A wonderful 2013...a beautiful 2014 to come

Hello guys,
I know I have been pretty inconsistent with my updates and all, but we'll get over that ish. Seeing as the year is coming to an end, all should be forgiven, right??

So the year is almost over. I'm really grateful to God for every single thing He has done in my life. I dont say that often, and sometimes, my life looks bleak and pointless, and I'm often clueless about the direction my life is going. But I have no fears because 'His eye is on the sparrow...' 2013 was generally a wonderful year, at least I have all my family still alive and my aged, energetic grandma still kickin' it at 90-something years...

This post is really about gratitude. Most times when I get overwhelmed with gratitude, I don't really have much to say. I've spent almost the whole Christmas season in Lagos so I can't wait to go back to my very humble village, my true roots, to sit down and chill with my extended family and my grandparents' graves. I'm weird like that. In my mind, grandpa Sylvester is very much alive, soaking in the fresh air that always comes with the numerous fruit trees in the compound, taking in whiffs of his tobacco pipe and looking at all the children. I don't really remember grandma Veronica that much, so I don't think about her that often. I swear, village brings out a completely different side to me. I always go back to being a child, running around barefoot, licking sycamore all the time with its juice dripping down my fingers. It just reminds me of how simple and basic it all really is....

Anyway, here's wishing everyone a wonderful 2014. May the new year bring forth goodness, God's mercy, blessings, and so much joy, and may all we ever do be prosperous and new...

Have a wonderful 2013....and a beautiful 2014 to come

Xx, Yol

Hymnal...

Don't you just love hymns?? One of the benefits of attending a traditional church is the ancient hymns that are guranteed to put you in a great spirit. On Sundays after church, my dad would always whistle a great hymn he could never get out of his mind from his secondary school days. Very beautiful tune I was sure I had heard somewhere but couldn't remember the name. Two weeks ago after Mass in my church here in Lagos, the choir sang thesame hymn. Like they knew I was missing my dad. Being the extremely emotional person I am (its so hard being me *le sigh*) I broke down in tears. Its soo not easy living away from my family and everybody I hold so dear. :(

Anyway, the name of the hymn is 'O God our help in ages past' Very beautiful melody.

Lyrics:

Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.

Under the shadow of Thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure.

Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
To endless years the same.

Thy Word commands our flesh to dust,
“Return, ye sons of men:”
All nations rose from earth at first,
And turn to earth again.

A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.

The busy tribes of flesh and blood,
With all their lives and cares,
Are carried downwards by the flood,
And lost in following years.

Time, like an ever rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.

Like flowery fields the nations stand
Pleased with the morning light;
The flowers beneath the mower’s hand
Lie withering ere ‘tis night.

Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our guard while troubles last,
And our eternal home.

Have a wonderful weekend,
Xx Yol

Beauty talk

First of all, I'm very sorry for abandoning this blog *dodges slap* no wait! *dodges shoes* really I am sorry *dodges guns* Abeg na!!!

Anyways, I am really sorry. Work has really been a female dog this period, with the yule season almost here and all. I quickly want to post what I've been loving recently.

I know I'm not the only one who dreads getting a new foundation just because of the hassles involved. I've gotten so many wrong shades so many times, just because I was wrongly matched at a store or those days when I newly started wearing foundation in Uni. I seriously detest it, coupled with the fact that getting a wrong shade is always a huge loss, as its always difficult trying to sell it off.. I've pretty much stuck to MAC studio fix fluid because I can never go wrong with it. Aint gonna fix what's not broken. But recently I've been itching for a change because MAC SFF isnt as longwear as I would love, and my skin is so darn oily. So I've been doing extensive online research (hey google!) looking for a replacement that is as good. I came across this awesome shade finder site and I decided to share!
findation.com is a site that helps you find your exact shade of foundation using an already known shade. For example, if you already know that your foundation shade is Mary Kay bronze 507, you enter it into the finder and it brings out numerous brands of foundation with shades that match the bronze 507 foundation. I think this is very helpful. Especially in Nigeria where retail stores will NEVER give you samples. Since I have been looking for foundations that are great for oily skin in my MAC NC 50 shade. this site overwhelmed me with options. But I'm going to get Revlon colourstay foundation in Caramel and Capuccino as Ive heard nothing but positive reviews about this foundation. I'm mainly getting it because its supposed to be great for oily skin.

