My fave birthday gift!!!!

The Picture

My last birthday was December 23, 2013 and i put up a post about it here, i ; yes it's around the corner again, but then this post is not about my upcoming birthday so let's stay on course :)

I'm here to rave about my fave birthday gift of all time! A charcoal painting of me, the gift came several months (sometime after May) after my birthday from a close friend who i really cherish. I honestly can't be grateful enough for the creative and artistic minds i have as friends, i feel very priviledged to know them on a deeper level and having them around has definitely expanded my mindset and made me more conscious of the artistic and creative abilities i possess and that surround me.

Words cannot express how much i love this painting!!! I had given a close friend one as her birthday gift but i honestly could not justify getting one for myself without feeling extremelyyyy VAIN.lol. and that was the one thing i really wanted for my birthday. My birthday is around the Christmas period so u can imagine how it goes, i don't think i ever got to celebrate my birthday in school (Pri, Sec. or Uni) because we were always closed for the holidays by then and even @home, most of my friends would have travelled to their different villages or have holiday plans made by their parents. I would be with my family and get a cake and drinks and Jollof rice and chicken (of course!) and a few cards and even fewer gifts, i did not really mind 'cos i had gotten used to it, but i would made a big fuss if my friends did not call or text me (it was more important to me than gifts). I beefed my friends who had their birthdays in school and would get loads of gift as well as loads of pranks!! Drinks will be poured on them while they were fully clothe and they would be drenched in all sorts of mixtures the minds of the perpetrators could think up (garri,dusting powder,water,closeup, etc.) and some would even beat them LOL! *smh #goodol'memories. It was always hilarious, well to me anyway, alas i never got to experience that, though i don't really care for the getting drenched part.

As i have grown older, i've been lucky enough to have friends being around to celebrate my birthday with me. My 23rd and 24th birthdays being the most 'Friendful' birthdays! and i'm more than grateful for the experience. I honestly have no idea how my 25th birthday will go and to be honest i'm not really thinking about it (stalling getting older as much as i can!!inevitable though), a holiday trip with the hubby will be nice though, y'all know how much i love to travel :D. Anyways bk to my fave birthday gift so far, the painting was given to me by Ishy B and it's a portrait of me from my wedding. He couldn't have selected a more perfect image and i'm pleasantly thrilled about it and found the perfect place for it in my new home. 

Big thanks to the artist behind the work TeenezMartinez. It was painted to perfection. You can check out the painting he made for my friend as well as other paintings he has done and the stages involved on his blog and instagram page. I put up a post about it a while back.

Ok i'm done raving about my painting. lool. It was definitely worth the wait :D

Toodles!XooX

Google is ur friend + Wedding in Idah

Google is the most popular search engine i know of, Bing comes in 2nd i think. I love Google, i have learnt so much from the resources i have been linked to via the search engine. Its the same kinda love i have for Youtube. There is so much to see and learn and absorb that it's mind-blowing that i can access it all once i have good internet connection.

So what is making me profess this obvious love most people (especially students) have for google? My Camera, i was able to fix my jammed lens thanks to Google! Its a Nikon camera and i've had it for quite a while now, i love the camera and though its starting to die out on me, 'cos i now have to hold down the shutter button hard to take pics and the battery dies out quick,  i'm not ready to get a replacement for it yet. It still gives me decent pictures and i'v gotten a hang of how to handle its issues plus i'm just not ready to make that financial investment as much as i'm a fan of taking pictures (plus my phone is no good for taking pics). 

I travelled for a friend's wedding in Idah, Kogi State and of course i had my camera in tow, the trip from Abuja to Idah took about 4hours, we got there just in time for the traditional ceremony, quickly ate and dressed up. I took several pics on the 1st day (Traditional Wedding) {We danced out with the bride, greeting the guests, then she went in and changed and we danced out with her again till she sat on the mat before her parents with two of her close friends; Her husband danced in next and joined her on the mat. I got my hand Henna-ed and got to witness a new cultural wedding} and then on the 2nd day (Fathia and Wedding Reception), the camera lens just got stuck as i was taking pictures of her Henna-ing {she was taken out with a wrapper covering her face then seated on a couch in an open area between seated guests, they put the henna mix on her hands and feet while the musicians sang and were sprayed money. After her hands and feet were rinsed, she danced with her mother and friends while they sprayed money. I was told all the money sprayed during this event usually goes to the musicians (this was new to me)}. 

