2011....PHEW!

WOW.  I'm doing a shitty job of blogging this year, aren't I?

Well, it *IS* the holidays, after all.  Already. 

Let's recap what happened this year:

- I turned 41.  Whoopie-fuckin-doo.  I have also gotten carded more this year than last.  SWEET.

- I went back to work for Redfin.  So far, so good.   I have not wanted to cut a bitch yet.  This is good, people!

- We got another Boston terrier.  His name is Ed.  He's adorable, tiny, and a total attention whore.  Loki is starting to like him more - or tolerate him, rather.  It's a work in progress.

- I lost a good friend.  See previous post.  That was a sucky time and I hope he's in a better place.

- We went to Burningman again this year.  We had a foam dome, which was the most popular attraction on the playa and about 40+ people in our camp.  I've passed camp cruise director duties off to my friend Blacksmith as I am kinda done running stuff.  While this year was a lot of fun, it wasn't as epic as 2010.  This might mean we take 2012 off.  Plus, after 7 years...I kinda need a break. 

- We bought a loft in Capitol Hill.  Yes, we are smack in the middle of the hill...which is great - b/c I can walk to work.  I can pretty much walk/bike/bus anywhere.  I've given up using a car - it's freeing!  I'm lowering my carbon footprint!  Plus our dogs have Cal Anderson park as their backyard.  WIN!

- One of my best friends got married in October.  I got to wear a kick ass dress from Buddhaful and hang out w/ my amazing circle of friends.  It was probably the best and funnest wedding we'd ever been to.  Plus there was an awesome photo booth there - and there are some ridiculous photos floating around FB, I'm sure. 

- My tolerance for stupidity has gone down.  I seriously cannot deal with it.  DUMBASSES, if you are reading this, please do something about this.  I cannot be your friend if you continue to a) do stupid shit, and b) have bad grammar.  It's maddening. 

- Speaking of tolerance, I want more ink done.  :)

- Corey has started allowing the dogs to sleep in our bed vs their dog beds.  While they are v snuggly, it's also a snore symphony involving 2 dogs and a human man.  I wake up and giggle a lot.

- I started going to Barre3 classes...b/c time stops for no one, turns out.  Which means my ass is definitely becoming part of my hamstring and we can't allow that to happen, now can we?

- We're opening a restaurant on Capitol Hill.  By we, I mean, Corey, Chris & Laura (of Grim's, Auto Battery, Po Dog)...I will not be directly involved.  Corey is going to come home from work some nite and there are going to be 4 more Boston terriers running around, while I will be drunk on the couch, with the movie Bridesmaids on loop in the dvd player.  You know it!

That's it in a nutshell.  I mean, for the most part...those are the big things that happened!

That being said, have a wonderful solstice & a safe holiday season!  I leave you with this photo of our two bastard children:

 

For Dub-C

I had a good friend once.  His name was Warren.  He was solid - there for me when I needed to whine at work, he made people laugh, and was a hard worker, good father and husband.

He's in a different place now.

But his spirit lives on.

Wherever you are, I hope you're at peace.  You are missed.

Yup! We got another!

In other exciting news today, we got another Boston terrier.  Yes, yes we did. 
He came from a family on the eastside whose daughter didn't get along with him.  How anyone can not like a tiny, cute, fluffy little Boston terrier is beyond me, but whatevs.  He's ours now.

We've decided to rename him Ed.  Yes, you read that right.  ED.  I like to think it's short for edIT, as in Glitch Mob.  At least, that's what I tell myself.

Anyway, here are a few photos of him (and Loki) that we took last nite.  Cute, eh?  You know you want to meet him.

"Hello, my name is Ed.  What up."

"Dear Loki, I OWNZ YOU NOW, BETCH.  MWAHAHAHAHAAAA!"  (Loki contemplates cutting Ed).

 

What a long, strange trip it's been...

In early March, I went back to work for my former employer.

You know, like returning to the scene of a crime.

Everyone wants to know what it's like to leave a place, be gone for x amount of years, then come back.  

Well I'll tell ya - it's like an amicable breakup w/ a partner, where you decide they're not that bad, and you get back together w/ them...but v cautiously.

