The Final Outcome Of Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong confesses. Finally. What a relief! To everybody. Believers, non-believers, those sued, the integrity of the Tour de France, the 'second place' runner-ups, himself!, his family, and, most importantly, his five children!

Credit: ABCNews


While there is obvious reason to be upset at Lance— he lied, he cheated, he attacked, he stole— there are also lessons to gain and perhaps things to be thankful for, including these...

Public Figures Are Human Too. Putting too much faith in public figures can be dangerous if you uphold them to a higher level, seemingly beyond human, which many fall prey to. Perhaps, yes, they can be classified in a different category than the 'average human', given income level and media attention, but nonetheless, however much fame and fortune, they are still human, have their flaws, and will make mistakes just like the rest of us. The scale in which they do might just be exacerbated by the aforementioned 'un-averageness'.

If It's Too Good To Be True, It Is. We all love a fairy tale story, a story of heroism and greatness, and want so much to believe in them, perhaps, because they give us hope and inspiration. If the story does that— motivates and makes us a better version of who we are— then the story has done its job and take it for just that.

Media Literacy! It needs to be an ongoing requirement in our educational system. And so does psychology and understanding mental illness for that matter. Perhaps, then, maybe so many wouldn't be so shocked and outraged. For children, it's different and they are excused as they are still heavily in the process of basic learning and don't know any better. But by the time we reach adulthood, we should be decently able to distinguish between fantastical and reality. Winning the Tour de France seven times? Sounds pretty fantastical. Reference to previous point.

As for psychology and mental illness? The extremist nature of this whole story seems like it could only have been crafted by a man (or inkling of?, whichever) who has a serious mental disorder, including extreme narcissism and hero syndrome. Does everyone get that or does everyone just choose to be angry. Granted, it's 'easy' to blame fault on the intangible, so-called illness of the mind, but the mind is a very powerful and still highly enigmatic portion of our anatomy.

Focus On The Good And The Future. Thankfully, no one was hurt, at least not physically in this whole mess. Cancer patients and their families, amongst others, at least, however, found comfort, hope, and strength in Lance's story, whether or not it was true, in the times they really needed it. Livestrong has helped thousands, if not millions, in the fight against cancer. Just see what they've done.

None of us are perfect. That doesn't excuse what Lance did but do you believe in forgiveness? Comment below and share your thoughts, we'd love to hear what you have to say!

Happy LiveHealthy LiveJuicy LiveIntegrity!

Scandal may be juicy but healthy it is not.

The latest ya ya to hit the circuit is Sarah Ferguson, who's no stranger to dishonesty in the public eye. Toe-sucking was not involved this time around but slobbering over piles of ca$h unfortunately was. Ferguson was caught on video accepting $40,000 (USD) downpayment of over $700,000 from an undercover reporter in exchange to "open doors" to her ex, the Duke of York.

The whole thing is completely ridiculous and nauseating.. oops, I mean, unsettling, as is she.

Here's why:
The woman is known for frivolous spending and lavish lifestyle.
On top of her $20,000+ yearly stipend after divorce, she has been actually successful in using her [former] marital status to earn a very decent living. For example, she was the spokesperson for Weight Watchers for a decade, earning an income of $1 million dollars *per year*— and that was just one of her gigs.

Where did the money go? Paying off debt along with continuing to not just think but act as if she were still royalty.

For those in her defense claiming the difficulty of going from extravagence to something less so..? Boo hoo hoo. Poor her? Tough. If she really wanted all that then maybe she should've done more to save the marriage that granted her such things. I'm just sayin'..

What's even worse is that she's affiliated to children, and not just her own.

"I hate grown-ups and I love children. Thank you very much," she said upon accepting an award for her children's charity work recently.

On one hand, whether it's genuine or not, at least she's doing something respectable for others– note, however, no leak of misdeed has yet been reported.

Aside from charities, she also proclaims herself as such: "The bottom line is, at the end of the day, you know what, I am a foghorn for silent whispers, I am a children's book author, I am Sarah Ferguson, I am a mum, and I am so very proud of that." That was at the BookExpo America at the Javitz Center, to where she escaped England and promoted her new children's series.

She's also been previously quoted as saying, "What I love most about being a mother is loving, nurturing and teaching my girls. We are an incredibly close and honest family." Take that as you will.

At the Expo, some of the reaction was a bit startling. One author in attendance said, "We're writers. What matters is what we write — not who we are." What this guy obviously doesn't know is that it does. It's as if to say Twi-hards are only interested in the [fictional] characters and storyline of Edward and Bella, and couldn't care less about Rob and Kristen in real life. I'm sure they wish.. It's as if to say, 'Who cares if Chris Brown beat Rihanna to a swollen mess? All that matters is that he makes music.' The consumers are children and their teachers [inc. parents] for pete's sake. Is this a person we want our children to learn from?? (yes, that's 2, count TWO, question marks.)

Yet, another agreed, adding, "Her book and her name is more important than what she may have done, or I guess did, since it's on a video. It probably will hurt her more in England than here. Maybe the Queen will do something. But here, the publicity might even help her books."

Well, there is the saying, 'There's no such thing as bad press.'

The way it works is that now, because of this SCANDAL (mind you), there's all this media attention on her and what she's now doing. Interest is piqued and thus wallets are now potentially apt to open for purchase of not just newspapers and magazines but the books she's authored as well.

What I'm saying is this: On Amazon, there are over 800,000 (and counting) books categorized under 'Children's Books'. Endorse and support someone who might be just a tad more deserving, and don't fall for the marketing spawned out of dishone$ty. You probably work hard for your $$, do you really want to $hell yours out to someone who, well, doesn't really?


Happy Healthy Juicy Honest Reading Kids!

On Top with a New Man in Her Life

Sandra Bullock is one of the healthiest people I ‘know’-- and I’m not talking about physical fitness, diet, disease, or the like.

The word ‘health’ (apparently) is related to the word ‘whole’, which makes sense since one’s health refers to one’s entire being—physical, mental, emotional, social, financial, spiritual, etc.

Despite the inflicted pains she has had to endure as yet another highly publicized sex scandal victim, America’s Sweetheart emerges sweeter than ever.

Bullock, who has been in hiding since shortly after her Oscar win in March, gives her first exclusive interview to People magazine (out tomorrow) since Bombshell McGee—mistress #1—came forth (for fame and fortune).

The article is not solely about the dissolution of her marriage, though, but the dawn of her new life as Mom as well.

Given her high profile status and especially at such a pivotal point in her life—career- and marital-wise-- it is amazing that Bullock managed to keep her adopted son under wraps for months. It says a lot about her character and how supportive and loyal her family and friends are.

She doesn’t even bad-mouth her soon-to-be-ex-husband, but instead praises him as a father, and even hopes Louis, her son, can one day meet/see that side of him she admired. Eh? She’s willing to let Mr. Infidelity into the life of her new little man?

Media and PR have praised Sandra for how she handled her situation.. and maintained her branding image. Which is when I remembered that, oops, that’s what it is-- an image, a story, meant to sell a magazine.

Nonetheless, I’m a sucker for good endings, cute babies, and Bullock since she was Lucy Eleanor Moderatz. And I believe there are things we can learn from Sandra’s (public/documented) actions. Celebrities are people too, after all.

So, if you ever find yourself in a situation that can seemingly destroy you (like being lied to, betrayed, humiliated, etc)..

• Step back.
• Surround yourself with support, positivity, and the people you trust.
• Breathe.
• Appreciate & focus on the good things, distance yourself from the bad.
• Don’t wait too long to emerge, and when you do, shine your strength.

Happy Healthy Juicy!