28!…29!…30!

Yes! These 3 days are VERY important this December!

Why? The EIFF is coming up. Remember I told you guys about what you can do for fun this holiday season? And I mentioned EKO INTERNATIONAL FOOD FESTIVAL? Well, let me tell you more about it. The  good part is, it’s Free!

Imagine LOADS of great food, hanging out with family and friends in an electric environment! Meeting and making new friends (forming great connections that will translate into the Year 2017) and taking part in fun activities all in one place?! Holiday fun fair at its best right in your neighbourhood (for those who live on the mainland), For those who reside on the Island, believe me it’s THE most important Holiday destination (Time to cross that bridge to the other side!).

EIFF is how you put a smile on your face and on the faces of those you hold dear.

There’s a lot for the kids to enjoy.

There’s good music, comedy, poetry by talented peeps in the industry (Talent Hunters will also be there. Who knows? It might be the breakthrough you, your brother or your cousin have been waiting for. *huge grin*). Spread the word to artistes of every type (free platform to showcase talent at the open mic). 

And for the ultimate fun part, there’s going to be the Nigeria/Ghana Jollof Rice Cook-off. You all know there’s been this jollof war going on forever right? The two West African countries keep saying “My jollof is the best. I invented it. I taught you! You can’t cook it better!” To which the other country swiftly replies “You’re jonesing! I know more about jollof than you do! My jollof is the exceptional! Everyone says so!”

At the EIFF, that fight will happen live. Jollof Rice will be cooked by representatives from both countries and the winning country will have bragging rights for a year until the next EIFF battle. 

It’s three days of Intense fun! My spine is tingling already. I’m sooooo going to be there for those 3 days. It’s a cool way to end the year.  I’m expecting to see you all there too. Call the numbers on the posters for any enquiry, suggestions or even if you want to participate as a vendor; Ice cream, food (of any type), drinks, snacks etc. 

Tell all your friends, their friends, their friends’ cousins, your neighbours, your neighbours’ grandparents and your colleagues’ second cousins. You can tell some aliens too.

Let’s end the year together with joy in our hearts and laughter on our lips. It’s EIFF!!!!!

Have a laughter-filled day.

RALLYING

Hey Dears!

I woke up in good spirits today (and that seems to be happening a lot these days since I decided to just keep praising God and asking for nothing till the year ends).

              I think today should just be about rallying our spirits. We all know that God is in control right? Cool. So let me just share nuggets, words and thoughts (that I’ve heard, read or seen) which keep my spirit feeling lighter. I believe, by God’s grace, these words will be a blessing to you too.

                                                                                  

Here are 3 of the Late Charlie Chaplin’s quotes:

• ·         Nothing is permanent in this world, not even our troubles.
• ·         The most wasted day in life is a day in which I have not laughed.

Here’s another piece of wisdom from the mega-short story below;

                An Old Man had 8 hairs on his head. One day, he went to the barbershop. The Barber, in anger and irritation asked sharply “Shall I cut or count?” The Old Man smiled and replied “Colour them”.

Moral of the story: Life is to be enjoyed with whatever you have, so keep smiling.

Another bit of wisdom: If you feel STRESSED, take a break, enjoy some ice cream, chocolate or cake. Why? Because STRESSED spelled backwards is DESSERTS.

ALPHABETICAL ADVICE

·         A B C: Avoid Boring Company.

·         DE F: Don’t Entertain Fools.

·         G H I: Go for High Ideas.

·         J K L M: Just Keep a friend Like Me.

·         N O P: Never Overlook the Poor.

·         Q R S: Quit Reacting to Silly tales.

·         T U V: Tune Urself for Victory.

·         W X Y Z: We Xpect You to Zoom ahead in life.

Let these words sink in your soul;

• ·         If you see the moon, you see the Beauty of God.
• ·         If you see the sun, you see the Power of God.  And...
• ·         If you look into the mirror, the Best Creation of God.      Believe in YOURSELF.

