Nikki Post: Friendship is Magic

For Christmas last year, I gave my niece a My Little Pony "doll" (Rainbow Dash, because my brother can be homophobic, and I like being "gay-friendly, feminist Aunt Nikki"). She basically lost her shit because a) she LOVES MLP, and b) I had managed to buy her favorite pony. (SCORE!) Nostalgic for my own childhood when I had an insane amount of ponies (and according to my mom, mine are still in the attic), I bought one for the white elephant gift exchange at Audra's party. As you may remember though, I wanted to keep the pony all to myself, and by threatening the lives of the other guests, I was able to keep Lyra Heartstrings (not one of the main ponies, apparently). She currently lives behind the business cards and Frida the philodendron on the main part of my desk.

Being badass in the skull (Dia de los muertos) bracelet Agnes gave me

Many people in the office laughed at my pony, and yet they enjoy playing with her hair and moving her around. As a front desk person, many people consider "my stuff" to be "everyone's stuff," since it's so out in the open. So I'm a bit sensitive about items on my desk being moved around/messed with. After a VERY stressful week, I went to pick up Lyra and comb her hair to calm down (because I'm a child, apparently). That was the first time all week that I had noticed she was missing.

I. Lost. My. Mind.

I flipped out on Tracy, demanding to know where the pony was. She said she didn't know. I asked if she knew who took it. She said yes, looking more and more terrified by the second as my eyes began to glow red with bloodlust and a deep river of rage that lives deep inside of me and that most people don't see. Then I started angry-crying, and she told me that Marshall had taken Lyra on his vacation as a joke because he thought I'd get a kick out of him treating her like I did Claire. Under normal circumstances, I would have LOVED this opportunity to update the blog with something silly that someone else did as an homage to my country-traveling armadillo. But the stressful week, the bubbling rage, the crying, and my sensitivity about my possessions made me angrier than amused. Had Marshall asked or, wanting to keep it a surprise, someone had mentioned it BEFORE Friday when I discovered it on my own, things would have been better. There were some apologetic emails that got sent around that weekend between Marshall, Tracy, and me, and eventually everything was settled and forgiven.

On Monday, Marshall brought in a stack of pictures that he and his wife Kelly had taken while on their vacation with the pony. He said that they had a lot of fun taking the pictures in different locations. Marshall especially liked it because the pony was just the right side to put in his coat pocket while skiing. He had gone old-school and taken pictures with a film camera and went through great lengths to make sure that he had everything printed before he came into work on Monday. So I apologize for the quality of the pictures; I can only do so much editing.

I'm sure that I'm compressing the actual time line a LOT. After all, Marshall was out for a whole week of mountain fun times. But since I didn't go with him, I don't really know what his itinerary was, and he's a busy guy, so sitting down for an "interview" isn't a possibility.

Everyone's favorite picture - Lyra makes her escape!

Marshall made sure that Lyra got to watch my team WIN THE SUPER BOWL!

 En route to Copper Mountain Ski Resort; this shot was taken on Freemont Pass between Copper and Leadville

The amenities at the condo in Frisco where they all stayed were pretty sweet:

A romantic fire place...

...festive Native American decorations...

...a large backyard area for playing in the snow...

...a hot tub!!!...

...and game night!

But the real reason why Marshall, Kelly, and Lyra drove up to the mountains was to ski. It's Marshall's favorite activity, but unfortunately, due to a recent knee injury, he's out for the rest of the season. It's really sad panda times. He said that Lyra was a real champ about having her picture taken in the cold temperatures and that she was easy to put in his ski jacket's pocket and take from place to place.

On the way to the ski slopes!

Behold, the majesty of the Colorado Rockies. (She's on Marshall's ski pole in this picture.)

At the top of Spaulding Bowl. Be careful, Lyra!

Riding on the ski lift to the top of the mountain, the only thing about skiing that I like. :p

Perfect powder for a day of skiing in the sunshine

Whew!! Ready to go back to the condo to warm up and relax!

