~Rebellious Me~

Very high-tech in a nontechnical job, ya think?

How can you put a time limit on taking a customers order? Isn't it the customer that is going to set the time limit on how long they take to order? Again, how can you set a time limit on handing a customers order out a window? Isn't that yet again the customer that sets that time limit on how long it takes them to grab it and get organized before they drve off onto city streets?

I'm telling you this, it is going to take me longer then 10-15 SECONDS to get my order in my car, give Skylar what he ordered as well as Jeff, put my drink that is always too fat to fit in my cup holder somewhere where it won't spill, ask for extra napkins, three doesn't cut it for us having a toddler, ask for ketchup, ask for more thentwo packages of ketchup, ask for a toddler toy that doesn't have small pieces my son can eat or flush down the toliet. All of this took a 50 minutes to type out and your telling me it is supposed to take me 10-15 seconds before I drive away a happy customer. Pffffffft!

McDonald's Corporation never ceases to amaze me, with their hiring of total morons, now this. They are the top leading franchise fast-food company in the U.S., wanna know why? Because they build McDonald's everywhere. You could live in the middle of Arizona, with desert all around you and mark my words, withinthree months of living there with nothing around you, there will be a McDonald's building plan in the works. That's why they are so large. Just like Walmart!

Known by many fanciful names, such as wolfberry, Duke of Argyll's Tea Tree and Matrimony Vine, the Tibetan goji berry is as rich in history and fable as it is in antioxidants and vitamin C.

A component of traditional Chinese medicine since its recorded beginning almost 2,000 years ago, the berry's folklore can be linked to Chinese emperor Shen Nung, said to be the father of Chinese agriculture and an herbalist who lived around 2800 B.C. The majority of goji berries come from the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of north central China and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of western China.

IN THE KITCHEN:

The goji berry itself is an oblong red berry so tender that, in most cases, it must be shaken from the vine to avoid spoiling. It almost always is exported as a dried fruit, resembling a dried cranberry or a raisin. The goji berry's tast is a cross between cherry, raspberry and cranberry, and it can be included in muffin recipes, smoothies or as a topping for cereal.

Often marketed as a superfruit, the goji berry contains 11 essential dietary minerals, 18 amino acids and six essential vitamins, to name only a few of its nutritional benefits. It also has 500 times more vitamin C by weight than an orange and is one of the richest sources of carotenoids on Earth. Spa cuisine is being enhances with this powerhouse fruit, as well. The menu at Sea Spa at Loews Coronado Bay Resport in Coronado, California, features Stemed and Chilled Langoustine, which includes blood oranges, radishes, goji berries and ginger vinaigrette, and a delicious salad incorporated goji berries with baby arugula and Israeli couscous can be enjoyed at Kinara Skin Care Clinic, Spa and Caf in Los Angeles.

IN THE SPA:

Although this amazing berry boasts exceptional benefits when consumed, its topical benefits are still being discovered. Credited with acne-fighting abilities, the goji berry's moisturizing, hydrating and anti-inflammatory components are being explored and utilized in treating sensitive skin, rosacea and redness.

Murad recently released a product line called Redness. Therapy that boasts goji berries as its main ingredient. Skin care treatments are also becoming more abundant. Spadyssey in Providence, Rhode Island, offers its signature Paradise Body Wrap that include goji berry as a base for a custom wrap featuring natural ingredients, as well as herbal and plant extracts.

The Redness Therapy Facial is offered at Frisco, Texas's Solar Spa and Caf. This service helps calm and cool redness in the complexion with the help of goji berries. At SkinBar in Henderson, Nevada, the Goji Berry Facial features a cocktail of goji berry extract that provides trace minerals to strengthen skin while reducing inflammation and hydrating. The Peppermint Goji Facial at Boston Harbor Hotel at Rowed Wharf in Boston was offered during the holiday season to leave clients feeling hydrated, fresh and restored. New York's BanyanCitiSPA features the Aging-Well Goji Berry Body Polish, which uses the berry's extract along with sweet alomnd oil to help restore moisture and youth to facial skin.

QUICK FACTS:

Tibetan and Monogolian locals claim that a common side effect of consuming the goji berry is experiencing more laughter.

According to lore; a Chinese herbalist named Li Qing Yuen lived 252 years (1678-1930) thanks to consuming goji berries daily.

The term "goji berry" is widely used symonym for the wolfberry in the English-speaking world.

Nicknames the "happy-berry," goji berries often are touted by Western marketers as inducing a sense of well-being.

Archibald Campbell, third Duke of Argyll (1682-1761) introduced the plant to the United Kingdom in the 1730s, where is is known as Duke of Argyll's Tea Tree.

Goji berries are believed to enhance immune system function, improve eyesight, protect the liver and improve circulation.

The berry's exceptional nutrient qualities have been explained by their growth in soil enriched by the dense mineral content of Gansu loess, formed two million years ago after glaciation left behinf mineral-rich dust unequalled anywhere else on Earth.

GOJI BERRY-ACAI SMOOTHIE:

Makes 1 serving

• 1/2 cup goji berries
• 1 1/2 ounces acai juice
• 1 banana
• 1 cup unfiltered apple juice
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1/2 cup ice
• Granola

Blend until smooth and garnish with whole goji berries and a sprinkle of granola.

(Source: Skin Inc. April 2007)

I got a phone call from the normal people of my family like, Moma, Daddy, Will, and Kendra, but I also got 1 more phone call that wasn't expected. Tatum and I share the same birthday, with of course 23 year difference. She called me as we were getting ready to go to the Oregon State Fair in Salem. It was a nice surprise and a funny one at that.

-Hi Michele, happy birthday.

-Hi, happy birthday to you too. Are you excited now that you are 5?

-Yea, I'm still excited, I'm going to the waterpark for my birthday.

-Awesome, I'm going to the State Fair for mine.

-Neat, I love you, ok well bye.

-I love you too Tatum, bye bye.

Well, I finally did it, I got my nose pierced. I have wanted one for a long time and while we were in Albany on Wednesday, purchasing a digital camera, BY THE WAY, I saw a tattoo and piercing shop called Perma-Graphix and I got a nose stud put in. It hurt like a ""insert bad word here"", but I didn't cry until later that night. The guy that did my piercing, his name is Matteo and he was super. His business card he gave me reads: Matteo, Piercer Extraordinaire, Walk-ins Welcome......."take a stab at it". HA HA! So I did. As he was inserting the needle I started gushing blood. I was laying back on the piercing table and there was so much blood that it ran into my left eye and covered my whole eyeball. I kept my eyes open and all I could see was red, it was awesome.