I’m a yoga person. I have had the privilege of having the best yoga instructor around who really thought me to love and respect the practice. But. Yes, but. The weight, mostly lazily gathered through a year of undiagnosed anemia plus general stress, was not budging. I had to do something other than sun salutations. After driving by the “Boot Camp Las Vegas” equipment trailer a few times, and then being prompted by a Facebook ad (the first one I ever clicked on), I decided to give it a go.

It was as hard a workout as I expected, perhaps harder. For one, I have never, ever been a sports or fitness buff. Sure, the occasional step class… But beyond that, I had never run more than 300 continuous yards in my life. After two months of boot camp, I ran my first 5K. Never in my wildest dreams…

Boot Camp Las Vegas was started four years ago by then 22 year old Julie Johnston, who was unhappy with the 180 lbs weighting down her tiny frame (here’s her before pic. She now weighs 115), unable to lose the weight despite having tried all the diet and workout gimmicks around. She even wanted to join the military for the sole purpose of attending their boot camp training. Short of that, Julie hired two officers to help her train military style. That workout also came short of her vision and so she just developed her own. And that’s what the workouts are based on today: Julie uses some traditional equipment like freehand weight, but she also got creative in using picnic tables, tires, car rims, logs (or large pvc pipes filled with concrete), ropes, straps…. I can now do a complete body and aerobic workout just around a park picnic table.

The workout experience, for me, was completely unparalleled to anything I had ever tried before. Even hiking down and up the Grand Canyon for 7 hours each way does not compare to a one hour Boot Camp LV workout. I started with a 3-days-a-week program (then graduated to 4). I could barely walk after the first week. This is when most people drop out, never to be seen again. But, with a little perseverance, the addiction kicks in. Even at 6:00am. How? Well, once I got past the pain caused by the shock on my body, I quickly

Read the full story »

By Audrey van Petegem, Contributing Editor

Living in Southern California, I am quite familiar with the Barefoot wines and bubblies and especially with their distinct label, the purple one with a footprint on it. But when the company contacted me in the context of their social networking marketing efforts, I realized I knew nothing about them.  So, I did a bit of research and found out that these are my kind of people. Not just because they are a wine company (personal weakness revealed) but because the Barefoot Wine company is doing great work cleaning up our beaches in partnership with the Surfrider Foundation.  For anyone not familiar with the Surfrider Foundation, it is a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves and beaches. It was founded in 1984 by a handful of visionary surfers in Malibu, California. The Surfrider Foundation now maintains over 50,000 members and 80 chapters worldwide. Each year over 25,000 beaches are closed or posted as unhealthy in the United States.  To remedy this, Barefoot Wine and the Surfrider Foundation encourages local residents to volunteer at clean up and restoration events across the county to help make the beaches “barefoot friendly”.

In celebration of Surfrider Foundation’s 25th Anniversary, Barefoot Wine and the Surfrider Foundation are restoring 25 beaches this summer. Not only does Barefoot Wines organize volunteers to help clean up the beaches but they also donate money to very worthy causes.  Members can help support these causes by voting for their favorite (here) and Barefoot wines will donate further money with the one with the most votes.

Read the full story »

What a cool idea for our times… The Uniform Project, started in May 2009 by Sheena Matheiken, is one where she pledges to wear ONE dress for one whole year as an exercise (and creative challenge!) in sustainable fashion. She styles the dress in a barely recognizable manner every day, reinventing it with an impressive trunk-ful of vintage and otherwise donated accessories and jewelry.

I know wait, every morning, with bated breath, to see what quirky concoction Sheena has devised. All are delightful and all based on the uniform dress designed by Eliza Starbuck.

The mastermind behind the uniform dress is my friend and designer, Eliza Starbuck. We took inspiration from one of my staple dresses, improving upon the shape and fit to add on some seasonal versatility. The dress is designed so it can be worn both ways, front and back, and also as an open tunic. It’s made from a durable, breathable cotton, good for New York summers and good for layering in cooler seasons.

But even better than the sustainable fashion challenge, is the philanthropic motivation behind the project, a year-long fundraiser for the Akanksha Foundation, a grassroots movement that is revolutionizing education for children of the slums in India. You can donate here.  Even an itsy bitsy, single digit donation makes a difference, so go for it.

BTW, if you are a fashion or accessories designer and would like to donate to the Uniform Project, Sheena is all welcoming and will post a link to your site/blog if she uses your pieces. More details here.

Cool huh?

By Audrey van Petegem, Contributing Editor

When you put the words road-trip with 2 young children (ages 3 and 5) together, there has to be a 3rd component: the DVD player. So, before our 4-hour family road-trip, to visit friends in Las Vegas, I stocked up on some DVDs. I got the usual Disney and Pixar ones , but I also wanted something a little different that my daughters had not seen before. I came across a DVD series by Global Wonders. The DVDs introduce children to a wide variety of cultures that may be both in your neighborhood and/or in different parts of the world. I bought a couple of them for our trip.

