Ok so I've been away for longer than I'd like to remember, I had to submit my dissertation and I barely had the time to breathe, much less blog.


The submission date was a mess and a half. I'm normally pretty organised with everything I do, this project was not the same for some funny reason. I ended up submitting 10 minutes to the deadline, with work I am not very proud of. This was because my computer crashed about 3 hours to the deadline and I lost about 3000 words.

3000 words. No joke; and I was already on the lower margin of the acceptable word count.


I must have laughed hysterically for a good 20 minutes before I started crying and boy did I cry. I cried so much my eyes were swollen for the following three days. Mr Lashes even shed a tear or two for me. :-)
Apparently I wasn't coherent at all during the three hours before submission. I'm not sure whether it was from brain freeze or lack of sleep seeing as I had slept a grand total of 8 hours in the preceding 9 days.

I managed to do a lot of cutting and pasting from here and there and previous drafts I had made. Its all in Gods hands now. Um If you don't hear me mention Masters by March, take it I've failed and will be quietly licking my wounds.

So I'm finally able to focus fully on my wedding and we've decided to go with a planner, Mr Lashes is worried about things not being coordinated on the day. I kinda get what he means, on one of my sisters wedding days, one of my other sisters got into a fight with the caterer. Good times.

I'm having 400 450 guests. That's all the hall can take so I'm only printing 200 invitations in the hope that the people I invite will be nice enough not to bring an entourage with them. Lets see how well that works. Call me a cheapskate but I just can't justify spending my hard earned cash ( well my dad and Mr Lashes' hard earned cash) on feeding people I don't know. I know weddings are all about sharing love and joy and things of a similar nature but that can be done without bringing your neighbours children with you to a wedding you're invited to.

The decoration business is killing me, it costs the same as the hall to decorate it. How does that even work? I honestly think I'm in the wrong profession. It probably doesn't help that I am an accountant, its in my blood to save costs. I just can't see how they can carry on making so much money from the same tired looking chair covers, sashes and centrepieces.


In other news, one of my friends is proposing to his fiancée tomorrow. He is so nervous its actually funny to watch. It reminds me of when Mr Lashes proposed. I swear if I didn't know the man better than I do myself, I would have thought he was losing his mind for the 30 seconds before I realised what he was trying to do. He actually discussed the weather with me, yes the weather. At Midnight. On New Years Eve.


I think I'm rambling now so I'll leave y'all. for now.

xxPretty Lashesxx

Dear 14 year old Pretty Lashes.....

• That boy you lust over so crazily will NEVER grow taller than 5'5, he is now into credit card fraud and he never did grow into his ears...
• Your mom was right, the people who laughed are you because of your glasses and the way you dressed were just jealous
• Who knew Purple and Orange will be called colour blocking in 2011?
• Life isn't that complicated; I wish you'd smile more
• Food is not the enemy, its OK to eat more than  700 calories in a day
• Your eyebrows are the business, don't get tweezerman happy.
• Embrace your obsession with Sisqo, it will continue well into your 20's
• You don't look like Brandy, quit with the braids.
• That boobage you're hating on right now will be the envy of alot of girls on a few years.
• You will kiss a few frogs along the way but your prince charming; Mr Lashes is waiting for you.

Lots of Love,

xxPretty Lashesxx

I got the idea for this from Glamour Magazine's December edition. If you could go back in time to tell yourself something, what will it be?

Wedding!!

So its finally here, Mr Lashes and I have decided on a date, well tentatively. We are looking at the 25th of August 2012.

It will be in Nigeria, somewhere on the Island and will have 250 guests (verrryyy small by our family's standards). I was considering getting a wedding planner seeing as I don't have anyone who can run around for me but the cost is ridiculous.

So my darling people, I need help. Any ideas for venues (on the island) and their cost? Where can I get decorators (will it really cost me half a million to decorate a hall???) Drinks Stand? Small Chops? Hostesses? Colour Schemes? Basically everything!

I REALLY need help!!

xx Bridezilla In the Making xx

Versatile Blogger Award

My Wonky finger

The lovely Miss toinlicious very kindly awarded me the Versatile Blogger award.

The rules, are to:

•  Thank the person that gave it to you: Miss Toinlicious, you too much!!!
• 
  
• Give the award to 15 recently discovered blogs: I haven't been doing much discovering lately so please do this if you haven't already done it, its a fab way of getting to know everyone better!
• 
  
• Share 7 things about yourself: 

1. I don't drink coke.EVER: why is it black????
2. I'm incredibly neat, I cannot think in a place where there is mess, I just have to tidy up. Mr Lashes is just as bad as I am, we do 'environmental' twice a month. I sometimes get worried our kids wont live a carefree life, I can seriously picture me threatening my children if they come back from school with messy clothes.
3. My little fingers on both of my hands are never straight, they bend at an awkward angle and whenever they are forced straight, they bounce back straight away.
4. My eyelashes are freakishly long; hence the name Pretty Lashes
5. I have got no recollection of my life before I was 8, all I know is what people have told me and what i see in pictures and videos. I get flashbacks but that's about it. I didn't bump my head or get into accident or anything like that. I just honestly cant remember.
6. I am not looking forward to planning my wedding, I could do without the stress and would rather have a small intimate do. I know this inst going to happen; my mom is involved :-)
7. I've got two tattoos, one of which I regret immensly.

Till next time, my lovely people.;

xxPretty Lashesxx

Sickle Cell Anaemia

September is sickle cell awareness month

I'm aware September is all but over, this is a post I have been planning for a little while but just haven't gotten round to. There have been a few bloggers who have beat me to it so I'm not going to go into the ins and outs of it all.


