...just trying to navigate this obstacle course called life...

May 24, 2013
by BewilderedBug
9 Comments

New life, new challenges and a rant on terrorism

I knew that there would be a bit of a difficult period settling in to my new life in Britain, but it is amazing how things that I thought would affect me are not, and things I thought would be straightforward are more complicated than I would ever be able to imagine. In this post, I am going to touch on a few issues I have had, so far, settling into my new life.

Job Hunting

photo by Sean MacEntee (Flickr Creative Commons)

I was a bit cocky with this one, I have to admit. I had had recent success at finding jobs in Toronto, right before I left, and I assumed that I had reached a point in my career where I was interesting to recruiters and firms. I then (naively) assumed that this would be the case all over the world. So I came to Huddersfield, settled in and then “cold called” many architecture firms in Leeds and Manchester. I got a few replies, but they were all negative, saying that they found my resume very interested, but because of the present economic times, they could not take on more staff, although they needed it.

This gave me hope, so when I started applying to advertised jobs through Monster, Reed, Total Jobs and other similar online job search engines, I felt that it was only a matter of time. And when I say “Matter of time”, I thought maybe a max of a month or a month and a half before I got a call. Yay, I got one call almost immediately and then never heard from them again. My phone has been ominously quiet and my email inbox has acquired a family of crickets who serenade me nightly.

It has not been that long, but it is making me very, very nervous. It is completely reminding me of when I first graduated from Interior Design and could not find a job anywhere although I woke up every morning and sent out resumes. We had even bought a fax machine and faxed resumes out daily at that time! No – that is not how I would advise one to look for jobs.

I have since changed my approach and tend to reply to advertised jobs, as well as to target specific firms that suit my interests (a much better way of job hunting while keeping control of your career). The problem I am facing these days is one I’ve never faced before and am not sure how to mentally process it. There are no jobs to apply to! Okay, I re-iterate. There are no jobs, in my field, at my level in West Yorkshire to apply to.

I applied to jobs before I left for my vacation to Trinidad…and then I came back all fired up to apply to new jobs being advertised…and there were…maybe four. That’s right. In about two weeks, there were only four jobs that I could apply to in West Yorkshire that suited my qualifications…and yes, I’ve considered taking a pay cut – just that there is a limit to how much. I am NOT going to re-start my career at Graduate pay again -not after almost 8 years of upping that amount! It’s more than six thousand pounds a year less than I require.

So I have been wondering if to look in the London area, after all, there are so many jobs being advertised there! The only problem, is that in order to do that, I’ll have to rent a room down there and live apart from the Luv Luv again. Yes, he can transfer to a school in London, but ideally, for him, staying at the school here is the best thing….whereas all the jobs that I seem to qualify for are in the London area! At the same time, the Masters programs that I want to pursue are also in London….so it seems that I need to be in the Greater London Area for my ideal British professional experience.

I really hope that the next few weeks prove differently from what I’ve found, because summer is coming and summer (at least in Canada) is when construction increases and therefore the jobs in the construction industry become more readily available. Even if it is a contract position, at least I will get British experience!

…and yes, I have considered doing other jobs, even retail or Kitchen Design…but it is hard to accept those types of jobs when I feel I have reached so far beyond. I’m not at this point yet, am I?!

Finding Friends

Interestingly enough, I thought this would be the hardest thing to do for me, yet through my blogging, Meet Up, baking forums on

photo by Kurt Thomas Hunt (Flickr Creative Commons)

facebook and gluten free forums on facebook, I have met quite a few people both online, and in person! In fact, I have girlfriend dates!!! That’s something that, even though I had girlfriends in Toronto, never happened – not even during the year I was living on my own! That’s not because my girlfriends forgot me, it’s because everyone has kids and/or families and/or responsibilities that made them unable to go out on a schedule I’d love to go out on.

Now, I have girlfriends meeting up for book swaps, tea time chats, theatre, movies and days out at the mall! Are they my best friends

ever? No, I’ve just met them, but it’s such a relief to have female friendships IRL that are actually as active as my friendships in Trinidad used to be. I feel almost like a teen again! Of course, that probably would change a bit when I get my job (cause I will be getting one, right? RIGHT?!).

