formerlybostonchile

And just like that the last day of November is upon us. And I am happy to report that I did it, I completed the first rough draft of my second novel. Finally: after seven years of putting this story down and picking it up; after several months of trying to put words to paper and always finding a reason to procrastinate; I did it. I can now cross that off my list of goals for 2012.  Of course I have a lot of work to do still, lots and lots of editing, lots more research. The novel is set in Lagos, Miami and Ibadan, with the exception of Miami, I know next to nothing about those cities so I need to go visit, maybe I will be fortunate enough to spend a month in Nigeria and two weeks in Miami. But be that as it may, I am very glad that I took part in the NaNoWriMo writing challenge. It worked for me because I was ready to finally write this thing, and 2) i love a challenge, and I felt that I was letting down someone if I didn't sit down and write my words for the day....

So I did something that my usually financially prudent self wouldn't do. I hopped on a plane and went far away for one day to attend the wedding of one of my friends from medical school. My travel day did not start off auspiciously. First I overslept. Next the zipper broke on the dress I had been planning to wear for days so I had to change into something that has been on facebook a thousand times. Hopefully no one will notice. Then I realized that I had left my powder and concealer in my desk at work, so I had to go barefaced! My skin is great ok, but I still have these spots and three big pimples that I didn't want to display to the whole world! It was a long flight (3 hours to ATL, and 1.5 hours to HPN) and I was determined to get as much writing as possible done on the flight. And I did, alternating between my laptop and my notebook. When I got tired of writing, I read through the tutorial for Scrivener , an organizing program for writers I am trying out. I had mad...

Monday: Buy a carrot, see a play for free! The Spanish Carrot Rebellion . Tuesday:   Still don't understand how this is stealing, and thank God, the judge didn't feel the same way! I mean hello, the outlet was in a public place  and did not have a fee for charging! I'm telling you, common sense ain't common, and some people lack mercy! Wednesday: If you are married, make sure you vote otherwise your spouse will run you over with a car. Thursday: All I have is one word repeated three times: Romney, Romney, Romney.  He is not a winner, but his comments sure are winners for bloggers everywhere!

So, it is day 16 of this NaNoWriMo thing, and I am happy to report that I am still here. Writing away. Last night was a good night. I came to the page with great reluctance, confused and sleepy and distracted but once I got into the groove, I got into the groove. I even surprised myself. At the end of the night was at 26058, and I added 3000+ words. Are those words any good? I don't know. I will deal with that at the edit stage. I found this cool writing tool called Scrivener . Actually, I read about it on one of these NaNo pep talk letters. At first, I was like why would I need a tool for writing a novel, like I couldn't get it. But then I actually read about the features and I got it. What got me was the fact all my scattered word files  could be stored in one place. So I have been writing this novel separated into years instead of chapters, with the major characters telling each year from their view. I would put each year in their own file and then after I edited, woul...

I heard her songs when they were running a profile on her on NPR Morning Edition. Her voice is so amazing! Age Don't wake me up, Live Lost & Found

Source: fitnessmagazine.com via oluyemisi on Pinterest This turned out to to be very easy to make, and quite delicious too. Of course I modified the recipe. I added onions to the cabbage, carrots and garlic mix and sauteed that with black pepper and curry. I was generous with the black pepper because it is freezing out here and I need to warm up. Also, I'm battling a bit of congestion.  I used a mix of beans, garbanzo and cannellini, and also added tomatillo and celery. I think I was too generous with the tomato paste, I had a can that I had opened for the black bean chili so I wanted to be done with it so it wouldn't be a waste. It took no time at all to cook, I made this after work on Monday, and it was good and filling and comforting especially after the hectic day that I had. 

My bed has fallen apart. It unfortunately did not make through my 4 million moves. It's time for a new bed, and I have been craving an upholstered bed since I saw Rachel Zoe's dramatic white upholstered bed on her TV show. Yeah, i know that show was all about fashions but i can't get excited about fashions i can't afford, however, I can and did get excited about that bed! I tried to look for it on the innanets but I can't find the original. Anyway, here are some beds that are similar. 68" Adler Tufted Platform Bed | Upholstered Beds | Restoration Hardware   Z Gallerie-Jameson Bed http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Montecito-White-Queen-size-Bed/6313250/product.html J.C. Penney Chico Upholstered Bed. 