Miss Ginger invited me to participate  in a survey a little while ago about sickle cell anaemia and its effects on society in general, it made me think long and hard about how people treat people who are 'sicklers'

I have two beautiful friends, both of whom are successful, funny and a joy to be around. One of them has been looking to get married for about 4 years now. She has no problems getting boyfriends, its as soon as they get serious and she presumably has 'the talk' with them, they run a mile. No one wants to be tagged as being married to a 'sickler'.

My question is how DARE them? Who the hell is ANYONE to judge someone else and refuse to be with them as a result of a disorder they have? Tomorrow is promised for NONE of us, the very same guys who are running a mile now could very well contract HIV or terminal cancer in a few years. Would they then feel like they are not worthy of love?


My other friend, I've known since I was 12 years old, she is the smartest, bravest, most beautiful person I have ever met. She used to get so frustrated st Secondary school when people treated her differently because of her health, I remember her always being picked last for sport with me. The only difference is that I didn't actually want to be picked at all (different story for a different day). She is the reason I started giving blood when we moved here at 15. I know there probably next to no chance of my blood being passed on to her but the thought of it helping someone possibly in her shoes is more than enough to keep me coming back

I've also heard the other side of the coin, 'two AS' should not get married, they should not think of having kids as its not fair to the children to feel pain'. I know a couple who where tested and were fine. During further testing when the wife was pregnant, it was discovered that she wasn't in fact AA, she was AS, this put their kid in the 25th percentile of being born with sickle cell anaemia.

 I ask the sickle cell brigade, what should they do? Abort the child who already has fingers and toes, a heartbeat, fully formed organs because it doesn't fit into the norm of what is socially acceptable?

My problem is with the prejudice people have to face everyday over something they have no control over, its simply unacceptable. More emphasis should be placed on the fact that anyone who has this disorder is a person first and should be treated as such.

My name is Pretty Lashes and I'm proud to say that I'm not narrow minded. Can you say the same?


xxPretty Lashesxx




I beg of you all, if anyone is 'AA' and based in the UK, PLEASE GIVE BLOOD, YOU NEVER KNOW WHO'S LIFE YOU MAY BE SAVING.







image source (google)

London Town is on FIRE

As you are all probably aware, this city, amongst others has been victim to rioting and violence since last Thursday.

Mark Duggan was killed on Thursday by police officers. This was what sparked all the trouble. For those who don't know, UK police officers don't carry guns as standard. There is a specially trained force, called CO19 who are called out as at where needed. They don't ride in cards randomly looking for people to shoot. They have to be requested to arrive to a scene where they believe someone is carrying a gun.

Mark was stopped in a cab on the way somewhere by the CO19 officers. A scuffle started and he was fatally shot.

Now I don't know the ins and outs of what happened, what he did and why he was killed but there must have been a reason why he was stopped by CO19. What started out as a PEACEFUL protest on Sunday by his family and friends which has escalated disgustingly.

Absolutely NOTHING good comes out of  having a gun. I don't care why you have it, the fact that you own a weapon that is capable of causing such devastation is enough reason to be questioned and shot if resisting arrest or attempting to shoot at the police..

People are stealing, rioting, stabbing, all in the name of this man who most likely was carrying a gun.

I walked down my road today, through the high street and almost burst into tears at what I saw. There are a lot of small businesses completely gutted. Some have been burned. I spoke to one of the owners who said insurance wouldn't pay out because this is an act of terrorism. She said she didn't know where she was going to start from.

If the youth have a problem with the police, why attack innocent people? Why take their livelihood and their homes away?  Please take a moment out of your day to pray for those people that have to suffer as a result of the death of this man. Its so sad to think that in less than a year, the eyes of the world will be on us. The eyes on the world are on us now, just for all the wrong reasons. 

xxPretty Lashesxx

Update on my friend

So its been three months since things started going badly for my friend in her marriage. He keeps coming and going. He 'loves' her but he has got about 5 women on the go. His lies to them are gangsta. He obviously has not told any of them about his kids. He is currently unemployed yet somehow these women believe him when he says he owns his own business and that he is 28 (homeboy is 33 and sleeping on his friends bedroom floor).

He asked my friend last week to get back with him and told her that the should consider counselling because he is ready to change. It was during a break in their discussion she saw his facebook messages to the girls.(He wasn't even sleek enough to chat these girls up somewhere else, he was doing it ON his estranged wife's computer). It was only after shit hit the fan she told me that he asked her for a loan not long after he told her he was ready to make their relationship work. Thank God she didn't give him the money but the scary thing is that she told me she genuinely considered it.

This was the kicker for me. I asked her WHY she still even spoke to the man. What exactly is it about this man that she can't seem to let go of because to be honest, there is absolutely NOTHING going on for him on paper. She told me that is was very simple. She couldn't understand why he didn't want her, after everything she had done for him. How can he just stop loving her? She only had to make it clear to him that he was still in love with her.

At that moment, I took a step back because homegirl sounded kind of bunny boilerish. You can't MAKE someone love you. The sad thing about life is that sometimes things just don't work out, you just have to dust yourself and keep moving on.

All hope isn't lost though, I think it has finally dawned on her that it is over. She has started taking a few evening classes to keep her busy, she is moving into a new place soon for a fresh start and she seems to have started picking up the pieces.

Last week she called me excitedly to inform me she met someone else. 'He seems like a really nice guy and is really funny' I told her to stop  imagining their wedding and what their kids will look like. