guaraná bushes.

Botanical Name: Paullinia Cupana

Common Name: Brazilian cocoa

Parts Used: Crushed seeds

System Effected: Kidney and adrenals

Properties: Stimulant, nervine, aphrodisiac, febrifuge.

Used For:  . From the tannin it contains it is useful for mild forms of leucorrhoea, diarrhoea, etc., but its chief use in Europe and America is for headache, especially if of a rheumatic nature. It is a gentle excitant and serviceable where the brain is irritated or depressed by mental exertion, or where there is fatigue or exhaustion from hot weather. Its benefit is for nervous headache or the distress that accompanies menstruation, or exhaustion following dissipation. It is not recommended for chronic headache or in cases where it is not desirable to increase the temperature, or excite the heart or increase arterial tension. Dysuria often follows its administration. It is used by the Indians for bowel complaints, but is not indicated in cases of constipation or blood pressure.

 

 

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In the perpetual search for the Next Big Thing, beverage producers everywhere are taking another look at guaraná, the light, mildly sweet beverage made from the extract of the Amazonian guaraná plant.
   — Beverage World

Berries from the Brazilian rain forest are coming soon to a bottle of juice, tea or cola near you...Until a few months ago, guaraná was virtually unknown nationally and mostly limited to South American beverages. But suddenly, the berries – rumored to be everything from stimulants to aphrodisiacs – are the buzz of the beverage word.
   — USA Today

In Brazil, they guzzle the stuff by the gallon.... Down there the three main guaraná brands make up 16% of the roughly $3 billion Brazilian soft drink market.
   — Forbes

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 My love simply adores Guaraná. 

If it wasnt so much sweet, then I would lvoe having it too.  I prefer less sweet tastes, but Guaraná , the light, or diet version is still crap.  They ought to create a formula with a better taste.  It still tastes aspartame and it leaves a bitter sensation in ur mouth.  So, I rarely have Guaraná although I still hope they come up with a better taste for the light version.

But, when I want to add some sugar into my diet, I usually have guaraná syrup (which I can measure the amount of it ) and ice cubes and cold water. Mix everything in a mixer, a shaker, until it gets sparkling, and then, add a slice of sweet orange in the glass.  Voilá!! A delicious soft drink for summer days :) 

But, dont forget  ===>>  Guaraná is still caffeine...  It makes u feel awake and it has the same effects as Cola drinks.  So, here, we usually add some guaraná powder (raw powder) to our cups of coffee when we want to spend the night all though awaken.

Tastes horrible, but it works.  

During University, I used to take Guaraná Pills (about 2 or 3) and coffee.  So that I could spend the whole night studying for an examination of something.  It is more powerful than Red Bull energetic drinks.  Much more!! And it is no chemical at all!

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Guaraná (gwah-rah-NAH) is derived from a berry (Paullinia Cupana) found growing throughout a swath of Brazil ranging from the Amazon to Bahia.  The seeds are ground and used widely in products as diverse as a popular Brazilian soft drink (called "guaraná" of course), to the capetas (little devils) served at drink stands, to "energizing" açai, to ampules of liquid (Arrebite is a popular one) which can be purchased in farmácias for an energy kick.  The ground powder itself can be purchased in farmácias for use as one sees fit (added to homemade vitaminas or simply stirred into water or a soft drink).

The "thing" about guaraná is its energizing property, and there is some polemic about in that the boost from guaraná is somehow different from that derived from coffee.  This has led a lot of people to believe that the energizing substance in guaraná is chemically different from caffeine.

It isn't.

What is different is that guaraná seeds have a high fat content, even after having been reduced to a powder.  This fat slows down the rate of caffeine release, so that rather than the fast up (and down) provided by coffee, guaraná provides a much smoother and long-lasting ride.  The flavor of the powder is pretty atrocious, but sweetened and in small amounts (per the soft drinks) it's very pleasant.

 

Get so boring here witout Chris, gosh.