Finally Dears, know that we’re all tourists and God is our Travel Agent Who has already fixed all our Routes, Reservations and Destinations based on personal choices. Trust Him and enjoy the trip called LIFE.

Have a very happy Friday and a weekend full of thanksgiving.

Anger, that pesky pest.

Darlings,

There is one emotion that, many times, turns even the smartest person into a fool.

What is Anger?  It’s a normal human emotion. But when it’s out of control, the beholder transforms into a ‘beast’.  It’s a terrible thing to feed, it turns your normally rational-thinking mind into mush and speaks only one thing to your spirit; DESTROY!

It’s an emotion that grabs you at your most tender spot, sink it’s teeth in and won’t let up until you have done some kind of damage; emotional or physical. Sometimes, the damage you do is permanent. It’s a nasty state to be in. It completely undermines years of self-discipline, learning, maturity, growth (physical and mental) and turns you into a zombie because at that time all you’re focused on is the reason you’re angry.

In essence, your mind is saying (in a robotic voice) “Slam, Maim, Shout, Vent, Push, Obliterate guilty person…Slam, Maim, Shout, Vent, Push, Obliterate guilty person”. It takes the special grace of God to come out of that zone when you find yourself in it.

The interesting thing is, most times (and if you’re being truthful to yourself), the reason you’re sooooo upset is quite flimsy. For instance; 

• 1.       “Who moved my shoe?! I’ve always told you people not to move my shoe! I like putting it in THIS place! Are you all mad?! Who moved this shoe?!” 
• 
  
  
•  ---- In this case, perhaps it has a lot more to do with transfer of aggression from what the real issue is. You’re upset about something else and looking for a scape goat to pile it on. Does this sound familiar?

• 2.       “Why did you cook the chicken with salt?! You know how I feel about salt?! Is this the first time you’re hearing it?! Are you slow?! What kind of stupid food is this?! Salt! for what?!” 
• 
• ----Yes, you don’t like salt. We know. But people aren’t perfect, they make mistakes. There’s a way to handle it than calling thunder, fire, brimstone, hails stones to come down on the person. Just like the situation above, this also smells like transfer of aggression. Be careful.

• 3.       “Why are you looking at me like that?! Are you crazy?! Who are you looking at?! You’re very stupid! Stop looking at me!!
• 
•  ---- Wow. Errr, you really can’t control how people choose to look at you. You also look at other people however you like. Stop trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill. Perhaps you should deal with the real issue. You’re upset about something else, internalize that, fix that, don’t draw out the battle guns on innocent bystanders.

I hear someone saying with a smirk “Yeah, whatever. These are petty stuff. People get angry at REAL stuff, okay?” Yes, okay, I know. But listen, whether you’re angry because of the BIG stuff or the SMALL stuff, it’s the same thing; Anger is festering in your soul and at the moment, your emotions are too high and in the bid express it, you mostly end up doing irreparable damage to yourself and to others.

It’s summed up in this mathematical equation; ANGER + OUT-OF-CONTROL EXPRESSION = DESTRUCTION. 

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not asking you to become a docile person for the rest of your life and let people ride over you because you’re trying not to be angry.  Anger is good for soul at times, It can be healthy too, we all need to find a way to purge negative feelings. I’m just warning you to be especially careful how you EXPRESS that sneaky emotion (Anger).  Because it’s at that point you’re feeling least logical and strategic, that’s when you need to watch yourself the most.

If you think about it, you might later realise the blame lies both ways. Instead of putting the blame completely on someone else and plotting how to thoroughly deal with the person, you might just realise you also have a 50% share in the blame.

To avoid feeling sadly regretful when all is said and done, try very hard to get hold of the situation at the beginning. I don’t know about you, but I hate having to say “if I had known, I wouldn’t have done this/that” or “I wish I hadn’t gotten so angry”. It’s a slam on one’s self-esteem.

Permit me to quote three Bible passages that talk about this;

Prov 14:17; He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated.

Prov 22:24; Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go.

Prov 29:22; An angry man stirreth up strife and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.

