Sunny With a Chance of Recycled

One of the most Good for the World items to feature here on GFTW Wednesdays is recycling. But seriously recycle EVERYTHING! Bottles, electronics, clothes, tires, paper, wire, string, EVERYTHING! There is a way to recycle nearly everything you use & you should! Save this planet by not contributing to more landfills.

Let me tell you how crazy weird recycle lady I am... I buy recycled toilet paper, paper towels (if we are even going to buy them at all that is), recycled clothes, etc. So many of my "new" purchases are really just recycled items. And I recycle pretty much everything I use (again-bottles, clothes, Styrofoam [it's a hazardous material so be sure to look up where to drop in your area], electronics, boxes, bags, rubber, plastic, etc.). Every little thing you use can probably be cleaned and put into the recycling bin (or COMPOSTED!)-so why aren't you doing it?

Here are the top reasons I hear from people:

1)there is no recycling system in my building/office/neighborhood, etc.
*My answer: So Start One! Seriously, if you are serious about saving the planet then start it up yourself, jump on the good old interweb and research where the nearest recycling plants are to you, nearest drop off zones, how to set up your space as a pick up are, the rules for recycling in your city/neighborhood/state. Just do it. $5 says the people around you will be impressed and jump on board. Pl;us how great will you feel encouraging others to save the planet a little too!

2)the rules are too annoying, I don't have time to wash everything, leave off bottle tops, etc.
*My answer: does that extra few seconds to a minute really keep you from recycling? People let's stop being so gosh darn lazy, especially when it comes to saving this planet for future generations. If you find you don't have enough time in your day to take a minute to wash out a used can of soup/soda/beans then maybe shave that minute off of watching t.v. or from your shower routine or from even (gasp) playing on the internet. I said it, even I am guilty of this. You have time-just make it a priority.

These "reasons" are just excuses (excuses I've used too-so no judgement.) I am just trying to point out that we can move past those and do something that is actually quite easy. I've turned our home into a green recycling machine & I am starting to convert my office space as well. I now have a bin for us, we only use recycled paper for all our copying (and t.p. uses). It makes me feel great to know I am making a difference and my bosses are slowly starting to remember to use the recycling bin instead of the trash too. It's always great to see them stop themselves from throwing something in the trash that can be recycled into new!

So go out there and recycle EVERYTHING! And enjoy it chickens! :D

TCM Tuesdays With a Chance of 80s Goodness!

Oh friends Netflix has delivered me The Last Unicorn, a little film I have not seen since I was a wee child. I am so excited! This is going to be a before and after review:

So onto it-Before: Here is what I am expected-MAGIC! It's about a little unicorn (voiced by Mia Farrow) who believes she is the last og her kind. She goes on a search to find others whilst avoiding the evil red bull & meeting up with a Prince (Jeff Bridges) and a magician (Alan Arkin). I am STOKED, how could I not be?







And After...

LOVED IT! Still. It's just so darn sad. And I love the animation. Just made me feel like a little girl again. You want her to find all the other unicorns and still get to be with Prince Lir. Oh and Molly Grou and Schmendrick-such delights. My heart just breaks for the last unicorn! *sigh*

What old school animated features/tv shows are you missing as of late? Have you tried to Netflix them yet? I'm still waiting for Jem & Rainbow Brite! :D

Hot With a Chance of Hot!

Colonel Mustard here!

It has been too warm here in LA-summer has kicked in full force. I am panting up a storm & mama has been sun-burned twice even though she put on her sun-screens! She keeps telling everyone she's a day-glo ginger vampire-I don't know what that means though...

We spent some time by the pool again this past weekend & my favorite neighbors from MSU came over-DH & KH!!! YAY!












Well hope you find a way to stay cool & have fun. I am off this weekend to see my pals Big Carl, Baily, & Mesa in Vegas. I hope we have the best time!

-Colonel Mustard

&

Stifling With a Chance of I Need a Break!

It is SO hot here in LA right now-blah. And it is only going to get hotter until after the first weeks of September. Oh fall I want you to be here stat.

