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Death and grief is something we all must deal with during our lifetime. As we get older, death and grief from losing our loved ones become more and more prevalent in our lives. It seems we are attending more memorials than weddings and grief and depression start to set into our psyche telling us soon death will also come to us. These past couple of weeks, I have experienced a few deaths and grief and depression have been setting into the core of my psyche showing itself more prominently in my life.

 

We had to put down our beloved family dog after adopting her over a decade ago. Watching her quality of life disappear over the past year has been difficult to witness and making the decision to end her life wasn’t easy for any of us. This was a first experience for me and to see the vet euthanize her to sleep was heartbreaking. I felt I was going to have to be strong for our daughters and my husband who she favored the most loving with, but during the ordeal, it was me who cried the hardest. Her life was so brief and in an instant her life was gone and cremated to dust in a beautiful box with her paw print for us to remember her by. I started feeling depressed thinking of how fragile life truly is and how each and every single day is a beautiful gift we get to experience as we watch another sunrise, rainfall or sunset.

 

Gauthier, Robert –– – (Los Angeles, Ca. – Tuesday, December 16, 2008) Devin Devasquez arrives early to the funeral for her close friend, Bettie Page, at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park. Page, world famous pinup model from the 1950’s and 60’s died at 85 earlier this week. Dozens of friends, colleagues and fans, including Reverend Robert Schuller and Playboy founder Hugh Hefner attended the service.

After losing our dog, we were shocked to learn of the death of a beloved friend and renowned fashion designer, Laura Biagiotti. It was so sudden and so shocking to lose someone as near and dear to my heart as my own mother and at the age of 73, which seemed far too young to die. I knew our dear Laura had heart issues and had some close calls in the past, but hearing of her death made me feel completely depressed and sad for days. I didn’t feel like talking to anyone and cried helplessly knowing that that I would never get to see her again. Time to reflect on that relationship we shared was consuming me as my thoughts were only on Laura. Only two days passed before another shocking death of another close dear friend became bad news. We had only seen just seen him looking dashing and happy a week prior at the LA Science center giving back to charities that were near and dear to his heart. The loss of one of my closest friend’s husband, one who I indirectly put together to begin with has just passed away at age 67 only a couple years older than my own husband! OMG!! They say these things do come in threes, but I just can’t handle any more grief in such a short period of time! It’s just too much to deal with  and I start sobbing uncontrollably. Bob Lorsch was a prominent businessman who had connections from Hollywood to the white house.

 

It can’t be true? Bob Lorsch dead? Must be a mistake, we were just with him, just saw him laughing and having a great time! But the fact remained Bob Lorsch was indeed dead and died just a couple days after our beloved Laura Biagiotti. Facing death and grief for me was in full swing and it was making me sick so sick that I actually started having cold symptoms. This surprised me because I just recently got over a horrible bout of the flu that lasted nearly a month! I’m always eating healthy and trying to take care of myself by keeping life in balance within my mind, body and spirit. I feel it’s the key to handling all that life throws at us. So I try and take the time and focus energy into my home, health, career, relationships and finances on a daily basis. So when my focus turned to my own health given I had a sore throat in the throws of 80 degree sunshine with stuffed up ears, a headache and chills that turned into a cough, it was apparent I had another full blown cold to deal with. Perhaps my immune system was worn down from the past week of grieving? All I knew was that I needed to get back in balance in the health department first and foremost. I started my Thinessence routine of the helix machine, sauna and massage bed to sweat out the toxins plaguing my body. I also started to consciously drink my water quota that would help hydrate my body and get rid of this cold. Doing this routine 3 days this past week has helped tremendously and I’m finally starting to step out of the depressed state of mind I was in from grief. Thinking the storm of bad news was over only to learn my 90 year old aunt has just passed away leaving my 92 year old uncle after 70 years of marriage. She had lived life to the fullest and raised 8 children and a slew of grandchildren and passed on a legacy of love and commitment to all that knew her.

 

I knew it was time for me to book a flight to Houston and go visit my uncle who is my mother’s oldest brother and one of the last living relatives I have other than a mess of cousins I don’t really know. I can see how fast life is passing us all by and how precious human connection is in today’s fragile society. Death is just as much a part of life as life itself and it is indeed coming for us all someday, but it’s not here for me today and I’m grateful to see another sunrise. I know that gratitude is the key and that I have so many blessings on a daily basis to relish. Friends, family and even our furry animals are all part of this journey called life and so far life has been bountiful and simply amazing! I’m blessed for all the moments I had with Laura and Bob, my aunt and our dog and I know that the adventure of life continues with times of grief and sorrow and so we must be in gratitude for the joys and laughter because they too are coming in this cycle called life. The song Ronn just released with Pope Francis called, “Our Father” has a special meaning for these beautiful souls that have departed us here on earth and who we hope to someday see again in heaven.

