Straight talk with Blad (LOJ)

So I was treated like a queen that I am yesterday #hehe, thanks to LoJ, my best friend will kill me for this. Though I am not so sure how I was able to consume ice cream, bestie's favourite chicken legend with extra chilli and ofcouse rounding it off with the super, mysterious, world class, energising, great, wonderful, cokeastic fabulous drink called "Coca-Cola" and still do a little shopping,kai, world pipu.

From musical video, to riddles to general life's stories to experiences to our soon to be completed Masters" program to food to photography to road trips,etc, we had more than enough to say and that makes a good outing, once you can say a lot, well, reasonable conversations by the way then I won't come up with excuses of how I need to catch up with someone within 20 minutes.

There was a particular topic that lingered for a very long while and it was the new trend of having so many single mothers in town these days. Blad as i'd love to call LOJ told me something really interesting yesterday, in his words: "he doesn't understand why relationships do not last, why one of the parties freak out at the last moment, why one of the parties begin to act weird a week after proposal, there were just a lot of why's. He said when he dated, he had a different perception to it, "treat her like a queen kinda perception......Oh,now I can place why I was treated like one yesterday *smiles*. A lot of things have changed, i'm not so sure where the problem lies, if it's from the ladies or from the guys, but sincerely eh, individually, we get wahala. 

I hate to listen to one party when there's a break-up because sincerely it would only bring hate. Now, one bad thing most of us do is, listen to one person especially if it's same gender, and then we conclude and say, :"all men are like that jor", very useless set of people", but you will be shocked to find out the real cause of the problem.

#SpeakOutNow by Cyril Onuisi

I trust you have been following the news lately. Nigeria senate (#ngrsenate) is looking to knock down the fight against corruption or whatever you perceive it is they are doing.

Firstly, the Social Media bills. They are saying before your chat, post on your timeline, use any harshtag, tweet, post a comment… you have to seek an affidavit in a law court.

Hello guys, is the senate out to protect their selfish interest (cover up their bad dealings) or to work for the interest of the country? How can information flow with this senate stifling it? Should we burn down a forest simply because we found a rotten fruit on one tree? Look, a graduation of that bill could be the government to control the internet- internet censorship!

Second is the reintroduction of toll gates. Is the absence of toll gate the reason for the dilapidated roads in the country? What about the billions purloined by office holders?

The Obansanjo led government knocked down the toll gates in the past (partly) due to the corruption in the society. Has the senate rooted out this? Why not build the roads and have everything working efficiently, set up a competent management system, correct what led to the past abolishment of the toll gates before considering its reintroduction?

These are the greatest lines of bullshit stories I’ve ever heard.
Join in the conversation, post your comment. Relax, you don’t need an affidavit to #speakoutnow!

The Psalm 126 vs 1 truth

I've come to observe something many of us do. Well, not sure if you reading this do same but here it is. Have you realised that when things aren't going the way you wish them to, you can explain and tell it to people, you can say all the bad things happening to you without leaving any behind. Have you also noticed that, when good things come your way like a miracle, you become dumbfounded, you're not so sure where to start from or how to say it, you become dazed for days and weeks and sometimes all you can say is: "I can't believe this". "Did this really happen", "Are you serious", "This is like a movie".

This happened to me yesterday, and till today, I still can't say anything. But I'm sure to share this pretty soon.

It reminds me of Psalm 126:1 that says: "When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dreamed".

NAT 202 (2) by El Poiz©

Good day Ladies, Happy new month. How is the kink,curl and coily journey going?

Last week, we discussed the hair type and the hair porosity as things to consider when creating a hair regimen. The hair porosity will be concluded this week.

