Artisan Coffe Archives - Page 2 of 29

I was seconds from death after drinking 10 bottles of wine a day, but no one knew what I was going through

Posted on12/01/202608/08/2023Author

A MILITARY veteran has revealed that behind his superficial social media page, he was a “barely functioning” alcoholic drinking about 10 bottles of wine per day.

Alysia Magen, a United States Air Force veteran, said that despite posting on Instagram to portray an idyllic life, in reality, she was “killing herself” by drinking vast quantities of wine and spirits.

Former member of the Air Force, Alysia Magen (pictured), nearly lost her life to alcoholism and addictionCredit: Jam Press/@Alysia_magen

She pursued social media stardom after the military in 2017Credit: Jam Press/@Alysia_magen

The 33-year-old explained that she would drink almost the entire day to cope with the pain of past relationships.

Magen told The US Sun: “The strong girl was gone – I didn’t know who I was at that time.

“I didn’t know I was an alcoholic – I thought it was just something to manage anxiety. I would wake up in the morning shaking from withdrawal,” Magen continued.

She explained that she thought she was using the alcohol to merely manage panic attacks at first, only to find out that it was instead to fight withdrawal later on.

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“I was so mentally sick and could see I was in pain and not there. I feel like a fraud and a fake because I was living a lie for so long.”

“Throughout that period I wasn’t the person I am at all. I was scared to even go outside and meet people. At times I couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror,” Magen confessed.

Ultimately, Magen said she realized that she was abusing alcohol to block out trauma from abusive relationships — and it started a long time ago.

She revealed that her drinking began while in the military and progressively got worse after being demoted for posting a suggestive picture of herself on Instagram alongside another one of her in military uniform.

Her charge was what’s known as Article 15.

Magen claimed that she was ostracized after it happened and she spent her last six months in the military in “painful isolation”.

After being demobbed in 2017, Alysia threw herself into social media full-time which involved unconventional hours and lots of parties.

This led to her drinking progressively getting worse before it spiraled out of control over the following four years.

During that time she said she had a succession of violent and abusive relationships with former partners.

Alysia explained that in addition to drinking she was taking cocaine and other drugs including opioids during this period.

Near-death experience

At one point she overdosed while her ex-boyfriend was driving – prompting him to rush her to the emergency room.

“The doctors said if I had been 10 seconds later, I would have died,” she explained.

“I was literally seconds from death but I didn’t care. I had lost all interest in life.

“Dealing with all that pain and trauma makes you want to get high to numb the pain,” she continued.

“It’s a vicious cycle and I knew I had to change but it’s hard when you continually get pulled back.”

As time went on and Alysia became sicker and sicker, she realized in March of this year that something had to change.

After a difficult stay in a Veterans Affairs-funded rehab center, she decided to shell out $10,000 to check in to a private facility.

This enabled her to kick the drinking, leave her then-partner, and set her on a road to recovery.

Recovering and re-emerging

And weeks into sobriety, she received a phone call asking if she would fight model and influencer, Blac Chyna, in a celebrity bout in June.

She jumped at the chance and despite earning a draw, Magen knocked Rob Kardashian’s ex on her back during the fight and said training for it “kept her on the road to recovery.”

“I’ve been reborn in six months,” she said.

“I was seconds from death, in abusive relationships and dependent on alcohol.”

“I didn’t think I needed help because I’d been in the military and had this attitude like ‘nothing affects me.’

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“I did not go through all of those things to keep the story inside,” she said.

“So get the support and help you need because nobody deserves to be abused by the people who are supposed to love them.”

If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Magen encouraged others who might be struggling like she did to get helpCredit: Jam Press/@Alysia_magen

Pepsi wants you to drink soda mixed with milk this holiday season

Posted on22/12/202508/08/2023Author

New York
CNN Business
—

‘Tis the season to mix milk into your soda. According to Pepsi, however.

Pepsi launched a Thursday campaign encouraging customers to try the combination and use the hashtag #PilkandCookies (as in Pepsi plus milk) to showcase their Santa-friendly concoctions. Those who participate in the online challenge running through Christmas Day will have the chance to win cash.

“Combining Pepsi and milk has long been a secret hack among Pepsi fans,” said Todd Kaplan, Pepsi’s chief marketing officer, in a statement about the campaign.

Pepsi is now publicizing the mix as its spin on “dirty soda,” a popular TikTok trend that combines soda with syrup and cream. Companies like PepsiCo (PEP) pay attention to what’s happening on TikTok, and often look for ways to get in on trends as a way to stay relevant to young consumers.

