Vannessa Amadi is the CEO of VA-PR who represents the likes of Genevieve Nnaji, Estelle, D’Banj, Ne-yo, Eve and the Sugababes. She got engaged back in March 2013 and just got married to her longtime boyfriend, Oki at their traditional wedding in Enugu. The event was attended by entertainment insiders including Toolz and Colette Otusheso.
Last week, Saturday, I tied the knot with my heartthrob. I got married to the most exciting and wonderful woman in the world after two years of friendship and about a year of courtship. In my last post, here, I wrote about Miss Lily Cooper (Okpapi actually) and how deeply I love and cherish her. This time, I’ll share a medley of thoughts on what I’ve been learning through this most challenging season of our lives.
My wife and I tend to be countercultural in many ways, but this wedding has proved that these kinds of ideals have very few converts. Honestly, getting married in Naija is a lot of work. (I must state at this point, with a gun to my head, that Lily has the franchise on all the suffering and weight loss from the wedding planning). At the beginning, against better reason, Lily and I jettisoned the idea of an intimate wedding after we tried to come up with a guest list. We did our best to avoid the Aso-ebi trap, but lo, the Parents had great plans for the wedding too. We also felt that a bridal train spending so much on expensive gowns that would never be reused would be a waste. In exchange, we got quite an earful from the conservatives
There is a plaguing cultural undertone that sees marriage as the end all and be all. Definitely, marriage is a good thing, but not the ultimate. Beyond the memorable wedding this turned out to be, I want to enjoy the best married life I can have. Truly, most times I am super excited and happy about the life ahead with Miss Cooper; sometimes a tad anxious about whether I’m really prepared enough to handle this next phase where so many men have fallen.
Love is a beautiful thing, but it can come with thorns occasionally. I’m tempted to reiterate here that love is not enough after all, most couples who got divorced must have loved each other like Miss Cooper and I do. We all hear too often that it takes more than love to keep a marriage together and make it work. To this I can only echo the prayer of Mother Theresa, “God doesn’t give us more than we can bear, but I wish he wouldn’t trust me so much.” I believe we choose the kind of marriage we want, when we make that resolve, providence is mobilized in the form of God’s grace that is sufficiently deposited to strengthen that resolve.
When all the bliss of the wedding becomes a portrait on the wall, the gifts are unwrapped and then fantasy becomes fact, what will keep me coming back? I understood when some person said “getting married is a good thing; it’s the ordeal of living together that brings all the troubles and heartaches” yet without a doubt, there are benefits in marriage, in fact in the last weeks I have seen a little bit of it. You know that three lettered word, the very best part; you get to do it whenever.
My house has also gone through some kind of feminine makeover-a distinct touch in every space. But the adjustment takes time and effort. New rules apply; you need permission to keep late nights with your friends. You don’t spend your money the way you like; you would have some explaining to do afterwards. You would be forced to eat, even when you don’t feel like it. Some of this can be incredibly difficult. It can drain all the butterflies in your belly. I believe it’s a different kind of love we need at this point. Like Maya Angelou said it is that kind of love recognizes no barrier, it jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at a destination full of hope.”
I want to adopt this kind of love. Hollywood has not helped much in this regard; every romantic movie ends with finding true love and living happily ever after. What they don’t tell us is that the Prince and Princess lowered their expectations and live happily ever after and that is one out of every ten. I know Lily won’t always make me happy, she would do things that will simply be over my head and vice versa but my duty is to love irrespective of how I feel. Like they say, in the end, it is not what you feel but what you decide to do with your feelings.
While it is on the basis of love that marriage is consummated, it is on the altar of humility, commitment, sacrifice, patience, forgiveness, trust and hope that it will survive. Most of the things on this list, we struggle with but we have very little choice in this matter. These things reinvent love and keep the flames alive. Marriage never works until one person decides to love the other no matter what.
The biggest success in every marriage is forgiveness and by it we become masters of our fate. An Arabian wise man once told me to “Take all the blunders in one fist and blow them all away.” Let the wind take them away.
