Jami Jackson's Music Player


Sunday, July 27, 2008

My Grandma's Birthday at the Duplin Winery

My Grandma's 80th birthday party was a success! The theme was "We Celebrate Love" and we had a really great turnout. My grandma was so happy. We invited 120 of our family and friends and had 118 people at the event! Everyone had great things to say. My mom and aunts worked really hard to plan the event and had thoughful party favors for every guest. They gave pictures and handpainted rocks that had my grandma's name and birthday on it. They also gave custom-made wrapping paper with chocolate that had her picture, name, and birthday, as well as tidbits of information on the back. My grandmother was born on July 12, 1928 and during that year, bread was 10 cents a pound, women gained voting rights, sugar was 35 cents for a five pound bag, and Mickey Mouse had his first debut. Maya Angelou, Shirley Temple, and Vidal Sassoon were born and the first bubble gum was made (Double Bubble). Even gas was 21 cents per gallon back then! Man, wouldn't that be great now!



The song that I sung , "Where I am" by Lachun Pace for the birthday party turned out really well! I had my producer, Bionik, make the track for me last minute but he was able to record it for me in time. I love singing gospel music because I always hope that by singing it, I will be able to touch someone in a special way.



They had the event at the Duplin Winery in Rose Hill, NC. The Duplin Winery was started in the 1970s and is a family-owned and family-run business. They produce wines from the Muscadine grape, which is a native of the Southeastern region of the United States. As a child, I used to pick Muscadine grapes from the vine and I remember how sweet, yet tart the grapes were. The skin of the grape is so thick that I would have to bite the skin and suck the pulp out to enjoy it. It is so amazing how Duplin Winery's wine captures the exact taste of this grape! Their wine is reminescent of my childhood memories. It's available all over America and if you ever see the bottle on the shelf or want to try a new wine, I suggest you visit try it out! The website is http://www.duplinwinery.com/.



I am personally a fan of red wine nowadays because of all of the health benefits! It's rich in antioxidants and it lowers the risk of heart disease. Cabernet Sauvignon apparently has the highest amount of polyphenols, compounds that benefit the heart, and then Petit Syrah and Pinot Noir come next. Researchers recommend 2 glasses of wine for men and 1 glass of wine for women each day (b/c women and men metabolize alcohol differently). Isn't this great news?! What brand of red wine do you like to drink?

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

New Music Media!

New idea on the way! My friend, Mardi Ellen, has developed an innovative way to market music in this crazy music world! She has developed an encrypted music CD that decodes a mystery series she has developed. The series is Davinci Code meets Atonement meets King Lear. What's interesting about it is this series uses her proprietary product, Mend TM, that is a new interactive media model, publishers, look out! I think it will be a great opportunity for songwriters and singers to get their music out there! Read more about it at www.mardi-ellen.com.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Destination Weddings

June 5 was a busy day! I filmed a lot of my day with BET. They filmed me having lunch with my boyfriend Cides. It was fun b/c we ate Chipotle in Bryant Park. The security guard was trying to stop us, but one of the cameramen had a pass that let us continue. Cides is a natural! He was joking and playing on camera . He even started talking about what our wedding was going to be like, so then I had to say "Woah baby!" :) . He was saying he wanted a destination wedding in Hawaii...he was really getting into it! Destination weddings can be expensive! I would like a small wedding and a wedding by a beach seems romantic, but I would hate for people not to go because of money. I know, for instance, that I would have to pay for my grandmothers because I can't expect them to pay that kind of money. One of my colleagues at work was saying that if you have a destination wedding, you have to pay either the flight or the hotel for your guests. I'm going to a destination wedding in Panama next April and I will have to pay my way. It's going to be about $1500!! It's going to be all-inclusive, but still.... If I had a wedding, I wasn't planning to pay my guests to go, but now I don't know...What do you think? What kind of wedding do you want?