Over the last few years, I’ve had several friends get Botox and Juvederm on their faces. Honestly, I have never been able to tell that big of a difference in their face from the way they looked before, but they just seemed to look more refreshed and less tired. I don’t have a ton of wrinkles, but probably average sun and skin damage for a thirty-three year old that has had several sunburns in her life. I have thought about trying Botox off and on over the years, so when the opportunity came up last week, I decided go and learn more about these procedures at Celebrity Spa in McKinney.

Two weeks ago, I went with my sister to Celebrity Spa to get a free consultation on their Botox and Juvederm services. When I showed up, I wasn’t 100% sure that I was going to do it that day, and I had a lot of questions that I needed answered first.

I was very surprised about how casual everything was. In my head, I had built it up to be more of a scary doctor’s appointment, but it was actually more like a nice spa experience.

My sister and I sat at a table and had some water with lemon, fresh fruit, and cheese and crackers. Once the doctor was ready to see us, we went in and she looked at our faces, and answered ALL of our questions about Botox. My two biggest questions were, “What will the Botox do to my face and how can it improve the way I look now,” and “Does it hurt?”

I had some light indentations on my forehead and around my eyes where wrinkles were starting to creep up. I also had some going down from the corners of my lips, which gave the impression that I was frowning, which I hadn’t really noticed before. The doctor, Tina Nix, said she could fix these up with a little Botox, and that the results would last about 3 months. She also said it wouldn’t hurt, which was really my biggest fear, since I hate needles. I almost pass out, every time I get my blood taken.

I decided to go for the Botox, and my sister went in first, while I went and got a relaxing massage. I strongly suggest taking a friend with you for the first time. It’s nice to have that support and much more fun to do it with someone you trust.

After my massage, I knocked on the door to the Botox room that my sister was in, so that I could see her. Wow, there she was, laying back in the recliner, holding a mirror with a big smile on her face, while the doctor was leaning over her with a big needle. My sister got the Botox and some Juvederm in her lips and she looked absolutely amazing. She was swollen a little, but so excited about it. The doctor gave her some ice packs, and my sister went into the other room for her massage.

I was next, and although I wasn’t quite buying the ‘Botox doesn’t hurt’ from my sister or the doctor, I pulled up my big girl pants and climbed into the chair. The doctor started by putting some numbing cream on my face. In just a few minutes, I was moderately-numb, and she began poking at my forehead. It didn’t hurt at all! I can only equate it to what acupuncture feels like. Just tiny little pricks, but nothing to flinch about, no watering eyes, no pain, and my Botox was done, it was so fast. I had made a big deal all this time over nothing! The doctor gave me the mirror and I was a little disappointed that I didn’t notice anything different, but she told me it could take up to 14 days to fully work. It’s been 14 days now, and everything looks amazing. The creases in my forehead are gone, and I can still move my face just fine. I still have some slight crow’s feet around my eyes, but it’s so much better.

I was having fun, so I decided to go for the Juvederm, too! I didn’t want full-blown Angelina Jolie lips, but a fuller pout of the lips I was born with would be nice. I have to say, the Juvederm was pretty painful. Remember, I am a wimp, so even though she numbed me, it still wasn’t very pleasant. However, when she gave me the mirror a few minutes later, I was amazed- immediate results and I loved my new pouty lips. I can only equate this experience to what child birth must be like….there was some pain, but the results were so exciting and great, that I quickly forgot all about it (note: I have never gone through childbirth J).

I am so thankful to Celebrity Spa for taking such great care of me and my sister. The doctors and nurses are highly-trained and professional, but they are also really fun. Celebrity Spa is perfect for anyone thinking about Botox or Juvederm. They also offer several other treatments including, facials, massages, photo facials, chemical peels, microderabrasion, laser hair removal, skin tightening, and permanent cosmetics, as well as treatment for vascular lesions, pigmented lesions, scars, spider veins, stretch marks, sun damaged skin, rosacea, and acne without the use of drugs.

We are definitely planning on going back to Celebrity Spa again soon. I will probably try some of their facial services next to help improve the surface of my skin. I’m also interested in checking out the packages they have for laser treatments. Unlike most clinics that charge a flat fee for a body area (ie $2,000 for a legs package) and usually consist of a certain number of treatments. Celebrity Spa’s membership program lets you buy time on ANY of their lasers to do whatever you like. This allows for much more flexibility and is often less than half the price and it means you can do much more than just hair removal. You can do skin tightening, vein removal, red spot removal, rosacea treatement, facials, and all kinds of other treatments.

