A rainy day in December!

We were woken by the sound of rain and our puppies crying in the wee hours of the morning. 

The puppies were born in October (8 of them) and it has been dry since then. The rainy season stopped at the end of September and harmattan kicked in since October. 

We kept the puppies in the garage at night time but they didn’t like that, they would cry a lot and have us tend to them to calm them down at different points in the night.

Thinking that they might have wanted to spend the night outside, we put them in a cage that gives them a good view of the garden, hoping that would do the trick, but no! They would wail all night.

So we took the bold step to let them roam free in the compound at night. They had the older dogs, their parents, there to hang out with, so that seemed to have done the trick.

The puppies had never seen or known rain so when we heard the 'strange' sound of rain, we were tempted to run out and get them to a dry place, but figured that it would be best to let them learn from the older dogs.

As an individual aware of the times and weather, this has never happened. Rain in December, during harmattan? It is a first!

All this got me thinking…

Change they say is constant, even the climate has to take part in the change.

We voted for change in Nigeria and have indeed had change.

2017 has been different, it has been one interesting, challenging and intrigue filled year.

2018 is just round the corner and I am happy for the big change I am walking into.

Do you smell Christmas already?! 

My very best wishes to you and yours this Christmas and I hope 2018 brings the best kind of change that we all hope for.

Photo Credit: Google images

Cringe worthy racism tales of people with brown skin

I just got a reminder that I had to write about this subject!

Sometimes, the world seems to move on from certain issues or shall I say, some of them just come to be.

I was in Lagos, Portugal recently, it is beautiful! It is peaceful, the views are breathtaking. I stayed in Meia Praia area and it is not yet 'polluted' by chaos and noise, it is an amazing holiday destination. Will write about that in a separate post!

My sister was my travel companion and we noticed quite quickly that there were not many people with brown skin. We were stared at a lot, that's nothing new, we would smile at some point when the staring was unending 😊

Somatics

A week ago, I was at my god mother’s and she invited me to join her for a session in somatics, which I had never heard of.

When the instructor came in, I had no idea what to expect. She mentioned to me that it was a form of body movement that I might not have done before. She was partially right. 

She told me that we have the tendency to want to stretch when we feel tight in certain parts of our bodies, but this was more about feeling and acknowledging the tightness or whatever feeling there might be.

When we started, we were asked to shut our eyes then relax. All we needed to do was follow instructions. The instructors voice was soothing but firm. Three words I heard a lot were 'breathe', 'feel', 'relax'. It was all about slow controlled body movements. At some point, when we were asked to raise a leg, following her instructions, my leg started to feel heavy. At that point I found myself holding my breath but as she said relax and feel your breath, I did let go and it was easier.

If you are someone like me who exercises and is used to things being pretty upbeat, doing this might seem difficult at the beginning. I relaxed into it all and just followed. It takes some concentration, but don't get impatient, try it to the end and if you don't like it, that's fine. It felt to me like yoga in some way, like meditation and like gentle stretching. At the end, I was left feeling like I had a massage. I felt lighter.

This makes me realise how little care we tend to take of our bodies. Apart from all the brusque movements, my body could use this from time to time. We spend so much time working without realising that the body needs attention. We sit for long hours, down the line many people end up with back and waist issues. I am determined to find a way to balance things out and somatics sure comes in somewhere.

To see what it's like, there are many videos on youtube. It would be preferable to look at a few then see which works. Please give me feedback if you choose to try 😊

On the other hand, I started a challenge of doing 50 burpees a day for 30 days. 29 days to go...yikes!


Photo credit: Google images

Rwanda - A Country of Hills and History

One country in Africa has had my attention for some time now…the reason being that this country suffered so much tragedy not many years ago. The tragedy put the country in the spotlight but today, the country has made itself one to visit!

