My Clarisonic Mia ... The journey so far

A few weeks ago thanks to a birthday gift card I purchased a Clarisonic Mia. I had thought about getting one for a while. I had read so many positive reviews and I'm a bit of a skin care freak so felt it would be great to add one to my routine. So the gift card swayed it. I had baulked at the price but when it was very little out of pocket expense it was an easy decision. 

The first time I used it my skin felt different. It felt clean and soft without that stretched taut feeling. Now that stretched taut feeling is one I have not felt in a long time since I learned that was actually not a good feeling. Even if your skin is on the oily side like mine all it does is make your skin produce more oil. So long ago I stopped using foaming cleansers and many products specifically for oily skin. But I liked the way my skin felt so soft after just cleansing. My night serum and cream didn't seem to go on any easier than normal but otherwise I felt good.

I bought a new cleanser to try and soon learned it wasn't for me! After cleansing with that and my Mia my face went a bright red and stung. Ok so that cleanser goes to hubby to use! 

Then I got sick and missed a few nights as I was incapable of doing anything more than splash my face. Illness shows on my face and I started to look pale and drawn with dark circles. When I started to feel a bit better I started using my Mia again. A simple cream cleanser each night. At first I felt it was doing nothing but it was competing with some rather nasty illness induced skin! It's not a miracle worker.

One day recently I decided to perk myself up. So I applied my Eve Taylor exfoliant mask. After I had finished I had an idea.  This particular product contains no granules ( I never use exfoliants like that anymore...those little rough bits....not good!) I wet my face and used the Mia briefly before rinsing. I applied my moisturiser afterwards and felt and looked better than I had in weeks! 

The following day I looked more alive and my dark circles had significantly reduced. I need to point out that I still had symptoms. I had ended up with bronchitis and a nasty ear infection and was taking antibiotics so realistically I shouldn't look much better and yet I did.

So was it the Mia or something else? I dunno but I think the Mia has helped. Not only does it clean the skin it works a bit like a massager so helps to drain all the nasties from the skin and increase blood flow so that can cause a reduction in dark circles and dullness. 

So perhaps I sound like I'm selling something so sorry if that is the case. But I think I am falling in love with my Mia. It feels good and makes my skin feel and look better. Oh and so far not a pimple in sight! So none of the purging I had been warned about. So what's not to love?

What is Brave? Who gets to judge that?

What does it mean to be brave? I've seen a lot written lately where certain people have been declared brave. Caitlyn Jenner, Tyra Banks...then it seems some people come and say no these people are not brave...saving someone from a burning building is brave. Having transgender surgery or posting a photo of yourself without makeup isn't brave.

Who is right? I suppose it is subjective in a sense. I wish we could all agree though that maybe each of us individually don't have the right to decide whether someone is being brave or not. There are possibly hundreds of different ways any one person can be brave.

Someone who is scared of heights climbing a mountain is brave. At least I'm sure they feel brave. They haven't changed the world or helped anyone...certainly it isn't on a par with saving someone from a burning building but if they feel proud of themselves then yep let's call them brave, what does it hurt?

Because what happens when actually literally saving a human life is the only thing we can all agree to call brave? Are these people brave? Of course! Though many of them may not even feel the slightest sense of achievement as they are good people who value human life who simply did what they felt they had to do. Yet it would seem next to that anything else is only brave if enough people tell you it is. Cancers survivors are thought of as brave. Quite rightly considering the gruelling road they face. Yet what choice did they have? They couldn't sit in the corner and stamp their feet saying they didn't want to fight cancer? They had to get on with and did so showing great courage. Does that mean people who make decisions that scare them but are not life and death are not brave? 

I think Caitlyn Jenner is brave. Our society still has so many stigmas coming out as a woman after so long living as a man would be very difficult. The fear of rejection could be crippling. I personally would never put a no makeup first thing in the morning selfie up anywhere on social media so I think Tyra is brave. Do they deserve medals? Have they saved lives? No but maybe by doing something that scares others they might just add to the positive change that is needed to make this world a better place. It's slow going. In 2015 one would think we would be an equal society where people could be who they want to be without fear but alas that is not so.

So I can't see how all this 'no that's not brave....this is brave' type one upping is helping anyone's cause. Because someone went in a lift today after a lifetime fear and gets called brave by her friends does not mean that a fireman saving a child from a burning house will not get his due. He may get a medal and the woman in the lift certainly won't. So can't they both be brave in their own way? If you have to go against the grain and do something that is scary to you then that is brave. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. It's not a competition. 