That being said, there are three ladies in Toronto who I miss terribly….Aeryn from Geek with Style, Kats who moved to Canada with me right after high school and Lucy whose wedding I may have to miss in October because I don’t have a job. These ladies were instrumental in keeping me sane and happy that year I was alone.

Budget

Well…money and job sort of go hand in hand. I assumed that I would have a job by now, and therefore, a bit more access to money. I thought I would have updated my wardrobe by now, yet I’m sitting here trying to survive on our tight (and dwindling!) budget seeing the seasons pass by and some awesome shoes/clothing that I’d like to have in my wardrobe come and go. Yes, as many of my friends know, I am a consumer majore, but I actually need shoes that do not leave me with dark blisters on my feet…I need to upgrade my fuddy duddy professional wardrobe to a slightly more stylish professional wardrobe.

This of course also affects my putting together my apartment. If you remember I wrote about my apartment here and here – for a student apartment it is gorgeous, but a bit cold and lacking for storage. I think we’ve managed to tackle the storage parts, but now I’m trying to make the apartment look more and more homey – on a very limited budget

Blogging

photo by Jakob Montrasio

I thought I’d be able to jump into the British blogging world immediately, but as I’ve had proven to me time and time again…these things take time and effort. I have no patience – I never have and probably never will. Hopefully, attending Cybher, Mumsnet Workfest and Blogs Up North conferences in June and July will help me meet with bloggers and brands that I can get along with and work well with.

I’ve found it a bit different, however … for example, I’m sure if you’ve been on Twitter before BlogHer, Blissdom (US or Canada) or ShesConnected, you’ll see lots of Twitter chats on their hashtags and their twitter accounts. Cybher has hardly any chat…neither do the other conferences (at least, not in comparison to the excitement the Canadian and US conferences seem to encourage). I’m a bit at a loss, because I was able to make the contacts online and then smoothly move into offline networking for the conferences I’ve been to in the past.

I’m not a good networker in person unless I have a previous relationship with you – I tend to be bumbly and stumbly and not sure what to say…or I talk too much and inappropriately. Either way I am awkward. And that is scaring me – how am I going to meet bloggers when I have no clue who they are? How do you find the bloggers to target as your colleagues (yes I realize that sounds horrible)? I am no longer on Twitter 24/7 as I used to be when I first started blogging and therefore do not have the twitter relationships I used to have.

Do you have any tips for an anxious, hopelessly awkward person in real life networking situations?!

Trying to Conceive.

We are on month 11 after seriously deciding to try to conceive and there’s still no dice. No I don’t need tips on the actual deed of trying to conceive, but as I mentioned above, patience is not a virtue that I own. A lot of you are going “11 months? That’s nothing! I’ve been trying for years!”, like I got from someone yesterday and felt ashamed….but again, this is something really personal, so even if I was trying for a month and found that frustrating – it is frustrating!

I thought that it was all the stress that was affecting us – maybe we’re still stressed? After all, I’m still “settling” into my British lifestyle. I never felt very stressed over the last year and a half (I say even though I developed anxiety issues and had to go back on pills), so maybe I internalize it. Maybe I’m still stressed?

No, I don’t need to hear “just relax and it’ll happen” or anything to that sort of advice – the fact is that that advice is often given but rarely appreciated.

Anyway, so we have been trying “naturally” for the last year (approx) with no ovulation sticks or medical hoo ha, so we’ve decided to start using a little help from these things. I bought ovulation sticks…next would be basal temperature monitoring (which does not appeal to me) and then doctors….wish me luck – I’d like to be happily pregnant by Christmas!

photo by Spigoo

Dealing with the threat of terrorism on a daily basis

Now, I know it has become an everyday thing for many of you around the world, and I acknowledge the fact that, even in England, the situation is not as bad as say, places in the Middle East, for example, but this is not my reality!

