As I was exploring my hood the other day. I found a vending machine which sold Vitamin Water. Well this wasnt what stunned me, it was actual the price. Here in Japan, Vitamin water costs a mere 200yen, compared to the huge $3.80 price tag of vitamin water in AUS. Therefore we are being ripped off back in Aus. So vitamin water tastes sooo much better here in Japan.

MMMMmmmmmm CHEAP yummy Vitamin Water

Also, the other day as I was exploring Shinjuku (which was totally BUSY), I saw the coolest walking giant CORONA bottles. They made my day.

Shinjuku Sized CoCoCoCORONA.

Finally, although its kinda late, I finally put up my christmas tree YAY! Its only small, towering at 60cm, but I got it for 100yen plus 300 yen for decorations, which at a total of AUD$4.80, is the cheapest and kawaii-est christmas tree I have ever bought. And since it is kinda late, I am going to leave it up until I leave Japan because it is tooo cute and decorative to put away.

I looovveee my cheap&&kawaii Christmas Tree

“You can seeee my heart, beating, you can see it through my chest”

peace out  

♥

Good evening friends! Tonight’s post will serve as a monster recap of the past two days, as I’ll be far too busy tomorrow to jot anything down on the ole’ comp-pu-tair.

Also, many thanks to all the well wishing regarding my cold. I think sleeping eight solid hours last night, getting 350% of my daily intake of Vitamin C has helped tame whatever virus was nipping at my immune system’s heels.

So, onto Tuesday’s breakfast:

Two Slices Bakery Fresh Toast w/ Preserves

McIntosh Apple Slices and Naturally More PB

Sipped On This All Morning To Keep From Illin' Further

Despite feeling lousy, I pepped myself up enough to head to the gym and complete 20 minutes on the stairmaster, as well as some strength training:

(2 sets, 15 reps) Squats, Lunges, Bicep Curls, Overhead Shoulder Presses, Single Tricep Extensions, Chest Presses)

-Abwork (Bicylcle crunches, obliques, crunches, criss-cross toe reaches)

I then stretched and  sat in the steam room for a good 10 min. to alleviate my headache and sinus pressure. Twas glorious.

I also snacked on this immediately following my gym visit:

Pecans, Raw Almonds, Dried Cranberries

Lunch was:

Oikos Vanilla Yogurt, Almond Butter, Pumpkin Flax Granola

Plus:

Sliced "Yellow" Carrots and Garlic and Chive Hummus, Leftover Roasted Sweet Dumpling Squash (With Cinnamon on Top)

I may or not have had dessert to follow lunch:

Three Hershey Kisses and Tiny Bit of Peanut Brittle

Afternoon snack was:

Price-Tag Included, If You're Interested.

Dinner was:

Leftover Basil and Thyme Chicken Tenders, Roasted Rosemary Fingerling Potatoes, Frozen Green Beans

The potatoes were absolutely delicious and very easy to prepare. All you have to do is:

Wash and cut up about two cups of fingerling potatoes, combine two tablespoons of Thyme flavored Extra Virgin Olive Oil and One Tablespoon of Rosemary in a bowl, then throw in the potatoes and toss to coat with rosemary/oil mixture. Place in single layer in baking dish (covered in cooking spray) for 40 min. at 400 Degrees (or until golden brown).

Earlier in the afternoon, I was in the vicinity of Dylan’s Candy Bar on a work-related errand, and I couldn’t resist getting a bag of dark chocolate yummies:

Danger Bag

I’m not even sure what I put in this thing. I do remember savagely shoveling in dark chocolate bricks, dark chocolate covered peanuts and almonds, dark chocolate gobstoppers, dark chocolate coconut clusters, etc. I clearly have a problem.

For dessert I sampled the dark chocolate gobstoppers:

Try And Stop Me From Shoving You in My Gob, Gobstopper.

