It's here! Straight Talk with Ross Podcast is LIVE

Did Y'all download the first podcast episode with GeekGirl & Ross Mathews? REUNITED AND IT FEELS SOOOO GOOD!

Click here to subscribe via itunes and check us out on PodcastOne. Plus, email us your questions (or stay tuned for the call in number for next week's show) at straighttalkwithross.com.

Stay tuned for more exciting stuff-this is just the beginning!

A Photographic Ode to LA, GeekGirl Style

The Los Angeles Theatre in Downtown LA

You may or not know this about me, but i LOVE photography. You also may or may not know that until recently, i lived in an old loft (originally built in 1898) in Downtown Los Angeles for over 8 years, before it was the "cool" place to be. I'm not necessarily technically as skilled as i would like to be in terms of camera settings, but i make up for it in oodles of passion. whether it's my Nikon digital SLR camera or my iPhone, when inspiration strikes, i take a shot - literally.

one of my favorite things to take photos of is Los Angeles - my city of Angels. And my two favorite times to take pics of Los Angeles? One: the morning after it rains, early, before anyone else is up. The air is clear and crisp, there's a fresh smell in the air, and the light is somehow different. My second favorite time is at dusk, usually after rain (which is rare) or when there have been great, big, billowy clouds in the sky. it makes for the most beautiful sunsets streaked with pinks and purples.

I've long wanted to do a show of my favorite series of Los Angeles photos, but i have yet to get my rear into gear in order to achieve that. so instead, i'm going to post a few of my favorite Los Angeles photos to re-inspire me to do something with them. even if, for now, this is all i do. let me know your thoughts in the comments or tweet me @GeekGirlKnows!

Stay tuned for some exciting news this week that is about a blast from the past...those of you who have been around this blog for a while are going to be pretttttty excited, i think. :)

Cheers,
Dx

3rd Street Tunnel 

Victor Clothing Company Mural - "The Pope of Broadway"

The Armpit Chronicles: Update - It's the Humidity.

Angelinos are pretty smart, i don't care what you say. but the one word that we have a hard time comprehending is HUMIDITY. it's dry as a mofo out here. it's what makes 90 degree heat in April bearable...because we aren't also completely soaking wet when we step outside our doors.

So i decided to test out natural deodorants as a part of my quest to live better/cleaner. i unfortunately decided to do this when LA was hit with an unusual bout of hum...what's that word go like again? oh, yeah, humidity. that humidity is a bastard. 

as you know, that "Kiss My Face" roll on deodorant was DOA-basically i hated the smell of it the second i rolled it on, and so that one isn't going to survive this product test. 

i then wore the Jason deodorant and i liked the smell. 

it was a bit sticky, but i'm told that's normal with these deodorants since they are chemical-free. so of course, the first monday at work that occurred during this test, it was like 80% humidity in Los Angeles. so i decided that that was NOT ok to do to my co-workers, and i went back to regular, chemical-laden deodorant for the week. yummo. BUT, now that it's the weekend and the humidity isn't AS bad, i am back on the Jason. it makes my armpits feel soft, which i didn't expect!

in the meantime, i've also ordered a deodorant spray that a few of you have recommended, this Crystal Essense one. it's on it's way to me via Amazon (for some reason it's taking FOREVER even though i have Prime):

And lastly, i've been trying to avoid this because it costs SEVENTEEN DOLLARS, but like 7 people have recommended it to me. it's from Arbonne (side note: i only ever knew of Mary Kay as the in-office-cube-to-cube makeup/product sales company, but apparently, Arbonne is a thing! a few people i know either sell this stuff or have a friend/parent who does. anyway). so people keep telling me this one is the shizz, but i just cannot fork over $17 for a deodorant, especially because if i like it, then i have to keep buying it forever, or at least until they invent a way to turn off underarm sweat glands medically. BUT, someone may be letting me sample this, so if i do try it, i will let you all know how it goes.

so there you have it, the armpit chronicles, updated. stay tuned for hopefully sweety smelling news and more updates!

in other news, i finally broke down and ordered a Vitamix. it is already changing my life. more on that in the next post!

cheers and happy sunday,

Dx

#TBT: That Time Ross Mathews French Braided My Hair

this is an oldie but a goodie. randomly was looking up something about The View, and this popped up...memories!! enjoy. so proud of how far he's come!! xoxo

have a great day and take a little time to enjoy the view... HA (sorry i couldn't resist). :)

Cheers,

d

The Pit Chronicles: Natural Body Odor Fighters-Do they Exist?

Ok, so we all know (or are slowly learning) that antiperspirants aren't good for us. but no one wants to stink, right?

Plus, and chemical-laden deodorants that are placed so close to fragile breast tissue and lymph nodes (especially when you shave under the arms and get cuts, nicks, etc - pathways directly into the bloodstream!) are no bueno. though there's no direct link of deodorant to cancer that i can find in the science (full disclosure, i'm not a scientist; just very good at google searching and deep-dives), it can't be good for our organs to constantly be putting aluminum and other chemicals in our bodies. right? duh.

So, i'm trying to find a more natural deodorant that actually works. i was perusing the aisles at Gelson's yesterday, and just went based on what i could read on all of the labels that appealed to me. i didn't have a specific recommendation, i was just trying to be a responsible consumer and read the labels. (and also a marketing-person's dream consumer because that "clinical results" sticker on the Jason deodorant really worked on me!).