I lived in Trinidad when the country was safe – way before it became second in the world for frequency of kidnapping, way before the murder numbers were above 400 per year (in fact way before it was even 200 I believe!), way before living in South meant planning your trips to POS so that you drove back in the day with other cars around you for safety…way before you truly needed to lock your doors when driving or break red lights (once it was safe) at night to make sure you weren’t mugged. The Trinidad I knew was safe. The precautions were taken, but it would be difficult to find someone who had a direct relationship to someone who was murdered or kidnapped or raped (at least that was know openly). Now, I go home and I’m nervous and I don’t know anyone whose family has not been affected by some sort of crime (including my own)…I have to say because all the precautions we used to take are now necessities….and that scares me.

But it does not scare me more than being in Britain with at least one new terrorist attack somewhere in the country per day. Just the other day Lee Rigby was attacked by two seemingly independent Islamic men and decapitated on the streets of London! He was in the British army, had gone overseas and fought and survived …yet he comes home and is killed in such a gruesome manner?

Yes, that is Lee Rigby’s freshly spilled blood on his hands.

I have to say I was one of those people who argued that these Islamic terrorists were the few and far in between, but after this and reading articles on similar recent events, my faith that Islam is a good religion and that there are the anomalies that are violent is wavering…and that makes me sad.

Then videos like this make me even sadder – because it shows hate on so many different levels – just around the corner from me!!

Or this one

A group of South Asian men have been running a prostitution ring by forcing under-aged girls living in council houses all over the country to be prostitutes …and scaring them into silence…and then the cases are dropped because the legal council was so hard on the girls that one changed their story and the bastards got off. One of the girls committed suicide after because it went so badly for them. One of the key men in the group lives in downtown Huddersfield…that’s possibly my neighbour!

Then today, they had to land a plane from Pakistan and bring out the RAF because two islamic men were threatening to hijack the plane?

This constant threat is making me more nervous here, in a first world country, than I have ever been anywhere else – even in Trinidad, on the road, by myself in the current criminally saturated atmosphere of the country. And of course, the media, who always have the power to make or break someone or something…..are going nuts, exacerbating my fear even more. For example, the Huffington Post Canada published this recently.

I thought that I’d be able to live in a country with terrorism threats because it was always from an organized society of some sort, because England is on a terrorist watch and that I would be safe. Instead, I feel threatened and scared – and even though all my career and schooling opportunities see to be in that area of the country, I’m scared to move there just in case, one day I’m walking along and am targeted as a “non-Islamic” lady….what would they do to me then? How many people would be filming my demise instead of trying to help in some way? How many views would that get on you tube?

Sorry….I went off on a little rant there. The point is that I thought that it would be less of my everyday than it has become. I thought I’d be better able to handle it than I have been.

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I think that’s all I can complain (:p) about today. It’s amazing how things never seem to go the way I plan or imagine…honestly, I should just stop imagining the future or planning for the future. It has NEVER gone the way I imagined (yes, I’m one of those!).

Do you have any advice for any of these? How do you learn about the job atmosphere in your new home country/town? How do you meet new friends? What are your tips on networking? And okay, okay, what is your advice for trying to conceive? How do you make yourself feel safe?

I’m looking forward to hearing from you!

May 23, 2013
by BewilderedBug
0 comments

Are you going to the IAMS So Good Doggie Jam?

A little while ago, I told you about the IAMS SO GOOD! Doggie Jam coming up in Toronto on June 8th. Well….I’m here with a little more information for you, just in case you were on the fence about going! After all, all dogs love music, so this would be a real treat for your doggie friend and for you too!

I remmeber, when I was a teenager, I used to play the piano daily – it was my passion back then and my method of de-stressing…the best thing about playing the piano at home was having our dog, Milkshake (RIP), running towards the piano to listen to you play. Whether he was inside or outside, he always came nearby and lay down the entire time you were playing whether you were banging out scales and chords or playing sonatas. I remember he once came so close he tried to fit under the piano pedals (he was a Terrier/Pompek mix). I had to shoo him away and he grudgingly moved to the side. He just loved the music for some reason, whether it was because he knew one of us was playing (my younger sister or I), because of the vibrations sitting under the piano would send his way or the music itself (because if I don’t say so myself, we are brilliant musicians!).