My lease ended at the end of September and of course I waited until the absolute last minute to search for my next place. Truth was I was not feeling anything that I saw close to my job, either the price wasn't right or the amenities were not too great. Anyway, I finally found a place that was closer to my job (6 miles vs 20 miles); had a great view (the mountains are in my backyard) and the rent was cheaper too. Truth be told, I had originally planned to move into this place when my lease was up, but I read some reviews on the innanets and I talked myself out of it. I liked it not because of the amenities (not a luxury apartment, whatever that is) but because it was very close to my writing office during the summer time. In fact, I learned of the apartment because I passed in front of it on the way to the canyon. Anyway, I went to the leasing office and applied for the apartment, got approved, paid my deposit and put the move date on my calendar. I started packing, and ev...

All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it’s not only around us; it’s  within  us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy. Romans 8:22-25 MSG. I am currently in the waiting room, waiting on God to answer some of my heart felt desires. Sometimes I feel like I have been waiting for eternity for Him to show up and show out. Sometimes I wonder if God hears me and ever plans to hear my prayer. Sometimes I get frustrated and act out of my own strength which of course sends me back to square one, at which point I get mad at God a...

So, it's about eight days into NaNoWriMo and I have been pretty committed to it. I have stopped going back to sleep after waking up early in the morning, and started writing instead. I don't know if what I am writing is any good and sometimes that little editor in my head is in my ear whispering sometimes shouting that what i am writing is pure garbage.  But, I tell it i will edit after I am done and to leave me alone. I have stopped making excuses not to write. I tell myself that even ten minutes is something. So now, I write during my lunch hour, there is a park I drive to sometimes. I eat my lunch and then type as much as I can in the time that I have.  I even went to Starbucks after work on Friday last week, and this tuesday, in the hour between work and bible study. (Can I just tell you that it feels like there is a  Starbucks on every corner out here?) I don't know why I put off all those things that make me me. I love praying, and at one point, I thought I w...

Source: eatingwell.com via oluyemisi on Pinterest I had to divide by three because I have a tiny little crockpot. I didn't have cardomom so I just used my jerk spice instead. I was generous with my spices because I wanted to feel the heat, and it was spicy. The only thing was that I couldn't taste the tomatillo, it got lost in everything. The beans and mushroom on the other hand were reporting very nicely. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be to make, after all, the whole point of a crock pot is to throw everything in there and let it cook right, what's all this sauteing and what not? But, I did enjoy the results so there's that.

Though the fig tree may not blossom   Though the rivers run dry  Though the world around me crumble Though I heave and I sigh  I remember where my hope lies  Where my help comes from  If you could care about the sparrow  I know you won't forget me  (Repeat) Verse:  Lord there is much  That my mind can't handle  Puzzled by  The billowing of waves  Of this one thing  I am certain  You remain the God unchanging Lord you're watching me   Keeping me  Restoring me  You will never  Forget your own  Though the fig tree may not blossom   Though the rivers run dry  Though the world around me crumble Though I heave and I sigh  I remember where my hope lies  Where my help comes from  If you could care about the sparrow  I know you won't forget me  Bridge:  Through the raging storm...

Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength --  Phil 4:11-13 NLT I stayed home from church today. My excuse was that I had to work tonight so therefore I needed a break from people. But the reality was that I just had an overwhelming sense of loneliness and discontent, and I thought to myself, I just can't put on the happy all is well with me face today. No way, no how, no can do. So I stayed home and drowned my sorrows in a novel and food, my two drugs of choice, and tried not to think about how weak I felt because I was losing my joy. I eventually left the house, and I went to a write in for the NaNoWriMo. A whole hour and a half late but I went, and I wrote for a bit, just 1500 w...

