As we age we forget to really play in this world. I see it so often in others and it is one of the things that freighters me most about life; will I succumb to the stagnation that I see in others and be content with little or no real playtime in my life. Because of this fear and because I have seen many people throughout the world at any age really being active and participating and playing in life, including my father, I tend to always want to seek it out. But I will admit, lately I had grown a tad bit stagnate in my play, my wild side had been hidden and dormant until it met Wyoming.
The desolate ruggedness gives you no chance to deny the will to play even a little bit and while in Wyoming this is exactly what I did, played in all facets of the word and considering I was around children, the play was more intense and in some cases more childlike and we can all use a dose of childlike wild play in as we grow older! Your wild side is waiting to expose it’self and this side leads to getting to know the deeper more creative parts of ourselves, so get out there and play, show your wild side…..
We are all our worst critics when we watch ourselves on film. This past year I have spent more time on film than any of the other years added up in my life. Through this process I have learned a lot and my perception of what needs to happen on film has also changed. Basically it’s not about me. It has taken me some time to realize that when we are on film we are looking at ourselves in a unique light and whether we are seeing what others see is a much longer topic, but we are certainly much more critical of ourselves than others are. I had a hard time at first with watching myself on camera, and saw failure all too often. But as again the growth occurred I saw something different, a job, a task a message, again it wasn’t about me and the sooner I realized that the sooner I saw success on film. Not what I looked like but was my passion coming across, was my message, etc etc.
Here is a current live blog tasting that the Southwest Wines of France did at our center recently and I think I can look at my “performance” as a successful one.
The Lost City Of Petra, Jordan and A Bedouins Shoes
There is nothing more unexpected than a flip flop breaking in the middle of the desert in Petra, or so I thought! Bear with me while I explain why there are picture and stories in this sector of Video of the month! So yes as I said we were in the middle of Petra, probably had walked about 5 kilometers inside the “canyon” and were pretty much in the center. Yes there were some Bedouins selling some trinkets but no shoes and so as my flip flop broke at this epicenter and I realized we had about 5-6 more kilometers to go and I had no shoe, in the middle of the hot desert. I was a bit in horror for what I was going to do! But just then this lovely young Bedouin, the most finely dressed of them all came to me and offered me his shoes to wear. I thought I the flip flop ordeal couldn’t be topped by my shock but a man in the desert giving me his shoes did just that. Let’s step back about an hour before when I met this Bedouin man. We had just arrived at the treasury; this is the grand view of Petra so to speak. The view that we all know and the one that was shown in Indian Jones movie! Everyone recognizes this view! Our jaws dropped and we were certainly in unexpected awe, not by just its sheer beauty and not by just is mind boggling design but the fact that this ancient thing was immediately in front of us live and in person, it was certainly surreal.
We spent a little time here so all could go explore and photograph and I discovered….CAMELS!! So I should take a second to let all of you know I love camels and every chance I get to ride them I do, I don’t care if its in a gas station in Israel, at a growers house or in this case a tourist ride in front of the treasury in Petra. None of the tourists were riding the camels but for sure all of them wanted to! I approached the Bedouin boy, the one in the nice beautiful white robe and amazing purple scarf on his head, along with his eyeliner he was certainly an attractive young man. I asked the price and he said $5. Five bucks to ride a camel for about 5-10 minutes and take a photo op in front of the treasury, I mean my goodness how could one refuse! So of course I paid the guy the $5 and Melody did as well and we rode the camels and it was glorious just like always! I noticed his beautiful sandals at this point and with my severe affection for shoes was impressed and of course told him this, he smiled and was grateful said they were from Saudi Arabia. As we began to journey further into Petra our tour guide said we needed to decide if we were going to continue on and ride donkeys out or turn back. Out time was limited so we needed to make a decision. Now donkeys are no different for me than camels really so myself and Melody decided we would ride donkeys and my beautiful Bedouin was just the guy who had some! So we walked further into Petra and at stop where we drank and ate a little something, my shoe broke at this point. I was really beside myself and picture myself with a burnt foot from walking in the desert with no shoe! But just than my Bedouin young man came over and gave me his shoes! I couldn’t believe it, the generosity. I immediately said NO WAY and what would he wear. He said he insisted and that he was used to being in the desert on his bare feet and not to worry and that no Bedouin would let a lady walk through the desert with no shoes if he had some! Wow, I couldn’t believe it. We spent a little time walking and before we knew it we were on donkeys. My “handler” was my Bedouin man and I said why don’t you take the shoes since I am on the donkey, he said no and that I need to just accept it and that he was fine. We proceeded to walk (I rode) about 5 kilometers out of Petra, through rocks, sand, pavement, you name it and all the while my beautiful Bedouin young man in his barefoot. Now the beauty of the story is I got to talk to him at great length. He spoke about his family (we even passed his 98 year old grandfather who looked like he was 60), we spoke about life, philosophy, tourists, history, Petra, fruits and I had an amazing unexpected time with this young man that gave me his shoes. He was 19 years old and truly an amazing person. I was really taken back by his wisdom, his kindness and his spirit, it was indeed a memorable day on so many levels, this young man was one of the primary reason why. When we arrived at our destination up a HUGE hill, even the donkey’s were breathing heavily, he said that I should KEEP THE SHOES! He insisted. So at that moment I gave him my FLIP VIDEO CAMERA, as I know he had a laptop I figured it would be perfect for him, simple and complete and cheap for me and it was the least I could do, he was in awe and couldn’t believe it, I understood how he felt (think shoes!) so we parted ways after sharing a cigarette together which was ironic and funny! Needless to say I do not have video of Petra and now you know why! So I found some hoky but good footage so you can put yourself in my SHOES!!!
