May 21, 2013
by BewilderedBug
0 comments

How to improve your circadian rhythm

It is 6 am and I have already been up for three hours. Three hours before that, I was up as well, getting ready to go to bed. I am unable to sleep and although I do not believe this is the reason I am not sleeping, I read today about the link between depression and the natural circadian rhythm. You circadian rhythm is your daily (?) cycle that tells you when to sleep, when to wake up….it basically tells you what your body needs when and how. It dictates how your day/life is led with regards to natural necessities of the body. Recently, it has been found that the circadian rhythm is greatly disrupted when one is affected by depression. Like so many of these things in life, it’s a chicken and egg situation – the depression exacerbates the disruption in the circadian rhythm, and your lack of sleep exacerbates the depression. So what is one to do?

Well, other than treat your depression medically or naturally (whichever floats your boat), the only thing you really can do is to concentrate on making your sleeping environment more sleep-oriented - and by environment I mean your surroundings and your body (after all you are a part of your environment, right?). That sounds weird I know – basically you need to create a calm, comfortable, relaxed, cool state within and without your body, in which you are more likely to fall asleep and, hopefully, stay asleep.

Personally, I cannot sleep if I do not have a sleep aid. When we first moved to England, we had a bit of a scramble to find the drugs and supplements that I take daily – including my melatonin. I was prescribed melatonin by a psychiatrist in Toronto to help me to fall asleep, since I’m one of those people who keep chatting in my head even though the rest of me is dying to sleep. I make lists, I think of things I should research on the internet, I even thing of things I should blog about (like this!) and what I’m actually going to write as if the computer is sitting right in front of me and all systems are go. My systems do not turn off. So, I used to take melatonin (0.75 mg) to help me feel sleepy and then to encourage sleep. We could not find melatonin in the pharmacy near here, so we ordered some from eBay only to get 10 mg tablets which made me sleep all day. Then we lowered it to 3 mg and it seems that I fall asleep, but now I wake up in the middle of the night and cannot get back to sleep for my life. I’m currently on day five of 3 hours or less sleep – sad thing is, my mind does not even let me nap during the day.

Speaking of naps, I shouldn’t complain, because in order to get your circadian rhythm and sleep cycle back on track, it takes work and a little suffering. Day naps are NOT allowed. This is because you have to be tired at night, and because you get your best quality of sleep when it is dark, cool and quiet outside, NOT when there is natural sunlight and the hustle and bustle on the streets. Yes, it sucks for those of you who work on shifts because you don’t have a choice, but for those of you who do have a choice, prevent yourself from taking day naps so that your night sleep, however little you get, is of a better quality.

This means you do actually have to make an effort and suffer a bit because you cannot use stimulants (like caffeine or any energy drinks) to keep you up while you do this. If you are feeling tired in the day, try washing your face with cold water, drinking a glass of cold water or a mug of herbal tea, go for a walk, do some exercise. Do whatever you can to get your blood moving and to keep yourself awake. Oh, and speaking of exercise, it’s important! Exercise helps to regulate your mood and your circadian rhythm! So whatever floats your boat go for it – if you’re a dancer, try a dance class, aerobics or zumba, if you like running, turn on your tunes and take a jog on the treadmill or outside, simply go for a walk, go nuts cleaning your house for an hour or two. Do anything you can to burn calories and build up a sweat – it will help stimulate your serotonin levels, will keep you fit and will help energize you enough for the day that you will be tired just in time to actually go to bed. Your mood improves, your body image improves and your circadian rhythm jumps back into check.

At least when you take these steps, your body sort of naturally chooses a bedtime at the same time every day. This is helpful, because you can “coach” your body into the appropriate time for you. I’ve found (from past experience) that I personally feel best with 9 hours of sleep per night – I know, I know, what is needed is not always reality, but when I make the effort and get anything close to this, I actually feel much better during the day. First of all, we sleep in 3 hour REM cycles so 9 hours makes more sense than the 8 hour requirement I read everywhere else. I would typically choose a bedtime between 10 pm and 12 am every day - and it’s harder to do that when I try to spend some time with the Luv Luv….he studies during the day so the evenings are the only time I have with him. That being said, I personally need to be stricter with myself wrt bedtime. The whole purpose of me making this strict change is that I will be in bed at the same time every night, and therefore make it easier to wake up at the same time every morning (which is really the important part). In fact, it is advised that no matter what time you go to bed at night, you should wake up at the same time every morning to help your circadian rhythm stay normal.

Of course, it all helps if you’re comfortable right? I mean if you have a crappy sleep/relaxation space, there’s no way it’s going to help you to rest. Upgrade your space as best as you can. Get the proper pillow for your sleeping habits. Use cool sheets with a heavy blanket suited for the season. Keep the temperature of the room at a cooler level than the rest of your home. Invest in black-out blinds if you must (I’m about to do this both for the light and for the sound blocking reasons – we have a pub patio right beneath my bedroom window …they have karaoke on Thursday nights…late on Thursday nights..and as it gets warmer, it’s getting louder). Studies have shown that you get the best sleep in a quiet, dark, cool room. Personally, I have to go to sleep in a room I love, as well, in order to sleep well, so I try my best to create a room that I walk into and feel good. I use colours that are not too distracting or stimulating. I’m a texture person, so I like to have a bit of texture in my bed. I love a higher bed, lots of pillows and beautiful artwork. I love having a radio in there to play gentle music or upbeat tunes depending on what I need it for.

I am really bad at keeping my bedroom for sleep only. I tend to blog in there, play my facebook games (Candy Crush anyone?) in there, read, talk on the phone…I’ve made the mistake of making my room my multi-tasking space – something I need to change asap. I have realized that this is also because we have crappy furniture in this student apartment we are renting, so I’ve recently ordered a desk chair and some more shelves for my desk area so that I can carry my blogging and facebook game playing out to the living area instead of in my bedroom. I’m also looking into a possible new sofa or chaise addition to the present sofa so that I could read out there instead of in my bedroom. I’m going to move the telephone from by the television area into my desk area (if I can) so that I can have a bit of privacy if needed in my desk area. That being said…maybe I’ll get one of those chinese screens to put up by my desk to keep the “entertainment” sounds from the Luv Luv’s tv area out of my concentration circle. This is my attempt to make my bedroom a one task relaxation zone…. Slowly, I’m making changes to the layout of my spaces, my circadian rhythm and my life.

I also tend to write lists as often as possible. I’ve recently gotten into this habit again because it takes the thoughts and “to-do” list out of my head and onto paper, so I can go to bed without worrying about what I may forget the next day. It’s on the list, not in my head and therefore will get done. You can relax and sleep easy instead of having your tasks for the next day, week, month or year running through your head. Brainstorming is to be done during the day, not in the middle of the night.

Forgot something? Well, try not to worry about it either, because is it really that urgent? Well chillax dude, cause you’re human. If something has been forgotten, you apologise and move on. Most people will not forget life and death or urgent situations or tasks – so just relax, I’m 99.9% sure you won’t, brain fog or not….especially if you have anxiety problems, because you definitely won’t be able to relax if you have something THAT urgent that it cannot wait for a good night’s sleep. Again, you have your ever-morphing list, just write it in big letters (if you have to) so that you can see immediately that it is an urgent task for you to get out of the way, out of your head and out of your life. Then you can have your blissful night’s sleep. It’s really t hat simple (so I say but definitely not really what I do….but I do believe it, I just seem to be unable to put it into practice…I hope you can!)

