During our trip to Rome this spring, I was reminded of one of the world's great beauties, and that is the espresso - which is a simple coffee to the Italians. Which you'll find at any decent American coffee shop, although it is seldom ordered on its own in this country. I'm not a coffee expert so this post isn't going to answer any scientific questions, or delve into the deeper meaning of coffee and its relation to the human experience. But I will say this: while I prefer a good old cup of drip coffee in the morning - my hands warming on the ceramic mug, sipping as I watch the news - in all other instances an espresso is preferable. For an afternoon pick-me-up or after a meal. I don't know why, but a tiny little espresso is all one needs most of the time, and it delivers the goods without the caffeine rush that can sometimes accompany a regular coffee, or the huge coffee drinks we have become so accustomed to.

Anyway, the point is not to ensure you come away thinking I'm some Italian coffee snob. No, no. My point is far more important than that.

I just needed the intro to point out that last night I attended a Moms Night Out at a local bar and because this event required me staying up past 10 p.m. I decided I needed something to get me through. I sometimes turn to a cup of tea when the afternoon is dragging, but a cup of tea is a cozy drink, a let's-stay-in-on-a-rainy-day-drink. What I needed, friends, was an espresso.

Ideally? Well, ideally I would have made one myself. I used to have a Bialetti coffee maker - the kind you use on the stove top - which makes a very good espresso-type coffee without having to actually use an espresso machine. But my Bialetti has been overused and under-cleaned and I need a new one. So in order to address my occasional espresso fix I'm forced to go to a coffee shop and order one.

I needed an espresso last night and in order to make this happen, I drove to a Starbucks two towns over.

Here's where I diverge from the subject for a second. I love where I live. When J and I were looking for houses, we didn't even know this area existed, but I couldn't be happier we picked it. Just a half-block walk from the Sound, you can often smell the salt water and fresh air of the sea. Morris Cove can be at once adorable and just the tiniest bit questionable. You're down in the park saying your hellos to an elderly couple dressed in matching Madras when all of a sudden some guy in a wifebeater drives his motorcycle down onto the footpath. It's charming like that.

The only major complaint I have about our neighborhood is its lack of proximity to anything remotely useful in a commercial sense. We live somewhat near the town of East Haven, but not in it. New Haven's downtown is extremely close, but the fact that you have to get on 95 and cross a bridge makes it seem far. We're a little isolated.

Listen up entrepreneurs!

Morris Cove needs a coffee shop. I can think of at least two available spots for such a venture, so don't even begin to tell me there isn't a good spot. I'd do it myself, but, I'm not going to lie; I'm just not up for it. I don't have business sense! I'm willing to embark on some crazy adventures, like maybe managing a rock band (don't quote me on that), but I don't have the training, time or common sense to get a coffee shop off the ground.

I know someone out there does, though, so I thought I'd launch this open plea on my blog, which, I'm almost certain, none of my neighbors read. But hey, it's the Internet. Word travels fast on the Internet, right? My neighborhood coffee shop request could become a revolution.

Pass it on, people. Let's make my dream a reality though the power of the World Wide Web, by passing my words from one to another until they land two doors down from my very own house, perhaps with the perfect candidate to take up the challenge. Crazy? Yeah it is. But this is the modern age and that's how we things get done.

Ok. Our coffee shop is coming soon, I have faith. I'll meet you there. For an espresso.

Lately, a bunch of people have been asking me about my job search, as in, do I even want to go back to work and, if so, am I looking around? My answer to both questions is a resounding YES, but I have to admit that after spending a year at home with Nora (for the most part) my thoughts on the whole working situation have changed - and in complex ways. I'm more reluctant to have a job that would have me working long hours and barely seeing my child weekdays. On the flip side, I'm nearly desperate from some sort of office life. I don't want to be at home all the time. Of course, making these deliberations laughable is that economy thing. The part where it got real bad, remember, and nobody has a job anymore anyway. And there certainly aren't that many jobs floating around for choosy journalist types who want to work out of the house most of the time but wouldn't mind a day at home every now and then. And could I bring my baby in sometimes? She is very cute!

In all seriousness, the job situation seems like it has picked up in recent weeks. Job boards have more listings and everyone seems more optimistic. It's fall, the traditional go-back-to-school, get-off-the-couch, make-something-of-yourself season (at least, in my opinion) and there's nothing like throwing on a sweater and jeans and visiting your favorite coffee shop for a hot drink and some dedicated career time.

Meanwhile, several people have told me that maybe I should just write a book, which is an awesome idea, and flattering, and makes me happy. And perhaps if I dedicate some of that coffee shop career time into learning how to write a successful book proposal, I could actually get on board.

Because, ok, I might have the details wrong but J.K. Rowling was living in a trash can before she wrote the Harry Potter books, right? I live in a house and sleep in a bed, so I don't think I have any excuse. I even have some legitimate book ideas, including ones centered on all the things I've learned staying at home with a baby. Honestly, I've spent some time in book stores looking at titles recently and people seem to be able to get book deals for anything. Any idea they come up with. The history of cotton candy. Pictures of elephants doing funny things. I'm pretty sure Mina could land me a book deal, in fact, with a proposal not much more involved than:

To Whom It May Concern,

I have a dog and she is exceptionally funny. She is half Pomeranian, half Miniature Pinscher.

Book deal???

Very Sincerely Yours,

Cara McDonough

Maybe I'll give it a go.

The good news is that I've been feeling accomplished lately simply doing my best on the search-and-contact front, sending editors my pieces and making connections. I'm not sure what happened in the past couple years to make my professional experience look that much more impressive, but suddenly my emails are generating warm, personal responses, instead of the old silence. Where they'd, you know, ignore me. Moving up in the world, people!

So on this beautiful fall day, when people are getting back into the swing of things at work after the summer's true end, I thought I'd ask you all how you deal with professional woes and successes. Are you working? Would you rather not be? Are you not working and dying to get back to a job? Writing about your job on the Internet isn't a bad idea at all (HA!) so you may not want to slam your boss or anything, but I'd love to hear everyone's opinions on professional life. I'm excited to get some coffee and spend time discussing it with you.