The unexpected in people is I think the best part of life!
So to my lovely Bedouin young man, you are lovely and I wish you a long and beautiful journey though this world! Thank you for the shoes!
Pondering the Meaning of Family, Earthquakes, Hurricanes & Gratitude with Friends, Food & Lots of Drinks
I decided finally to take a little break this summer and we shut down the center for most of the end of August and the begining of September our deadest time of year. During that time I decided that it was about time to have some fun in my own space. Basically celebrating finally that I created this space and want to use it for my own fun as well as a business and to gather some of my existing Brooklyn friends & “family” and get to know them better. I was also celebrating getting through the summer months which were tough business wise and took a toll on me! So I whipped up some of my best Latin dishes…..and concoted some smokey, sweet and spicy libations and we went at it getting together for good times, good conversation and Brooklyn style bonding, here is a glimse into my life and my Surviving Survival Fiesta!
A Quest for Food Purity Which Lead to the Discovery of Camera Self Awareness
in myself & in others………..
So as many know this trip to Italy not only was my inaugural Italian ground breaking but it was also my first experience in front of the camera on a regular basis. I had been on camera serveral times before but this was different and actually quite difficult, for many reasons, mainly I was typically having to listen to Italians speak Italian and look like I understood, was interested and still smiling and nodding appropriately etc, all while in the hot sun typically! I survived and learned a lot actually and I think the biggest challenge for me as my TV career expands is trying to reach the right balance between critique for the sake of the art or project and self deprecation, something I have been good at avoiding for many years. So as I continue on and live and learn trying to get the best facial expressions for the camera while trying to have my Nissaniss come across, I will try to give myself a break and not fret too much on the falk tha ton camera I feel like I walk like a gorilla!
Get Me Outta That Box, Take a Stab At Creative Recipes
Brown Sugar Kumquat Mojitos
Brown Sugar Kumquat Mojitos
Makes 5 cocktails
Ingredients
1 cup kumquats, sliced medium
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup fresh mint leaves
Ice
1 ¾ cups ginger infused dark rum (recipe follows)
Seltzer water
Directions
In a small bowl mix together kumquats and brown sugar until the sugar is all over the kumquats. Set the kumquats aside for at least 2 hours. In 5 large beer glasses or tall Collins glasses, divide up the kumquats and place at the bottom of the glasses. Next tear up all the mint leaves and divide them up amongst the glasses as well. Muddle the mint and the sugared kumquats in each glass until the kumquats begin to break apart. We want most of the kumquats to remain intact and just slightly muddled. Fill the glasses with ice and place about 3 ounces of ginger infused dark rum in them. Fill the glasses with seltzer water and mix well, keeping the kumquats towards the bottom and allow the mint to float to the top.
Fresh Ginger Infused Dark Rum
Makes 1 quart
Ingredients
1 cup fresh ginger, sliced thin (does not need to be peeled)
1 quart dark rum
Directions
In jar place the fresh ginger slices. Add the dark rum and let infuse for about 4 days. Remove the ginger and store in a dark place for up to 3 months.
The thing that exhilarates me about life and love is that what you need always seems to appear if you are aware enough to recognize it. I’m a pretty upbeat, positive person with an almost limitless energy supply, but I too suffer bouts of sadness, loneliness, insecurity and all the rest of the emotions that all of humans suffer from. The good news is that when I do, it usually doesn’t take me long to remember all the positivity in my life and how living as you are destined to live here on earth is difficult and confusing at times. But with love and loving friendships we can easily be reminded to keep moving through life with passion, determination, kindness and an overall hunger for the sustenance life offers. In my recent bout with confusion and lack of clarity of direction, I was blessed with a number of appearances of what I needed to help guide me. One of these positive direction movers was my dear friend Danielle, who often times appears when I need her, sometimes when I summon her as well. I have known Danielle for over 15 years. She has been an amazing friend, one of my dearest of all my loving friendships. We have been through much together and witnessed much in each other’s lives. We struggled with our relationship some during the height of my struggle building my business. Through it all we always seem to be able to get back in touch with our love for each other. She is wise beyond her years, a huge goof ball and always seems to give me or point out something to me that makes positive change. So after my birthday when I was feeling a little lost, she reminded me of the wisdom this world has by sending me this video of Maya Angelou, who of course is just brilliant and admirable for all things! I was reminded who I was again and put back on track, sometimes we just need a nudge.
Germany is one of the leaders in the consumption of organic and sustainable foods. They have more organic grocers than any other country in the world and in Berlin organic and sustainable eating and consuming is a normal lifestyle for most. They reject the idea of industrial foods altogether and have strict national laws on what goes into the food they put into their bodies. As a food model for what is offered to consumers Germany is the leader in healthy foods for our bodies and our planet; organic, sustainable, fair-trade, local ,pesticide and GMO free, antibiotic and hormone free meats, to name just a few. Here is a little snap shot of life in Berlin and what the food movement is all about.
Eliminate it from your diet, and do your part to help the planet
One of the things I have rarely budged on in my life in the past 5-10 years is eating factory farmed meats. I’m a strong organic advocate eating mainly organic foods and a true believer that producing food organically is better for the planet and our bodies; however, I would like to state for the record that I would rather eat conventional produce than factory raised meats. My 2011 Food Matters journey will now exclude all factory farmed meats which means that when I go to a restaurant or travel, I will eat vegetarian unless I am absolutely sure the meat is ethically raised.
This is one thing that is really almost impossible for me to understand why it still exists and perhaps one day more people, Americans, will realize that a huge part of their diet exists because of big corporations. We don’t need much meat to live well, so eliminate most of it, save money, and help your planet! I try not to be too preachy about things, but this one is tough not to be preachy about. I vow to do a better job of it as well!