Remember to take “me time” daily. Whatever you enjoy – take a little time to do it everyday. It’s amazing how the smallest bit of joy can change your outlook on your day and your life, can relax you and allow you to sleep the way you’re supposed to. Just being happy can help put your circadian rhythm back on track and getting sleep can help you become and stay happier. Chicken and egg, remember?! If you have a family that won’t leave you alone or a very demanding job, make sure you can find the time. Tell your family that it’s your time and set a kitchen timer. Tell them they are not allowed to disturb you until the timer goes off. Put your foot down – this may take some practice on your part and definitely on theirs, but keep at it cause it is a necessity for you! WRT your job, if you have an especially demanding job, take a daily break. Think about it – smokers tend to be a bit more relaxed at work because of their constant smoke breaks – they get up from their desks, walk outside and smoke, have a little down time and then get back and are more relaxed and more productive. Similarly, get up from your desk and go to different surroundings. Maybe take a walk around the floor of your office. Go outside and take a walk around the building and/or parking lot. Whatever – get a change of scenery, preferably with fresh air for ten minutes and then go back in and tackle your task. This way you got your “me time”, you’ve re-focused and can finish your job more quickly, and it doesn’t end up on your mental “to-do” list that seems to pop up every time you lie down to sleep.

At the same time, it helps to meditate. It is amazing how relaxing meditation can be for you – and no, I don’t expect everyone to meditate like some sort of South Asian guru. You don’t have to do yoga, you don’t have to listen to monks chanting and sit crosslegged on the floor. Just do what comes naturally. Some people find chanting relaxing but personally it makes me giggle. Some people do muscle relaxation techniques (and this very often works for me) or breathing techniques (sometimes but I am unable to relax enough sometimes to do this). Some concentrate on an image in their heads – very often something like a candle flame – and relax while concentrating on the one idea, the one thought, the one task in their heads. This takes practice but is doable. Meditation slows down the modern mind from the multi-tasking that the world now requires, to one single task, allowing it to relax, unwind and refocus. Done in the day, meditation can be refreshing. Done just as you have lain down to sleep, meditation can help you fall asleep more quickly and keep you in a good quality of sleep.

Now, I know all these steps and you probably have read them all over the internet as well, but I do not always practice all of them (although ideally, I really should). I just found it really interesting to hear that depression took such a large role in disturbing one’s circadian rhythm that I wanted to re-iterate to you that you can take these things in hand and improve your own situation with a little effort and willpower. Nobody is perfect and I don’t expect you to take this advice and change everything and suddenly improve your life and heal yourself – but I do expect you to remember some of these, perhaps try to implement them and see if they work. As for me, I’ll be striving to figure out whatever the heck messed up my rhythm and which of these I can improve upon (quite a few at first glance) and in what order. Out comes my handy little list book and off to brainstorming I go (after all, it’s bright outside now!).

What do you think you can do to improve your sleep cycle and circadian rhythms? Do you think working on being happier will help with your sleep schedule or that improving your sleep schedule will improve your depression? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

May 20, 2013
by BewilderedBug
6 Comments

Don’t Sweat It. Handle It! with the new Lady Speed Stick Power!

Don’t Sweat It! Handle It!

When you are someone who grew up with the idea of the world being your home rather than a specific city or country, you tend to pick up some ~~strange~~ unique habits. Your everyday vocabulary gets all jumbled up, your accent is never able to be specifically defined in one way or another, your food tastes completely change depending on the weather and you have to constantly be reminding yourself what country you are in when and how to react to people and situations in each country. What doesn’t change, though, is that life challenges face you on every corner in every country. The grass is not greener in that other country, but often, just another shade of brown and a different type of grass. As you grow with your multi-national and multi-cultural experience, however, you learn to say, eh…Don’t sweat it! Handle it!

The first of my generation to tackle the world was my older sister. As the oldest, she graduated first and was sent forth to further her studies, first in Canada and then in Ireland. She currently resides in Ireland, but is not sure where she wants to settle eventually…yet another situation that seems to occur when you move around a lot like we do….but that’s another blog. I used to be so amused to hear her stories, first when I was still in high school in Trinidad and hearing of her adventures in Canada….the Canadian Eh!, the whole hockey culture, the way they pronounce “margarine”, their habit of ignoring the sound of the second ‘T” in the word Toronto, her first comforter washing disaster in her school residence. They were alien concepts to me – this strange new land. She also picked up weird habits. She came home and went and ran into the rain because the rain in Trinidad was “warm”, she packed her suitcase with foods we generally would snack on once in a while but not search for and she bought music we would never imagine listening to on a daily basis to take with her. Familiarity, you see, is an often overlooked necessity at times.

Then she moved to Ireland, and did even weirder things like change her vocabulary – calling an apartment a “flat”, using British slang and pronouncing her words in the most queer manner…after all…she now had a Trini-Jamaican-Canadian-Irish accent….yes. Quite multi-cultural to say the least. The thing I laughed most about, however, was that whenever she went to Trinidad, and whenever she visited me in Toronto (cause I was there by that time), she always HAD to go to a pharmacy and stock up on toiletries. I remember asking her if they didn’t have toothpaste in Ireland?

It was again, a grab for familiarity, and possibly a bit of laziness to try out and figure out the new brands available to her instead of the familiar brands no longer available (This is something I’ve been experiencing recently. I had to stop myself from buying a grocery store on my last trip to Trinidad last week). She stocked up on toothpaste, hairgel and of course, Lady Speed Stick antiperspirant. I’m not just saying this – this is true…half of her suitcase going back to Ireland would be these products. If she ever got searched, I wonder what the customs agent would have thought?

The reason she chose these things, again was familiarity and because she had been using these products since she was a teenager. It’s hard to break habits, good or bad. She loved the smell and feel and effects of the Lady Speed Stick deodorant, and she could not find it where she was, so, whenever she got the chance she would pick up as many as possible. She has been known to clear a shelf in Pennywise or Shoppers’, depending on which country you’re looking at!

Lady Speed Stick Power

I, unfortunately, react to any chemical deodorant and even some of the natural ones. That’s because I’m an (all together now) allergy queen…so I was unable to try the two new scents of the Lady Speed Stick Power antiperspirants that I was supplied with. I did, however, get my cousin to try them…and this is what she had to say:

“The Lady Speed Stick Power antiperspirants (one stick, one gel) arrived last week. I’ve been using them for the past 4 days and true to their slogan, they’ve kept me “fresh from morning to night”. I prefer the stick to the gel, but I just don’t like gel antiperspirants (personal preference).

The “Cool Breeze” scent is nice, I prefer it to the fresh fusion one. I haven’t noticed any visible marks (nothing more than usual at any rate) on my clothes. One thing that may be concerning is that it’s so powerful that even after taking a shower, the scent of the antiperspirant is still lightly present (makes me wonder what’s in it!) – and I swear I scrubbed under my arms thoroughly!”

The new Lady Speed Stick Power, it is supposed to provide long lasting, superior protection to help women feel dry and unstoppably fresh to enable them to handle any sweat-inducing situations that they may encounter in their everyday life by giving you tough, invisible, 24-hour protection. It also comes in 4 different fragrances so that you can choose whichever one floats your boat to keep you feeling fresh from morning to night.

Now, my cousin lives a life that is probably really similar to many of yours – she has a family, home and job that she has to look after on a daily basis and has to deal with everyday stresses and the once-in-a-while surprises that life tends to have in store for you. She is athletic and used to play rugby, but now keeps herself in shape. She is not some weirdo who sweats profusely or anything, but she is an excellent option for trying out a deodorant such as this.

As she said, she does not like gel antiperspirants, but when I was able to use normal deodorants (and yes, there was a time where I was not quite an allergy queen….maybe an allergy princess? allergy duchess?) I actually preferred gel – even though you did have to flap around for a few minutes like a chicken to let them dry. I just liked the consistency so much better than the creamy sticks and I found them to be more effective than roll ons….and forget sprays…who wants to do that to themselves (read: I do not like cold things on my body)?!?!

Awkward Moments…

In the end, Lady Speed Stick Power, and Lady Speed Stick in general has been a reliable antiperspirant for many of the ladies I know for over a decade of both normal and awkwardly strange situations. Speaking of awkward situations … I think I can (sadly) relate to this situation below…um…a bit too much ……

GAHHH! That has happened to me SO many times – I’m so going to use the fake Bluetooth excuse in future!

