Dita Summer Tour 2008...

...begins now!!

June 24-30 London/Brighton
July 1-4 Stockholm
July 5-10 Lithuania
July 10-14 Paris
July 15-22 LBC
July 23-Sept. 15 NYC

Lots of photos to come! Promise!

How I Spent My Birthday

Man, did I feel it the next day. Think I got a mild case of whiplash too. It was well worth it.

Ancient Chinese Secret

Wow, my legs look really unattractive from this angle. I've been seeing an acupuncturist for the past week and a half because I've got what my health practitioners believe is tendonitis which I developed during my last trip to NYC. I wasn't kung fu fighting in the streets or anything really great like that. I was just walking along and acquired a terrible ache in my left knee. After a week of suffering I met a retired athlete who told me to go to a chiropractor for an x-ray, back adjustment and ultrasound therapy. It helped a bit but I was worried since I only had a couple weeks before my European vacation (where I intend to walk a lot) I decided to step it up with some acupuncture. My first appointment was a bust though. He had me sitting up so he could have better access to my knee. I didn't think the needles would bother me but just looking at them hanging out my knee made me go down like a sack of potatoes. It was so embarrassing. My next three sessions I did laying down and went really well. After my second session the pain was entirely gone for two days. It was a miracle. I'm a true believer now in Chinese medicine. I'm hoping he can get rid of my allergies next and maybe even my addiction to cupcakes. That's gonna be a tough one.

Windows Server 2008 Commercial

Here's a spot I did back in December. Look for me in the spandex on the left. Meow.

One Year Of Being Rawesome

It was exactly a year ago that I changed my diet from meaty Atkins to almost vegan raw. Most of my friends and family are used to seeing me go from one extreme to another. From brown to blond to black to red, from NYC to LA, from athiest to religious, from filmmaking to songwriting to acting, from prep to goth to raver to rocker, etc. It's common knowledge that I'm a little nuts. Of all the times I've shape shifted though, going raw has drawn the most head scratching, inquisition and ire from my loved ones. Mostly because it's inconvenient. Going out to eat with friends can get complicated. "Umm, do they have salad?" is always the question of the day. Every social gathering the host (as well as myself) is concerned if there's anything for me to eat. I call attention to myself by bringing a lunch cooler to work or whenever I know I'm going to be out and about for several hours. Plus, some people feel guilty for eating meat in front of me. I don't preach or point out everything that's wrong about what people eat but I guess there's just an underlying conviction that comes along with having a raw vegan around. Kind of like the self imposed guilt you feel when eating bacon around a Jew I guess. Anyway, a lot has happened since I went raw. First and foremost, I got my acne under control which is the only reason I even attempted eating this way. It took a couple months of being consistent but my hormonal acne improved significantly. Now I get one pimple a month instead of eight a week. Yeah, it got that bad. I also lost a lot of baby fat. I was always on the slender side but I got incredibly skinny in the first month. I went from 124 lbs. to 107. It was fun to see my body change so much, but it looked pretty gross when my spine was sticking out of my t-shirt. Definitely not sexy. Now I average around 113 lbs. Skinny but still got some curves. Next thing I noticed was I felt so much better. My energy level was through the roof. Eating for energy was a whole new approach as opposed to eating to feel full. When you eat light you can be so much more productive and have so much more clarity than eating a heavy meal that puts you into a food coma. I used to think that was normal. The next thing I noticed were my nails grew stronger and faster. I have to file them down every day so I can play guitar. Eating raw has also helped the stiffness in my hands. I realized now it was mild arthritis I was developing from eating such an acidic diet. I've also noticed emotional changes in my life too. Less moodiness and depression. Getting the blues was a regular occurance for me for years. I controlled it with exercise and plenty of sleep but now I'm realizing eating natural whole foods is a big part of keeping your chemistry in balance. Those where the most obvious changes in my health. Aside from the physical changes, going raw also put me on a new career course. I realized health and nutrition has always been a passion for me so I have been working on my M.S. in Holistic Nutrition since last fall. I'd like to get my Ph.D in the next four years, write a book about healing (actually I've already started) and be a personal wellness coach. In addition to that I'm planning on going to Living Light early next year to become a raw food chef. All this on top of being a little actress/songstress! I realize I'm on a journey and though I don't have an exact map of where all this is taking me I'm happier and more excited about life than I have ever been.

If you've ever been curious about trying a raw diet now is a great time to do it. Summer months bring lots of fun, juicy fruits. Strawberries, peaches, cherries, and melons are cheap and accessible. Try fruit smoothies for breakfast and salads for lunch and dinner. Make one a spinach salad with pears and walnuts with balsamic dressing and another romaine with avocados, tomatoes with tahini dressing. Get some recipe books for ideas so you don't get bored. I love "Raw Food Made Easy" by Jennifer Cornbleet. It's a great starter book but there are tons of raw recipe books on Amazon that you can try out. My other faves are "Ani's Raw Food Kitchen" by Ani Phyo and "I Am Grateful" by Terces Engelhart. If you want to try some really gourmet dishes "Raw Food Real World" by Sarma Melingailis is amazing. You don't have to be 100% either. You benefit anytime you eat fresh foods. Try going an entire week with only fruit for breakfast. The next week try fruit breakfasts, salad lunches and a sensible cooked meal for dinner. The following week try going all raw. Keep a journal and note the changes you feel physically and emotionally. You will probably discover a lot about yourself and why you eat certain foods. Have fun with it and enjoy the experiment. Who knows what can happen. I might see you at Living Light next year, too.

xoxo
Judita

Rawesome In The City

Matt and I will be spending six, hot, sweaty weeks in the big apple this summer. I got a job at Bonobo's, an awesome raw food takeaway near Madison Square Park, while Matt will be working his photo magic. So ridiculously excited. It's been my dream to live and work in the city for the past 15 years. There's a chance I might not come back!

