Only two months left before my birthday, and the heat of summer has finally made it’s graceful entrance into my Vegas life.

The past few weeks have been amazing. I’ve been fortunate to spend some time with my “out-of-town” friends, as well as be a part of some local shenanigans here in Vegas.

I also had the opportunity to hear former President Bill Clinton speak at a rally for Senator Harry Reid. After the speech, I used my nimble body to squeak my way to the front, and shake the former President’s hand. I did this while taking a picture. I needed proof

TWO MORE MONTHS! I can’t believe it. Time to get crackin’.

This new playlist features just a couple from my previous Spin Doctor playlist (part3). This list features some awesome songs from this summer, as well as summers past. The weather in Vegas is starting to heat up. It’s time to take it up another notch with music.

1. Fantasy Girl—Baby Bash
2. Getting’ Over You—David Guetta
3. Cooler Than Me—Mike Posner
4. California Gurls—Katy Perry
5. Break Your Heart—Taio Cruz
6. I Like That—Richard Vission & Static
7. Evacuate The Dancefloor–Cascada
8. Hello Good Morning—Diddy
9. Me Against The Music (Rishi Rich Remix)—Britney Spears
10. Ready, Steady, Go—Paul Oakenfold
11. Love Lockdown—Kanye West
12. Cream—Prince
13. LoveStoned/I Think She Knows—Justin Timberlake
14. I’m the Ish—DJ Class
15. Today—Smashing Pumpkins

Sometimes, it’s important to be a little indulgent.

This afternoon, I went to a Yelp event in Henderson, NV. For those of you who don’t know the Vegas area, Henderson is on the “other” side of town. The event was at Atomic # 7, which is this new ice cream shop. A unique concept, in that you can basically custom order your ice cream.

You pick all of the ingredients from the menu

And then they put everything into a Kitchen Aid mixer that has some sort of Nitrogen attachment, and voila! Ice cream.

Here are some pictures and a video of the process. Pretty neat-o.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfUsQXpBPCc]

The cone immediately started to break, so Atomic#7 was kind enough to give me another cone, and a cup.

Photo by LeMond Fitness

In the interest of awesome playlists for my workouts, I am creating a new category for blog posts: Music.

This playlist has been on my iPod for about a week, but I can’t stop listening to it. It’s just about 60 minutes long, and perfect for a strong bike ride, or spin class.

I call it Spin Doctor 3. Spin Doctors 1 & 2 were good playlists, but not as cool as this.  The first song is by far my favorite song on the playlist. The last song, is fun, and perfect for a cool down and stretch.

Also, don’t dare judge me for having Bieber and tons of Black Eyed Peas on this playlist. 60 minutes of intense spinning is rough, and a couple of silly songs are good to lighten the mood a little.

Let me know what you think.

1. I Like That (Featuring Luciana) by Richard Vission
2. The Boogie That Be by Black Eyed Peas
3. Evacuate The Dancefloor by Cascada
4. Baby (Featuring Ludacris) by Justin Bieber
5. Eenie Meenie (Featuring Sean Kingston) by Justin Bieber
6. My Humps by Black Eyed Peas
7. Rock That Body by Black Eyed Peas
8. Gangsta Luv (Featuring The Dream) by Snoop Dogg
9. Don’t Punk With My Heart by Black Eyed Peas
10. Sexy Bitch (Featuring Akon) by David Guetta
11. Hot N’ Fun (Featuring Nelly Furtado) by N*E*R*D*
12. Knights of Cydonia by Muse
13. 99 Problems by Jay-Z
14. Yes by LMFAO
15. Don’t Lie by Black Eyed Peas

Another update on my 30 Before 30 list. If you want to help me with any of these, let me know. I’m open to help. In fact, I’d prefer it.

The big 3-0 is coming up. Less than three months. I am excited. Aren’t you?

Run a marathon
Go camping
Learn how to gamble.
Begin writing a cookbook
Tell someone I like, how I feel about them, regardless of the outcome
Begin writing a book.
Watch a movie I’ve never heard of before.
Make someone feel special.
Sleep in until Noon for once
Figure out a system for managing my socks.
Write a song
Surprise an old friend.
Learn how to properly swim
Get to under 200 lbs.
Change someone’s life for good.
Attempt to grow a plant
Roadtrip through California by myself..visiting friends, breweries, wineries.
Make someone laugh till they cry.
Cook a complete meal for someone other than myself.
Do a real pullup or ten.
Properly cook an artichoke.
Learn to dance
Learn to skate (ice or rollerblade)
Show someone the Grand Canyon
Go to Moab and visit Arches National Park
Brew beer at home.
Buy a new computer (PC)
Use my job skills to help someone outside the workplace.
Ride in a helicopter
Skydive

On August 22, 2010, I will turn 30 years old.

