Cooking is a four letter word, at least for now

I love cooking or should I say I used to love cooking. I loved cooking when I had enough time to pick the right ingredients and no distractions when I was in the kitchen all day. Now I burn rice, yup. That has destroyed a few of my pots and so I am bringing the rice cooker I was given as gift out of the loft. Friends hated cooking for me even when I was pregnant because they said I cooked so well and theirs was not up to scratch. Utter tosh, they were just being lazy :)

I am admitting defeat and ordering food enmasse from a new caterer recommended by my friend Omara. I could never order food except for parties etc and thought it decadent to order food for home from the caterer. I would order Dodo if I could because I absolutely hate frying the stuff. Just finished dinner and felt good to just make the eba and serve it with the stew from the caterer.

Will be posting a few of my recipes here in case I ever forget how to cook!

Off to bed. Must be old age. Going to bed at 9.30. Yikes or as my daughter said when we hit a rough patch on the road in Lagos, Yeepa. Not sure where she got that from :)

The end of the week

A strange week... Started off in WW3 with the husband and we did make up after he apologised. I did savour the moment as it was the first time he has ever apologised :) So we made up but things have to change. There is a lot I need to sort out about myself, I do feel that I invested a lot of my time in studying and hoping to build a career and not sure if I feel fulfilled enough. Not really fair to give my husband 100% of the blame. So my voyage of self re-discovery starts now.

I have started looking around for my provisional driving license so I can start lessons, you are so lucky in blogsville as I will share all the nail biting details on the driving lessons with you. You just need to stay off the roads in North London on a Tuesday/Thursday. I have also chilled out a lot as there are some things I realise I need to let go and let God and have designated 2007 my stress free year.

Talking about stress free, my father in law arrived from Nigeria today and will be staying with us for 3 months. Yikes! All I can say is God loves a cheerful giver so I am looking for reasons to be cheerful if there are any going. Send me good vibes, please.

I decided not to have any resolutions this year and I never start at the very beginning of the year for the same reason that I do not start a diet or exercise regime on a Monday.

So,my goals this year are:


To seek God and to get back to where I used to be. God has not heard from the real me in a while.

To exercise more and eat less so I can lose weight. Quick fixes don’t work, slow and steady. A tummy tuck is an option though. Will wait till after second child.

To make an effort. Wearing baggy t-shirts and track bottoms and smelling of fried stew is not a turn on. Hmm. Might never fry Dodo again. Is it decadent to order fried dodo or how do I fry it without the smell??

To make sure all the DIY is finished at home. We have been living here for 3 years now. Might have to hire somebody. DH is good but takes his time.

To have more sex with my husband and to want to. Fatigue is a state of mind. I hear zinc is good for improving ones sex drive. Might have to overdose initially!

To use my time more effectively. Put some sort of structure in place

To increase my earning potential by growing the business and working more hours in my part time job.

To get pregnant. About time too. Will be 36 when the child is born if everything goes to plan but I must learn how to drive and lose some weight before I get pregnant. Need motivation.

To read more and listen to more of my odd music as my husband calls it. The Carpenters, Van the Man (Morrison), Cat Stevens, Take That, Andrea Bocelli and to discover new odd musicians. Running out of music from the old ones.

Enjoy the weekend. Tomorrow, we will be traipsing around Ikea, putting up a shed in the back garden and trying to declutter. Considering hiring a skip so I can get rid of all the baggage and garbage I have been lugging around for years.

We are all the same

I was in Lagos over Christmas and saw and read all the news about the petrol pipeline explosion. Everyone agreed that poverty and greed led people to sabotage the pipeline and siphon the fuel to make a quick buck.

Due to the bad weather in England at the moment, a container ship containing dangerous chemicals and containers of goods is in danger of running aground off the Devon coast. Goods have been floating ashore and people have been scavenging for the goods, endangering their lives as we do not know what effects the chemicals will have. Greed and poverty again??

Good to know that the people in developed and developing world are all the same. Anything for a quick buck.

And the penny dropped...

...from a great height and hit me with a resounding bang.

I love my husband and care about his feelings more that he does mine. Why the journey to Damascus revelation? Many things have happened over the years and I have shaken them off but last night was the last straw.

