JUICE PLUS

Last week I attended a JUICE PLUS seminar at the Waverly in Marietta, GA near my home.

Dr.Richard E. DuBois,a specialist in Infectious Diseases and Chief of Internal Medicine at Atlanta Medical Center delivered a compelling talk about the health benefits of JUICE PLUS. He cited research from stellar medical groups and universities in the US and other countries citing longtitudinal studies that prove the health benefits of JUICE PLUS.

Dr. DuBois Honors: The Award of Excellence in Teaching at Atlanta Medical Center, where he was chosen as "most valuable physician" and re-elected to eight consecutive years as Chief of Internal Medicine. President of the Georgia Society of Internal Medicine. President of the Infectious Disease Society of Georgia. President of the Medical Association of Atlanta. Listed in Best Doctors in America every year since 1994. Chosen by his medical colleagues as their "physician of choice" in his specialty.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends we eat 7 to 13 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Most people don't come anywhere close.

A very close friend of mine introduced me to JUICE PLUS. Clinically proven Juice Plus helps you bridge the gap between what you should eat and what you do eat every day.

This nutritional supplement JUICE PLUS provides nutrition from 17 different fruits, vegetables, and grains in convenient and inexpensive capsule form.

Unlike most diet and nutrition products, Juice Plus is backed by numerous scientific studies conducted specifically about JUICE PLUS. Findings from researchers at leading hospitals and universities across the country and around the world prove that this product helps to relieve stress, protects DNA, provides a healthy immune system, and protects cardiovascular stress.
IIf you are interested in this amazing product, read the research. Contact my friend jimgonsoulin@me.com from my hometown for expert information, advice, and important details about this life-changing protocol.

I have been taking this supplement for several months, and Larry says I have transformed into a lovely person. Kidding aside, it prevents and dissipares wrinkles, and that is good enough for me. Read the studies.

https://www.juiceplus.com/nsa/content/Welcome.soa

TEAVANA

My Vietnamese hair stylist and good friend of fifteen years, Yvonne Hoang, knows how much I love tea. Every time I visit her salon, I ask if she is hair stylist to the stars because her fees are out of this world. She keeps telling me that I should visit TEAVANA [play on NIRVANA] at North Point Mall. I have seen the store, but I have  never walked in.

Larry accompanied me to the mall one Saturday morning and got a massage while I was fiddling around the tea store. The first teapot I picked up was $250. STICKA SHOCK! I cased the shelves and noticed a BUDDHA pot that I fell in love with. The nice, perky little sales girl announced the price: “This is a specialty pot handmade in Asia [I immediately thought [Made in China], and it retails for $350.

Now I was in awe AND in shock. I looked over my shoulder and noticed a cute little green tea pot that could hold about 8 ounces of tea, clearance priced at $150. Comparatively speaking, that seemed like a fair price.

Then the sales girl began a dissertation on the history and craft of TEAVANA cast iron teapots. Known as Tetsubin in Japan, these teapots were originally crafted in the mid 17th century in Japan. A fine Tetsubin can be distinguished by the hand crafted, high grade iron interior and the smooth enamel exterior. The completion of one Tetsubin requires the skill of 17 craftsmen. I asked her if they all signed the pot I intended to buy. She just looked at me. She handed me over to the TEA goddess.

The TEA goddess explained the benefits of drinking tea out of these expensive teapots. She then recited, in alphabetical order, tea flavors: cherry blossom, chrysanthemum, coins, dragon, dragonfly, elephant, grapevine, imperial dragon, Koi Fish, Lotus, Monkey, Rooster, Tea Leaf, Tiger, and I was relieved when she stopped at Turtle.

I was so thankful Larry or his good friend Murray Fuselier, were not there. Can you imagine what those two Cajuns would have said and done?? Murray would have asked to smell the Monkey tea, and I would have flushed like a hot flash at midnight.

Then Larry walked in. I told him that we should return later as I preferred to speak with him outside of the range of the twenty members of the TEAVAN staff. He insisted I show him the teapot I wanted. I explained to him that everything in the store was extremely expensive. He said he would not leave the store until I showed him the tea essentials I deserved.

I showed him the clearanced teapot. He asked me several times if I were favoring that teapot because it was on sale. I insisted that I wanted THAT teapot. He asked the clerk if I needed any other essentials to brew and serve tea. Then began a marathon of showing him trivets, tea sets [cups, saucers, trays], and fresh teas that ranged from $5 to $35 per pound.

He knows I love dark tea and peach tea, so he purchased 2 pounds of tea totaling $70, tea cups and saucers [undisclosed price], a bag of German rock sugar $25 [un-believably tasty rocky crystals], and a bag of Javana Mate, a choc lately tea [$30], and, of course, the teapot. The tea goddess mentioned that I loved the BUDDHA teapot, but I declined, saying that while I could dole out that much cash for a designer handbag, the esthetics of a Buddha teapot was not in my realm of taste.

