one, and it would be great to give him one. This time of year is always tight budget-wise since we always go overboard at Christmas and then spend January paying for it. To be able to get him something that he really wants for Valentine’s would be awesome.

So, tomorrow begins the Overstock.com’s Valentine’s Day Game. But you can head on over to sign up to be notified by email when it begins. This way you won’t do like I do and forget about it. If you have email reminder then you are more likely to win because you will remember to play.

With thousands of products on Overstock.com there is bound to be something of interest to everyone this Valentine’s Day. I can’t wait to see the game aspect of the contest since I’m always up for a challenge. I’ve enlisted so now just have to wait until tomorrow for my first chance to win.

Even though I love to play games, sometimes I just don’t have a lot of time to play them. So, I enjoy those casual games that you can play for as little as 10 minutes and make some progress.

One of my favorites for the DS is Brain Age since you can do your daily exercises and check your brain age all within 10 minutes. Console games are little harder to play for such a short amount of time although it is possible for me to play Wii Sports or Wii Play for 10 minutes and still be satisfied.

Some card games like the Gamewright line of 12 minutes games can usually be played in under that time. Board games are much harder to play under such time constraints.

Usually when I have a few minutes I just stick with my DS games even though there are other short gaming options.

Dream Day Honeymoon is a hidden object casual game. It is the second game in a series of romantic hidden object series that began with Dream Day Wedding.

In Dream Day Honeymoon, Jenny and Robert are in search of the perfect souvenir. Will a watch like s Rolex Datejust win out or how about something more tourist-driven like a refrigerator magnet?

19 unique backgrounds, 30 levels, and packed with mini-games make Dream Day Honeymoon one casual game worth a look.

My favorite part of playing The Sims is decorating the houses. Sometimes I create homes on lots but never play them. I just like the creation process. Now that I’ve found the casual game Home Sweet Home, I can decorate to my heart’s content.

In Home Sweet Home, you decorate people’s homes. First you listen to what they want and then you decorate. The next phase is to build the furnishings under budget and on time. This can be tricky since your crew’s progress will be slowed by injury or when they need a tool. You handle both these tasks. You also give them coffee when their energy is low.

Home Sweet Home is a perfect game for those who love to decorate and like just a small amount of simulation type tasks.

Ever since Rae was born, I have less time to spend on myself. Some days it’s a challenge to find time to bathe much less shampoo my hair. I’m not complaining as I was pretty low maintenance before she was born. Now it just seems I’m little maintenance.

Even when I do have time to shampoo my hair, then there is the time it takes drying my hair. Rae absolutely hates the sound of the blow dryer and during the winter I can’t stand to have a wet head. It’s a problem alright.

Some days my hair will be fine in the morning but as the day goes by, it really needs to be cleaned. In the middle of the day while at work it’s impossible to wash my hair. That’s why I was excited to learn of Salon Grafix Dry Shampoo. It’s a dry shampoo, so all I have to do is put it on my hair and then comb it out. It doesn’t leave any residue behind and apparently leaves your hair clean and shiny. I can also buy it specially designed for my hair color. It’s something I’m very excited to learn about and try out. I can either buy it online or find a local retailer. I might check Rite Aid since it is listed as a retailer of the Salon Grafix Dry Shampoo.

Not only will I be able to use this at work, but I can use it on those days when I really need to wash my hair but just don’t have the time or energy. Having clean hair just makes me feel better and being able to achieve that anywhere with dry shampoo is very appealing.

So, my husband has been playing Marvel Ultimate Alliance again. It is a fun game, but I’m still amazed how he can play through this game he’s already beaten.

Still it’s fun for him but reminds me of the other Xbox games that we’ve bought and have yet to play. One is by Activision and probably will be very much like Alliance. Now if I can just find it, we’ll be all set. It’s the Fantastic Four game. Since it’s a snow day here, we are pretty much staying at home today. Maybe I can find that game yet.