And another one

Ok, well, I once again had another experience of spontenaity. I'm don't think you are surprised :) I designed this tattoo back when I got my arm one but wasn't sure where I wanted it and when I would do it. I guess a couple nights ago was the night. Sari and I were out for the evening celebrating our show and business with dinner at a cute little French restaurant. On the way home we decided to stop by the tattoo parlor spontaneously. We had done this before both wanting tattoos and didn't get them only for me to go back later and now this time guess who was the only one that left with one. You guessed it! The heart is larger than the other two on purpose. The meaning of my newest permanent expression is: "Faith, Hope and Love and the Greatest of these is Love." Yes it hurt and still does :)

Pondering....

So the last few weeks I have been noticing things in my life starting to repeat themselves because I have been living here now for over a year! You know..remembering moving in, remembering someones birthday happening who I didn't well last year but now is a good friend of mine, hearing about the river being dyed green for St Patty's Day, etc.....Weird! I was wondering why these things seemed SO noticeable to me and just realized yesterday that it's because this is the first time in almost 5 years that I lived in the same city for at least a year and have even had the chance to see things repeat themselves! WHOA! Sorta strange....didn't think it would be Chicago and not sure how I feel about that but while the filming is still happening, I won't be goin anywhere except hopefully traveling around the world!

Big Shoot Weekend!

Gettin ready to start on Sunday

Filming grandpa stir fryin

Preppin, plannin, directing, and workin ;)

Behind the scenes

The Crew...I'm tryin to hold myself up...this was during the last half hour of our 6 1/2 hour shoot on Sunday

All the food

Cast and crew :)

Me and Dave, my camera man

Producers, Editors, Talent, Creators, Camera man...CREW......Thyme 2 Travel Productions and TMK Productions

Me and Sari....Chinese style!

Saturday and Sunday were our biggest film shoots for the pilot we are creating. It was a very long, draining, but super fun weekend! We shot on Saturday from 9:30 to 2:30 and Sunday from 2 til 8:30......Sunday was definitely the hardest by far. Lots of food stuff, timing, energy required, and just alot going on over all. Funny cause I only remember about half of it...Guess i was "in the zone". Everything went great though and I think we got some really good stuff to work with. Kinda crazy how you will only see about 15 minutes of that 11 hours of film...........it's all a part of the biz ;) Forgot to take out the camera and take some pics outside and in the market on Saturday...I guess we were all a little busy :) Someone was kind enough to take pics around the set on Sunday though so we could share a little bit of the experience. So surreal....super fun....very excited...and lots of hopes for a great show that some network will be interested in one day soon. Probably won't have it all put together until early summer but you will be sure to hear from me! Stay tuned :)

Catching up....Austin, sickness, but ready to film!

Rapping for the talent show......our group wrote a song called "Green Poo" (all about eating lots of greens and all the movements that were happening for everyone that week ) It was definitly the hit of the show ;)

My girls......Steph from Naperville store and Vanessa from St Louis store

Me and my Tess!!!

I'm getting really bad OR shall I say I have been having a hard time finding time to write on here as much as I REALLY want to! Went to Austin, TX for work right after I wrote the last post and was there for a week. It was GREAT! Went to a nutrition retreat where, for 6 days, I got up every morning to workout, was feed three delicious PLANTSTRONG meals everyday, got to sit and listen to nutrition lectures by some of THEE top nutrition and health experts in America dealing with REAL food (Caldwell Esselstyn and Colin Campbell) and some fun activities. Was very busy and exhausting but pretty cool. Then after the retreat my friend Tess came up from Kingsville to see me for a night. Haven't seen here for over a year and we had a great time visiting, had a couple drinks, got our car towed and walking along the river trails. It was so strange cause Austin definitely doesn't feel like Texas. It is definitely more like Santa Cruz without the ocean :) No wonder I thought it was great! Upon my return, I unfortunately got sick for a week and a half with a sinus infection and bronchitis. Damn plane rides! Plus it probably didn't help that I ate EXTREMELY clean and healthy for 6 days and then went out and had a few margaritas and minimal sleep. Always have to be on the run too! Finally got some meds because I HAD to be ready for this last weekend when we did the filming for the largest portion of the pilot Sari and I are creating. Yikes!

