Everywhere I go, I hear about someone else who’s getting a Wii for Christmas. They all say it’s “for the kids,” but I know plenty of adults who play the Wii as much as, or more than, their kids!

We are big fans of the Wii here, and since we’ve been playing it for a while, I thought I’d share some of our favorite games with you, just in case you’re in the market for some games this Christmas.

1. MySims Kingdom – This is our most recent game acquisition, and C. (10) & I are having lots of fun with it.  Basically, you travel to various islands and complete tasks that other game characters ask you to help with, earning points along the way.  You build things, dig things up, shake things out of trees, interact with other characters, collect ingredients, etc.. There’s no stress, no fighting, no super-hard puzzles — which is exactly what makes it enjoyable for me. C. likes the silliness, the opportunity for creativity, and the bizarre things you have to find as you work on your assignments.  Silly, stressless fun.

2. MarioKart — No recommendation list would be complete with out MarioKart. Fun for the whole family, whether you like to compete against each other, try to beat the entire game, or just have a loud, crazy evening. Even L. (2) likes this game — as long as we give him one of the special steering wheels, so he can pretend he’s playing along.

3. Other Mario games — Super Mario Galaxy and Super Paper Mario. I have to admit, I’m probably the biggest Mario fan in the house, and I do appreciate an occational adventure/puzzle game. Both of these Mario titles fit the bill, and both have great graphics and plenty of game to keep you busy. If I had to pick between the two, I’d probably rate Super Mario Galaxy just a tad bit higher, but both are good games.

4. Boom Blox — This was a surprise hit at our house. The premise seems like it could be boring. Throw things at towers and walls? But it has turned out to be a blast for everyone we know who’s tried it. We weren’t surprised to find out that Steven Spielberg was involved in its creation.  In Boom Blox, you’ll encounter various activities such as: throwing baseballs at walls of blocks to knock them all down; pulling blocks out of a structure in a Jenga-like manner, trying to prevent everything fom crashing down; creating intricate domino-like explosive events in order to clear a screen. But really, you just have to play it to see how much fun it is.  One word of warning, though: You must wear your remote’s wrist-strap when playing this game. Otherwise, your remote could very well go flying toward your TV.

5. Lego Indiana Jones — If there’s someone in your house who loved the Indiana Jones movies, who loves Legos, or who loves a good action/adventure video game, this is the one for them. In our house, that person would be my husband, Chad, and he’s had many an enjoyable hour playing this game. My favorite parts are the humorous little cut-scenes that pop up occasionally (often after a level is completed) — they’re reminiscent of the movies, but with an extra dose of silliness thrown in.

6. Wii Play — This might not seem like much of a game for some people. It’s packaged with an extra remote and, to be honest, the games in it are intended to get players familiar with how the Wii remotes work.  But C. (10) and one of his friends turn to this game time and time again when they’re playing together. The games are simple, but fun, and also slightly bizarre (cow racing?). If you need a spare remote, pick up the one packaged with Wii Play. I don’t think you’ll regret it.

There are a few new games we’re eying up as well, trying to decide which would be best for us. My friend, Jennifer, recommended Active Life Outdoor Challenge, which looks like lots of fun.  C.’s curious about Wii Music, which seems to be getting both good and bad reviews.  Oh and deBlob looks like a blast too!

I’d love to hear about your favorite Wii games, or which ones you’re thinking about getting this Christmas. Because a good Wii game definitely works for us.

Oh, and one last piece of advice: If you have a Gamestop store nearby, take all your old games (for any gaming platform) that your family no longer plays, and trade them in — you’ll get cash directly toward your new game purchases.

Be sure to visit Rocks in My Dryer to read other Works-for-Me Wednesday tips.

I admitted in a recent post that, although I consider myself to be fairly tech-y, I’ve dropped the ball in the area of cell phones and their use. I don’t have a bluetooth headset, my phone doesn’t take pictures, and until recently, I was using a 9-year-old phone with approximately zero features. I upgraded my phone when that one died, but still never used it except for the occasional emergency call from C.’s (9) school or a quick call home to see if anyone needed anything while I was at Target.

Recently, however, I decided to give “texting” a try. Much to my surprise, texting can be used for much more than teenagers sending each other “UR Gr8! CU L8R” when they should be concentrating on their driving.

In fact, text messages can be used for a wide variety of practical, productive purposes for grown-ups. Let me share a few that I’ve discovered.

[Note: Before going text-crazy, check your cell phone plan so you know how many free texts you have, how much additional texts cost, etc. The services below have no inherent charge, but any charges from your calling plan will apply.]

With text messaging, you can:

Update your Google Calendar with new appointments and events. First, register your phone with Google. Then simply send texts to GVENT to add calendar events. This feature can be very helpful for me, since I’ve been known to lose those little appointment cards between the dentist’s office and home.

Do an Amazon.com search, check prices, and even purchase books with your cell phone. First, set up your phone with Amazon (click the link and then choose “Get Started”). Then, send any search terms (book title, author’s name, etc.) to 262966 (AMAZON). Amazon will text you back with the top search results. You’ll have the option to request more info, purchase one of the given options, or just ignore the text. If you decide to order, you’ll get a phone call from an automated voice thingy giving you the details of your purchase and asking you to confirm. This texting feature is highly dangerous for me. Now I can even buy books when I am nowhere near a bookstore or a computer.

Update your Twitter account or Facebook page. Check your account settings and look for “Devices” on Twitter or “Mobile” on Facebook to manage your social networking via text messages.

Check the weather. Or the stocks. Or pretty much anything else. You can text Google (466453) with just about anything you can imagine, including requests for weather forecasts, driving directions, and nearby pizza joints. Within moments, Google texts you back with the answer. Visit this page to find out how to use Google’s text message search features. (Or just text the word ‘help’ to 466453.)

Find caffeine. Just text your current zipcode to MYSBUX (697289) and you’ll be sent a list of the 3 closest Starbucks shops, including their addresses and phone numbers. If you ask me, this is a critical service when you’re on vacation or otherwise out of town. [Note: don't try this in very rural areas; you'll likely just get a message saying that no Starbucks shops were found.]

There are probably a million other things you can do with text messaging (including checking your upcoming flight or your Paypal balance); these are just the ones I have experience with.

But perhaps the one I like best is sending my husband an occasional “I love you” text message. And yes, I spell the whole thing out. I might be an occasional “texter” but I still have my grammatical standards.

Visit Shannon’s blog for more Works-for-Me Wednesday tips.