I can't believe how far behind I've gotten in my blogging! My goal for today is to catch up (in a few installments). Going way, way back to Thursday, May 21st...that was the night of our monthly Third Thursdays party.
This month we had a Bloody Mary bar so people could make their own drinks as spicy (or not) as they wanted. Ironically, Tomkin--who doesn't drink--usually ends up playing bartender.
I try to fit the foods to the drink somehow--this time around, I tried to serve foods that were red or reddish.
Guests spilled out onto the new patio, which was awesome.
Our neighbor
Lucas had come into some hats when a neighbor friend of theirs died, so she brought one over for Tomkin, which was very cool.
Marcus and Helena both brought friends along--I always love when we get to meet fun new people! All-in-all, it was another wonderful night with friends.
On Friday, May 22nd, I picked up my friend Kristen (she stayed at a hotel in downtown St. Paul). Hard to believe that the last time I'd seen her was in June 1992 at her wedding. Since then, she's been living in Arizona, and she now has six kids!
I was pretty amazed how easy it was to just hang out again--it was a little strange, after all those years, but really it was just wonderful to see her again. We went back to the house, and she got to meet Tomkin before he left for a wedding rehearsal. Then we went to Pizza Luce for lunch and started catching up.
We went back to my place and looked at photos for a while, and then we headed over to Heidi's house for a girls' night out.
Sarah was already there--it had also been 17 years since I'd seen her! (She lives in Colorado and has five kids.)
We all gathered around the table to eat and catch up, then we relaxed in the living room, looked at photos, and talked.
We eventually made our way to the
Sage Wine Bar, where we spent a couple more hours eating, drinking, and chatting.
It was really fun to hang out with these wonderful old friends again. We've all known each other since junior high!
On Saturday, everyone (including husbands) came over to our house, and we had a picnic of Mexican food out on the patio.
Of course I had to drag out my old photo albums, scrapbooks, and yearbooks.
Heidi's husband, Chris, and Sarah's husband, David, got a kick out of seeing photos of their ex-cheerleader wives! We all just talked, hung out, and relaxed for a few hours, which was wonderful.
Then Sarah and David had to go (they were splitting their vacation time between friends and family). Tomkin and I took a nap, and then he headed to a wedding. After that, he spent the evening with his friend Pete. I picked up Kristen, and we got dinner at
Mango Thai (delicious!).
Then we headed to
Cafe Latte for coffee and dessert. And, once again, we just sat and talked for hours. After 17 years, there's a lot to catch up on!
After I dropped off Kristen, I headed home, and Tomkin and I hung out on the porch for a little while.
Sunday the 24th was another beautiful day. Kristen was hanging out with her brother, so I relaxed at home with Tomkin. We took Chloe for a walk and spent some time out on the front porch. We both signed up for
Twitter. (Like I really need another time-suck on the computer!) I've gotten into it more than Tomkin has, following celebrities and getting lots of dish. That evening, Kristen, Heidi, and I met up for dinner at
W.A. Frost. I thought it was funny that we all ended up wearing black-and-white!
We started talking about when our next reunion should be. Kristen and her husband might renew their vows for their 20th anniversary in 2012, so we're thinking that maybe we'll go down for that, then spend a few days at Sedona. I definitely don't want another 17 years to go by before we all see each other again! We had a delicious meal--I ordered a hamburger, because that's what sounded good to me. Felt a little silly getting a burger at W.A. Frost, but WOW was that a good burger! We all got dessert, too. I definitely ate more than usual over the weekend--but it was totally worth it! I dropped Kristen off at her hotel, and then I went home and relaxed on the front porch with Tomkin and Chloe.
Monday morning I drove Kristen to the airport. Then Tomkin and I spent the rest of the day (which was Memorial Day) as our Sabbath. I was telling Tomkin how challenging it still is for me to drive around this city (it's not laid out in a grid pattern like Chicago, so I find it very confusing). He's so sweet--he ordered me a GPS device for the car. (Flash ahead a couple weeks--the GPS has arrived, and it is awesome!) It was another gorgeous day, so we took Chloe and headed to Lake Como for a walk.