I have to be thoughtful in my new role as a husband. To her I owe unconditional love, to her dream I owe support; to her friends and family I owe acceptance. I should nurture her to be self-confident in every way and to bloom in my garden. She has to be Proverbs 31 woman, a woman of virtue and favour. I need to earn her trust and confidence in trusting my decision making process. I will protect my marriage from even my straying eyes. I must give my kids the opportunity to enjoy the sanctity of a stable home because when the chips are down, the blinds are down and you are all alone, family will always be there.
This is the task I have before me now I have said “I do.”
Ever had that feeling of complete shock whenever you drop your eye shadow palette? Your heart seizes and even though you are trying to keep your calm, you keep muttering “Please no, please no, please no!“I have had one too many of those and frankly I am tired of having to clean the spill over and over. So how do we avoid that temporary moment of shock? You can’t. You can only learn to live with it, and the only way to live with it and still have a regular blood pressure is to know how to prevent and remedy the problem.
From eye shadows to broken mirrors, ladies go through a lot to keep our make up items intact. So, how can we do this better?
Follow these simple tips that you can incorporate in your daily make up routine to make it easier.
Broken Mirrors or Eye Shadow Palettes
To avoid broken mirrors, eye shadow palettes e.t.c, place a flat slab of cotton wool in the palette case and close it tight. The cotton wool pressing against the eye shadow would act as a cushion for impact (think of it as a DIY Styrofoam). So even if it falls, your eye shadow will still remain intact.
Shattered Eye Shadow
If your eye shadow falls and breaks, no worries there is a solution. Smash what is left of the eye shadow until you get a fine powder. After, put a few drops of rubbing alcohol in the eye shadow and use a spoon to mash together until it turns to a paste. After you get your paste, level the eye shadow in its original palette. Clean off any spills or excess residue and let the rest dry. To get a more compact look, place a coin in a handkerchief, enclose the coin and twist shut. Then, use the coin as a stamp or press to level the eye shadow in.
When the eye shadow dries, your palette will look as good as new.
Ruined Make Up Brush Bristles
If your make up brush bristles get scattered you can fix them by simply washing them. Sometimes when you leave dirt on your make up brush for too long, the dirt could begin to affect the bristles. Also, the method of cleaning them could be a problem. Do not rub your make up brushes dry, instead lay them on a lint free towel and let them air dry.
Letting your make up brush dry standing up right (with the bristles facing up) could be damaging your brush as well. You don’t want water to seep into the brush handle and ruin it.
Broken Lipstick
So you have decapitated your lipstick? No worries you can fix it. Simply use a blow drier or lit match stick to melt both halves of the lipstick. After you have melted them, place the part that broke off in the container and twist the lipstick back in. The last step is to place it in the freezer to harden.
Greasy/ Dirty Make Up Compacts or Make Up Packs
Have you got grimy or dirty cases and compacts? That one is sort of on you. As you make up and grab different tools out of your bag, you fingers come in contact with various powders and oils which at the end of the day ends up on the packs you hold. A quick solution to this is to get a pack of wipes and clean your make up packs and compacts. This way all your make up tools look neat.
Wrong Make Up Bag Size
Undersized make up bags are another major problem ladies face. It’s either too small or it’s too big. Instead of battling these problems, you can get a compact bag to keep all your make up items. These compact bags have different pockets and sections allocated to your make up brushes, powders, eye pencils etc. Just make sure to get it in an average size so you do not run into the same problem.
Dry Mascara
There are times when we have dry mascara and it’s not because it’s old. It could be that you didn’t close it properly, air entered and dried it out. Whichever way, there is a solution to getting that dry mascara as good as new. Adding a few drops of saline solution to your mascara would dissolve any clump and make it smoother. Saline solution is similar to salt water but isn’t as harsh and is the substance placed in contact lens packs. You can find it in a pharmacy, usually in the form of eye drops for sensitive eyes.
Also remember, to keep air out of your mascara tubes, twist them as you put the mascara spool back.
Stinky Lip Gloss
This problem occurs mainly with lip glosses that have an applicator. When you use the applicator on your lip and place it back, it is very possible that you are transferring saliva into the tube of gloss. The mixture plus the fact that it’s in an enclosed space may cause it to start smelling. When you use the gloss, wipe it after each swipe on your lip. This way you are more preventive.
In other cases it could be that the gloss has been on the shelf for too long and you just happened to buy it. It has outlived its shelf life and now is no longer good for use. If this is the case please stop using the gloss, it could start other issues like infections etc.