Ok, I'm not being that cautious - but while I've been aware of everything that's been happening there (here?) since I left, I'm determined NOT to get involved in any (if any) drama during my stay.  I just don't have the time or patience for that anymore.  I don't work in HR (not directly) anymore, so people coming in and talking to me?  It's merely for conversation, and not about issues.  So instead of being "filed away", it simply goes in one ear and out the other.  

I will tell you this:  it's a weeeee bit weird being back.  Things have definitely changed and there isn't that tight-knit-group-feeling that used to exist here, however, when you're simply there to work and not socialize, it's not so bad.  Not to mention I have a kick ass team, so that makes it pretty fun AND bearable...HURRAH!

While I liked being away and working for other places, I have to admit I didn't make many friends while I was gone...at least, not like the ones I have here.  There are a few people that I stay in touch with, but for the most part, I left w/o looking back.
 
I like to believe I grew up a bit (really?  I'm 41) while I was gone as well, but maybe that comes with leaving and coming back, who knows.  All I know is I'm here now, I enjoy it, I want to do a good, if not GREAT job, and at the end of the day, not stress out about it.  


I think I'm on track.

Let this be a lesson, kids: hindsight is sometimes 20/20, but really, the grass ain't that much greener - you only think it is. 


**photo courtesy of me iPhone.  Again.

Because I can

And because he's super cute.

A photo of my dog for you.  Happy Wednesday!

**photo taken by me iPhone.

Yard art

Even the gloomiest of gloomy Seattle days can't beat the happy that comes from seeing random art like this.  

Thank you, Henry.

**photo courtesy of me iPhone.

Cheap cheeaaaaap

So.  Here I am.  In the land of the living. 

And the "kept women".

Granted, it's only been 3 days, but whatever. 

I figured since I have all of this *time on my hands*, I'd help out the general public on where to eat and drink and not break the bank while doing so.

Ok!  Here we go!

Where to get yer food & drink on, part 1:

Breakfast

After a grueling yoga class and/or workout, my favourite place to go is Healeo, where you can get a heaping bowl of hemp granola w/ soy milk (cold OR hot) plus 2-3 toppings (my current fave is raspberries, chocolate, and shaved coconut) for $6.  That's a deal, yo.  A DEAL.

Sometimes I wind up at Oddfellows.  For $7, you can get an awesome breakfast biscuit w/ eggs, herbs, and gruyere cheese in it.  Plus a salad.  Oh HELL YEAH.  No, I am not drinking at this point.  That comes later.

Skits n gravy (short for biscuits, if you haven't figured that out) from Georgetown Liquor Company.  Awwww yeah.  VEGAN goodness.  $8.  Un-fucking-real.  Plus there's a build your own bloody mary bar.  It doesn't get much better than that. 

Lunch/Dinner

I figured I'd lump lunch and dinner into one category b/c really, I can eat the same thing at all hours of the day.  Does this surprise you?  It shouldn't.

Grilled cheese at Grim's.  Holy moly, I think I've found the holy grail of grilled cheeses.  There are 3 kinds to choose from here:

- chipotle

- truffled leek and havarti

- moz, basil, and proscuitto

I've had all 3 (minus the proscuitto b/c as you know, I don't partake in the meat thing right now, annnnd I don't like the pork so much) and they are all three mm mm goooood.  And comes w/ a salad.  And all for a whopping $6 to $7.  I can't bitch about eating a good meal for under $10 these days.  

Pho at Pho Cyclo on Broadway.  Best pho in the city, in my opinion.  Granted, the service isn't the fastest, but $6.95 gets you a bowl of piping hot pho w/ your choice of tofu, veggies, meat, or seafood.  I always get tofu.  And I always walk out full.  And happy.  

Shrimp and grits from Where Ya At Matt food cart.  I.  LOVE.  SOUTHERN.  FOODS.  And I really really love the shrimp and grits combo from this particular food cart.  $8 buys you a fantastic comfort food meal.  Plus you get to listen to zydeco jazz while waiting for your food to be ready.

