***BE THE CHANGE***

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Life: Skater Bill Documentary


Bill from jay on Vimeo.


Skater Bill lives down the street from Farilla's old house.  We used to see him all the time.  I had no idea that he was such a character.  Nor did I know that he was a Venice Beach icon.  Bravo, Bill.  Thanks for all the smiles!

Life: Garden Salad, Literally!

Life: Garden Salad, Literally!
Life: Garden Salad, Literally!
Originally uploaded by Sanctuary-Studio


We've been reaping the benefits of our garden all week. Tonight's salad includes Russian red lettuce, arugula, green onions and radishes...all grown right out our back door!

Hoop Dance: Hooping Contortionist



Um, WOW!

Monday, May 17, 2010

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Life: Lil L's Parent Night Program

Life: Lil L's Parent Night Program
Life: Lil L's Parent Night Program
Originally uploaded by Sanctuary-Studio


I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Let's face it...kids put the fun in funny.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Fitness: P90X - Day 16

I SWEAR that wasn't there 16 days ago!!!


Despite being advised Farilla and I didn't take any "before" pics.  It's not like I would have posted them here anyway. So, it just wasn't high priority.  We did finally take down some base measurements (at the end of week one), though.  My scale measures BMI, Weight, Skeletal Muscle, Fat, Visceral Fat & Metabolism.  It'll be interesting to compare our starting numbers with our measurements at the end of 90 days.  Everything's going well.  The workouts are pretty advanced and challenging but I push myself  to do what I can.  On the downside, my appetite is raging!  Seriously, ALL I THINK ABOUT IS FOOD.  Hello, metabolism!

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Life: Ladybug Orgy

Oh, the woes of being an organic gardener.  Bugs are eating everything!  We decided to fight nature with nature by unleashing 1,500 ladybugs on the little monsters late Sunday afternoon.  By Monday morning our Ladies were everywhere...







I think it's time we invest in this...
Pat Welsh's Southern California Organic Gardening (3rd Edition): Month by Month

Monday, May 10, 2010

Life: Not An Easy Thing To Find In LA...

Life: Not An Easy Thing To Find In LA
Life: Not An Easy Thing To Find In LA
Originally uploaded by Sanctuary-Studio


We eat a lot if grains, raw nuts, seeds and such from the bulk barrels at the Co-Op and Whole Foods. Our cabinets are out of control with bags of this stuff stacked all around. In an attempt to bring some order to the madness we decided to invest in a dozen quart sized mason jars. Our flax seeds are so much happier now! And at less than a dollar each these jars make for an easy and inexpensive storage solution. After a few phone calls, and a 45 minute adventure at OSH, Farilla was able to track down some (also known as) canning jars at Smart & Final. You'd be surprised with how many people were all "A mason what?" or "A candy jar?".

Um, no. We already have TWO too many of those, thanks.

Life: A Little Afternoon Nap


Life: A Little Afternoon Nap
Originally uploaded by Sanctuary-Studio


Unfortunately, this is an all-too-common sight in Venice these days.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Life: Early-May Garden Update

We've started harvesting!

Things we've made with food from our garden:
Herbed Goat Cheese Paninis (green onions, basil)
Green Salad (red leaf lettuce)
Green Smoothies (Red Russian kale, Swiss chard & Bloomsdale spinach)

Leafy greens explosion...




One red, Two green...


Tomatoes...


Our garden is flourishing!  We couldn't be happier about this considering we pretty much just threw some stuff into the ground and then asked it, albeit very nicely, to grow.  We did lose our broccoli plants which, rather than producing broccoli, started flowering.  Who knew broccoli doesn't like temps above 80 degrees?!  Well, now we do.  That warm spell we had a couple of weeks back seems to have pushed the little dudes over the edge.  We'll be pulling those guys out this weekend.  What will replace them is to be determined.  Oh and our parsley, while still hanging on, is mostly just a pile of wilted yellow leaves.  We'll likely be replacing this guy soon too.  On a brighter note our yellow pepper plant has a pepper!   w00t!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Humor: Deep Thoughts By A Robot

Fitness: P90X - Day 11

What a difference a week makes! Waking up a bunch of muscles last week (which haven't been used in way too long) totally rocked me. I'm glad to share that Week 2 has been a lot easier on my body. All achy muscles seem to be appropriately achy for the work I've been doing. I know I've said it before but muscle memory is a beautiful thing. We kicked off Day 11 with 1.5 hours of YogaExtreme. About 20% of this program is just way beyond my capabilities. I wish they offered more alternative poses for those of us who aren't as advanced. Admittedly, getting a yoga block will help with a few of the poses I'm struggling with. I don't know what it is about stretching and yoga that makes me feel so sleepy afterward but I'm feeling quite jello-y and lethargic at the moment. Oh, how nice a nap would be...Yawn.

P90X Extreme Home Fitness Workout Program - 13 DVDs, Nutrition Guide, Exercise Planner

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Photography: I'm A Winner!

You may recall that I entered the Adorama iPhone Photo Contest a few months back.  Well, thanks to your votes I was selected as one of the winners.  When I was first tipped off about the contest back in January there were only 1,500 submissions.  Thinking those were pretty good odds (at winning a new Wacom Tablet) I entered a few snaps.  By the end of the voting period there were nearly 13,000 submissions from all over the country!  While I wasn't lucky enough to win a Tablet I did walk away with an Apple App Store Gift Card.  I'm not sure that my vintage iPhone will be able to handle fifty dollars worth of apps but I'm sure the gift card will still go to good use.  Thanks to Adorama and The Judges for the recognition.  And a huge thanks to YOU for the votes! 

The Winner:
palm graff
(Palm Graff, 2010)

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Life: Boxed Water Is Better

Life: Boxed Water Is Better
Life: Boxed Water Is Better
Originally uploaded by Sanctuary-Studio

(As seen at Novel Cafe in Santa Monica.)

But filtered tap is the best.

Life: Gotta Love Swingers!

Life: Gotta Love Swingers!
Life: Gotta Love Swingers!
Originally uploaded by Sanctuary-Studio


It's all about the Vegan Wrap w/ a side of Quinoa.