Where is your wedding dress?

Where is your wedding dress? What did you do with it? Lately I have seen all sorts of interesting things on Pinterest and other places where wedding dresses are being recycled (or re-purposed!) to make something useful out of them. Of course some women do what women have always done; keep the dress, sell it or give it charity or pass it down in the family.

I imagine what you do with your wedding dress depends on many factors. If you get divorced chances are you don't have much of an emotional attachment to your dress any more. Or maybe you do as it reminds you of happier times. I don't know, never having been divorced. But plenty of women would find themselves in that leaky boat...dress of their dreams and a relationship that ends up in hell. People make mistakes, things go wrong and sometimes I think people get married purely for the wedding day rather than wanting an actual marriage... But that is a different post.  But even assuming you remain happily married what do you do with that dress? 

Now my wedding dress is packed up in a huge box in the garage. I should probably point out I got married 19 years ago. Back when wedding dresses still had sleeves.....I think I got it out on my first anniversary and tried it on. Now it wouldn't fit me. I doubt it would make much money if I sold it. I could give it away I suppose but would it be considered too old fashioned even by brides-to-be that have to buy their dress at a second hand shop? I don't have a daughter I could pass it down to and even if I did she should get to pick what she wears on her wedding day. I would never expect her (or any potential future spouse of my son's) to wear what I wore as some sort of tradition.

So why is it still in a box in the garage? I'm not sure. I do feel that at some point I should do something with it or one day I will open the box and it will be scraps of fabric that are unusable.

Now there are some obvious ways of recycling your wedding dress. I imagine you could use the fabric for a christening gown or to make a pillow or stuffed toy. I can see it being used as the fabric covering a bassinet. These all came to mind easily. But If you have a Pinterest account then go and do a search for recycled wedding dress and see what amazing things some women have done with their wedding dresses.

Some fabulous examples include using a piece of lace from the dress and spreading it across a frame to make an earring holder. Gorgeous tote bags, quilts, scarves, clutch bags, wall canvases, handmade Xmas tree ornaments or Xmas stockings. Using it in an open locket to be worn as a beautiful piece of jewellery. Lace earrings, garters for daughters to use for their wedding. It seemed endless. 

                 

 

The most poignant was the angel gown posts; where wedding dresses are used to make gowns for stillborn babies. There are organisations such as the NICU Helping Hands’ Angel Gown ® Program that use wedding dresses donated to them to make these angel gowns. Whilst I don't have a living daughter to wear my wedding dress I did lose a baby girl. If she had been a few weeks older she would have required a funeral. I can see how these angel gowns would bring some small comfort to women of stillborn babies, their lost angels. 

                       

                             

There were some ideas that made me cringe though like doilies. I mean doilies? No one likes the ones made from traditional materials let alone using a wedding dress to make them. Perhaps that's what the divorced women do. Cut up their dress and make a stack of doilies and donate them or else send some to their former mother in-law?

I have recently taken up sewing again. My sewing machine decided to die on me just as I was getting back into it but a new one is on the way. I also have the tools for making jewellery and recently succeeded in making a passable looking pair of earrings. 

So given that should I recycle my dress in some way? Use the beautiful silk and lace to make things that I could use and surround myself with? Is that better than keeping it in a box? I suppose there is this little voice in my mind saying one day I might regret it but for the life of me I cannot understand why I would. It's a weird dilemma to have I realise. 

So tell me where is your wedding dress? Did you recycle yours? What are your thoughts? 

Daytime TV... A lesson...

For reasons I won't go into today I spent the day watching regular ordinary daytime TV. This was not pleasant. In fact at times it was perplexing. Nonetheless I try to see everything as a learning experience so here is is..... Things I've learned about daytime TV.

Firstly there is a lot of news. They seem to have news on several times a day. I'm not talking about the dedicated 24 hours a day news channel. I mean all the other channels. Mostly it seems to involve simply retelling the same stories over and over. Occasionally there is something new to add, when there isn't they seem to exaggerate the stories they do have so that by the end of the day each story has become something completely different. 

There is also a lot of channels solely selling crap things that presumably won't sell anywhere else. Why they put them on during the day is beyond me unless they think that people who watch TV during the day must be home from work on very heavy medication. Some of these things defy believe. ‘Dr Ho's physio belt’ anyone? Then there are those hideously ugly bras that somehow all women must have because apparently we all don't know how to get measured and buy proper bras in our actual size.

