I'm Thinking...

That I should stop while I'm so far behind! If I never, ever do the Body Test again on the Wii Fit Plus, can I just stay 16 years younger than I am?

Just asking...

Tonight is a Game Night Going Away Party for Superman and Mr. M (who, you might recall, is active Air Force and is deploying overseas on Monday for at least four months). Mr. M is the father of that adorable newborn baby you saw here. Since both of the men are leaving next week, we decided to have Game Night do double duty. We're serving "man food" (ribs, fried chicken, baked beans, potato salad, rolls) and a salad for those of us who just can't face "man food". Should be super fun and send them off with a smile and full stomachs.

Happy Saturday!

Friday Photo Flashback

I can't believe it is Friday Photo Flashback already. I know, I know. For some of you it is the second one you're doing this year, but for me, this is the first one of the new year.

As you probably already know, this is the time Alicia at More Than Words asks us to dig through our old photos and share something fun with you all. When I found this one in November, I knew it was perfect for this meme.

So, here is the deal...my sister calls me and says, "I need a picture of Charming when he was little so I can put it on a Red Robin gift card." Of course, being the good mother and sister that I am, I put it off until she called me three times. (Hey, what can I say? I've been a bit distracted!) Originally, LoveAphid was asking for a picture of Charming with his beloved Mr. Lion, his constant companion from the time he was six months old until he was six or seven. I knew just what picture she was talking about, but I just couldn't find it. (Actually, I still can't find it...sigh.) Instead, I found this picture and it was even better.



Look at this! Isn't it terrific? It is Charming at 2 1/2 with Mr. Lion is sitting on the table as we finish up lunch on the patio at the Red Robin in Calabasas. You can clearly see the Red Robin logo on his cup. Obviously, this was the picture for the gift card. Look how hip and happening Charming is in his Hard Rock Cafe sweatshirt.

See what I mean? This picture was perfect for the Red Robin Gift Card. And Charming looks, well, Charming!

Head over to Alicia's to see what everyone else came up with for the 2010 edition of Friday Photo Flashback.

Shoot Me: 1 of 52

Since Superman will be gone for almost a year, I thought he'd like it if I actually appear in some of the pictures I will be taking for him. To encourage me to do just that, I'm going to be participating in "Shoot Me", hosted by Carin at Forever in Blue Jeans.

Look, I'm notorious for not wanting to be in the picture, but I really think it is time for me to get past that. "Shoot Me" is how I'm going to do it. So, I hope you won't mind, but you'll be seeing a bit more of me for the next year. (After all, I don't want Superman to forget what I look like!)

Here is the first one...

This is a picture of me with Buttercup in the backseat of my car as we drove my sister and her husband back to the airport to continue with their holiday excursion on December 28, 2009. I was tired, in sweats, and only wearing concealer. (Yeah, I decided to share the nitty gritty of my life with you all--no glamorous photo shoots here.)

There you have it...a picture of me...by the end of the year, there will be 52 of them. Superman will have proof he has a wife and my children will look back and remember times with me, too.

Go To Recipes from 2009

If you've been reading my blog for any time, you know I've been trying tons of new recipes this past year. Some were fantastic, some were okay, and a few became staples in our menu.

Three recipes, in particular, became go-to recipes for me in 2009.

First, LaFujiMama's One Hour Bread recipe. If you haven't yet tried this bread, you should try it this week. It is consistently fantastic and because it is done so quickly, you can make it at the last second.

Second, Andrea at the Train to Crazy/Hatch shared an amazing pancake recipe and it is so good that it has replaced every other pancake recipe I've tried. (In case you're wondering, I keep powdered buttermilk on hand and I make my own cake flour using corn starch and unbleached all-purpose flour.)

Finally, these Simple Chocolate Drop Cookies are so good and so easy and so different from your typical cookies that whenever I'm wanting something a little different.

So, there you have it...the three recipes that went from "brand new" to "go to" for me in 2009. It is 2010...don't you think you should try them yourself? Honestly, do you think I'd steer you wrong?

Making Your Home Sing Monday - Seriously?

Okay, so it is the first Monday of the year and I had very good intentions. I was going to join Nan's Making Your Home Sing Monday first thing this morning. I was going to get my errands done early in the day. I was going to get my desk cleaned up. And, of course, I was going to reclaim my home from the holidays.

