Last Thursday (April 30th) was the first day of the national
American Copy Editors Society (ACES) conference, which was held at the Hilton in Minneapolis. I just joined ACES before signing up for the conference, so I didn't really know much about the organization or its members. The first session I attended was about narrative editing. Then I had two hours to kill during lunch. I had brought food along and it was rainy out, so I just stayed in the Hilton's lobby.
I passed much of the time reading
Fargo Rock City (which is awesome!), and I also got to talk with my friend
Lisa, who is now
back from Hawaii, has
a baby daughter, and is living with her fiance in Iowa. And I'm going to get to see her in a couple weeks when they come to visit!!! (
And I get to be in her wedding next February!) I'm very psyched. Anyway, that afternoon I went to a session about "selling yourself," and I spoke up at one point and talked about freelance editing.
For the rest of the weekend, I was bombarded with people wanting to talk to me about freelancing. I get the impression that people working for newspapers are feeling pretty uneasy these days, and they're anxious to see where else they might be able to employ their skills. I went to one last session, called "Editing with Your Mind's Eye," then hung out in the hotel lobby until the opening-night reception began.
I got some food, mixed and mingled, then headed home. I was exhausted! But since I'd been sitting all day, I was happy to go for a walk with Tomkin and Chloe and then wind down for the night.
Friday I skipped the morning sessions and headed back to the ACES conference in the afternoon.
The first session I attended was called "What Else Can I Do With These Skills?" (similar in tone to the previous day's "selling yourself" session) and the second was "Usability, Data Projects, Flash, S-E-Oh-No!" I high-tailed it out of there, headed home, and then Tomkin and I drove out to the
318 in
Excelsior to hear my high school/college friend
Eric Kalenze play guitar (and harmonica!) and sing.
I'd forgotten what a beautiful voice he has! Such a talented guy. We got to meet his wife and two daughters, which was cool. And it was just great to see (and hear) Eric again. Tomkin and I walked down Excelsior's main drag, checked out the docks, and stopped in an ice cream shop (they actually had sugar-free ice cream!). We don't get out that way too often, so it kind of felt like a suburban adventure.
Saturday was the last day of the ACES conference. Again, I skipped the morning sessions.
Tomkin headed off to a Segway event with Kris and Dave, and I went back to the conference for the afternoon. I decided to check out a forum about editing overseas. It was pretty interesting--and didn't make me want to work overseas anytime soon!
Then they had a "smackdown" of two grammar titans. I loved this--they talked about things like hyphens, spelling out words such as "gonna" and "wanna" in quoted material, and all sorts of other things that editors can get really worked up about.
They wrapped up the conference with a closing session and slideshow. I skipped the post-conference party and headed home. I'm glad I went to the conference since it was local, but overall I thought that too many of the sessions were dedicated to people who work for newspapers. It was definitely interesting, though.
Tomkin and I took Chloe for a nice, long walk, and we ended up standing outside, chatting with our across-the-street neighbors Wayne and Sheila. Eventually they asked if we wanted to come in for some wine. So we dropped off Chloe and headed back over. It was fun to hang out and visit with them for a while. Their three kids had friends over, and they all created a haunted house in the bathroom. I loved when they excitedly asked if Tomkin wanted to go in, and he flatly said, "No." (I declined as well.) We did enjoy cuddling with the cats, though!
Sunday was a beautiful day. Tomkin and I walked Chloe down to the
Happy Gnome and sat out on their lovely patio (dogs are allowed until 5:00).
We ate lunch, listened to live music, then made our way home. We hung out on the front porch and read, and I took a nice, long nap. We exercised to "Rescue Me," and then I watched "Amazing Race." I love a good relaxing Sabbath!
Tomkin headed into the office on Monday morning, and I led a
premarital counseling session. I spent about an hour checking/replying to e-mails, and then I went to Target for more than two hours. (Ugh.) Tomkin and I took Chloe for a walk, and then we had our second swing dance class. (I realized that shopping, walking, and then dancing may have been too much for one day....) It was really fun, and we're learning some cool moves. Right after class, we booked over to
Pazzaluna to meet up with Helena and Marcus for late-night happy hour. Once again, we closed the place down! It's just so fun hanging out and talking with those two. The conversations are always so interesting, and time just flies!
Tuesday, May 5th, was the one-year anniversary of
Scout's death. It was sad, of course, but also nice to reflect on what a character he was. He could be very naughty and mischievous, but he really loved people, didn't have a shy bone in his body, was always up for an adventure, and loved to cuddle (especially under a blanket). He's definitely still missed.
It was a rainy day, and both Tomkin and I worked at home. The contractors doing our front steps and patio managed to get a lot of work done before they got rained out.
If anyone would like to do some mud wrestling, we've got a nice pit next to our house! Hopefully by the end of the week it'll be filled with cement and bricks. And hopefully we'll have steps again, too, leading from our house to the sidewalk. It's a little treacherous out there right now!
Tomkin and I went to take Chloe for a walk, got a couple blocks away from home, and decided that we should head back because there was so much thunder rumbling. Sure enough, we got caught in a downpour about a half-block from our house! We waited a few minutes, and then it cleared up. When we headed back out, it was sunny and warm! A very strange day, weather-wise. I had a premarital counseling session, and Tomkin met with a couple. Then I watched "Dancing with the Stars" and "American Idol." For the first time this season, I actually voted (go, Adam!!!!).
Today (Wednesday) we had an early Mother's Day celebration with Tomkin's parents. They came over about 10:30, and we headed to the
Cheeky Monkey Deli for an early lunch.
