I found love..............on the internet!

The internet is where I spend most of my free time on and sadly I don't use the internet to read world news or any serious stuff, because its free time I use the internet for entertainment.The many hours spent online haven't all been a waste, I have learnt how to do my make-up,to do two strand twists,flat twists,cornrows,french braids and loads of recipes.This is to say at my core I am a lover of lifestyle content. Sites that I have grown to love and frequently visit and think some people who read this blog might enjoy are; 

The Warm Fruit -her Instagram and her blog

I found this site because of curiosity, I went to the same high school with Kari Mugo, she was one of the cool kids and when I saw her on my suggestions lists I clicked on her page to see how she is doing, to see if she made it big, because let me tell you,all the people I went to high school with are in the big leagues.Make it big she has,she writes professionally and makes an income from this,she is an activist and has one of the warmest IG pages I follow.There is no day I go to her page and I am not smiling after.

Check out her blog, I promise you will love it.

Soafricane- her Instagram and her blog

I have the hugest girl crush on Marie Ainomugisha,she is the girl behind Soafricane.She writes about food,natural hair and her travels.Her blog I especially love because it has a lot of useful content, I got the 'recipe' for my daily hair spritz from there and challenged myself to make her breakfast recipes,which sadly I haven't gotten to but someday soon.I think I have read every single article on her blog and sometimes just re-read them,she is that good.

If you want to up your cooking game with easy to follow and very delicious recipes,are looking for natural hair ideas or just want travel inspo,she is your girl. Do yourself a favour and check her out.

Lamic Kirabo-her Instagram and her blog

When I was a teenager,I used to play this game where I would take pictures of celebrities to my mum and ask her which one looked the most like me and always my mum because she is my number one hype person without fail,she pointed to the prettiest of all or she just read me and choose the one I loved the most.

This game I still play but nowadays I don't ask anyone,I just decide who I want to look like and Lamic Kirabo is the girl I want to look like on most days,universe do you thang!!. She studies fashion in Paris,as in her parents are superstars they pay her tuition to study fashion in the world's fashion capital.She has fashion blog and instagram account that looks like a fashion magazine,sometimes if she is too busy at school and doesn't post much I miss her,I love her this much.

Zumi

You know the way Kenyan gossip blogs have catchy titles that always ensure you click on the stories,the girls who work at Zumi are masters of this,only that they write primarily about girl stuff.Their titles though, they have you thinking you are about to read world's most important and hidden beauty secrets 😂😂. I also love Zumi because their articles are relatively short and organised into different categories and that it is an online magazine with a female focus that has mainly girls/female writers on their team.

Modern Love

This is a podcast that I so love.It's articles that people send in to the owner of this podcast(New York Times), the team who work for the podcast then choose which ones to share and has dramatic people read them.Each time I am doing routine housework like cleaning,I have Modern Love playing and I haven't listened to one story I hated. Some stories are sad,some are happy,some so relatable but all a good to listen to.The readers they get are the true winners,they make you see the drama,mainly because they are actors/actresses .If you are looking for podcasts to listen to I highly recommend this one.

Which online pages are you loving and would recommend, I would love to know 😊😊.

Taking Stock Q1 2018

At the start of the year I made a resolution to do quite a number of things, some very easy to do and some scare me. I hear magic happens outside your comfort zone, so this year I am getting rid of my comfort zone. One of the things I put down in my to-do this year, is that I would blog more, one article each week on the weekends. So far I have done fairly well and only missed one weekend. Also I said that I would take stock on a quarterly basis as this the only way this would make sense for me because truth be told if I did this on a monthly basis,I would have nothing to tell #thelifeaboringperson 😊😊.

Let's take stock now.........

Making: better choices this year and putting me first. Increasingly I do what I believe is best for me and I could care less what anyone else thinks.

Cooking:Easy and simple meals-Ugali,Sukuma,Pilau Njeri,Pasta, basically easy dishes because time to cook and wash dishes is becoming so little.Today I went to the supermarket and it took everything in me not to get a huge packet of noodles. Fan Fact: I have never had instant noodles,based on how tired I am at the end of the day these days and how convenient they seem, who knows, we might start having noodles for dinner everyday in these my household.

Drinking: All kinds of teas,in the hope of getting a tea that will replace my beloved very milky and sugary and spicy Somali tea.So far Kericho Gold’s Earl Grey tea is the number one contender.

Reading: I am currently reading two books because how else would I meet my reading goals for this year right?. This year I plan to read 24 books,2 each month.I am reading: 'The Subtle Art of not giving a f*ck' and 'Is everyone hanging out without me(and other concerns)'.

Wanting: To be happy,I pray that I am always happy and even when I am sad, I pray that Allah gives me a content heart.

Playing: J Cole’s The Disease Of More and Love Yours each time I feel sad and discontent.Also am I the only one OBSESSED with wanting to learn how to do the ODI dance, I am always playing videos of people dancing ODI. 

Wasting:Time, always time and this scares me very much.

Sewing: Nothing but I am hoping to learn how to make sweaters.

Wishing: That 2018 is a better year than 2017 was and that I achieve all my resolutions.Last year I didn't make any resolutions, this year I have written all my goals down and InshaAllah I hope and pray that come the end of this year I will look at them and I will be those people who will be saying loudly-wacha Mungu aitwe Mungu 😂😂.

Vitamin and goodness overload!

