Cha-cha-cha-changes. . .

There was recently a big change in the Messner household. We said goodbye to the monument that was our television. After months of sitting on Craig's List moving closer and closer to the bottom of the list, Josh was able to sell it to one of his co-workers for $100 + truck gas + a bottle of wine. In the end I think it was a good trade. We did have to help move it which (which sucked), but it was worth the sweat. Our living room looks 50% bigger now. It also seems to have better Feng Shui--I don't really know what that means, but it seems better. Here is a pic of the new and improved set up. A new rug and couch should be coming shortly. Yay for economic stimulus packages!!

The Goose is Loose

I'm not kidding, this is an actual email that was sent out at Josh's office today (I added the picture for flare):

Subject: Workplace Violence? Mean Goose Loose

There is an aggressive goose in the courtyard that may be territorial or defending a nest. If the goose is defending a nest her aggressive behavior may last from the time eggs are laid until the time the offspring take on adult coloring. Typically, an aggressive goose will first make a hissing sound as a warning. If not dissuaded, the bird may charge or even fly at you.
Employees have been threatened and chased by the goose so use caution when walking around in the Denver West Office Park. If you notice nesting areas and goslings please avoid them. Also, following are some actions to take if you are approached by an aggressive goose:

1) Maintain eye contact with the goose and face toward it.

2) If the goose acts aggressive calmly and slowly back away.

3) Maintain a neutral demeanor, do not act hostile or show fear.

4) Never turn your back to an aggressive goose.

5) If a goose flies toward your face duck and move at a right angle to the direction of flight while maintaining your front toward the goose.

6) If all else fails, yell (what you yell is at your discretion) and flap your arms. You will not look especially cool, but this technique has been 100% effective in getting geese to back down.

If you sustain an injury from a goose please report it immediately to me, Lisa Weber, or Steven Casias.

Shotski!

My bowling league wrapped up last night. Unfortunately, Josh and I were unable to attend because our softball league started at the same time. Although I’m sad that we missed our game, I’m pretty sure we had last place all wrapped up. Last week we bowled against a kid who looked like he was 9 years old—and he destroyed my score. He also busted a few moves to sexy back, which I thoroughly enjoyed. After the game he gave Josh his cell phone number and told Josh to give him a ring sometime and he and his crew would teach Josh how to bowl. I found this to be hilarious. At the same time, I’m intrigued by the offer.

I can’t say the softball started off much better than bowling. Even though the sun was out all day, when it came time for the game to start, it got cloudy, cold and WINDY! This made it nearly impossible to throw a good pitch. The cold also caused one of our players to pull his quad the first play of the game. The pull was so bad, he woke up today with a huge bruise down his entire leg. Another player took a hit to the ankle the last play of the game. It was black and blue within approximately 10 seconds. On a more positive note, Josh hit a home run. Since I was the only other player on base, I also got to score. Personally, I was just excited that I didn’t strike out. I went up to bat twice and got walked both times. I don’t necessarily like to get walked, but I am proud that I didn’t swing at absurd balls (like I typically do). All in all it was fun, even though we lost 25-10 and nearly froze. I think we lost by the same margin our first game last year. I’m pretty sure things can only get better.

Oh yeah, the title of this blog is our team’s name. Josh constructed a shotski prior to the game last night. It is now our mascot. We tested it out after the game and it worked out pretty well. Hopefully I will be able to post some shotski action shots later in the year.

Ali Vincent Rocks!

Ok, I admit it, I am a fan of a few reality t.v. shows. However, one I am not ashamed of watching is The Biggest Loser. This season was made up of different types of couples: friends, married couples, mother-daughter, father-daugher, mother-son, brothers, etc. Although the couples diminished throughout the show as it became more of an individual challenge, it was very inspiring to see the team members encourage each other the entire time. This season was extra exciting because a female actually won—it has never happened before. The winner was Ali Vincent. She started the show weighing 234 pounds. At the finale last night she weighed 122 pounds. She lost 112 lbs. or 47.86% of her starting weight. The truly amazing this is that she was able to lose the weight over four and a half months. Plus, she actually got sent home with her mom about 4 weeks into the show. While she was home she lost over 30 pounds on her own and won a spot back on the show to compete for the $250,000 grand prize. Her tranformation was very inspirational. Here are a few pictures of Ali and her mom.

Ali and her mom Bette-Sue at the start of the show

Ali and Bette-Sue at the Finale, April 15th

Spring Fever

I am sorry it has been so long since my last blog. I guess I have been busy?? Doing what I'm not sure, but I'm sitting here now, so let's do this.

I currently have a fever, which is totally lame because it is beautiful outside and I would rather be enjoying the nice weather. However, this isn't a mystery sickness that came out of nowhere. I'm 80% sure I know exactly where this nastiness came from. . . James Romero. No, you don't know him. That's a good thing. I half wish I had never met him. The other half of me is glad to have experienced him because he was a truly rare specimen. Here is how our meeting occurred. . .


