The Pride of Kenya.

Anyone on social media can tell you how flooded their timelines are with Lupita News. I am one of those people who are thrilled that a Kenyan girl (forget where she was born) and #teamDarkSkin to be precise bagged that golden statue against big names like Jennifer Lawrence et al. 

Lupita Showing off her statue on stage.

Lupita Nyong'o  bagged herself the first Academy Award for best supporting actress in her role as Patsey in 12 Years a slave, She has taken  home the same award at the Screen Actors Guild awards which I hear is like a Mini-Oscar accolade. She has also won the Broadcast Film Critics Assn. Award for the role, as well as a number of regional tributes from critics in Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Phoenix and I think it is allowed if we lose count there. Nyong'o was three weeks shy of graduating from Yale Drama School when she was cast by McQueen.

A toon version of our girl stunning in Nairobi Blue baby!!!

I heard it on radio when I was leaving the house in the morning. Actually I was very excited I half expected someone to spring out of nowhere in traffic and entertain us with a happy dance. It could not be me since I am not as brave as our Sirkal brothers but still I would've loved to see something, anything. A flash-mob even. Don't mind me, I watch too many movies.

Everyone  was wishing her the best before the show commenced but the one that stood out for me was Mr. President getting in touch with the youngins in all the fields of work.  This is a summary of what he put up on the presidential website “Lupita’s accomplishment testifies not only to her stupendous talent, but also determination and a willingness to go that extra mile which success unfailingly demands. It is our intention that Lupita becomes the first of an endless line of Oscar nominees and winners from Africa and Kenya. I therefore wish Lupita and her proud family all the best tonight. May this be the beginning of many splendid achievements.”

Her acceptance speech was tear-jerking and I will not apologize for getting carried away with the wave of emotion in her tone (and isn’t she eloquent). “Thank you to the Academy for this incredible recognition. It doesn’t escape me for one moment that so much joy in my life is thanks to so much pain in someone else’s. And so I want to salute the spirit of Patsey for her guidance. And for Solomon, thank you for telling her story and your own. When I look down at this golden statue, may it remind me and every little child that no matter where you’re from, your dreams are valid.”

I am forever inspired as a village girl myself to aim higher and one thing I this whole thing today affirms us of is the golden statue doesn’t discriminate and so does success. The people who toil for their dreams eventually have their big breaks and this is more of a ticket straight to the glitz and glam.

Your faith is in your ability to succeed; hard-work and humility will take you places. Truly Lupitas dreams were valid and she made them a reality by going for what she believes in.  *insertLuoAccent* #Giniwasekao!!! Thoo!

Doing the  happy dance  with Pharell  during his Performance.

And a collection of what Lupita wore on the red carpet over time.

When the year started out I promised myself that I will write a blog post every waking day; no matter how cringe worthy it could be. But look at me. Two months into the year with one post I shabbily drafted.

Reason (read excuse) number one that I do not yet have a 20^th post this year is that I am a perfectionist. You should see my draft book. I have summaries upon summaries upon summaries of articles that I have told myself that I am going to research on. It sits in there as if it’s meant to structure itself into something meaningful. Then over time I lose the fire. It’s a habit I’m trying to tame though. I don’t just rumble on because at times I visit my older posts and I see why editors reject my work. It’s not even funny. I will not apologize to being a perfectionist though.

When I say I’m going to research on something, I do. Most of the time. The whole thing turns into a rolling ball of creativity and I tell myself ‘this can be developed into a novel or short story’ and leave it for further development.

 It made me realize I have a problem summarizing, but there is too much information I want to put out there regardless. At times it stays in my folders till it’s stale (like a post meant for valentines –s.m.h). We all have that thing we put away. Unfortunately, I have realized all the above reasons I have given are actually excuses.

I have made a pact with myself that each week I shall try and get out all that I can. As an aspiring writer I need to get out all the bad writings. In other words, practice makes perfect. Whatever art you are sitting on, push yourself harder, it pays. Enjoy your weekend. xx

  

On this 98th day of January, I’d like to assume all of you reading this are doing just fine and by January next year you would have planned better.  If not, maybe you are trying to drag yourself past all the negative energy that make the month sound worse than it already is. The month has decided to stretch itself further than we are used to. How can a single month have 5 weeks, with days most spread out on working days! At least its coming to an end.