HIGH POROSITY
High porosity indicates that cuticles are either largely raised or damaged thus allowing moisture in and out of the hair easily. High porosity hair absorbs about 20% moisture than the normal porosity hair but loses a lot of moisture thus making the dry/ frizz, dull and with a greater risk of breakage.
SIGNS OF HIGH POROSITY:
1.Easily absorbs moisture and dries quickly
2.Takes on dye and hair colour very easily.
3.Due to the raised cuticles, high porosity hair feels rough 
4.It appears dull without shine
5.Hair breaks easily,
It is important to note that low and normal hair porosity can become high if care is not taken.
CAUSES OF HIGH POROSITY:
1.Excess combing and brushing of the hair; this can cause damaged cuticles
2.Rough manipulation during wash
3.Unhealthy hair color/dye and unhealthy hair care products that have got chemicals.
4.The use of blow dryers,flat irons
TIPS FOR HIGH POROSITY HAIR:
1.Use acidic rinse like ACV or fermented rice water rinse to help smoothen the cuticles.
2.Wash and rinse hair with cold water as this will help smoothen the cuticles
3.Light protein treatments is advised atleast once in every 2-3 weeks...Heavy protein treatment should be once in 6 -7weeks(weekly heavy moisturizing dc like the avocado dc shouldn't be overlooked)
4. An oil-prepoo(we shall discuss this afterwards) before wash is also advised
5.The use of rich heavy creams and butters in sealing in moisture is advised 
6.The use of heavy oils is also advised
7.The use of aloe vera is advised as well
HOW TO TEST YOUR HAIR POROSITY:
Our hair porosity can be tested either by the Float test method or the Observation method.
1.FLOAT TEST METHOD:

1.Take a strand of your clean hair without products applied and drop it in a glass of water.
2.Watch hair movement:
A.If hair sinks quickly within minutes=HIGH POROSITY
B.If hair didn't sink at all but floats=LOW POROSITY
C.If hair sinks gradually after a while=NORMAL POROSITY
2.OBSERVATION METHOD:
This method proves more assuring in determining our hair porosity.In this process, you will need to observe your hair reaction to certain regimen and products .These observations include;
i).How your hair reacts to protein and moisture treatments and products?
ii)How fast or slow your hair soaks/absorbs moist?
iii)How fast or slow your hair loses moisture
iv)How hair feels after applying certain leave-in conditioners
v)How well hair responds to color/dye
The result of this observation method takes a bit longer but its pretty the best way to really discover your unique personality.

Above all,it's important to know that the different hair types and porosity require different care so what works for Naturalista A will not necessarily work for Naturalista B, what matters most is paying attention to your hair and adjusting its regimen according to your hair needs and feel. In addition,the place of hot oil treatment (also to be discussed afterwards)shouldn't be overlooked

EXAMPLES OF LIGHT OIL:
1.Grape seed oil
2)Jojoba oil
3)Argan oil
EXAMPLES OF HEAVY OIL:
1)Castor oil
2)Olive oil
3)Avocado oil


*excerpts from Natural Hair Babes

Have a lovely hair week as always Ladies

Efficiency over Relationship

In this part of the country, it's a case of my son, my friend's son, my girl, my girl's best friend, my ex girl friend's sister or brother, my in law or....... to get a job even when they know nothing about the position you're offering them. They just need to get a job, no interview, no test, just pull a table and chair, a.c on, fix their names with the H.R. They don't even consider the second class upper thing again. But I met someone yesterday who said: "I choose efficiency to relationship any day". 

There are lots of people who actually can fit into a certain position but for the simple fact you don't fall into any of the above mentioned "tree of relationship", no job for you. Really sad though, #hehe, but that's the country we live in.  

Interesting moment with "mama police"

So I met this cute officer who shared a story with me, in her words "I dey fear God o". Not so young, you could say middle-aged, may be, I got into talks with her and she shared a story of how her husband lost his job some years back, things became really tough and at the point she wasn't working, the whole family depended on her husband. To make it really interesting, she was pregnant at the point, she said she made up her mind to abort the child, she had little savings from the market runs from her husband, but for some strange reason, the money "disappeared" (in her words), she had to use the money for the house, but each day, she told herself, she would have to remove this pregnancy, cos she could barely feed herself and the rest of the children and so she wasn't ready to add to the long suffering. She went begging people for money and no one came to her rescue, at this point, she hit me really hard and said "my daughter, na im I carry my cross o, say as God no wan make I comot am, the pikin go dey, I just dey pity am, cos money no dey".

So on a very hungry and frustrating day, as a woman and a good one at that, she had to think of something, she hurriedly met a friend one particular when they was absolutely nothing to eat or drink, she begged her friend for a meagre amount of #30, she bought "Ugwu" leaf, shared it and sold for #5 each and made her profit, she sold all that day. The next day cute mama went to the market bought more Ugwu and added fresh fish to her baby business, she said she was amazed at the end of that day, because she was able to sell all, then she returned her friend's #30 and was able to go to the market again, bought more Ugwu, fresh fish, then added tomatoes and pepper. While enjoying her new business, she came in contact with a customer who told her to apply to the police force at the time when they were recruiting, she did and months later was appointed a duty. 