Grab a girlfriend and make it a day of beauty at Celebrity Spa.

Best of Texas family member, Sharon Layne, serves on the Executive Committee of Children Helping Children. Other Best of Texas family members working with this charity include Sharon’s husband, Bud, who acts as a volunteer, while daughters Carrie and Lindsay offer their creative services. For me, it’s more of a personal thing, many years ago, I lost a young family member to aplastic anemia. Needless to say, Best of Texas has a vested interest in seeing this amazing and worthwhile charity succeed.

On September 25 and 26, more than 500 junior singles tennis players will serve up their best game at the 20th annual Children Helping Children Junior Singles Tennis Tournament. Held at High Point Tennis Center in Plano, the tennis tournament is held at the raises money to support the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children*s Medical Center. One in four Texas children with cancer are treated at Children*s.

A kickoff party will be held on September 24 at the Plano Convention Centre 2000 E. Spring Creek Parkway. This family-friendly event will include a DJ, auction, carnival and cool prizes.

Would you like to know how you can help?

There are several ways you can help raise money to support the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s Medical Center, which is nationally recognized for its treatment programs for children with cancer, sickle cell, blood disorders and other diseases:

GET SPONSORS!

Visit www.childrens.com/tennis and create your own fundraising page.

Send your link to family and friends and track your donations online.

Take your sponsor form everywhere you go and tell people you are raising money for Children’s. Be sure to collect all of your donations before the tournament.

MAKE A DONATION!

If we all pitch in a little together, we can make BIG things can happen, and we greatly appreciate ANYTHING you can donate to help support this great event…$5 or $50, it all adds up.

Please go here to make your donation:  http://bestoftexas.com/promotion/childrensmedicalcenter/

For detailed information about how your child can play in the event, please call 214-456-8360 or go to www.childrens.com/tennis.

Maintaining a good, and more importantly, consistent fitness regimen has never been an easy task for me.  Growing up and through my late teens, I always had the luxury of a maniacal ballet instructor to keep me fit and toned. Now that I’m well into adulthood? Not so much.

I hate gyms and I hate working out alone. The other struggle I have is, in all honesty, that being accountable to myself for my own fitness doesn’t really work.  So I’ve been reading a lot about how boot camps are definitely more successful than visiting the local gym daily – ugh. And I’m beginning to see another asset to the boot camp workout: Motivation through teamwork, camaraderie and, ultimately a sense of being held accountable to each other. It sort of also appeals to my competitive nature.

But boot camp during a Texas summer? No sir, no how, no way. Or so I thought until Carrie introduced me to Get You in Shape’s founder, Brad Linder, whom she begins training with in July. Get You in Shape’s boot camp is indoors – yay AC – and Brad was nice enough to sit down and answer my questions about a boot camp workout and to talk about some of the fears people have when it comes to getting in shape.

What motivated you to start Get You in Shape?

My background is in health and fitness.  I played basketball in college and received my Master’s Degree is Health and Kinesiology.  I knew it was a field that I wanted to pursue in helping others be fit and strong.  By starting Get You In Shape I knew I would be able to offer a variety of services to help people at all levels whether that is through personal training, group boot camp classes or nutrition programs.  Being able to meet people where they are at is motivating to me.  I wanted to be able to provide programs for those who are obese, overweight or even a current athlete.

Your website explains that a lot of your clients are athletes, models and cheerleaders. That can be very intimidating for regular, out of shape folks like me. How do you go about making sure first-timers and those intimidated by gyms feel comfortable?

When an individual signs up for our group program, we begin with an Orientation before they join so that they know that this program really is for all levels.  The first week of our program, participants have to option to be in the “new participants” group.  This group starts at a slightly slower pace, form is gone over and exercises explained.  That way when a “new” person joins everyone else in the larger group they can feel more confident.  The trainers continue to keep a close eye on new participants and be sure to show them modifications if necessary.

Everyone’s fitness level is different, how do you keep a class motivated and excited while keeping everyone focused on their individual fitness goals?

