Bored of Food; New Line Producer Gig

It's weird, but I've been bored of food lately. Does that ever happen to you? It's not like I'm just bored of the food I usually eat, because I tried to think of what I really would want to eat -- anything -- and couldn't really think of anything. I went to Trader Joe's today with the full intention of grocery shopping and only walked out of there with a box of Dr. Praeger's veggie burgers. I looked at things I had thought about buying - hummus, edamame, salsa, sweet potatoes... and just didn't feel like it. Oh well, I'm sure a day full of veggie burgers and grapefruit (that's all I have right now, seriously) tomorrow will inspire me to go back to the grocery store and stock up.

Yesterday's workout:

50 minutes bike

Weights/strength: hamstrings, chest, back

Today's workout:

40 minute walk

10 minutes dance

10 minutes bike

Weights/strength: squats, glutes, quads

Today's food:

1. 2 steamed sweet potatoes

2. Dr. Praeger's veggie burger

3. Broccoli and chickpeas w/ BBQ sauce and nutritional yeast

4. Another veggie burger

5. Miso soup (made with my Miso Easy), 1 sheet nori

6. Chocolate almond milk

I only have two days of my improv 201 classes left! Boohooooo! At least I will have plenty to keep me occupied in the next month -- I'm working as a line producer on the short zombie film An Apology. We have a Facebook page! This is the bio I wrote for myself:

MEET OUR LINE PRODUCER: When not working below the line, Erika Heidewald is an actress. Her feature film debut, Bloomington, is now on Netflix. And she has a fight scene, so you definitely want to watch it. Erika's hobbies include watching improv shows at UCB, learning languages, and filling the world with sunshine.

Writing bios for yourself is always weird.

By the way, I've been invited to a potluck on Friday. I've been to two potlucks in the last couple weeks and brought quinoa salad to both. Do you have any ideas for an easy vegan recipe I can make for this potluck? Please? Thanks! =)

R.I.P. Computer :(

I have a super good reason for not posting for the last several days -- my computer died! =( It's very sad. But good news... I got a new one. So I'm back. But of course I didn't back up my shit so I have to figure out how to get the stuff off of my hard drive, which luckily was not affected (the logic board had problems, whatever that means).

I had a ridiculous week. Great, but busy. This week I had my intensive improv 201 classes, five auditions, went to a bunch of improv shows, a few networking events, a cold reading class, worked on my demo reel, and work for my sales rep job. I did manage to lift weights and walk a little every day but my cardio definitely suffered. I just could not find the time. I finally got some time today to have a nice workout, though!

Exercise:

45 minutes bike

20 minutes dance

Weights/strength: inner/outer thighs, squats, abs

stretching

foam rolling

Food Diary:

1. Dr. Praeger's veggie burger

2. Quinoa salad with spinach

3. Seitan

4. Edamame

5. Sweet potato, broccoli bowl

6. Chocolate almond milk

I hope you all had a good weekend, and I wish you plenty of time for your cardio. =) And take good care of your computers.

Quinoa Salad and My Busy Life

On Friday night a (vegan) friend of mine hosted a potluck with about ten friends. I wanted to bring something tasty but also healthy that I would want to eat if I got stuck with leftovers, so I made a big quinoa salad! And then I kept a lot of it for me. =)

I just cooked up some quinoa and added a can of chickpeas, a red onion, a few carrots, a few cucumbers, and a miso seasoning. I used this cool stuff I found at Gelsons the other day:

It makes instant miso soup but also works great as a sauce. I also added spicy mustard and rice wine vinegar.

I ate quinoa salad leftovers on lettuce and spinach for the next couple days. Yum.

On Monday I started my improv 201 classes! I'm loving them already. My day was jam-packed and I was out of the house from 10 AM to 11:30 PM. I brought an apple, a grapefruit, and some edamame to eat throughout the day. After my improv class I went over to an actor friend's house where we've started a little cold reading class of our own just for practice. I went to Whole Foods for dinner and got some salad bar stuff:

That's a grilled peach, some kale, and broccoli. There are random couscous and tabbouli things under there.

Then I went to The Actors Network to see Donal Logue speak -- I loved Terriers and he had a great perspective on acting. Then I went to UCB for the 9:30 show. So maybe you can see why I haven't been great about blogging this week!

Yesterday I had improv class again. Parking is always really difficult but I impressed the heck out of myself by fitting into a small parallel parking space. I'm terrible at parallel parking and spacial reasoning in general so I was really proud of myself. So proud that I took a picture.

