Brandy Cleopatra

Everyone should have one of these drinks. My favorite restaurant in Seattle is called Cafe Septieme. I love the deep red walls and big booths and how it gets pleasantly full but never do you have to wait. Some people have different feelings than me about this restaurant but let me tell you, it's a great neighborhood cafe. I lived in Capitol Hill for 10 years and many of the waiters know me by name, what I drink and which 3 things on their menu I choose from. Anyway, one of my favorite winter drinks (sometime I will tell you about my seasonal quirks) is a Brandy Cleopatra. This drink is the best. It comes in a wine glass and is frothy milk and brandy. It is a delight.

When fall starts settling in like it is now, there is nothing I like better than to go to the Cafe Septieme with Blade and have steak and a nice warm (I forgot to mention it comes warmed up!) Brandy Cleopatra. It just shows me that my favorite season is here and it's time to settle in to the cold and some good strong drinks with dinner.

Sunday = nervous belly

Tomorrow I start my new job. Such a strange feeling. I cleaned my house. Washed every single article of clothing I own, deep conditioned my hair. You would think I am about to go to my first day at a new school - except I am a grown up and I know lots of the people I will work with. I can't sit still. My stomach girgle girgles. I am excited and a little bit scared. We'll see how it goes.

Stairs 1.2.3.4!

Today was a beautiful day in Seattle. It was one of those crisp fall days, sunny and warm but also really, really fresh. The day started out pretty good. Some errands, moving my office to the one for my new job with my friends J & S, and then breakfast where we had egg omelette souffles. After this nice, typical Saturday sort of day, we dediced to take a walk in Capitol Hill. J and I have this goal to get healthy this year. We have both been very stressed out and not so good at taking care of ourselves so we made a pact. Get healthy - eat healthy, exercise, lose weight. The whole 9 yards. I am happy about this pact. It's helping me change some things, having a buddy to hold me accountable. I am taking it somewhat seriously, you know, if I want the odd bit of not so healthy living, I am ok w/that but I am making a decent effort to stick to our pact.

However, there is an important thing to know about my friend J, when she sets her mind to something, SHE SETS HER MIND TO IT! There is no turning back. Somehow, at some point, J made a deal w/her husband that she would walk these stairs in Capitol Hill 200 times. And on top of this, some whimsical evening over dinner (after I had a glass of wine no doubt), I agreed to do this too. Yah - not one of my best moments.

Anyway, today on our walk, we spent about 45 minutes walking all over Capitol Hill, which was great (I'll tell you about this tower I had never been up later), and then and only then did we get to the bottom of the Capitol Hill stairs. These stairs are unbelievable in length. I think there are close to 600 stairs. The incline is pretty steep. We walked up and down these damn things 4 times. Up, catch your breath for a couple minutes. Down. Up again. Catch what's left of your breath for a couple minutes. Down. Up again. Not a single breath left but go ahead and do it again. Apparently, in addition to the weight that this is going to help me lose, this exercise is also going to help me ski better (which I haven't done since 1994 but which I am determined to do again this winter). Not the best consolation on the 4th walk up... but something to hold on to nonetheless.

Now that it's done, all I have to say is - OUCH. Every part of me hurts. I feel like an 80 year old woman. As I was doing this jaunt up and down the stairs, all I wanted was to be the dog, which J & S had tied up because he would get too pooped going up and down with us. Every time I passed him, I gave him a look of desperation - rescue me puppy! Now. Rescue me now! He just looked at me sadly and watched as I walked on.

When I finished, I thought climbing stairs should be outlawed. And yet, I will do it again tomorrow. 4 more times. As I said, J is a FOCUSED woman and we have made this pact and I do want stronger thighs so there ya go. After this weekend of stair climbing, I will have only 189 times more to go up and down these stairs (for you math wizards out there, we also did this exercise last weekend - 3 times up and down that time). If my body does not resemble a super-model's by the time these 200 climbs is over, I am going to wage war on these stairs.