I am Devin De Vasquez and I wanted to give people my three top tips in foods to eat for great skin. These are really good food that you should have daily. This three item needs to be in your diet every day. Everybody knows my age and I am over 50 years old. As I age, I believe in eating these three items which is needed to be on your diet every day for gorgeous skin.

1.) Avocados – Avocados are so great for the skin and hair. People can have it as a snack. I put Devin’s kickass Cajun seasoning as my husband Ron and I eat about half of avocado each. We do this almost every morning. What it gives is a great good fat, and that is great for skin and hair. I received most of my comments from periscope about my hair being shiny. That is why I believe that eating avocados is the number one food that I should recommend. Put them on salad or smoothie, avocados just go with almost anything.

2.) Salmon – The good Atlantic or Norwegian Salmon has natural oils. It should be eaten at least twice a week. Salmon is so good for us but on the other hand, we are very cautious with the Pacific Salmon. So we do not eat the Pacific Salmon, the one with the dyed pink stuff. Do your best to get the Norwegian Salmon or the Atlantic salmon. You can bake salmon or broil it and can also be put on salads.

I love these items and I have them on my diet consistently. This is the reason why I have good skin. I am over fifty but I am still confident to go out on screen without wearing my makeup on. I can totally attest you that these are the foods that I eat. I believe and say that this is probably the reason why my hair is shiny and my skin still looks good for my age. I do not do much actually. These are my tips and beauty secrets. I never tried those so called 24 karat gold mask although I would love to try it. Meanwhile, I believe in eating healthy, drinking water and detox with tea.

3.) Olive oil / Coconut oil – This also good for your skin and hair. People should be cooking with it. These are the things I do and cultivate it in my diet on a daily basis. Every single day I have a little bit of olive oil in something.

So those are my three top foods which I believe helps for a healthier, a more beautiful skin, and shiny hair. I am not much of a dairy person and we only use coconut milk at home. I incorporate these foods to my diet to be always on the organic free range. We must have everything organic. People must not be skimp on their health and should buy organic.

Let us be keen on what is good for us and have the self to control the bad things that affects our body. We will never be young forever. So what we must do is take care ourselves not only for our own being but also for the people we love.

 

Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning 2013

 

Devin's Kickass Cajun Seasoning
Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning

As we kick off a brand new year and almost five years of Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning, I’m happy to know that so many of you love our spice! Most of you know we created the spice because of my love for Cajun cooking and my home state of Louisiana. Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning was created especially to help the city of New Orleans recover from the devastation of hurricane Katrina and we give part of the proceeds directly to help that effort. Last year we gave $14,000 to Brad Pitt’s charity, “Make It Right” who is directly helping New Orleans rebuild ecological housing. This year we hope to top that and with your help I’m sure we can exceed that number as New Orleans continues to rebuild. However, our spice doesn’t just benefit New Orleans, it benefits any other natural disasters that has happened in our country such as, hurricane Sandy in New York recently. We want to be known as the spice that gives back.

 

Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning and Cajun Cookin

Cookin Cajun
Cookin Cajun

In addition to Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning, I created the cookbook, “Cajun Cookin” with a variety of not only Cajun recipes, but appetizers, soups, salads, stews and meats to use with our spice because it’s simply great on everything. Most of our customers actually use the phrase, “We use it on everything.” That’s no exaggeration because I know we do and have for nearly five years now. Our Cajun spice is lower in sodium than any other Cajun seasoning that I know of and has no MSG. I created that way because I was tired of what was in the supermarkets. Most Cajun spices were way too salty and did contain MSG. So our spice is my original recipe that I perfected for that reason. It’s got alot of flavor and a bit of a kick, but not to spicy, so it really does just make you the cook you didn’t know you could be just by adding it to any dish. My “Cookin Cajuncookbook is now available in an ebook that you can download to your ipad or computer and has lots of wonderful photos to go with nearly every dish.

 

 

The Future of Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning

 

 


When we created  Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning  we wanted to start small and grow organically with a product we could be proud of. Since Ronn and I are in the entertainment business, we knew nothing about the food industry, which was a bit of an education in the process of creating “Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning” and took nearly two years to formulate. My goal is to have it one day be in the supermarkets  and available all over at a cheaper price. It’s very hard to compete with brands that are household names and already on the shelves in supermarkets, however I will not give up on this dream because I know we have a “kickass” product pardon the pun. Most of you who have tried it know what I’m talking about and those of you who haven’t, well you are missing out. We use it for BBQs, in the summer and I love to give it to our new friends and have them come back and rave about how much they love it on everything. So we believe the future oDevin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning is very bright and with your continued help will be the a spice that makes a difference!

I have been working with a very special young lady who loves to bake and is super into vegan, healthy living and best of all, gluten free desserts. She is only seventeen years old and I’ve practically watched her passion for baking unfold before my eyes. Her mom is my best gal pal Lori Crowder and since Lori and I workout all the time, she tempts me constantly with Kayla’s sinful creations of amazing baking treats.