Plus Whole Foods Holiday Cookies and Kava tea later on because I clearly have no more self-control when it comes to sweets lately:

I slept for a wondrous eight hours, and awoke this morning to have a chocolately and delicious bowl of oats:

For today’s oat, I combined:

-11/2 cup quaker oats old fashioned oatmeal

-1/2 cup water

-1/2 cup skim milk

-1 tbs. Dark Chocolate Dreams

-2 Tbs. White Chia Seeds

-Sprinkle of Raw Almonds, Pecans, Coconut Flakes, Cinnamon Sugar

-Drizzle of Agave Nectar

I also had this mid-morning to ensure that my cold disappears:

The juice must’ve been quite the bloodsugar spiker, because afterward, I was able to plow out 3.5 miles on the treadmill while listening to “Phoenix: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” and watching David Duchovny do squats by the weight room. My life is alright, yes. Quite alright.

For some post-run fuel, I enjoyed  two Ryvita Whole Grain crackers topped with hummus:

Lunch was:

Amy's Cheddar, Beans, and Rice Burrito Topped With Hot Sauce (and whatever burrito insides oozed out during microwaving), Leftover Green Beans, McIntosh Apple

Afternoon snack was yet another cold-buster (plus, two unpictured mugs of yerbe mate tea):

Mineola Orange and Raspberry-Apple Defense Vitamin Water

I only wound up drinking half of the bottle of vitamin water.

Dinner was eaten with the kids and super-indulgent due to it being one of my absolute favorite things:

Cheese Pizza

Plus a garden salad on the side:

The kids and I then bundled up to head over to Lincoln Center to see “The Nutcracker.” It was a grand, awe-inspiring, gorgeously done ballet. The costumes, the grand jetes, the hunky male ballerinas, and the Sugar Plum Fairies…majestic.

Oh, and Lincoln Center and the David Koch theater is pretty amazing as well:

Am I In A Theater, Or A Jewel Encrusted Galaxy?

I then dropped the kids off, walked home quickly in the freezing cold, and had this for dessert along with some kava tea:

Dark Chocolate Cluster Thing From Dylan's Candy Bar Stash

And now, to call it a night! May sugar plum fairies dance ever-so-gracefully in my head.

What music/playlist fuels your feet for running?

As we round out 2009, there are already many ‘Top Lists’ being circulated. Here is an interesting one to browse- Top 50 Facebook Brand Pages. Some of the brands include Coca-Cola, Victoria’s Secret, YouTube and Vitamin Water. Check out the Slideshare deck- part of Slideshare’s ZeitGeist ’09!

50 Cent and business partner Vitaminwater, now have the available 50’s Sound Lab App on the App Store. Through Romplr, the popular interactive music platform developed by Moderati, fans of Vitaminwater and 50 Cent can now use their iPhone or iPod touch to create and share their own mixes of “Baby by Me,” the first single off of 50’s new LP Before I Self Destruct.

“Vitaminwater is calling on all of its fans to get inspired and start mixing it up with 50’s Sound Lab App,” said Rohan Oza, chief marketing officer of Vitaminwater, smartwater and vitaminwater10. “50 cent is a part of the Vitaminwater family and we are excited to be able to share his new single with everyone through this groundbreaking social media experience for iPhone and iPod touch.”

In addition to being able to remix the new single, 50 Cent is giving one aspiring fan a chance to show off their skills with him in the recording studio. Once all of the vitaminwater remixes have been uploaded, 50 Cent will scout out the best remix of his latest single and invite that person to meet up with him.

“Musical talent unfolds in many ways and I’d like to see what tomorrow’s producers can do with my track with nothing but a bottle of Vitaminwater, my 50’s Sound Lab App and an iPhone,” said 50 Cent.

The 50’s Sound Lab App is powered by Moderati’s Romplr remix platform. Romplr allows fans to interact with music by creating their own versions of tracks by their favorite artists, thereby becoming part of the creative process themselves. The 50’s Sound Lab App gives fans unprecedented access to the key elements of the original recording and provides creative tools to really connect with and personalize the new single. 50’s Sound Lab App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at http://www.itunes.com/appstore.