That's the thing with life, nothing in it is an emergency, but being the procrastinators we are, we will always get caught under the January spell. And when people talk about it like it is a plague, believe me; little by little it will become the monster and the plague haunting you for days on end.  Ever heard of it’s all in the mind? It is true and I shall testify from experience. When you believe there is nothing in your account when you have little or enough to take you through, that money will disappear so fast from your account you will request for statements everyday; which costs money either way.

Technically, you get just about the same amount of salary you get every month or maybe even a bonus. Then we get a little too excited with the jolly season. I think you should earn the whole holiday experience. In November, take yourself through your income and your expenditure and look at what you have saved then see how much partying you can afford. Maybe if we gift ourselves accordingly we will not be waiting for pay-day come first week of the month.

Going mum about the situation, sweeping it under the rug won’t solve anything, but it just might save you the ulcers you are about to develop. Take it as lying in the bed you made yourself.  If you are already in the ditch, you need not wallow in your situation either. Take what you have and work with it. Don’t jump to borrowing yet because it will result to a cycle you might never get out of for the better part of the year.

How you handle your January is how you handle pretty much the whole year and probably your whole life. As it is still January till Friday, *sigh* we might as well choose to take the initiative to plan ahead for January 2015 (if we will get there) or blow it all up celebrating the end of January (too many January's in one paragraph). P.S you can follow through those resolutions- if you have any, becoming a better person is the least you can do for you this year.

“New Year new me” could be most annoying terminology this time of the year. It has grown old because most of us have realized the deal with resolutions. We either have the same old ones we had last year and the other five years or they are a tad too unrealistic.
 The year after I cleared high school, I set absurd resolutions after reading think big and literally dreamt being big and wanted to be big; by force.  When that year came to an end I had done absolutely zilch with my life. I was so disappointed and beat myself up for a long time how unproductive I had been. Then January came and as soon as it was February I had forgotten where I even jotted the resolutions. To be honest I wrote them down and I have never found the paper to date.
Year in year out we do the same things expecting different results. It will never happen.  Personally, I stopped making resolutions. Only targets over a specific and realistic timeline. That way I am able to work on things step by step without much stretching. It’s never that serious and besides we want to have fun while we are at it. Always remember happiness is key and balancing your social and corporate life is an art you should master at all costs.
Reinvention is not overnight business. It is a process. A holistic process if I might add. In all those serious things you jot down do not forget to add fun things from your bucket list. If you want to climb mount wherever, don’t wait until you are 50, because you could've probably developed a lifestyle disease that won’t allow you exposure to such.  Find friends your age (or not) with the same interest and encourage each other to save up for that particular trip if you cannot afford it first-hand.
It is important when each day you work towards what you want to achieve. Piece of advice, never put until tomorrow what you can do today. That is the devil that will pull you back tomorrow and the day after and before you know it, you are far from starting. Do not do things just because everyone is doing them. Do not go to the gym just because so and so is going. If you feel the need to, feel free. The thing you should never forget however is, the only person you should be competing with is yourself. When you keep outdoing yourself, you will finally get where you want.
I don’t want to be like Oprah; having all that success with no one to share it with.  I do not want to be like Tyra or Michelle or whoever. I want to be a better version of me and the only way to do that is reinvent myself every waking day. You've heard life is short before, right? Now do yourself a favour and corner regret this early.

2013 Music Review.

50^th post finally. Yeah, I’m excited but then again we have 365 days a year and I have only done 20 posts. I did not do so well but at least I remember my login info, so I bet you know what I’m going to say next. Next year I will try post at least weekly. Bible.

I love music. Way too much, it’s something between an obsession and an addiction. I do not mind. I’m in love with house a little more than rock because…………. I can’t explain.

1.       Katy Perry- Roar who doesn’t like a feel good song? For real it might sound like I’m not thrilled but it just does it for me. As women, when we are going through something the lyrics speaks to us. A couple of close friends of mine have gone through hell and high water and I know this song has spoken to them in ways I’d want it to speak to me if I was in their shoes.

