A blip about the Written Word

I love seeing the look on someone's face when they've just read something that makes them smile. It reminds me how valuable the written word is, how valuable my work is, and how important it is that I pursue it and share it with everyone I meet. Joy and love are meant to be shared. Happy weekend, everyone! 

Oliver Kurtz knows how to enjoy it in Ventura:

Surfing and Spirituality

My book on the human condition, Surfing and Spirituality, is in publishing and will be available for e-book purchase on Amazon.com tomorrow! It will also be available at BN.com and iBooks later this week. The print version comes out in a week or two, so hold out for that if you prefer paper! 
Please show support by buying a copy and spreading word! 
Thanks for all the love--you guys helped make this possible. 
Special thanks to Mitch Bloom (cover), David Pu'u and Justin Bastien (photography), Larry Ugale, Mary Osborne, Jaimal Yogis, Jordan Novander (photographed surfers) and the 14 surfers (who will be revealed, if you read the book!) who participated in interviews over email, the phone, martinis, and great surf. Mahalo and blessings everyone!!!!! ♥

The Rootbeer Float

Tell me, when was the last time you had a really good rootbeer float? I don't mean one of those mediocre, generic, corn-syrup and "natural-vanilla-flavor" floats you get in a red party cup at your 8th grade dance or random minor league baseball game. I mean a legitimately brewed rootbeer with REAL sarsparilla root, paired with a scoop of some cream-sugar-and-vanilla beans ice cream. I can't even remember the last time I had a half-decent float. Can you? 

See, it's time. Well, at least that's what was decided for me today. 

The first thing I noticed when I looked in the fridge this morning was an Australian-brewed rootbeer in a pretty rad bottle. "Bundaberg" it said, "Brewed to be Better." My face turned into a smile as my mind did a fist-pump- "Yeah! I know what I'm having for dessert tonight: a rootbeer float. Mental note: buy vanilla ice cream." 

Which brings me to buying the right vanilla to make your float. Now, I am normally not an advocate of vanilla ice cream or Haagen-Dazs. Vanilla = boring and Haagen-Dazs = overrated and overpriced. However, in choosing the best vanilla, for some reason I gravitated towards Haagen-Dazs. None of my other top choices (Ben n Jerry's, McConnel's) had Vanilla Bean, and I wasn't going to settle for just vanilla (only vanilla extract, usually added flavors, and no vanilla beans). I took a leap of faith and I now feel differently about both Haagen-Dazs and vanilla. 

The Goods:

Now, before you jump out of your seat and run to the store, run back and make yours, three things:

1) This is not a rootbeer for the faint of heart. It is stronger and more robust-tasting than Barq's, IBC, A&W.

2) This is not a vanilla ice cream for the faint of heart. It is richer than plain vanilla and tastes distinctly of vanilla beans. 

3) This is not a rootbeer float for the faint of heart. Even I was unsure when I first had my taste of the combination. If you try them separately and decide it's too weird to try together, i won't judge you. A chemical reaction changes the two when combined, and the taste definitely changes too. The new flavor is an experience all its own, almost pungent, like a dark beer, with a smooth vanilla undertone. Oddly delicious.

Whether you scoop and sip, scoop and sip, or go Braveheart and combine them in a glass and stick a straw in through the scoop, I assure you The Rootbeer Float is worth the risk. Your tastebuds will thank you. 

Cheers!

Vote for my Surfing Essay!

Aloha Ohana~Hi Friends and Family~Gruess Euch!

As you all know, I'm happiest in the water, and even happier when I get to
write about it. A Ventura, CA local, I have taken my writing and surfing
all over the world, and finally landed back home. Please support me in
spreading the surfing joy to others!

Please vote for this entry in the Baby Cobras Essay Contest, on the Surfing
Magazine Facebook page! My essay is called "The Green Room."

Click here to see it: http://bit.ly/Tg9rut

Click Vote on the top right!

Done!

Fuer meine Deutsche Freunde und Familie-- bitte auf den Link oben klicken
und dann fuer mich waehlen ("Vote" top rechts draufklicken). HERZLICHEN
DANK!

The contest will send one writer, photographer and filmer to Hawaii's
fabled North Shore for a week to document the Triple Crown of Surfing, to
be published IN THE MAGAZINE.

>>>VOTING ENDS October 8th!

THANK YOU
MAHALO
DANKESCHOEN
GRACIAS
GRAZIE
MERCI
and

ALOHA and blessings to all of you! Thank you for your support!

Love, Leslie

Photo Story

A little update of recent months told through photos...

impromptu jam session, birthday party, 24. August

the road to riches (or debt)...Las Vegas, NV, 17. August

Poolside, finally...100 degrees, cool water, icy drink. Mahalo Michael :)

Love at first sight...Milky melted into Michael, or was it the other way around? 

Santa Barbara's nice, but I missed this. Ventura's got a special vibe.

This girl can sing, AND play...piano, guitar, harmonica and banjo, that is! Go Krystal Park.

blessed to connect. Mike and I, Leadbetter Point, Santa Barbara.

toying with the lens...this man can shoot.

honey, won't you take me for a spin? that's one nice behind...Shoreline Plaza, SB.

Feline energy always rejuvenates me somehow. Milky, breaking the no-cat-inside rule with that wise face.

