January is widely known to be the busiest month in the health and fitness industry. Many gyms actually double their sign-ups during that month. But come February or even March many have given up on their new routine and lost their initial motivation and interest. Keeping up your motivation is important but so is having engaged in the right sport or fitness program in the first place.

There are so many great programs to choose from nowadays. From Yoga to Kick boxing, to Pilates and Pure Barre, just to name some exotic ones as well. Pilates and Pure Barre seem to be leading the line these days, and are part of the “in” fitness programs. While Pure Barre is a fairly new exercise technique, Pilates has been around since the beginning of the 20^th century.

Pilates used to be an exclusive training program for the professional dance community to condition dancers, but also to help them when they were injured. Joseph Hubertus Pilates, a German national with Greek roots, had invented and promoted his Pilates method of physical fitness in the early 20^th century, and refined his technique after he had left Europe and settled in New York where he founded the first Pilates studio.

According to Wikipedia, Pilates conditions the body helping it “to build flexibility and long, lean muscles, strength and endurance in the legs, abdominals, arms, hips, and back.”   It “… is a method of exercise and physical movement designed to stretch, strengthen, and balance the body.”  (www.pilatesmethodalliance.org/about-pilates)

Having started out as a very special training regimen for only a particular group in its beginnings, Pilates is now widely available, and is being offered at many Fitness studios as well as dedicated Pilates studios. One can find many books on the technique as well, but joining a class definitely helps to get the basics down.

Pilates, Yoga and Co. is of course not to everyone’s liking, and many may just prefer a traditional workout. To keep the momentum going, and not call it quits already early in the year, make it fun and choose doing your workout routine in the outdoors, for example at the beach: Jogging along the sandy beaches or a training session with a personal trainer, who knows you and can work solely on your specific workout needs.   Los Angeles based German fitness coach Christian Klugmann offers exactly this: A training session right at Venice Beach. See for yourself in the RTL – Explosiv interview.

Get inspired and keep these muscles working… Happy February!

More to read up on:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/business/new-years-resolutions-recycled-are-a-boon-for-business.html?pagewanted=all

http://meditationyogapilates.com/joseph-pilates/

Related articles

• The Latest Revolutionary Pilates Fitness Method: Fuse Pilates (prweb.com)

On another side of the exhibition hall, James Peterson’s spectacular installation ‘Hypoxia’is attracting  admirers of all ages. Children are in heaven here since the artist actually encourages them to touch and experience his artwork. In fact interaction with his installation is necessary to bring the installation ‘to life’: Touch causes certain lights to turn on in parts of the installation while sudden blows of air create unexpected movement.

The LA Art Show is open today, Sunday, January 22, 2012, from 11am – 5pm

This upcoming Monday is part of Target Free Holiday Mondays, which offers free entrance to all LACMA shows and a variety of children activities throughout the day. Not only will you get a look at this amazing architectural design gem, but your kids will have a moment of awe and can continue the day at LACMA with all kinds of other fun activities.

NEXGEN the LACMA Youth membership lets accompanying adults visit for free

By the way, should you have children at the ages of 3-18, get them a NEXGEN membership. It’s a free membership for children and allows one accompanying adult per child to visit LACMA for free.

My son and I just spent a great day at LACMA and actually could take a sneak preview on Metropolis II on Friday, when LACMA offered a special member preview day before the official opening of Metropolis II yesterday.

We continued our LACMA adventure with viewing the art collection at the Broad Contemporary Art Museum. Already the building with its contrasting red elements and the steep escalator, that my son named the ‘escalator to the sky’ is a delight for the eye. Inside, one can experience  the fascinating paintings and sculptures of so many famous artists like Jeff Koons, Baldessari and more.

Should you love Expressionism, then walk over to the Ahmanson building. The Rifkind Gallery for German Expressionism offers quite a selection of Kirchner, Pechstein and Co. An entire small exhibit is dedicated to Ludwig Meidner: Ecstatic Expressionism, which will be on view until April 15^th. Quite an impressive selection of other representatives of modern art can be found here on level 2 as well. From Picasso, Klee, Otto Dix to Motherwell, Rothko, Pollock, Sam Francis and Liechtenstein.

