The Royal Wedding

Sometimes I hate to admit it, but I am a such a romantic!

 Yesterday, as the whole entire world knows, was the wedding day of His Royal Highness, Prince William to his sweetheart Kate Middleton. And to us girls, one of the most exciting thing was that dress! We all couldn't wait to see it. One of my girlfriends hosted a Royal Wedding Breakfast and a few of us met up at her flat to watch the Royal Wedding together.

I felt quite bad for my son, because although it was a bank holiday, I still woke him up quite early so we could get to my friend's for breakfast. He didn't take too kindly to that. Bless his cottons. But his reward was one of his favourite meals - a full English breakfast.

Our spread...

See how he cleaned his plate! Enjoyment! Lol.

So we headed over for our Royal Wedding Breakfast where we watched the wedding together. Little man played on his DSi (lol). I have to say the room was filled with excitement and anticipation. I don't need to go into too much detail because the whole world was watching!

They make a very handsome couple. He is royalty! Plain and simple. He's the perfect gentleman and her prince charming. She is so elegant and oozes class and sophistication. I was thinking, what a dream come true. And how proud her parents must be. They've gone from building their own wealth, to being in-laws to the royals, parents of the future queen of England. What an achievement. Let me hear you say FAVOUR!

I love the way the Prince honoured his mother the late Diana, Princess of Wales. I love the fact that Princess Diana's family were given prominent seats in the church. But then again, what else should one expect? She was his mother after all.

I do wish the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge a very happy married life. May they be fruitful and multiply. May their home be fill with joy, laughter, understanding, respect, and most importantly LOVE. God bless them.

  

It was so nice to see some diversity amongst the choir. And didn't they sound beautiful!

:)

I just couldn't resist. Lol.

Me (in the hat), little man (looking a little dazed - like "are these women for real?" Lol) and a couple of the girls. Cheers!

Easter Period Blessings

I'd like to start by wishing everyone a Happy Easter!!!

Hope a blessed time has been had by one and all, and most importantly, I hope we've taken time out to be thankful for the real reason for the season - JESUS!!! His life, His death and His resurrection!!! I thank God for His sacrificial love!

I've had a really good Easter break I have to say. On Good Friday I had planned to lunch with a friend of mine at a Nigerian restaurant and enjoy a fish dish. But a last minute plan change meant we had lunch at another friends house, where we enjoyed a home-cooked Jamaican fish dish (it was soooo delicious!). We had ackee and saltfish with rice, boiled plantain, grilled (and might I add, very well seasoned) mackerel and white bream. Mmmmmmmmm! It was so delightful! So sorry, I forgot to take a picture of my plate - I was so eager to get stuck into the food, the thought only occurred to me after I'd devoured the lot. Lol.

After lunch, my friend and I hit the West End to do a spot of shopping. We were both proud of our purchases and helped to restrain each other. She's my second favorite shopping companion hands down (after Holy Spirit of course). After about three or so hours shopping, we were knackered! It was time to exit the City, but not before a Belgium waffle and ice cream - so yum!

I spent most of Saturday dying, washing and treating my hair. Then I took little man to go get his hair cut. He looks so handsome with his little high-top. ;) And we did a little bit more shopping - shoes and a few tops for little man (and who am I kidding, I bought a pair of floral straw wedges for myself too). I am NOT a shopaholic! I promise, I'm not! Lol.

Resurrection Sunday was such a wonderful day. My son and I went to Church in the morning. Sunday service was a reminder of God's love. My favorite quote from the service has to be: "God loves me and there's nothing I can do about it!" Romans 8:38-39 reads: For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, (39) Nor Height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. What a revelation! God's love just is. I can't earn it and there's nothing I can do to separate myself from it. Isn't that a relief? Oh yes it is! ;)

It was also my dad's birthday on Sunday, so after church, little man and I headed to my parents for a family bbq. Where we ate more good food. Don't mention my Weight Loss Challenge - I'll just deny all knowledge of it! Lol.

Easter Monday we went out to dinner at a restaurant at The O2 to celebrate one of my girlfriend's birthday. The food was nice - Chinese buffet. But the best thing was the company, and the fact that little man ate so much. Lol. Three plates and dessert to be exact. 

And the piece-de-resistante...a friend of mine gave birth to a beautiful baby girl this morning! What a wonderful way to end a wonderful season and weekend. Beautiful! Just beautiful!

 Little man and I (wearing one of my purchases) at my dad's birthday barbecue

Close up and smiles ;)

My friend's birthday dinner - that's my little man, my friend and moi

Little man and the newest member of the crew

I thank God for everything!

Until next time, 

Ciao! x

Asa - Beautiful Imperfection

I went to see Asa in concert over a week ago, been meaning to write a review on her concert since then. Better late than never I guess. 

It was the launch of her second album - Asa - Beautiful Imperfection, on April 4th 2011 @ The Barbican in London.

Well, what can I say? I thought she was amazing! She has a voice like no other, enchanting to say the least. I thoroughly enjoyed her show. I was captivated the whole time, not wanting to blink or be interrupted for fear of missing even a second.

I went to the concert with my aunt (and friend) and friend (her daughter). We were actually late being seated because we were trying to get an extra ticket as we had only bought two tickets in the first place. When we finally got in Asa was singing Bimpe - which has to be my favourite song on her latest album, just because of the Nigerian attitude that comes through. I love it! I love the fact that her albums have both English and Yoruba songs on them. My favorites (from both albums) include Why Can't We, Bimpe, Ore, Preacher Man, Fire On The Mountain, Jailer, to name a few. In fact, there isn't a song on either of her albums that I don't like. She performed all of the above (except Ore - which I was really hoping she would sing, but never mind). 

