The Hedonistic Pleasureseeker

These Coach peep toe pumps, perfectly tailored and comfortable (for heels), retailed at $250.

At DSW they were $170, STILL too much for this fashionista to pay. Unless they’re couture I won’t pay over $100 for any pair of shoes, ever. But DSW put this pair in the back room at 70% off so I grabbed them, put them on my feet and danced around screaming MINE MINE MINE! OK I didn’t really scream, but I did dance a little. Plus I had a $10 gift certificate, bringing the total price down to

$24 !!!

So many midpoints, so little patience. I’m half way through my summer classes: Midterm tests and papers are complete, and I’m gearing up final tests and papers. I will never take TWO summer classes at the same time again! By August I shall be free, but for now I don’t have much time for anything except homework.

Bunny didn’t get the summer job that she wanted, so she’s making money doing extra work around the house. It’s cut my own housework burden in half! Now if only I didn’t STILL have to scream at her to get her to do it.

I am half way to my weight goal. I’m enjoying my cardio very much these days. I love breaking a sweat because - and I know this probably seems weird - it gives me flashbacks of my nights at the burlesque. The dance bug may be biting me again soon, and I can’t wait until August to find out!

Half of me wants to start dating again and half of me doesn’t. Andrew has been calling; he wants me to fly out to Hollyweird to see him again and has offered to cover all my expenses. I enjoy his company (in measured doses) and it seeing him would more than make up for my Summer Sex deficit, BUT. I’m really starting to wonder about the man: I think he may actually be a sex addict, and by that I mean more than the typical man: I mean NOT in a happy kind of way, but in an anxious and seeking relief via constant, rapid-release sex way. I’m anxious enough these days without adding THAT to my vibe. I want a man to DOUBLE my pleasure, not cut it in half!

SO much is going on, in my life and on the world stage, but I am too tired to write about any of it just yet. My house smells like litterbox and looks as though a bomb hit it. Let me pay my bills, take this business test and write this finance paper; then we’ll talk.

I probably put over 100 miles on my car every day, 70 of them on my commute. While stuck in traffic the other day I took out my cell phone and snapped my self portrait. Don’t I look thrilled?

The NFL Draft Pics are this week and the only reason I even know this is because Scorpio is going apeshit over the drama. The most I’ll do to get into the football spirit is to put on my lucky underwear. Happy HNT!

(The Hedonistic Pleasureseeker uses her trampoline as a footstool)

Hey I’m here!  I’m not ignoring y’all; I’m just working on my 230 essays and hope at least one of them will be ready for prime time by Friday. I’m too pooped to finish my latest tinfoil hat trick, so g’night!

I’m a bad girl for forgetting my HNT post but here it is! I think I’m in the middle of 230 essays right now. It’s just free therapy to me, but you’ll be seeing some of it soon because I found cool pictures for some of the better ones.
But my martini matches my slip! It’s Meyer Lemon season! Have you ever tried one? They are a lemon-tangerine hybrid, so they are a little more mellow than regular lemons. The peels are thin and you can eat them!

This is a traditional lemon drop martini. There are several different variations but I think this one is the best:

Meyer Lemon Drop Martini

• 1 1/2 ounces vodka
• 1/2 ounce triple sec
• 1 teaspoon superfine sugar
• 3/4 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice

Optional Garnish:

• Superfine sugar for dipping
• Twisted peel of lemon

You know the drill: Mix ingredients in a shaker with ice, etc. etc. Happy HNT!

(I found this on a MySpace site a year or two ago, but there were no credits and the file name was only “gothic photo.” But I found a whole group of gothic photos at Photobucket! Neato!)

I couldn’t take any pictures tonight.

First, Bunny has run off with the camera as though it were hers. It’s been gone for days! Second, I must be coming down with something: I had tummy problems all day. I fell asleep twice at my desk. On the way home I had to pull the car over two times because I thought I was going to fall asleep at the wheel. When I got home I lay down on the sofa and slept for a good four hours, and when I woke up I was soaked in my own sweat. So much for a perfectly good Wednesday night!

The sweat is a good sign though, because it usually means my body just killed some creeping crud and then broke the fever. That’s good, because I don’t want to ruin a perfectly good Friday off being sick!

When I got home and looked at my supermarket receipt I noticed I paid $8 for two plain organic chocolate bars. OK, they’re organic, but $8?

But I love chocolate. And I want organic. I’ve become very suspicious of the food grown here and overseas with too many pesticides or hormones or etcetera. Genetically modified foods, or foods with human growth hormone aren’t even labeled as such! MSG is hidden by listing “spices” in the ingredients, wheat gluten is lurking everywhere and it seems everything has corn syrup in it these days.