So I finally gave in and purchased a bottle of magnesium trisilicate (mixed mag). Youtube beauty gurus always rave about this stuff as a powerful mattifying primer. Since my face produces so much oil which can be used to cook soup, I decided to give it a try. I'm still testing it to see if it helps. I think its holding up quite well.

In other non- beauty related news, please continue to pray for Nigeria. The recent Boko Haram attck in Bornu State is nothing short of sad. Everyday I live in fear because of what this country is turning into. May God Almighty protect, guard and guide all the innocent people who are placed in the cross-hairs of these evil people.

Have an awesome day,
Xx, Yol

New beauty loves..

Hello beautiful people,

 Happy new week! This morning kinda sucked because it was rainy and everywhere was messed up. Good thing the sun is out now. Yaaay for sunny monday mornings!

CCM

Hey guys,

I was reading somewhere about the benefits of keeping a hair regimen simple. Most times, it all boils down to finding what works and sticking to it. I think this is a very important concept, as most times we do so many uneccessary things, or things I think can be completely skipped when it comes to hair care.

Music and me

For as long as I can remember, music has been an integral part of my whole existence. The power music has on me is something I'm yet to understand. Sometimes, I feel there's a life force behind most songs I listen to. Usually, it scares me- yes, its that deep.

Deep conditioning with Yogurt

Hello guys,

Yea I'll say it again. Sorry I ran *dazzall*
Yesterday absolutely sucked! Even my landlord dragged out his huge speakers and had mad fun and instead of going up to join in the celebrations, I had to go and get my very irregular bout of emotional torrential outpour (I don't know if that's even correct). I holed up in my room all day, ate leftover fried rice and cried as I watched Its complicated and Madagascar. Yea I'm extremely weird like that.

Confessions of a Workaholic July 30-31, 2013 | Naptural85 Vlog

I love Olivia. That's all

Youtube Crush: DearNaptural

Hi folks,

Ok so I'm tired of actually apologising for the dearth of posts lately. Please if you love me, pray for this my current bout of blogger's block to leave me the heck alone.

Boring blog

Hi guys,

I swear it wasnt my intention to bore you guys out with no posts. I'm really sorry. A few friends have hit me up and threatened to never open this blog if I dont post something this week. Here's me saying I'm sorry. No, really I am.

Wondering....

So...

It haff reach to ask o...

Where do all these fashion bloggers get money for all the expensive ish they wear all the time?

I swear some of them I follow have closets that look like Kimora's

Isnt it thesame Las Gidi? Or is there another?

Folks like me are hustling to make ends meet, and some people come on the interweb, and post guccis, louboutins, guiseppe zanottis, ferragamos, pradas, micheal kors and other expensive ish? Makes a girl wonder....

Hey, I aint hating on anyone's hustle o, I'm just wondering out loud.

Oh well....

Happy sallah to everybody. I love the fact that it's going to be a very long weekend and I just cant wait.

Ps: sorry I've been away for so long...
Pps: Sorry again there are no pictures with this post. Just decided to drop in real quick.

Xx, Yol

The pain.....the sadness

What do you do when life seems bleak?

Nothing goes right, there's just so much to do,

It feels as though you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders

And everything you touch seems to fall apart.

So much on my mind, so much in my head

I guess this is why this headache wont just let me be,

Bloodshot eyes, the order of the day,

Sleep constantly eludes me.

I wake up every minute, along with my sweat filled palm

In the middle of the night

Cranky muscles, flaky scalp

The pain, the sore all over my mind.

Pulling my hair never helped the brunt.

But it seems to be all I can do

Little ones never understand how much pain the world really is,

Trying to patch up the broken shards

So that my parents can have some peace,

And know the blessing they truly deserve.

Miss birthday

Good morning folks,

To say I had an awesome day yesterday is an understatement.

I'm so blessed to see another complete revolution. It was overwhelming the amount of love I received yesterday. And equally crazy.

