GYPSY GIRL'S GUIDE

Canyon Road Doorways, Santa Fe, Spring 2007.

"Where I was born and where and how I have lived is unimportant. It is what I have done with where I have been that should be of interest." Georgia O'keeffe.

I've just come back from a few unforgettable days in New Mexico. Although work and circumstances are keeping me away from you... I wanted to post an image and a gypsy quote that embody my recent adventures in the Santa Fe' area.

Missing this space and your comments dearly...

I will be back soon.

Update: I just found out there was a problem with my server last week and also with my comments publishing system! It all should be fixed now. But more importantly, this means you had not completely abandoned me... I'm much happier now that I saw a few of you did stop by! Phew! Sorry about that! =)

Minimal Fruit, Yummy Photo by the talented Barbarina. Check more of her beautiful photos here!

Finally, here is the COMPLETE GYPSY GIRLS GUIDE CLEANSE

Shop for the book:
Cooking for Healthy Healing: Diets and Recipes for Alternative Healing

Shop for GAIA Supreme Kit:
Gaia Herbs - Candida Supreme Vital Cleanse, 1 kit

Enjoy!

Freedom of Speech, Santa Barbara, Spring 2007.

Rubyslipperstagged me with this fun meme. This is my first response to a meme ever! How exciting! Thanks, Nicole!

4 jobs I have held:
Oh! I've had quite a variety of jobs. Curiously, some of my favorites jobs were totally outside of my Advertising & Film Industry career:
1. Camp Counselor & Organizer:I organized and lead holiday camps for kids between 7-17 in Brazil for about 5 years. Such fun times!
2. English Teacher:I taught ESL for kids and adults. My favorite was teaching 1-4 year olds.
3. Innkeeper:While getting my MFA, I worked the graveyard shift (from 10pm to 6am) at three different inns. It was a nice and quiet job. Ideal for me to study, read and work on my art in a beautiful Victorian setting. Check one of the gorgeous places I worked for in Savannah, GA!
4. Art Gallery Exhibit Coordinator: Through this job I discovered many fantastic contemporary artists. Among many other favorites, I'm honored to have helped set up an exhibit for the extraordinary glass master Dale Chihuly.

4 movies I can watch over and over:
Oy! Not an easy question for a Film producer and movie "aficionado"! So I'm going to cheat a bit and avoid classic pics!
1. Bernardo Bertolucci - Stealing Beauty, Besieged, Sheltering Sky (Because these beautiful Bertolucci movies have stuck with me over the years... And I just can't get enough of them!)
2. Pedro Almodovar - Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Volver, Talk to her, All about my mother (Because Almodovar's colors and humor make be celebrate being alive! I never will get tired of them!)
3. Central Station, City of God (Because these Brazilian movies make me proud! I will watch them again any day!)
4. Hideous Kinky, Born into Brothels, Water (Because these movies made me travel, dream, cry, smile and gasp at their beauty. They also reminded me of why I started to make Films in the first place. And because the last two were directed by two amazing women!)

4 places I have lived:
1. London
2. Melbourne
3. Sao Paulo
4. Los Angeles

4 Categories of TV programming I enjoy:
Well, okay... I've gotten addicted to a few series lately, which I watched mostly on dvd). Otherwise, no TV for me.
(4 recent addictions):
for my adrenaline boost:
Alias
24
Lost
for my creativity boost:
Project Runaway

4 Places I have been on Holiday:
(Favorite destinations for relaxing on the beach!)
1. Maui, Hawaii.
2. Krabi,Thailand
3. Byron Bay, Australia
4. Placencia, Belize

4 of my Favorite Dishes:
1. Sushi (all kinds!)
2. Northern Indian dishes with korma and masala sauce. (Although Southern Indian vegetarian and seafood dishes are also to die for!!)
3. Panang Curry (Among other Thai favorites)
4. Northern Brazilian food with West African influence such as: seafood muquecas, acarajes, bobo, etc.