If he were alive today, and lived in Toronto (because he was a Trini dog), I would definitely make sure he reached the IAMS SO GOOD! Doggie Jam. This is the first ever concert specifically for dogs and IAMS is expecting as many as 5,000 dogs and pet lovers to attend!

I know Tish (my doggie in Toronto) will definitely be attending because my BIL will be taking her!

The IAMS SO GOOD! Doggie Jam will be a classical music concert where a 42 piece orchestra will perform music created specifically for canine hearing. It is definitely one for the history books, so wouldn’t you love you and your dog to be a part of it?

Just in case you’ve forgotten, here are the event details again.

IAMS SO GOOD! Doggie Jam

Saturday June 8, 2013

4 -8pm

Echo Beach

999 Lakeshore Blvd. West,

Toronto, Ontario

M6K 3L3

I know you want to go – so hop on over and purchase your tickets through Ticketmaster Canada! (pricing solely at discretion of the the retailer)

I know you love your doggie, and so does IAMS, so, to celebrate and showcase the unique bond passionate pet owners have with their pooches, Iams has created a short video that captures the loving relationships between four owners and their dogs. This video highlights the real love between dogs and their owners and gives you a taste of what the Iams SO GOOD! Doggie Jam will be like!

You can keep up with all the excitement through the IAMS SO GOOD Facebook Page and Twitter (@Iams), as well as searching for the hashtag #IAMSSoGood (notice the double ‘S’)

And…of course IAMS is giving one of you lucky readers a chance to go there free! You just have to enter the SO GOOD! giveaway here to win a family pack of four tickets to the IAMS SO GOOD! Doggie Jam and two product vouchers to try the new IAMS SO GOOD! Dog Food!

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 Canada only (sorry girls and guys elsewhere) and will run for ONE week from May 23rd – May 30, 2013 at 12:00am EST.

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

-This giveaway may appear on other blogs as part of the #PGmom program, however, to be fair, you can only win once per giveaway. That means if you win here, you cannot win on another blog involved in the program for this particular giveaway and vice versa. If your name is chosen more than once, another winner will be selected, just to make sure that as many of you as possible can take advantage of the program.

-Winners are responsible for travel to and from Toronto event. Only tickets will be provided.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

As part of my affiliation with the #P&Gmom group, I receive products and special access to P&G events and opportunities, but regardless of compensation and perks or not, the opinions expressed in this post are honest and my own, as are those in all the posts on Bewildered Bug.

May 23, 2013
by BewilderedBug
0 comments

Happy, yummy lips with Blistex!

I am constantly complaining about how these temperate countries dry my body out, so here I go again! This time, it’s my lips. I’ve never really had to use any moisturizers on my lips until I first moved to Canada and experienced my first Canadian winter. Thankfully, I had family there before me and they were able to point me in the right direction. The only thing that worked 100% for them (and for me) was Blistex.

Back then, the only choices were the white little tube with the cream that sometimes makes your mouth look really gross, and the little pot of medicinal smelling goo. They both smelt like minty medicine, and tasted very much like it too, but they both worked wonders in making your dry, chapped and cracked lips soft and smooth again.

After a while I got used to the weather and through constant application of other lip balms, sticks and moisturizers, I was able to avoid the medicinal taste of Blistex. I had to reapply and purchase much more lip moisturizer, but it worked and it tasted better.

That is, until I moved here. It is amazing to me that my lips can be so dry in Britain (a country famous for its dampness), to the extent that my Canadian-learnt efforts were not working. My lips became dry and chapped and started to crack again, no matter how much moisturizer I put on or water I drank. I finally gave in and ran to the pharmacy to get Blistex…there was a lot more choice than the last time I had bought Blistex, so I was a bit confused, but I gave in and bought the familiar white tube with the white cream in it….and my lips were in bliss for the first time in over a month.

