Figuring it out...

At some point in time it easy to feel like we are pulled in different directions in our lives. We juggle different balls while trying to make sure we don't drop any. When i think of it, it's like tracks on a field and trying to run on all these tracks at the very. same.time... Trying to loose weight, Trying to change jobs, Trying to study, Trying to learn french, Trying to craft, Trying to finish my book,Trying to move places,Trying to grow my hair, trying to do this and trying to do that.

For a while now i have been having the blues and I was getting a lot of questions from my friends, why are you feeling blue, if i could actually pinpoint when it actually started,etc. Initially I couldn't  but after thinking about it for a while I realized it starts when I'm trying to figure things out. Trying to figure out 'how'...

In life no one person has all the answers (well except the Almighty God), we are all on a path figuring it out... So don't get discouraged. As long as we don't stop peddling, as long as we don't stop moving It all works in the end. For the past couple of weeks I've been hearing and reading the same thing over and over again , Make a move Make a move, Rev Sam Adeyemi, Rev TD Jakes even Ofili (http://ofilispeaks.com/)says make a move, keep pedaling. And I realized that as you keep moving a pattern starts to emerge, a picture, a painting, a creation, a design, a beautiful work of art, a life, this life we live, touching each other's lives, hopefully in positive ways.

So here are some of the things i figured out,i hope it will touch someone out there positively.

1. Lists. It's very easy to get distracted with lists, to do list, lists of the to do lists. At one time i had like 3 notebooks of lists and i had books teaching me of how to organize my to-do lists. i even have a book on time management that i never read (and it's by one of the top dogs in business management) the print was so small and the book so big. It lies there on my bookshelf just gathering dust.So here's my own fix for all the lists, Get a full scalp sheet of paper and write every thing in all your notepads on this list if you need more space get another sheet and staple it together. Why this works? because you never know where you will find yourself and do you want to get home from a craft store only to remember that you could have done some grocery shopping right next door to the craft store? Examples of what's on my list, crafts i want to make and a list of things i need to make them with, websites i want to vist, meals i want to try, our grocery list is there, my son's bday is in a couple of months so things i need to shop for, my wardrobe update is there... and so on. And i tick off things from time to time and add some things and sometimes i just write a new list especially once my list starts to get rough.

2. Make up: i like make up but I'm not obsessed with it. My basic make up is good foundation and by that i mean good skin. A lot of my friends will argue that genetics has a role to play with good skin. So whether you have good skin or not, it is still very important to take care of your skin. I have to admit I have a very simple face regime but i do take care of my face, i really really do. I use a  face wash  or a cream wash in the  in the evenings.I don't sleep with my makeup on. I use a mask almost every week and do some facials for myself as well. I hope this doesn't sound time consuming because its not and I do skip a few days, Hey!

3. Eyebrows: I have never known how to trim my eyebrows. I never even tried to learn how. I would wait for friends to help out, whether they did a good job or not I had no choice. I was recently inspired by a close  friend of mine. Now let me explain, when we were in Uni (college) my friend was a total geek, I have nothing against geeks,, I am a geek as well. But I used to spot her out in a crowd by one very childish hair grip she used to wear.. fast forward to now, my friend sells makeup as her side-trick and her make up is flawless! impeccable! no training! so what guess what... we can figure it out. So here's how i got the eyebrow i wanted .. my company Id card and my eyebrow razor, i used the card to guide the lines i wanted to maintain .. and voila!

Here's a Pic of what i ended up with. Not bad for my first attempt!

3. Children's Meals: It takes a lot to get home from work and have to start cooking and wake up in the morning and start thinking of breakfast and the children's lunch boxes. When i was younger we had a meal chart... i can tell you there are lots of kitchens in Nigeria with dusty old and ABANDONED meal charts pinned to the back of the door or the fridge. So i have a meal list and beside it is the list of my monthly groceries... everything we eat is on the list. So i just take a quick glance at it for inspiration. This is my go to solution to stop or at least reduce the mom-standing-in-front-of-the-fridge-wondering-what-to cook-for dinner. I also try to think at least 2 meals ahead.