Try it out!

Wanna try it out? It looks pretty good! Well, I have two options for you, so don’t sweat it. Handle it!

1) You can go here for a coupon (expiring May 25th, 2013) to pick up your own Lady Speed Stick Power antiperspirant in whatever format or fantastic scent that you choose….

2) What makes YOU sweat? You can enter this giveaway (open to Canadian Residents only; ending May 31st) to win one of six awesome Gift Basket Assortments of Lady Speed Stick products.

We were compensated for this post by Colgate, but regardless of compensation or not, the opinions expressed in this post, and in all posts on Bewildered bug, are honest and our own.

May 19, 2013
by BewilderedBug
0 comments

Discussing Rob Ford and realism in politics

How many times have you said it in the past? Rob Ford must be on crack! Well, according to this recent video that came out, Rob Ford is on crack – and parties with Somalian drug lords…and the world is reacting to it in their oh so predictable way. No wonder he only lost 17 pounds before giving up (when he was supposed to lose 50 , I believe?).

Honestly, I’m not one who talks about politics and issues too loudly, because I tend not to follow these things consistently and usually have a bit of a skewed opinion….but this morning, blogger extraordinaire Tanis Miller, shared this on her facebook…..and as much as I agree with it, it wasn’t quite what I wanted to say and it inspired me to write about Mr. Ford and pray that you don’t unsubscribe from the blog just because of this one opinion post (please, please, I love you, I truly do!).

I am (was?) actually one of the crazy people who LIKE Rob Ford. (ducks and avoids rotten tomatoes). Seriously – I like the guy…if I voted (again ducks because a rotten pumpkin is coming my way) I would have voted for him. I tend to avoid politics with a vengeance, just because I have a politics-~~obsessed~~-loving father and an equally politics-~~obsessed~~-loving husband. It is constantly in my ears – and politics tends to get loud and obnoxious when discussed by these type of people…even when they are coming from the same direction. Why do I need to re-iterate what the idiots that we’ve chosen to lead us are doing in my everyday life over and over again? It’s not funny to me that no matter who we seem to vote in, they fail miserably, are ridiculously inept or are just plain corrupt all while pretending to be as spotless as an angel.

That being said I like Rob Ford. Not for his politics…but for his personality and the realism he brings to his politics. He sounds like he would be someone who I would find entertaining on a one to one basis and would actually be the life of a party. He actually got me interested in politics with his crude dramatic type of politics (and here I am saying I like to avoid drama, when, in this case, I’m finding it quite amusing) – I am so glad for something different…something refreshing and real and true.

You see, up to this point, Rob Ford has been dramatic and crude – but only in such a way that revealed to me that he was as human as any of the guys I know – including my father and husband. They all play the *ss. They all postulate out of their bottoms and then go ahead and to the opposite of what they know they should do. They talk on cell phones while they drive and run red lights and speed and suck their teeth at those following the rules who criticize them. They unfairly blame others for their mistakes and flip the unsuspecting innocents the bird whether they are looking or not. They all do things that their mothers would be ashamed to see their sons do and then pretend that they don’t. Rob Ford only showed me that instead of the trumped up politician, he was a typical, egotistical man (person?) who refused to hide his inadequacies.

photograph of an article from the Sunday Times

Just to prove my point – my husband just went “you know, if you read the article you’ll see that we don’t KNOW just yet that it’s crack”. He has to have an opinion – has to interject even though he has no clue what I’m writing. Politics in his future maybe? Anyway….back to my thoughts…where was I?

What I’m saying was that I like Rob Ford because he has proven to be a man with blemishes and sins….unlike most/many of his political predecessors. My question is, is it so wrong to have a politician who is normal and down to earth instead of aloof on his pedestal that’s being constantly polished by the media? Is it so wrong to have a role model that is normal instead of celebrity perfect? Maybe it is….

Maybe if we all accept who and what we are, we will be a happier world…maybe not solve all our problems, but it’s a good start.

As for this claim of Rob Ford partying with crack…yes, I’m seriously disappointed..why? Because I held onto the hope that he was just a normal bumbling guy with vices, but not the horrible monster the press is constantly making him out to be. At the same time, as my husband said (I wonder if what he said changed my blog, or if his comment was right on par with my blog?)…you don’t yet know the authenticity of the video although the Toronto Star and Gawker are claiming it is authentic. The very same media that consistently criticize him and gleefully report every single mess up.

I wonder what the Ford family thinks of this? In reality, I guess I should be saying that they put themselves in the limelight and should expect to be scrutinized down to their least loveable marks on their bodies and their most shameful secrets. After all, isn’t that the job of a celebrity?

Still….after all this, I have to say I have a fondness for Rob Ford…again, not for his politics, but for his humanity. Something about him makes me fond of him although he seems to be the anti-thesis to the definition of a politician. So kudos to him for trying to bring realism to politics….but I’m not sure the world is ready for it…and good luck with this newest scandal…..

May 18, 2013
by BewilderedBug
0 comments

Beautiful and Bejeweled

I got the Scriptic.org fictional piece done early this week! Hope you like it….

******************************************************************************************

She let go of her skin promptly, scolding herself for pulling down on the delicate skin around her eye while putting on her black kohl. Wasn’t that how you made your eyes droop? She knew better than that. She wished she were not so distracted tonight. She finished the seamless, thin, black line along her lower lashes to complete the darkened eye look that was so popular these days. She blinked rapidly while she backed up from the mirror, staring at her reflection and critiquing everything she saw.

She was beautiful, there was no doubt about it. She had always been complimented on her physical beauty, ever since she was a girl. Her Mother had constantly praised her beauty as she was growing up and her Grandmother never failed to remind her that she was the cutest baby that God had ever graced the earth with. She had her share of suitors as she grew older, but had chosen Alexander because of his undaunting attention and his successful career path.

She had never thought that she would be a senator’s wife, but here she was, across the ocean from her childhood home, getting dressed to attend one of her husband’s campaign parties. If he got voted in, he’d be the youngest senator in US history. It was everything she had ever dreamt – the wife of a successful man with a household of her own and no money problems.

So, why was she so unhappy? After five years of marriage, she had made her bed and laid in it…and it was so comfortable….but was there a pea under the mattress somewhere that she could not find?

She sat on her vanity stool and picked up her powder poof and paused, staring at it. Why WAS she so unhappy?

They had been trying for children but nothing had happened yet, and her parents and society in general seemed to be pressing in on all sides to somehow “magic” a child into her seemingly barren womb, but she understood where they were coming from and accepted it as graciously as possible. After all, most girls her age were onto child number two or three. Her husband was understanding too, saying that a child would be wonderful but would distract him fromhis political career if they did have any at this time. He usually continued on saying that they should keep trying because then she would have something to distract her on a daily basis instead of just having to listen to the natterings of the other senators’ wives. He was so supportive about it….then again, every once in a while as he was saying good night, when he was waiting for dinner or when he was reading the morning newspaper she swore she could see this look in his eye…..that slightly scornful look that he always said she imagined but she swore was a reality.

She powdered her face and reached for her rouge. She smiled the biggest smile she could manage into the mirror and rubbed the creamy rose coloured rouge onto the apples of her cheeks. Her smile slowly disappeared even before she had finished. Life in America had proven to be more difficult than she had expected. She had grown up in a wealthy family, with maids and cooks and butlers and nannies catering to her every need, yet here she somehow had to manage with one maid who was forced to multi-task as a cook and butler. The streets at home were cleanly cobblestoned with no puddles or mud to avoid, yet the streets here were all mud and almost swamplike when it rained. Many of her silk stockings and expensive custom shoes were ruined walking on these streets, to the point where she now wore ugly men’s boots under her long skirts when she could get away with it, just to preserve her dainty, feminine shoes.

