Love, Loss, and What I Wore to Build for Habitat for Humanity - New York City

Yesterday, I traded in my stilettos and LBD for my role on the Off Broadway show, Love, Loss, and What I Wore, for a pair of Timberlands and a hard hat! The cast and crew of the show trekked from the West Side Theater to Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, to install sheetrock in affordable Habitat-NYC homes. We helped renovate an eight-unit building that will one day become affordable condominium homes for low-income working New York City families.

Habitat for Humanity is such an unbelievable organization and I am so glad I got to spend my day working with my fellow cast and crew on this amazing project. 

(Full Article)

Check Out Habitat for Humanity NYC to learn about their great cause and sign up to help out! 

Congrats to Love, Loss, and What I Wore on it's 700th Performance!

As announced on my website earlier in the year, I am proud to be apart of the fabulous cast of Nora Ephron's Love, Loss, and What I Wore from June 1st- July 3rd. While being apart of the cast, I had the pleasure of celebrating it's 700th performance on June 16th! Quite impressive, right? Well, I am looking forward to celebrating even more anniversaries with future casts, because trust me girls, this show isn't going anywhere. I would like to invite you all to come see this unbelievable show, and my fellow actresses, and congratulate everyone that has worked on this excellent show for the past few years.  

  

(BoradwayWorld.com's Full Article)

Make Sure To Get Your Discounted Tickets For The Show And Have An Amazing Night Out With The Girls! 

Mama Mia! Delizioso Pizza

Vegan Pizza with Multi Grain Crust

Ingredients

• Multi grain pizza dough to make one large pizza (I use Whole Foods in the Fresh Prepared Section)
• 1 cup Organic Pizza Sauce
• 1 block of mozzarella Vegan cheese shredded
• 1 large zucchini sliced into thin rounds
• 1-2 cups mushrooms sliced thinly (baby bella work well)
• 1 red or yellow pepper sliced into thin strips
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 garlic cloves minced

Preperation

Heat oven to 425. Make sure the oven is preheated.
Make sure pizza dough is at room temperature.
In a saute pan heat 1 tbsp. of olive oil.
Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
Add zucchini and pepper. Sauté for 3-4 minutes or until tender. Add mushroom and
Saute for another 3 minutes. Set aside in a bowl.
Sprinkle some flour onto a large area. Roll pizza dough with a rolling pin. Let it sit for a few minutes. Transfer to a baking sheet that has been lightly sprayed with olive oil.
Keep stretching and rolling the pizza dough until it has the shape of the baking sheet.
Add Pizza sauce and spread evenly
Add the Vegan cheese and sprinkle evenly over the pizza dough.
Spread vegetables over the pizza.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is completely melted.

Go to www.youtube.com and check out Healthy Cooking with Irene Maltzan if you like these recipes. Please send your email address at wellness.tree@yahoo.com to find out more about the Wellness Tree programs for healthy living.

The Curvy Girl Guide- Brittany Gibbons

If you would have asked me last October, if I would be sitting at the helm of an online magazine that sees upwards of half a million readers a month, I would have laughed at you. Heartily. And, then promptly gone back to eating my chicken lomein.

But today, that’s exactly what we’re doing.

The idea for the Curvy Girl Guide came to me as I was brushing my teeth, already knee deep in an internal screaming match with my body, as is often the case when my jeans are hard to button. I was standing in front of a full length mirror, wondering if wide calf tall boots would look silly on my thick thighed frame.

Why aren’t there any resources for that? Showing me what plus size clothing looks like on real curvy and plus size women? Why wasn’t I seeing women in mainstream fashion magazines whose bodies I could relate to?

This was a growing sentiment of disconnect for me. I wasn’t relating to the women or the stories I was reading in all my favorite glossy women’s magazines, and it turns out, I wasn’t alone.

In October 2010, Marie Claire Magazine ran a story entitled, Should Fatties Get A Room? (Even on TV?). What began as a commentary on the distaste for seeing overweight people on prime time television shows, like Mike & Milly, quickly turned into a hate based diatribe about the gall of overweight people to exist...anywhere. The story went viral. The author, Maura Kelly, was made to apologize. But, the damage was done.

The climate was right.

I went to my business partner, Heather Spohr, with the idea, and we launched Curvy Girl Guide in November 2010. It was an immediate success, serving as ground zero for so many women who struggle with their bodies, their weight, their lives.

What began as a project addressing weight and self image, has turned into a full scale lifestyle magazine for real women. We’re so much more than eating struggles and body hate. From fashion to health, pop culture to sex, we tackle everything, because we are real women, and our lives don’t stop the second we step on a scale.

Curvy Girl Guide just finished serving as the national spokesperson for Lands’ End 2011 Swimsuit Campaign, and spent a week in New York on a five day media blitz promoting National Swimsuit Confidence Week.

Every email I get from a woman or teenage girl who finds their voice in our movement changes my life.

And, that’s more satisfying than all the chicken lomein in the world. (Probably.)

Brittany Gibbons runs Curvy Girl Guide with her partner, Heather Spohr, who authors the award winning blog, The Spohrs are Multiplying. Brittany is a humorist, primarily known for her satirical wit and self deprecation.  She authors the popular humor blog, Barefoot Foodie, in which she overshares bits of her life between phonetically spelled sound effects and excessive ellipses.  She and Heather also founded the groundbreaking social media company, Mouth Media.

