Getting Into the Holiday Spirit

I honestly don't know where this week has gone! Here it is, 10:00 on Friday night, and I'm finally sitting down to blog. Last Thursday, Tomkin and I kicked off the day by exercising to "Project Runway." Somehow we ended up watching Season 2 earlier, so now we're on Season 3. We did some work, walked Chloe (brrrr!), and that evening we saw "Shadowlands" at the Guthrie. As is often the case with Guthrie shows these days, I LOVED the first act; thought it was amazing. Then the second act faltered a bit. Still a great show overall, though.
Friday we pretty much spent the day running errands. I went to the library, did some Christmas shopping, and went to Target. Tomkin had to take his car in to have the back window repaired (turns out you're not supposed to put down a convertible top once it gets too cold out), so I picked him up at his office. I hadn't seen it before--it's really nice! He's making it a very cozy place to work. We had noticed that Chloe was getting a little stinky, so we brought her to Grand Groomers for a bath. We walked home in the falling snow--it was so pretty out! And Chloe looked very cute in her new Christmas tree bandanna. Our plans for the evening fell through, so I used the unexpectedly free evening to get some work done. We also watched a few DVDs about Spain that I had checked out from the library. Only eight more weeks now until our trip!
Saturday morning I got up and worked while Tomkin slept late. We worked out to "Project Runway" and then walked down to Grand Avenue for Grand Meander. We went to Picky Girl and I used another of the gift certificates Tomkin had given me for my birthday. After walking through the cold and over the snow, we were pretty tired when we got home. So Tomkin, Chloe, and I curled up on the couch and took one of the coziest naps ever. We managed to rouse ourselves in time to head over to Syd and Dave's annual holiday celebration. They always throw a great party--they have lots of interesting friends, and Dave puts out quite a spread! We slept in Sunday morning and woke up to find more snow on the ground! I think that winter has finally arrived...and isn't going away anytime soon. That afternoon Tomkin and I went to the Walker Art Center to see the British Television Advertising Awards. This was the second year in a row we've gone--it's really fun to see so many creative and interesting commercials! I also enjoyed shopping in the Walker's gift shop. We went home and took Chloe for a walk, and then Tomkin popped over to another neighborhood holiday party. I was kind of tired, so I opted to stay in and get some stuff done at home.
Monday morning I did some work, and then I went to Dunn Bros for my second Profitlancers group meeting. (We decided we liked that term better than "free"lancers.) There were six of us at this meeting, and we had a good discussion about contracts, finding work in this "challenging" economy, and various other relevant topics. It's a nice little group--I enjoy getting their input and their insights into the freelance life. It's sort of like gathering around the water cooler, except it's at a coffeehouse.... Tomkin went to the dentist that afternoon and found out he has to have another root canal next week. (We're also getting new linoleum installed in the kitchen while I'm in Texas. I'm going to miss all the fun!) We were busy with work, and it was snowing heavily, so we didn't get out for a walk. That evening Tomkin went to the library while I led a premarital counseling session. By the time that was done I was pretty pooped, so I watched the "Amazing Race" finale and played on Facebook for a while.
Tuesday morning Tomkin got out the snowblower and cleared the snow off half of our block. I did some work, got a haircut, and spent three hours at Target. As much as I love that place, I'm starting to feel a little co-dependent. Target, we need a little time apart--it's not you, it's me! That evening, Tomkin came with me to the Professional Editors Network holiday party. One of the members hosted it at her home in the suburbs. I had only met one of the people there before. It was interesting to find out what kind of editing other freelancers do and how they get their work. Of course Tomkin was great about chatting with people--he's always a fabulous addition to any party!
Wednesday I did more work--I got to proofread a book about dogs, which was really fun. Tomkin and I took Chloe for a walk, and then I headed to Weight Watchers. This was the first week that I gained--up 2.2 pounds. So that was a bit discouraging. But onward and downward! As soon as I got home, we headed to Pizza Luce to have dinner with JimDog. We haven't gotten to see him in ages, so it was great to catch up. Tomkin headed to his weekly poker game, and I went to the holiday party for the Midwest Independent Publishers Association. This was my first time going to any of their events, so I mostly tried to introduce myself to as many people as possible. I headed home and talked to Mom--I'll be going down to Texas for the holidays next Wednesday! Rather than blogging that night, I opted to work on the dog book since I had to finish it up by Thursday.
Thursday I did indeed finish up the dog book. Phew! Tomkin and I walked Chloe, and then we got ready for our second Third Thursdays cocktail party (which was actually on the second Thursday this month...). This time our featured drink was hot mulled apple cider with spiced rum. We had a 20-quart pot, which was filled with apple juice, mulling spices, and rum. It was hot, sweet, and delicious! We also put out a bunch of food for people to nibble on while they were imbibing. We weren't sure how many people would show up since this is such a busy time of year, but we ended up having about 15 guests! And it was a really fun evening. One funny thing was finding out that Pete (a friend of Tomkin's since college) and Chris (married to my friend Jill, who I knew from Holy Covenant in Chicago) went to junior high school together! What a strange, small world. We had a few repeat guests from the first party and quite a few who were new. People were great about mixing and mingling, and Chloe was also a popular guest. She was pretty good around the food and mostly preferred to claim her favorite spot on the couch. Everyone headed out about 10:00, and Tomkin and I got the place cleaned up and headed to bed. I'm really glad we've started this monthly cocktail party tradition. I'm already looking forward to January's party! (All I'll say about the drink is that it will be January-themed....)
This morning (Friday) I did a little work, but I spent most of the day wrapping Christmas presents. We're having four family Christmas celebrations this year! I love getting to spread out the holiday that way. Tomkin and I took Chloe for a walk--it was really chilly out. The coldest day so far, I think. I tried out my new calf-length down coat--it was amazingly warm! Chloe was pretty cold, though, so we just ordered her a breed-specific winter coat. I think that will help a lot! We went to Garden of Eden on Grand Avenue so I could use another of my birthday gift cards from Tomkin. I love that store! They have lots of cool stuff, it's reasonably priced, and they are VERY dog-friendly. When we got home, I gave Tomkin his Christmas present--an iPod! His Shuffle had stopped working, and I knew he'd like an iPod for running, traveling, and just general entertainment. He was SO excited. He has spent the entire evening uploading music and looking for movies to download.
I'll try to blog again before I leave for Texas on Wednesday. I hope your holiday season has been fun and festive so far! Stay warm, and thanks for reading!