Worst of all, her husband was less attentive here, with his campaigns distracting him from their marriage. He was busy shaking hands and kissing other people’s babies for publicity while she remained the silent, but proud wife in the background.

She was no longer the priority in his life. At least, not like she used to be.

She wiped the remaining rouge off of her hands and was about to finish pinning her hair up when there was a knock at her boudoir door.

“Enter!” she called.

“Jacqueline,” her husband exclaimed as he walked in smiling. “You look absolutely ravishing tonight…not that that’s any different from usual!”

She started to get up to greet her husband, forcing her smile back into place so that he would not notice her brooding.

“No, no darling, don’t get up!” He came up behind her and put his strong hands on her delicate shoulders, pushing her back down onto the stool gently.

He was fully dressed and coifed. His auburn hair was parted along the left side and slicked down neatly as was the style of the day. The thin moustache along his lip was trimmed neatly, as he had kept it since he was in the war. He wore a dark tuxedo jacket with a white, starched waistcoat, white shirt and a burgundy striped silk tie. His patent leather shoes shone and smelt faintly of the shoe polish that the maid had sweated to rub in earlier that day. He smelt strongly of musk and lavender, as he bent down to whisper in her ear.

“Close your eyes, dearest. I have a surprise for you.”

Surprises….he was always full of surprises these days. He always came home daily with treats for her from a new bakery or jewels or lace or riches beyond imagination…but he never came home with what she truly wanted. She wanted him. Alone. Just time alone with her husband, the way they used to be when he was wooing her. Perhaps a picnic one day alone in the countryside? Just one evening alone by the fireplace? She had so many people around her on an everyday basis, after all she was officially a public figure – the wife of a possible future senator. Her social calendar was so full since the beginning of the campaign, that it had all but exploded!

Yet she felt so alone. So. Alone.

She just wanted to have his attention for even five minutes. All his attention, not the little bit that he had recently been able to spare for her as an afterthought.

“Sweetheart, close your eyes!”

She smiled faintly at her husband in the mirror and closed her eyes. Then she felt weight on her clavicle and opened her eyes to see her husband grinning expectantly into the mirror. Around her neck was a delicate necklace made with pearls so perfect that they could have been fake and emeralds so deep in colour that one could get lost if you stared long enough. It was beautiful.

“It’s beautiful Alex!” she exclaimed, the happiness in her voice not reflecting the disappointment and heaviness inside of her.

“No dearest, you make it beautiful” he replied, kissing her on her shoulder. “Finish getting dressed, I will wait in the parlour for you.”

He tossed the box and all its wrapping onto her bed and walked out, closing the door softly behind him.

She sighed loudly. It was beautiful. She was beautiful. She finished her face and her hair and then slipped the dress that Alex wanted her to wear over her head and moved over to the full length mirror near to the window to look at her reflection.

She was a picture of perfection. The perfectly coifed strawberry blonde hair with pincurls delicately framing her face. The perfectly done makeup in the style of the most modern ladies of the era. The new, glitzy, fringed frock that revealed a shocking amount of perfectly formed legs. She turned slightly noticing the glittering fringe moving seductively against her curves. Then she approved the dead straight, centered black line drawn up the back of her leg to imitate silk stockings that were dear in this new country after the war. The necklace, blinking in the sunlight, reflected the shine in her green, emerald-like eyes and drew the observer into their depths.

She was gorgeous, as usual. Shiny and perfect as she should be…at least on the outside….

She was beautiful and bejeweled.

“But what does the inside look like?” she whispered to herself, imagine a dark, vapid, empty cave.

She shook the idea out of her head, smiled a big, friendly, first-lady smile to dispel the negativity, grabbed her clutch, tossed the discarded jewellery box and wrappings into the nearby bin and closed the door behind her on her way out.

******************************************************************************************

For the Scriptic prompt exchange this week, SAM gave me this prompt: Bejeweled.

I gave k~ this prompt: She goes out of her way to visit twenty different stores just to get the best deals, save money and get the products he truly loves, whether she is well, exhausted or sick and through rain, sleet or shine. When she was bed-ridden, however, he went to onl…”

May 17, 2013
by BewilderedBug
12 Comments

Breakfast in Bed with #PhillyChocolate? Yes please!

I grew up in a seriously dairy loving family. In fact, I only found out I had a casein allergy later in life, so I grew up scarfing down liters of milk and ice cream, pounds of cheese and blocks and blocks of chocolate as a child. When we went to the grocery (supermarket), I remember waiting at the check out counter numerous times while one of the employees went to the storage room to bring out two cases of UHT milk – that would last us maybe a week and a half to two weeks between myself and my two sisters. My little sister, in particular, was a milk guzzler (and still is!) and my older sister, a chocaholic. Chocolate was a favorite in our house in general, with my Mom’s cheesecake coming in at a close second – so when I heard that Philly Chocolate is about to hit Canadian supermarket shelves, I got ridiculously excited – and then remembered that it was dairy based and that I could not have it (boo to allergies!). That just means YOU have to try it and let me know…or that the Luv Luv will become the guinea pig…yet again.

Anyone with food allergies will have you know that you start experimenting more in the kitchen – especially those who are allergic to common allergens such as gluten and dairy – I mean, at some point you want that lovely, soft, chocolatey slice of cake or that really nice flatbread with the olives and herbs, drenched in a home-made garlicky butter…but unfortunately those are not part of your reality anymore, so you go out of your way to recreate recipes that may be similar to them, to fulfill your cravings and to find something other than just meat and veggies to eat (for you carb-avoiders, whatever floats your boat man!). So, it’s not surprise that in our household, I’m usually the one who is experimenting in the kitchen – whether or not the experiments are gluten/dairy free or absolutely filled with allergens that only the Luv Luv can ingest.

In this case – I immediately thought of chocolate covered strawberries – something I crave constantly but cannot have because I have an anaphylactic reaction to bumpy, hairy berries (including of course, strawberries). The Philly Chocolate Cream Cheese Spreadable and strawberries on a warm scone would be a perfect tea-time snack. Yes I’m turning very British in my ways, and so is the Luv Luv. So, of course, I send him to the grocery, and of course, he comes back with twice the amount of goodies than I wrote on the list…including clotted cream.

So I use my handy dandy George Foreman Grill that I got a few weeks ago and toasted one of the scones, slathered the hot scone in oodles of clotted cream and placed sliced strawberries on it. A perfect British treat. Then I took another scone and slathered that in chocolate spread topped with sliced strawberries and used the raclette grilling feature of the grill and broiled the strawberries. A perfect treat wherever you are in the world.

Cherry Scones with Clotted Cream and Sliced Strawberries

Cherry Scones with Clotted Cream or Chocolate Spread and Sliced Strawberries

Right now he is the quietest I’ve heard him all day – cause his mouth is full and his belly is happy…and the way to a man’s heart is through…..that’s right…his stomach. I only wish I were able to pick up the Philly Chocolate here in England, because even though this is a yummy treat, it’s not the healthiest (even though we could use the excuse of there being fruit on it)….and would improve a bit if it were the Philly Chocolate instead of the Chocolate Spread that I had on hand. Why? Because with Chocolate Philly you get the dairy goodness of Philly plus the deliciousness of pure milk chocolate – with half the sugar and calories (per 1 tbsp. serving) of the other guys. So we can pretend it makes it that itsy bit more healthy…chocolate is dairy right? Good for most people…and you ARE serving it with fruit….ahem…

This makes me think that maybe he should get a bit more creative in the kitchen – and maybe surprise ME with a treat…after all, with all the allergy friendly food I stock in our pantry and the copious amounts of cookbooks that I ~~savour, collect, love~~ own, he could do SOMETHING right? There’s always the internet and awesome blogs for ideas too right? Right? Why else would you be reading this? (don’t answer that!).