Exploding Make Up Items
If you have to clean your make up bag every day because the items keep spilling, you may want to consider a bigger bag. Majority of the products we buy are sealed in different containers. When pressure, like that from a tightly sealed bag is applied, the contents of the make up item would need a source of relief therefore ripping its case and spilling. A bigger bag would give your make up items more breathing space and let you enjoy using them.
Keep those beauty coming.!
Bride: Xenia Brown – Marketing Specialist
Groom: Sheldon Garrett – Health Care Analyst
The exciting thing about falling in love with a friend is sharing all the things that you have in common and creating a deeper bond with each other. Xenia and Sheldon’s love for music brought them together. For their beautiful e-session, they wanted to showcase their love for each other and their love for music and fashion. They included their favorite albums, favorite dessert – fruit tarts from La Madeline, and their guilty pleasures – Sour Patch Kids and Haribo Gummy Bears.
How They Met
“Sheldon and I met during our undergraduate studies at Louisiana State University (Geaux Tigers!). We were first introduced through mutual friends during the Fall of 2006. Of course, with our mutual friends we would see each other around occasionally, but there were never any eventful interactions. It would turn out to be the late spring and summer of 2007 before any rumblings of romance would be heard. With our endless list of similarities serving as our muse, we began our love affair and have never looked back. Our love for music is something that first brought us together. We enjoy traveling and attending concerts and music festivals together. We knew music had to be a part of our engagement shoot in some way.”
The Proposal
“Sheldon proposed on Easter Sunday in 2012 while his parents were in town for the weekend from Shreveport. I invited them to spend Easter with my family in New Orleans. Little did I know, the surprise engagement was the main reason they came into town. Our families spent other holidays together so it never crossed my mind that this would be “The Day”! Sheldon had been hinting for a while that he would propose around my graduation from my Master of Business Administration program, which at the time was only one month away. After 5 long years, I finally began to suspect that it would happen then. However, I soon realized he was just throwing me off all along!”
Nigeria Info OAP Matse Uwatse just got wed to her long-time fiancee Ekemelu Bertram Nnoli on Saturday, 13th July, 2013. The wedding ceremony was hosted by popular OAPs Freeze and Kaylah and saw a lot of celebrity guests in attendance.
We wish them a HML.!!!
Bride: Angela Njoku
Groom: IK Odezulu
Wedding Location: Signature Manor, Sugarland, TX
From the Bride
Proposal
We both travelled from different states to Detroit, Michigan to attend the end of year watch night service (Dec 31st 2012) and also to see my Spiritual Father and Pastor. There, he arranged with my sister and some friends and took us all to a nice restaurant for dinner. When it was time for desert, the waitress came out with some cheesecake with strawberries and the wordings in strawberry syrup – “Will You Marry Me?” Then he got on his one knee and popped the most beautiful ring. After I said, “Yes“, he cried.
Planning
I live in St Louis and worked up to a week before the wedding. It was mad planning at first but I had a fabulous wedding planner, A Conceal Affair, she helped pull it through – it was beautiful and care free in the end.
Wedding Details
We were brought in by a white Cinderella carriage with 2 royal white horses which also took us out. People were taking pictures of us, greeting and waving to us when we passed by their homes.
The wedding guests were ecstatic!
This same carriage that was the theme of our wedding invitation and place cards. A monogram of the carriage was also created on the dance floor amidst the pink and champagne LED light in the reception hall. Wedding favors were M&M’s with our picture placed in paper carriages with the same theme colors.
There was ice cream from Marble Slab to keep the sugar fans happy. There was child care for the little ones and they had fun with all the 8 flavors and 8 toppings available.
Our MC, Comedian Wamilele from California, one of Nigeria’s funniest kept the crowd laughing. There was not a dull moment, he was awesome!
The cake was a 5-tier masterpiece with 7 flavors in vintage pink of course with floral arrangements to match the rest of the floral arrangements in the room. It was designed by ‘A Conceal Affair’. Great job, Shade of Conceal!
Special Moments
When I danced with my dad at the reception, he got down ‘to the floor’ to the grooves of a Nigerian pop song. I was so surprised, I watched him for a minute before I got dancing.