Be careful. Be watchful. Anger has a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it.

In conclusion, if you find yourself really angry, if possible, walk away, choose to deal with it later when you’re calmer. If it’s not something you can immediately walk away from, whisper a prayer to God at that VERY moment to calm your spirit so you don’t do something you’ll later regret. No prayer that is too small or unnecessary, God hears them all. I’ve tried (I still do), it works.

Have a blissful week filled with joy, rejoicing and laughter.

Ciao Dears!

They've Been There

Hello Darlings!

 ‘Tis the Season and I can’t stop the flood of joy flowing through my soul!

You see, it’s never about life being perfect. It’s about how you choose to see life and live it.

I have learnt (and I’m still learning) to ‘create my own universe’ i.e. create the kind of environment I want; When others speak negative, I choose to speak positive; When others see only problems, I see challenges and know that I have a God Who is more than able to win; When others hear insults, I know who I am so I don’t lower myself to dwell on insults, When others let their current situation dictate their happiness or lack of it, I acknowledge every situation but choose to stay optimistic with the belief that I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me, so I've got joy!

I was surfing the net and came across really good quotes from famous faces. The quotes pin-point issues and mindsets we all can relate with. These guys know what they’re talking about because like us, they’ve been through (and are still going through) the journey called LIFE. 

They’ve been there, you can learn something from their words.

One of my favourites is this last  one by Johnny Depp, it speaks my mind, it's a way of saying "I see you Life, but you can't push me down! I'm in this to win and win I will!". 

So, for me, life is pretty good, after all, I've learnt to create my own reality.  You should too. *Big Smile*

Ciao Dears!

JUST PRAISE!

Hello Darlings!

I’m going to get spiritual with you today.

We’ve come to the end of the year 2016. We’re in the final month. This month - in fact, this particular day - will never come again. This is the day The Lord has made and let us learn to rejoice and be glad in it.

This year, we’ve asked, we’ve prayed, we’ve hoped, we’ve waited, we’ve believed, we’ve fasted. Now, I want to challenge us all to do one thing for the rest of this month; PRAISE.

Just praise; sing, dance, clap your hands. Go back to the days you were a care-free, worry-free child and capture that spirit once more. Don’t ask or plead for anything from God, just praise Him. Free your hearts of every worry (I know it’s easier said than done) but why not try it and see? What do you have to lose by spending the remaining days of this month praising God?

I’ve decided to do that. Spend the rest of the year just praising Him. Usually by this time of the year, I’m assessing my whole year, many times with desperation, worry and concern because I want God to quickly answer ALL my prayers so I can gladly say “Everything I wanted, God did for me this year”.  But the funny thing is God does EVERYTHING for us ,maybe it didn’t come in the shape/manner we wanted, so we didn’t recognise it and instead, keep wearing the sad face of “Why can’t God just answer me?!” I can imagine God shaking His head, sighing and saying “One day, very soon I hope, she/he will understand that the prayer has already been answered”.

True, you might not have that car right now, or buy that house, or have that life partner, or that child, or see the money in your account, or get that job etc, but God is always on time, He’s always working behind the scenes. We’re the ones who keep thinking “Time is going!” “Time has gone!” “Everyone has it already! Why am I different?!” Believe me, when God finally unwraps the gift He has been specially putting together for you, you’d wish you had praised and thanked Him a lot more. Why not start now?

This time, let’s do it differently, let’s put aside that long list of prayer requests (whether physical or mental list), put on our dancing shoes and give ourselves a holiday gift:  Sing. Clap. Dance. Repeat.

Just praise Him.

 Psalm 150 puts it beautifully.

 

My Darlings,  join the new trend, get registered with the Soldiers Of Praise. Put on your dancing shoes and Praise Him like your life depends on it. Wake up every morning with a song of praise in your heart, spend the day singing His glory, go to bed at night humming songs of worship. Forget about what ails your heart and mind. JUST PRAISE HIM!  

God inhabits the praises of His people.

Have a Happy Week Dears!