Okay so Fabulous Things Friday! Here is my list:

-I got a much deserved raise (not exactly what I asked for but it's a start)!
-I had my first Pilates session since my back sucked the big one again. It feels good to be back working those muscles.
-I am determined to lose some more weight to help with my back. Vegan helped but I want to lose about 30-40 more pounds (yes I can lose that much and be in a healthy weight range-I carry weight pretty well cuz I'm 6' tall). And I have a plan for it so it will work.
-I am determined to get an agent, I am calling on the acting gods for help (& also my friends in the business) to hook a girl up.
-My sister got engaged and I will be her co-maid of honor (along with my other sister).
-I am realizing my oldest brother is one of my favorite people ever-such funny chats.
-My snuggle puppy at work. He brightens even the most stressful times in my day.
-My friends! They are just fabulous & I can always rely on them for support-even about silly things.
-Joe-he is my rock. I love him so much.
-Kind Kreme vegan ice cream brownie sundaes-MMMMMM!
-Remembering to breathe and be grateful. I am grateful!
-fresh dill-I LOVE this herb! So delicious to me :P
-being silly and whimsical-it always makes me feel fabulous
-oils made by one of my group members just for me! I wear it all the time and it smells so good! It contains sassafras (for healing[my back]), actor's friend (for luck in acting and to draw success in acting my way), pots of gold (to help conjure prosperity my way-I am broke y'all!), and Aphrodite (for helping to find self-love as well as attracting loving people to me). Isn't it the sweetest?! I love it & it is SO fabulous!

Well that is all I can think of right now. What is making you feel fabulous chickens? Let me know & share the love! :D

Sunny With A Chance of Is It Fall Yet?!

Hello Theatre Thursday! How the heck are ya?

So let me tell you about that shoot I was apart of that earned me my SAG-E status! I just love saying/typing that. I am SAG-E!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Back to business. The shoot was oodles of fun and sleepless nights. I got to work with 3 guys whom I adore. I met them in a play that was not so great but they were amazeballs. And this project is a delight. Keeping Up With the Downs is a story about 3 brothers all in some sort of turmoil. These 3 actors are fantastic and it was joy sharing a set with them. There were SO many hilarious moments (scene at a Spoken word with lines like "My last pair of shoes was less than $15, they lasted 2 years. Now I'm no mathematician but that is less than $15 a year" and "Gandalf. I don't hate Gandalf.") and some really long nights-NO SLEEP! But it was all so worth it!

I met some really great people too! Some new Second City friends-hopefully I'll be taking classes with you soon, some out of town friends (VIVS!), some in town friends, some pretty big deal friends (Friends being the key word), and some behind the scene friends. It was just a blast to work with such a great cast and crew!

And the wrap party? Awesomesauce. Check it out yourself, we all went to Brass Monkey Karaoke Bar and the fun lasted for hours!

Hot With a Chance of Shopping...

Shopping the Farmer's Market that is! My Good for the World Wednesday tip today is hitting up that local farmer's market with zeal! :D

Here in LA every Sunday is the most fabulous thing ever: The Hollywood Farmers' Market! I love going on Sundays and supporting my local farmers as well as helping out my pocket book. It's great for your health (and family's health) too! Not only are you eating seasonal produce (which helps your body function the way it's supposed to within any given season), you are eating local (and lots of times organic) produce. Local is good because it helps boost your immune system as it applies to what's going on in your community-allergens, colds/flus, etc. Plus you are helping to support your local economy and your local farmers who can a lot of times get lost in the shuffle of we want things now that don't normally grow now [i.e. papaya in December, pumpkin in May].

It's also great for your little ol' pocketbook (which is always good news to me!). You usually save a ton of money because you're getting from the farm to your plate without a middleman (the store). I just bought fresh dill, fresh cilantro, and a fresh bunch of radishes for $4, beat that-I dare you to try. It was fresh, delicious, and I have been eating them up a storm. I also got sundried tomatoes, garlic spread, jalapeno hummus, 6 bars of vegan homemade soap, a vegan breakfast sandwich and a mini coconut sno-cone (fresh not sugary fakeness) with my herbs/radishes for all under $60! It was great to spend so little and get so much. All of it was organic, all of it was homemade, and all of it was delicious (except the soap which SMELLS delicious: coconut, papaya, pumpkin spice, lavender-mint, mint, & vanilla-oatmeal).