Working Hard Or Hardly Working?

Some days my life is totally fabulous. I wish all job bookings were as awesome as the Cool Whip commercial I just shot on Thursday. Ok, I know, it's not raw or vegan but it's delicious and I got paid to sit around and eat ice cream and non dairy whipped cream all day. Surprisingly I didn't get a belly ache but I did go home with a terrible sugar headache. The stuff I'm holding is actually the fake ice cream which I found to be incredibly fascinating for some reason.
The food stylists make it out of crisco, confectioner sugar, karo syrup and something else. I didn't have to eat it thankfully. But it looked so real I wanted to. For every shot they just handed me a spoon loaded with real ice cream (chocolate chip Haagen-Dazs!) and a dollop of Cool Whip. This spot starts airing May 26th nationally so keep an eye out!

Martini & Rossi & George

So here's a tiny bit of irony. I had just started attending bartending school when I got an audition for a Martini & Rossi commercial. First thing they asked was do I bartend? Well, anytime you go out for an audition and they ask you "Do you wrestle sharks?" or "Would you shave off one eyebrow (I was actually asked to do this)" the answer is always "Absolutely!" whether it's true or not. Well, I barely drink let alone make drinks but I pretended to make a drink like nobody's business for the audition. Well, unfortunately I didn't book it (I think I poured it like a novice...you should see my two handed pours now!). BUT I did end up getting booked on it as an extra and, boy, was I thrilled because I knew at the audition two weeks prior that I was going to be opposite George Clooney in this spot. Now, I don't usually get too star struck but George Clooney isn't a huge Hollywood star for no reason. He was totally charming and funny and easygoing for the whole shoot. The spot is for a Martini and Rossi campaign where he plays a really cheesy over the top Italian actor. It's only going to be running in Europe and apparently he's been doing this same character for seven years unbeknowest to the American public (we couldn't bring cameras or cellphones to set so I guess it's a secret). They put a little fake mustachio on him and what I think was a really dark fake tan but I wasn't exactly sure. Another reason this job was pretty cool was that the stylist dressed all the extras in head to toe Dolce & Gabanna couture.

The location was at a gorgeous six acre estate in Beverly Hills that looks like Tuscany.

There wasn't a whole lot to complain about except my D&G shoes where starting to kill after two days of standing around. In one of the shots, George is trying to make his way to the bar except party guests are constantly in his way. The director told me to make it difficult for George to get past me so when he came by I grabbed his arm to flirt with him and then gave him a little *innocent* bum grab. I got to do that eight more times. Not bad for a hard days work. *swoon*

BRB

About to hop on a redeye flight to Costa Rica to hang out with Ginger Pumpkin in San Jose. We'll be attending Festival Imperial (Imperial is one of Costa Rica's signature beer companies) and one of the last Smashing Pumpkins concerts for a little while. On Sunday Matt and I will go to Mal Pais to hang out with the monkeys and eat coconuts. I'll have lots of amazing photos to share since Matt just bought me a Leica camera for my photo endeavors. He calls me 'Leica hurricane' now. For now I'll leave you with this photo of two super cute lunch coolers I got. I have been searching for some discreet coolers I can tote around on set or when I go out. I guess the doggie lunch cooler on the right isn't exactly discreet but it was too adorable not to get. My goal now is to convert a Louis Vuiton bag into a cooler. Gotta keep my raw goods fresh while looking sassy.

Twenty Dollar Make You Holler!

For Matt's birthday I took him to one of those $20/hour massage places that have spread like wildfire all over southern California. They advertise as foot reflexology salons but they do head to toe massages. It's pretty crazy. I went on yelp.com to find the best one and found LH Foot Massage in Little Saigon to be our jam. First they soak your feet in a hot herbal foot bath for 20 minutes. You lay down (clothed) in the reclining chairs and they do pressure points on your head, neck, shoulders and arms. Then they work your feet. Just as you sink into a state of pure bliss they turn you over, climb on top of your back and smack the crap out of you. I was grunting because she was working me so hard. I looked over at Matt and he was getting pummeled too. It was hilarious. I wanted to get my camera out so bad. Even though it was a bit rough, I would definitely go again but I'd ask them to take it easy. I almost felt bruised afterwards. I also felt super thirsty. I'm not sure if that's a normal response to massages as this was the first time I ever got a 'professional' massage. It was definitely a birthday to remember for Matt. He said he'd go back for sure.


As we were leaving the massage parlor, Matt and I came across a Vietnamese vegan supermarket that sold all things soy and I mean ALL things soy. I was shocked to find soy chicken feet and internal organs as being something that people would want. Is there really a market for this? I'm going to have to ask my Vietnamese friend what the deal is. It was kind of ironic that we ended up going to a wedding last night that served a seven course Vietnamese feast. I completely forgot to pack some raw goodies but figured at least there'll be some salad. I guess they don't eat much salad in Vietnam because all they served were tons of fried shrimp, fried scallops, fried fish, lo mein with meat chunks and whole roasted duck, including the head. Oh and sliced oranges...to clean the palate...I had quite a few of these. I also had some tiramisu. I know, I'm bad. I need to find a discreet, fashionable cooler that I can tote raw supplies for emergencies like these. I almost always have Larabars in my purse but I brought my little Chanel bag that can hardly fit anything... I think I might have just come up with a brilliant raw food marketing idea! hmmmm...:)