4 websites I visit daily:
1. Lately... Flickr
2. SF Gate (SF chronicle)
3. Folha de Sao Paulo
4. My yummy "bookmark" page

4 places I would rather be right now:
Hmmm... Today feels pretty good right here in San Francisco. But I guess I can think of a few good places to be at right now too :D
1. Milan (Because our gorgeous and fashionable friends from Milan just left SF, after spending a few days here with us)!
2. Bali or Fiji (Do I need to explain?)
3. Rio (Sitting outside - on 70F weather - in a "boteco" - having "caipirinhas", eating "mandioca frita" and listening to sambas and bossa nova!)
4. Festival de Cannes (Happening now May16-27)

Now I get to pick 4 other blogger buddies to do this meme (Only if you're inclined to do so, gals!)
1. Brave Frida
2. Romantic Sophie
3. Wise Leonie
4. Talented Stacie

Gypsy Camp, Living the Gypsy Life, Santa Barbara, Spring 2007.

I just came back from a little short adventure where I enjoyed some quality gypsy time! Every time I go on a trip like this one, I realize how much I love the gypsy lifestyle. It just makes me so happy to be playing in nature, sleeping in tents, cooking outdoors and watching the stars under the moonlight...

This weekend I was here with a bunch of other gypsies, experiencing the true essence of living.

Images from my weekend:

Organic coconut water for breakfast
Lots of gypsies crafts
Crystals and Stones
Fortune Tellers tents
Henna on gypsy girls hands
Massage and Yoga
Watching artists paint huge panels
Hula hooping to breaks and beats
Poi and staff spinning in the sunshine
A parade of stilt walkers
Dancing in a tree house dome decorated with roots and foliage
Drumming by the fire
Burning designs on wood with a magnifier (and the sun!)
Colorful gypsy wear ~ skirts, veils, fans...
Furry hats and pouches
Big chunky boots
Performers, musicians, clowns
Gypsies properly adorned like gods and goddesses...
Lots of Eye Candy (gypsies are hot!)
Body paint
Costume making
Green Living workshops
Two glowing dragons and two sea horses
Sparkling glitter around my eyes
Bindi jewels
Tribal jewelery around my neck, wrists and waist
Putting on a big furry coat to go for a long quiet walk in the dark misty night
Enjoying my gypsy man 24/7!

Can you get the idea? This was such a lively time!

I'm excited to be in California where amazing creative people devote their time to create events that share the magical gypsy spirit and the desire for leading a simpler fuller life.

For more glimpses of my gypsy time in the forest, go here!
(I'm slowly uploading pics)

***
And for those of you who have followed my cleanse journey... Yes! I'm still cleansing. But this is my last week! Yay! I'm so adjusted to it though, that I think I'll keep it going longer in terms of eating raw organic produce and brewing cleansing teas. I lost some weight and I feel great. My skin also feels smooth and rejuvenated. My tongue is cleaner than ever too (whatever than means)!

Rich and I prepared a bunch of healthy raw snacks to take with us and we also kept taking our herbs during the entire camping trip.

Oh! BTW - I'm going to create a pdf with the detailed cleanse plan for those of you who are interested in trying it! Stay tuned... I'll be posting it later this week.

Hugs and Love,

Flowers on my walks, Spring 2007, San Francisco.

As I write this I am onto my Day 8 -

But by now... You were probably wondering if I made it, right? Sorry for the delay on reporting... I'm still cleansing!! Yay! And I'm still holding up just fine. I just have not been able choose computer over outdoors lately. The weather in San Francisco has been absolutely gorgeous. I've been walking, hiking and laying out in the sun... (Need to get my Vitamin D, right?)

On days 4 &5, I found myself completely adjusted to the new routine. Don't they say it takes 3 days to create a new habit? I guess that is true! I was hardly bothered by being on liquids by day 4. I mean, there is no question the "animal crackers" kept staring at me all day at work... But I was trying to be humorous about it. They looked at me and I looked back at them... Sweet temptation... Nonetheless, we had the understanding that "we were taking a break" from our relationship... hehehe... We still are...