You know when u are beside a person, living with this person, waking up and going to sleep with this same person, sharing meals, planning days, enjoying nights, and, all of a sudden, this person just vanishes from ur sight?

Its like being absorbed in a dream for a week, or, like being inside a capsule, frozen, and sleep for days and nigths,  and then, all of a sudden, u wake up, and live ur days, but just for a week.  After that period ur back to the capsule and then it shuts its cover, and there u are again... 

I make my best to touch his skin as many times as possible, feeling his skin, his hands, his scent, being stuck together all the times, good times, bad times, healthy or sick (as it was the case), in bad or good mood, doesnt matter.  I simply stuck together and dont let him go!  How wodnerful sensation i felt when the staff from BA airlines told us he would have to stay in Brazil for one more day!  I thought it was a sort of "prize" for being able to overcome all the troubled waters that our second meeting held, with so many accidents, confusing things happening, a lot of stressful moments, and finally, we got a prize: more hours, to lay down, to stay in the nude, just feeling his body, his body hair, his breath, his kisses on my body, all over.

I usually dont like to know that the love we are making is the last one before a long term gap, so I sort of avoid any sexual thing on the day I know one of us will have to leave the other.  But this time, I got so happy we would have the opportunitty to be more hours together, that I simply didnt care! Just had a shower, got into bed - naked - of course, embraced my dearest one and together, we fell asleep, vey cosy, very warm, he holding my hand next to his chest, tightening his fingers around my ones, feel so good.  After a while, we woke up, and then we chatted for a while and decided to kiss and hug and make a delicious love together.   While I was there, under his body - which i simply love, I many times thought to myself: "Gosh, this is our last time making love...."  But what could I do? I wanted to be there in his arms, I wanted to take the risk of feeling terrible after we made love and rushed to the airport.  I simply didnt care.

But Chris has a special way to conduct his orchestra...

He knows how to make me feel not bad at all when we have to go and rush, either to a taxi stop or to the airport itself.  He is very delicate, sensitive and completely sweet.

He is my baby.

I wonder what he thinks of when we are making love for the last time.... Or, even whether he does thinks of something similar, like "Gee, we're making love for the last time ", or something.  Humm.. dunno really.  I am told men only thinks of the physical aspect of things - and about women, but gosh, they cant be that dumb all the time, I bet they do think of things we women find important, but the thing is that they simply dont show it off....  (I think)

The thing is: Im feeling very empty here inside my heart.  Not because i dont feel anything there, but due to his absence... Its being hard, gosh.  I wanted him to decide at once and choose a place for us to live and so, we could reset our lives and turn the page of "inoquous" mode, and go ahead for our second half of life, the most important half.  The half we are going to share together, and build up a house, a family and gosh, see life together and laugh at it together.

U know what?

I think the following:  If he feels as much love for me as I do feel for him, he will find a way out of it. We can not spend more time like we are now.  Cos it generates stress, depression, loneliness, waste of money, and more important: waste of time.  Maybe he is afraid to run the risk? Humm..  Life is like a roulette game

  We ought to make our bets and wait for it to spin and stop.  If we have made the right choice? Well, I think everyone when decided to stay for a life with another person, he thinks hes making the most correct decision, and only time will tell.  Only some aspects must be observed, that can help ones to guide his options:

1) Feeling of love
2) Feeling of missing
3) Respect
4) Admiration
5) Reflection of attitudes
6) Dialogues
7) Interests
8) Philosophy
9) Intentions & Planning
10) Love

If they are all running in the same pace, bet the couple will be happy.

Dialogue is the most important topic along with love.

Must have dialogues, keep conversation flowing.  No dialogue, no friendship.
no friendship, no love.

Love my baby, missing him loads.

Want to be with him.
Turn the page of book of life, begin a new beginning

Finally Chris got in here!!

Although it was only for 7 days - he got an extra day by the end of his journey, those were really hectic, funny, nice and sweet days!