What better way to relax than to head over to an old-time saloon, eat some good food, and drink some good beer? The family headed over to the Blue Spruce Saloon and Bar for dinner. Marshall and Kelly were joined by Kelly's nieces Charlie and Penny and Penny's friend. (Obviously the young girls did NOT partake of the saloon's fine spirits.)

Waiting for a table

Marshall said that Lyra got all of her drinks for free that day because she flirted heavily with all of the guys at the bar. And here I thought she was such a sweet, innocent little pony!

Finally got a table! Time to settle down and order some food to go along with all that beer.

Everyone thought it was great that Charlie's outfit matched Lyra's coloring! I've circled the pony for you so you can find her more easily on top of Charlie's hat.

Penny and her friend were also pretty stoked to have Lyra joining them for dinner. I mean, who doesn't like My Little Ponies?!

Don't do it, Lyra!! Nothing good can come from that much Jager!

Another day, the crazy party went to Woodward at Copper, a gym with all kinds of "extreme" sports type of things to do. Frankly, I'm mad jealous, as I've always wanted to do these sorts of things. Unfortunately, I'm terribly clumsy with an equilibrium problem, so doing things like skate boarding and leaping off of things into a giant box of foam might not be a good idea for me.

The foam bricks

This half pipe was at Copper, and according to Marshall, Lyra had a great time going down it and being all EXTREME!

A beautiful night in the mountains calls for a beautiful night...

...spending time in front of an outdoor fire. Don't get too close, Lyra! Remember, you're made of plastic and can melt! Ponies are pretty flammable.

Lyra returned to me in one piece, and I gave Marshall official permission to take her on his next vacation, wherever that may be. He said everyone had fun finding photo-ops for her and it was a good way for the group to have fun together. Perhaps Lyra will get to see as many places as Claire someday!

Nikki Post: I'm SO SORRY (and not dead)

Hi all,

I'm so sorry for not posting in a super-long time. My life has been consumed by many other things. I'm in a play (my first in Denver AND my first for which I'm getting PAID!), so there were rehearsals and a tumultuous tech week, and I was in every single opening weekend show. (We have alternate actors who switch off for different performances. I'm only going to be a minor character in the pre-show this upcoming weekend.) I've been volunteering and having some work stress and some life stress. All of this means that I haven't traveled anywhere, with Claire or otherwise. I have a few hundred pictures from when my mom, aunt, and grandma came into town at the end of September I need to edit and post. Having that many photos to go through is a daunting task, and having not gone with them on their adventures means I don't know a lot about what they did or what they saw. Luckily, my grandma has been really good about posting her pictures to Facebook, often with captions explaining what everything is, so I should be able to get some information from there. I just haven't had the time to sit down and force myself to do it.

Posting at least the photos from their trip to Garden of the Gods is one of my goals for this week.

Please know that I haven't lost interest in this blog at all and that I'll be bringing my laptop with me when I'm home for Christmas so that when insomnia strikes, I can upload pictures and stories of our adventures back in Baltimore. I'm really looking forward to going home this year, as I've been homesick for my nieces and nephews, and because I get to have a party with my bridesmaids AND look for potential wedding locations for next year! Lots to do, and hopefully I'll get to make some time to keep you all up-to-date about our holiday adventures. :)

Thanks for reading,
Nikki

Nikki Post: Colorado Wildfires

I usually try to keep this blog light-hearted and funny, full of silly pictures of my stuffed armadillo going on adventures, but today I want to break character for a minute and talk about a very serious subject.

Even though Colorado governor John Hickenlooper has said otherwise, Colorado is burning. This is no exaggeration. Pictures are popping up all over Google, national media outlets, local news organizations, and social media (especially Twitter). People are desperate to find ways to help the victims, whether it's to donate money, necessities, or even their homes to evacuees. I'll be posting links to these organizations at the bottom of this post. First though, I'd like to share with you some pictures of the various wildfires so everyone who isn't in Colorado can appreciate the desperation our citizens are in. Imagine that these are your homes, or the homes of your loved ones. Can you even fathom how terrifying this is for people who don't know if their homes have burned? Who don't know if their mementos, important documents, clothes, and even animals are safe? Who have nowhere to stay except maybe a high school gymnasium, a YMCA, or the shelter of a stranger's house? Again, please scroll all the way down to find ways to help Colorado's citizens.