The best thing about the fast was that I took up long walks at lunch time, over the usual rush to grab a bite. I actually did not miss having to get in the car, drive off somewhere, eat lunch quickly and run back to my desk filling overwhelmed. It took me only 10 minutes to drink my juice, so there was a lot more time to move, breathe and relax. Also, my break felt longer and I didn't get full, which kept me alert all day. In general, I felt a great sense of expansion!

I liked the whole thing so much, that I'm now considering to bring food to work more often instead of eating out. Especially healthy raw snacks and juices. Can you believe I've never done that? I always eat out. In rare occasions I've brought in a leftover from home... But after doing this, I definitely want to commit to the extra care to myself for longer. I want to invest in the preparation of something yummy and healthy that will nurture me and keep my energy up. After all, I need my stamina to hold onto the those fabulous personal projects in my spare time!

At the end of Day 5, as planned, Rich and I broke the juice diet with a delicious miso soup, with tofu, seaweed and green onions. It was wonderful to have something a bit more salty! I've always been more into salty snacks than sweets...

I don't know if I mentioned before, but this fast should last 3-5 days only. So, I am actually finished with the liquid phase! Yay!

Now, we're following up with the "rebuilding phase". This phase includes taking "GAIA's" herbal detox supplements and adding one or 2 light meals a day (green salads, raw or lightly steamed veggies, fruits, tofu, whole grains and even white fish).

If you're interested in following the same program, you should be aware that it is really a 4 week commitment.

Week 1 - prep (say no to: sugars, caffeine, red meat, wheat, dairy)

Week 2 - liquid fast as described in previous posts (primarily colon cleanse)

Week 3 & 4 - rebuild phase (with GAIA supplements - cleanse colon, lungs, kidneys, liver and blood)

*****

Day 6 & 7 were easy breezy. For the rebuild you can check the book/site "Cooking for Healthy Healing" for menu ideas. Our menu consisted of:

* before breakfast: Take 1 heaping teaspoon of GAIA Rejuve Powder (pysillium husks) in 8-10 oz. of warm water. Shake well and drink quickly before the liquid thickens.

* breakfast with a small cup of plain low fat yogurt and fruit (strawberry, blueberry and banana)

* mid morning: GAIA herbs + organic fruit juice (apple)

* lunch: GAIA herbs + raw veggie salad. A dessert plate of cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, green peppers, sprouts, a slice of tomato and a couple of slices of avocado (I love avocado!).

* mid afternoon: GAIA herbs + juice or fruit or veggie snack

* dinner: GAIA + a dessert plate of steam veggies with tofu + sm salad

And it pays off to be good! As part of our detox program, on Day 7, we decided to indulge in 1hr massages at my favorite spa in San Francisco! Mmmm... I am so glad Rich and I are sharing this experience together!

Onto Day 8...

Nasal Bliss, Kerala, 2004.

I decided to combine Day 2 and Day 3 because, well... I'm onto Day 4 now! Yay!

It's been fun so far! I can't believe how easy it's been and how energized I feel. The more I do it, the more I awe at the fact that I can get by without food, without dying! Silly, but true. So I'm currently paying attention and trying to see why I usually eat. If drinking fresh juices is enough to keep me going, then why do I always need so much? Why do I need munchies in the afternoon?

I noticed too, that even though this is about detoxing and health, the best reward for me has actually been on the emotional level. Just like food! I see myself enjoying the extra care I'm giving to myself. I'm thinking that I'm so damn cute carrying a bag to work with four different bottles (colorful and labeled!) filled with juices Rich and I prepared together... I'm enjoying the fact that people ask me about it and find it inspiring... I love the idea that maybe someone will try this cleanse and perhaps, get something positive out of it... And I'm mostly pleased about how nice I've been to myself. I confess that I haven't felt this proud or happy about myself in a long long time. (Maybe you're thinking: Come on... it's only been 3 days. What's to be proud?) And you're probably right. Many people have done a cleanse before... But not me. And I can't remember when was the last time I felt so in tune and content like now. I guess just knowing that I can access self control is very powerful! I feel very "hardcore" , as I joke with Rich. Okay. You can see how this has gone to my head! But that is the point. I'm feeling in control of my life right now thanks to a very simple shift and commitment. And isn't that the key to break inertia and create transformation? I think I need to apply this concept in every dept of my life, no?