Friends of ours were having a party for their daughter and I stayed home as my sister was coming over for the weekend with her children. Anyway a party for one year old twins should finish early right? Wrong, at midnight, I called DH to ask where he was and he mentioned that he was in a pub with some friends. No problem, more gisting time with my sis. At around 2am, I was about to go to bed and decided to see if he was alright as we had had really bad weather in London with trees falling over and flattening cars. Anyway kept trying intermittently between 2 and 5am, with no response, and was beside myself with worry.

Then DH saunters in and asks why I was not asleep! Now, don't get me wrong, I do like my husband going out as I love "me time" but there is an air of irresponsibility and my being taken for granted. He has been out about 3 nights this week and I knew he would be late then so I went to bed but getting home at 5am from a party for 2 one year olds. Well that is taking the piss just a bit.

So my dilemma, or as Jade from Big Brother's mum says, my dimella is Should I stay or should I go. It does seem like killing a fly with a sledgehammer but this has niggled for a long time. You know the little niggles that equate to looking back at life and regretting the complacent and steady life devoid of spark and passion. This lack of consideration, which has in the past being inconsequential, was the last straw. Hmm, I wonder....

My trip back home

We decided to go home to Nigeria as my brother in law was getting married and we had decided to go at least once a year so our daughter could get a feel for home. Boy, did she get a feel for home. So much space and attention, she has come back a right little madam.

We usually stay with my mum in Ibadan but the wedding was in Lagos and we stayed with my MIL. Lagos was such fun. I must admit that Ibadan is soooo boring and my mum was quite peeved as I spent Christmas and New Year in Lagos. Out went the traditional Christmas Roast with all the trimmings complete with Christmas Crackers and funny hats. This was replaced with Pounded Yam and Ogbono at a place called Da Grotto in VI. Yum. Decided to eat out as much as we could on the trip so we went to:

Roberts Café for Breakfast.
Da Grotto
Churassco (sp) Lovely barbecue buffet.
Pearl Gardens and was it Golden Gate Not sure, was a Chinese restaurant
Terra Kulture
Some Café place in the palms
M Bar or is it M Café in Galleria
Loads of Agege bread with Ikoyi Hotel Suya (The hotel is no longer there)


Next time we go, I might try some bukas. Did not try them this time as I did now want to spend must of my holidays in the loo. All that eating was not kind to my waistline, so I will be back on the low carb wagon.

Had a great time in Lagos and have never prayed so much in London! We had an army driver seconded to us for our trip and the power they still hold amazed me. Once we were driving in a convoy and the convoy was separated as we had to stop at a junction with traffic police. The army driver promptly leapt out of the leader car and came to direct traffic so we could catch up. The two police men at the junction were not amused but there was little they could do. On another occasion, we were going to queue for petrol as there was the usual shortage around Christmas. The driver drove in through the exit, went to the front of the queue and clapped twice to summon the attendants to sell to him. I had to hide my head for shame.

I am sure I have lost my train of thought, had to stop to put a last minute bid for an item on ebay which I won.

All in all, a great time was had by all and we intend to go as soon as the election fever wears off sometime in April/May. We were actually going to go back in February for my mum’s birthday but she said not to :( Any ideas of where to go in Lagos and Ibadan will be great.

And so I begin

Decided to join the blogging community even though I am not so sure I have anything to say. Hey, Ho, we must all start somewhere. So here goes....

At home alone at the moment, which in itself is bliss as I am married with a 3 year old daughter. So why do I feel guilty that I am lounging and not running around like a blue bottomed fly?? Must learn to relax more.

No resolutions this year except to take each day at it comes and make them up as I go along. Will be kinder and more open to random acts of kindness.

Came back from a 3 week trip to Nigeria last week. The place breaks my heart. The Nigeria of my youth is totally gone and has been replaced by a short-termist (sp) economy. Now in Nigeria, if you are born poor, chances are you will die poor. Feel blessed that we are comfortable, but at what cost?? Will write more on my trip later

Off to get ready to run around like a blue bottomed fly, my boss(3 year old daughter) is coming home soon :)