Only one thing got in my way. Buttercup generously shared. Yes, she did. Unfortunately, what she shared was her pre-New Year's Eve cold. Ugh. I've been sneezing and tired and mentally foggy all day. Oh, don't get me wrong. We still got stuff done.

Superman headed back to work for his last full week with his current employer, Charming headed back to the dorms and Valiant, Buttercup and I set to work at restoring order to our home. Vacuuming, dusting, laundry, and the last of the de-Santa-fying process has been done. Bathrooms were cleaned and donations were made to Goodwill. Newspapers were dropped off at the recycling center and a package of odds and ends she left behind was mailed off to my sister today. (Did you know dirt freezes? I have fake poinsettias stuck in a planter out front...I pulled and pulled and can't get two of the stems out!)

What didn't get done? The guest bedroom sheets need to be changed and the trailer needs to be cleaned and put to bed for a delayed winter's sleep. All of our thank-you's need to be written.

Did I mention I inadvertently locked the cat in the greenhouse this afternoon? At least he got a warm nap while he waited for us to hear him mewing. Sigh.

Honestly, there wasn't much singing today. Maybe we'll have a Monday-on-Tuesday day tomorrow. One could hope.

In the meantime, head over to Nan's and read her thoughts on just how bad husband bashing is for your entire family in this weeks' Making Your Home Sing Monday. I happen to think she's dead right. What do you think?

Food for Thought

"Do not be too timid and squeamish
about your actions. All life is an experience"

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Exercise can be fun? Who knew?

Well, I know this probably isn't news to you, but I don't always find exercise to be fun. Yes, shocking, isn't it? I do it, though, because it makes me feel good, it is good for me, and it makes me look better. So, when Santa brought us a Wii with Wii Fit Plus, I wasn't convinced that I'd love it as much as my friends Generations Gone By and Melissa at 365 Days of Exercise do. I was wrong! I love, love, love the Wii Fit Plus. This "toy" is seriously awesome! Not only are the kids playing it constantly, but adults really, really love it. New Year's Eve found five of us kicking the kids off the Wii and playing Wii Fit Plus games for two and a half hours! We were partial to the bird's eye bull's eye, the obstacle course, the tilty boards, the bubble on the river, and the marching band. Before you know it, you've exercise for 35-45 minutes and had a ball doing it. I've been exploring the yoga and the aerobics sections and am having so much fun.

Think it is just for girls? Not so! As I type this, Superman and Mr. R are jockeying for first place in the Marching Band competition.

Think the kids will turn up their noses at exercise? Think again! First thing in the morning, the kids ask, "May I go play Wii Fit?" Can't you picture me answering: "Um, no, you may not go exercise!" Yeah, right!Oh, and my WiiFit Age? 38 as of today! (Since I'm 46, I'll take anything that thinks I'm 38!)

Thanks a lot, Santa! We love it! Who knew exercise could be this much from for the entire family?

P.S. Adam, you were right...we totally love it.

(Disclaimer: I don't know about other games that the kids might want to play...we only have Wii Fit Plus...I don't play "real" video games, so I can't say if those are better with the Wii.)

2010 will be a year of new experiences..

For awhile now, I've been alluding to big changes going on in the Nagle5 world, but until everything was finalized, I couldn't tell anyone. As you know, Superman's employment situation was, in our opinion, getting more and more tenuous each day. We are not people who like waiting for things to happen to us...instead, we prefer to direct the course of our lives. Rather than waiting for him to get laid off and then find himself looking for a job with everyone else, he's decided to take this opportunity to continue adding to his skill base and, thus, his employment options by accepting a position as a civilian contractor in support of the U.S. military overseas. On January 15th, he'll be leaving to fulfill a year-long contract overseas, which means Buttercup, Valiant, and I will be on our own here in Eastern Washington.

To say we're a bit nervous about it all would be an understatement. I understand lots of military families deal well with separations of this nature, but we're not a military family. While I have confidence that we will be fine, I am not underestimating the challenge we face this year. I hope you'll enjoy the Nagle5 News trying-new-things editions this year...I'm sure they will be filled with laughter, tears, triumphs and struggles. Oh, wait...isn't that what life is always about?

Anyway, that's enough about me. What about you? What are you going to be doing in 2010? Anything new and exciting going on at your house? In your life? With your family? Tell me...I really do want to know.