March Madness, Dean's Office Style!

 

 Everyone is very excited about their March Madness brackets and tried to get me to join in. I told them that a) I have NO interest in basketball, professional or college; and b) because of this lack of basic knowledge about the teams, I would be at a severe disadvantage in the pool and would inevitably lose money that I'd rather spend on things like tacos. Now, football play-off pools...that's a different story. ;)

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!

Hooray for Friends!

By now, my good friend Jared has left for destinations south (Colorado Springs and Santa Fe, NM). It was a bittersweet parting for the both of us. Bitter because we had just officially "met" off the internet, but "sweet" because it was weird waking up and going to the kitchen for my morning cereal and seeing him curled up in his sleeping bag on my couch. Hard to watch early-morning cartoons when someone's trying to nap.

Last night, Jared, Steve, Nikki, and our friend Mandy went to Choppers Sports Grill, where Nikki and Steve are regulars. (Note that the bar rocks the Ravens logo on their homepage!) While the guys watched the Orioles game and the NBA play-offs (SNOOZE), Mandy and Nikki played skeeball and tried to get the ball in the little 100-point circle. (They weren't successful.) One of the managers came over and recommended that we go duckpin bowling at this bar in nearby Cherry Creek. Nikki flipped out; duckpin bowling is SUCH a Baltimore sport (and, unfortunately, a dying one). Having a place to play it in Denver seemed like great fun and a taste of home. So we got in the car and headed over to the Milwaukee Street Tavern. They have two bowling alleys (miniaturized, of course) in the back of the bar. It's $4/person per game, and you don't need fancy shoes or anything. We were set to have a great time!

It turns out, Mandy lettered in bowling in high school, so she was REALLY good. And Steve's REALLY good at bowling too, so it was throw-down between the two of them. Since the ball weighs more than I do and is roughly 1/3 my size, I watched on the sidelines. Nikki's pretty terrible, but so is Jared; they ended up tying with 94 points. Steve beat Mandy by something like two points. It was ridiculous.

My picture of them didn't turn out that great because the flash was being weird, so I decided to play around with filters and make this a REALLY creepy-looking photo!

When we got home again, Jared and I hung out with Nikki, watching The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. I wanted to get some pics of us before he left today, so we snapped some "MySpace pics" with our cell phone cameras. (Hooray for technology!) They're not that good, but I like them anyway.

Tres amigos!

Besties!!

Don't forget to check out the post I wrote a couple of days ago to find links to all of Jared's blogs, include his travel blog, which features some pictures from his stay in Denver.

Armadillos in the News

Hi everyone!!!! Sorry for the lull in action, but Nikki grounded me from using the computer because Tasha and I ate her clover, then Tasha threw up all over the floor, and I didn't clean it up like I said I would. Honestly, how she can hold a stuffed armadillo to the same standards as a living armadillo is beyond me. Nikki is insane. But!!! The terms of my imprisonment are over, and I'm starting off strong with a great story about one of my cousins in the South.

Brazil has announced that its native three-banded armadillo will be the official mascot for the World Cup in 2014!! The "tatu-bola," as it's known in Brazil, is an endangered species, which is a pity, because it's so cute! (See below)

Tatu-bola was chosen because, when frightened, it can roll itself into a tight ball...like a soccer ball! How appropriate!

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!

Missouri: An Abbreviated Part Two

Because of my love of football, I insisted that we stop off at Arrowhead Stadium, home to the Kansas City Chiefs. LeRon McClain, formerly of the Ravens (*SNIFF!!*), will be playing here in the fall. (We didn't see him unfortunately.) We also stopped by and took pictures of the Kansas City Royals' stadium because it was right next door.

 I'm a rebel.

 Kauffman Stadium. That day, the Royals beat the Orioles mercilessly. At this point, playing Baltimore is probably like beating a Little League team of 5th graders: unsatisfying.

Click on the picture to enlarge. Then you can actually see me!! (I blend in really well with the posts.)

On our way out of Missouri, we saw yet ANOTHER giant cross! I wonder how many of these are scattered throughout the Midwest. I also wonder if you can climb steps to the top. That'd be cool.

Before we left, we stopped off at a rest stop for a stretch and a bathroom break. Nikki thought that giving Tasha a stretch break would be a good idea too. Tasha didn't really agree.

Next up, KANSAS! All we've been hearing from anyone who's driven through the state is that it's flat and boring. I can't imagine that it's that much worse than Illinois....