Users can record and share their personal mixes via Facebook, email, or on the online interactive music companion site: http://www.50soundlab.com.

Everyday I eat the same lunch without much variation:  one creamy natural peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread, yogurt and a banana or some other fruit.  I usually drink water – sometimes I get on a Gatorade or Vitamin water kick.  I don’t have much time and it’s easy and quick.  No microwaving necessary.  Some friends I enjoy my lunch break with eat processed foods that need to be microwaved for 7 minutes and come out steaming hot in small rectangular boxes. There are two microwaves in the lunchroom (really a classroom) and they are both in continuous use.  Boxes in.  Ding!  Boxes out.  My friends ususally stir their lunch threading the sauce in and around the meat, letting the steam swirl through the air.  And that’s when it hits me.  The smells stings my nose and for a brief moment I feel nauseated.   Italian pasta with sweet spicy sauce, succulent thick curry veggies, 5-spice beef and cajun chicken.  It’s too much and for just a few seconds I stop eating.    And then as quickly as the smell stings it disappears and I can eat again.  I know they eat these food for convenience but really just one day let’s go process free.

all the way baby haha…

며칠 전에 PLAY BURGER에 갔다.

한 눈에 봐도 디자인에 무척이나 신경 쓴 게 보였다.

그 중 알록달록하게 전시되어 있는 Vitamin Water!

여름에 미국에 갔을 때 마트에선 보았던 장면이 떠올랐다. (위 사진들)

예쁘긴 한데 건강엔 쫌…

Hi, my name is Braden, and I have a problem. It seems to be that when you smash your face into food as soon as you get it and don’t take pictures, it doesn’t give you very much to blog about. So, I am going to talk about my favorite things- all of which I can assure you are healthy, organic, and nutritious. 99% high fructose corn syrup, again, remember I have a problem a solution- eat it. (quick story time! one time Eating Machine was buying scratch tickets late at night at a trashy convenient store and exclaims “I dont have a gambling problem, I have a solution!” I learn from her)

Of course my favorite thing: starbucks. Triple Grande White Mocha. And right now Starbucks is christmasfied, which makes everything better.

(there is a chance my starbucks buddy is home from college right now, so I might be going to starbucks many times a day instead of just once. again, i call it a solution.) Another favorite: Vitamin Water. as i have said, jesus makes this stuff. therefore, it is good for you. I like drinks in general, last year in college I had to economize and get vitarain from costco- not as good. Two words: Ice Cream. I work at baskin robbins, how could i not love it. I just spend all day eating it. and making it into clowns! (i had a school assignment that asked what your 3 favorite things were, I asked my friend what they thought my favorite things were, and they said “Ice Cream, Politics, and Food” i think that sums up my loves pretty well) also at work after making the clown, i made a new best friend. one down side to working in a store that involves cold things in the winter: IT IS FREEZING! me and this heater are really hitting it off well.

I do love lots lots lots of other food, but again, having pictures of things is hard for me. Other things I LOVE: McDonalds, pie, pie, pie, salad?, olive garden, Dr. Pepper, Mnt Dew, Donuts, Jack in the Box Smoothies, Fried chicken, prime rib, and beer. and I’m sure tons of other stuff you will hear about later.

and although this is NOT food, I cant title a post as my favorite things and not include my baby.

This is Slick, but you can call him puppy. He is my amazing pet chicken. I got him 9 and a half years ago when he was 1 week old. He used to have chicken friends but they have all died in one way or another. He almost got killed by the neighbor’s dog a few years ago, he ended up at the pet emergency on oxygen and getting stitches and staying over night. (sometimes all the time, i like to pretend im a hick.) So two things, 1: i was going to ask what your fav food was, but instead, i think my fav is my starbucks, so what do you get at starbucks/for your coffee?

and 2: did you ever have a super cool or interesting pet?

