Upcoming trips, upcoming schedule

I took July off to deal with family needs, household makeovers, visits with friends and just a recharge from what was a fairly hectic late spring.

Alas, with all good long breaks comes my internal drive to accomplish something. I may have the world's most exciting job, but not finishing something for a client regularly can bring on the doldrums quickly. So off I go to international territories to visit with clients, get some work done, make some money, and maybe make new friends along the way.

So far, I have 3 trips planned: Venezuela (South America), Paris (Europe) and possibly Turkey (Asia). I have plans to meet some new bloggers that I read, one in Venezuela, one in Paris. We'll see how it goes, and you all are sure to hear about it first.

Towards the end of August, I think I'm going to hop over to Las Vegas for a 1 day shopping spree. Even though I haven't been working hard, some money is coming in from other jobs I did earlier in the spring. I've lost some weight since winter (10#) and really need some new pants, dress shirts, and a suit or four. We'll see how it goes, maybe I'll videoblog the shopping spree.

I'm really riled up lately. I've had the company of nothing less than some of the best looking gals around, but alas the chemistry just isn't right with any of them. Yes, I'm picky. Yes, I'm superficial. Yes, I love physical attention from women I date to see how much they desire my body. At the moment, my prospects are almost zero, so I know what I have to do: I have to go out on dates.

In other news, August is also new recipe month. I am working on a Bacon, Gouda, Apple and Sage soup recipe with almost no starch. It will be to-die-for and you'll get it here first. Also, I decided to try to push forward with a new low-starch bread that isn't all flax and soy. I won't say what I'm using, but initial test batches have proven it to be the gooiest, tastiest, crispiest bread I've ever had. Sadly, the shelf life is about 3 days, but it's amazing.

I have a bunch of minor hops around the country planned for August and September, mostly to seek out good restaurants that I can call my own. Kansas City, St. Louis, Portland, Seattle, Phoenix, Miami, and more. My goal is to find really nice places that are out of the usual tourist-trap areas, meet with the owners, and start visiting more often. I am on track to be traveling 60,000 miles less than I did last year, and I think I need to make that up in droves in the second half of 2009.

So that's my plan, nothing too exciting, but still fun. And I do promise to write more, I had a big of an Internet mental failure the last week. Now I'm back, with coffee in one hand, cigarettes in the other, and my laptop on my lap, where it should be living more often.

Salmon, rosemary and brie

I made a tasty sandwich on homemade flatbread today.  Lots of fresh ingredients from Whole Foods gone in an instant.  Another secret ingredient in the flatbread, one that no one (yet) has figured out.

I almost had my hair trimmed today, but my usual barber was out sick.  Sad, because my hair is getting TOO long (it falls in my mouth and sometimes I burn it while smoking).  The upside is I've received more compliments on my hair from the fairer sex this past week than the past 5 years combined.  I almost had a Lane Kim moment like in the early season of Gilmore Girls when she touched the guy's hair and freaked out.

Saw my mom today, decided to drop off the last 2 homemade croissants.  She looked lovely, as always, and criticized me for my shoes not matching my belt (thanks, mom!).  She's a bit peeved at me for not calling her friend's daughter (twice divorced with kids???) in the past 2 months.

I had a great night, though: watched two of my favorite movies, talked on the phone for an hour with an old high school pal who found me on Mr. Facebook last week (nothing's changed), and dug deep into my emails to reply to people who I forgot about.  Overall, an EXCELLENT Monday.

Tomorrow I am going shopping for a new kitchen and bathroom for my tiny abode.  I figure I'll use my windfall from last week to replace both while labor is cheap and I can still get a decent price on it all.  Colors and materials?  No idea, give me a hand.

Tomorrow: off to a bar to meet up with Liz and supposedly her boyfriend.  That'll be interesting.  Putting off calling Stace til next week; just don't have the time or energy to focus on it.  Surprised to get an email from Kerry, who will not exit my self-pleasuring moments.  It's silly, but she really got me going.  Damn "teenager" and her impossible-to-breach bodypart.

Off to bed now at a later-than-expected 1:30am.  Looking for some pubs to hit up this week; if you're a Chicagoan, let me know what you like.  If you're lucky, I'll post a schedule here so you can come stalk me for a change.  I'd love to read a review of "I saw ChicagoSane and he's __________."