We provide a very positive yet challenging environment.  We are constantly challenging people to try the progression on an exercise if they feel they are capable.  We also provide a program that is always different.  You will never get the same workout twice.  We introduce different equipment, different tempos and various modification and progressions so that participants can go at their own best level.  The variety of our program keeps people coming back month after month and even year after year.  However, despite the ever changing programs we always stay true to proper form and function.

What should you bring to a Boot Camp workout, besides an enthusiastic attitude?

A positive, enthusiastic attitude is the most important thing and sometimes the hardest!  Other than that all a participant needs to bring is a fitness mat, some dumbbells (3lb-5lb to start) and PLENTY of water…especially in this Texas summer.  We do provide a variety of different equipment for different exercises and programs.  Oftentimes, a person’s own body weight can provide the best resistance.

Anything else you would like to share with Best of Texas?

We have less than a week in this month’s boot camp before we start our June boot camp. We want you guys to come out and try a session if you are not sure about joining yet. We are so sure you will love what the fitness sessions will do to how you feel, how your body responds, and how you perform, that we want you to come out and try it first before you join.

And if you mention Best of Texas, we’ll give you $50.00 off for the upcoming July session!

Between NOW and Friday, July 2, email us at contest@bestoftexas.com and tell us why you’re ready to make a commitment to getting fit and staying healthy. We’ll select one winner who will receive a full, four week boot camp package that begins on July 5th!

Get You in Shape
McKinney Ave. Location:
2000  McKinney Ave
Dallas, TX 75201

Coppell Location:
260 Parkway Blvd.
Coppell, TX 75019

Watch Brad on WFAA!

Since October, my mom has been raving about a dairy some 20 minutes or so from where she lives in Sunset, Texas. Now, remember, this is the same mom who raves about that icky, metallic, leafy sweetner, Stevia. The mom that eats weird, slimy, ancient Mayan seeds soaked in water. The mom that owns and consumes more vitamin, homeopathic and herbal supplements in one day than your average health food store stocks in its lifetime. Frankly, the only thing that makes me NOT question her long Texas lineage is the mere fact that she has fried chicken for dinner every Sunday and will always cook me chicken fried rib eyes on demand along with fried okra, mashed potatoes, blackeyed peas and pan gravy, of course.

Last Saturday I found myself up on the farm at Sunset for some post-Thanksgiving family time. I wasn’t there 30 minutes when my mom started in about the milk again. “It’s the best milk ever. It’s raw, unpasteurized,” she said, “it’s so much healthier for you.” Harumph. But every good mom knows her child’s many weaknesses, so she continued, “There’s at least four inches of cream that floats on the top.” SOLD!!! She opened the fridge, violently shook the milk jug and poured me a cold glass. It was love at first sip. Cold, creamy, rich and so delicious I’d actually steal it from a baby. After a second glass, I demanded to meet the man behind the milk called Diamond B Cattle Company CREAMLINE.

After a pretty drive, rife with white tail and other critters, we pulled up to Clifford and Cheryl Buchanan’s Diamond B Cattle Company. I didn’t know what to fawn and squee over first: the young jersey calves, the coterie of kitties, or the simple, green beauty of gently sloped hills dotted with cattle. I didn’t have to choose, fortunately, for there was Clifford Buchanan, busting through the dairy’s door, calling out to my mother by name and quick with a smile, shaking my hand. Within 10 seconds I’d decided that Clifford, regardless of how damn good his milk was, was ‘good people.’

It was late in the day, near dusk and close to the day’s second milking, but Clifford was generous with his time and volunteered not only a tour of the dairy, but his story, too. In 1980, Clifford, a third generation farmer, found himself sick of his corporate job in Arlington, Texas. Longing for farming, he and wife Cheryl purchased a farm just outside of Decatur. The scrappy duo operated a small cattle farm and showed state and national champion Jersey cows, including Reserve Champions, Grand Champions and even a National Futurity winner. For 26 years it was a labor of love and their passion, but sadly external circumstances – the farm was losing $300 a day – forced Clifford and Cheryl into retirement and into auctioning off all but a handful of their most prized Jerseys. Both found themselves working “real jobs” once again. But early this year, 60-year-old Clifford Buchanan said to hell with it, bit the bullet, and, with the encouragement of a South Texas farming family, started up a tiny dairy simply because he wanted to. And though Clifford Buchanan only had two cows in the beginning of 2009, he set to work remodeling a barn on his property and turning it into the Diamond B Cattle Ranch CREAMLINE Dairy.