Mac n yease at Plum Bistro, Cap Hill.  I can't remember how much it is, but I'm guessing around $7-8.  Yes, it's vegan.  Yes, the yease stands for nutritional yeast.  Yes it's AMAZING.  Yes, you should order it.  I would eat this over mac n cheese anyday.  Not kidding.  And you guys know how much I LOVE cheese.  

Happy Hour

I dig the hour of happy.  Why?  b/c it's cheap.  And I get to booze it up.  Shocking, I know.  You wanna know where to go that's cheapie mccheaperson?  Read on.

List.  In Belltown.  I know, BELLTOWN.  Who knew?  But List has happy hour ALL DAY MONDAY.  So there you go.  Had a shitty Monday?  Head to List - they will take care of you.  Organic tomato salad $6 and gnocchi w/ truffle cream sauce $11 - slash that by 50% and there's your HH price.  It's a deal.

Licorous.   Cap Hill.   Tuesdays is $1 carnitas for HH.  That's if you eat pork.  Otherwise, their house cocktails, which are normally $10, run $5 from 5-7 during their HH.  My current favourite is the Joyful Ginger.  Try it!

Rosebud.  Also Cap Hill.  HH runs 4-830pm every nite.  Cocktails are a mere $3.  Plus they have a crazy truffle mac n cheese for something like $4, plus other appetizer specials.  It's AWESOME.  And the staff is lovely.

These are just a few of my favourite places to go.  For more in depth info on where Lily is lurking, go to:  http://fireminx.yelp.com.

What about you?  Where do you prefer? 

**hemp granola bowl and wellness shot from Healeo.  Photo by who else?  Me.

Freedom! ... what what

So.  In case you hadn’t heard, I left my corporate job.
For real.
This is not a joke.
 

The older I get, the more I realize that working for a big ass conglomerate (or “working for the man”) is really not my thing.  Like not even a little bit.  Staring at a computer for 8-10+ hours a day with little to no human interaction just about killed me.  And I miss smaller workplaces – where I know everyone – their names, their job titles, where they sat in the office, their pets’ names, what they like to eat – all the little details that are missed when there are a bazillion people.  Anything bigger than 150-200 and I start getting itchy.  So imagine me at 15,000.  It’s like being covered in mosquito bites.

Mind you, not every large company is like this.  When I worked for a huge apparel retailer - at the corporate campus, we worked hard and played hard.  We were allowed to go workout on our lunch (sometimes for more than *gasp* an hour) and not get scolded for it.  Imagine it!  Actually leaving your desk to take a lunch or go workout!  We had tons of social events.  People came by to visit.  We weren’t just staring at our computer screens, keying shit…day in, day out.  There was variety.  And like minded people.

So not all big corps are alike.  Just some.  Here.  In.  Seattle.

But anyway…

With prodding from C and a couple of fabulous friends (the “blonde mafia” as I sometimes refer to them as), a few freaks outs, a “you’d do this for someone else, so do it for yourself” conversation, some tears, somewhat of an emotional breakdown, and more white hairs than I care to see on my head, I said “sayonara, bitches” to my current workplace and have joined the ranks of the other searchers.  HOLY SHIT!  I might actually make it to yoga everyday!  I’ll be able to spend more time at the park w/ my dog!  I can go back to cooking!  I can do massage whenever I want!  I can go back to personal training if I feel like it!  We’re gonna have the cleanest.  Place (and garage).  EVAR!

Now I can troll craigslist for something I truly want, thanks to my bestest friend and partner, C.

And I can finally take a little bit of time to chill…but you guys know me - I don’t take time!  It always has to be now now NOW!  So there’s that.  We’ll see how long I can sit still and NOT work.

You’re welcome to place bets…
Starting…NOW!

**photo courtesy of yours truly.  Me and my tea.

Excellent

This is my idea of a perfect start to a morning - coffee, paper of some sort, and my man (that's his arm).  Too bad I couldn't photoshop Loki into the picture b/c that would complete it!
I wish every morning could be slow and easy like this.  
Maybe someday.


**pic courtesy of my iPhone.

Happy New Year!

**photo courtesy of my iPhone.