Enjoying: Salads more and more.I never thought I will be this person who loves eating cold salads for lunch/dinner but never say never is all I am saying.

The diary of a pluviophile.

Liking: The rainy season that has just started in Nairobi.

  
Loving: The ODI Dance,who wants to teach me how to do the dance?

Hoping:That I master the art of time management and efficiency.

Marvelling: At how writing down your goals and sharing them with people who you trust pushes you to want to achieve them.Also key to achieving your goals is regular review,this way you will always know your progress and constantly have in mind what it is you are working towards.

Needing: To be better in all aspects of my life.
 

Smelling: Coconut oil.

Wearing: The prettiest baati ever.I try to get a piece of clothing when I travel and because I mostly travel to Somalia most of my baatis are from different location in the country and each brings back these memories of the market I got them from.Today I am wearing one I got from Hargeisa.

Following: Grey’s anatomy.I only started watching this show recently and I so glad it has 14 seasons out(I think) and I am only just starting season 5.Loads of good TV awaits 😍😍.

Dr.Christina Yang......

Noticing: How men take every chance to belittle women and sometimes they do this in the most subtle ways.

You have a 'sell by date' -The lies society tells to women.

Knowing: That the biggest smiles and loudest laughs sometimes hide loads of tears shed in secret.

Thinking: I don’t eat much,I watch what I eat,I walk 10,000 steps on most days,I drink a lot of water and yet I am becoming bigger and bigger,is something wrong with me? Am I so old that my metabolism is slower than a tortoise now,someone explain to me how this can be happening!

Feeling: Very grateful,not that much has changed but I realise now,I might not have it all but Alhamdullilah I have everything I need.Each day I see people and how hard they have to work,you guys,just yesterday I saw a mkokoteni guy carrying heavy cargo and the owner of the cargo and I thought how can she be so mean,she gets on the cart because she doesn’t want to walk,not thinking how her kilos make the work extra hard for the mkokoteni guy.

Bookmarking: and reading so many articles on productivity.

 
Opening: Myself to more adventure,I am going to say yes to each and every chance to try something new that I get. 

Giggling: At some story lines in Mindy Kaling’s Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me(And Other Concerns).This book sure has some really hilarious sections.

Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions-Book Review

All the fifteen suggestions

I am a huge Chimamanda fan and have over the years read most of her books.I have read and loved, Americanah,Half of  a Yellow Sun,Purple Hibiscus,The thing around your neck and even watched Half of a Yellow Sun the movie.I have also watched so many of her videos on YouTube,now when I read her books or articles she has written, I read them in her voice.Last year when I heard she has published a new book, I knew I must read the book.

'What joy.And what lovely names Chizalum Adaora.She is so beautiful.Only one week old and she already looks curious about the world.What a magnificent thing you have done,bringing a human into the world.''Congratulations'' feels to slight'-Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

This book is a letter to her childhood friend,who had asked for her advise on how to raise her daughter a feminist.The book is excellent,only 46 pages,I cannot recommend it enough for people who have daughters,nieces or young girls around them.

I love this book,because all the suggestions are easy to do and therefore many parents will be able to use them hence raising empowered girls,who will in turn run the world in a few short years.There are 15 suggestions on how to raise a feminist in this book, all very important and eye openers.The suggestions I loved the most and think that are likely to have the highest impact if one actively implements or tries to do them are:

Teach her to love books

Knowledge is power and the more one knows the better able there are to make good decisions.Reading things that aren't school related makes your young one curious and ultimately a very informed person which is a very good thing.If by chance your young ones don't love to read pay  them/incentivize them to read 😀😀.

Teach her about difference

We live in a diverse world and eventually children will interact with other children that are different from them and increasingly these interactions are happening really early because of school.Teach them to know that not everyone is like them and that this doesn't make them better or worse than the other person.Teaching them this when they are young will help them navigate adulthood because no two people are the same and somehow we all have to co-exist peacefully.

Gender Roles

Teach your daughter that there is nothing she has to do because she is a girl and there is nothing she can't do because she is a girl.The sky is the limit,also cleaning and cooking are learnt skills and she can learn them as these are important life skills but not because she is a girl.Children I hear copy what their parents do so the father has to take an active role in raising his child/children(beyond finances),this way the children will know both mommy and daddy can cook,clean and change diapers.

Teach her to reject likeability

 'All over the world, girls are raised to be make themselves likeable, to twist themselves into shapes that suit other people. Please do not twist yourself into shapes to please. Don’t do it. If someone likes that version of you, that version of you that is false and holds back, then they actually just like that twisted shape, and not you. And the world is such a gloriously multifaceted, diverse place that there are people in the world who will like you, the real you, as you are'-Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Wanting to be liked,is the female curse.You keep quite,let people walk all over you because you want them to like you.Imagine a world where young girls know that they can express their ideas and thoughts freely without thinking about who they will offend.Now encourage each of the young girls in your life to express their opinions,to understand difference and to not care who likes them as long as they aren't being abusive or outright disrespectful.

Give Chizalum a sense of identity 

Teach your young ones about their culture,let them know the good parts of their culture,their history and teach them religion from an early age.Let them know all about their identity, this way when they grow up they will be strongly rooted and will not be swayed/misled easily.

If you are looking for an easy read,that you will learn a lot from and will help you hit your book reading goals quicker, PICK THIS BOOK.