The good news for you (Canada) is that as of May 21st, on the Philadelphia Cream Cheese Canada facebook page, there will be a downloadable coupon to try your own little experiment with Philly Chocolate! You gotta hurry though – it’s only going to be up there for a limited time! In fact, if you download the coupon and put it somewhere obvious, perhaps you can get your significant other to be nice enough to maybe create a treat for you and serve it to you as Breakfast in Bed?

In fact, Philly Chocolate loves this idea so much that they are running a Facebook “Likes” Challenge. They believe that they have figured out an effective and efficient way to ~~trick~~ convince your loved one to treat you to Breakfast in Bed. First, you have to make them accountable – so post a facebook status saying something like “ If I get 20 Likes, my sweetie(s) are/is serving me Chocolate Philly in bed. Help a girl out! Thank you!!“ Then, when your friends and family (and hopefully your lovely in-laws) start joining in on the fun, your sweetie(s) will ~~have no choice but to~~ commit to serving you a(n) ~~maybe-not-so~~ imaginative Breakfast in Bed! When this happens, all you have to do is take a photo of your decadent meal including Philly Chocolate (okay fine, and your sweetie(s) who worked so hard can be in the photo too!) and post it to the Philadelphia Cream Cheese Canada Facebook Page for the whole world to see.

The proof is in the pudding right? So you want to broadcast that puppy everywhere!

So, I hope to see all your lovely photos of being treated with Philly Chocolate by your loved ones! I’m going to start working on this very satisfied customer right here….

“Babe, I’m sorta full”…… no kidding!

What would you make with Philly Chocolate?

I was compensated for this post, but compensated or not, all opinions expressed here and in all posts on Bewildered Bug are my own and are honest.

May 17, 2013
by BewilderedBug
5 Comments

The Tragedy

I haven’t done a fictional piece in quite a while, so I’m sure my skills have wavered a bit – but I’ve decided to start doing Scriptic.org prompts again… Thanks Mom, for the reminder that my creative side needed some prodding!

***********************************************************************************************************************

Her dyed jet black hair flew casting an ethereal shadow across the pink and purple dawn sky, her white gauzelike nightgown wrapping around her slender figure and flapping behind her as she pranced and danced across the thin, concrete railing above the river. The land seemed to weep around her, not yet flooded with daylight, but eternally stuck in the greyness of uncertainty of the witching hour that no one was quite sure how to define. They almost trembled with fear of the inevitable but at the same time they were ever-present, staring at the train wreck that was surely about to happen.

“Lady,” my colleague called to the mysterious waif, “Lady, what are you doing?! It’s really early in the morning and should you really be up there?”

The lady turned around and faced us, opening her eyes wide as if she had not noticed us running down the stone path towards her for the past five minutes that seemed like eternity. She tilted her head, did a little hop and skip closer to us and then held out her right hand to us.

“Good morning gentlemen, how are you today?” she giggled behind her left hand and bent her knees so that we could reach her hand.

My colleague accepted the frail, spotted, white appendage and kissed the back of it lightly. She giggled, blushed and hugged herself.

“Isn’t it just glorious?!” she thrilled as she twirled upon the precarious edge, ” a perfect day for a dramatic ending!” She laughed again at her quip and skipped back to the middle of the bridge.

“Lady, the water’s cold, you don’t want to fall in there! Why not come back up to the house and we’ll fetch you a nice blanket and a cup of tea?” my colleague begged.

“My name,” she said, turning serious and facing him momentarily, “is Cosette.” She waited expectantly as if we were supposed to know who she was.

My colleague sighed, “Cosette, dearest, please come down, you’re scaring Marcus.”

I started at the sound of my name.

He continued “Please do come down, I cannot bear to see you so close to the edge! My heart cannot take it!”

“Oh” Cosette mused, “how romantic! A gentleman mourning the loss of his lady love in the early morning? Just imagine the rave reviews it would get! I swoon…” She placed the back of her hand against her forehead and swooned dangerously. Her left foot lost footing and she slipped a bit before regaining her balance. I dove forward to catch her, but strangely enough, my colleague did not.

“What is it that I’ve to live for? My fiancé has married another, my Father has passed and Mother, dear Mother…the plague has taken her and it is only a matter of time before I fade away into oblivion too! Who remembers those who have passed once all who knew them pass? I am only a aging lady, alone in this life…what am I to do? What better end than this, this dramatic statement on the banal effects that society has had on me…at least someone will remember me even if just for a short time….”

My colleague, Andrew, leaned onto the bannister, seemingly waiting for something, almost expectantly. I stared at him curiously, almost forgetting the suicidal lady prancing around on the stone bannister behind me.

“What’s wrong with you dude?! The lady’s about to jump and you’re sitting here like it’s the latest theatrical show?!”

“Ah don’t worry about it, Marcus…trust me, she’s not gonna jump…”

“Gentlemen, Gentlemen” Cosette interrupted, her soft fingers grasping my shoulder from behind, “don’t fight over me, I’m just a lost soul…” She stood up again, dusting her fingers as if she had touched dirt and was trying to daintily get it off of her fingertips. “I am not worth the argument. My day for having young men duel over me are long gone…my days of happiness have flown away with the summer birds in autumn, for only the young frolic and enjoy life, but once you become this old, the curtains close and no one wants to see the decrepit old hag that the winter brings!!!!”

She dramatically grasped the sides of her head.

“All that faces me is death! All that I can look forward to is the afterlife, which I pray would be merciful to this old sinner. Oh how I was wicked when I was young!!! The riverbed is the place for this old body to retire, the angels will take the soul from there! Goodbye my friends, goodbye!” she faced the river and the upcoming sun, opening her eyes and allowing the warmth to rush over her frail body.

I started to panic.

“Um Cosette”, Andrew said calmly.

“Please don’t interrupt me, these are my final thoughts, my final words…they must be poignant so that I could be remembered for all eternity, you two gentlemen are my witnesses! Write about me! Postulate about me! Tell the people how I suffered, filled with angst and tribulation….” She beat her chest with her weak fists.

“Yeah, I’ll do that,” my colleague said, “but you may notice that the river is really just a small stream….and if you jump the splash won’t even reach your knees.”

Colette looked confused and looked down at the small stream below the bridge. “But…but….how could I write my final tragedy unless I have a river to bury my worldly self in? How could I fail in my one final task? Oh…oh!!!” and she started to weep.

I was at a loss for words, I had no clue what was going on.

She crumpled down, sitting on the railing with her legs on either side, wailing as if she had lost the love of her life. “How could I have failed again? My life is supposed to be a tragedy! How can a tragedy be written without a dramatic, final death? Who will remember me now?!” She continued to weep bitterly into her hands.

Andrew walked up to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Dear, dear, I’m sure all in good time…perhaps today just wasn’t the day for the end. Perhaps there’s yet one more adventure to write about.”

Cosette looked at him with teary eyes, “Do you think so?” she whispered.

“Definitely. Especially for a leading lady like you.”

Cosette managed a small smile. Just then, a bell started to ring at the house.

“Oh, it’s breakfast time, Cosette” Andrew said, “And I think I saw Marian making fresh marmalade last night.”

Cosette’s face lit up. “Ooh, marmalade is my favourite!” She climbed down off of the banister and ran up the stone path towards the house at an astonishing speed for someone so aged.

“Um….” I said, scratching my head, “What just happened?”

Andrew laughed and clapped me on the back, “That’s just Jennifer, one of the patients. She used to be an actress on Broadway way back in the 30′s and has a touch of dementia and loves the dramatic. She does this about once a month – nothing to worry about, once you mention orange marmalade, jello or roast beef she high tails it back inside! Don’t worry, you’ll learn all of them and their quirks.”

He walked off leaving me slightly stunned. I shook my head, laughing and followed him back towards the house. It certainly was an interesting start to my second week on the job at the old age home.