Oh, and she delivered a bouncing baby boy she always prayed and wished for. A boy who is now her helper and is very proud of him. 

God talks to us in different ways. This is her testimony and she understands that God knows all He does. Everything that happens to you, isn't a coincidence. May we have our testimonies and miracles that will sound like a lie.

Happy New Month Fam!

And we made it to the 12th month of the year, it's time to take stock of what has happened in the last 11 months, give thanks to God and be happy for life. I had an appointment yesterday, a journey of an hour (max) took roughly 3hours 30minutes, while we managed to manoeuvre our way through the traffic, I observed people gathered, with hands on their heads and some screaming, behold it was a bike guy who was hit by a truck-THE END. We drove 10 seconds away from that scene and there was just another one- yet another END.  

In a second, it could be the end, let us thank God for life, His mercies, His protection and His love.

I pray for good health, long life, God's protection on us and our families. May this season bring us happiness, joy and love. Share some love this season.

MAN CRUSH MONDAY (MCM) | G-FRESH

And our Man crush for today is the talented actor and singer, also known by his musical stage name: G-Fresh. He studied theatre arts at University of Ibadan and is part of the renowned Afolayan entertainment family. He has featured in movies such as: Hood rush, Heroes and zeroes, Ojuju, Ija okan, just to mention a few and has bagged some awards. 

He has also released songs like the evergreen "Kokoro Ife Mi", Awelewa, Plug it, Kpasa Kona.

We wish him well and hope to see more of him.

Download and Enjoy my favourite song by him "Kokoro Ife":

DOWNLOAD

IG: @gabbyluccii 

Today's word!!!

Good morning Fam, a new week is here already. Another week to make it right. Gladly we made it to the end of November. Compliments of the season. May the season bring joy and peace.
Never allow the negativity of the world get to you.
Stay happy. Stay slay.

YOUR MIND IS YOUR CAPITAL! by Cyril

I was privileged to be part of an amazing conference- a youth conference- organized by The Believers’ LoveWorld Nation and hosted by (the great) Rev. Chris Oyakhilome, PhD. At the opening night of that conference, he shared a message he titled “Your Mind is Your Capital.” A lot was said about the power we store within us and how possible we can be anything we want to be. I strongly recommend you get that message.

Months later (after the conference), I found myself in a discussion with folks who obviously didn’t understand this life of possibility and greatness, sadly there are people who stay negative all day, everyday. A fellow there was offended with the message rather than inspired and motivated to take actions. He complained that the speaker was trying to make things so simple “without putting other forces- economic and all- into consideration.” Hmm… well, I felt sorry for him for being so determined to be a passive player in life.

This came to my mind today because a story of a beautiful woman I came across. She has a physical problem (I am not sure if she was born with it or came by accident) - she has no limbs, I mean no legs. But do you know what? She refused to allow that condition take control of her life and she turned out a respected model. Amazing!

Our world is full of people who have overcome incredible odds to become famous, powerful and world changers. Each time I hear, read or see these people, I remind myself that my mind is my capital. All I have is ALL I NEED! If you did Sciences in school you would have come across “Euler’s Therorem.” I read about Euler, that in the last seventeen years of his life, he was blind. But very notably, his work and contribution to knowledge was not diminished in quality and quantity. Your Mind is Your Capital!

Dear reader, you have no reason to be a loser, failure or poor…. Take up the challenge, believe in yourself, see your triumph, and fight; fight for the realization for your dreams and potentials. There’s room for you at the top. Again, FIGHT! This is your time, don’t think it’s later; your life is happening right now!

It is not easy out there, in this cruel and difficult world, I know, but the kingdom of God is within you. Go out and win! FIGHT!!!

Quit complaining and show appreciation

While you're going through your closet to pick matching shoes, shirts and pants for the new week, while you're calling your shoe vendor to make orders for 3 more collections, while you're complaining about the gas in your A.C not cooling properly, or may be applying for a raise at your work place, and to some, thinking of how to buy some pets, travel for the holidays, get a bigger apartment, change hotel accommodation, wear the best weave, carry the best of the bags, go for a hip enlargement and a bum enhancer........please take a deep stare at the picture above and tell me what you see. 

I see a young lady, who despite her condition, is strong, happy and grateful for each passing day. 

Let us be thankful for life, which is the ultimate, thankful for our families, thankful for every second and make good use of every opportunity. Try going 24 hours without complaining, really difficult I know, but "do-able". Spare few minutes and read about the beautiful Kanya Sesser. 

Source: @faajihub