Nancy has been wanting to check out Garrison Keillor's bookstore,
Common Good Books, so we went there, and Tomkin bought each of his parents a book.
Then we headed over to Tomkin's office.
I hadn't been there in a while, so it was fun to see what else he's done with the place--and to meet the office cat, Muscles.
We really had a great time hanging out with Nancy and Tom! They're always so much fun.
Tomkin headed back to the office to work, and I stayed home and worked on the front porch with Chloe. Later, Tomkin, Chloe, and I went for a walk--it was such a gorgeous day, and everything's finally starting to bloom! Tonight Tomkin headed to his weekly poker game, and I talked to my mom (and her sister Candy, who's visiting for the week). Then I had to watch "American Idol" to make sure Adam made it into the final three (phew!). (Seriously, though, what is the deal with Kris Allen? I've never understood his teenybopper appeal.) Anyway, I hope you're having a wonderful week! Thanks for reading my blog!
They left a pile of bricks and wood on the yard over the pipe to keep it in place and picked everything up a couple days later. 
Tomkin and I went for a bike ride down Summit Ave., and then I went for a run. And I decided that I really, really hate running. So much so that I've already called off my possible plans to do a triathlon in the fall. However, we're still planning to do the bike tour, so I'm maintaining my triathlon training schedule--I've just modified it so I don't have to do any running. I felt bad because both Becca and Helena (Ironwomen that they are) offered to the do triathlon with me. But I figure if I hate running that much, then I shouldn't force myself to do it. There are plenty of other ways to get good exercise. It was a little chilly out, but Tomkin and I walked Chloe down to the Coffee News Cafe on Grand Ave. and ate dinner outside. Then we walked home, where we hung out and relaxed. I was exhausted and sore!
Sunday was a Sabbath day for me, but not so much for Tomkin. He performed two baptisms. I started reading Merle's Door and napped on the front porch with Chloe. Tomkin hired someone to come over and wax and detail his car--the guy was here for three hours, and Tomkin's car looks amazing! Once I didn't feel like a total slug zombie anymore, I had fun organizing my jewelry and shoes. Tomkin and I took Chloe for a walk, and we chatted with a bunch of neighbors. (I love this neighborhood!) Then we curled up on the couch and watched a couple hours of TV.
On Monday, Tomkin went into the office. I worked at home and went grocery shopping at Target. The contractors came by to pick up the last of their stuff, which meant they were officially done! 
Tomkin and I walked Chloe to the library, and she kindly carried back our books in her backpack. Tomkin did some yardwork, and I started spray-painting some wooden cubes. 
I've had these things since I was a kid and have moved them around with me to every place I've lived. They're six heavy, solid wood boxes, and I use them (now) for storing supplies in my basement office. They were originally pink and white, and they're now mostly red and black. I'm trying to make them blue so they'll match my office. I didn't realize how hard spray-painting can be! Two days later, my arm is still sore, and I can't quite hold a pen right. (I have since learned that one can use a spray-painting gun. Will put that on my list....) I ran out of paint and decided I had too much going on this week to take on this task anyway, so I have aborted the mission until further notice. Tomkin and I went to our swing dance class, which was so much fun! This week we learned the Kansas City and the Heel Swag. Only one more class to go! I'm looking forward to actually going out and dancing sometime soon. When we got home, we exercised while watching the "Dancing with the Stars" finale.
Tuesday, I went to the YMCA and swam laps for the first time in I-don't-know-how-long. Turns out that's really good exercise! And kind of fun, too. Tomkin got a workout in the yard, as he spread 70 bags of mulch around. It was really the finishing touch, and now the whole outside of our house looks amazing, if I do say so myself! 
We'd still like to have a retaining wall installed along the edge of the yard (where now there are wooden timbers), and we're also talking about putting up a fence (Tomkin even got the okay from our neighbor). Probably not until next year, though. I did some work, and Tomkin took a much-needed nap. We walked Chloe to the liquor store and had her carry back our vodka for tomorrow night's Third Thursdays party. She was really dragging. We didn't realize until later that it was 97 degrees out! No wonder the poor dog was so pooped. We got a new point-and-shoot camera because the one I have now is dying. It's a Canon Power Shot, and it's really cool! Tomkin had fun setting it up and trying it out. 
I led a premarital counseling session, and Tomkin read outside on the hammock. Then I watched the finale of DWTS (I won't say anything about the results because I don't think my mom has watched the show yet!) and the first part of the "American Idol" finale. I'm rooting hard for Adam, but I'm really afraid that Kris might have the momentum (and the votes from Danny Gokey's fans). Fingers crossed!!!
Today (Wednesday) Tomkin gave Chloe a bath and then did more yardwork. (Our neighbor Tracy gave us a bunch of raspberry bushes, which Tomkin planted near the patio.) We both had lunch with his parents, and then we went shopping at Trader Joe's. 
We're hosting a party tomorrow night and then having friends over on Saturday, so our house is overflowing with food and beverages! Tomkin took a nap, and I did more shopping at Cub. Now Tomkin is at his weekly poker game. I talked to my mom and am gearing up to watch the "American Idol" finale. This weekend I've got two high school friends coming to town: Kristen, who I haven't seen in 17 years, and Sarah, who I probably haven't seen since we graduated in 1988. We're getting together with my friend Heidi, who also lives here. Our friend Lana had planned to come, too, but it turns out that she can't make it now. (At least I got to see her last year at my wedding!) I'm so excited to see these friends again, catch up, and reconnect. This reunion is something I've been trying to put together for years, and now it's finally happening! I'll have lots to blog about next week. In the meantime, enjoy your holiday weekend!