The car was packed, the dogs looked after and we all climbed into our minivan for our mini-vacation. Not ten minutes into our trip my husband and I almost decided to turn around and head back home. I pulled out my travel bag filled with games, food and movies for the kids. Ten minutes into the car ride seemed a little early to do this but, hey, whatever works. I put on the first Global Wonders DVD and, for almost a hour, we had pure bliss. From the front seat, we weren’t able to see the screen but we could still hear the music. It was upbeat, cheery and quite pleasant to listen to. I loved the story line and obviously the girls did also. After it was over they both yelled ‘again!’ I told them that I had another video like it but they really wanted to see the same one again. So, we put it on and continued to enjoy our ride. After viewing both videos twice, we were almost at our destination.

I checked out the company upon our return and discovered that it has only been around since 2007. It was created by woman by the name of Rashmi Turner, a first generation American whose parents are from India, who is also a working mother and former executive at the Walt Disney Company who previously was instrumental in the success of The Baby Einstein productions. I loved the fact that each of their products are designed to help the individual child gain a more enlightened and educated view of the world, and inspire and encourage them to form cross-cultural friendships. By having a broader understanding, children can increase self-identity, self-esteem and their overall social competence. All of my children have gone to, or are still attending a multi-cultural school, because we feel it is important for them to experience different customs, languages and lifestyles that shows them not only the differences but also the similarities in each of us. I commend Global Wonders for doing their part in bringing this world closer together. Amazon.com carries all their DVDs and CDs.

You can get snippets on YouTube or, with an iTunes account, you can subscribe to their podcasts for free; just enter search term “Global Wonders”.

Enjoy! Disfrutar! Appréciez! 楽しむ！Gustare!

Wow! I love this woman. Sarah, thank you for being a voice for so many of us who just get to roll our eyes when we see the ridiculous commercials aimed at women. For example:

Sarah’s got a very effective form of soft feminism that mocks the female stereotypes portrayed by advertisers, in a compelling and just perfectly right humorous manner. OK, oftentimes LOL hilarious. Here’s one of her “Target Women” clips that covers pretty much every cliché about women: can’t be single, has to be saved by a man, wants to be married…

Or this one about the trials and tribulations and hidden but unadulterated joys of cleaning:

Sarah, thanks for putting your finger right on the juicy center of it all (and having such a grand ol’ time doing it) . Advertisers, take note.

There’s not much info about Sarah Haskins out there, but the Facebook Fan Page mentions this: Sarah is a writer and performer for Current’s infoMania where, in addition to her role as the “Target Women” correspondent, she is an important member of the office crossword team, the fax machine enthusiast society, and is the creator of the chicken nugget-english muffin-cream cheese and mustard morning sandwich. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. Sarah hails from Chicago, IL where she performed improv and sketch comedy at i.O. Chicago and with the Second City National Touring Company.

Go here to view all her video clips on Current TV. So, you want to see the one called “Story Time”, the “Barbie” one, and then the “Chocolate” one… Love ‘em. Love Sarah.

By Shari Bonnin, Contributing Editor

Shockingly, I was a raffle prize winner at my friend Christine Haynes’ Book signing Party for her book “Chic and Simple Sewing”. I ran up to choose my prize. I saw it; the piece of paper that no one had noticed with a photograph of shoes on it. I grabbed it really quick because I knew exactly what I’d be getting, what I’ve coveted for years, handmade Mohop Sandals! And now that I have them I wonder why I waited so long. I’m such a shoe fanatic, and with these, all I need really, is one pair of shoes!

Annie Mohaupt is the hand made artist/cobbler behind Mohop Sandals, dubbed “the infinity sandal” because by the use of various ribbons, you can tie them an infinite amount of ways onto one sandal base that has side elastic loops that the ribbons go through. You are bound only by the colors of the ribbons made and the creativity in the universe.

Read the full story »

Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation (2001) book really got me started in 2001 (read excerpts here). Hardly walked into a McD again unless under extreme duress (when there were NO better choices. It happens). It was the eye-opener that I needed. I’m afraid that Food, Inc. might just push me over the edge and I’ll become a fanatical activist. Still, we should all be informed about a product that determines our survival, don’t you think?

Food, Inc. is now showing in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco with wider release starting next week. I’ll get to see it in a couple of weeks in Evanston, IL (’cause it looks like it’s never coming to Las Vegas. Figures!). The movie brings forth the food production issues of genetic engineering, cloning, factory farming, farm worker safety and environmental impact, among others.  See it!