All right, I know you also want to hear the juicy stuff. Am I starving? Is my belly growling? Do I have any cravings? Did I shave off any pounds yet? No. No. No. Yes! I did shave off 7 pounds in 3 days. From where? Not sure. But it's true. And I know... Maybe I'll get it all back... But hey, maybe I won't? And what a mood boost that is for now! So there you go. I see it as a bonus.

In terms of hunger, I'm not going to lie. I do feel a bit hungry everytime when it's half an hour to my next "drink"... But it's bearable, because I know that my next juice is going to satisfy me up until the next one and so forth. It's totally managable. If I feel a bit hungry in my belly, I just acknowledge it. I say to myself: Well, I'm hungry... Oh. Okay... Then I kind of ignore it, cuz I know the next drink will come soon enough. No need to panic! Plus, I noticed that if I give that hunger sensation 2 minutes (basically igonoring it), it becomes thirst! Seriously. And better, as soon as I drink water, the sensation goes away. And my god, I'm drinking so much more water than I EVER did before. The more I drink it, the thirstier I am. It's as if I've finally given room for that neglected need to speak up. Today I drank 4.5 liters of water. I cannot even believe it myself! On really busy days at work, it's very common for me to forget about drinking water and have maybe... 2 glasses all day (Shame on me!!)! The trick has been to walk around with a 1.5 liters bottle everywhere I go and... Chug Chug Chug. It works!

Finally, I have added nasal wash to my cleanse. I fill up half of the "Alladin" bottle (above) with warm water and a tiny bit of sea salt. I rinse as the picture shows, the water goes in one nostril and comes out of the other. I've been doing it every morning and I feel like it clears my head and wipes off the slate for a new day! This is something I learned when living in an Ashram in India and I swear by it. If you have any synus issues this is for you too!

Onto Day 4!

Cleanse Juices, Spring Cleaning, 2007

Cleanse Day 1:

Yesterday I started my detox cleanse.

My boyfriend has done a cleanse several times according to Linda Page's book and he swears by its benefits! So he decided to coach me on it and also join in for motivation!

You can also check her site for specific programs and recipes.

Here is how it works ~ recipes included!

At Rising:
Mix psyllium husks in a glass of juice or water. We're using a tablespoon of ABC aerobic bulk cleanse mixed with half a bottle of Synergy/ probiotics drink per person.

Breakfast:
Soak dried figs, prunes and raisins in water; add 1 TB. molasses, cover, leave to soak over night. In the morning, discard dried fruits from soaking water and eat with a small glass of the liquid. Drink it about 10-15 minutes after the "rising drink" in the morning.

Mid-morning: (around 10 am for me)
This is one of my favorites: Glass of aloe vera juice with herbs/juice. I'm actually mixing the aloe vera juice with an once of apple juice for taste.

Lunch:
Small glass of potassium juice or glass of fresh carrot juice.

POTASSIUM JUICE
This is the single most effective juice for cleansing, neutralizing acids and rebuilding the body. It is a blood and body tonic that provides rapid energy and system balance.
For one 12-oz. glass:
Juice in the juicer 3 Carrots, 3 Stalks Celery, 1/2 Bunch Spinach, and 1/2 Bunch Parsley.

Mid-afternoon:
Large glass of fresh apple juice

~5pm:
Small glass of fresh carrot juice or glass of personal best v-8 juice

PERSONAL BEST V-8
A high vitamin/mineral drink for normalizing body balance. A good daily blend even when you're not cleansing.
(For 6 glasses)
Juice 6 to 8 Tomatoes (or 4 cups Tomato Juice), 3 to 4 Green Onions with tops, 1/2 Green Pepper, 2 Carrots, 2 Stalks Celery with leaves, 1/2 Bunch Spinach, washed, 1/2 Bunch Parsley, 2 Lemons, peeled, (or 4 TBS. Lemon Juice).