“Telling the story of the birth of the LA art scene” – PACIFIC STANDARD TIME at LACMA

German design bei Kem Weber - Desk & Chair

California Design, 1930–1965: “Living in a Modern Way” is another exhibition that should be on your agenda. As part of Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980 it gives a chronological overview through the many historical highlights that shaped California Design.

Related articles

• What’s On: Metropolis II (itsnicethat.com)
• Inside peek at LACMA’s ‘California Design’ (laobserved.com)

Image via Wikipedia

January 5th in 1933 marked the day when construction for the Golden Gate Bridge began. Five years later on May 27, 1937 the Golden Gate Bridge opened to pedestrian traffic and became a world known landmark.
“May 27, 2012 marks 75 years for the Golden Gate Bridge and a wonderful opportunity to recognize the history, beauty, and ingenuity of this famous span…” (GodenGateBridge75.org) San Francisco is getting ready for the 75th anniversary celebrations.
The two-day Golden Gate Festival, from May 26-27, 2012 will recall and tell the story of the bridge. If you like to see what kind of activities are planned or want to read up on the Golden Gate history, or read about some fun facts, check out these links: Golden Gate Bridge 75th Anniversary & Golden Gate Bridge Research Library.

Take a virtual walk over the Golden Gate, in case you are not in San Francisco…

Related articles

• Today’s Special (ohmsweetohmdotme.wordpress.com)
• Golden Gate Bridge celebrates 75 years throughout 2012 (gadling.com)
• Golden Gate Bridge is the best bridge … wait, what? (sfgate.com)

Have a great start into 2012!

Happy New Year !

Many countries around the world celebrate Christmas in different ways and on different days. In Germany, Austria and the German part of Switzerland it is custom to celebrate Christmas on the evening of December 24th, and many families end the holy night with the midnight mass at local churches. In contrary to the American Christmas Eve parties the celebration is one mostly with only the immediate family. The days of the 25th and 26th are the days to visit other relatives and close friends and celebrate with them as well.

December 24th is also often the day when the Christmas tree is festively decorated together with the whole family and some pay a last visit to the Christkindel markets, which close that afternoon until next year’s Christmas season.

Who will bring the presents to the children in Germany? Well, this depends if one is from the south or the north. The children in the north of Germany traditionally have the “Weihnachtsmann” similar to Father Christmas bring the gifts in the evening, whereas in the
south of Germany, and also in Austria, children are waiting for the “Christkind” (Christ Child) to bring them presents.

With this CaliforniaGermans wishes you all a wonderful Merry Christmas, Fröhliche Weihnachten, and a prosperous and happy New Year!

If you would like to know where you can find a German Christmas Eve church service in your neighborhood, please follow the link to the German Consulate.

Happy Holidays!

Cornelia & CaliforniaGermans

Stored silverware often surprises us with some unsightly looks at first. But there is immediate help on hand!  In order for your silverware to shine and be the centerpiece of any festive table, one just needs to follow some simple tricks.

You might have heard of the special cleaning trick of brushing your silver with toothpaste. At least that was one tip I had heard of already before, but new to me was the unique technique of using aluminum foil, baking powder and boiling water. This special cleaning secret will not only take care of the buildup tarnish but also diminish unattractive rust spots on your silverware!

Other ways to take care of silverware are soaking it in sour milk (!) for 30 minutes; then rinsing it off with hot water and buffing it up until shining.  Applying lemon juice to a soft cloth and cleaning the silverware thoroughly and wiping it clean with a dry clean cloth is another option.

Some interesting facts I found about silverware use in general:

It is better not to save up your silverware for just the special occasions and moments in life, but to use it as frequently as possible. This helps to bring out the silver’s rich patina. Rinsing your silver utensils right after use will prevent tarnishing.

By the way, silver made after 1939 is apparently safe to put in the dishwasher according to a note in “The Week” and its source “Southern Living”, but one needs to avoid citrusy detergents . More information can be found on “The Silver Lining”  

Important is that one keeps stainless steel dinnerware far away from silverware.  “Stainless steel causes a reaction with silver, so avoid contact while cleaning as this may damage the silverware.” (e-how)

To familiarize yourself more with cleaning silverware, take a look at this link: How to Clean Silverware With Household Products on eHow.com

Another advice I wasn’t aware of yet was that proper storage of silverware plays as significant a role as proper cleaning methods.  Apparently only “…A piece of chalk in a display cabinet will absorb the chemicals that cause tarnishing “ (The WEEK).  If you have your silverware stored away over the year then line your drawers with an acid-free Pacific Silvercloth  or another option is to just use a simple plastic bag to store silverware in order to protect it!