Or a product called ‘True back?’ I don’t even know what that is... I just flicked on to the channel in time to witness people answering the questions, "Truly? You are not just saying this because you are on camera?" To which they all enthusiastically replied no of course they are not just saying that because they are on camera, the product really works! It's changed their lives!" I for one totally believe them... I'm picking up the phone to order my free trial of something or other because I mean why would these people lie? 

Then there are the ads selling insurance. Every channel and every single ad break. Sometimes even as a segment on a show....Income protection, life insurance or funeral insurance. Seemingly we are all sitting at home contemplating our mortality so that these ads seem perfectly timed. We are all easily convinced to sign up for yet another kind of insurance that we (don't) need. These ads declaring that it's cheaper than a cup of coffee and that no medical exam is required. Which does two things for me... Firstly it makes me really want a cup of coffee and secondly it makes me want to shout at the screen ( assuming that everyone watching the ad on TV will somehow hear me...)  that what they really mean is that if you don't tell them about any health condition chances are they won't pay out...so beware! 

Want to watch old episodes of Charlies's Angels? Then daytime TV is for you! Or movies so old they actually look grainy on the screen? Some TV show you have never heard of? Probably because they were so bad they never made it to prime time? How about an old episode of Taggart? No I mean old... Really old... Taggart is still alive! I like a good crime show but I'm sure I've seen these... Twenty years ago. 

I am currently being saved from complete mental breakdown by The Antiques Roadshow. Yep that's the pick at the moment. I'm dreading it finishing as I will have to channel surf again. I can't seem to avoid noticing the gaudy jewellery on TVSN that they are asking a ridiculous amount of money for... Or a few seconds of someone smiling inanely because they have supposedly been saved by some odd appliance or from taking out insurance. Then again I could be lucky enough to find a cooking show.... Thanks goodness for Justine and Poh!

So the day is not done but I daresay I'm not in for much different. Of course I can't wait for The Chase to come on. The one daytime show that I love... That it is from the UK says a lot about Australian TV  in general... But that's a blog for another day.

Don't read the comments... Except the ones under recipes..

Don't read the comments

We hear that a lot as really there are some terribly ignorant people out there who hate to have to actually think...

But what I think is funny is that don't read the comments really applies to recipe websites and apps. Or in fact do read the comments might be more apt, if you want to laugh out loud. Rarely do they give you any helpful advice about the recipe but they sure can be funny. 

                           

So let's make up a user name - how about MrsICan'tCook or MC for short. MC feels it's necessary to leave a comment every time she follows a recipe, and I use the word 'follow' quite lightly.

So MC might say something like this, presumably with the idea of helping guide others in their culinary journey and recipe choices...

'Well I just have to say I don't think I will make this recipe again. I didn't have any yogurt so I used milk instead. I had to add extra flour also. I didn't have any baking powder so used cream of tartar instead. Plus just as I was making it I remembered I hate cinnamon so I just left it out. I didn't bother chopping the nuts as I needed to get this done quickly. So these yogurt cinnamon muffins really didn't turn out. They didn't even look like muffins! They tasted very bland and the texture was funny. I don't recommend this recipe'

Or

'I was unsure about making this as it seemed complicated. But I gave it a go! I don't like duck so I used chicken. I didn't have cherries so used raisins instead. I prefer not to use butter in cooking so I left that out. When it was done the chicken was a bit dry even though I cooked it for as long as the recipe stated. Plus the raisins were tough and didn't really make much of a sauce. I don't think I would make this again.' 

Poor dear MC. She really has a pea for a brain doesn't she? Look for her though. Next time you search for a recipe have a look at the comments and chances are MC will be there. It's why so many great recipes never get 5 full stars. Because people like MC will bring down the recipe score with their fantastic improvements. 

Also you know MC might be the type of person who feels she has to leave comments about every restaurant and hotel she has ever visited too... Maybe in a future blog MC will comment on her latest holiday. It won't have been fun because MC lives to criticise. If there is nothing to criticise she will simply make something up...

Till next time! 

Who is the woman in this portrait?

I rarely blog about history which is strange considering I have a history degree and it is something I am most passionate about. Yet I feel compelled to today.

I think most people, even the most history averse, have heard of Anne Boleyn. Chances are you know her by the famous portrait and by the fact she was executed by her husband Henry VIII 

There is of course a lot more to her but recently I read some very interesting things. With Wolf Hall now on the screen in Britain, (A TV series adapted from the brilliant Hilary Mantel novel based on the life of Thomas Cromwell) articles about Anne have been coming thick and fast. 