The month of the crab....

Hello beautiful people,

Happy new freakin' month!!!

I'm all kinds of excited this monday morning, even with the cold and messed up weather. Because I'm a thug like that :) Its my birth month, the month of awesomeness and the month of rainy showers. I'm actually too excited I can't really type. Hehehehe.

there's a reason our birth sign is 69. *coughs* dazall

My birthday is on the 16th. Please refer to my Birthday wishlist for all the awesome stuff you are free to get me. Lol. I was born on a rainy tuesday night at 7.45pm. Came out looking very pale and a massive head I later grew into. I still think its too big shaa (peep the homo habilis and kenyapithecus skulls) looool.

I'm a typical crab. 

Little me fact: This here chic has eyes that change in shape at random. Lol. I also talk with a lisp :)

Anyways, Here's wishing y'all a wonderful prosperous new month. May the blessings that come with the constant showers that July brings with it be your song.

Yol

Hair banter

Hello beautiful people,

As much as it felt good to disapear from my blog for some time, it feels good to put something down. I,ve been neck deep in some very personal matters, and I needed all my energy in it.

New obsession: knuckle rings

Hello guys,

Happy new week. Normally I would rant about how much I hate Mondays, but I'm a power puff girl. I should live through it :)

RiRi wahala??

Hi Hi,

So apparently MAC wont be releasing the second edition of RiRi loves MAC collection.
I'm so pained!

Nappiversary coming up!!

Hey guys,
I can't even believe this. Its going to be a year I shaved my head on the 26th of this month. Let the church say Amen!!!

Happy birthday Lovebear!

Many  years ago, I was a wee thing, both at mind and in body. Naive and clueless regarding love matters, I swore I was only going to love me and only me. The only other people I loved as much as myself were my family. Not even friends!

Birthday wish list :)

Hello guys,

June is almost here! Wooow! I love June because some of my favorite people were born in this month. Plus its the month before my birthday. *doing the chicken dance*

Lagos Na waa and lippie luv

How is everyone o? Its really been long I put up a post, but I did not forget my blog I swear. I've had an eventful past three weeks. Eventful doesn't even begin to describe what I've been through since then.

Village weekend and other stories

Hello beautiful people,
I hope you guys had a lovely May day. I wish it was 2 days straight *tears* I slept throughout yesterday, and the rain did not even help matters. So everything I planned to do yesterday just didn't happen. SMH!

Questions existing....(marriage semi-rant)

Hi guys,

I came across an article on one of the popular gossip blogs (I'm addicted to them btw), and the lady in question was asking if its normal for a married couple to not have sex for a year. Trust Nigerians, everyone had his/her own opinion about the issue, and they all made for an interesting read. But that article got me thinking. If most marriages have huge cracks in them, why do people rush into such bondage?

Picanto obsession

I just cant stop drooling. Isn't this the most wonderful car you've ever seen?

Love lessons

I got this from a blog I'm recently loving. I don't know if its a true story or not. Please read and dont forget to check out other lovely posts on  efemenaoreoluwa.blogspot.com

Diet update and other stories

Hi guys,
You will not believe it took me all of five minutes to think of a title for this post. And after that, this lame title was all I could come up with. Please bear with me. I need to clear the cobwebs from my brain. The only ish I've been thinking of lately is house decor stuff. And that's not sexy *side eye*

The slowest loser....

Hello people,
Nna abeg how una dey? Mehn my stomach wan kill me here. I don't know what I ate o, I'm shaa getting better. I hope you guys had a wonderful Easter. I know I did. :) I saw my family *huggies*, pigged out on rice *tears*, crashed my memory card *more tears*, and cruised with Dad, Kay and Chump. Beautiful times....

Totally Random ish

Hey folks,
I hope everyone is fine and all. Its been long I put up a post here. I don't even know why. Is there anything like blogger's block? Maybe that's my problem. Anyway, this is my last post for this month :). This post is about nothing in particular, just random ish.