A couple months back, a buddy of mine challenged me to come up with a list of 30 things I want to do before I turn 30. Below is the list of things I came up with. A couple of the items are “big deals” and although I had already accomplished them, they were on my unofficial list of things to do.

The biggest sacrifice so far has come by the way of sobriety. I think this can help me with item#2 under “Not Completed”. It’s going to be a tough road.

It’s always a good idea to start off with accomplishments…so here goes…

Completed

1. Run a marathon
2. Go camping
3. Learn how to gamble.
4. Begin writing a cookbook
5. Tell someone I like, how I feel about them, regardless of the outcome
6. Begin writing a book.
7. Watch a movie I’ve never heard of before.
8. Make someone feel special.
9. Sleep in until Noon for once
10. Figure out a system for managing my socks.
11. Write a song
12. Surprise an old friend.

To Accomplish

1. Learn how to properly swim
2. Get to under 200 lbs.
3. Change someone’s life for good.
4. Attempt to grow a plant
5. Roadtrip through California by myself..visiting friends, breweries, wineries.
6. Make someone laugh till they cry.
7. Cook a complete meal for someone other than myself.
8. Do a real pullup or ten.
9. Properly cook an artichoke.
10. Learn to dance
11. Learn to skate (ice or rollerblade)
12. Show someone the Grand Canyon
13. Go to Moab and visit Arches National Park
14. Brew beer at home.
15. Buy a new computer (PC)
16. Use my job skills to help someone outside the workplace.
17. Ride in a helicopter
18. Skydive

I’m not going to re-hash the memoirs from my 2007 trip to Italy, but today I was going through some old belongings, and I found a card file. Full of business cards that I have collected over the last 10-15 years. Old credit cards, my student ID from the University of Utah. You name it, and it’s in there.

I stumbled upon the business card of “Il Vecchio Dado”. IVD is a restaurant in Pisa, Italy. I kept the business card, because it’s easy to forget the name of a local joint, in a country, far, far away.

When I went to Italy with my parents, I had this mission. A mission to find the best Italian food in the world. Seems pretty simple, right? Well, it was a bit more challenging than I thought. I started off my culinary adventure in Venice, and then ventured into Rome.

Now, if there is anything to know about me, it’s that I LOVE FOOD. I know where to look for good food. It’s not a mystery to me. Not even in foreign countries. I struck out in Venice and Rome. I figure, food in two very well-known cities should be amazing, but since I didn’t find it, I had given up. Before my trip ended, I did venture out to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Pisa seemed like one of those cities at first. You know the type. An economy that revolves around one or two tourist attractions, with nothing left outside of what you “know”.

Down on my food luck, I did the unthinkable. I asked the hotel for some restaurant suggestions. The only name that came up, was IVD. I reluctantly walked in with my folks, and enjoyed the best Italian meals of my life. We actually ate here twice.

I remember eating “Pizza Frutta De Mare”. A lovely pizza that shattered any notion of a typical pizza. I ate the toppings first, and I was treated to an array of clams, mussels, shrimps and calamari–all atop a crust that had the most subtle hint of garlic. It was to die for!

On my second trip, I had a gnocchi that was beautifully paired with a porcini mushroom sauce, and much to my liking, red pepper flakes adorned the top.

Upon my own research, I’ve come to find out that this restaurant is over 200 years old. I have no doubt in my mind, that I will return to Italy, and the very first place I will go, is Il Vecchio Dado.

First off, I’d like to wish all of you a very HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope this year brings all of you all of life’s good things.

Today, I’m making Turkey Noodle Soup. It’s almost done…another 45 minutes of simmering to go. In a large stock pot, I filled with water–I put in one turkey thigh, one leftover thigh bone from last night, loosely chopped celery, garlic, onions, carrots, peppercorns, a lemon slice, salt, and let it simmer for one hour. Then I took the meat off the bones and put it back into the soup. Since then, it’s been simmering for an hour.  A few minutes ago, I quartered up some whole wheat spaghetti noodles, and threw it in.

I can’t wait to see how this turns out!

I woke up this morning feeling adventerous. Yes, I decided to once again cook with Mung Beans. It may seem that I have become obsessed with these little guys, but they are amazing, and so versatile. Also, they are packed with protein and fiber!

I made Korean Mung Bean Pancakes. I took shelled and halved mung beans, soaked them in water for a couple hours. Threw them into the blender with some water (and rice flour). Once I got a nice batter consistency, I mixed in some cole slaw mix, thinly sliced onions, chili powder, garlic and salt. Then I put them on the griddle with some olive oil.

Separately, I made a lovely dipping sauce out of vinegar, soy sauce and lightly toasted sesame seeds.

The pancakes came out a little thicker than I thought they would, but delicious, fluffy yet firm, and full of lovely flavor!