EDIT:

This comment was posted on a Reddit forum conversation about the fires:

"I'm a firefighter. Sadly, I'm not there, I'm out for this season with an ankle injury and paperwork fuck-ups. But yes, the weather can and will take a fire and turn it into a monster in a mater of minutes. I saw it happen in Northern California in '08, I saw it happen in LA in '09, and I saw it happen in Northern Nevada in '10. Despite all logic to the contrary, fire is a ravenous creature that will devour anything and everything in it's path. If you are even remotely in an area that can burn, GET THE F*CK OUT NOW. I'm deadly serious, get you, your family, and what bits of precious you can't bear to part with, and leave. Right now, if that's possible. I have watched fire run across the ground at 40 mph, torching old-growth trees to kindling in a matter of seconds. Don't stay. Leave. A home can be rebuilt, a life cannot be remade.
If you have time, prep your house. Cover any and all openings, this means windows, doors, vents, eaves, crawl spaces, any hole you can find needs to be covered with plywood or some other dense, semi-flame resistant material. Pull EVERYTHING away from the sides of your house, from wood piles to that lawn mower you keep meaning to fix to that Rhododendron your wife planted to that empty (or God help you, full) tank of propane. Pull flammable stuff away from windows and doors if it's in the house. And when evac time comes, leave a note on your door with contact info, number of people in your household, and your destination.
I'm so sorry I'm not there to help. I feel like I've let you all down. All I can do is sit here at home, feeling useless, and pass on what info I can. Stay safe, my thoughts are with all of you."

 

Photo posted by @donmoen

In Colorado Springs. Fire is threatening Air Force Academy. Photo posted by @KevinOzebek.

Colorado Springs fire. Note the houses on fire in the background. Photo courtesy of Fox 31 News in Denver.

Photo courtesy of @scottseibold. From what I can tell, he lives in Colorado Springs.

I find this picture particularly upsetting. This is a picture of the High Park fire, one of the worst in the state right now. Photo courtesy of RV Vagabonds. Read their blog, especially about how the Colorado Wolf Sanctuary has had to be evacuated because of the flames.

Map of all the wildfires currently burning in Colorado, as of June 23rd. Several more have cropped up in the past few days. Photo courtesy of Wildfire Today.

 

Citizens of High Park wait at a Red Cross station to see if they can return to their homes. Look at how many people have been displaced by just ONE fire.

Rocky Mountain Health Care services are in desperate need of toiletries, specifically towels, shampoo, soap, and food.

The Red Cross is collecting supplies and monetary donations. The link takes you to the local Colorado branches of the organization. I think almost all of them need donations. You can also donate $10 per text message by messaging REDCROSS to 90999.

SO MANY animals (wild and domestic) have been displaced by the fires. Here's two organizations that especially need your help:

• Pikes Peak Humane Society needs animal kennels and bottled water for staff and volunteers.
• Larimer Human Society needs monetary donations, dry dog and cat food, and dog and cat treats.

If you live in Colorado and can help people displaced and homeless by the fires near Fort Collins, please visit this website: http://cohighparkfirehousing.org.

Here are three links to more organizations that need your help and donations:

• HelpColoradoNow.org has a comprehensive list of ways to donate time, money, and supplies.
• This article on The Denver Channel also has several other animal shelters, firefighter organizations, and donation centers that you can contact.
• The Denver Post has a really great list of resources about the wildfires.

Please share this entry. I don't care about "spreading the word about the blog." I just want to help people and make sure that others know how to help people too.

SNOWVENTURE! Part Two

Now that we're done having our fabulous Snowventure in Evergreen, let me show you how fun it was so you can be TOTALLY jealous!!

Evergreen got about two feet of snow during the recent blizzard. Using Steve as a yardstick, you can see how much snow his aunt Pam and uncle Rob got on their porch!