As we walked out of TEAVANA with bags of tea stuff, we were

accosted by more tea goddesses holding small paper cups of tea

under our nostrils. Larry looked at me, and I said to everyone,

“さようなら.”GOODBYE in Japanese.

FRENCH CLASS

Had first FRENCH test Thursday at Alliance Francaise in downtown Atlanta.

Recited French alphabet in front of the teacher and five adult classmates. Enervating.

Studied pronunciation as though I were preparing for a Calculus exam. Watched Ernie on Sesame Street pronounce French alphabet. He can do so much with  lips, tongue, and facial expressions.

Received perfect score, and my professor, Monseiur Sebastian [Say-bahs-tee-onnn] said I "haver-ee eh goodh hacc-cehnt."  Merci.

Next week, recitation of numbers and verb conjugations.

Masculine feminine thing is challenging my brain.

JENNIFER NETTLES

JENNIFER NETTLES of SUGARLAND performed at the Country Music Awards last night. 

Alicia and Mary Cole, our dear friend and an alumnus of Agnes Scott, a private all girls' school, took me to hear Jennifer speak and perform at Agnes Scott College in Decatur March 31st. Decatur is a suburb of Atlanta near Alicia's home.


Jennifer spoke and performed in the campus theatre to a packed house of students, faculty, and other admirers like Alicia, Mary, and me.

AGNES SCOTT COLLEGE is affectionately known by alumni as the institution of the BLACK RING MAFIA because graduates are presented a beautiful gold ring with a black onyx stone upon which the letters ASC are engraved. At concerts, if an alumnus shows Jennifer Nettles that ring, that person may receive free passes to future concerts.

At Agnes Scott, Jennifer wrote her master's thesis in Spanish, performed with college music groups, played piano and guitar, and is remembered by professors as a stellar, straight A student, very nice, friendly, and poised, as she used to lead other students by chiding them to behave appropriately. She performed often in Decatur, a suburb of Atlanta, during and after college.  Her album back then was "Soul Miner's Daughter."

Her music now is a departure from that era because she has risen to to great heights in the world of country music. You will know her by her hit, STUCK LIKE GLUE, an upbeat, sing-along with lyrics that stay in your brain for hours.

Jennifer's speech/lecture about music resonated with the audience as she discussed the history of music and the people or ideas that inspired her lyrics. She mentioned WORTH, a song she wrote when she was just out of college, a heart-rending tune. A mistress is the subject of the song. time Jennifer wrote this song at a time when a subject like this was very unique and controversial. She remembers writing those lyrics while sitting on the couch in her apartment in Decatur.  She explains how the mistress comes to terms with her situation. The themes of self worth, redemption, and power resonate in this song.

Jennifer said that writing lyrics that got picked up on radio was a challenge. Songs had to be no longer than 3 1/3 minutes, had to reel in the listener with a hook [like that line you adopt like a mantra in those those sing-song commercials: "A liitle dab'll do ya. She used the word vibration as a reference to that hook and talked about the difficulty of telling a story in a conversational tone, employing that hook to grab the listener, in just 3 1/2 minutes.

 BABY GIRL deals with the theme of a person leaving home and family to seek the bright lights of fame. It is a sad song because she misses her family, but it ends on a good note [double entendre]. The line "down on your knees," a reference to her mother reminding her to pray, was interpreted in all sorts of ways, some negative. She mentions being a bit taken back by this clean-cut, Southern girl  in her song who some listeners view as tainted by the drama of the big city and fame.

By the way, after her talk, she sang all of these songs, prefacing each with her inspiration and joy in writing these.

Jennifer the sang CLOWN, which she had not yet recorded. She said she tries to paint emotions in each of her songs. This one she wrote to cheer up a sad friend.

 INCREDIBLE MACHINE delivers the idea that hope changes your day or your life and your energy and refers to the power of the spoken word. This song stirred some controversy with radio stations that tore the song apart, sometimes deleting parts of the lyrics. Jennifer was astounded. She compared that notion to removing a star from the famous painting "Starry Night."  Fans spoke out; there were over 1 million downloads of INCREDIBLE MACHINE, and  radio stations resumed playing the song in its entirety.

STUCK LIKE GLUE, which speaks to my heart, sounds like reggae. Like a rap song, "up in your hair," is one of my favorite lyric. The person in love is obsessed with her lover or perhaps her friend?? Open to interpretation.