I had not seen my dad in over 10 years! He lives in Nigeria and I live in the US; I had been so busy with school and work, I had not travelled to Nigeria in over 10 years. Also my mum comes to visit us about twice or three times a year.
Needless to say, the US embassy denied him a visa to come for the wedding the first time he applied, but later granted it after more thorough evaluation. I cried when I first saw him in Houston.
HML……Ik & Angela.
There’s a fine line between setting the stage for a romantic dinner and spending the night feeling as if you’re trapped in a poorly-written romance novel. Whether it’s for a special birthday or just a Saturday night at home, these creative ideas will help you set a relaxed, confident tone for a wonderfully special dinner.
1. Be focused. Turn off the TV, unplug the phone and the pager and the cell phone…You get the idea!
2. Be light-hearted. Candles can transform the simplest meal into an occasion (not to mention, cast a flattering light on your profile!). Beeswax and scented candles compliment the love that’s already in the air, but avoid heavily scented candles that could battle with the subtler aromas of the evening’s food, flowers and fragrances.
3. Be jazzy. Select music that helps to set the mood, but doesn’t distract or overpower your conversation. Pre-select your music for the evening to avoid interruptions. Choose your favorites, or fill the CD player with these timeless classics and hit “shuffle:”
Chet Baker: Let’s Get Lost
John Coltrane: John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman
Astor Piazzolla: Tango Zero Hour
Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto: Getz/Gilberto
Billie Holiday: The Original Authentic Recordings
4. Be bubbly. Nothing says “romantic occasion” more than the sound of a cork popping from a champagne bottle. There is a non-vintage Californian or French sparkling wine to fit the budget of each and every sentimental fool. Serve it well chilled. If you don’t have an ice bucket, show a little unconventional flair by using an empty four-quart tin of canned tomatoes, or even an empty paint can.
5. Be floral. Scatter a path of rose petals leading from the door to the dinner table. To create a “scent-surround,” buy a bunch of tuberoses or lilies and place one or two stems per vase in various locations around the house.
6. Be light-handed. Serve sensuous food, not sensational portions. Nothing shuts down a romantic evening faster than that bloated I-can’t-move feeling.
7. Be blind (like love itself). After dinner, blindfold and feed your companion morsels of seductive delicacies – one bite at a time. Try peeled grapes, mango, kiwi, sorbet, chocolate truffles, etc. Alternate temperature and texture, and arrange the morsels in natural pairings. For example, serve a peeled slice of pear followed by a nugget of Stilton cheese, then a spoonful of port.
8. Be sweet & intoxicating. Cap off dessert with chocolate martinis and deliver together with a few from your own lips!
have a lovely dinner !!!
Your table is the focus of any party where food is served. Depending on the occasion, the tableware and seating plan can be as important as the food you serve.
General rules of thumb for setting a table may include the same instructions when you were asked to set the table as a child: “…. fork on the left, knife on the right!” (with the blade facing inward toward the plate.)
For formal dinners, the rules remain the same, but get a bit more involved. These include where to place the water and wine glasses, the bread plate and butter knife and, later when it’s time for dessert …. where does the coffee cup go?
Perhaps even more puzzling, who invented all these rules?
Historians point to the Middle Ages, when members of the royal court finally stopped eating with their hands and fingers to use forks and knives as they feasted. Although different cultures have evolved different customs, this particular setting is now considered the universal way for treating your guests like royalty:
NOTE: Always observe an additional nicety by making sure that the dinner plate is set at least two inches away from the edge of the table. This is so that if any spillage occurs from the plate, it lands on the table – and not in the guests lap!
While ultra-proper table setting isn’t for everyday family meals, it’s nice to know the rules when having family, friends or important guests to town for special celebrations like wedding receptions, Thanksgiving dinner or the Christmas holidays.
Join us again.!!
look good.
hmm
sounds nice.
looks nice
SUMMARY:
The vulnerability could allow data theft or the hijacking of a handset, it affects almost all Android devices, and it’s up to the manufacturer to push out a fix.
You may have seen reports out there about a serious flaw affecting almost all Android handsets. But, assuming you’re packing one of said devices, how worried should you be?
If you’re in a hurry, here’s the short answer: quite worried, especially if you have an older Android phone. If you have time for the explanation, here it is.
Who announced this flaw?