Back to the camera-It was showing 'lens error' on the camera screen and the lens were stuck and refused to retract back, i tried all my technical know-how on it to no avail, so i just kept it in my bag the way it was {and tried to enjoy the rest of the ceremony, we left before the reception though, in order to get back to Abuja in time}, to figure out what to do with it once i got back home and had access to the internet. Honestly the rest of the day my mood was dampened 'cos i kept wondering how i'd fix the camera and what it would cost.

I decided to try and see if i could remedy the situation myself 1st before losing hope, I typed in the Google search bar 'how to fix a Nikon camera lens error'. It brought up the results, and i opened a number of them that looked like i could get relevant answers from, in new tabs and then went thru the content of the sites, eliminating any that was irrelevant.

The most useful and easy to apply result i got was this one. I tried most of the simpler Fixes before Fix #6a finally worked for it and my camera lens happily retracted in and my camera was back to normal again. It took me just about 45mins from the time i searched Google till i found and tried out the fix for it. I can't even describe how happy i was that it worked!! I had been low throughout my trip back home thinking that i would not be able to fix it myself and a repairer will charge me quite some money for it which would make me end up abandoning it and having to get a new one. 

Moral of my story- Google is your friend. The internet is your friend. Make use of these resources available to you, not only for social networking and fun but to also solve real-life problems that would otherwise cost you your hard earned money. Remember sometimes the answer you're looking for may be on the 3rd page of the results, so don't be lazy and quit when you don't find it on the 1st page.

Toodles!XooX

Surprise Baby Shower!!!

Mel has given birth!!! and on her wedding anniversary too!April Kid!! How awesome is that?! And seriously that seems like the best anniversary gift to give her husband, though i'm not sure how much fun it'll be for Zoey sharing her birthday with her parent's anniversary. But we'll wait till she's old enough to care about that. I'm soo excited u'd think sey na me born. I went straight to the hospital to see her as soon as i got the good news. Okay let's take some steps back, this post is called 'Baby Shower' afterall and it definitely happened before Zoey's birth. So here's the jist bout how it went down.

Y'all know we love surprises!! So of course the baby shower was a surprise planned with Mel's husband (He's always a huge supporter of our surprise plans). We went with the easiest plan and minimal cost. We started by creating a bbm group and adding close friends to the group, we agreed that we would not be contributing money this time around, instead each of us picked something to bring and to handle, e.g. i chose to bring a cake, handle decor and make waffles, while others picked snacks, pop corn, drinks, food, ice-cream etc. 

We agreed to get to have the shower at her house, we spoke with her husband and he let us know when they were back from church, so we arrived at the house one after the other. I was the first to arrive around 3pm and i went with a friend, Mel was sooo surprised to see me and not long after the other ladies arrived as well. She went to change into a comfy picture friendly outfit while we decorated the house. We did not know what gender she was having so i used pinks, blues and whites for the decor. I had done quite some research (Pinterest mostly) before the day so i had a programme for the shower and fun games for us all to play, my experience with the bridal showers also helped because i knew the type of games to select based on the guests attending the shower so no one was bored. You can check out the programme & games here  and here for other useful links(themed drinks, decor, music,etc,). 

We all wore colorful beads to spice up our outfits.