The dairy, with the help of a small Decatur newspaper advertisement, opened to the public on September of this year. Little did Clifford and Cheryl know that there’s been growing interest in slow food, urban farming, and more importantly the Buy Local, Eat Local movement. They just wanted to, “sell a quality product at an affordable price.” They wanted to sell 75 to 100 gallons of their grass fed Jersey, Grade A, unpasteurized, raw milk. But they didn’t. They sold 362 gallons. Within their first 30 days of business, they wondered, was this a fluke? October saw people driving in from McKinney, Fort Worth and beyond and sales increased that month over 50% – 570 gallons to be exact. Clifford was going to need some more cows, so he added 13 more. It was a wise investment. Last month, November 2009, saw Diamond B Cattle Company CREAMLINE sales skyrocket to a whopping 990 gallons of milk. Word of mouth traveled fast. Clifford says of his customers, “The most surprising thing about all of this isn’t the milk’s popularity. I know the milk’s good. It’s the attitude of the customers. They are the most appreciative, gracious, thankful people I’ve ever met.”

The Jerseys – or The Girls as I like to call them – are some of the happiest, healthiest cows I’ve ever laid eyes on. Opting for numbered collars, the girls are unbranded, spending their days grazing, lowing, chewing cud in the evening and being highly affectionate and curious about cameras.

They’re milked twice a day and the milk, which comes out at 102 degrees, is put directly into a large bulk tank which makes very quick work of chilling the butter fat rich milk down to 37 degrees. Within the tank is an agitator which runs intermittently and ensures that, when the milk is placed in either quart or gallon containers, there’s an even distribution of cream within the milk. A sticker gets slapped on the containers and they go straight into the fridge. And folks, that’s the entire process for raw milk and it’s a far cry from what happens to the milk you find on your grocer’s shelves.

Buchanan says other reactions to the milk that have surprised him are the life changing stories he’s hearing from local doctors and customers. “I’m not saying my milk works miracles, but it’s helping people. There was one woman who hadn’t been able to drink milk for decades, and now she comes once a week from McKinney. There’s another young family from Saginaw that buys ten gallons a week. I have another lady that buys it for religious reasons. It’s astounding. I’m amazed.” Raw milk enthusiasts will tell you modern day pasteurization, homogenization and standardization practices can hide dirty milk, kills the beneficial vitamins, proteins, enzymes and bacteria found in milk. Meanwhile, doctors on the pro-raw milk wagon – including 6 doctors and a couple of nutritionists in the area – actually prescribe raw milk for myriad health issues, from behavioral issues, cardiac and skeletal problems, skin disorders, obesity and even those with lactose intolerance. Yup, people that are lactose intolerant can actually and quite easily digest raw milk. It’s also a pretty political issue, too. It is illegal to buy raw milk in 24 states and only ten states allow for its retail sale. And while that’s all well and good, I like raw milk because it – and I’m repeating myself – is so creamy, so rich and so delicious, I’d actually steal it from a baby.

I’ve gone through two trips and two gallons and three quarts of Clifford’s CREAMLINE milk in six days. It’s that good. And if you want some from yourself, I’ll tell you that this milk is worth the two hours round trip drive I have to make from Dallas. Wanna know what to expect, here’s the lowdown:

Open 7 days a week, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Walk through the front door of the dairy and open the refrigerator door. A gallon is five bucks, a quart three. If you need more than ten gallons, some of Clifford’s customers buy 20 to 40 gallons, you need to call ahead and make arrangements with him first. As Clifford puts it, “My local customers come first. They need the milk and I’ve got to make sure I have it for them.”

The directions, as best as I can give them to you, are as follows: Head to Decatur on 287, go west on 380 towards Bridgeport for a piece. Turn left at Seven Wires and go down the road until the stop sign. Go right at the stop sign. Right after you pass a young pecan orchard, veer to the left and the dairy is at the second house on the right. They were simple enough to follow for this semi-country girl and I was able to find the Diamond B Cattle Company with ease, but if you’re more of a city person, I suggest you call Clifford for a little help if you get lost.

And for the record, when you meet Clifford Buchanan for the first time, he’ll shake your hand, but be prepared for a hug when you leave. For as grateful as his customers are for his milk, Clifford’s just as thankful for them.

Diamond B Cattle Company Dairy
Decatur, Texas
940-389-3816