That would be Bluebox Security, a new mobile security startup that’s supposedly in stealth mode.
This isn’t just a publicity stunt, is it?
Probably not. Bluebox’s CTO is a chap called Jeff Forristal, who’s been involved the security scene for a decade or so. And this does appear to be a serious vulnerability – it affects any Android phone released in the last 4 years, which is around 99 percent of them.
So what does this vulnerability allow?
The flaw lies in the way Android app packages – APK files – are verified as secure. It allows the code of these files to be altered in secret. If the app in question comes from the device manufacturer or a trusted partner, it will probably come with privileged access to the device. This raises the possibility of “Trojan” apps that can gain full access to the Android system and to other apps.
This means such Trojans could steal information or take over aspects of the device, or even make the handset part of a wider botnet without the user knowing about it.
Sounds bad. What’s being done about it?
In line with good security research procedures, Bluebox quietly disclosed the flaw to Google back in February. It’s listed as Android security bug 8219321. So Google, which is not openly commenting on Bluebox’s public disclosure, has had at least 4 months to get the word out to Android device manufacturers, who are the ones that are now expected to release firmware updates to fix the vulnerability.
Bluebox will also release proofs-of-concept of its exploit, for each device vendor, at the upcoming Blackhat USA 2013 security conference. According to Computerworld, Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S4 has already been patched, so it is likely that manufacturers have quietly sprung into action.
Phew. So why the worry about older phones?
One of Android’s traditional problems is that many older devices don’t see updates anymore – the evolution of the operating system and the underlying hardware since the Froyo or Gingerbread versions, for example, has been so great that the manufacturers would rather you just buy a newer device.
This situation is changing – the evolution of phone processors is likely to hit a plateau after the leap to quad-core, and the next version of Android, Key Lime Pie, will reportedly cater for low-spec phones, so that older and cheaper devices are covered. However, it’s still down to the manufacturer to make sure the devices it sold 2 or 3 years back get patched.
Anything the user can do in the meantime?
The usual, really – be careful of where you download your apps from. Although Bluebox’s post suggests even the Play Store can be fooled by exploits of this flaw, it’s possible that Google’s beady eye is more observant than those who run third-party app stores. It may or may not be coincidental that Google banned Play Store apps from updating outside the Play Store update mechanisms a couple of months after Bluebox told it about the vulnerability.
Nigeria Info OAP Matse Uwatse will marry Ekemelu Bertram Nnoli sometime this month. More photos from their pre-wedding holiday in the “middle of nowhere”
We wish them the best of Life.!
Never underestimate your Clients’ Complaint, no matter how funny it might seem!
This is a real story that happened between the customer of General Motors and its Customer-Care Executive. Please read on…..
A complaint was received by the Pontiac Division of General Motors:
‘This is the second time I have written to you, and I don’t blame you for not answering me, because I sounded crazy, but it is a fact that we have a tradition in our family of Ice-Cream for dessert after dinner each night, but the kind of ice cream varies so, every night, after we’ve eaten, the whole family votes on which kind of ice cream we should have and I drive down to the store to get it. It’s also a fact that I recently purchased a new Pontiac and since then my trips to the store have created a problem….
You see, every time I buy a vanilla ice-cream, when I start back from the store my car won’t start. If I get any other kind of ice cream, the car starts just fine. I want you to know I’m serious about this question, no matter how silly it sounds “What is there about a Pontiac that makes it not start when I get vanilla ice cream, and easy to start whenever I get any other kind?” The Pontiac President was understandably skeptical about the letter, but sent an Engineer to check it out anyway.
The latter was surprised to be greeted by a successful, obviously well educated man in a fine neighborhood. He had arranged to meet the man just after dinner time, so the two hopped into the car and drove to the ice cream store. It was vanilla ice cream that night and, sure enough, after they came back to the car, it wouldn’t start.
The Engineer returned for three more nights. The first night, they got chocolate. The car started. The second night, he got strawberry. The car started. The third night he ordered vanilla. The car failed to start.
Now the engineer, being a logical man, refused to believe that this man’s car was allergic to vanilla ice cream. He arranged, therefore, to continue his visits for as long as it took to solve the problem. And toward this end he began to take notes: He jotted down all sorts of data: time of day, type of gas uses, time to drive back and forth etc.