You guessed right, it is Rwanda! I visited! I stayed at first in Nyamata, outside the capital, Kigali. It is about 30km and a 30 to 40 minute drive into Kigali. Nyamata might not be the usual urban city but it has its own allure. I stayed in La Palisse Golden Tulip hotel. I hear it is government owned. It has the facilities needed for a comfortable stay.

One side of the hotel

There is an Olympic sized swimming pool which is well maintained.
I was there for work but I have learnt to seize every opportunity! After work, I stayed on for five more days to explore. The training I attended took place in the same hotel. Having the pool to go to each day was a delight!

Youth Leadership Camp, FWC Abuja - Become a Better You

I spent the week of August 12th to 19th August 2017 somewhere in Abuja with over six hundred young adults, from ages 13 to 23. This camp was organised by the church I attend - Family Worship Centre (FWC) Abuja.

They thronged in as the gates opened!

Registration

Burnout

For most working class people today, this is a word that has become normal.

I could define burnout as a build up of fatigue that causes one to become emotionally, mentally and physically drained. A common cause of this is stress. 

There is a difference between stress and burnout by the way. 

Stress is defined by dictionary.com as physical, mental, emotion strain or tension. It also defines burnout as frustration or apathy resulting from prolonged stress, overwork or intense activity. 

These days, stress seems to be part of our everyday lives. How we manage stress and eventually burnout matters to our well being.

Fancy being surprised? Or not?

I love surprises…It gives me joy when people go out of their way to make me happy in any way. Surprises do not always have to be presents, it can be a random act of kindness. The spontaneity of it excites me. However, not everyone is a fan of surprises I have discovered.

 

Someone I know was in a relationship, but not really. She was unsure whether she wanted to continue. The dude obviously knew what he wanted and popped the question. He genuinely loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her but she was unsure. She was so undecided that she left the country to study, the whole time asking him to move on, but he waited. 

During that time of dating, he got her lingerie. She didn’t know how to feel. The guy was obviously in a relationship with her in every sense of it, while she was slightly disconnected. She didn’t know how to feel about this surprise, happy or embarrassed.

Couscous and vegetables

Looking for something to try this weekend?

Again I looked in the fridge and decided to use what I had available. Here is what I whipped up last night.

Ingredients

Zucchini

Carrots

Green beans

Onions

Garlic

Ginger

Cabbage

Pork Sausages

Couscous

Oil

Salt

Seasoning cubes

Spices of choice

These were the spices I used. Didn't have any herbs so tried to make up with these

Detoxification and well-being

I detoxify my system from time to time, especially when bloating or constipation stay for a few days. I have no regimen or time frame with which I know to detoxify, but I just know when…

I was bloated for a few days and was hoping my system would sort itself out. Well, not until my tummy started singing loudly in the office. Last night I decided to use all the ingredients I had in the fridge to make a smoothie. I was not sure how the smoothie would turn out but I made it anyway!

After I made it, I mentioned to a friend that I was unsure of it. When I listed the ingredients, he agreed that it might be a weird combination but he also wrote that it had all the vitamins one needs and if I were to take that every day, I would live till 102! Lol 

Sisterhood and life lessons

I was up late last night reflecting and would like to share experiences of the two ladies in my life I cannot do without. Their experiences have taught me some life lessons which might be relevant to you too.

One of my sisters was put in a corner last year where she had the option of resigning or asking in the 'nicest possible way' to be retained. This was a job that drained the life out of her. She hardly had a life outside work as she worked crazy hours. There was generally no job security as she worked under someone who was quite impulsive. As an outsider, this was my observation.

Men don't cry

This statement is one I grew up hearing and it was translated in the same way to boys, as well.

When a boy would cry unashamed, he would be told not to disgrace himself but to toughen up.
I always felt sorry for the boys when they had to fight back tears and be brave. That was something I found rather difficult to do.

Now, as an adult, I see how that statement is more detrimental than helpful. Emotions are a part of every person – whether male or female. Having to suppress them does not sound like a good idea as it has long term effects.