Nikki Post: DINOSAUR RIDGE FOLLOW-UP!

You may remember that last June, Claire and I took a "mecation" and stopped off at Dinosaur Ridge to see cool fossils and fall in love with TJ, our paleontologist tour guide. Recently, Steve and I went to the ridge to take pictures for our wedding save-the-dates. While we waited for our friend to arrive and take the photos, Steve and I visited the museum. While there, we made an exciting discovery:

THE MISSING DINO FOSSIL!

Here's its story (click on image for larger version):

I was VERY excited to be able to follow up on this mystery, but Steve was...less than interested. *eyeroll* BOYS.

After-Christmas Christmas Party!

Sorry this is going to be out of chronological order. At this point, I just want to get SOMETHING from our SUPER-FUN visit home to Baltimore for Christmas up on the blog so you can enjoy it!

Nikki's friend (and Maid of Honor) Audra hosts an after-Christmas party every year. She makes a ton of food, offers a ton of beverage options, and coordinates a White Elephant gift exchange. This year's gift theme was "Cartoons for Christmas." Everyone had to bring something that had to do with cartoon characters, new or classic. Steve's sister (and bridesmaid) Sam came along this year, which was super fun. She and Steve didn't have time to shop for gifts for the exchange, so Nikki bought gifts on their behalf. Oh Lord...

The loot!!

I'll take this one please!

Steve, a.k.a. "Stinja," looks on in amused horror at the weird gifts

Zack, his lady love Stephanie, and her sister Kim acted as a team and ended up all getting Transformers stuff with the odd Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle toy thrown in. Turns out, making Transformers these days is TOUGH!!

A RARE picture of Audra's boyfriend Tim. As you can see, he's thrilled to get his Transformers toy too.

Tia (bridesmaid!) ended up with a two-part gift. Part one: Super Mario Brothers fruit snacks!

Part two: A matching Super Mario Brothers fleece blanket!

Her husband Jon (best man!) coincidentally (the gifts were originally wrapped) chose a DVD of the Super Mario Brothers TV show! (That's how you know it's true love.)

Stinja was excited to get the special-edition Finding Nemo DVD!

Stinja's girlfriend Julie "won" a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles tee shirt and Family Guy boxer shorts (not pictured)

Samantha ended up choosing the gift that Nikki had bought on her behalf. A 47-piece Toy Story puzzle, you say?! Magnificent!

Steve TOTALLY nerded out when he opened his gift to find he'd gotten an Iron Man mask and a Captain American shield (that shoots darts, although not effectively).

Evan chose the gift that Nikki had bought on Steve's behalf. When he tried to guess what his wrapped gift was by shaking it, he asked, "Did you buy a box of rocks?" Everyone had a good laugh when they saw that the gift was actually a box of cereal with cartoon mascot Tony the Tiger on it.

Audra, seen here looking possessed, chose a Hong Kong Phooey doll that Stinja had chosen to purchase. The cartoon drawing she's holding was done by Stinja!

Nikki, seen here looking deranged, chose the gift she'd bought for the party. Turns out, she REALLY wanted a My Little Pony doll, perhaps to relive her childhood. Stinja tried to "steal" the gift during the exchange part, but she threatened him with bodily harm, so he just let her have it.

After the gift exchanged, we played Cards Against Humanity, which is a dirtier version of Apples to Apples. Nikki ended up winning, perhaps because she has the filthiest mind.

Lyra Heartstrings awaits the game

Amazon Sells Some Weird Stuff

Nikki has this gift card for Amazon.com that she got MONTHS ago from her friend Karen that she STILL HASN'T USED. I thought I'd help her decide what to buy by doing a search for good armadillo stuff. (One can never have too many armadillo-related things.) I found your typical things: other (less cute) stuffed armadillos, armadillo jewelry (which Nikki said she wouldn't wear!), tee-shirts that say "Armadillos Rock!" (which Nikki ALSO said she wouldn't wear! What a hater!), and little kid books about how awesome armadillos are. But I also found some really....weird stuff. These were my "favorites."

Armadillo Bites: http://www.amazon.com/Shakespeares-Armadillo-Bites/dp/B004SP5E5Y When I first saw this in the search results, I was horrified. Was Amazon really selling DEAD ARMADILLOS on their website?! I clicked on it, ready to write a scathing "review" of the product when I read the product description: "10 ounces of Fudge Dipped Mini Sandwich Cookies with Toffee Sprinkles." Why in the heck would they be named Armadillo Bites, when armadillos are obviously not made of chocolate and cookies?! Humans are weird.

YuGiOh Gem-Armadillo Card: http://www.amazon.com/YuGiOh-Hidden-Arsenal-Gem-Armadillo-HA05-EN005/dp/B006IDDRYE Ok, this is TOTALLY BADASS!!! YuGiOh is some kind of card game like Pokemon or Magic: The Gathering. (Google them if you're not dorky enough to have heard of them.) I totally want metallic claws and rockets! Obviously, Nikki vetoed my idea of "upgrading" my shell. >:P

ARMADILLO SLIPPERS: http://www.amazon.com/Happy-Feet-Armadillo-Animal-Slippers/dp/B002ZHMA2M This is even more unacceptable than the idea of eating pieces of armadillo! Think of how you'd feel if you saw a stranger walking around wearing the dead bodies of YOUR family members on their feet! Seriously. Go ahead. Picture it. Pretty horrifying, huh?