Results so far:

• as soon as i got home that day, i tried the kiss my face roll on. i got it mainly because i wanted to try a liquid/roll on, and also because it says it's lavender and i LOVE lavender. ask anyone who knows me-my office ALWAYS smells like lavender lotion at work. this shit was NO BUENO. if there is a lavender plant that smells like this deodorant, please for the love of all things right with this world NEVER PLANT IT AGAIN. so that option is out because i just can't stand the smell of it-it's worse than the smell of my own BO!
• yesterday and today i have tried the Jason traditional deodorant. first impressions: it smells nice, but it feels sticky when i put it on. i hear that that's normal with natural deodorants because antiperspirants and other chemical-laden deodorants use chemicals to actually stop you from sweating, so it makes sense that a different approach/formulation would have separate effects. 

In summary, i'm a bit sticky but not stinky. so that's good? i will let you know how it progresses. :)

Now, i want to hear from YOU! later i will post the insanely long thread on my FB page where people sounded off en masse on the types of naturals they use, but in the meantime, tell me in the comments below-do you use natural deodorants and if so, what is your favorite brand? any recommendations?

love to my lovelies,

d

On a New Path: 4th of July Spent in the ER, plus Armpits, Stomach & Kidneys.

How's that for a headline, eh?

So through the years, this blog has been many things. First, my video podcast and blog for all things geeky, techy, creative. Then, it was my outlet and documentation place for my 14 day soup cleanse, and you guys were with me every step of the way and even supported time that time that i wrote a poem about soup, not poop. (BTW, going through those posts i'm reminded how EXCELLENT i am at picking hilarious and random pop culture gifs to describe my relationship with food. srsly. i'm going to include the full archive links to those posts because, well because they made me LOL.) Recently, this blog also captured me winning the interwebs when i met George Takei.

Lately I've had some great progress in my life, but also some great setbacks. i have an amazing new job with a mission where i basically get to save the world daily. I have an incredible home that i weekend warrior projects on that make me happy to be doing work with my hands and planning designs and gardening. I have a great partner and family and cherished friends who have become my family, and i have love and laughter in my life daily. But i also just got a kidney infection out of nowhere and spent most of 4th of July in the ER at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles. I have lost a friend due to that parting of ways that sometimes has to happen to women in their 30's, and have been struggling to find time to do things that i know are good for me and nurture me. some of those things include:

• working out (blergh).
• writing
• blogging
• photography
• journaling
• eating right (most days i'm great at it, and other nights there's taco bell. WHAT I LOVE THEIR SOFT TACOS AND FAKE NACHO CHEESE).

In an effort to reboot my personal habits, i have come here, because you guys and this place have always been there for me before. I'm going to start writing about things that are less geeky (though there will still always be my love of gadgets, software and technology here!), and more organic, dare i use that buzzword.

for example...

• i just read a shitload of information about how bad antiperspirants are for you, and how we should not put aluminum and other chemicals under our armpits. i do NOT like BO, but i also don't want cancer. I am on the search for a natural deodorant that works. wish me luck on that, but i'll be posting about it here.
• i have this crazy plumeria plant that i bought in hawaii years ago that has this weird symbolic pattern to how it grows based on my relationship with above mentioned former-friend. i would like to document because it's just TOO WEIRD. 
• I am doing some awesome DIY home projects that i'd like to share with you all. for example, i made my own outdoor curtain hanging hardware using steel piping fixtures from Home Depot for like 20 bucks total. #irock
• I am attempting to get back into actually working out and overhauling my eating habits for life. not a diet, not a cleanse, but this time for GOOD. i am going to need all the help i can get with that one.
• i have started a separate site and Etsy store (#HomeMadeRad and #FizzyPopHome) almost a year ago that i haven't actually launched yet. i am making my crafts into home goods and i want to share my tips and tricks with everyone. i just need to actually FINISH that project. I'm so close you guys!

In summation, i have always been a jack of all trades. and i'm ok with that. i want to MASTER more than one of those things, projects, lifestyle changes, and i want to do it where it's most natural and lovely for me: right here on this blog with all of you.

So basically, what i'm saying is stay tuned for more, better, good stuff and a whole new look. I'm almost done with the BITCHIN new wix design for this blog, and will be making the swap hopefully in the next week or so.

Hope to see you around!

Have a great day,

D x

#TBT (ThrowBackTuesday, bitches): The Soup Cleanse Chronicles:

Click on a day to see full recap, tally, GIFs & musings.
-Day 1

-Day 2

-Day 3

-Day 4

-Day 5

-Day 6

-Day 7

-Day 8

-Day 9

-Day 10

-Day 11

-Day 12

-Day 13

-Poop? Nope, it's just Soup (a poem).

-Soup Cleanse prep-work.

The Day We Fight Back Against NSA Surveillance: 3 Ways to Take Action

"The SOPA and PIPA protests were successful because we all took part, as a community. As Aaron Swartz put it, everybody "made themselves the hero of their own story." We can set a date, but we need all of you, the users of the Internet, to make it a movement."

-TheDayWeFightBack.org

3 Ways to Get Involved:

A banner should pop up across the bottom of this page with 2 ways to instantly get involved in fighting back against mass government surveillance. you can either

1. call or 
2. email (or both!) your legislator directly from the pop-up banner. 

You can also go to the official coalition website for more info: TheDayWeFightBack.org

     3. Also, here's a petition you can sign on TakePart.com to demand transparency from the NSA.

Fight back, internet. Fight back.