Wednesday is our day off from improv class but I have a bunch of other stuff to do, including going to The Actors Network to see Glenn Morshauer -- he's the actor who played Aaron on 24. Cool!

Beach Day and Nature Exploring

I went to the beach today, and it was just what I needed in life. I don't go to the beach often, as I don't really like any of the normal beach activities such as laying out. But I have a friend from my improv class who's a surfer, and he said I could come watch them surfing today. Obviously there's not a lot of surfing in Indiana, so I found it interesting.

Surfers in their natural habitat.

Then I put on my nature geek hat and went exploring. I spent about two hours crawling through rocks and taking pictures of the animals that live in them. It was so much fun! And probably everyone else thought I was crazy. So my afternoon looked like this:

Even though I was by the ocean it did remind me a little of going to McCormick's Creek State Park in Indiana.

I found a ton of bugs that looked like this! They seemed like crustacean bugs and I took a bunch of pictures of them but this is the best one.

I thought they were cool. They were also very social and they like to spend time together.

I found a lizard! Or a gecko!

And a weird turtle/crab thing!

And a red crab!

And a bird.

I was definitely the only weirdo I saw scrambling around taking pictures of bugs and crabs but I had a great time. I really miss nature when I'm not around it enough.

I hope you're having a good weekend and that you get yourself into nature, too. :)

Time Management FTW

I'm so proud of the way I used my time today. I fit in a lot!

First of all, I woke up with perfectly feathered bangs. I didn't keep them that way, but it's almost a shame because I'm sure girls really tried for this a few decades ago.

Awesome!

This morning I did laundry, which really takes a while, so I feel accomplished when I do it. I also vaccuumed my whole apartment! Yay, good for me!

I went to Target to pick up some essentials. Then I headed to SAG for a screening of True Blood and an interview with Sam Trammel, who plays Sam Merlotte on the show. It was really interesting and it's always cool to hear from working actors.

I went grocery shopping (at TJ's and the normal store) to kill time before my reservation at the 11:00 show at UCB. It was a great show! So in one day I did plenty of exercise, cleaned, did laundry, did actor administrative work, ran multiple errands, went to a SAG event, and went to an improv show. Kaboom.

Food Diary:

1. Green smoothie - SO GREEN. 2 cups kale, 3 cups spinach, 1 banana, 1 scoop Sun Warrior, 1/4 cup frozen blackberries

2. Corn chowder with broccoli and broccoli slaw

3. 1 grapefruit

4. 2 servings edamame

5. 2 servings TJ's beefless strips

6. chocolate almond milk

Meals 3, 4, and 5 were eaten out of the house.

Exercise:

Weights/strength: triceps, deltoids, hamstrings, obliques, glutes, abs

30 minutes bike

I wanted to take a picture of my pretty dress today, but I had all of my clothes drying in the way.

So let's just take my word for it that I looked pretty.

Now I'm tired. Goodnight!

Moda Industria and Co-Op 28

On Saturday I had a great audition and on Sunday I spent all day on set, working as a 2nd AD (Assistant Director). Today I went to Power Group at The Actors Network and then spent all evening (five hours) at the Upright Citizens Brigade watching and doing a little participating in improv - the last show I went to was the monthly "jam." As I was signing up I was thinking, "Eek, what am I doing!?" But I do love to challenge myself!

Because I was so busy this past few days I didn't get to do as long of workouts as I wanted but I fit in what I could.

Saturday:
40 minutes bike

20 minutes dance

Weights/strength: chest, upper back, triceps
stretching

Sunday:

20 minutes bike

Monday:

20 minutes bike

Weights/strength: biceps

I do have a little announcement -- I am now the LA sales rep for Moda Industria! I reviewed one of their bags a few months ago. This is the website - www.modaindustria.com. They are all made in Bloomington, Indiana, by people I know (my best friend is one of the people who actually makes them, but he's not the designer), and a lot of the bag designs are vegan. If you want to support a small company that embraces vegan fashion (and you should!), then check them out!

Moda Industria is being carried at Co-Op 28, a new boutique in Silverlake. They had their grand opening party on Friday night so I stopped by to check it out and introduce myself.

Here's the storefront:

And inside the store.

The Moda Industria collection:

Some more of our bags.

And some Moda Industria metal signs.