Supper:
Large glass of apple juice or papaya juice

Before Bed:
Repeat the herbal cleansers that you took on rising with a cup of mint tea.

****

I'm using only organic vegetables and fruits. We have a juicer at home. Richard juices all the organic fresh ingredients for us in the morning and off we go with our labeled bottles to work! :D Did I mention I'm lucky to have a lovely "juice(y) man" at home?

***

More detox juice recipes here!

*********

Day One

Yesterday was my first day ever on liquids only! I think I did great! Well... Actually, I think it helped that last week I was already cutting out wheat, caffeine, sugar, processed sweets, chicken and red meat as well as dairy products. I called it my prep cleanse and, honestly, that week was overall harder on me. The first 2-3 days without my morning latte gave me a huge headache!

So here is how things went on liquids... You may say I'm weird, because I actually like how the stuff tastes. I got up around 7:30am and had the rising drink right away! The psyllium husks with Synergy (guava/ kombucha) at rising is actually pretty refreshing. One could say it's a yummy sparkling drink! Today, (I'm getting ahead here) I had it with apple juice instead and it turned out to be a thicker drink (like a smoothie) with blueberry taste. Okay, That's wishful thinking! :) But its not bad, I promise. Drink slowly... It made me feel really full really fast.

Then, onto the prunes, raisins and figs water. Yum! It sure looks odd, but it's not hard to swallow. The molasses actually help balance the taste and almost make it less sweet (if that makes sense (?)). I would think it would be the opposite... But anyhow... I kind of liked it. It's very syrupy... Almost like pure maple syrup diluted.

By 10 am, I was actually ready for my mid morning snack. Hmm... Aloe Vera Juice! Lots of people hate the stuff. But again, I like it. Especially with a splash of apple juice in it. That worked really well as far as getting me to the next drink at 1pm. If anything, I felt only a bit light headed! Around noon I started to feel hungry and drank lots of water to compensate for the wait till 1pm!! The only thing I could say (complain) about the morning drinks is that they kind of made me cold. You know, I'm used to the hot foamy latte and I'm getting just cold juices here! Not even tea? I ended up drinking a couple of glasses of hot water through the morning to counter the cold feeling and that helped a lot!

Okay, but when it got to lunchtime, I confess that it was more of an emotional hunger. Getting my small glass and filling it with the potassium juice looked like a pretty sad lunch to me. :( At my office, people were heating up their food (which smelled delicious), others were going out to eat together... And the take outs kept coming in the door and flooding the room with curry and french fries aroma. Damn! So I decided to go for a walk with a friend, enjoy some sunshine, drink my juice on the way and top it with water, if needed. We had such a lovely walk (and talk), that by the end of it I realized: "My drink was actually enough!" So I guess I was just concerned with how small my portion looked! Good lesson...

The rest of the day went fine as well. Overall it was a fabulous day! Only a minor feeling of body ache towards the evening... It felt like I had gone to the gym (which I didn't... cuz I'm laying low this week ~ only walks). I was worried about dinner time too, because Rich and I always come home and have a glass of wine, cheese and crackers and then dinner... But when I got home, luckily, my wonderful man was waiting for me just so we could juice together. We had our one full glass of apple juice w/ ginger... And I'll tell you... It tasted so goooood!

At last, when I had my mint tea before bed, I just started noticing how light I felt. I was calm and with not one bit of anxiety regarding food. I was actually pretty giggly... Not sure if this was any (cool) side effect... I'll see if it keeps repeating itself... ;P

And as I write this, I'm almost through my 2nd day. I'm doing good, guys! Tiny bit hungrier today... But really energized! Tomorrow I'll let you know how Day 2 went!