2.       Ellie Goulding - Burn makes me choke on tears for no good reason. Anywhere, anytime whether I’m out there having fun or just minding my own business. Especially the hook where she goes " when the lights turned down/ they dont know what they heard/ strike a match /play it loud/ giving love to the world" 
 I do not know if it’s the pitch or maybe I heard it first when I was sad I have no idea. I am certain it’s not about to change either.

3.       Victoria Kimani – M’toto It’s my ringtone now. I love the fact that she says M’toto in a funny way. It’s just as badass as I want to sound and all things yeah I can handle this typa vibe going on. The beat is unpredictable, danceable and sing along and feel good and laidback at the same time. You can tell she isn’t trying too hard.

4.       Jaguar  - Kipepeo  like sugar to my ears this one came through; for me. With the fact that the guy wants to treat the girl right and be together forever. Now c’mon girls and the romantics tell me you don’t like that part of fantasy.

5.       Avicii – I could be the one The beat. The rendition. The mastering. And the Video. Forever in love with Avicii.

6.       Avril – Here’s to never growing up Honestly, I don’t care how old I am, when I go out partying I want to party so hard no one believes my age. Do not mistake that with immaturity. I like to have fun.

7.       Basto – Again and Again Kill me. I love #EDM you have no idea. If you want me to buy your product use this song as the bed. That’s just how much I love that song.

The Bad and The ugly

There could be a couple of songs I dislike and I want to throw up whenever they come up but I do not know who sang them so I will go with the one everyone is fussing about. So not worth it.

1.       Lorde –Royal   My goodness that song gives me ulcers. I dislike her attitude too but I know nobody cares. I like Tennis court though.  Blah. She should watch what she says about other artistes though.

Happy 2014 y’all. Dream big and make it happen. 

7 THINGS THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT YOU.

Mark 11:24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

It is so easy to get caught up in the mundane daily activities of life and even easier to get caught up in hard times of life. I used to not know how to combat these feelings and it was only when I really started to study and read The Word that I realized, when I am feeling down I need to remind myself and God of who exactly I am in Christ. The Bible is my manual to life, every situation that could possibly be thrown my way is remedied somewhere, some way, in The Bible. These are (just some of the many) promises that our Heavenly Father has made to us:

1- I am strengthened with His strength, not my own Colossians 1:11

2- I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus 2 Corinthians 5:21

3- I am forgiven of all my sins and redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ Ephesians 1:7

4- I am more than a conqueror through God who loves me Romans 8:37

5- I have no lack, all of my needs are met because God supplies them all Philippians 4:19

6- I am free from the law of sin and death Romans 8:2

7- I am the head and not the tail, I am above and not beneath Deuteronomy 28:13

One thing I know about God is that His word is good as gold and anything that He has said and promised, I can count on. When God tells me that I can do ALL things through Him (Phil 4:13), I believe it and receive it because I know that I am reading truth. His word is truth.
When I read these aloud it reminds me that if Christ is for me, who can be against me? His love is unfailing and unending and I am faultless before him. No matter what fiery darts and thwarted my way throughout the day I can find my strength in The Lord because He is over and above anything that I could ever ask for. Through all the mistakes I have ever made in this life, God has seen me through it all and loved me all the same. The very start of this walk with God found me reminding myself of these promises and saying them aloud until I actually started to believe them and after I started believing in them, I started to receive them in the natural. Standing on the belief that I am what HE says I am has transformed my mind and my life.

Adapted from http://theprayingwoman.com/2013/12/28/i-am-what-he-says-i-am/#sthash.zPnCiftu.dpuf

25 New Year’s Resolutions Every Person Should Actually Make For 2014

I have promised myself before I will not have to share other peoples posts here. I break that promise today, these resolutions are bluntly honest and so like people my age who happen to be my target audience, so; no loss.
At least the disclaimer is out there so no one is going to jail (yet) at least. What? Don't judge me. Things happen. People get thrown in jail all the time. or it cell? Most things are so like me and some are things I know my friends should really try. I am certain you will find at least 10 things you should try. Whatever, here goes a post from Elite Daily by Mackenzie Newcomb.