New Blistex Flavours

The day after, Blistex happened to send me samples of their new flavours in the mail – so now, as I tend to do, I have lotion in every room in the house, tissues in every room in the house and now, some sort of Blistex in every room of the house….and I am completely moisturized from head to toe because of this ~~weird~~ habit!

I gotta tell you – the new Blistex flavours taste a lot better than the old ones, are not as gross looking or tasting and work just as well!

The blue one in the yellow pack (Blistex Moisture Max) is super-hydrating and has little aloe vera moisture beads and shea butter in it. It glides on beautifully and protects your lips from UV with SPF 15 while revitalizing and hydrating. It is tasteless but has a slight minty (I can’t quite place it) scent that is quite pleasant. It works miracles and you feel relief as soon as you put it on.

The yellow pod in the green pack (Blistex Daily Lip Conditioner) is packaged in the typical little Blistex pod for application with your fingers, if you prefer those. Personally, I find those get mucky and gross in my handbags after a while, so I tend to use this one next to my bed for night time relief. It works very well, but is the one that I found most medicine-ey out of the the three.

The pink one in the pink pack (Blistex Lip Brilliance) is an excellent option for you ladies who like lipgloss. It is in stick form and applies like lipstick, but shows like a light gloss. It has a very light pink tint, and makes your lips shimmer a bit, so is great for something a little more dressy such as a dinner out with the girls or a movie night or something. It moisturizes with the power of Vitamin E, Silk Extracts and Grape Seed Oil – so it even sounds more exotic! It includes SPF 15 and has a yummy strawberry taste and scent (not like some fake ones that are awful…this one is actually really authentic!). This one, for the flavour and scent alone is my favourite – because I’m allergic to real strawberries…so this will be my strawberry indulgence this summer…

So I urge you to try the new Blistex flavours out, especially if you’ve been avoiding Blistex because of their medicinal type of lip moisturizers – they’ve evolved!

How do you keep your lips moist, kissable and supple?

May 23, 2013
by BewilderedBug
0 comments

Upcoming Disney Films (2013)!

Every Spring, Disney seems to continuously amaze with advertisements for exciting and entertaining upcoming Disney films for kids of all ages for the upcoming Summer and all the year through. This year, they have not disappointed! Roving Canadian reporter, Shannon, was able to go visit the Disney Studios in downtown Toronto and get a first hand preview of the upcoming Disney films for you. I hope you enjoy reading about her adventure and everything she has learned!!

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Disney Movie Line-Up for summer 2013

Fun, Adventure, Romance, Comedy and good company – what more could a woman ask for in one afternoon? I recently went to the preview of the Disney movie line up for 2013 on behalf of Bewildered Bug at the Walt Disney Studios in downtown Toronto. There were so many amazing and well-known Canadian bloggers there to assist Disney in getting the word out about their wicked line up for the rest of the year.

Disney does it again with a stellar movieline up for the rest of 2013!

It’s time to get schooled…

“Monsters University” is a Comedy/Animation. If any of you liked the first Monsters, Inc. film as much as I did, then this is a must see! Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) and Sulley (John Goodman) are at it again. This time, the story delves into the origin of their friendship when they attended university together. It is a story of overcoming adversity and being more than just what you appear to be. It is about a group of outcasts who prove that anything is possible. I was bullied throughout my schooling, so I understand what it feels like to be judged and to be forced into the position of being the underdog. The film is an great portrayal of how to deal with discrimination head on and of how to prove people wrong when they judge you harshly for no reason. I’ll definitely be going to see this movie when it is out in theatres! They even have new monsters (!!), including a purple one whose name is Art (Charlie Day). Purple is my favourite colour and I love him already! This movie is being released on June 21, 2013. It’s time to get schooled the right way!

Saddle up…

“The Lone Ranger” is of course, an Action-Adventure. I have seen the old Lone Ranger and I always wonder why there have to be remakes of old movies…. But, anything starring Johnny Depp is a must-see for me! I love him! He is such a good actor and, in this film he stars as Tonto, the famous Native American spirit warrior sidekick. Armie Hammer is as John Reid, a.k.a. The Lone Ranger, who is a law man and this movie depicts his origin story. The movie also has the power house duo of Jerry Bruckheimer as the Producer and Gore Verbinski as the Director. They are the guys who brought us the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie series, so, the probability of this being an entertaining movie is extremely high. This movie is coming out on July 3, 2013. Saddle up and prepare yourselves for a wild ride!

