Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Fear Factor - Halloween Style

We have some brave friends.

The night started out with each couple forking over $5 into the money pot - the winner of the night takes all.  I explained that points were going to be kept throughout the night on the huge white board, 1st place getting 3 points, 2nd place getting 2, and 3rd place getting 1 point.  

Next, each couple voted for their favorite costume:

Masqueraders 

Flo and Mayhem
Vampire and Victim

Cowboy and Indian

Black Widow and Hawk Eye

Gyote Actors

Bane and Joker
Now on to the games....

1. Worm Relay - One person at the table, the other across the room.  Without using hands, one spouse had to find a gummy worm hidden in whipped cream, pass it off to their spouse (in the mouth) and that person had to run to the table, put the worm in a cup (if you miss you have to redo!) and find the next gummy worm.  It was a great warm up and those with makeup/nice suits were a little surprised!  Sorry about the mess :)  

2. Bubble Trouble - One person from the couple was chosen.  Without hands, they had to find the piece of bubble gum (shaped to look exactly like the chunks of hotdogs smooshed among the nasty cold oatmeal), turn around and face the group and blow a bubble.  Those pieces of gum were harder than a rock, so watching everyone chomp on the oatmeal-covered bubble gum was a hoot!

3. SpagettiO's - Each couple was given a raw noodle and a cup of cheerios.  One person had to hold the raw noodle in their mouth, and the other (without using hands) had to get cheerios from their mouth onto the raw noodle.  The couple with the most cheerios on the noodle at the end of a minute won!  

4. Throw up-Throw down - We thought our friends were going to kill us.  One member of the couple had to volunteer (or be forced) to participate in this event.  Earlier, Ryan and I had blended up the following: pickles, jam, cold brown rice, ketchup, mustard, ranch, veggie burger patties, garlic powder, apple cider vinegar, and kale...give or take.  This chunky green smoothie was to be drank in 20 seconds, or whoever drank the most won.  No plugged noses allowed!  Needless to say...there were plenty of dry heavers.

5.  Spoon it up! - When I passed around the spoons, each couple said "do we have to eat anything?" and looked like they were ready to cry if I said yes!  Each couple had to hold a spoon in their mouth.  One person had to get candy corn on their spoon, run it over to their spouse and put it on their spoon, and that person ran it back and poured it in a cup.  This was hysterical.  The tiniest laugh or bump sent those candies flying!

6.  Make it or Break it - I had hard boiled a few eggs and put them in a bowl with several raw eggs.  Each couple had to come to the middle of the room, one spouse in the chair and the other standing above them ready to be the "smasher."  At this point, everyone had a good chunk of points.  They were allowed to wager points, all or some.  The smasher would then grab an egg out of the bucket and immediately smash it on their spouse's head.  Raw=negative points that were wagered and Cooked=positive points that were wagered. Some lost all their points, other gained a few, but almost everyone got messy!

7.  Now it was time to count up costume votes:  Rachael and Chad won best costume for their amazing idea of being Flo from Progressive and Mayhem guy from Allstate.  Amazing!  Mitch and Megan came in a close second for being Bane and the Joker, and the Croppers came in third with their equally amazing costume portraying a music video called "Somebody that I used to know" by Gotye.  

All in all....Mitch and Megan took home the dough!  It was a hilarious night, an eventful evening, and an all around good time.  We just hope our friends will still hang out with us.  :)


Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Murphy's Law...

So Lauren and I were going on an outdoor outing last week and the moment we arrived at our destination the wind and dust was blowing, rain was falling, and our plans had to be tucked away for some future sunny day.  Not long after, we invited Kate and her friend Jason over for the final presidential debate.  We bought a cable cord to hook up to the TV.  To our dismay, we don't have any cable channels, not even the basic 3 or 4 that everyone gets, so we had to resort to the computer, again.  Rarely does anything that Lauren and I plan out, especially if it's fun, go according to plan. In fact, the majority of the time we have to deal with minor, but still infringing misfortunes on a daily basis.  That must happen to everyone, right?  It's not just us with bad luck, is it?

You might be wondering about the title of this post.  Murphy's Law is that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.  Luckily our misfortunes haven't quite reached the status of Finagle's Law, which is that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong, at the worst possible moment.  Why is it that things seem to work out that way? Any ideas? From a religious perspective is the Lord simply trying our patience?  Are there always lessons to be learned when Murphy's Law strikes?  What about the idea of Karma.  Do you think our thoughts and behavior are responsible for these mishaps?

I've thought a lot about how to get the best of Murphy's Law, maybe even enjoy it.  The main thing that comes to my mind is the adage come what may and love it.  That seems like fitting advice for frequent misfortune.  But can you really love it, no matter what comes, all the time?  Can attitude, optimism, or any preconceived plan get the best of ol' Murph?

Anyway, it's an interesting adage that got me thinking today.  If you have any tips, strategies, or game plans to combat Murphy's Law that have consistently worked for you, do share!