So I thought this teenager needs to cultivate that gift.  She has a passion of baking healthy treats she loves creating, I was excited to form a website for her to share that passion for gluten free desserts and healthy living tips to help us all and well, just make us happy. Kayla has a twin sister, Kirstie and they are also Valentine babies that are just too adorable. I think Kayla’s passion for baking is a great way for her to earn extra money with her website. She’s an entrepreneur in the making and natural California girl with a terrific personality and great healthy living tips and recipes. 

Kayla’s gluten free desserts is really a labor of love and Kayla is a joy to be around. Since baking is really not my thing, although I can do it, I thought she would be a nice addition on Ronn’s Garage from time to time to teach us all a thing or two about baking gluten free desserts that we can be a little happier and healthier from. So give her a shout out and check out her lovely creations as we develop more of www.kaylasglutenfreedesserts.com

Ingredients

  • 1 1-pound top sirloin steak, cut into 2-inch-long, 1/4-inch-thick slices
  • 1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
  • 12 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, thickly sliced
  • 8 ounces snow peas
  • 1 bunch green onions, sliced, divided
  • 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, divided
  • 5 tablespoons hoisin sauce
  • 2 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce
  • Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning

Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add ginger and mushrooms; stir-fry until mushrooms are tender, about 3 minutes. Add beef to skillet; stir-fry until beef browns but is still pink in center, about 1 minute. Add snow peas, half of green onions, and half of cilantro; stir-fry 1 minute. Stir in hoisin, chili-garlic sauce, and five-spice powder; sauté until peas are crisp-tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl. Sprinkle with remaining green onions and cilantro, serve over rice.

Serves 4, takes approx 30 minutes

As most of you know, I’ve been studying for the past few months for my salesperson’s real estate license. It’s been trying because I’ve been waiting for the state to give me a test date, so that put a bit of stress on me on top of dealing with taxes, kids and events. It’s such a relief to have finally taken that test and I’ll know by next week if I passed. During the past few months, my health hasn’t been the best. I’ve been on hormone replacement therapy for a few months now and things are getting better, but my blood sugar had sky rocketed to the borderline of diabetes and that was scary. So my doctor has put me on a strict detox program for the next three weeks. I must stay away from dairy, sugar, wheat and liquor.  I  have  two liquid meals of this detox powder, fiber, greens and berries, along with one lunch, in which, I can have 6 0z of chicken, salmon, beans or lean organic beef and that’s it! So Ronn and the girls are helping me out by feeding themselves so I’m not tempted. It’s been three days and so far I’m handling it pretty well. I know it’s important to my health and I’m really being quite strict with it, along with drinking 80 ounces of water a day. I also workout 4-6 days a week and want to get my body, mind and spirit back in balance before my 48th birthday next month. Sometimes I have so much going on and my focus is on everything else that I neglect really taking care of me. So it’s nice to be quiet and focus on doing that now. I had a fun time working with my friend stunt coordinator Wally Crowder on the HBO show, “Hung” the other day. I did a stunt in a restaurant scene in which

Anne Heche
Thomas Jane

Thomas Jane punches out a guy who is on a date with his ex-wife played by Anne Heche. The guy fall onto the next table in which I’m sitting at and falls on me! I’ve done a few stunts, mostly driving, but nothing dangerous. It’s really fun for me cause I learn new things and get to hang out with my pal Wally and meet new people. I’ve never seen “Hung” before and look forward to watching it now.  Last week Ronn and I were in Cabo for

Shawna and Lorenzo Lamas Craig

Lorenzo Lamas’ wedding to Shawna Craig. We were both in the wedding party and had a great time, then today I was surprised to get a

Hef and Crystal's wedding invite

wedding invitation to Hef’s wedding on June 18th. His wedding will be televised and should be a blast, so Ronn and I are looking forward to attending. Summer is always so busy for us with events, parties and kid stuff, so I’m sure we will have a lot to share all summer long.

Lori, Winsor and Wally

Our pals Wally and Lori Crowder invited us to meet Kirstie Alley at an Organic bash she threw in Hollywood. Her new weight loss venture is an organic line of foods called, “Organic Liaisons.” There were yummy appetizers and desserts passed around and even organic wine! I loved the organic chocolate, wine and lemon cheesecake. Many celebrities were there, including Winsor Harmon, Kelly Preston, Nadia Bjorlin, Brandon Beemer, Christian LeBlanc, Michelle Stafford and singer Dilana who met Ronn years ago in Holland. Dilana was a winner on Supernova and has a wonderful voice. Kirstie gave us a wonderful giftbag filled with organic goodies and she looked fabulous. We are all rooting for her on her upcoming season of Dancing With The Stars!

Kirstie Alley
Singer Dilana