We saw a lot of amazing birds, including a blue heron, a bunch of ducklings, and a red-winged blackbird.
We also saw a muskrat scurry by, which made Chloe very excited! We went home and read on the porch, took a nap, then exercised to "So You Think You Can Dance," which felt great. Then we watched some TV and read. What an amazing weekend!
I went home and did some work, and then Tomkin and I took Chloe for a walk. That evening, I had a premarital counseling session, and Tomkin went to the library. Then we just relaxed at home, read, and played on the computer.
Wednesday I went grocery shopping at Target and got some editing work done. Tomkin had lunch with his friend John, and they went to a shooting gallery. We took Chloe for a walk, and then Tomkin headed to his weekly poker game. I talked to my mom, and then I had more work to do. (I'm thankful for my flexible schedule and steady editing gigs!) 
On Thursday, Tomkin worked in the yard and cleaned out the gutters before heading in to the office. I went swimming at the Y, got a spray tan, then worked on the front porch. We took Chloe for a walk--it was gorgeous out! Then we headed out to Minnetonka to have dinner with my aunt Carol and her husband, Steve. They have a beautiful home, and Steve has cultivated an amazing Japanese garden throughout their yard. They fixed an incredible dinner (salmon, salad, and asparagus), and we enjoyed talking and catching up with them.
That Friday, Helena picked me up and brought me along to her "Hour of Power" workout class. I was so nervous that we actually came up with a safe word ("potato chip") in case the class got too tough, but thankfully I didn't need to use it. The class was held outside, and it was a good workout. But I've learned not to push myself too hard--I wanted to be able to walk the next day! I enjoyed doing some strength-training, and it was great to see Helena, too. Tomkin had lunch with his friend Fletch, who was in town for a few days. He went to the office, and I worked at home, then we both took Chloe for a walk. That evening we got dinner at Ngon Vietnamese Bistro with Marcus, Helena, and Nick (who Helena's been seeing recently). 
It was fun to meet Nick--we all had a great time. And the food was delicious! Ngon is especially known for their pho, and I understand why. After we got home, Tomkin did some work, and I helped Chloe set up her own Facebook page. Now she's got an outlet for all her doggy adventures!
On Saturday, Tomkin and I headed over to the nearby Express Bike Shop and picked out a new bike for me. I thought it would take a long time to find something I liked, but I fell in love with the second bike I tried. It's a GT Vantara hybrid. I left it in the shop so they could add lights, a bell, extra handles, fenders, and a basket. We donated my old mountain bike (well, it wasn't actually THAT old--Tomkin had bought it for me in the summer of '07) to the bike shop. That afternoon, Tomkin and Chloe and I headed to the Minnehaha dog park, where we met up with Kristen and Dave, a couple who Tomkin is marrying later this month, and Kristen's parents (and their dogs). 
They were all really nice and fun, and we had a great time hanging out with them. Chloe had fun, too, although she was being typically shy. 
On our way out, we ran into Jen and Caroline Cho--it was a fun surprise to see them. We came home and took a nap (we were all pooped!), and then that night we headed to Hell's Kitchen to see/hear our friend Joe Weisman's band, The Smarts. 
We had hoped that we'd be able to swing dance, but it turns out that this band plays much different music than Joe's last band, the Jazztronauts. We still enjoyed the music (and drinks), and we had fun chatting with Joe's wife, Jen, and a bunch of their friends.
Sunday was a near-perfect Sabbath day. We slept in, then read on the front porch. Tomkin had never played tennis before, and I haven't played in years. We borrowed rackets from our friend Tracy and headed to some nearby courts to give it a try. It was so much fun! Both of us really enjoyed it. 
We didn't play for points, we just hit the ball back-and-forth. But what a workout! Chloe came with us, too, and just sat in the sun. When we went home, Tomkin took a nap, and then we both sat outside on the Adirondack chairs and read. 
Tomkin had a meeting with a couple, and I napped while he was gone. Then we both took Chloe for a walk and spent more time reading on the front porch. It was a truly wonderful and relaxing day.