What’s a girl to do? OK for now this is all you can do: If you discover you have a favorite, or at least a preferred brand/type of chocolate, and hyperinflation is looming and you don’t have the money, what do you do? You buy it by the CASE! NOW before the prices go crazy! Amazon.com has free shipping, though I’m looking for small business sources for my bulk buys. I’ve made a lot of bulk buys. There are a lot of different brands because the organic chocolate business is booming in the United States:

Jay Jacobowitz, president of Retail Insights, a consulting service for natural products retailers, said the trajectory for organic chocolate will likely track that of the organic food market, which is on a double-digit growth spurt.

Organic chocolate is made from cocoa grown without pesticides and herbicides. Producers use certified organic sugar, essential oils, fruits, and nuts in accordance with USDA organic regulations.

In the chocolate market, as in other food areas, education about issues like sustainability and fair trade, as well as product quality, has evolved.

“We have a growing interest in where our food comes from, its pedigree,” Jacobowitz said.

Pedigreed food? (giggle snort) OK maybe he has a point. Once you finally internalize the fact (the FACT, not the opinion) that the food industry and the USDA either 1) don’t have our best interests at heart; or 2) couldn’t do anything about it if they did, the normal response should be to light a fire under your own ass and hop to it: What are you going to put in your body, the only one you’re gonna get this time around? What kinds of habits do you want the next generation to adopt from watching you?Yes, organic is more expensive. YES, a lot of us are po. Not just poor, but downright po. I understand (been there, done that!). But you know what? Americans aren’t starving. In fact we’re the most bloated humans on the planet. Most of us can afford to eat fewer, but higher quality calories, that don’t poison our water and our children’s futures.

Maybe I’m just perverse but I actually get a charge out of fondling that ONE organic potato I’m going to take home. Try it! One per family member. You think about how you want to prepare it, and what you want to put on it. You slowly savor every bite. Sorry if this doesn’t resonate with you but it’s downright erotic to me. The $5 organic mango is a bit much, though. Skip it if it’s out of season!

But back to chocolate. OMG. I bought a case of organic chocolate and saved at least a dollar on every bar! Just enough to get me through a few months of savoring, but not so much that it will get stale. I like variety in my chocolates but you know what? I know how to make my own truffles, so all I need are bars of 70% cocoa and I’m in business. Yum!

I surprised myself on this one: It’s good!

Do you like the taste of chocolate and tropical fruits? Have I got a vodka martini for you! The smell is divine: Complex, with wafts of real chocolate and vanilla weaving through exotic fruit juice.

Chocolate and tropical fruits are among my favorite flavor combinations; they evoke a sense of leisure and decadence, and strike that perfect balance between health food and dessert. The best of both worlds!

You will need:

Tropicocoa

2 oz Three Olives Chocolate Vodka (the best!)
1 oz X-Rated Fusion (passion fruit, mango)
1 oz Vincent Van Gogh Pineapple Vodka
1 oz White Creme de Cacao, any brand

Instruction: Simple, the usual: Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake at least fifteen seconds! And look: I just combined Half Nekkid Thursday, a Month of Chocolate and Matching Martini Madness in one post!

I was doing pressure-point therapy on my legs to make my stomach feel better (trust me it works), and the next day I was covered in brown and purple bruises. I had forgotten how sensitive my skin is!

I used to joke that I’d break out in a rash if you looked at me funny. Men have to learn not to feel guilty about their razor stubble turning me red. I can take one or two baths a week because I barely sweat and I can’t use soap anywhere but the bottoms of my feet! I use hair conditioner or homemade oils on my body instead.

Suffice it to say I should have been more careful or at least expected the bruises. The scratches are from the cats fighting over my lap, never mind those, and the bruises will probably be gone in two days.

Happy HNT everyone! Another three day weekend and Matching Martini Madness tomorrow!

Apologies dear readers but I’ve been indisposed with a sore wrist. Writers cramp again! So Ms. Electra has agreed to take my place for Thursday’s post. Unfortunately I forgot to ask her to tell me why she was famous because she’s been around forever and I could never figure out why.  She doesn’t appear to be a fashion model, an actress or a rock star . . . So tell me: Does anyone out there know if Ms. Electra has a talent?

The first time I tried Ultimat Black Cherry Vodka I described a feeling of being “punched in the face” with the taste. It’s the most intensely black cherry flavored booze I’ve ever tried. Since I had some leftover black cherry juice from the morning’s oatmeal breakfast this chapter of Matching Martini Madness was a nobrainer. Two ingredients, no measuring.

I call this “Black Cherry Amnesia” because last night I realized I knew too much about this world to be happy. As in, what? I forget. I’m sure I can go back in time to read my blog if I really want to remember whatever it was I decided to forget. Whatever.

Happy HNT everyone!