Ba'Donka in da Tonka

Yeah.... doesn't quite have the same feeling as Rumble in the Jungle, but there's really not much out there for rhyming with Minnetonka. Where's Don King when you need him? Bad hair aside, Andy had summoned a diverse cross section of her friends for her first attempt at organizing a game night.

No matter how many times I play games and have fun, I'm always reluctant, but this was a super fun crowd coming and Matt(2) & Sherry were bringing their Wii! Besides, if nothing else, I knew that there'd be plenty of good wine and food to distract me from losing - which I most certainly did. There was no "A" for effort, either. I throw myself into all competitions like Daria throws herself at that volleyball. (Besides, last time I approached a Nintendo anything resulted in the great meltdown of '98, when while playing Mario Cart I threw down the control and stomped out of the room saying, "I don't wanna play this stupid game anymore!!" Yeah, at 21 yrs of age.)
Instead, I focused on where I almost always win, the food. I made the 1 minute salsa again. This stuff is amazing. And when I tossed in a little avacado, it was even prettier (that was before it was gone and before I remembered the camera.)

After lots of wine sipping and catching up, it was time for the events to begin. Unlike most good fights, the main attraction of the night was the Matt show down was the first to take place. Like many instigators before me, I picked a fight and then hid when it was time that the score was settled. I sent out a whole lotta bitch talkin' about how 2 Men Named Matt Would Enter... Only One Would Leave. Now, this is completely unfair because not only is the Wii Matt's, but my Matt has only played it once, with his nephew, for approximately 20 minutes. Not exactly the training that most athletes cram in before the big match. I was betting on a combination of beginners luck and uncontrolable limbs. Maybe, if he didn't blind Matt(2) he might break the game and I wouldn't feel too bad about being a quitter. Well, not that I did anyway.... But, the battle royale began!

Matt (2) and Matt - Mine

Just look at those techniques!! Matt v2.0 is playing left handed... an interesting choice. Is it because he knows other Matt has little to no limb control? Is he just winding up a good cross arm swing to pop Matt in the eye? Or is he just messing with him?

The audience is on the edge of their seats, breathless with anticipation. Who will reign supreme in the Isle of Wii Tennis!? Who will claim the throne as the one and only M A T T!?

And [HERE] is where I would put the victory pose, were I not distracted by this bronze, silver and gold line up:

Oh, I love you, my little Crianza Temperanillo. And Garnacha! Amazing showing! Well done. Who would have ever believe that the little blue bottle, coming all the way from the back hills of Spain would have her Cinderella story tonight and bring in the bronze for her region? Congratulations to the winners!!

While some continued with the Wii, the next game was gathered. Apparently, I'm the only one whose never heard of this, because I kid you not as each guest arrived they said, "Oh! Mexican Train Dominos! FUN!" WTF? They're dominos, right? Dominos? When I asked Matt what he knew about this game, all I got was him slamming his hand down on whatever was near and yelling, "Domino, Mutha F*cka!" Yes, very helpful, dear. Here are your pills.

I decided to give it a shot, since I was kind of being a game party pooper. Here's my hand:

Yeah, I don't know what it means, and I never did really figure it out. I did hang in there for two hands because Matt REALLY wanted to be the blue train and I wanted to milk that for a little bit.

Sherry was actually a Mexican train playin' Madwoman! She was throwin' down all kinds of stradegies and really whupping butt, driving both Matt & Eric really crazy. Andy and I were placated by the wine and my complete unwillingness to learn. Wasn't it time to make some more food?

Andy, Sherry and I stuffed up some little egg roll wrappers with gueyere and ham or carmelized onions and brie, then fried.

We baked a batch, too and I loved those! What an easy and fun party food. I'll defintely try something like that the next time I entertain. (...at someone else's house...)

There was just enough time for one more game of Mexican domino cheatem whatever. Grendel couldn't WAIT.