When I first stumbled across this picture of 50 Cent and a bunch of babies I thought, wow, I didn’t know 50 had that many kids. I thought he only had one child, and didn’t he evict that child’s baby momma from a shared home only to have the home mysteriously burn down, and while both mother and child survived, didn’t it result in a bitter legal battle in which the mother actually accused 50 of starting the fire and endangering her life and the life of their child? (Story here) And even though I highly doubt he was to blame, should a man involved in such complicated domestic disputes really be having so many kids???

But then I remembered that Lil Wayne is currently on his fourth child/baby momma, and suddenly Fiddy seemed like father-of-the-year material by mere comparison. Didn’t matter though, because turns out the picture was just a behind-the-scenes shot from an ad for some kind of useless phone app, designed to not only hawk his new single, but also incorporate his highly-lucrative Vitamin Water drinks. Watch the video here.

Okay, there are a few things that bother me about this ad, on several levels:

On the level of slightly annoying, until you figure out that it’s an ad, this just feels like a bad SNL skit. You know the ones, when they feature a non-actor celebrity host who CANNOT act, let alone be funny. I mean, I don’t know how hard it is to portray a recording artist who also happens to be you, but for 50, it’s pretty damn hard (see also: Get Rich or Die Tryin‘).

Meanwhile, the toddler-aged producers jam to 50’s latest single, “Baby By Me” throughout the entire commercial. “Hell yeah,” says 50, when a baby brings in the snare on cue. Don’t get me wrong, I actually like this song, but the hook revolves around the phrase “have a baby by me, baby, be a millionaire” and features phrases like “I’ll perform for ya, like a porno star.” Not exactly baby-appropriate lyrics, but that could just be me.

And this app just looks like something I could do on a Casio keyboard. Not impressed. A better app would maybe be one that calculates how many more additives and sugars are in a Vitamin Water compared to an equivalent amount of regular water while also figuring out how much money you could have saved if you had just purchased regular water instead of water that masquerades as a health supplement.

That said, the babies in his commercial ARE pretty freakin adorable, especially the baby posted with the stunna shades in the baby sling, so I can’t be too hard on him. I usually enjoy me some 50, so long as he’s not in my movies or my water, or starting beef with Rick Ross. So keep hustlin, 50. And just be thankful you don’t give off a creepy vibe when hanging out with small children during an unchaperoned “good time” at your studio.

Hating on disease? Grab the AOX you need to stay healthy and ride of the H1N1-Swine-Flu or whatever else is going around your block. I have to say that I am not a pomegranate lover, but it makes amazing juice.

Anywhere you can turn to find a blend of pomegranate-blueberry-acai will be a step in the right direction to getting your daily antioxidants. Turning to the Grove or TCBY will serve up delicious blends filled with antioxidants. Naturally, and expensively, POM puts out a line of 100% pomegranate juice and pomegranate teas. Usually found in the produce department, these are the most convenient way to get started. Right around the corner by the checkout you’ll find Vitamin Water. VitWat has taken a big stab at the AOX industry with their “XXX” flavor that claims to have triple antioxidants (triple of what I don’t understand). This drink is available in the regular high calorie version and the 10 Calorie version that is sweetened on aspartame (more on that later). Although not the best substitute to high-calorie diets, do what you have to to get your delicious antioxidants and get on the pathway to fighting those free-radicals!

However, the easiest, and most natural, way to get those AOX is to simply wedge up a pomegranate and scrape out the seeds with a spoon, carefully though as those seeds do stain. Go, now, and get your AOX and avoid getting bedridden with a fever this winter.