Last Friday, Josh and I went downtown for the Rockies Opening Day. We knew parking would be horrendous so we decided to take the bus. Although the bus stop is less than a block away from our house, we have never taken it before. With that in mind, we were careful to check the schedule and tried to have everything ready so we could leave on time to hang out with some friends before the game. Despite all of our preparation, we missed the bus. . . twice. Once because we lost track of time and once because I stood at the bus stop for fifteen minutes before I realized I had left my ID at home. Our friend Tim ended up coming over to pick us up. We had a great time at his house eating breakfast, drinking, and playing cornhole. I had never played cornhole before, but soon discovered I was a natural. I'm looking forward to playing some more this summer. Here is a shot of Josh playing, kind of.

After hanging out at Tim's, we started heading over to the game. We stopped over at LODO's for a drink. It was crazy over there! Jen and I got interviewed for a KYGO live webcast. I later watched it. We looked like idiots, but it was still fun. My favorite quote followed the question, "where are you girls sitting during the game?" We responded, "Uh. . . were not really sure? Somewhere high."

The game was a blast even though we lost. Lots of hoo-ha and what-have-you. The thing that sucked was where our seats were. The day was gorgeous, but we ended up being in the shade the whole day. It was actually quite chilly. After the game, we went back to Tim's place to have a few more drinks, play some more cornhole, and eat. However, it took forever for the pizza to get there. Long enough for Josh to pass out on my lap for about an hour while more people showed up to the party. When he finally woke up, he was surrounded by a whole new crowd. A very lively crowd. We rallied for a while, but decided to call it a night early so we could catch the bus home. 12 hours of opening day were a lot to handle. Now this is where the story gets interesting. . . .

We had to catch our bus near 15th and Larimer, maybe a few blocks over from Larimer. Any way, as we got close, we watched our bus drive by. Unfortunately, near the end of the night, the bus only runs every hour. Therefore, we had to wait another 55 minutes for the next one to come pick us up. We hoped we were wrong, so Josh got on his cell to try and call someone to check the schedule. Enter: James Romero. While on the phone, this creepy drunk guy comes up to Josh and asks to use his phone. Josh replies, "no." The guy asks why and Josh responds, "It's just kind of weird, man. No." The guy's response was classic! He said, "No, its not. I'm not going to call a dude." The fun didn't stop here. The guy continued to talk to us and let us know he was James Romero and that we made a mistake because he was a boxer and would have had our back if something "went down." At this point I thought he might stab us. Instead he told us he was going to give us a gift. This gift was the gift of rap. For the next 50 minutes James Romero spit hot fire in Josh's face. . . . along with the germs that I am sure made both Josh and I sick this week. He would rap about anything from Elitches to Pueblo. It was amazing. He tried to get Josh to rap battle with him, but was not successful. My favorite part of this entire fiasco was when James Romero would rap laugh. It went a little something like this: Ha ha ha Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha -ha (in a raspy DMX drunk voice). I wanted to take a picture, but I thought James Romero might steal my camera (50/50 odds). Needless to say, I was ecstatic when the bus finally picked us up. Josh had to go home and immediately clean James Romero spit off of his face. Unfortunately, it did not prevent the sickness.

Side Note: It was also my birthday on the 6th. I had a good time with some family and friends. In addition I learned some valuable lessons. 1) Just because someone gives you a red visor that says Las Vegas on the bill, doesn't mean you have to wear it. 2) I should never consume red bull, especially with shots. 3) Green chile cheese fries should not be eaten the same night one drinks gin and tonics. . . or really any hard liquor. 4) Never enter a rap battle with James Romero. Cheers to another year!

Bracket Domination and the Chicken Dance

It has come to my attention that I have won my March Madness Bracket Competition. I actually won it after the Final Four games. I risked it and put all of the No. 1 seeds in the final four, which had never happened in reality. That move worked out to my advantage this year because the No. 1 curse was broken. Weird. In the end, I dominated the competition because I also picked the National Champion--Kansas!! The match up between Kansas and Memphis was awesome if you didn't get to watch, or gave up too early and turned off the tv before the game went into overtime. I was thoroughly pleased with the tournament this year.


Stanley also tried to take in a few games this season, but had his game viewing experience rudely interrupted by a fake chicken during March Madness. On Easter, my grandma gave Josh a stuffed chicken that sings and dances to the "Chicken Dance." Although the chicken is only a few inches tall, pastel, and far from menacing. . . Stanley is petrified of it. When placed next to a glass of beer (which Stan loves) he wouldn't approach it. This also ruined an entire day of watching basketball for Stanley because the chicken was near the television. Due to the traumatizing effect of the dancing chicken, it had to be hidden until next Easter. Stanley can only hope March Madness and Easter do not coincide next year.