Don’t hesitate to display your silverware this Christmas or New Year . Tab into these simple cleaning methods and you are ahead of the game…

http://www.ehow.com/how_4842264_clean-silverware-household-products.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_2118645_clean-tarnish-sterling-silver.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_8139248_cleaning-tarnished-silverware.html

http://beverlybremersilver.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/silver-in-the-dishwasher/

http://www.silverguard.com/t-pacific-silvercloth.aspx

Related articles

• The Joy of a Silverware Holder (ashtonparkneighbors.com)
• The Joy of a Silverware Holder (livingnashville.wordpress.com)
• Stainless Steel Flatware – the Workhorse of the Kitchen (rubylane.com)

Reconnect to the magic of Christmas a different way and find peace and tranquility despite the hectic that surrounds this busiest time of the year.

Winter time is a perfect time to spend at the beach. Especially if the weather is as beautiful as it was for the last few Advent weekends. One can spend hours walking on the sand without the summer crowds and just enjoy the waves crashing at the feet and watching the pelicans sail over the ocean. It’s perfect for reconnecting with your mind, soul and the elements.

Some beaches have special attractions for the holiday season like ice skating while watching the sunset over the ocean. Ice skating by the beach has become a tradition at the Del Coronado Hotel in San Diego, the hotel where “Some Like It Hot” was filmed starring Marilyn Monroe.

Del Coronado’s beloved holiday tradition starts every year right after Thanksgiving.  The hotel has an ice rink set up right in front of the hotel’s beach promenade, looking over the beautiful wide, white beaches - the sand here by the way seems much softer and whiter than anywhere else in SoCal, so I found.  After the ice skating sessions one can relax with hot cocoa and other goodies at the coffee bar or the restaurant right at the promenade. It’s a great and fun time well spent with family and friends!Click to view slideshow.

Related articles

• Ice Skating by the Beach in Surf City USA (prweb.com)
• Happy First Advent – Einläuten der Weihnachtszeit (californiagermans.com)
• Top Things To Do in San Diego’s Beautiful Coronado Island (sandiegohoteldeals.wordpress.com)
• Coronado’s 1906 Lodge Honored as a Top 10 Romantic Hotel in U.S. (prweb.com)

Do you have an emergency back up plan?

As I listened to the news this morning and heard about Pasadena declaring a state of emergency with thousands of people out of power and having to deal with the aftermath of what gusting winds of over 80miles/hour have destroyed, I remembered a New York Times article from last month.

In her article Power Envy, Penelope Green, tells her story about having to cope with a huge power outage caused by snow storms in Connecticut. Luckily, friends of hers who own generators that kicked in right when the power went out, made these freezing winter days with no electricity more endurable. Her family managed to live through this cold week by “generator hopping” and having “…a different sleepover every night.” (see article)

Having read that article a month ago it stayed on my mind since I wanted to mention it on this blog. After all, having a generator in the house might not be such a bad idea in earthquake prone California either. Today’s news about Pasadena was a reminder, even though the culprit of disaster were historically strong Santa Ana winds and no earthquake.

For everyone out there, it sure is a good idea in general to be prepared for whatever natural disaster might happen. The climate is obviously changing all over the planet and we most likely will face many changes over the years to come that we cannot anticipate in all their capacity at this present day.

For my family Pasadena happenings today were a warning to put more thought into disaster preparedness and I definitely will look into purchasing a generator.

A good resource for making a disaster preparedness plan or for reading more about it,  are the following websites:

• American Red Cross
• http://www.ready.gov/make-a-plan
• http://www.earthquakecountry.info/roots/seven_steps.html#secure

NEWS about Pasadena & Los Angeleas area:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/01/us-winds-california-idUSTRE7B02GA20111201

http://www.scpr.org/news/2011/12/01/30143/la-wind-storm-resources/

http://www.scpr.org/news/2011/12/01/30140/la-wind-updates-damage-wrought-santa-anas/

http://www.scpr.org/news/2011/12/01/30137/santa-ana-winds-blow-through-southland-toppling-tr/

http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ci_19448134