Home-Grown Maize Armadillo: http://www.amazon.com/Grown-Enesco-Maize-Armadillo-Figurine/dp/B003BXK29C This is the hands-down winner of the Weirdest Armadillo Merchandise Being Sold on Amazon.com. It's a stuffed armadillo...dressed like a corn cob. Who do you even give something like that to?! Who looks at a corn cob armadillo and thinks, "Man! What a great gift! I'll buy one for the whole family!" WEIRDOS. That's who.

Winner of the "Nikki Thinks She's Funny, But She's Really Not" Award: http://www.amazon.com/Hansa-5798-Armadillo-Limited-Edition/dp/B0043WG39I Nikki was peering over my shoulder while I was doing my search and pointed out that this stuffed armadillo was really cute. I scoffed and said that it wasn't as cute as I am, and she responded, "It probably complains less." AS IF!!! I don't complain that much! I mean, when Eva flops on top of me or Tasha starts kneading me, I just go with the flow, you know? I mean, yeah, I *may* bring it up every time Nikki or Steve call them "a good dog" or a "good kitty," like, "Oh yeah, GOOD pets DEFINITELY lay on top of other household members until they can't breathe!" But honestly? It's a TOTALLY VALID point! I'm just saying...I'm way cuter.

Nikki Note: I'm seriously considering buying this armadillo with my gift card, partially out of spite and partially because I think Claire needs to interact with her own kind more often. Unfortunately, due to some facts she read on the internet (which turned out to be true), she's convinced herself that all OTHER armadillos carry leprosy. I don't know that I can deal with her staggering around the house, talking about how her tail is going to fall off. Still, if anyone would like to buy it for me, please feel free to.

CLAIRE NOTE: DON'T BUY THIS FOR HER, YOU GUYS!

Nikki Post: Paper Moon Diner

I flew home to Baltimore last weekend to be a bridesmaid in a friend's wedding. Claire will be telling you ALL about our trip in the coming days, but while she's distracted by watching Being Elmo on Netflix, I thought I'd sneak on and update about a trip I went on without her. (Don't tell!)

That Friday I spent the day with my dear friend Agnes, who recently hit her third decade of life on this planet. (Happy birthday!) To celebrate, I took her to lunch at Paper Moon Diner in Baltimore, one of my favorite, hip, overpriced restaurants in the city. (Warning, the website has loud music when you first enter, so turn down your speakers!) I first went to P-Moon when I was 17 or so and my friend Chuck suggested we go there late one night during the summer. The thrill of going someplace in the wee hours of the morning and goofing around in such a wacky environment was wonderful for my almost-an-adult self. For years, it seemed that every time I went to the diner, no matter how late or early in the day or night, I'd run into someone I know or who knew me through a series of "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" kind of steps. (Also know as the "Smalltimore" effect.) I once went there my sophomore year of college and sat next to an African-American man in his 50s who knew of me through a high school ex-boyfriend he was in a bicycling collective with! The effect has worn off in recent years (and thank God, because most often, the people I saw at Paper Moon were people I didn't want to see!), but the diner remained one of my top spots to take people from out of town. Steve and I actually had our first date of sorts there the night we met. <3

Paper Moon is mostly a diner but also mostly an ever-evolving work of art. While many of the collages and pieces you can see in these pictures have been around for the decade or so I've been a patron, many new pieces are added all the time at the expense of others. My favorite (not pictured) is a mannequin located in the gender-neutral restroom on the first floor. Nothing quite like trying to pee while a bald, mostly-naked mannequin stares at you!

View from our table, looking up and towards the back of the diner

View from our table, looking up and facing the main entrance of the diner

Near the bar area, upon first entering the restaurant. The table right in front there is where Steve and I sat on that fateful night we met one another. <3 <3

This lovely lady is at the cashier's station, next to a disembodied hand covered in pennies.

I had meant to bring Claire along on this particular excursion, but Thursday night was the first night in TWO WEEKS that I had slept through the night, and I ended up running late for what was supposed to be a *brunch* with Aggiebell. In my rush to get out the door, I left Claire tangled in my bedsheets. No matter, because Agnes and I found a way to represent Claire in spirit:

So if you've found this blog via the little note we left at the Paper Moon Diner on March 9, 2012, please leave a comment and let me know! It'd be nice to know that someone read our little love letter.

All of the tables and chairs at Paper Moon are repurposed furniture, and our table happened to have a "secret" drawer in it on Agnes's side. Over the years, I've sat at such tables, and patrons had always left little notes inside for others to find. Finally, Paper Moon compiled these notes into a binder so everyone could share their adventures.

Agnes and I left our own note to mark such a momentous occasion:

Once done with our meal (I had the bananas foster French toast; Agnes had a black bean and avocado quesadilla), Agnes and I took silly pictures outside of the restaurant.

Agnes is a total groupie for mostly-naked dudes riding bareback on cows.

I'm trying to do my best impression of the mannequin behind me and failing spectacularly.

Every restaurant should be required to have an adorable elephant statue on its roof. Think of how much easier it would be to give directions! "Oh, it's the one with the purple elephant on the roof. No, you're thinking of Taco Bell; their elephant is red and white."

Signs you're an art school kid: you're walking the streets with a shopping cart full of mannequin legs. Sign you're from a big city: you're walking around with said shopping cart, and no one is looking at you like you're a freak.