Servicing the Vehicle

Firstly I'll say a huge thank you to those of you who have been so supportive even though I haven't really blogged on here for awhile for personal reasons .To say, I appreciate your support will be an understatement.. you have all been my inspiration and reason to have pushed on with the insta-blogging .

Back to today's business, it's International Women Day/week so what better day to get inspired again..It's so easy to start off with telling us as women to go and get it all, go takeover the world and while at it, let the world know we are super heroes who never need a day off! so I'll go the realistic route and hope you take in with an open mind.

As girls,women, we most of the time grow up as nurturers and while this is a fantastic attribute, there's a thin line between this and forgetting completely about your own self. This is what has inspired today's post.
 I'll share some ways I have incorporated "alone time" into my schedule so I'm able to enjoy a little rest, fun and growth in my life

1. Plan! Plan! Plan! -
Planning makes a whole lot of difference when it comes to running your home or general affairs. From important things like meal prep/meal timetable to social media engagement , all these will give you a little more free time. I for example need to be on social media engaging as much as possible but if I don't have a plan, I'll probably never make it there for 5 mins or be there half and half all day. so I always give 20 mins of my time every 4 hours and if I miss anything major..so be it (I'm not CNN anyway)

2.Wake Up your Passion -
Now I said wake up because most of us lose our passion while trying to balance this life which is quite understandable. The late nights with the babies, endless chores, work etc tend to become our everyday priorities and the very little acts we love for no reason take a back seat. Passion makes us happy and so not acting on your passion will takeaway this particular feeling. If you like reading just as I do, endeavor to read up something new. I used to end a 500 page book in days but now, I might not finish in weeks as I read few pages a day. I might not get the thrill of reading back to back  but I know I have read and learnt something new each time .

3. Get an Alternative Care Plan/ Accept Help -
We all love our kids endlessly and know no one else can do for the kids what we do but I have learnt that my infant eating paper while my husband watches him wont kill anyone neither will my toddler climbing unthinkable heights while visiting his cousins  change my  the world.
What I'm trying to say is, no other carer will be good enough for the kids except for you (or your Mom) so if you hold onto this notion before letting anyone help you with the kids, you might end up getting so exhausted both physically and mentally and we don't want a cranky Mom.

4. Keep In Touch with Your Happy Place - Hobbies
I definitely love catching up with friends as well as my crime and intense series and movies,  ( I don't do romance movies). It's my alone time, my normal and wind down time.. for some people, it's hanging out with friends and family, baking, partying etc. So I realized that I feel better and lighter every time I take out time to enjoy myself with these little things. Little as they may seem, it's what makes you feel normal and updated.

These are my little nuggets for survival and I'll look forward to hearing yours in the comment section  below.

Again thanks for dealing with my inconsistencies, I'll definitely do better now..

Budgetting On A Budget

I really must apologize  to my little community for been away for awhile now. I know my apologies don't cut it but I had so much on my plate. My son is on summer vacation ( longest ever!) and that just doesn't help me with my scheduling.





That being said, the conversation of the day is like talking about the sun at 2pm, in other words it's a reality staring us in the face in our beloved country Naija - Recession!
Even though we haven't had the best economy in the world, we now have to grapple with the limited resources dropping around. I'm a very positive minded person but in all my positivity, I make sure I keep my reality as realistic as possible and with that, I have put together a couple of helpers to soothe our budgets and spending habits.

Just Baby Blues???

A couple of years ago, my elder brother visited and in our conversation, he mentioned running into some of our childhood friends at the airport. As we delved deep into the run-in, he specifically told me he ran into Aunty Okwi and her new born and without waiting for my next reaction, he told me she was doing fine, looked and sounded perfect! DH caught the puzzled look on my face and asked ….which leads me to today’s conversation.

 

Is Silence Really Golden ? ? ?

Most of my formative years was with my Grandmum and she till date had the most influence on my general outlook in life . She was learned and a nurse in the Red Cross and after retirement she joined a  hotel then as a cook . She taught me sympathy and a lot of free-lancing in the kitchen department (lol) ...God bless her soul !
Back to today's gist, my Grandma had just a handful of friends mostly made up of her sisters and as I grew up, she said it countless times that her reason was because she wouldn't bother being friends with you if she couldn't go all the way in the friendship as friends are meant to be your rock in trying times ..It took awhile but I later understood what she was talking about with a lot of personal experiences as well and second-hand experiences.

 

Mommy Wardrobe Revamp Alert

Today I'll be going the risqué route of trying to help some of us who are gradually falling into a style rut...Most women are extremely stylish until after the babies come ! I always don't want to act surprised every time I see an old  fashionista friend looking drabby because I know priorities have changed and the smile on your kids face is all you need now to feel good but yet, I'll be the bearer of Bad News today...other people also see you as you aren't invisible and so does DH ! Looking good shouldn't break the bank or make you miss cooking dinner darling. That being said, I'll run through a couple of pointers on how to slowly buy surely revamp your wardrobe and total outlook.

Peplums

Dealing With That Special Kind of Loss !!!

A close friend &  former colleague had reached out to me sometime last Month and in my usual  vivacious self, I was already screaming her “aka” . We had this routine of stepping back from the computer camera for a better screen shot and so I had done my bit and was waiting to see her do hers too .. After awhile, I thought the Wifi had started acting up only for her to raise her face again I saw tears running down from her already bloodshot eyes!! .

 

" Valentine Love " or Forever

 

Hello my Lovelies, It has definitely been awhile and I sincerely apologize for going MIA . I actually had planned to post about 2 or 3 times in January believing it was going to be a less busy time for me but Lo and behold, by the second week, I was so drowned in one project or the other . I even had to take some time off to do my personal run around to show you how busy it was for me . Anyway, this isn’t a complaint as I am grateful for the exciting things I’m working on …