Madame Me makes a change

This week my friend KB from the UK is in town. We work together and have become very close friends over the last year. There are some very funny things that she says... I love the UKisms. Last night she burst out very passionately with something like, "and Madame me had a fit!" It was pretty great.

This week is my last week at a job I have passionately done for the last 6years. It's time for Madame me to make a change. 6 years seems to be my time limit. I worked w/Printer's Devil for six years, I have now worked in the same marketing group for six years. For the first time in a long time, I will try something totally new. I am excited about it. About the challenge and the opportunity. But, I am also slightly, I don't know, separate from it.

I have always loved work. Loved the thrill of it. The adrenaleine rush. The sense of Accomplishment (yes, it's capital on purpose). Something is changing though. Maybe it's my hormones... maybe it's that Accomplishment no longer seems like the only important thing. Maybe ... I just really want to get on with the soccer mom bit.

Whatever it is, it's different. When I was thinking about this move, my friend Mike said, "Creegan, you have to decide - do you live to work or do you work to live?"

At 33, I change my definition.

Work to live.
It's clear.
It's right.
And it's about farking time.

Image for my profile

Ok, bloggers out there. How the HECK do I get an image uploaded to put w/my profile. I have tried for an hour to figure it out and I cannot get it to work. Help!

Look Ahead Girl!

Last weekend Tina, Dave and I took the ferry to Orcas Island. We were going there for Brian and Heather's wedding. There was a lot of emotion floating around - Brian and Tina dated for many years, Tina's baby belly refuses to treat her gently, I am in the middle of navigating a job change, Dave is still adjusting to this country (there could not be a country more happy to have him - it is a LOT to move to a new country, get married and be on your way to fatherhood within one year though so he is a little quiet).

OK -- so I have set the stage. Usually when there is this much energy worling around, I get very quiet and grumpy. I analyze every move I make. I get, even, a bit glass half empty girl like. This can show itself in very interesting ways. Sometimes I just fold in and get quiet, sometimes I get cranks but it is not usually the case that I am optimistic in these situations.

After we spent 4 hours at the ferry dock waiting to come home, we boarded the boat and I decided to go outside, when I realized, here I am -- with all this stuff going on, and it's just about sunset, and we are on the ferry and I am outside, and everyone else is freezing but I feel that the air is crisp and fresh. I stay out there forever, thinking and breathing in the cold air. Just as I think I can't stand the cold anymore, I realize one other subtle thing that makes me smile right from the corners of my eyes. I am standing in the FRONT of the boat. I am watching us move forward. I am not standing in the back, sadly watching our weekend fun get further away from me. The optimist in me has finally won out. It kicked the behind of my pessimistic self and said, Not this time, Creegan! This time you will look in front of you and take your life for what it is and smile and know that everyone has to make choices and everyone has a few regrets and everyone has the right to smile and attempt to find a passionate, happy life. And this time, you will not look back.


It's been a week since this lovely boat ride, and I can still smell the cold Puget Sound air.

I knew it.

I write about them and then it becomes a typical September in Boston. I am praying dear Red Sox. PRAYING. Please figure it out with Oakland. Please make this work for us.

HOLD ON!

I am scared to even write this. Scared to think it. It's September and I am holding my breath. Every night as I leave work, I check the score. Literally trapping air in my lungs as I click, click, click to to see how it's going. And it is always a heart stopper. Please tell me why, Terry, why did we go into extra innings in Toronto? Keep going boys. Fingers crossed. It's September. What kind of tears will I cry in October? It's up to you.

So I moved my blog...

So, it's a weird thing to publish your blog to all your co-workers and I just decided that it was holding me back. If some of my co-workers find this, so be it. However, a little distance from work seems like a good thing for my blog. I will store all my photos, music lists and book lists on my MSN Space, however, all my new blog postings will get published here.