So this month is NaNoWriMo . My friend put me onto it last year, and I was to work on Cheat Reflex. However, it was also the first month I started working at my new job so as always, my writing took a backseat to my job. But this month, I am committed to getting this book done! I don't know if it is a story worth reading but I must get it out, it's been too long. I made a plan to write during my lunch break and of course I found all kinds of ways to waste the precious hour of lunch that I had, self sabotage at its best. But I shall show up at the page no matter what, whether it's garbage or not. I shall write and not edit until after November 30. I have done it before, I can do it again.

Part 2 is still stuck in drafts. It was a long post too, but I ended up changing everything and simplifying my life after I discovered shea butter. My hair loves, loves loves it. It softens and stretches it out like nothing I've used before. My hair regimen is pretty simple now:  Spray with my aloe vera mix just to get some water in my hair (water is the best moisturizer): aloe vera juice + rosemary oil + tea tree oil (cos my scalp is mad itchy) + some random conditioner. Massage shea butter into my hair.  Put in a bun.  Run to work.  I need to get back into the habit of washing more often. It's just so tedious to detangle.  http://bostonchile.blogspot.com/2012/04/i-whip-my-hair-back-and-forth.html#.UI3nR8UR4xE

Talk about an ageless beauty, and classic music, never out of style.

I love pintrest, even though I can never spell it correctly. I surf the web a bit too much. Sigh. Anyway, in my surfing adventures, I always come across some thing I like depending on my obsession at the time. In the past, I would right click and save to my computer and then promptly forget about it. I discovered Evernote , and I became a bit better. I would clip recipes I come across using their Evernote clipper browser add on. I even used it for shopping lists too. Right now, Pinterest is my latest cookbook. I have been adding recipes for the past year or so. It's all good except that I haven't been making them. I am up to 56 pins right now. So I am going to challenge myself from now until the end of the year to start actually cooking the food I've been pinning. Last week I made the following: Spanish Chicken. It was pretty good! Source:  pickyin.blogspot.com  via  oluyemisi  on  Pinterest Thai Basil Chicken: except I fo...

I am champion grudge bearer.  I have tried to deny this aspect of myself. I am not proud of it and I often try to rationalize it. It was their fault, they took my kindness for weakness, they pushed me to the limit. I told them several times about themselves, yet they persist in their wrongdoing. I am not FORGIVING them.  I really hate this about myself.  Especially since I am supposed to be a Christ follower and all. And He very clearly said, forgive. In several ways and in several gospels, He said FORGIVE.  Matthew 5:39  But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. Luke 17:4  Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive. Mark 11:25  But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too. The past few months have been insan...

I just finished my third reading of the Wizard of the Crow and it is still as excellent as it was when I first read it many years ago. Wizard of the Crow is a humorous book (well, satire would be a better word here), about a fictional African country, its government, in particular its despotic ruler for life and two people, one accidental, one on purpose who actively seek to make life better for the people. I love this book. The fact that I have read it more than once is proof enough. I rarely read a book more than once, and I rarely buy a book either, why buy when you can borrow and return? I bought this book twice and on each buying I read it as intently as if I were reading it for the very first time. It's just that good.

It's been a Soul II Soul morning for me...

So I haven't been in a Goodwill store in months which is pretty amazing since I drive by one every day on the way home from work and at least once a week on the way home from church. Since I had completed my decorating for the apartment, I felt there was no need to add more stuff. However, about two days ago, on the way home, I had the biggest urge to go into Goodwill. I tried ignoring it but I finally gave in. It was pretty sparse but I managed to walk away with these for little more than five bucks. I also saw this fly desk for just $29.99 but no truck, no bother. Now off to google how to restore these tins to like new condition. 

She puts all my thoughts about my shyness + introvertedness into words.

My father taught me how to write a letter when I was five or six.  I remember sitting next to him on our golden brown plush sofa in our flat in Anthony Village, Lagos, Nigeria. He said to me, let's write a letter. I must have asked how to do such a thing because I remember him breaking down the components of a letter as I dictated what I wanted him to say. Dear Daddy Ilorin,  Hope this letter meets you well.  My father told me that you start a letter by asking about the recipient's well being, and the rest of the family. Then you give news about yourself and family. Then finally you end this way:                                                                                                         ...