Keeping It Light

Happy New Week!

It’s almost the end of November and I was thinking to myself this morning, “Why not keep it light today?”

So, I got some funny captions to make your day and week.

Still, I want to say this; Be real, be true to yourself, trust God, love yourself and others, never give up, do something new every day if you can (even if it’s trying out a new biscuit), make the right friends, live well and healthy, have fun, embrace success and no hating!

Enjoy the Pics below;

Have a blessed week!

Fork & Knife

Morning Darlings!

Happy Friday!

Recently, I was looking at a particularly delicious picture of the upcoming EIFF (EKO INTERNATIONAL FOOD FESTIVAL) and my mind traveled to the past (by the way, EIFF is another activity you can do for fun this December and it won’t cost you much, check out the Facebook page 'Eko International Food Fest' for more details).

This food poster reminded me of the first time I used fork and knife years ago.

Let me tell you a story; It was on a sunny day, my mood was bright, my dress was on-point and I was hanging out with my girls. We were at a restaurant eating, gisting, having a good time when SUDDENLY! A group of REALLY GOOD-LOOKING GUYS walked in.

I took time off in my head to check them out while they settled on the table next to us. You should have seen me, my accent picked up a notch as I continued gisting. Then I noticed one of the guys looking at me and I thought to myself “Yes! time to show him what I’m made of!”

Immediately, I switched my fork to my left hand and picked up my knife with the right (Yes, I already knew the right positioning of fork and knife, I just hadn’t tried it before). Thinking about it now, I’m asking myself “Why didn’t I just go for the rice?”

I zeroed in on a chunk of beef and began to slice it. (A little tutorial; When you’re using fork and knife, particularly when slicing anything, make sure to hold down whatever it is with the fork, while the knife ONLY do the slicing). 

Back then, I didn’t know this, so I was moving the beef, my  fork and knife also moving,  up-and-down, up-and-down while trying to smile like “it’s no big deal, this is the way I do it”  (with my friends giving me curious looks) , the journey continued until…

The Beef from hell (with stew on it!) flipped off my plate, swished and landed right near the guys’ table!!

I wanted to disappear. I wanted the ground (for once in its life) to open up and swallow me. There was brief silence while I looked down in shame, only to look up and see the guys from the table trying hard not to laugh.  What was a girl to do? I got up, told my friends we’ll see outside and I calmly walked out of the restaurant (the original walk of shame).

Today I can laugh about it. Back then, I wanted to remain hidden forever. The good thing though? It fueled my determination to master the art. Without blowing my trumpet, I think I’m PRETTY good at it now. *INSERT PROUD SMILE HERE*

 Reliving the memory teaches me about how we sometimes work so hard to impress others for flimsy social gratification instead of working hard to better who we are (become a better version of ourselves) so that one day, others can be blessed through us, making the world a better place.

My question to you this weekend: When last did you do something (anything) to make someone’s life better? No matter how small. It doesn’t even have to be money, many times, rendering service is more impactful and long-lasting than giving cash.

Think about it. The next time you’re tempted to complain about the country, the president, the economy, the world, the weather, your job/career, your irritating family members,  pause and thank God for His blessings in your life first, then think about what YOU can do to put a smile on someone else’s face.

Have a great weekend!

Ciao!

TRY THESE 6

Happy Monday Dears!

I woke up really excited this morning and decided to do something a little different. I’m advertising! Reason? I want you all to consider before you totally fold your arms, give up and say “I’ll just sit at home, cook rice and chicken to eat this holiday. There’s nothing else to do”.

Snap out of that dour mindset this second! You still have a chance to plan something nice for yourself, something simple, but fun. PUT SOME FUN BACK IN YOUR LIFE! You only have this one life to live, LIVE IT!!  Check out the options below:

1.       FREEDOM PARK, LAGOS.

This one I can personally recommend. I’ve been there a few times and it’s something to remember. Take a trip down history lane, find out why it’s called ‘Freedom Park’ . You’ll be surprised at the amount of information; things you don’t know about the history of Lagos; those who took advantage and those who fought for the advantage. Visit the different sections, eat all types of food (there are outlets for Vegetarians too! Just in case you are or you’re on a diet this holiday season). The park is beautiful and there are different lounges. I don’t want to give out everything, here are a few pics to get you interested.