Our music playlist comprised of only songs that had baby in it-Justin Beiber, Britney Spears and More

We had loads of fun playing games and left the house at around 7pm to go to the Karaoke Bar before we rounded up for the night, I had a swell time with this shower. We made waffles and had it with ice-cream, had cupcakes and a cake with a Supermom topper, Pop corn, Fried rice, Peppered chicken, Juice and soft drinks, water, biscuits, cookies and other mini pastries. The games we played were:

• Midnight Diaper-This game was fun, i made a list of funny and witty statements and handed everyone markers and 2 diapers each to write on, the mom-to-be picked her favorite stamement and the guest that wrote it was the winner. We then piled up all the 'marked' diapers with the statements into a stash for the mom-to-be and dad-to-be to use when the crazy midnight diaper changes start. Hopefully it will put a smile on their faces on such days.
  
• How huge is Mel's Tummy- For this game, all the guests picked a ball of yarn and cut it to the size they felt the expecting mom's tummy was, after all the guests have cut a piece and have it in hand, each person will measure their string around the baby bump and the guest with the closest size to the bump wins.
  
  
  
  
• Guess when Baby 'Cool' will land and the gender- I printed a Calendar with only the month of April since i knew that's when mel was due and passed it round for each guest to write their name in d date box they thik the baby will be born and draw the head of the gender they felt Mel will have. There was no winner for this game 'cos we had to wait till she gave birth to find out.
  
• How many nursery rhymes do you know- This game involved guests singing the nursery rhymes they know and trying to top that of the others while i took note of the number of the nursery rhymes each guest had mentioned, after a little while i told them to stop and the guest with the most no. of rhymes won. (It was fun reliving our childhood through this)
• Baby name game- I modified this game a bit and made each guest write 3 names for a boy and 3 names for a girl that they felt were really cool names then i made Mel pick her favorite names for both gender and the guests that wrote the names were the winners.
• Name that Baby Animal- This was my favorite game 'cos i laughed till my tummy hurt, i had printed a list of many popular animals and some rare ones like Platypus, Kangaroo, etc. and i was the moderator. I would read out the name of the animal and the first to get the name of the baby animal would get a point, at the end, i tallied each person's point and the guest with the highest point wins. I got all sorts of hilarious guesses from the guests and the game was also educative.
  
• Advice for the mom-to-be -There was a mom among us so she gave a lot of useful advice on how to prepare and care for the baby while the rest of us focused on talking about her keeping her relationship and home and also asked each other questions and got useful answers.
• Name that Disney Cartoon- For this game i did a mashup of many different popular old and new Disney toons and while each clip played, the first to get the name of the cartoon gets a point, after the clips finished playing, i tallied the points and the guest with the highest number wins. Watching the tunes was definitely a fun trip back in time and we all had loony smiles on our face by the time it was over.
• Draw a baby- No artistic skills needed for this game, had a good laugh looking at the stick drawings from the guests

Gifts

The momma-to-be got 2 gifts, a diaper cake from me (i learnt how to make it on Youtube here with just diapers, baby wipes, rubber bands, blankets, Bibs and Ribbons) and a baby bottle sterilizer.

The guests that won the games got Bon-Bons  as their win. I eventually gave the other guests though! Its all about having fun afterall.

We compiled all the docs used and advise written into a folder and gave it to the mom-to-be as a keepsake

We all got to take a piece of the cake home and some mini pastries.

Pictures

We took tons of pics, each winner with their game item and the momma-to-be, personal pics with bibs, group pics and at the karaoke bar.

When the shower was over, we cleaned the whole house and kitchen so she wouldn't be stressed with doing the cleaning, then we went over to the karaoke bar and bellowed some sweet tunes out with the momma-to-be before we went to our various homes. We also left the daddy-to-be lots of eatables to show our gratitude for his support!

All the best planning or having a baby shower. 

Toodles!XooX

What a friend we have in Jesus

I have always loved this hymn but of recent it has an even newer meaning and understanding to me. Jesus Christ is really the only friend we can confidently do a 'tell it all' with that we can completely trust, we can't demand the same of our 'earthly' friends 'cos no matter how much love exists between us, there are just things we'll tell them or situations we'll encounter as friends that'll be too much for one party to handle. No fear of being let down, jealousy, envy, change in feelings/mood, pulling back, etc. He is always there for us regardless of our situation. The love of Christ truly is agape. Life is way less complicated having him as ur best friend. He can meet all our emotional needs, provide support, strength,wisdom and more...

