Miss USA 2009 | Kristen Dalton on coffee daily

Miss North Carolina USA Kristen Dalton was crowned Miss USA 2009 on Sunday, beating out 50 other beauty queens in the live pageant televised from Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.



The 22-year-old aspiring motivational speaker and entertainer from Wilmington edged out first runner-up Miss California USA Carrie Prejean, of San Diego, and second runner-up Miss Arizona USA Alicia-Monique Blanco, of Phoenix.

"It feels really natural," Dalton said of her win. "I've worked so be here and this has been my lifelong dream and it's finally here. And whoever knew you could win in a turquoise gown?"




Contestants from all 50 states and the District of Columbia competed in the pageant, aired live on NBC. Contestants were judged by their performance in swimsuit and evening gown modeling contests and their responses to a question asked onstage; unlike the rival Miss America pageant, Miss USA contestants do not perform a talent.

Another Turkish Coffee - Turkish dee-lite

Inspired by reading about the preparation and practice around Turkish coffee, we decided to take a stab at creating a drink that incorporated the flavor of the traditional pairing of Turkish Delight. This is definitely an exotic flavor — one that the crew here found surprisingly tasty!


Ingredients

* 1/4 oz. Monin Rose Gourmet Syrup
* 1/2 oz. Monin Cinnamon Gourmet Syrup
* 2 shots of espresso
* Hot water to taste

Directions
Combine the syrups in the bottom of a warmed mug. Add espresso and mix thoroughly. Top off with hot water to taste.

A Cup of Coffee each day...

Can you complete that sentence? I tried and these are the phrases that I came up with:

…gives you hyperacidity.
…keeps you awake.
…makes you happy.
…stains your teeth.
…keeps you going.

Lame, isn’t it? All of those statements are true for me, though, and are probably true for some of you as well. But, did you know that coffee just might have the ability to kill cancer cells?

In the February 26 issue of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, findings that caffeine might have the ability to kill skin cells that have been damaged by UV rays were disclosed. Live Science reports:

Several studies have shown that people who regularly drink coffee or tea seem to have lower incidences of nonmelanoma skin cancers. One recent study of more than 90,000 Caucasian women found that with each additional cup of caffeinated coffee consumed, there was an associated 5 percent decreased risk of developing one of these skin cancers (decaf coffee had no effect).

More than this, other studies have had similar results:

Caffeine also seemed, in another study, to have a protective effect on mice that had been exposed to UV light, whether they ingested it or it was applied to their skin.


While we do not know if this caffeine will actually prevent cancer, this sort of finding is quite encouraging for us regular coffee, drinkers, right? Perhaps, in the future, we will find out that all these years of enjoying a cup (or two, or even three) of joe every day has benefited us more than we ever thought it would!