Google it, visit the website, confirm for yourself, you won’t be disappointed.

2.       LEKKI CONSERVATION CENTER, LAGOS.

I don’t know if you’ve heard me say it before, but I’m a lover of nature. I mean, I take pictures of full moons when I see them (I actually have a picture of The Super Moon on my phone! You know, that one  we were all supposed to look out for?...I was thrilled to snap it! Doubt me? Ask me for it when you see me). As I was saying, nature is beautiful, God is the Greatest Artist that there ever was. That’s why I love when nature is beautifully preserved like this place is. If you want a place to just stroll, relax, picnic, have down-time with your loved one(s), then visit this place this holiday season. Here are some pics to whet your appetite.

Google it for more information.

3.       BADAGRY BEACH, LAGOS

This one too I can personally recommend. As a lover of nature, a lovely beach is ALWAYS spot on. The atmosphere is relaxing enough without adding any extra to it. For those who live in Lagos, I know Badagry is a little away from main town and you’re now wondering “why do I have to go ALL THAT WAY just for baech-experience?” But it’s not just about visiting a beach, it’s about literally walking in history. Let me explain; There’s an excursion package which includes taking a comfortable ferry across a river to a place called ‘POINT OF NO RETURN’,

Walking down the former slave route (seeing things, artifacts, evidence of man’s cruelty to man) to finally alight on an untouched beautiful white-sand beach, staring at the amazing blue sea (no kidding, it’s VERY BLUE). It’s something everyone needs to see, you need to have this experience. I implore you, visit these places in Badagry: the beach and the excursion sites. Plan it, you’ll be happy you did.     I’m not making this up, I’ve been there, walked this path. My only regret is that I didn’t have a camera on me at the time to snap pictures. I was so overwhelmed by it all and awed by my surrounding to do anything else.

Do more research about it. Find out for yourself.

There are many other places you can visit too. I just want to get you thinking about planning SOMETHING, ANYTHING with the options above. Get your fun-clock ticking.

Now, for those who are just planning a single event; a date with that special someone. Mix it up a little, don’t just go to a basic place where they serve basic food; Jollof rice, fried rice, chicken, beef, local soups. These meals are good, but Many Meal Options + Terrific Ambience is a game winner any day.  Here are 3 suggestions;

1.       EMBER CREEK, LAGOS

I won’t say anything about this, I want you curious enough to Google it, read about it, see more pictures and plan something beautiful.

2.       JAZZHOLE, LAGOS

You love good food plus good music, then here’s where you should plan your date. The experience is memorable. It will sing in your heart for a long time. Check it out online.

3.       ALALO, LAGOS

Put simply; Really delicious food, Really good environment (with stylish native setting), remarkable experience. Go see for yourself, confirm what I’m saying.

I noticed that I was a little (alright, a lot) biased about location. All these places are based in Lagos, but bear with me, I’m still venturing and I will definitely look at other states too. But if you’re in Lagos or will be in Lagos this holiday season, then here are 6 places you can treat yourself to. No more talk of “I don’t have anything planned” “There’s nothing to do” “I can’t travel, where’s the money?”

Even if all you do is go by yourself to one of these restaurants and treat yourself to a nice meal, then do it. You deserve it.

Oh! another idea just came to me this moment, download a nice recipe from the internet, something different from the ‘normal’ foods you eat and learn how to cook it. Once you’ve refined the art of the meal, invite a few friends or family over and prepare it for them.

WHATEVER YOU DECIDE, YOU MUST NOT DO THE USUAL THIS HOLIDAY! DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT! PREFERABLY, SOMETHING FUN!

Have a great week Darlings!

PS: Share this post to someone who needs it. You just might make someone’s day.