I really need to make up my mind about the focus of this blog. Anyway, just completed my sister's baby shower on Sunday. The theme was POP, and thanks to the innanets, I found a lot of inspiration and ideas. I was worried about being able to get things done, especially since lately I've been feeling this strange inertia, but glory to God, and thank God for my sister the taskmaster, we did it. All the way up until the final minutes before but we did it. I am awaiting the pictures to hit facebook so I can post them here. I made cake pops and popcorn. I wasn't stressed about making the popcorn, thanks to my whirlypop contraption. I made four varieties, pink which needed a lot more pink, chocolate, plain and kettlecorn. The kettlecorn was a total snap. I added all the ingredients, salt, sugar, oil and of course the kernels and just cranked that handle like my life depended on it.  Yummy! The cake pops on the other hand! I totally underestimated the amount of chocola...

I wrote this piece almost 12 years ago now after a bad breakup. I thought it was the worst breakup of my life, little did I know what was coming down the line... ahh youth. can you imagine/i can't i can't even begin to put it together or comprehend how i managed to walk around with eyes closed. my clothes were not on me and the people were laughing but i could not see and was unable to hear they were pointing at me but i dismissed their words as mere manifestations of envy because what we had was true was amazing, was the best s..t i ever had i was only right about one thing. can you imagine/ i can't i can't even begin to understand this even though i am turning it inside out and outside in it is still so unclear to me the more i stare through this glass the dimmer it all becomes the earth i took for granted is crumbling beneath my feet i am afraid to face the world with this distorted perception when i look at you, did i truly see you or wa...

Another birthday has passed and for the first time in a long time, I actually had the day off without it being a weekend. All in all, it was a good week. My parents and my rambunctious nephews came to visit me. They left yesterday. While they were here, I felt I was yelling every second: "Keep quiet. Sit down. Stop. Leave me. Don't touch that!" But last night when I came home after work, the silence in my apartment was deafening. I have always heard that phrase but never really understood it. Yesterday, I did. Deafening silence. The quiet was so loud, my ears were ringing. Sigh. I digress. I treat each birthday as my new year, complete with goals and resolutions. For the past few years, my resolutions have remained the same: look better, treat myself better, improve my intellect by studying more. Each year, I fall woefully short. This year the resolutions remain the same. Look better, treat myself better, improve my intellect. However, this time, I will make it pu...

Thanks to my IrokoTV subscription, I have rediscovered my love for Nollywood/Ghana movies again. Instead of sleeping yesterday after my night shift, I stayed up and finished 3 Can Play with Yvonne Nelson and Yvonne Okoro. I adore Yvonne Okoro. I don't know why. Every time I see her on screen, am always inspired to take my makeup game a notch. Anyway, right now I am seriously, seriously craving Adam's Apples by Shirley Frimpong Manso of Sparrow Productions. I discovered her films the other day and I was super inspired! Sigh. I need someone to bring back Adam's Apples chapters 1-10 from Ghana for me or better yet for them to open up their e-commerce site so I can satisfy my cravings. (Can I mention that the Ghanian actors are seriously fine and am not talking about the usual Van  Vicker peeps.) I love love love the interior design and I love love love the way they showcased African textiles, there was one outfit like this in chapter 1 that I loved so much that I actua...

the guest bedroom at last. I am still trying to get the hang of this panorama biz. The second one came out all jacked up. Maybe the way I was standing, I don't know. But the door and lamp are all jacked up. Anyway, you can use the arrows to pan through the shots. Meanwhile, I will keep working on this until I get it. Breakdown.  Inspiration My inspiration was a mirrored cabinet that I saw in Marshall's one day.  But the price tag of $140 was prohibitive so I put it out of my mind. Then I went to Goodwill one day and found two nightstands and a headboard for $99, of course I have no before pictures because my immediate thought was BUY NOW. My second thought was, we are painting this white because black is not it.  Some time later, I also found this for $60: Have blogged about it many times , but I had a vision of it all done up in white in my guest room as a TV stand etc. I studied before i embarked on the journey. I read centsational girl, young hous...