***********************************************************************************************************************
For the Scriptic prompt exchange this week, Talia gave me this prompt: Write someone who is about to jump off a bridge. Why? Who stops them?.

I gave Kurt this prompt: All she had ever wanted was a ruby red kettle.

May 16, 2013
by BewilderedBug
0 comments

Dusty, the Star of “Disney’s Planes” to appear at Waterloo Air Show! (Press Release)

DUSTY, STAR OF “DISNEY’S PLANES” TO APPEAR

AT WATERLOO AIR SHOW!

June 1 & 2

TORONTO, May 15, 2013 — The summer release of “Disney’s Planes,” the animated comedy adventure from above the world of the popular 2006 film “Cars,” has the entire aviation community buzzing. “Disney’s Planes” captures all of the thrill and excitement that flying has to offer—plus a lot of heart and humour.

For thousands of air-show attendees, the movie will jump to life with Dusty’s flying performance at select air shows across North America. Dusty will show off his talents, communicate with the crowd and be accompanied by an exclusive and uplifting Disney musical score.

“‘Disney’s Planes’ is a great underdog story, said director and aviation enthusiast Klay Hall. “It has a lot of heart and a message we can all use: If we can believe in ourselves, step out of our comfort zones and get past whatever fear is holding us back, we’d be surprised with the results. And that’s exactly what happens to Dusty in this movie. He’s a crop duster who’s never flown above 1,000 feet, but he dreams of being the fastest air racer in the world. He has a lot of obstacles to overcome and needs to dig pretty deep to find the courage to become more than he was built for.”

David White, Co-Producer of the Waterloo Air Show added: “The Waterloo Air Show is a wonderful family event and we are absolutely thrilled to be a part of the ultimate family experience with this very special appearance of Dusty from ‘Disney’s Planes.’ We invite those of all ages to join us for this most unique event.”

The owner and pilot of the aircraft tapped to play the role of Dusty in the air show performances is Texas-based aerial applicator Rusty Lindeman, who customized one of his own Air Tractor AT-301 airplanes to match Dusty’s paint scheme and features. Manufactured in Olney, Texas, Air Tractor aircraft are used for agricultural spraying, seeding and fertilizing, plus forestry protection, fire fighting and more in the U.S. and more than 30 countries around the world. “We’re happy to help bring Dusty to life for the performances and hope that the audience will have fun and learn a bit more about the importance of aerial application in modern agriculture,” said Air Tractor’s Kristin Edwards.

Air Tractor’s founder, Leland Snow, designed, built and flew his own purpose-built crop duster in 1953 and devoted his career to designing bigger and better aircraft for aerial application.

About Disney’s Planes

From above the world of “Cars” comes “Disney’s Planes,” an action-packed 3D animated comedy adventure featuring Dusty (voice of Dane Cook), a plane with dreams of competing as a high-flying air racer. But Dusty’s not exactly built for racing—and he happens to be afraid of heights. So he turns to a seasoned naval aviator who helps Dusty qualify to take on the defending champ of the race circuit. Dusty’s courage is put to the ultimate test as he aims to reach heights he never dreamed possible, giving a spellbound world the inspiration to soar. Featuring a talented roster of voice talent, including Stacy Keach, Brad Garrett, Teri Hatcher, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and more, “Disney’s Planes” takes off in theatres on Aug. 9, 2013.

For more information, check out Disney.com/Planes, like us on Facebook: facebook.com/DisneyPlanes or facebook.com/WaltDisneyStudiosCanada and follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/DisneyStudiosCA.

About the Waterloo Air Show

The Waterloo Air Show will take place June 1^st and 2^nd, 2013, at the Region of Waterloo International Airport. It is a two-day family-friendly event that showcases some of the best skills and entertainment the aviation industry has to offer. With displays both in the air and on the ground, guests can enjoy amazing aerial demonstrations headlined by the world-famous Canadian Forces Snowbirds, while exploring exhibits, vendors, additional aircraft on the ground, kids activities, an Autograph Tent, Food Truck Alley and more.

More information and online tickets can be found at www.waterlooairshow.com.

Join the community on Facebook.

Come out to the Region of Waterloo International Airport June 1 & 2 and let your wings soar.

May 9, 2013
by BewilderedBug
0 comments

IAMS SO GOOD! Doggie Jam #Toronto

We all love music, right?

Well do you believe that your dogs do as well?

I know, weird question – but if plants can love music, animals definitely can.

I’ve introduced my Tish to you a few times on the blog and I know she loves to watch tv and she loves her music – so I’m happy to say that she will be attending the IAMS SO GOOD! Doggie Jam on June 8th.

That’s right – a concert for your dogs, sponsored by IAMS and P&G in celebration of the new IAMS SO GOOD dog food coming out soon! The IAMS SO GOOD dog food is made with real chicken, veggies and fruit for a great taste your pet will love and none of the additives you don’t!

What a great event! Not only will you and your dogs get to dig some amazing tunes, but it is a great opportunity to meet other dog lovers in the area and for your doggie to meet some new puppy friends!

I know most of you know your dogs really well and consider them a member of the family, so why not treat them to this brilliantly unusual event?

I told my BIL about the concert and he and his girlfriend, along with my Tish and his girlfriend’s doggie will be attending – so look out for my Tish and tell them hello. Be wary though, although she is crazy friendly, Tish knows who she likes and she doesn’t and every once in a while her protective Chow Chow instincts kick in. Especially with my BIL – she loves him to death!

Anyway, I have to say thank you to IAMS for coming up with this awesome event, and I hope to see lots of photos and pictures from you after the event! I wish I were able to make it myself!

The event details are as follows:

IAMS SO GOOD! Doggie Jam

Saturday, June 9, 2013

4pm – 8pm

Echo Beach, Toronto, ON

My Tish loves her TV!

May 3, 2013
by BewilderedBug
0 comments

Making my baking portfolio with Vistaprint Photobooks!

Vistaprint photobooks

I’ve recently been working towards setting up my baking business; it means that I’m developing a new “add-on” website to Bewildered Bug (to be launched some time this year if I get my act together), baking like a crazy person and making as many sugar cake toppers etc. that I can for my portfolio, entering cake competitions and of course trying to take better photos so that I can gather all my work together to make an awesome portfolio. While I’m doing this, I have to ask myself about marketing – how do I advertise with my few photos that I already have? Well, Vistaprint had an answer for me - their photobooks are an amazing option for a hard copy portfolio to carry around in my purse.

Vistaprint Photobooks

Vistaprint has certainly come a long way from the boring cards I had ordered from them over a decade ago after I graduated from Interior Design! They have expanded into all types of stationary, clothing, cards, magnets…and of course, photo books (among other things)!

Creating the photobooks from my computer was quite easy – I chose my size (Small Landscape Photo Book – 10x13cm), downloaded the Vistaprint editor, and set to work. The first thing I noticed was that my photos are not of the greatest quality. I have to learn to say bye to the convenient iPhone camera and to use my actual camera for this! I was really scared that the photos would print in a really pixelated or fuzzy, but when I received the books, they actually were much better than I expected!

Front page – I created a “Titlepage”" with one of my favourite cakes from my collection

Part of my portfolio – sugar flowers!

New experiments I’ve been trying

It was easy to manipulate the layouts of the photos and that you had many different options for text in the actual editor for your book. My only reservation was that I was not able to resize the photos WITHIN each of the photo/text boxes very easily. I did not find an option to zoom in and out/resize the photos once they were placed. Maybe I missed it but it was inconvenient because some of the times, I just wanted to put an entire photo, but ended up with only partial photos.

I loved that you could put whatever text you wanted into the books – and there were a lot of text style options!

