Taking It To The Maxx Again

Now those are some fierce calves.
So today we shot the spring ads for TJ Maxx at the Huntington Library in San Marino. It was such a gorgeous day. This was the first truly sunny day after a week of stormy weather, it was a total joy. I got to run around barefoot in the grass and act like a five year old. It was amazing. I also had to run around in pointy high heels which wasn't quite so cute. Good thing it'll be trimmed down to quick short edits. Anyway, I savored this day as this was my last booking for the time being. For the first time, I am so relieved to not have to work. I did an all day print job on Saturday and got a few offers to work this week on other projects but decided to turned them down in order to have a little breathing room. I feel like I haven't had much time to myself this month and I'd love to just catch up on schoolwork and music for the rest of the week. Of course, I'll be fretting in a couple days that I'm unemployed but that's OK. I recognize I've always been a bit bipolar when it comes to my career. I know I can turn into a workahalic and neglect the important things in life if I don't stay balanced. I'm looking forward to getting balanced and refocused tomorrow with some yoga in the morning and lunch at Flore, a vegan cafe in Silverlake. Ohmmmmmm.....

I <3 My Dentist

Who knew I would love going to the dentist. After a lifetime of going to lousy dentists and believe me, I've been to some horrible ones (even going as far as Tijuana because they are way more advanced than U.S. dentists), I finally found someone who gets it. When I walked in I was offered a cup of organic Yogi tea from their tea menu. I then sat in a MASSAGE chair while I had my x-rays taken. The dentist took my pH level, discussed my diet and how it was affecting my teeth. They performed the cleaning with lasers and a baking soda/sea salt solution. I didn't need any work done but if I did the dental work is done with lasers as well and are as non invasive as possible, many times not even needing anesthesia. They are against the use of fluoride and amalgam fillings and they also offer virtual reality glasses with a selection of 200 movies if I ever need a little distraction. Now that's taking care of your patients. It's so refreshing to finally meet someone in the medical field that looks at the patient holistically. That is not the western way of practicing medicine at all. I whole heartedly believe that good oral health is key to wellness, as much as a good diet. If anyone is in need of a new dentist I highly recommend visiting this practice. Comprehensive Dental Center

I Was Gene Simmons' Lova

Wow, this week just flew by. I had 4 auditions, 2 fittings and a booking. Doesn't sound like a lot of work but it was. The lastest job was for a promo for the Gene Simmons reality show on A&E. I actually had to audition twice just to stand there holding this sign all morning. The premise is basically Gene walks up to his grandiose mansion and all these women that he's slept with (legend says it's around 5000 women) are walking around holding signs that have what notch # they were on his bedpost. I grabbed 917 because it's my favorite NYC area code (I know, I'm such a nerd) but I guess that would mean I slept with Gene when I was a fetus or something definitely underage. Anyway, the job was easy, Gene was very friendly (he definitely loves the ladies!! he was flirting with everyone) and you'll all see it soon enough. Next week I'm shooting the spring TJ Maxx campaign and after that who knows what.

As for how my foot detox patch experiment went, I'm pretty unconvinced. I did five nights in a row and got the exact same result every night. I was even wondering if I was actually absorbing whatever chemicals are in the patch that supposedly pulls toxins out. Hmmm...as for the colon cleanse/juice fast, that went great. Matt wussed out after three days. I tried to go seven days but finished at six. I blame my nutrition studies for sabotaging my last day of fasting because I had to read a book called "The 150 Healthiest Foods On Earth" all week so all I could think about was food. Anyway, I feel great, my skin is clear and my tummy is flat as a board. Good stuff.

Officially Swedish

This sad face...

...made this awesome kitchen.

IKEA and Matt make a great team don't they? The kitchen isn't completely done yet but it's functional. See me juicing those apples? Yep, life is good. How about that stove top and oven I'll probably never use. I tried to convince Matt to return it when I went raw but he said no. I might get a big chopping board made to cover it so I have more counter space. I'll post the before and after shots once it's completely done.

Detox Foot Patches

Believe it or not, this was Matt's idea. He found this website that sells detox patches that you put on the bottom of your feet that supposedly draw out toxins while you sleep. I'm pretty skeptical about this and everyone knows that I'm into all kinds of weird stuff. Since we're on the Blessed Herbs colon cleanse we thought it would be a good time to try these out. The results were pretty gruesome.

I know what it looks like but that came from my delicate little foot. They smelled pretty earthy when I took them off as well. It was hard not to gag but I had to take a good look to see if this was legit. I really don't know for sure if there are really toxins in there without sending it to a lab for analysis. We have five days worth each so if by the fifth night the results are less and perhaps a *gag* different color I might become a believer. There are countless websites peddling these patches and the reviews have been very positive. We tried finding info from quackwatch but nothing turned up. Apparently, they're all the rage in Asia.

As for the colon cleanse, this has been day 3 of 5. Yesterday was a breeze for some reason. I wasn't hungry at all and I had loads of energy. Today I woke up ravenous but after a big glass of juice I felt great. Matt on the other hand is totally miserable and has sworn this is his first and last fast ever. What a wuss.

New Year, Fresh Colon

Today I started an exciting five day cleanse from a kit I got from a website called Blessed Herbs. It basically consists of five daily concoctions of apple juice and a packet of their 'toxin absorber' which is pretty much bentonite clay and psyllum seed husks. You drink this every three hours and each night you take an herbal digestive stimulator to keep things moving. They recommend not eating any solids if you want a really thorough 'cleanse.' Also, you can have all the apple juice and vegetable broth you want. I've done other cleanses in the past like the Master Cleanse, and I'll I do 3 day juice fasts every so often but the selling point for me were the testimonials on their website. The photos are so incredibly gross, who wouldn't want to get that out of their body as soon as possible? Since it's only my first day I haven't had anything nearly that gnarly but I have high hopes for tomorrow. As for hunger, I have loads of it. I had energy until about 3pm when I had to take a little nap but that might be because I've been doing housework all day. Definitely a good idea to start this over a weekend when you're home so you have a bathroom nearby and no one around to snap at. I get really cranky when I'm hungry so watch out.

Famous Former Raw Foodist

"I was actually a fruitarian at that point in time. I ate only fruit. Now I’m a garbage can like everyone else. And we were about three months late in filing a fictitious business name so I threatened to call the company Apple Computer unless someone suggested a more interesting name by five o’clock that day. Hoping to stimulate creativity. And it stuck. And that’s why we’re called Apple." - Steve Jobs