“With the rise of the ‘dirty soda’ trend on TikTok and throughout the country, we thought Pilk and Cookies would be a great way to unapologetically celebrate the holidays,” said Kaplan.

Lindsay Lohan thinks you should try Pilk.

To make the campaign even trendier, Pepsi tapped Lindsay Lohan, star of the Netflix (NFLX) Christmas movie “Falling for Christmas,” to promote the combination.

Pepsi is recommending a number of recipes for those who want to go beyond just Pepsi and milk, perhaps hoping to launch their own viral combination.

A handful of those recipes include the Naughty & Ice, which is Pepsi with one cup of whole milk, one tablespoon of heavy cream and one tablespoon of vanilla cream, plus Pepsi; the Cherry on Top combines Pepsi Wild Cherry with half a cup of 2% milk, two tablespoons of heavy cream and two tablespoons of caramel creamer; and the Snow Fl(oat) is Pepsi Zero Sugar and half a cup of oat milk with four tablespoons of caramel creamer.

The soda cocktails are relatively new to TikTok — but they have been popular for years in Utah, which has a high concentration of Mormons, some of whom abstain from alcohol and hot beverages.

TikTok discovered the drink after Gen-Z pop star Olivia Rodrigo posted a photo of herself holding a Swig cup in December last year, sending fans in search of answers about the Utah-based chain. Swig, which calls itself “home of the original dirty soda,” has been around since 2010 and serves a wide array of the carbonated mash-ups.

The trend quickly took off, Eater reported in April, saying “TikTok is now repeated with more than 700,000 mentions of the #dirtysoda hashtag, most of which accompany videos of creators showing viewers how to make their own dirty sodas at home.”

Viral food sensations have inspired companies to capitalize on trends, sometimes even creating new products based on what they see.

In September 2020, for example, Dunkin’ partnered with TikTok star Charli D’Amelio on a limited-time drink called The Charli — cold brew with whole milk and three pumps of caramel swirl — inspired by D’Amelio’s favorite order. On launch day, Dunkin’ hit a record for daily active app users. And last year, Starbucks experimented with selling the TikTok-popular Iced Matcha Latte with Chai on social platforms.

Kraft Heinz (KHC) this year launched Dip & Crunch, a burger dipping sauce packaged with “salty potato crunchers.” The idea is for people to dip a burger or sandwich into the sauce, then into the crunchers, and then take a bite — something that had apparently been trending on TikTok with some loving the trend and others questioning it.

“For us to hear that debate online, then bring it to life, is an example of how we’re listening,” Sanjiv Gajiwala, then Kraft Heinz North America’s chief growth officer, told Fast Company in April. Now, you can find videos of TikTok influencers testing out the product in ads, and others reviewing it for their followers.

Downtown Outdoor Drinking District Expanding And Reproducing

Posted on15/12/202508/08/2023Author

The BORO is not only growing, it is having offspring.

The BORO is the “social district” in downtown Greensboro where it is legal for people to walk down the sidewalk with a BORO approved alcoholic beverage. There are a lot of rules including that the alcoholic beverage must be in an approved cup, but basically it allows someone to buy an alcoholic beverage in one establishment and walk down the sidewalk to another business to browse or shop. An alcoholic beverage from one establishment licensed to sell alcohol cannot be taken into another licensed establishment but can be taken into stores and shops or simply consumed while walking around.

The ordinance establishing The BORO was passed by the Greensboro City Council in December 2021 and went into effect in March 2022. The BORO evidently is so popular that on the agenda for the Tuesday, Dec. 6 meetings is the approval of an ordinance that not only expands the boundaries of The BORO in downtown Greensboro but also establishes another social district along State Street in northeast Greensboro.

The proposed downtown social district boundaries appear to make a lot more sense than the current boundaries. Center City Park and the Stephen Tanger Center for the Performing Arts are both excluded from the current social district while LeBauer Park and the Greensboro Cultural Center are included. So, under the current ordinance, if someone buys an approved alcoholic beverage on North Elm Street and walks east on Friendly Avenue to the Cultural Center that is legal, but if they take a few more steps north and walk through Center City Park that is illegal .

The ordinance being presented to the City Council for consideration includes changing the language so that Greensboro can have more than one social district and proposes adding a social district along the business district on State Street.

It seems likely that other areas where there are establishments that serve alcohol within walking distance of each other would also be applying for social district status in the future.