Just who was she? Was she power hungry? An adulteress? A scheming nasty piece of work? Or a young woman in love? The truth is we don't really know. Though I suspect she was far less horrible than she has been made out to be from certain quarters. Aren't women who rise to power almost always portrayed in a bad light? 

But a couple of things we thought we absolutely knew it turns out we might not know at all. Above is the famous portrait. I imagine you have seen it at least once or twice, if not many times like myself. Except it turns out this may possibly not be Anne at all but rather some other woman who was not even a contemporary! 

Any contemporary portraits of Anne were most likely destroyed and this 'famous' picture was painted after both she and Henry were dead. It could of course be based on an older portrait that somehow managed to survive or it could in fact, be someone else. 

One thing that points to it being someone else is that we now consider the famous pearl necklace with the letter B to be inaccurate. It has been suggested that Anne actually wore the letter A for her first name and not a B for Boleyn. Which makes sense given that once she was married she would not have gone by the name Boleyn. Plus the initials entwined and displayed throughout Hampton Court Palace were H and A for Henry and Anne.

So it may well be that Anne looks nothing like we suspect she did. Of course we have some contemporary descriptions but many of these were made by her adversaries, men who didn't like her because she was ousting who they believed was the rightful queen. So descriptions of her being swarthy, not beautiful, having a large nose etc may well be false. She could have been an absolute stunner. Then again she may have been a woman who was charismatic and alluring rather than beautiful, as has been suggested.

We will of course never know. That is the beauty of history yet also a regret for historians.There is so much conjecture and guess work in history. Even when we think we absolutely know something, it could easily turn out we in fact, know nothing. 

If you are interested in Anne or Tudor times might I suggest you like The Anne Boleyn Files or The Tudor Dynasty on facebok. They have tonnes of fascinating articles and facts for you to enjoy. 

Some headlines you just have to click on..

There are some headlines you just have to click on. 

Some days you find yourself looking at the oddest pages on the Internet. Those days you often find the silliest or strangest stories that you cannot help clicking on. So yesterday the three stories I just had to click on I thought I would share with you. 

1. "Highway crash cooks chickens, frees bees" 

Seriously how could you not want to read further? Two trucks, one carrying bees and the other frozen chickens manage to crash and cause a huge fireball. The drivers were fine so it's ok to chuckle. Turns out the chooks got cooked, so to speak. I can't help but think of the lovely smell wafting through the air.... The bees needed rounding up so a bee keeper was quickly located. His job was made easier by the fact that the bees seemed somewhat stunned by all the smoke. Possibly too by the fact they suddenly had no idea where they were

2. "Tortoise stolen twice in one weekend." 

Who steals a tortoise? Turns out more than one person. Teo the tortoise who lived happily ( I assume) at Puxton Park Farm in the UK was pinched one Saturday. The farm put out urgent calls for his return and it seems the thief had a pang of conscience and returned Teo. Phew! Except no because a few hours later someone else ( presumably it was someone else) stole Teo again, only this time the thief nabbed Taylor the Tortoise as well! 

So many things going round my mind while reading this story. How does someone manage to disguise two tortoises and get away? Why is it that everyone gives tortoises names that start with a T? Why not Benjamin Tortoise? Or Harold? Of course the big question is why steal a tortoise ( or two?) 

Turns out the BBC is to blame, well sort of. They adapted the Roald Dahl story Esio Trot for TV and it was popular viewing. The gist of the story is that a lonely old man woos his neighbour with a scheme of using ever larger tortoises. The International Tortoise association ( yes, apparently there is such a thing...)  has warned there will be a rush on obtaining tortoises due to the shows success. 

Well let's hope Teo and Taylor find their way home soon and that stupid people don't go stealing animals because of what are obviously comedic elements to fictional stories! 

3. "Mystic Mog: Cat turns light on every time you press her nose" 

How super cool does this sound? Or look even as there is an accompanying video clip. The cat sits next to the touch lamp and its owner presses her nose and the light comes on! Of course it's not magic but simply about making a circuit and easily explained scientifically. So it really isn't all that great a story though it does look sweet. Now if touching the cats nose could turn on the ceiling light or change the TV channel then I would be impressed...

That's it for today. Stay tuned as you never know when I might aimlessly track down odd stories which could well provide for another instalment!