Unfortunately I could not be absent from work and when he arrived (Tuesday 24th), I had to leave him on his own here, 'locked' in my apartment.  Also on Wednesday I had to go work before our trip to Maceió and I missed a day from work (monday) as he had problems with his flight back to Uk and had to fly on Tuesday, at 5:30am.

But this experience was very rich and very rewarding for both of us!  Firstly because it was his first time down the Equator line and not only that, he was also for his first time, spending some wild days in a country where little he knew about, and also is very different from his homeland.

I can not even have a clue on what he actually thought and felt as he was here seeing how things were like, how ppl behaved like etc, as sincerely, there is NO comparison to England, at any detail.  Everything is pretty different from sky, air, to street pavement, lol

Plus, he had unfortunately - but very likely to happen, a stomach poisoning who had spoiled very much his holidays, as we couldnt leave the hotel for 3 days to explore the beaches, and travel around the palces there, and there were so many nice places to be seen , gosh, it was a real pity he didnt feel well.  By the way, I would be very surprised if he hadnt had any sort of stomach ache, as it is 'mandatory' for foreigner's stomaches, lol  Think it is because our food has spices that their food doesnt have, plus all those different stuff, and the heat from the sun in their heads.  Anyway, at least, he didnt escape the 'cliché' of being in the toilet that all foreigners experience in here, lol

Next time, bet he will be more frightened to eat stuff -lol, but this is useless as he must eat something, and whatever he eats or drinks in here will feel different in his stomach, even water,lol

 Isnt this sky so beautiful?? It matches with the sea colour! Think Chris was happy   I was very much happy!!!

My babe by the sand, enjoying the breeze and the sun.

Chris by the native flora, lol 

By the hotal kioske-bar :)  Chris is striking a pose, lol 

The view from the hotel room balcony:)  So nice to wake up and see this green-blue ocean :)

I will write the chapters (lol) one by one and not to miss any one out from the list, Chris and I have prepared a list:

1. The long journey 30 minutes delay at airport and finally meeting at gate and hugs

2. I enter Sao Paulo streets and we wait for a taxi, my feet are on the ground

3. when I get to the building , I nearly have to carry a suitcase up 13 flights of stairs

4. Cris makes yorkshire tea as if by magic

5. The sensation of the portugese voices everywhere

6. Getting Tim Brasil on my mobile lol

7. The difference in the road surfaces and driving and signs

8. The height of the coconut trees

9. THIS ITEM IS FORBIDEN FOR PUBLIC

10. cars not stopping at crossings

11. spending monopoly money

12. Cris swimming and coming back all wet ..mmmmm

13. press this number and get out of elevator

14. not being able to eat my choc moussse lol

15. the good feeling of having dinner together

16. warm kisses mmmmm

 

1. The caos in the city and floods that havent happened in here for 3 years.
2. cushion man who had disappeared with my cushions and turned in in the middle of a heavy storm day
3. the Jardineira Grill restaurant and the fantastic dinner we had
4. the massive crowd of paulistas at Congonhas Airport
5. the "boarding and leaving" airplane
6. the trip by coach to Guarulhos and long waiting
7. The weird ladies inside plane
8. The birds in that tree in front of the airport - so pretty memory i have in my mind, will never forget those birds singing happy in the warm breeze of 5:30am in Maceió
9. the hotel changing
10. the taxi we got in the middle of nowhere, lol
11. the meliá hotel
12. the sights from room balcony (that sea colour was breath taking ! Have never seen those colours before!)
13. the ppl seeling all sort of stuff in the beach
14. the quickest ever sun tanning I had in my life, turning from 'office colour' to 'roasted' colour in just one day, lol
15. the argees everywhere
16. the way we were spoiled by waiters and hotel staff
17. ITEM FORBIDEN FOR PUBLIC
18. the stomach ache and me rushing to drugstore in the night
19. that bar kioske where ppl were dancing and wearing those funny outfits and guns
20. the Mc Donalds
21. the flight to Spaulo and the drop (hahahaahhaah)
22. the rush to airport
23. the delayed flight
24. the 5 star hotel
25. the dinner (mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm)
26. the pics
27. the return