Thyme 2 Travel Productions

It’s official! Sari and I have now started a Production Company that our film project will fall under. Due to the progression in our project and the possibilities we hope it brings we thought it was appropriate to make it more legit. Very exciting, yet a little scary at the same time. Still so much to do to get it off the ground but we are taking the steps for success. I have a strong belief in having to take risks to move forward toward what you believe you are meant to do and the only thing I can do now is be confident about it. Our website is currently pretty generic but up and running. Still working on getting a logo. As far as the project goes, we have some big days coming up in a couple weeks when we will shoot a big portion of the pilot. A little nervous and stressed about the prep work but it is gonna be a lot of fun.

Texas isn't quite India

Just found out yesterday I get to go to a Health Immersion program for some continuing ed in Austin, Texas next weekend for a week! It will be a week of healthy eating, exercising, spa-ing, and listening to nutrition lectures. Very exciting! The best part about it is that I am staying an extra night so that I can hang out with my dear from TESS! She is going to school at Texas A&M and is going to make the 5 hour drive up to Austin just for the 24hours we get to see each other. Tess is a great friend of mine that I worked with at the summer camp in California and we haven't seen each other since.....1 1/2 years ago! Looking forward to my time in warmer weather, cleansing my body, and visiting with a great friend.

India 2011?

So at work I have the opportunity to apply for a 30 day volunteer trip abroad. There are a few locations to choose from and one of them is India....a place I have wanted to go for a long time now. I am handing in my application essay today in hopes of getting selected but it goes through store level, regional level, and on to global level before selections are made. I will find out at the end of this month. If selected I still have to raise money for my plane ticket but I will cross that hurdle when I get there. Squeezing my thumbs and crossing my fingers for this wonderful opportunity. The following is the essay I am handing in today. In the essay, I had to explain why I want to go and what I would do when I return.....

“For it is in giving that we receive...” - St Francis of Assisi

This quote truly expresses much of the way that I have lived my life and it continues to guide me in my pursuit for a life of purpose. It is not describing giving as a way of receiving something back physically but it is about giving to others and receiving the reward of seeing them truly, positively impacted by what you have done. I see the option of volunteering with the Whole Planet Foundation in India as a wonderful opportunity to perform this kind of giving. As a Whole Foods Market Healthy Eating Specialist and Nutrition Educator, I have the privilege of helping guide and support others in making choices for a healthier lifestyle. Providing information and seeing the way that food can impact the lives of others is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done.
In reading what The Miracle Foundation Organization is all about and what they are doing in India, I would feel extremely privileged to take part in this year’s pilot program. I have always had a strong interest in volunteering abroad and my heart yearns to share love and give hope to women and children in need. Not only do I want to give to others but I have a passion for travel, I love experiencing different cultures, and I believe in having the true authentic experience when visiting another country. My travel desire is not to visit tourist attractions, fancy restaurants, five star hotels, or to lie on the beach drinking cocktails; I want to travel with a purpose. This purpose is a purpose to help others, a purpose to experience other cultures , and a purpose to give of myself, whether that be through nutrition education, food, music, recreational activities, or just comforting words and touch.
Upon my return from a trip of this nature, I would love to share my experience with Team Members and the community through a presentation of pictures, words, and items I bring back with me. Just as it is a passion of mine to inspire and empower others to nourish their bodies with quality foods, I would love to inspire others to learn about, respect and give back to other communities and cultures. Another aspect of my presentation would most definitely have to include traditional Indian foods and cooking techniques. Food is such a huge part of my life and how I experience culture. It is extremely significant in the portrayal of culture and human experience, largely contributing to defining family traditions and rules, companionship and family roles, and sharing and community. What a better way to share a cultural experience than with the help of food.
In close, I would like to share a poem that I wrote last month as part of an assignment. I recently finished getting my TEFL certification to teach English as a foreign language. An activity in one of my lesson plans is for students to write a poem of their own called “I am.” With prompts for the beginning of each sentence such as: I am, I believe, I feel, I hope, etc., the following is the poem that I wrote so that they could see an example of a part of who “I am.”

“I am...a nurturer”

I am… a nurturer
I wonder… what others need
I hear… soft whispers in the wind
I see… wounded hearts
I want… everyone to feel loved
I am… a nurturer

I pretend… that nothing hurts me
I feel… others pain
I touch… the lives of others
I worry… when I can’t give enough
I ask… for a guiding hand
I am… a nurturer

I understand… this world is a big place
I believe… I can make a difference
I dream… of touching the lives of many
I trust… in love
I hope… to give others what they need
I am… a nurturer