Sweet, right? Now I have to start approaching boutiques around LA to convince them to carry the line. Let's do this. Vegan handbags FTW!

Hope you had a good weekend!

Fashion Friday: Camel Keds

My legs are STILL sore. Still sore. They're better than yesterday and the day before, but I still feel it.

Yesterday I went to orientation at SAG in the afternoon. I wore my yellow Target dress with my new purple Habitat for Humanity t-shirt (thanks, Mom!) and my leopard-print Target sweater I've had forever that I put on when I got cold. It's only been in the 70's here so it does get chilly at night! By the way, I put my hair in braids and pinned them on top of my head. That's why my head looks lumpy. It looked cute in person.

I love yellow and purple, it's such an unexpected color combination.

I wore my gold camel-print Keds. Love these shoes.

Today I went to the Actors Network and tonight some friends came over and we watched Bloomington. It wasn't even my idea - my friends wanted to watch it. They are awesome. =)

Yesterday's workout -

10 minute walk

10 minutes bike

10 minutes dance

stretching

light foam rolling (so sore!)

Today's workout -

30 minutes bike

stretching

Food Diary:

1. Broccoli slaw, broccoli, cauliflower, nutritional yeast, seasoned salt

2. TJ's beefless strips

3. Edamame

4. Pumpkin with Sun Warrior protein powder

5. More broccoli, etc.

6. Chocolate almond milk

Have a great weekend! Get a long workout in! I know I will. =)

Owwie Legs

Holy crap I am so sore today. I'm guessing it must have been the cheerleading jumps but seriously, my legs are not working right today. Even just attempting to sit on the toilet caused me to shout in pain (in a public restroom, no less. I am not responsible for other people's perceptions!)

Tonight I went to the LA Actors' Tweetup - I went through the professional photos and found one of me. I'm talking, what a surprise.

After that I went to a show at UCB. Once again, I'm full of surprises today.

I got something cool in the mail today --

My Bloomington DVD! Awesome picture, I know. But if you want to watch it, it's now available for rental on Netflix! A friend from college wrote on my Facebook wall today that she went to her local video store in Costa Rica, where she's in the Peace Corps, and found Bloomington on the shelf! Isn't that incredible!?

I watched Step Up 3 today while working out -- it's great workout inspiration! Everyone is in great shape and the dance scenes are wicked awesome.

Exercise:

Weights/strength: biceps, obliques

55 minutes bike

stretching

much-needed foam rolling

Food Diary:

1. Corn chowder with broccoli

2. Green smoothie

3. Edamame

4. Dr. Praeger's veggie burger

5. Corn chowder

6. Chocolate almond milk

I hope my legs feel more normal tomorrow!

Improv Class Graduation

My audition and improv show both went great on Sunday. I meant to write a recap that night but my internet wouldn't work. I also meant to take pictures and I totally forgot. =(

I loved my improv show. It wasn't perfect, of course, but it was fun and I was happy with my work and I think I used what I learned over the last couple weeks. I can't wait for 201 to start on the 20th! I also thought it was pretty cool that I had my show and then the next show on the same stage featured Tim Meadows (of SNL, The Ladies Man, etc).

Today I enjoyed a nice long workout and a good foam rolling session. I cleaned my apartment a little and Skyped with my mom then headed back to UCB tonight to see a few shows!

Sunday exercise:

Weights/strength: upper back, chest

Exercise:

Weights/strength: inner/outer thighs, triceps, deltoids

20 minutes dance

35 minutes bike

Today's food:

1. Spinach and lima beans with BBQ sauce (I took a picture of this but it looked terrible so I'm not sharing it)

2. Green smoothie with kale, banana, strawberries, and Sun Warrior

3. Corn chowder with broccoli

4. 1 serving TJ's Beefless Strips

5. Finish up spinach and lima beans

6. Chocolate almond milk

I was so excited today because I tried doing some cheerleading jumps for the first time in... jeez... five years? And I think I'm better at them now than I was when I was a cheerleader! I don't have any pictures of myself as a cheerleader on my computer right now so here's a picture of me in a cheerleading uniform playing pinball.

That's my game face.

Foam Rolling!

I bought a foam roller!

It's bigger than I thought it would be.

That's my shoe for reference. No, it's not a tiny shoe next to a regular-sized foam stick. It is a normal-sized shoe next to a huge foam stick.