We still need our physical friends though, even the Bible emphasizes the need for constant fellowship and uplifting the spirits. The main thing is to chose our friends wisely, they should add value to you and vice-versa. Be sure to cut-off any 'unfruitful' friends 'cos they will only bring you down if you keep them around. The lyrics of the hymn are below, enjoy.

What a Friend we have in Jesus,

all our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry

everything to God in prayer!

O what peace we often forfeit,

O what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry

everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations?

Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged;

take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful

who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness;

take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden,

cumbered with a load of care?

Precious Savior, still our refuge,

take it to the Lord in prayer.

Do your friends despise, forsake you?

Take it to the Lord in prayer!

In His arms He'll take and shield you;

you will find a solace there.

Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised

Thou wilt all our burdens bear

May we ever, Lord, be bringing all to

Thee in earnest prayer.

Soon in glory bright unclouded there

will be no need for prayer

Rapture, praise and endless worship

will be our sweet portion there.

My Best Friend (in every sense of the words used) :D

I did a post way back here when someone I considered to be my best friend hurt me and opened my eyes. I thank her because she helped me see that I had an awesome friend who was more deserving of that title. My significant other always tries to fight for this title which I don’t mind but when he also observed how awesome she is he said we should share her! Na wa o, I no dey share abeg. I met Antonia in 2007 I think,  that was in my 300L, I met her through my ex-bestfriend and her roommate who she was classmates with, she’d come to browse in their room which got a better wifi-connection from the window. I’m cracking my head hard to remember these details so forget all the ‘I thinks’ that will be contained in this post. Merci. Moving on, when I first saw her I think I was attracted to her look, her outfit, stature and glasses, she looked like a boss walking on air and then she spoke and was so fluent. She laughed and I was in love!! Her laughter had so much character and was sooo full of life, can a person get any more real than that. Nope. We got closer when I’d visit her in her room, i knew most of her classmates and the girls on her floor, most of which were my acquaintances and a few friends. I got to know more about her, she was a Photoshop guru, she could draw, design outfits, she was an internet guru, hair guru, had a blog, writer of several short stories (gaminegirlie), a Nairaland (was really cool back then) regular, traveller (ajala traveller.lool)and a very smart hottie with lovely eyes and smile, among other things I could go on! She inspired me to start my own blog, I remember asking her something I wanted to do on the blog and she said ‘Google it’. I needed that kinda friend that would make me better and be frank with me. I got more and more close to her and people will ask ‘how are u even friends with her? She’s kinda weird’ and I just tell them well she’s really cool and think this weird they say she is, is just their inability to catch up  with her awesomeness speaking. I remember chilling with her during our graduation and taking pics and we had an Appletini in her room afterwards, doing yoga and Chinese bends and making silly videos (I wonder where all those pics and vids are sef), I don’t really recall.

We got even closer after school while we were serving, we started our natural hair journey around the same time and applied to schools together for our Masters programme, she’d visit me at work and I’d visit her at home, u get the drift. We both got our admission letters but I couldn't go and she went. That did not hinder our friendship, we kept in touch all the while, phone calls  yahoo messenger, email, et al and our friendship grew. She came around and we got to see, I was also finally able to get some time off work and travel to see her and I had a swell time as well. She is in the top 3 of the best people that I am privileged to have in my life and I really appreciate her and thank God for having her and I try to tell her how awesome she is as much as possible. We have our disagreements and different views at times and that doesn't prevent us from getting along. I love you Antonia!!! For who u are, all u’ve done for me and more!!

I would go to super extra lengths to make her happy (and see her hearty grin) and it warms my heart to know she would do the same for me.  She’s my confidante, older sis, christian sister, bizness partner and more and I can count on her to give me her candid opinion and advice and viceversa. She’s the best friend a girl can ask for and I’m da lucky girl that got her!!!

Toodle!XooX