Since it never really snowed that much in Maryland, Nikki and Steve don't own any cold weather gear. As such, Nikki had to borrow Uncle Rob's waterproof ski pants for our sledding adventure. Luckily, T-Rex and I were fine with just ear muffs and a scarf.

Aw man, T-Rex!! You're facing the wrong way! You'll go down the hill backwards if you're not careful!

Steve went down the sledding lane with a giant jump in it. Check out the look on his face!

The cold and wet aftermath of getting some sweet air.

Oh my God! I can NOT stop LAUGHING at this picture!!! Look at the look on her face! Ahahaha!!
[Nikki: I went FLYING down the damn hill but wasn't on the sled properly, so when I hit the jump, I flipped in the air. This is the exact moment I realized that I was going to die. And NO, there wasn't a video of it...thank God.]

Nikki faceplanted SPECTACULARLY. I mean, seriously, everyone went SILENT because we thought she had broken her neck and was dead. She just lost her glasses and hat and got covered in snow. THIS HAPPENED TWICE. The second time was just as funny as the first. After that run though, she decided just to stick to taking pictures. :p

Steve's aunt Pam spent all of her rides down the hill screaming bloody murder and laughing hysterically.

This is a hilarious video of me, T-Rex, and Nikki sledding down the mountain. Getting back up the hill was the hardest part...for Nikki. Neither T-Rex nor I have arms big enough to carry a snow tube back up a hill. ;p

After our trip down the hill, T-Rex and I spent the rest of the day chillin' at the top of the mountain. We saw what happened to Nikki, and even though we don't have any bones to break, he and I didn't want to risk it!

An ALARMING Metaphor

What is WITH you English-speaking humans and your ability to come up with the most ALARMINGLY inappropriate metaphors?! While I was Googling myself yesterday (don't act like you don't do this), I found this article towards the top of the front page. Horrified, I clicked the link, and it turns out, they were just talking about some jerk filming an open forum meeting at a library or something. I tried Googling the phrase "armadillo on fire" to find its etymological origins, but all I found were some upsetting videos on YouTube and more links to the above blog post.

I certainly hope that their Claire the armadillo wasn't harmed in the writing of their sensationalist story.

In Which We Go Camping, Avoid Bears, and I *DON'T* Get to Ride a Horse!

So remember long ago when I said that we went camping for one day in the Rockies? Well, Nikki FINALLY finished editing the photos for me, so now I can finally make a post about that weekend! Honestly, she can only use the "but I work all day and have grad school homework and I'm trying to get a social life here" excuse so many times before I just stop hearing her talk anymore. :P

Steve, Nikki, and I left Labor Day Weekend Friday to make the drive up to Glacier Basin Campground in Rocky Mountain National Park. It's a high-altitude park, and there have been BEAR SIGHTINGS there recently, so I was terrified. Nikki tried to pretend that she was cool with the whole "we might run into a bear...literally" thing, but she soon showed her true colors. (More on that later.)

Our drive to the Rockies took us through Estes Park, Colorado, a small town up in the mountains that's full of little restaurants and cafes and clothing stores and skiing places and TOURISTS. We stopped at a sports bar for dinner and ate outside on the patio, which overlooked a river.

 I love this picture of me! I think I'm going to make it my new profile picture. Everyone keeps mistaking me for the cat because of the one I have now of the two of us. :P

Nikki abandoned me on this tiny rock in the middle of the rushing rapids of this river! (Luckily, armadillos are EXCELLENT swimmers!)

Thanks to a poor bit of navigation on Nikki's part, we didn't get to the campground until after dark. When we pulled up to the ranger station to check in, Nikki was freaking out about the "bear situation." She had a pamphlet we had gotten at the FIRST campground we drove to and was reading about how to avoid bear attacks. When the old ranger lady started grilling Nikki and Steve about camping in "Bear Country," Nikki blurted out, "THERE AREN'T ANY BEARS IN OUR TRUNK" which confused the hell out of the ranger and Steve but just had me cracking up! Turns out, Nikki had been reading about how you have to put all your food in the trunk of your car because bears have figured out how to bust open windows. You're also not supposed to wear to bed the same clothes you cooked in because bears can smell the food on your clothes and then burst into your tent and try to eat you!!

