Obama Wins!!!

Let me just start by saying how proud and happy and excited I am that Barack Hussein Obama has been elected as our 44th president! I don't often beam with pride about being an American, but today I truly did. And I'm excited to see what Obama will do and where he'll take us. It's just amazing to have a decent man as our leader, someone who I think really has the country's best interests in mind, isn't in the pocket of Big Oil, and will be honest and forthright with us. Times are tough, and we may all have to sacrifice in some way, but I believe our country will be the better for it. I know that, already, our status in the eyes of the world has improved immeasurably. Obama won't always do the right thing, but I really believe that he'll try. I'm also thrilled to have Michelle Obama as our next First Lady. She's smart, will be a great companion and advisor, and is going to represent our country beautifully. January 20th can't get here soon enough!
Obviously Obama's win was the highlight of the week, but here's some other stuff that happened.... Last Thursday I met for coffee with Jill and Pastor Carrie Binnie from Messiah United Methodist Church. (She knows Pastor Trey from Holy Covenant.) We talked about the small-group meetings being led by some local pastors, mostly for social-justice-related activities. I would definitely like to check them out. That afternoon, Tomkin and I volunteered for the Obama campaign at PacketLand, where we helped get boxes of literature ready for distribution to districts around the state. It was amazing to see such a well-coordinated get-out-the-vote effort and fun to be around a group of like-minded people, all hoping (and working) for an Obama win! It was a gorgeous day out, so Tomkin and I ate dinner outside, had dessert on the front porch, and then walked Chloe down to Dunn Bros. We have to enjoy this unusually nice weather while it lasts! It's supposed to snow this weekend....Friday (Halloween) morning Tomkin and I went to the gym and worked out, and then we walked to the library and coffeeshop with Chloe since it was another beautiful day. Once we got home, I worked out on the front porch for a while. We set a bowl of candy on the front steps and escaped just before the trick-or-treaters descended in full force. Tomkin and I walked to Pizza Luce and each got a slice of pepperoni. Delicious! I haven't had real pizza since I started on Weight Watchers. I really tried to savor it. Next we headed to the Uptown Theater in Minneapolis to see the Mike Leigh movie "Happy-Go-Lucky." We both really liked it. It was upbeat and thought-provoking at the same time. Finally, we headed to the Rileys' house for a Halloween party. A few folks came in costume, and once Tomkin's pants got rolled up, we realized he bore a striking resemblance to Duckie in "Pretty in Pink." We had a good time laughing and talking and hanging out with the neighbors.On Saturday we bought our tickets to Spain! We'll be going for two weeks in February. The main reason we're going is for the Vaughan Town program, but we're also going to spend a little time in Madrid and Toledo. It's nice to have something fun (and relatively warm) to look forward to in the dead of Minnesota winter! That afternoon we walked to Avalon on Grand Avenue, and I used another of my gift certificates from Tomkin. I love that store! Later on Saturday we went to the neighborhood chili party thrown annually by Lisa and Chris. One of the things I love about where we live is how social people are! Many people have lived here for years, while others are relative newbies. And if you want to get out and socialize with neighbors, there are plenty of opportunities. We chatted with some people we know and also met some new folks. The weather was gorgeous once again, and the blazing firepits kept us warm once things started to cool down. Tomkin and I headed home to change into our Halloween costumes, and then we headed to Cassidy and Angie's party. I hadn't been to their house before--it's gorgeous! I had fun imitating Sarah Palin, and Tomkin made a fabulous skinned moose. We really enjoyed hanging out and chatting with Cassidy and Angie's friends. And they also have two sweet dogs, dachsund Fergie (who was dressed as a lobster) and weimeraner Brinny. What a fun day!Tomkin raked the yard on Sunday while Chloe sniffed stuff and I took pictures. We took a long walk with Chloe (yes, it was another unseasonably nice day), and that evening we exercised in the basement while watching "Project Runway." Kind of a nice, mellow day.Monday afternoon I met up with three women who are also freelancers in the Twin Cities area. We're all members of MMPA and thought it might be nice to meet up periodically to talk about projects we're working on, issues we're dealing with, networking ideas, and anything else freelance-related. And the social aspect is nice as well, since we don't really have "co-workers" per se. We're planning to meet at a coffeeshop once a month and open the group up to other freelance editors/writers/designers. I'm really looking forward to it! Tomkn and I took Chloe for a long walk (it was actually HOT out), and then we all went over to Syd and Dave's for dinner. We had gin & tonics and coq au vin. Wow! The dinner and drinks cost me