Jennifer's delivery this night was formal;  she used a newscaster's formal accent. Her elocution and enunciation were perfect. She did not sound like that twangy Southern girl from Douglasville, GA. I think she adapted her speech to the scholarly audience. She used an allusion to Samuel Taylor Coleridge's coined phrase, the celebrated suspension of disbelief, which refers to the verisimilitude we feel when a work of art draws us in so powerfully that we become part and soul of it. I was beyond impressed. What a smart cookie! She wrote her thesis in Spanish, for heaven's sake. Wow! Think about that next time you hear one of her songs.

By the way, in her early career, three people were part of SUGARLAND. What happened to that other female singer??

And, I think next time I visit Alicia, we may stalk Jennifer at a Decatur coffee shop so I can get her autograph and tell her how much I love her music and how I admire her.

BROWN SUGAR

A really good friend of mine told me about the nutritional value of brown sugar as compared with Aspertame. She aso recommended that I read DEADLY DECEPTION: THE STORY OF ASPERTAME. I spent $35 on the text, which contains copies of double-blind studies done by medical organizations, medical newsletters,  reports from THE NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE, research studies conducted at top universities and medical research facilities in the US and abroad, newspaper and magazine reports, and even studies conducted by National Science Fair winners in the US.

I was shocked by the research findings. I see a nutritionist regularly, and he told me that he believed sugar producers in this country were railing against against companies that manufacture and sell synthetic sweeteners. I happen to be a discerning patient, and this time, I doubted the validity of his advice.

Recently, on a very unique and amazing trip to Pensacola Beach, Florida, I purchased some brown sugar to sweeten my coffee: Demarara Sugar, Pure Florida Cane Sugar Crystals. I tasted a spoonful and thought my tastebuds were in love. This is the most flavorful sugar I have ever tasted; not as sweet as refined white sugar, and not as strong and pungent as dark brown sugar.

It is really amazing that all the time I lived in Louisiana in a sugar cane producting area, I don't remember using brown sugar to sweeten drinks. I am beginning to believe that brown sugar is a healthier and safer option than refined white sugar or aspertame.

It may be; however, at the rate I'm chunking this amazing sweetener down, I may have a self-induced sugar high for some time.

http://cajuncoop.com/
http://books.google.com/books?id=S-0oAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA136&lpg=PA136&dq=louisiana+brown+sugar+picture&source=bl&ots=3Qh4Nprr8X&sig=qeaJdR1TXqOW3HHw0oKKcBW1IyQ&hl=en&ei=W62WTYO7LKiw0QHSvtiEDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&sqi=2&ved=0CCIQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false

Alicia's 35th Birthday, APRIL 1, 2011

My April Fool baby is 35 today.

ALICIA ALAINE BARRAS, born in Lake Charles, LA in 1976, burst into the world playing her first practical joke on me because April 1st was my due date. I begged my doctor to induce labor BEFORE my due date because I had reservations about her celebrating her birthday on APRIL FOOL'S day the rest of her life.

Alicia became the practical joker and never ceases to make us elated, happy, or embarrassed by her well-thought-out escapades.

She has done well.

She graduated from the University of Georgia with degrees in French and International Businees. She attended the Universite© Jean Moulin - Lyon III 8Ãrrondissement Lyon, 69008 Lyon, France, her entire junior year of college and backbacked alone or with other students all over Europe.

I was mortified that, at 20 years old, and her first time abroad, she had the independence to travel to churches all over western Europeto research French documents in hopes of tracing our family geneology. I hoped she would return to announce that I was a descendant of a royal family, perhaps a relative of Eleanor of Acquitaine.

AAB is smart and independent and good. She has headed a network, sort of an inderground railroad, to ask people to volunteer to transport rescued dogs from one part of the US to another. She is single and owns her own home on an acre of property, just 45 minutes from Marietta, closer to the energy of Atlanta.

Alicia owns three rescued dogs, Simone, Dakota, and Satan. The third is named after me because he tries to bite me every time I visit her. He has tried to take chunks out of my derrierre. Larry says that's because he's an a___ man. Those dogs are as large as small ponies.

Just this month, in Dallas, TX, Alicia was awarded an REA  [Real Estate Executive] designation by the National Association of Realtors for commendable and consistent educational advances, proven participation and presentations in local, regional, and national real estate seminars, and scoring high on a national real estate exam.

This year, she was the youngest designee in the nation, of the 200 real estate executives achieving such a designation. She hopes to get a raise, but the real estate market in Atlanta is hurting. When she told me the CEO said they could not afford to serve bottled water at executive board meetings, I told her to brush up her resume.

Alicia's titles:

Director of Membership & Professional Standards at 400 North Board of REALTORS [Atlanta Board of Realtors-8,000 members]

Director of Membership & Professional Standards at Georgia Association of Mortgage Professionals

Director of Membership & Professional Standards at Gordon Association of REALTORS

She's a busy girl. I hope she realizes that she is in the prime of her life.

Check our family out on LINKED IN: Alicia Barras, Braden Barras, Pat Barras


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