Follow the link for some other tips on how Not to Get Eaten by Bears While Camping.

Steve and Nikki set up the tent while I took first shift on Bear Watch. Really, Nikki had nothing to be worried about; our part of the campground was a wide open space surrounded by other campers in tents and, on the periphery, campers in RVs. There were some trees/woods, yeah, but nothing thick enough for a bear to hide in. Frankly, I was a little disappointed.

Finally, after a lot of bickering and "Why are you mad at me, I don't know how to set up a damn tent"s, our home for the night was finished! Here, let me give you the tour...

This is the outside of the tent. I know it looks small, but Steve can almost stand upright in it (if he's standing in the middle), and he's a little over 6' tall. So really, it's perfect for me and Nikki.

And this is me, inside the tent. I'm on the air mattress that Nikki and Steve brought with them because they're pansies who don't want to sleep on the cold hard ground. ;)

And this is me INSIDE the tent. See how little I am in there?

Nikki's set-up for the bed was pretty ingenious. Because an air mattress traps all the cold air and makes you FREEZE when you sleep on it, Nikki had one of the sleeping bags cover the mattress, with the flannel part facing up. Then she had a sheet on top of the sleeping bag, and then ANOTHER sleeping bag on top of the sheet, this time with the flannel facing down. To bring the overkill full circle, Nikki put their comforter on top of everything. I thought she was being a little melodramatic. I mean, it wasn't THAT COLD yet...

As the night went on, I became more and more thankful that Steve knows how to build a campfire. It was cold as all get-out up there in the Rockies!! I mean, down in Denver, it had been in the 80s all week; nice, warm, armadillo weather. But in the mountains at night, that's a whole other story. Nikki bundled into her giant Loyola hoodie and kept walking around shivering and muttering to herself dramatically. But even Steve started getting really cold! He put on long pants and stood ridiculously close to the fire. He didn't even want to snuggle, for fear of giving up his warmth, I guess. I finally just said, "Let's call it a night," and we all huddled under Nikki's brilliant layers of blankets and warmth. She snuggled me HARD that night, curled tightly into a ball like an armadillo.

The next morning, the sun was shining brightly, and the sky was blueblueBLUE! It was still really chilly though, so Nikki stayed in her hoodie...and *I* stayed under the covers! At least until Nikki made me come outside to keep her company while she and Steve made breakfast.

Our campsite at Glacier Basin Campground in Rocky Mountain National Park. Check out the perennially snow-covered mountains!

Look at this tiny tree! I am a giantess next to it! This stately evergreen could easily become my breakfast! Muahahahaha!

Speaking of breakfast...

TURKEY BACON!! Not as good as pig bacon, but significantly better for you. We also had cereal, and Steve had scrambled eggs. 

...That frying pan is STILL burned to a crisp on the bottom, and it's been washed TWICE! Nikki says it's not a big deal since it was a hand-me-down, and it still works fine.

After breakfast, we packed up and got ready to go to the next spot. We had quite a bit of time before we could check in at the next campground, about an hour or so away, so Nikki suggested we all go horseback riding through the Rockies while we waited.

I.

WAS.

SO.

EXCITED!!

I've only ever seen pictures of horses or seen them from a distance when we were driving through The Nothingness of the Mid-West, and now I was going to have a chance to RIDE ONE?!?!

....OR SO I THOUGHT!!! >:(

When we got to the stables, the grizzle old cowJERKS kept calling me a "teddy bear" and said that Nikki couldn't bring me on a horse, not even just for a PICTURE!!!! I kept yelling at them that I was an ARMADILLO, and NOT a "teddy bear" (UGH), but they wouldn't have any of it. The cowJERKS made Nikki return me to the car while she and Steve rode horses for two long, boring hours. (Boring for me, anyway.) So it's up to her to tell you about her *greeeeeaaaat* adventure riding a stupid horse in the Rockies. She's telling me it's time to go to bed now though, so I guess she'll write about it later.

Good-night, peeps!!