Let your dreams fly…

Sure to be a winner for the whole family, “Planes” comes out on August 9, 2013. So, if you liked the movie “Cars” then you are sure to be thrilled even more by this Animation/Adventure featuring Dusty (Dane Cook), a crop duster plane who is not cut out to compete with the big planes in the air racing competitions. Yet, it is his dream to, and he pursues it with everything he has and never lets his wings get cut nor allows his spirit take a nose dive. It’s an inspirational story about following your dreams and never giving up, even when your dream seems impossible. Take the family out to see this movie and let your dreams fly high.

Always something for you parents to enjoy as well!

“Delivery Man” is sure to keep you in stitches, as this Comedy features funny man, Vince Vaughn, as the main character David, whose sperm gave rise to 533 children!! OMG!! He’s in debt to the mob, his pregnant girlfriend doesn’t want anything to do with him, and 142 of the women that were inseminated with his sperm filed lawsuits to find out his identity. I would say he’s in a spot of trouble! Still, this movie gives him a chance to find out more about his character and the kind of father he could potentially be as well. I don’t know about you, but he makes me laugh so much! It is being released on October 4, 2013. I’m sure it will be a riot!

Prepare yourselves for an epic adventure…

Does anyone want to see an extremely handsome, hunk of a man, namely one Chris Hemsworth? Ahem…I DO!! Well the wait is over. On November 8, 2013 you will be able to see him on the big screen in “Thor: The Dark World.” Marvel’s continuation of the Thor story brings back Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, and shows Thor, the Mighty Avenger fighting to save Earth and all of the Nine Realms from an ancient race led by a powerful and cruel adversary named Malekith. This movie is not only an Action/Adventure, but it also deals with personal elements and huge sacrifices from Thor in order to save the cosmos. So, prepare yourselves for an epic adventure that is sure to please on every level.

Be exposed to this movie’s take on bias in media…

Well, Disney has to throw in a Drama, and this one doesn’t fail. I like a good conspiracy theory as much as the next person, and as we all know the movies glamorize and exaggerate everything but, a movie dealing with the media and its own tendency towards bias by telling the story from its own perspective? Isn’t that an interesting thought? “The Fifth Estate” deals with the beginnings of WikiLeaks which brought to light very controversial and confidential information leaks for which Julian Assange (Benedict Cumberbatch) became infamous. The movie follows the role of a colleague of Assange’s, Daniel Domscheit-Berg (Daniel Brühl), and shows how WikiLeaks started and rushed head-on into infamy while changing the flow of news media at the same time. November 15, 2013 is the date to be exposed to this movie’s take on that story and weigh in on what you see while developing your own point of view.

An optimistic, strong-willed, and warm heart can prosper even in the harshest conditions…

Are you familiar with the story “The Snow Queen” by Hans Christian Andersen? Well, this is a very ambitious Animation/Adventure is a new take on an old story. It’s called “Frozen” and it’s a modernization of a story done by the same studio that redid the story of Rapunzel in “Tangled”. A kingdom is trapped in eternal winter by the Snow Queen (IdinaMenzel), Elsa, the sister of the protagonist, Anna (Kristen Bell). Anna teams up with Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), who is a mountain man, and they go on a journey filled with trolls, a snowman named Olaf, harsh winter conditions and magic in order to save the kingdom from annihilation. If you want to see how an optimistic, strong-willed, and warm heart can prosper even in the harshest conditions, then go see this movie on November 27, 2013.