Friends are like stars, although we can't always see them, we know they're always there. 18 years of friendship and counting- glad this girl sticks around.

At least the car didn't forget to put mascara on this morning...holy eyelashes!

I swear Santa Barbara puts crack in its soil. Never before seen so many vibrantly blooming flowers in an urban area. Phenomenal!

Hemp has an insane amount of protein per serving. Who knew? Getting my protein fix at Backyard Bowls.

Graffiti   has always fascinated me. Crow story,   alley corner , downtown Santa Barbara, August... 

Opened my car door to find Pac-man staring up at me from the asphalt...can you tell me, what's his story?

 

I couldn't stop laughing. Danny insists this hat gets him women. 

"Everything I did in my life that was worthwhile i caught hell for."

I write inspirational post-its and stick them all over Mike's room. One of the first ones I ever shared had this quote by Chief Justice Earl Warren. Last week on his business trip, he stumbled upon it in a museum. September 10, Philadelphia, PA. 

And, lastly, because we could all use a laugh once in a while:

and my personal meme of the moment:

Truth.

One more thing: for all you ocean lovers out there, there's a new organization promoting ocean love, based on an honest and pure respect for the environment and its creatures. You should all check it out, spread awareness, and send some Aloha. 

It's called Ocean Lovers Collective and some of your favorite oceanatics started it...namely David Pu'u, Donna von Hoesslin, Tom Pohaku Stone, and friends. It's the beginning of something bigger, and the ocean needs all the support she can get! 

That's all for now...I hope this message finds you all happy and well-- or at least getting there :) 

Aloha and Blessings -L

Groovy!

Aloha Ohana,

         It's been awhile, forgive me for leaving you hanging! I've since moved 30 miles north, to Santa Barbara- a real gem on the central coast. It's sort of the beginning of the central coast and wine country. It's ridiculously beautiful, full of sunburned tourists from the world over, and sunnier and warmer than Ventura, which I didn't think I would ever discover by moving north. San Diego? Yes, sun, warm water, and lots of freeways and driving. Santa Barbara? Evidently, yes too! Less freeway, people and warm water, but lots of sun, foot traffic (which I love) and great shopping to make up for it. The night life is a tad livelier than in Ventura, but I haven't decided whether it's in a good way or not. Seems someone is almost always getting arrested or kicked out of a bar, or that the cover is too high ($30 per person, Savoy? really? I'll go to Vegas instead). Nonetheless, in less than 2 months I've gone out dancing and late-night meandering here more than I did the entire past year in Ventura, so that's got to say something. Anyway, I realize I'm rambling..it's late and I've to get to bed so I'm able to fulfill my duties with a smile tomorrow!
Blessings and Good night, all.

P.S. My new favorite writing music...enjoi!

Daily Reminders...

Memes are meant for sharing. Photos usually too. Below, illuminating, insightful, imaginative imagery. Cute stuff, good stuff, old stuff, new stuff. Thanks, meme-makers, photographers, friends and the like. Enjoi!

UNLESS. such a powerful word.

Earthquake Warning: This is an unreinforced masonry building. You may not be safe inside unreinforced masonry buildings during an earthquake. Location: Downtown Ventura, circa June 2010

Guess who? Leaving a positive proverbial "mark" on 20 countries/in countless lives for nearly 25 years.

so helpful.

The simplest way of expressing an all-encompassing truth we must all strive to realize. Mahalo, Albert.

I think it's safe to say many of us women need to hear this repeated to them now and then. Troof!

AMEN.

The key to my continuing growth.

Someone had fun with photoshop, and now I'm having fun because of it! Fun is contagious.

<3 Chase

Yes.

I love explaining my major to people.

More of this, for everyone!

such a beauty.

For my girls!

Yeah, man. Yeah..

Truth? Perhaps. Hilarious? Definitely.

Are you laughing yet!?

THE WORK YOU DO WHILE YOU PROCRASTINATE IS PROBABLY THE WORK YOU SHOULD BE DOING FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.

Have you been in the ocean lately? Wishing you a watery weekend! Photo Credit: David Pu'u

"On The Other Side"

If you guys don't know Kid Cudi by now, well, let this be your introduction.

I became familiar with the Kid with the rest of everyone with his "Day n' Night" performance circa February 2009 on MTV. Little did I know he helped write lyrics for Kanye West's 808's n Heartbreak album on one of my favorite songs at the time- "Heartless."
A dear friend recently shared Kid Cudi's Man on the Moon II with me; although I recommend the entire album--really, you can enjoyably listen straight through it, no breaks--one song in particular really got me going. Feel-good, upbeat, with the perfect balance of both expected and unexpected musical elements. Beat, lyrics, loop...it all works. Cheers to you, Kid.

Hear for yourself:

and a Happy Mother's Day, ya'll. :)

She lives!

After an 11-month hiatus from blogger I am back...for now :)

Before I go on a long spiel telling you my life story of the past year...here's a quote I re-found on my computer today- 

"The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen." - Elizabeth Kubler Ros

Continuing to comprehend/discover/reveal the meaning of that daily. 

Back in Ventura, now. Sometimes pictures tell the story better...

Sunrise...

and set...

More soon...