New Year’s Eve is often seen as a time of rebirth, the chance to start anew. We all come up with the regular resolutions for the upcoming year (losing weight, seeing family more often and/or falling in love ), but often our ideas of what should change are too broad. This New Year’s Eve, we should all vow to take a closer look into our lives and make decisions about ourselves then. These are the 25 New Year’s resolutions every person should make:

1.Stop posting negative sh*t about celebrities on social media. Miley Cyrus does not care what you think about her haircut, Justin Bieber does not care what you think of his tattoos and Gwyneth Paltrow couldn’t care less regarding what you think about her diet.

2. Stop resenting yourself for drunk texting your ex.  Sure, its a little embarrassing, but at least you’re addressing your feelings. Not that you should aim to drink an entire bottle of rum then see what happens, but… roll with the punches.

3. Leave the country. If you don’t have money, look into doing charity work abroad. Some programs will sponsor you.

4. If you hate your job, quit your job. Repeat after me: THE MONEY IS NOT WORTH IT. Food and shelter are clutch though, so make sure you have another job lined up.

5. Stop beating yourself up for skipping the gym on days you truly didn’t have time. But also, stop skipping the gym on days you had plenty of time to go.

6. Make up — not to be confused with make out — with an ex.

7. Rid yourself of enemies. Apologize for what you did wrong and forgive those who have wronged you.

8. Rid yourself of “frenemies.” Don’t spend 2014 surrounded by people you secretly despise.

9. If you think somebody is cute, say “hi” and introduce yourself. Every relationship you have ever had started with a greeting.

10. Leave your phone number for someone. Worst-case scenario: you won’t get a call and maybe you’ll feel a tiny bit embarrassed. Regardless of the outcome, you put yourself out there and probably made the other person’s day.

11. Stop caring about how many people “like” your Instagram photos. If you like the photo enough to post it, what else matters? Social media anxiety is a waste of time.

12. Cross something off your bucket list. Sky dive, bungee jump, scuba dive, etc. Don’t make excuses as to why you can’t accomplish something, and check out

13. Stop hating yourself for eating dessert. A piece of birthday cake is a right, not a privilege.

14. Keep a journal. It doesn’t have to be something you use daily, but documenting your experiences is incredibly important. You’ll appreciate it later.

15. Strengthen relationships with family members. Blood is thicker than water.

16. Help strangers. “Pay it forward,” do good things for the world — and don’t post a Facebook status about it.

17. Conquer a fear. Personally, I fear Bikram yoga.

18. Turn off your smartphone at dinner.

19. Don’t check your Twitter feed when you’re with friends.

20. Try a fashion trend you never thought you could pull off. And, do it with confidence. Floppy hats, snap backs, Harem pants; you can do it!

21. Double-text without fear. THOU SHALL NOT BE IGNORED!

22. Shop locally, eat locally and recognize where your money is going. Consumers control the economy, so visit the mom-and-pop coffee shop down the street instead of KFC. 

23. Cry. When you’re happy and when you’re sad; embrace your emotions as they come.

24. Stop being so shallow. Next time you find yourself judging someone based on his or her appearance, imagine the person standing in front of you saying, “I’m beautiful.” You’ll start to believe it.

25. If you want someone to commit to you, vocalize it. Don’t settle for being someone’s “f*ck buddy” if that isn’t what you want. “Together” is the waiting period between “talking” and “dating”; purgatory shouldn’t last forever.


Need I say more. This is all you need. Being realistic is key as you grow up ( or grow older) whichever route you decide to take.

Have a happy new year y'all and to my followers, be blessed and may all your efforts be successful. Thank you for your undying and continued support.

xx 

STYLING A SHIFT DRESS

 Day to Play

There is much more to wearing clothes than just covering up, trust me, ask any woman who knows her stuff well and possibly a shopaholic. Isn't that the excuse we all give when buying things we think we need but we just want the satisfaction of owning it?

At times you have to attend a function immediately after work and you don’t have the time to change into something less serious, or if you are like me, you’d rather die than carry clothes to change into; here is a trick you can work with.