It's good for you, your wallet, your health, your local farmers, your local economy, and the planet! You are saving the planet from all the fuel that is used to ship food across the country/world. Buying local means that little to no shipping fuel is used. Especially not from a plane which I always feel is so much worse because it is so much further up into the atmosphere doing damage. It makes me smile knowing that my food came from less than a 45 minute drive to my front door-plus I can walk there and save fuel that way too! See how good for the planet you're being. Hit the 'net and check out where your local market is and hit it up this week. I promise it'll be fun and good for the world! :D

Sunny With a Chance of Mad Men

Whilst I know this is not a TCM classic film I need to talk of my obsession with AMC's Mad Men! I just finished Season 4 on Netflix (seasons 1-4 are now all streaming!!!) and I am more than in love with the show, the characters, the costumes, the actors, the sets, the props, EVERYTHING!! It is pure magic!

Quick rundown of some of my fave things:

1) Joan (Holloway) Harris [Christina Hendricks]: I love Joan! Not just because she is a pale, curvy, red-head but because she is one tough broad who runs with the big boys by using what she's got. "Embodying the role of femme fatale,[3] Holloway is a "bold" and "sassy" character" is what wikipedia says about my gal & I agree. She realizes her "role" as prescribed by society & the men she works for/with but she pushes in her own way to be more. She continually makes me love her! Christina Hendricks is brilliant! LOVE LOVE LOVE JOANIE!!



2) Peggy Olson [Elisabeth Moss]: I love Peggy too, she has such a journey from mousey push-over secretary to eager to please to gain opportunities small time copy writer to take (more) charge, growing a voice for herself head copy writer! Elisabeth brings such heartfelt true raw emotion to Peggy and you really feel for this woman's struggles and triumphs. Wiki says "Peggy has an immense dislike of the double standard in regard to the vices of men and women and appears to be quite feminist in her views." and I love that she grew into that through her struggles to want and be more. Perfect!



3) Roger Cooper [John Slattery]: I have a soft spot for him simply for his boyish and rogue-ish ways but also for this specific quote: “I like redheads. Their mouths are like a drop of strawberry jam in a glass of milk.” How can a fiery-hued gal not go weak in the knees? I love John Slattery as an actor in general, he lends such a sense of humor to his roles and this is no exception. Roger is just fantastic, loyal, loving, funny, tempestuous, childish, a rogue! Heaven!



4) Don Draper [John Hamm]: "Despite his outward cynicism, Draper is portrayed as following a strict code of personal ethics, insisting on honesty, forthrightness and chivalry in his subordinates (if not always himself)." Don is the tragic hero of our story (brilliantly portrayed by John Hamm). You love to hate him, hate to love him! He is such a rich complex character. Every episode brings new depths to him, new hidden things that are revealed. Love his mystery!



5) the costumes: I LOVE LOVE LOVE the costumes in this show, everything so purposefully put together, so detailed, so character appropriate. Every woman looks gorgeous every man debonair. The costumes on this show make me swoon. The care, precision, and complexity of each character's wardrobe is key to showing you who they are. You can tell quite a bit about a person based on what they wear. The costumers get it right every time and it makes my heart skip a beat!

















There are oh so many more but I am off to bed to rest my back up for tomorrow! Take care and enjoy some Mad Men streaming on Netflix chickens!! :D

An Explanation & a puppy...

So let me explain my week and half long absence...

My back went out. Bad. It hurt a lot and I couldn't move and even though I got muscle relaxers those don't help since it's the discs. So basically I took off time from everything but doctor's visits, acupuncture for pain, laying in bed watching tons of movies, making it through as much work as possible before the pain took over, and sleeping. Joe basically helped me in and outta bed, put on clothes, eat, get to and from said appointments & work, basically everything but breathe.

It was rough, I was mad, I was sad, I was hopeful things would get better. Now things are feeling better and I am back on here. I don't want to get all sad and weepy about it, just know it sucked, it still sucks-just not as bad. I will keep on keeping on! So onto more fun things:

COLONEL MUSTARD!!!

Here is what my buddy has been up to these past weeks:











See how he had fun with Dad-a & cuddled with Mama to make her feel better?! Love my little guy!

Hope you've been well and full of love chickens! Xs & Os!