a lot of Weight Watchers points, but they were totally worth it! Of course our main topic of conversation was the election. (I'd been bouncing off the walls with nervous energy all day.) We watched "The Rachel Maddow Show," which I'd never seen before. Loved it! The polls were looking promising for Obama, but I didn't want to start counting any chickens just yet....Yesterday (Tuesday), all I wanted to think, talk, or read about was the election. Just before we headed over to vote, our power went out. I honestly thought it might have been some kind of Republican election-day plot! Turns out some guy just ran his car into a utility pole. Thankfully, things still ran smoothly at our polling place. We went to vote around 9:30, and I think we waited in line for about ten minutes. I enjoyed looking around at the diverse group of voters. There are a lot of Somalis in our neighborhood, and I wondered what they were thinking and how they were feeling. I know I was feeling very excited and proud as I cast my vote for Barack Obama. Tomkin and I headed back home, and somehow I actually managed to get some work done. Finally I couldn't stand it anymore, so we walked Chloe to Caribou for some coffee. On our way, a schoolbus drove by, and all the kids inside were cheering, "Obama! Obama! Obama!" Tomkin and I cheered back--woo hoo!!! It was really amazing as we walked down Grand Avenue to see all the red "I Voted" stickers. Almost 78 percent of eligible Minnesotans voted, so no wonder we saw so many stickers! I was hoping that by the time we got home, some of the polls would be closing and we'd start to hear some results. Of course it was really too early. I flipped between CNN and MSNBC on TV and between Daily Kos, FiveThirtyEight.com, and Facebook on my computer. I also had various "what to watch for" cheat sheets beside me for reference. It was nervewracking at first because there wasn't much news and then the important states weren't being called. I tried not to get nervous, but it was hard not to worry a little. Eventually more results started rolling in and Obama's numbers improved. But still--what of Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, and Florida? Certainly Pennsylvania was a big win and a good sign. Finally, about 8:15, Tomkin and I headed to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown St. Paul for the official DFL election party. We wandered around, got a drink, and chatted with other Dems. Everyone was in a great mood, and it was fun to be in a large crowd of people all hoping for the same thing. We made our way up near the staging area and listened to various speakers: St. Paul mayor Chris Coleman, Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak (a wonderful, rousing speaker!), Senator Amy Klobuchar, Congresswoman Betty McCollum, and Jeff Blodgett from the MN Obama campaign. Election results were trickling in, so we made our way to a less-crowded room where we were able to snag chairs near a couple smaller TVs with no audio. We got in touch with Peter (who works for Mayor Rybak) and Mandy. They were on their way to the party. All of a sudden, people started cheering. We looked at the TV and saw that Virginia had been called for Obama! That was wonderful news, since there was really no way that McCain could win. And, sure enough, about a minute later they called the whole race for Obama! Everyone screamed and cheered and hugged and cried. President Barack Obama! Yes we can!!! Mom called "to congratulate us all"--we were both so excited! Mandy and Peter arrived soon after the annoucement, and we all watched McCain's gracious concession speech. But we decided that closed-captioning wouldn't do for Obama's speech, so we made our way back into the big room, which was totally packed by that point. We managed to squeeze in, and we chatted with other folks while we waited. There was something very emotional about looking at the TV and seeing that we were waiting for a speech from "President-Elect Obama." Wow. When he finally appeared, everyone went wild. I thought his speech was moving and inspiring. I got choked up a few times, and I felt so drawn in and inspired and hopeful. I was jealous of my friends who were down in Grant Park, celebrating with thousands of other proud and happy Chicagoans. But of course it was nice to cap off an amazing year, celebrating the election of our nation's first African-American president, standing next to my wonderful new husband. We headed out once Obama's speech was over, about 11:15, and on our way home we honked and cheered, which prompted celebratory whoops and shouts from people on the street. Obama! Obama! Obama!Today all I wanted to do was read election results. I enjoyed reading about the reaction of foreign citizens and world leaders looking forward to working with President Obama, as well as all the comments on Facebook. Tomkin and Chloe and I had lunch with Tom and Nancy (and we drove there with the top down on the convertible!). It was fun to talk about the election with them and what it represents. I went to Weight Watchers this afternoon. I lost 0.4 pounds this week, which brings me to an even 5-pound loss. Not as much as I might have hoped for, but I'll take it!

Until next week, savor this moment in history, and remember: Yes We Can!