I volunteered at the Beagle Freedom Project on Saturday, as this extraordinary group had just gotten in 10 dogs from a San Diego lab and most were not fostered out yet.   We unpacked the generous donations of dog food, bowls, beds and treats so many people had given through BFP’s facebook page .  I was thrilled to see the beagle I fostered last year, Javi (now named Cooper), with his wonderful adoptive mother Maria.  He is so different now from the terrified, timid lab dog I knew back then! Needless to say, I immediately fell in love with Beckett, who tried to get in my lap almost as soon as I walked in.  I impulsively asked Shannon if I could foster him, and I took him home that afternoon!  He is such a lovely boy.  Quietly adoring of Ian and me, he follows us around the house.  He is curious about our cat Hallie (he probably has never seen a cat before), and baffled when she hisses at him.  He is not housetrained (would you be if you lived in a cage for 5 years?) but he likes to cuddle and sniffing is his favorite pasttime.  At the dog park, he is … Continue reading →

Last year I bought myself a present: a tread desk. A whaaa? you say. It’s a treadmill under a standing desk! I often spend several hours in my car and several hours checking email each day, so my sitting time has increased markedly in the last decade. Although I have a very nice desk chair, I found that my back hurt, my legs felt swollen after sitting too long, and I was often antsy in the evening from not moving enough. Studies show that, even exercising an hour or more daily, like I do, does not mitigate the unhealthy effects of being sedentary the rest of the day. So even though alot of people (Ian included) thought I was nutty to purchase a walking treadmill, I have to say it is the best present I have ever given myself. It is easy to read emails on my computer while walking, and I find I write better too. I now only sit at my desk to write bills. This is not exercise for me, it just makes me feel better to be moving. I walk at a very slow pace, just 2 miles an hour. I average probably 90 minutes of … Continue reading →

When one of my favorite non profits, Population Media Center, asked me to cast one of their radio dramas being produced in Sierra Leone, and coach the actors there, I jumped at the chance. Population Media Center produces radio and tv dramas with storylines dealing with real life issues of family size, women’s equality, birth control and health care. What I love about PMC is that they deal directly with the issues that cause large families. Sounds boring, but believe me, these soap operas are riveting human drama and they are hugely popular around the world . In Ethiopia, over half the adult population in the region listened to the local PMC radio drama and the results are staggering for all the productions: thousands of people have their attitudes and behaviors changed for the better after listening or viewing these series. Some people call them “Soap Operas for Social Change”. The Sierra Leone production was funded by the United Nations and the Marie Stopes Foundation . 208 episodes will run over 2 years. The storylines include a bullying husband, a daughter trying to get from under her dominant and traditional father’s thumb, teenagers navigating love and sex. Casting was hard, … Continue reading →

When I told Vietly my website still looked cool even though the design was 8 years old, she looked at me with something akin to pity. I have always been slow to change –facebook confounds me and I still don’t tweet using hashtags – but computer years are like dog years. Everything changes so fast that even the term web 2.0 is now obsolete… Vietly has been the webmaster and creator of my site since 1997, so if she is telling me I need to change it, then of course I listen. And boy am I glad I did! I love this redesign – it still has 15 years of content, but it integrates social media (therefore forcing me to learn to friend and retweet) and allows me to post my own blogs with ease. Yep, I am going to blog…but not overblog. My mailing list was not transferable, so please sign up to receive updates from me on the form on the  right side of this page. Let me know what you think of the site. I hope you like the redesign. Alexandra

There are a few big decisions that have contributed greatly to the kind of life I lead. The first was to become a vegetarian at age 14, and then a vegan at age 47. I regret it took me so long to get rid of the last vestiges of dairy from my life, as I had stopped wearing leather, wool, silk or products tested on animals 20 years before, for which there were very few alternatives back then, but it was not difficult. Just like it wasn’t hard once I committed to not eating eggs or milk products anymore. I wavered because of my history of eating disorders, and my fear that being too restrictive would trigger something again. The truth is, now that my diet is fully aligned with my values, my eating hangups don’t even enter into the picture. I don’t feel deprived in the least. Speaking of eating disorders, getting over my bulimia was another huge decision that has contributed to my quality of life. For 12 years I was caught in a web of bingeing and throwing up. Finally, thanks to my friend Jocelyn, when I was 28 years old I began attending Overeaters Anonymous meetings … Continue reading →

Reading: Money Well Spent?: The Truth Behind the Trillion-Dollar Stimulus, the Biggest Economic Recovery Plan in History by Michael Grabell Listening to: Life by Keith Richards, read by Johnny Depp Latest movie rental recommendation: Crazy Stupid Love Most recent meal: Oatmeal with Vega protein powder http://vegasport.com/recover/performance-protein and flax seed Awoke: at 4:30am (coughing, as I am getting over a cold), and got up. I like checking my emails in the dark quiet before dawn and being in the pool when it gets light. Today’s workout: 80 minute pool swim Lovely moment today: Ian always sounding excited to hear my voice when I call. Hallie purring on my lap. Listening to Shawn’s songs http://www.myspace.com/hlookoff/music/songs?filter=POPULAR Looking forward: to my twin visiting next week Looking up: my back and neck are getting so much better after I was rear ended last year, thanks to my awesome chiropractor, Franco Columbu http://www.columbu.com/ Looking back: auditioned for Robert Ulrich http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0880697/ yesterday. In a bikini. Yikes. He cast me in 3 Perry Mason tv movies in 1989

My good friend, the Reverend Peter Kreitler www.peterkreitler.com , helped me figure out a dilemma: I confessed to him that sometimes when someone on the street asks me for money I get tight all over and my head gets filled with judgement, weighing if this person is worthy of my spare change. I feel mean and resentful and I hate myself for being that kind of person. Peter said to me, “Alexandra, we don’t know what pain and suffering anyone has endured. Give everyone who asks a dollar, no matter who they are. If they are asking, that is enough”. I immediately felt a lightness come over me. Deciding beforehand to open my heart to everyone rid me of my judgement and my pettiness. Now I make sure to keep dollars in my wallet so I always have something to give when someone asks. Drunk, raucous, able-bodied – all the things that might have discounted them in my mind and brought up a snotty disapproval in me now are accepted and I am able to see the humanity in the person as I look them in the eye and for a second we have a connection, human to human. It … Continue reading →