She also sang a beautiful song in French, I had no idea what she was talking about, but it sounded beautiful. My favorite part of the concert was when she sang Bamidele, which she finished off with a traditional tribal dance, which was just amazing. All the Nigerians (and I dare say all the Africans) in the auditorium gave her a standing ovation at the end of her dance.

My final thoughts? I look forward to seeing Asa in concert again. It was a rather intimate affair held at The Barbican, which to be honest is the best way to see her. I think she was very engaging through out. Her band was brilliant, and it was a very well orchestrated gig. Each song was exciting, and I excitedly anticipated the next song.

Weight Loss Challenge*

Ok so, Wednesday was weigh in day and I managed to lose that 1lb I gained the previous week. Yippee! However, although I was supposed to replace some meals with soup, I have to confess I only had soup once for the whole week. I don't know, just couldn't commit I guess. But I'm so glad I lost that 1lb all the same. Now I need a strategy for the coming week.

Although I've been on this weight loss journey seriously since December, I have to confess that I've not done any form of exercise (except walking - in between bus rides). I think the time has come to switch things up a bit. I seriously need to incorporate some exercise into my weekly routine. I've been very lazy and even when I have some spare time, I procrastinate until the time slips away. So what I'm going to do is try and fit in some exercise over the next week on my Wii Fit Plus. I'm going to commit to exercising on the Wii twice in the next week (as well as continuing to watch what I eat of course). Let's see how it goes.

Weight Loss Challenge

Been on a weight loss journey officially and seriously since December 2010 now with two of my friends. It's been going week for the most part, but I seem to have hit a stumbling block. I've nearly lost a stone now and for the past three weeks, I've stayed the same until this week, where I gained a pound. Yikes! So, I'm putting this on my blog in the hope that this will make me accountable.

My friends and I weigh ourselves every Wednesday at our local Boots Pharmacy, then we send a picture of our weigh in result printouts to our BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) group. We then compare the current weeks weight to the previous week's. Depending on whether we lose, gain or stay the same we'll congratulate, encourage or suggest new strategies for the following week.

I have to say that this group has been wonderful. This is the most weight I have ever managed to lose. And for the most part we've all managed to stay on course. At times when we've felt weak, we just start up a conversation on the group. We share recipes and salads. We also confess!!! Lol. We tell each other when we're about to fall off the wagon, or that we fell off the wagon and fess up about everything we've eaten. Being in the group is not just effective, but also a lot of fun.

With that said, I shall be keeping this blog updated from now on. I will try to blog on our weigh in days (Wednesdays) or shortly after. 

Here are a few of my weigh in results and some of the things pictures I've shared with the group.

The last weigh in print was taken yesterday. I have gained 1lb, which I'm not too pleased with. So my challenge is to drop another 2lbs over the next week. I shall be attempting to achieve this by replacing some meals with just soup over the next few days. I'm determined to stay on course.

See you in a week or so. ;)

A Mother's Love

Thank God for parents! It was Mother's Day on Sunday. I was just thinking how precious parents really are. I remember when I had my son. I was fresh out of university and my parents had some high hopes. Dreams of me getting a graduate job and becoming a jet-setter (jet-setting between London and Nigeria doing business of some sort). My destiny had other plans.

When I first found out "officially" that I was pregnant, after telling my sisters I had to break the news to my mum. Which wasn't as frightening as I had imagined. I was a little scared (the thought of telling my dad on the other hand was a whole 'nother story!). I remember my mum was cooking in the kitchen. I just got back from work (although I had my own flat, home - where my family reside, was and always is home). I approached her as she was washing something in the sink. I said, "Mum, I have something to tell you". She looked at me and I knew straight away that she knew what I was about to say. You know, the way mothers just know everything. She said, "ehen, what is it?" in her not so thick Nigerian accent. To which I replied, "I'm pregnant." She tried to look angry, but I could see the smile creeping across her face. Which eased me to my very core. She stopped what she was doing and said, "You've just finished university, you've not even enjoyed your freedom yet. This isn't what I'd hoped for you, but nevertheless, I have be longing for a grandchild for a while now". I started to cry. She just looked at me and smiled. Then she hugged me.

My mum isn't much of a hugger. That's only one of a few times in my life (thus far) that I remember getting a real squeezer hug from my mummy.

Her next act was even more valiant than the first. When I think of it now, I'm amazed by her. You see my dad is a pastor. Which makes me a preacher's kid. So you can imagine what kind of judgement my predicament brought on our family. I was the pastor's daughter who was now an unwed mother. My dad wasn't pleased to say the least, but we'll talk about that another time. My mum was there for me through out my pregnancy and labour. Come to think of it, besides God, she was my only constant.

As tradition would have it we have what's known as The Naming Ceremony when baby is eight days old. This is the part that I had to take a step back and watch my mum in all her glory. She was magnificent. My son's naming ceremony was held in my parent's home with family, family friends, and members from my dad's church all present. On such an occassions you want to think that everyone is for you, but I guarantee you, there are people who just want to see you fall flat on your face. I'm not talking about myself personally in this instance, because although it was my son that was being named, my mum was the one on display amongst her peers. My mum held her head up so high. She held her grandson with such pride and she let it be known to all who were there - nay sayers and all, that this is my daughter and her son, and I am not ashamed!

So with that said, I really love and appreciate my mummy. She could have turned her back on me. She could have let it be known that she was ashamed of me for what I'd gone and done. Things could have been so different, coming from a Nigerian family and having a pastor for a dad. But my mum rose above what I think would be a "normal" reaction under such circumstances. My mum not only showed her maternal love, she displayed the love of Christ as far as I'm concerned. She showed me not only what a mother really is - loving and protective, she showed real Christianity too - unconditional love.

I love you Mummy. xxx