February 2010

We had our Valentine’s party @ Phyllis’ house again this year. It was a super duper comfy party where everyone came as comfy as they wanted to be. Well, everyone except for Peg & Lori who were no-shows this month. Peg was battling a cold & Lori had family visiting from out of state, so she had to entertain them instead of us. We were all on time this month, but after announcements & business, we didn’t actually start playing until 7:00. By 7:30, we were on our first caller & only 3 people had cut! We thought that meant we were in for a long night, but we managed to pick up the pace & wrapped up around 10-ish(I think). We couldn’t get putting in right all night. You’d think with just 6 of us playing, we would have it under control but…nnnooooo! We had to start putting in as teams so we wouldn’t mess up anymore!

Phyllis made super tasty chicken alfredo & lovely chocolate cake. Marge brought some cream horns. I baked up some bacon/cheddar rolls. Patt brought some tasty fresh fruit & Kate made delicious “naughty & nice” Strawberry Daiquiris. On the table, Phyllis put out Valentine’s candy. It was the Dove Martha Stewart variety which included precious pearls of wisdom inside the wrapper. They were all pretty corny, so as we were reading them out loud, Phyllis thought it would be fun to do like you do w/ a fortune cookie & add “in bed” at the end. This did make it much more entertaining! Debi passed out some old-fashioned Valentine cards & stickers, Kate passed M&M’s and Fun Dip around. I gave everyone a glow bracelet & stickers. At the end of the night, Phyllis gave us all mini flower arrangements to take home. There was a little bit of love for everyone!

MYSTERY BOX

I was responsible for bringing the Mystery to the party this time. Patt was the big winner! The box may have been small, but it was chock full of goodies! It was all about loving yourself…NOT like that! Get your minds out of the gutter! There were all kinds of things to make you feel pretty: body scrub, hand lotion, hand sanitizer, heart health/vitamin C packs, smart heart cereal, a Mary Kay lip gloss/perfume combo & silver heart bracelet in a butterfly trinket box. Perfect for Patt since she loves butterflies!

MARCH POKENO

It’s going to be an “Irish Spring” theme @ Peg’s house this year. Be there & be ready to party on SATURDAY, MARCH 27th @ 6:00. We will be dining on ham, pineapple pudding, potatoes & soda bread.

CASE OF THE MISSING CATS

When Kate hosted the January party, the Pokeno Cat banner was missing (dun dun dun…dramatic music)! She took the banner from the Christmas Extravaganza back to her house. We all had a whole bunch of stuff for that party & the Jeep was loaded to the max for the ride home. Kate tore her house apart trying to find the banner to bring to Phyllis’ this month. However, after much looking – it’s nowhere to be found! Kate was very upset because she knows how much work Marge put into it. So, she went online & managed to find a (90% done) exact copy of the banner! She had to order it from some lady in England and is hopeful it’ll be here in time for the March party. This spurred us to take a vote that from now on; the banner will live in the Pokeno bag & just visit the hostesses’ house on the evening of the game. Phyllis has her own theory about what happened…she thinks Kate’s boy cats took the banner to use it like some sort of Playmate pin-up somewhere in the basement. We all got a good chuckle out of that one.

TASTES LIKE CHICKEN!

Even though Peg was a no show this month, she sent the Mystic Seahorse in her place. Patt had him hiding in her pocket. We decided to pass him around the table (to the left of course) to see if his mystical powers would work for us common folk too. Thanks to my Statistical Dept (Debi), it was noted that everyone who used him…or in some cases abused him…won at least 1 pot. Exception to this rule was Phyllis who was extra super nice to the “Seaho” & won 3 times in a row. Marge was noted to reluctantly take the seahorse & stuck him in her jacket pocket while she played. Then he fell on the floor & she tried to pass him along to Kate. Kate was too scared to hold him after what happened w/ the cat banner so she passed him along to Debi who won the 2nd cover all of the night. I guess some of us had better luck with the Seahorse than others.

RANDOM FUNNIES

What kind of party? Back in the day, our mothers would have ladies only get-togethers just like we do with Pokeno. Only difference was, they would go bowling or have Tupper Wear parties. Someone heard this as “rubber wear parties” & the laughter began! I guess in a way Tupper Wear IS kind of rubbery. Not really sure, but that was just one of the many things that got us giggling this month!

Dog-gone it! Debi was getting her stuff together for Pokeno & had her bag sitting on the floor. One of her dogs, “Killer” the Chihuahua, likes to root through her bag. I guess it always smells like someone’s animals, or delicious food. Anyway…Killer goes rummaging through the bag. Next thing she knows, Debi looks over & sees Killer running around the house w/ her magnetic chip wand stuck to the spikes on the dog collar! I even made an artist’s rendering (actual picture of Debi’s dog) to show you how funny this must have looked!

WORKOUT RECOMMENDATION

Some of you may have made a new year’s resolution to get in shape/eat better/workout more. My stepmom passed along this new workout routine & I thought the rest of you might like to try it as well.
• Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of room at each side.
• With a 5-lb potato bag in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can. Try to reach a full minute, and then relax.
• Each day you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer. After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-lb potato bags.
• Then try 50-lb potato bags and then eventually try to get to where you can lift a 100-lb potato bag in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute.
• After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each bag.

Before I sign off for the month, I’d like to take a moment to send out a great big THANK YOU to my fellow Pokeno sisters for throwing me (& Nathan) a super fantastic baby shower. It was really fun & I got most of my lost items replaced! Thanks again for all your love & support during the last 8 months.

That’s all the love we were feeling for February. I’m sure there will be lots more fun stuff to report on next month. Until next time, may the foxiest bitch win!