Having a grand time

It's good to have mom here. She and Meggie are really enjoying each other. Meggie has been standing without support today. Any day now she's going to take that first step unaided. We're probably going to have a little birthday party for her on Sunday, since Alan and I will both be working on Monday. We'll take pictures!

Alan's enjoying work. He's really hitting the studies in preparation for the Alaska bar exam now, though. I feel so bad for him.

I like my work a lot. I'm learning so much. I do a lot of editing, and that's a really great experience. Our editors pick the best headlines each day, and I won yesterday. That was nice. I don't usually put much stock in what I call the "Headline Derby," because most stories don't lend themselves to clever headlines. But I was given a story about a community in Oklahoma that voted down bond issues to fund new schools, because they were angry that the superintendent removed the Nativity scene from the elementary school Christmas pageant. You can read about it here if you want. My friend sent me an e-mail from work saying I won the derby yesterday. It just goes to show that copy editors are nerdy! :o) I really like the work, though. Here's the e-mail:

A-3 Heather
No creche, no cash: Voters avenge Nativity removal
PAYBACK: Oklahoma community votes down funding for schools.
(nice main line; alliteration and apposition are both effective)

B-5 Tammy
Luna watchers hope orca finds pod passing by
COAST: Relatives of the lone killer whale were sighted in the area.
(like the narrative approach of the main line)

D-1 Ken
Holiday office parties often high-stakes pressure fests for spouses
("high-stakes pressure fests," a phrase pulled from the story, gives this head punch)

E-1 Mike
That Puget sound

Music lovers
owe it
to themselves
to experience
the acoustics
of Seattle's
Benaroya Hall
(great pun)