I loved that the delivery of the books was very fast (less than a week for me!) and that when I received it, the books were of excellent quality and had a firm, hardcover with a glossy finish. The prints were exactly as I had sent it in, so garbage in, garbage out – or in my case mediocre in, actually pretty good out! The 10cm x 13cm book is light and compact and perfect for my already packed purse. I got two, so that someone else could possibly carry one around to advertise for me too. I’m hoping the Luv Luv will start carrying a man bag sooner rather than later

Durable hardcover on the book with a custom index and photo!

As I mentioned before, I do not have that much of a portfolio, so the Small Landscape Photo Book actually had more pages than I needed! I left these blank, thinking that maybe I’ll just print off photos and make it into a scrapbook type of portfolio when I make more masterpieces. I loved that when I was checking out, the editor warned me that I had used one photo twice in the book (and on which page) and which pages were blank. Also, the day after I ordered the books, I made some gorgeous temari cakes that are not in the book yet :S I guess I’ll be cutting and pasting faster than I thought!

My first attempt at decorating temari cakes!

So, all in all, I’m really happy with the results of the Vistaprint Photobooks and would definitely use them again! I think, in future, I may very well use it for an allergy free cookbook for my family – so I had better start collecting and trying those recipes ASAP!

What would you use the Vistaprint photobooks for?

I was compensated for this post, but compensation or not, any and all opinions expressed in this post and in all posts on Bewildered Bug are honest and my own.

May 2, 2013
by BewilderedBug
16 Comments

Experimenting with the #GeorgeForeman Fat Reducing Grill

I don’t pretend to be a chef, but I am trying to provide you with a few more yummy gluten and dairy free recipes on Bewildered Bug recently! Usually, they are recipes I’ve been making for a while, but when I was invited to a demonstration of the new George Foreman Fat Reducing Health Grills a few weeks ago, I made up my mind to try something new.

Now, I do not usually experiment in the kitchen without company around (specifically company of my Mommy at Christmas time), so this was a big step for me – not only did I try quite a few recipes, but I tried recipes that you would not usually try on a grill. None of these are quite at the point where I would share them yet, so I’m not giving you specific recipes, but I will tell you about what I did and why, and then maybe you can work on them as well on your own time!

The demonstration of the George Foreman Fat Reducing Grills was in the heart of Manchester and I found it very, very inspiring. Not only did I meet some amazing British online personalities, but the views (both inside the apartment and out) were absolutely gorgeous, the demonstration team were extremely friendly and the food was amazingly inventive! All in all, I had a spectacular time and really appreciate that I was invited to this amazing ladies’ afternoon out.

View of Manchester from the apartment where the demo was (sorry for t he quality, I had to sew together four photos)

Who doesn’t want George to cook you dinner right?! What I loved was that this was not just plain burgers and steaks that George can cook, but he can also do different things like Spring Rolls & fruit turnovers (using filo pastry!), Pita pockets (including gluten free ones!), Grilled Halloumi, Grilled Fish (Salmon and Mackerel), Grilled Asparagus, Grilled Roasted Vegetables and even a Grilled Duck breast – and yes, they gave us the recipes that they used, including any and all dips or sauces included!

Hostess of the George Foreman Demo in Manchester 2013

Our chef and hostess for the day

The articulated hinge on the George Foreman Reduced Fat Grill

The Articulated Hinge allows for weirdly sized & shaped food to cook properly

Challenge to toast a croissant in a George Foreman Grill

Think you can toast a croissant in the grill without squishing it?!

Built-In raclette grilling on the George Foreman Grill

Yes! With built-in raclette grilling almost everything is possible!

We even tried to see if we could do a fried egg on the grill….but…um..let’s just say that we should have a flat pan/grill for a fried egg shall we?! *ahem*

Frying an egg on the George Foreman Grill

Trying to fry an egg on the grill – not that successful

All of the recipes that were made were easy and fast – perfect for the life of a busy lady whether you are a stay at home mother or a busy working lady or a mixture of both. The meals all took less than 10 minutes to prepare and a max of 15 minutes to cook….except maybe the duck – that may have taken a bit longer. After getting our turn on the George Forman Fat Reducing Grills, we all went home with full tummies (trust me FULL tummies) and recipes flying around our minds with the intention of creating some spectacular recipes of our own that we could cook on our new George Foreman grills.

First attempt at grilling with the George Foreman Reduced Fat Grill

On the way home, I called the Luv Luv and told him to pass into the butcher’s and pick up some turkey mince for me…and oh, maybe a lamb leg since we could make a roast later that week. That’s when I realized that I had asked them to mail the George to me, so I would not be able to use it that night. I grudgingly put it in the freezer for later…and a few days later, I took out one of the packages to defrost…thinking it was the mince.

Alas, it was the lamb leg…but I was determined to use the new George! So I took out my handy dandy knife and carved lamb steaks…only to realize that the butcher had left a nice bit of fat on it for a roast … um…that’s okay, George would take care of that!

The fat that came off of the lamb steaks in the George Foreman Reduced Fat Grill

I got two trays full of this from the lamb (it was originally meant to be a roast)

George cooking away – notice the timer near the handle and the little light at the top that tells you when it’s reached optimal grilling temperature

Lamb steaks being grilled on the George Foreman Reduced Fat Grill!

Lamb steaks being grilled! Look at the fat that came off

Lamb Steak with fresh green salad and steamed rice

Yep – I had to make the salad or the Luv Luv would have none!

And it did! It took care of two full fat trays of it!!! Eventually we ended up with a gorgeous lamb steak dinner that looked, smelled and tasted divine with hardly any fat at all! Thanks George!

The only complaint I had was that the cord for the George Foreman is very short – as you can see in the photos above, I had to balance the George on the edge of my countertop and reach over my microwave…but my kitchen is not the most organized at the moment….and I did eventually find another spot for it after moving some stuff around.

Second attempt at grilling with the George Foreman Reduced Fat Grill

Of course, when you have a man in the house, he has to take charge of the grilling, so one day, Luv Luv came home with these pre-made shish kebabs from Sainsbury’s and said that HE was making dinner. What are you making with the shish kebabs Luv Luv? I asked…um…making with? he goes. *sigh* So I forced him to at least open a bag of salad and put some lemon on it for me.

Sainsbury’s pre-packaged Sweet Chilli Beef Shish Kabobs

He truly enjoyed using the George Foreman Fat Reducing Health Grill – At first he thought it would not hold all the skewers, but after a bit of readjusting – it fit them perfectly! We closed it down and waited….and he stared at it as he does when something is cooking (if you are on my personal facebook page you’ll know he decides to stare at my cakes when they’re baking? Very much like in the photo below, except that he was leaning on the oven door!!!). Finally, it was done, and served with sweet greens in lemon…and he had a beer. All in all, the most successful cook of this entire experiment (I’m embarrassed to say).

Don’t you just love a man who cooks?

The George Foreman Grill can cook a meal for an entire family in one shot!

Look how many fit!

Watching the George Foreman Grill intently

You know that saying “A watched pot doesn’t boil”? Apparently he doesn’t.

Yummy grilled Shish Kebobs, courtesy of George Foreman Grills

Shish Kebobs resting

With a little flavoured ketchup, it’s a meat lover’s dream

Just look at those grill marks!

Lovely, healthy, balanced meal courtesy of George Foreman Grills!

Dinner that night (fine mine was the shish kebob and the salad, he just had shish kebob and beer)

Third attempt at grilling with the George Foreman Reduced Fat Grill

I had a whole hunk of turkey mince left in the freezer, so I figured that maybe I should use it. So a few days later, I defrosted the proper little meat package and decided to make turkey burgers. I know, I know, turkey burgers are nothing different or original, but at the demonstration they showed us this great technique for stuffing burgers. That’s right – they stuffed burgers with cheese, or salsa, or guacamole or….the possibilities are endless. Now, I’ve heard about stuffed burgers before because there is this great little burger place in Montréal that a friend took me to years ago that did these amazing burgers stuffed full of precious little surprise jewels of different cheeses *drool*. Yes, that’s before I went dairy and gluten free.