A better place

This is supposed to be a mini post (whatever that means). I listened to 'I was here' by Beyonce for the first time today. Picture this- alone in the office, the break of dawn and birds chirping. The mood was indeed for reflection. So as usual, I was browsing through videos on you tube and I stumbled upon this. Almost instantly I started bawling. I don't know if I've ever heard a more emotional song in my life (Yolanda, every song makes you cry, you dweeb). Anyway, I cried till I used up my mini tissue pack. Beyonce stuns me, as usual, with this beautiful piece. I'm humbled and at the same time, my resolve to work with charities strengthened. I love King Bey!!!! *Dazz all*

Peace,

Yolanda.

Hair talk (PT 2)

WARNING!!!!!!!!!! ESTROGEN OVERLOAD, AND LONG POST!!!!!!!! OPEN AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Hello folks,
How r u guys? I hope its been a lovely Monday morning. I'm very happy today because its my dad's birthday. I'm so grateful to God for letting him see another year. Every time its my father's birthday, I go all teary and reflect on how wonderful he is as a dad. I hope I marry someone like my dad who will give nothing but his all to his family.

Somewhere in 'the randomness' land.....

So sad my penmanship isn't what it used to be, that it needs practice to return, just as my inactive brain

So sad my country is one that never gets anything right, but as hope feeds the gloomy mind, we will stand with lofty wins.

So sad all day I dream of what will be and what could have been. In dreamland, I weave beauty and sophistication, then I wake up and its all a blur.

Hair talk!!! (Part 1)

Hi guys,

How are y'all? I hope you guys had an amazing weekend. I had a lovely weekend. House hunt was an epic FAIL and we are back to square 1. Its so frustrating looking for a house in Lagos. We've been searching since last year and we haven't found anything yet. Its so hard finding a cute little pad I can swaddle in cute pink stuff :( I'm really hoping for a miracle and keeping my fingers crossed.
Sunday was so much fun, I spent it with the boo and he slept the entire time we were in the cinema, only to wake up when they were showing a love scene. LMAO!!!!!

Boy talk

Hello people.
 TGIF!!! You have no idea how long I've waited for this weekend. I plan to sleeeeepppp and sleeeeep! I just cant wait for that. Then house hunting, which I'm so not looking forward to, and then a date on Sunday (which I'm sooooo looking forward to) lol. I haven't seen le boo in 3 weeks but it feels like ages.

Stuff I'm loving this week

Hello people,
I hope you guys started your day on a good note. I actually woke up very happy until my sister and my crazy bestie decided to spoil it for me. Long story- I don't wanna bore you guys with deets. Anywhoo, I'm working on getting right back on track.

Le workout routine

Hi Guys,

Its a brand new week! Yaaaaay!!! Ok I normally don't like Mondays because I'm bad like that. I know. But for some reason, I'm happy today. I hope nothing and no one spoils my day today. I hope its the same for you too.

Shameless money saving tips :)

Hi Guys,

So I'm back! how cool is that? This time I want to help you save. Yes I know I'm a saint. But in this tough economic climate (I've been hearing this expression since I was a kid. There's never money) we all need to cut costs here and there. It's true we all have needs but there are always cheaper options for, well... almost everything. Anyway, enough of the babble, let's get started.

Sarcasm: soup style

I t takes a pure genius to perfect the art of whipping up traditional delicacies, most especially  different soups. All the mixing, spicing, boiling and serving require such accuracy and precision unknown to ordinary people, which only geniuses (such as myself) have mastered.

Welcome Miss :)

Hello world,
I've been wanting to create my own blog for a very long time. So.....yaaaaay!!!!!!!!!! I finally summoned enough courage to do it. There are some days I have so much in me and I just want to share but there's no outlet to. I suck at keeping diaries so I cant do that. I figured this would be more fun than a traditional diary. I hope this keeps anyone who will read entertained.

Generally I will always talk about:
Natural hair (I shaved my head last June :) Thankfully its growing back nicely.
Makeup ( Sometimes I'm such a blonde)
Fashion (DUH!!)
Romance ( I promise you wont get bored)
Being a geologist trying to make a living,
Trying to lose weight
Life in general, through my eyes.

P.S sometimes I deceive myself and say I'm a poet. So I will occasionally post some stuff here.

Peace, love and hair butter,
Yolanda