BUNKO!!!...

Suggestion time!

I am part of a group of ladies that meets once a month to play Bunko.  (It's a dice game.  But it's really not important for the purpose of this post.)  I've only been a part of the group for a year.  I am technically no longer the newbie, but I'm pretty darn close.

I think I have been part of the group long enough that people are starting to realize what a goofball I am.  If they don't know it yet, I apparently have no problem showing them just about every time we meet.  I'm still shy and quiet at times.  But, more often than not, I blurt out off-color comments.  I get way too excited about the game sometimes.  And it was a good 6 months before I didn't feel like I had completely embarrassed myself by the end of the night.  But come on, when you've lost the first 4 rounds of the night and then all of a sudden you roll a Bunko, it's exciting.  It is to me anyway.  It's pretty evident to those around me as well, what with all the squealing and giddy hand clapping that is being emitted from my side of the table.

I subbed for the first time a year and a half ago when it was my friend Dawn's turn to host.  Pajama Party!  Although I knew absolutely no one there and only remembered a couples peoples names, I had a great time.  I honestly almost didn't sub that night cause I'm a big scaredy-cat and (as mentioned a few posts ago) I get nervous when meeting new people.  I'm so glad that I didn't chicken out and actually went!

I subbed a time or two more over the next few months and then that January they needed another permanent person.  I knew a few more peoples names by this time and enjoyed the evening without the kids so I said 'Heck yeah! Sign me up!'  But there was no host for the following month, so I said 'Heck yeah! Sign me up! I'll do it!'  I'm very ambitious.

So, my second month of being a Bunko member, I hosted my first Bunko night, on Valentine's Day.  It was fun! I love prepping for parties.  I would love to start a party planning business, I'd be great at it, I really would.  But, OK, maybe I'm not that ambitious.  I stuck with a Valentine type theme and made it 'Guilty Pleasures'.  I sadly got no pictures that night of my tables or decor.  I'm really getting terrible at picture taking.

I'm going to blame it on my old age, or maybe it's laziness, could be the memory... What?   Oh!

This time around I hosted in October, with the original intention of doing an 'Oktoberfest' theme.  Which would have been a lot of fun but a couple months before I hosted I changed my mind...totally dorked out...and went with 'Harry Potter' instead.  Yeah!!!!!!!! (insert more squealing and clapping here) I had such a great time putting it all together.  And I must say that the end result wasn't too shabby.  I made Shepherd's Pie for dinner and Butterbeer and Pumpkin Juice to drink.  For dessert I made Licorice Wands, Pumpkin Pasties and Treacle Tarts.

I staged the entrance (mostly with pictures) like you were walking through Platform 9 3/4 then taking the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade Station.  I had (a picture of) the Sorting Hat and sorted everyone into Houses and awarded the House Cup at the end of the night.  Our Bunko and Traveling tossables were Harry Potter glasses and a Hogwarts student hat.  Most everyone there had read the books and a few even got into the theme and showed up in invisibility cloaks, so cute!  I heard that a lot of their kids wanted to come, too. :)

Each of the tables were decorated as a room in Hogwarts.  The high table was Dumbledore's Office with Lemon Drops, Phoenix feathers and the Sword of Gryffindor.  The middle table was the Gryffindor Common Room with Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Gold Galleons, The Monster Book of Monsters and a magic wand.  The low table was Snape's Office with cauldrons, gummy snakes and The Hand Of Glory.  I made quills for everyone to write with and there was a little Whomping Willow complete with little tiny car stuck in the branches.   Let me say it again.  I'm a dork.  A big one.  And an even bigger Harry Potter dork.  Without the least little bit of shame or embarrassment about it.


Over the past year we've had such great themes! 'Movie Night', 'Mystery', 'The Letter S', 'Favorite Color', 'Sesame Street', 'Jimmy Buffett' and many more!  I love finding out what each months host picks as a theme, seeing how they make it come to life, then seeing how everyone else interprets the theme for their loser bag gift.  I've also meet and gotten to know a little better a wonderful group of women...ladies...gals...dames...damsels...lasses......womenfolk?

Thesauruses are fun.

In the short time I've been a part of the group, I've seen a few people join us and a few have to leave.  But no one ever misses a beat.  Those that can't make it anymore are still remembered and those that fill their chairs are quickly embraced.

Even though I am no longer considered 'mid-county' I still (drive a crazy far distance to) join the group once a month so that I can spout off boarder line garish tidbits and embarrass myself yet again.  It's kind of my thing.


This was great, I got to share with you a brief tale of my Harry Potter theme Bunko further explaining what a doofus I am while at the same time telling you about my new favorite monthly night out with a great group of...hold on, I'm getting another one, ok here we go...wenches.  No, that's no good.  How about this one, maidens.  Maybe not quite accurate, but better than wench.  ;)





I am thankful for a lovely group of ladies that I hope are not upset by my jokingly vulgar sense of humor.
PS - I was going to write broads, not ladies.  Have I offended anyone yet?