I started foam rolling today. Here's an article with an overview of some ways to roll: http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=475832

I was focusing on that hamstring/butt muscle I pulled last month and wow, some weird things are going on in there. I don't know what exactly, but it is crunchy and painful and gross.

My last few days have been great! Thursday was so busy I actually did not fit in a workout. =( Oh well, ya gotta have rest days. I had improv class, then an audition, and then went to a couple shows at UCB in the evening - How to Live with Chelsea Peretti, with Sarah Silverman as a special guest, and an improv show. Both shows were hilarious! I am so obsessed with UCB now.

On Friday I had my last day of class and then went to Abbot Kinney First Fridays in Venice last night. It's this big outside festival where stores stay open late, a bunch of food trucks populate the street, and hippies are everywhere! I actually saw four celebrities, making that seven celebrities I've seen in two days. Hahah. I'm always mystified by people who live in LA and say they've never seen anyone famous. I see them all the time! But I don't like saying who I saw because then I feel like I'm invading their privacy by posting about where they go. But I will say that UCB is a great place to see comedians - that should be obvious.

Today I finally got time to do a long workout and do a lot of actor admin work. You know, the fun stuff.

Exercise:

Thursday:

Rest day

Friday:

Weights/strength: triceps, biceps, overhead press

20 minutes dance

20 minutes bike

Saturday:

Weights/strength: hamstrings, quads, obliques, abs

60 minutes bike

10 minutes shadowboxing

Food Today...

1. Corn chowder

2. Big bowl of broccoli slaw w/ nooch

3. Pumpkin pudding with Sun Warrior protein powder

4. Corn chowder with broccoli slaw and cauliflower

5. 1 serving edamame

6. Chocolate almond milk

Small meals rock because you get to eat frequently! :)

Tomorrow (Sunday) is a BIG day - I have a cool audition in the morning and then I have my graduation show for my improv class! Eeeek! I hope it goes well!

United Colors of Veggie Bowls

I had improv class again today from 9-2, and then immediately afterward I went to an actor friend's house so we could record some self-taped auditions. His apartment has a huge deck and a great view so I took a picture that doesn't really do it justice.

There's a trend in casting that's becoming more and more popular for casting directors to request actors to record their own auditions and send them in. I know one of the reasons is to save time but that did not happen today. It took us almost four hours! We had to practice, set up lighting, wait for the buzz saw next door to stop whirring... But eventually I think we both got some good audition tapes done. Yippee.

After our auditions, I went home and stuffed my face while catching up on e-mails and self-submitting on casting sites, then went right back out to catch a couple shows at UCB. My improv show is coming up on Sunday and I want to be as prepared as possible, so I want to see as many shows as I can!

My diet for the last few days has consisted of apples on the go and veggie bowls at home.

Spinach, baked beans, and nooch.

Homemade polenta (easy, BTW), lentils, and broccoli.

Corn chowder and broccoli slaw.

Exercise:

10 minutes dance

Squats

30 minute walk

That's not as much as I would like, but I have to just accept that I'm really freaking busy this week, and that's just how it is!

By the way, thanks so much for confirming that laughing counts as cardio. You guys make me feel better. Also, Anonymous asked some great questions in the comment section on yesterday's post that I will answer in a post as soon as I get the time. I always like to answer reader questions!

Tomorrow I have class again, then I have an audition, and then I'm going to another UCB show. Sarah Silverman is the guest and I think she's hilarious. Can't wait to see her in person!

Laughing Is Cardio, Right?

So busy!! I've been going to improv class during the day and shows at night and fitting all my other acting work and life in between. Cardio has been tough to fit in but at least I'm getting my weight workouts done. Wait... does laughing my ass off at improv class count as cardio?

Monday:

Weights/strength: Biceps, triceps, deltoids

10 minutes bike

10 minutes dance

Tuesday:

Weights/strength: hamstrings, quads, obliques

20 minutes dance

My butt was sore for a couple days after hiking up Runyon on Saturday. I took some pictures from the top to show you guys -

Hey wait, what's that over there?

It's the Hollywood sign!

Sorry for the bad pictures, I wasn't going to lug a camera up there with me and my Blackberry does not take very lovely photos.

I bought a foam roller off of Amazon and it arrived in the mail today. Now I need to figure out how to use it!

I also saw a snail climbing up the wall outside of my apartment. My roommate thought it was weird that I took a picture of him but he was so cute!

Question -- do you use a foam roller? Any suggestions on what the heck I should do with it?