In a short time, he had a clue: the man took less time to buy vanilla than any other flavor. Why? The answer was in the layout of the store. Vanilla, being the most popular flavor, was in a separate case at the front of the store for quick pickup. All the other flavors were kept in the back of the store at a different counter where it took considerably longer to check out the flavor.
Now, the question for the Engineer was why the car wouldn’t start when it took less time. Eureka – Time was now the problem – not the vanilla ice cream!!!! The engineer quickly came up with the answer: “vapor lock”.
It was happening every night; but the extra time taken to get the other flavors allowed the engine to cool down sufficiently to start. When the man got vanilla, the engine was still too hot for the vapor lock to dissipate.
Even crazy looking problems are sometimes real and all problems seem to be simple only when we find the solution, with cool thinking.
One of the best voices on radio in Abuja, Hot FM presenter Amaka ‘Fresssh’ Udeh, got married last Friday June 28th in Enugu. She married Victor Chukwuemeka Onyeagoro aka DonVic of Lambada Entertainment. More photos from their traditional wedding.
We wish them the best of Happy Married life.!!!
“It’s a wedding day, it’s a wedding day,” as the classic Brenda Fassie hit goes but how did HaCleo and Oneaza do it?
Hakeem and Cleo have been fondly referred to as Hacleo while Feza and Oneal have been continually called Oneaza by fans across Africa because of the affection these couples have expressed towards each other in The Chase.
Could their love be written in the stars though considering that both couples will be getting married for this week’s Task after a wholly random selection?
Well, word is that Beverly is the one that had the yellow bow tie but quickly swapped with Cleo upon seeing that Hakeem has the yellow ring – sneaky! Wonder if Hakeem knows this.
After realizing that she had picked a red bow tie and her man Oneal had a red ring, Feza screamed; “It’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.”
Well, Big Brother Africa has seen some real couples developing in the House and eventually getting married. Remember Big Brother Season 4 winner Kevin and his Tanzanian babe Elizabeth? The two met in the House and are happily married today.
In Big Brother All Stars we saw Namibia’s Meryl and Tanzania’s Mwisho taking vows live in the House before the whole of Africa. The couple’s relationship continued beyond the House.
In the same Season, All Stars winner Uti from Nigeria and Kenya’s Sheila aka Shuti had a special connection in the House but didn’t want to jinx it so they waited until they were out of the game to announce that they were together.
It looks like Evicted couple Koketso and LK4 are still going strong too after being booted out of The Chase together and maybe there’s a future for Bolt and Betty as well as the Ethiopian lass was determined to wait for her man. Now that they are both out there, we wonder if they have made contact.
Today we see Hacleo and Oneaza swimming against the tide to make their relationships work in The Chase. This being a fast paced game, there have been ups and downs in their journey but this being a week of all things merry, will they realize the need to seal their love for good?
Are this week’s weddings simply a coincidence or fate?
sounds interesting, a new thing on the horizon
Remember OpenCoin’s Ripple, the distributed currency exchange that’s trying to court the Bitcoin crowd? Well, the Google(s goog)-backed venture is stepping up that mission with a new feature called Bitcoin Bridge, which makes it easier to pay people using the crypto-currency.
Bitcoin Bridge, announced on Tuesday at Bitcoin London, makes it possible to pay any Bitcoin user straight from the Ripple client, with money going in as traditional currency and coming out as Bitcoin. According to Chris Larsen, CEO of OpenCoin, it serves as a “powerful demonstration” of what Ripple can do:
“Now, anyone can send Bitcoins without having to use a central exchange. At the same time, any merchant accepting Bitcoins now has the potential to accept any currency in the world.”
It’s quite simple to use: enter a Bitcoin address and choose how much you want to send and in which currency. The conversion takes place fee-free…
View original post 103 more words
One family's adventures with America's forgotten dogs.
the story of a human being unfolding
We live to write and write to live ... professional writers talk about the craft and business of writing
A Canteen of World Travellers Baking Stories
** OFFICIAL Site of Artist Ray Ferrer **
REAL ESTATE CONSULTANTS PATNA
Easy. Time Saving. Covenient. OmoAlata!
Showing America how to Live
Movies, thoughts, thoughts about movies.
SavyTrendy 