Anyway, so I decided to do a healthier version of the Montéal stuffed burger by using turkey meat and by using the George Foreman Fat Reducing Grill (trumpet call) to cook it – plus, I’d get an opportunity to use the raclette grilling feature! Woo hoo! Now, that excited me to no end – um…perhaps a little too much because I added the cheese a bit too early and then realized that the burgers were turkey (poultry!) and there was no way that it was completely cooked yet. Oops. So my first three attempts went into the microwave and ended up in a beautiful turkey burger mess. Luckily, I used my head on the fourth and it looked (and tasted I’d imagine) much better. So the raclette grilling, when done properly, is fascinating!

Stuffing the homemade burgers – each burger had approx 2 Tbsp of meat – but you can make it bigger or smaller as you like.

Put cheese in between two small burger patties to make a stuffed burger

Then cover the cheese up and mush together to make one big burger

Please remember to turn on the power to the George and don’t blame it for not working if there is no electricity coming to it (#duh #freshofftheboat). We don’t have to worry about this in Canada!

Burger patties on the George Foreman Grill

Patties on the grill – only three fit – maybe I should make them smaller?

I’ll come up with something to do with this extra cheese, I promise…and I didn’t eat it #dairyfree

Lovely grilled turkey burgers!

Putting on the extra cheese!

Raclette grilling with the George Foreman Reduced Fat Grill!

Raclette grilling a bit too soon :S

I had to microwave three of them, but the bottom right is only the raclette grilled burger patty (and the best looking and tasting)

Unfortunately, the Luv Luv bought extra lean turkey – and the turkey gave off almost NO FAT at all – instead, it gave off water…so the burgers were a bit dry and tasted a bit bland….because of course, in my rush I forgot it was not beef, and I under-seasoned the bland turkey meat. Ah well….it was not my best, but it was still edible! I sent the Luv Luv out for MacDonald’s fries to make up for my lack of talent – his burgers (with the cheese) were a bit sad, but mine (with salsa and guacamole) were actually pretty good. I still prefer beef burgers, however, and in future, will probably save the turkey mince for cottage pie & lasagnas where I know it works well!

Dinner that night – we got fries to make up for the ultra healthy burger patties

My last ditch efforts to make something I love on the George Foreman Fat Reducing Grill!

Today, however, today I decided I had to go all out and experiment with something completely different! A few weeks ago, a friend from the Southern US challenged me to try making Southern Fried Chicken, because one thing I’ve refused to do for years, is fry chicken. I do not like to be splashed with oil, and I hate when my food spits hot oil at me…and chicken (poultry?) is famous for doing this. Of course, my pride was on the line, so I accepted. I found these awesome mini-fillets breasts at Sainsbury’s and used those with the seasonings she suggested and gf flour to make Southern Fried Chicken fingers. And they were awesome – so awesome in fact that the Luv Luv demanded more…and got more a few more times!

Also, at the demonstration, they made Spring Rolls with filo pastry on the George (on a grill, yes! And it worked REALLY well!), and I suggested maybe using rice paper for a gluten free version (since the three gluten free ladies there couldn’t have any of that yummy smelling snack!). Today, I decided to try it, but, unfortunately, I did not have any rice paper and I was lazy to go out. I did, however, have rice noodles, and remembering the “Tornado Rolls” from the restaurant Spring Rolls, in Toronto, I was sure this would work.

So I took the chicken breast mini-fillets, seasoned them with chinese spices (garlic, ginger, chillies, gf soya sauce and a splash of lemon, salt & pepper to taste) and wrapped them with cooked, flat, wide rice noodles. Then I put that on the grill. It tasted absolutely amazing – unfortunately, it looked messy and crappy like a mini Egyptian Mummy caught in a sandstorm. Tasted good though, so I’m 100% sure that the rice paper wrapped around the chicken would be amazing – just soften the rice paper up in warm water first (then again my chef radar seems to be a bit off).

Everything you need for rice noodle wrapped chicken fingers

All the ingredients for my rice noodle experiment (ignore my tea & sugar paraphernalia behind it)

Chicken fingers wrapped in wide, flat rice noodle

All wrapped…er…sorta..

On the grill we go….

Rice noodle wrapped chicken disaster on the George Foreman Grill

Um…maybe not. The rice noodle got nice and crunchy and the chicken tasted amazing though. Maybe with a bit more thought.

So that didn’t work as well as I had hoped, but the flavour was spectacular. What if I made an Asian version of the Southern Fried Chicken Fingers? All I would do was add Chinese Five Spice Powder to the Gluten Free Flour instead of Paprika or Cayenne. That should work! They did breaded chicken fingers at the demo, why not chicken fingers dredged in flour?!?!

So that’s what I did – with the remainder of the chicken fingers, I dredged them in my flour mixture and then put them in the George Foreman Grill until the chicken was cooked. It was spectacular and tasted absolutely fantastic, but looked like an angel had thrown these babies through the clouds and covered them in cloud dust. The flour that stuck directly to the chicken cooked to a lovely golden brown…the little bit of extras, however, stayed as white as ever.

What not to do on a George Foreman Grill

Floury yet cooked chicken fingers

So now, I had floury chicken fingers that tasted good and a whole lotta extra cooked rice noodles. Guess what I had for lunch – maybe that’s why I turned down chocolate for an apple later in the day – my body just wanted some sort of healthy sustenance!

Gluten free floury chicken fingers with rice noodles and gluten free soya sauce.

So, all in all, my chef radar is off at the moment, but even though I’m spazzing out, the George Foreman did do what it is supposed to! It cooked my meals quickly, drained off almost all fat and made (potentially) tasty meals. I am in love with the raclette grilling feature and have thought about all other types of things that I can do with it – roasted balsamic grape tomatoes on gluten free baguette maybe? That would be a nice bruschetta type thing.

Now, after all my disasters, since the Luv Luv has just finished washing the dishes, including the removable grill plates from the George, I’m going to make myself a semi-healthy treat by grilling nectarine halves and then having them with toasted pecans and maple syrup….and I guess I’ll make one for the Luv Luv too – just so that he could have one with ice cream.

What would you make with the George Foreman Reduced Fat Grill? #giveaway

While I do that, please do feel free to enter for a George Foreman Fat Reducing Health Grill (family size – 4 portion) of your own to experiment with! (the exact one I have).

What would you cook on your George Foreman Grill?!

Here are the rules:

-Enter in the rafflecopter form below – you just have to do the tasks listed (and please be honest, I do check).

-This giveaway is open to the UK only and will run for two weeks from May 03 - May 17, 2013 at 12 am (GMT).

-By entering the giveaway you are accepting the fact that if you win, your contact information will be shared for the purposes of mailing your prize.

- The winner has 48 hours to reply to my attempt at contacting them, else it will be assumed that they no longer want the prize and will forfeit. Another winner will be chosen at that time under the same conditions.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Success with the George Foreman Reduced Fat Grill! Obviously I’m a dessert person!

PS – FINALLY! I did something right! This dessert was absolutely decadent, and is a perfect example to show you the articulated hinge on this George Foreman Fat Reducing Health Grill that allows the grill to adjust to the different heights of your food!

Articulated hinge allowing a good range of sizes and shapes of food to be grilled evenly on the George Foreman Reduced Fat Grill

Articulated hinge allowing the halved nectarines to be grilled evenly

: My dessert before dinner – grilled nectarines with maple syrup and toasted pecans

The Luv Luv’s dessert before dinner – grilled nectarines with vanilla ice cream, drizzled in maple syrup and toasted pecans

I have been compensated for this post because I am a member of the Mumsnet Bloggers Network, a group of parent bloggers picked by Mumsnet to review products, services, events and brands. Even though I have been compensated, the opinions expressed in this post, and all posts on Bewildered Bug are honest and my own.