A sneak preview of the new Glaceau brand building in Hong Kong.
The city is being taken over by Glaceau….but I guess that is the power of Coca Cola. …what is happening is obvious; “stock your store with Glaceau or lose all the coke brands”

Rencontre avec Sofie Van de Putte
Entretien réalisé pour le lancement de Glacéau Vitaminwater

La gamme de Glacéau Vitaminwater

Florence Bohyn : Pour quelle entreprise travaillez-vous et quelle est votre fonction au sein de celle-ci ?

Sofie Van de Putte : Je travaille pour The Coca-Cola Company en tant que Project Manager pour le lancement de Glacéau Vitaminwater.

F.B. : Quel était le produit de la dernière campagne promotionnelle qui a été réalisée ?

S. VdP. : Glacéau Vitaminwater est une gamme de 6 boissons vitaminées, rachetée par Coca-Cola en 1997 et développée en 2000 à New-York. Chaque variante a son propre goût et son propre petit atout de vitamines et de minéraux pour aider les gens à s’hydrater de façon optimale dans la vie active quotidienne, mais aussi pour avoir le plaisir du bon goût. « Essential » au goût d’oranges, par exemple, contient de la vitamine C et du calcium. C’est idéal pour commencer la journée. Ou encore « Restore », avec autant de potassium qu’une banane, est idéal pour se réhydrater après une soirée de fête (ce qui est très important pour les étudiants).

F.B. : Combien de temps a-t-il fallu pour réaliser ce produit ? (du concept à la production)

S. VdP. : Le concept existe depuis 2000 à New-York. En Europe, Glacéau Vitaminwater a été lancé à Londres l’année passée, et cette année à Paris et Lisbonne. Pour Bruxelles, Anvers et Gand, nous avons pu réaliser ce lancement en 3 mois.

F.B. : Quelles ont été les différentes étapes pour effectuer le lancement du produit sur le marché ?

S. VdP. : – Organisation de l’équipe
- Développement du business case
- Commercialisation du produit (emballage, production, autorisations, …)
- Recrutement d’agence marketing (relations publiques, field marketing, matériel point de vente, …)
- Recrutement d’agence de vente (force de vente externe)
- Développement et exécution du plan de lancement
- Production du produit
- Lancement officiel

F.B. : Pouvez-vous donner une description de la démarche publicitaire adoptée pour la promotion du produit ?

S. VdP. : Non, c’est confidentiel… Disons que vous ne trouverez pas de grands budgets d’investissements média dans les rapports officiels dans les mois à venir. Nous préférons entrer en dialogue individuel avec nos consommateurs.

F.B. : Pourquoi avoir choisi cette démarche plutôt qu’une autre ?

S. VdP. : C’est un choix stratégique en rapport direct avec la personnalité de la marque.

F.B. : Avez-vous utilisé les réseaux sociaux dans le cadre de cette promotion ?

S. VdP. : Ah oui ! Nous sommes en 2009. C’est là entre autres où nous trouvons notre cible. Vérifiez notre fan-page officielle sur Facebook et suivez-nous sur Twitter.

F.B. : Quelle était la cible que vous souhaitiez atteindre ?

S. VdP. : C’est confidentiel, mais disons que Glacéau Vitaminwater est là pour toutes les personnes qui désirent s’hydrater de façon responsable… et avec plaisir.

F.B. : Êtes-vous satisfaits des résultats de la campagne ?

S. VdP. : Pas de commentaires officiels un mois après le lancement. Mais nous sommes « en ligne » par rapport au plan.

F.B. : Envisagez-vous déjà de lancer un nouveau produit sur le marché ?

S. VdP. : En Belgique : pas de projet officiel… Mais les marketeers chez The Coca-Cola Company essaient tous les jours de trouver des innovations pour encore mieux hydrater et rafraîchir les consommateurs.

Pour Glacéau Vitaminwater : le produit est lancé à Hong-Kong cette semaine et là aussi, ils l’aiment beaucoup !

Merci pour votre intérêt pour Glacéau Vitaminwater. À bientôt dans un des points de vente à Bruxelles, New-York ou ailleurs dans le monde !

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