The journey that Mr. Walt Disney took to bring us all an enduring classic…

Finally, no Disney line up would be complete without a drama that deals with the behind the scenes story of something in the arts world, so this drama, “Saving Mr. Banks” just happens to be about one of Disney’s own classics, “Mary Poppins”. I am so intrigued and excited about this film! I love the movie “Mary Poppins”, so I am interested in seeing the story behind how it went from planning to fruition and onto the screen. It just makes it all the more worthwhile seeing it when Tom Hanks is portraying Walt Disney himself! It took 20 years for Walt Disney to keep his promise to his daughters that “Mary Poppins” would be made into a movie. The amazing Emma Thompson acts as the author of “Mary Poppins”, P.L. Travers, who was so opposed to letting Walt Disney destroy her book by making it into a movie, until he fully grasped what it truly meant by looking back into his own childhood. Then, the story came to life and became the classic movie that we all know and love. If you want to see the journey that the top man of Disney took to bring us all this enduring classic, then go and see “Saving Mr. Banks” in theatres on Dec. 20, 2013.

So, I probably won’t have enough time or money to go to every single one of these movies. It is really going to be hard to decide which ones to go to. But, now that you guys know what’s coming up, you can choose if you want it to be family fun, a night out on the town with your partner for a laugh, epic adventures, or dramas that recount real life stories. A tough call, but at least there is no shortage of entertainment! Enjoy!

Go Disney!

May 22, 2013
by BewilderedBug
19 Comments

Quickie Post: I’m officially plus sized?!

I’ve been online window shopping today and saw a beautiful little white eyelet circle mini-skirt with a navy blue lining and fell in love. So, although it was ridiculously expensive, I went on their size chart to see what size I would be considered. According to this website (that shall remain unnamed), I’m a 1X!!!! That means I can officially now be lumped into the plus sized category. I’m not happy.

No, this is not me ranting about how every lady (or gent for that matter) should be a skinny minnie. I’m ranting about how I should not be plus sized. I have quite a few plus sized friends (who think I’m a skinny minnie, and therefore I’ve just proved them wrong…) and I think they are all beautiful…some do not dress quite the way I would personally like them to, but that’s called free will and personal fashion choice. My problem with being plus sized is the limited amount of fashions and styles and options out there – I’ve browsed the catalogues for plus sized stores and I usually do not find much stylish stuff…most of the stores have…well…pretty bags pretty much – and I don’t want that to be my only choice in clothing!

I mean, imagine, what shall I wear today? A red garbage bag that is gathered at the waist or a blue? Oh how about a ski mask over my face at the same time? Gorgeous I tell you!

I am just mourning all the weight I lost in that little year I call “the year apart”. Do you remember that? It’s nor so long ago – my husband and I lived in two different countries? Remember? I lost a lot of weight…or maybe I should say I lost size, not necessarily weight. I’ve apparently re-gained it since moving to England (darn you yummy gluten free stuff!). Then I wonder – what did I do to gain all of this in the first place? Maybe my inactivity? Cause generally speaking, Luv Luv and I eat healthy foods more times than not.

So I need to lose weight – that being said, The Base Studios opened up about a street away – so I can start going to Zumba and Yoga classes there….and after all the yummy gluten free carbs that are currently in the cupboards are gone – so are the carbs in every meal. I will also be eating in a salad plate instead of the big dinner plates I have been using. And salad lunches, hello you sexy beasts…..

Exercise, diet….what else do I need to do to reach my young adult stage (because teenage size would be pushing it)? Oh yeah…liposuction and plastic surgery.

Listen Britain – you’re giving me a complex. I went to buy jeans and your sizing is completely different from US/Canadian sizing! I go to buy shoes and that’s the case too! But guess what – at least you made me feel like a skinny minnie with the shoes going down two sizes…but going up two sizes with my jeans is just wrong. JUST. WRONG.

It’s not like you Brits are all tiny either! At least, not in Huddersfield. You’re not obese like some North Americans but you are meaty, ladies – and I fit in perfectly…sorta.

So. I have decided to go on a weight loss journey…how I’m not quite sure, but as of next week I’m starting Zumba to lose weight and yoga to increase flexibility and to help my anxiety. I say next week because that’s when the next classes are – not because I”m slacking off, I promise!

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
14 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….

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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.

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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
14 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.