Why Is It So Hard To Feel So Good? - Part 1 of 2

   Perhaps it’s the stage of life I’m in, mid-life, where I’ve noticed the conversations with my friends has taken on a slightly different tone than when we were young. During our 20’s discussions were often filled with lofty talk about our future. We'd talk about our goals, hopes and dreams, with an occasional “guy or girl story” sprinkled throughout our conversation. Now most of my contemporaries are in their 40’s or older. Many of us have met some, if not a lot of the important goals, we set out to achieve. Some of these achieved goals are even the ones we dreamed and talked about, when we were younger. One might think this would create a sense of glee or at the very least some sliver of self satisfaction, but I have found the opposite to often be true. The interesting thing about goals is there are always new ones waiting to be born. Only the goals of adulthood don’t always benefit from the veil of grandiosity or hopeful feelings, so typically felt during our youth. Adult goals, although still equally longed for and dreamt about, get internalized along side a healthy dose of reality (for better or for worse); a by product of living life and in some cases being humbled by it.

    Now this might sound a little depressing, but it got me thinking...Why is it so hard to feel good or satisfied with our lives?!? What is it our psyche craves? What do we need in order to feel inspired, grateful and at peace with ourselves; especially while pursuing the life we say we want? Are we responding to societal messages about conspicuous consumption? Or is it the early parental messages entrenched in our brains? Is it our competitive and aspirational nature, constantly gnawing at us? Telling us we're not enough and don't have enough, in order to keep us moving forward? Is it because we don't have as much as some of the people around us? Or that we aren't living up to some fantastical ideal we’ve too easily bought into? 

     There's a reason why so many people are self medicating themselves with compulsive shopping, eating disorders, alcohol abuse, other substances and/or needlessly taking prescription medications to numb the pain. The message we're responding to, is that we're not good enough, unless we're "fill in the blank". So as a therapist and person who occasionally falls victim to these feelings too, I wonder, what's the answer? If meeting some of our goals doesn't quiet our discontent, what will? I realize I've probably bitten off more than I can chew here, but what the heck...it's worth a try.

(More...)

    

 Dr. Robi Ludwig is a nationally known psychotherapist, award winning reporter. She also hosted two seasons of TLC’s reality show, “One Week to Save Your Marriage” as well as , GSN’s reality game show, “Without Prejudice?”. Dr. Ludwig’s academic credentials include a doctorate in psychology (Psy.D) from the Southern California University for Professional Studies; she holds a post-masters certificate in advanced clinical work from Hunter College, a masters degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from Cedar Crest College.

Why Is It So Hard To Feel So Good? Part 2 of 2

   There will always be aspects of our lives, which get us to feel frustrated, bored, unhappy, powerless and victimized. It's far easier to feel the negative aspects of our lives, then it is to feel the positive aspects. It's just the way our brain works. Some of the goals we've achieved too easily fade into the backdrop of our lives. They become a given....like the air we breathe. We crave newness and new goals to accomplish, or our lives can start to feel stagnant. Once we reach a certain level of accomplishment, it bumps us up to a new level, where we then get exposed to and see yet another level of what we still don't have. Or we become acquainted with people around us, who seem to have more of whatever it is we want.

    Chasing some of our more illusive goals can prove upsetting and make it hard to feel successful or good in our own skin. So how do we take back our power and learn to embrace the complexity of our lives? Both the positive and negatives, without being so hard on ourselves? Not an easy question or task; I know! Part of the answer is to realize that difficult feelings about our selves and our lives are unavoidable. And it doesn't matter how well we're doing in life. Feeling negative about ourselves doesn't mean we're doing something wrong. It's just a part of the human condition. Achieving a level of happiness and satisfaction is not a final destination either, but a place to visit during our life’s journey. Hopefully it's a place we'll get to visit more often than not.
     One of the keys to feeling more content is learning how to broaden our criteria for judging ourselves.

1)    To not view our success and failures so narrowly, i.e. like based on what we have or don't have, or what we've done or not done. Sometimes gaining a more spiritual approach to life can help us. Ask the question, “Am I seeing the bigger picture in all of this?”, can also help.

2)    Learn to see obstacles as an opportunity to transform our life circumstances. Find ways to turn challenges into important life moments of inspiration and revelation.

3)     And never underestimate the power of placing supportive people, or role models in your life. Remember, no one is a one man band. We all need people in our lives to remind us of who we are and who we are meant to be; especially when we've lost our way!

4)    Look for the positive in even the most dire situations

5)    And regularly list what you're grateful for.

   We need to train our minds when it comes to being kind to ourselves. It's far easily said than done, I know, but totally worth the effort!

 Dr. Robi Ludwig is a nationally known psychotherapist, award winning reporter. She also hosted two seasons of TLC’s reality show, “One Week to Save Your Marriage” as well as , GSN’s reality game show, “Without Prejudice?”. Dr. Ludwig’s academic credentials include a doctorate in psychology (Psy.D) from the Southern California University for Professional Studies; she holds a post-masters certificate in advanced clinical work from Hunter College, a masters degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from Cedar Crest College.