First and foremost, when planning to attend to two things in a day you have to be careful when choosing your days outfit. For instance you cannot wear a business suit to a casual date and expect anyone to let loose around you. Try something like a knee-length shift dress with less than three colors (preferably one color) as it will be easy to fall into place with both activities.
For work, you can always throw on a nicely cut jacket of even tone that goes well with the dress, a loosely tied slim belt, studs and a simple necklace. If you do make up, ensure that you do some light make up fit for the day and not something that screams "I have a date tonight". You need shoes that can work for both day and night so you don’t have to carry another pair in your bag. Try flat shoes if your job involves a lot of running around and comfortable pair of heels will do if you don’t.

          

The transforming part is the interesting one.  Lose the studs and the inconspicuous necklace. You can do different looks depending on what you fancy and the occasion. Add a chunky colourful neck-piece and a matching bangle for a sassy-gone-rocker look. Coloured hoops can work or draping earrings if you may. Complete your look with a statement cocktail ring. If you are in love with ethnic pieces like I am, you can do draping metallic earrings and Aztec print metallic bangle. To spice up the look you can do an ethnic knuckle ring and another on the other hand.  If it feels like too much, feel free to lose one and avoid looking ratchet altogether. For the elegant but laid-back-lady add a pair of loops, a draping necklace and a cocktail ring to avoid looking like plain-Jane when you've given it your all.

                                         Strip your face of the stale make-up to apply a fresh look as desired. When it comes to your hair lose the clip and flip it. If it’s warm enough and you can handle the temperatures you can lose the coat as well too.  Knowing your style involves knowing what blends your skin colour and what goes well with most outfits.

Styling up an outfit or defining your style as a woman shouldn't be rocket science but getting the right accessory that goes with hair colour, nail polish and the detail on your jeans is a little bit close to launching a missile and people will judge you by that.

Losing a loved one in any way is not an easy thing. It gets tougher when that person is the pillar of your life. A friend of mine recently lost her dad and I could not even begin to think what it feels like to be in her shoes. It is almost impossible thinking that one day you will fall and no longer have anyone to genuinely fall back to.

Most of us have been blessed to have our parent’s right there with us all the way; seeing us through all the important milestones. But there is someone out there who is so bitter about never knowing the parent because of one reason or the other.

When I sit and reflect on how much of a support system my father has been, I do not think he deserves only one fathers’ day in the world. To me, every day, every minute, I celebrate this man that taught me of hope and resilience and being strong and helped me understand that there’s more to life than just expectations. The true expression of love and the best gift that God gave me for free.

I love you dad, and always will, no matter what ill always be your little girl. <3

For some of us it might not be our fathers but there has to be that person you never want to lose. Ever! Celebrate them nevertheless because it will be too late when either of you is put to rest.

GET IT TOGETHER

Who are these people and why are they giving us hard times? Where do they come from? I do not know a single sane person who supports that kind of unruly behavior.

I love watching games and cheering my team on every once in a while but I understand there are people who have made it their mission (probably their career too) to cheer matches in the most unruly and violent way. It looks like fun a few times then it becomes nuisance then it crosses over to madness.

Whenever I hear that my brothers from the lakeside are having a match I have to find an alternative route home. Who wants to get caught in traffic and the oblivious and bizarre ritual crowd scampering that goes on whenever these rascals are on the loose? And by the way I will never tell the difference between their win and loss. They win they come close to looting the town they lose same thing happens. They have become the ping pong on steroids version of Kristen Stewart.

Among the things I value, peace is one of them. And when peace is disturbed I do not think anything else can go on successfully. I do not like the tension that is looming everyone’s head when this kind of thing is taking place. I am certain there are people who are forced to shut down their business premises and some spend hours in traffic. News for you, time is money. Loses are made when engines purr on and on at the same spot and I am almost certain there has been a life lost as a result not to speak of the goods lost. At one point one of those guys attempted to grab someone’s all the way in his car. What nonsense!

The civilized kind of rowdy has its own time and place; like rugby matches and a house party that is supposed to be a slight replica of project X where people just want to go all the way out and have fun without causing anyone trouble. Someone please educate those illiterate bunch of raccoons to get lives or get shipped to an island in the middle of the Pacific ocean where they can carry out their Neanderthal practices as the rest of us try and build the nation.

Get it together people, it’s a high time; before you are banned from even tuck shops in your estate.