4. Writing on my pictures with my tablet. Seems simple enough but i just didn't know how to do it. Well I just asked somebody cos well if you don't know, you better ask somebody.

I'm always on the look out for solutions that can make life easier so please feel free to share something you figured out or something you will like figured out... you know maybe we could figure it out together.

Saying No.....

Is it just me or is parenting so much more challenging now compared to when we were kids. There's so much more to say No to.
Growing up things were so much simpler. My sis and I derived so much pleasure from the simple things. Our mischievous experiments and just hanging out with our friends.
There's a danger out there, clear and present, and we can't bury our heads in the sands... we are not Ostriches. From the media to technology, from strangers in our midst to even the friendlies (yes the enemies are within as well). This is not a call to raise our children in an atmosphere of fear, This is a call to encourage us to keep on saying No. It's tough not to be the 'cool' parent, the 'nice' parent, but every time they give you that dirty look, just remember you are saying No from a place of Love. This is also a call to seek knowledge, information, wisdom... whether we care to admit it or not, what we know determines how we will react in certain situations. As parents, we never want to admit to our kids that we don't have all the answers, but we can admit it to ourselves, that we are figuring this thing out as we go along. So when your son or daughter asks you something you don't know, you can just simply say you know what, I don't have the answer but why don't we figure this thing out together.

Part of saying No is being the bad guy 
My kids got a balloon at a major shopping mall in Ikeja, and like all kids they started tossing it around and chasing it. At the back of my mind I saw the possibility of the balloon floating into the car park and the possibility of them chasing it right to the front of a moving car. I had to burst the balloon  I didn't feel good about it but I knew that one burst balloon would not 'scar' them for live, but one silly mistake could get them injured.

So as we celebrate both the International Women  Day and Mothering Sunday ... Here's a toast to the women in my life that never stopped saying No, Yes or Let's Figure it Out Together!

Have I bitten more than I can chew?

As a sort of dare of sorts with myself and as a sort of challenge I decided to start the "Insanity Workout" 60 day challenge. This is day 8 and yes it is insaneeeee! I have to admit, I have never completed the full 45mins - 1hr workout. I started out with 15mins, the 20 mins and on and on and with a lot of rests in between to catch my breath. When i see the the caption on the screen saying "rest when needed" it cracks me up, because i'm probably resting already ! But really its not even the workouts or the rotations, its how hard my heart beats when I'm doing it, like its about to jump out of my chest!

This is my first post this year so Happy New Year! it isn't too late is it? and Happy Valentines' Day! How was it? 1st of January also happens to be my birthday. I got a Samsung Galaxy Tablet... cool! me likey! me likey very much!!
How was Vals day? Was a little bit irritated with how much emphasis the children's school put on it. I was like "really?" T-boy actually had the day off from school... like really?!! I'm so changing him from that school.  Well, I made dinner for Bobo and the kids. A real sit down dinner with candles and all the works. Fruits, Jollof rice, Coconut Rice, Smoked Chicken , Red velvet and Chocolate cake and Ice cream. Ribena for the kids and red wine for the grown ups. The kids didn't even make it to dessert!! They were so stuffed. I felt as proud as a peacock!!
My go to recipe for Jollof rice - www.sisiyemmie.com 
My go to recipe for Coconut rice - www.9jafoodie.com

In my head I have this amazing kitchen with an island, marble floors and tiles, yellow and very sunny with a dinning nook where i can chit chat with the kids while i cook and definately music so i can groove yeh! Please don't judge. Anything is possible in my head. so while i work and wait, I collect reciepies. Plus with a picky eater like T-boy it helps when i can make the stuff he likes like puff-puff and jollof rice.

So how's the year been going? This is the last month of the 1st quarter. Exciting hun? Today's also Bobo's Bday. Pretty quiet this year though.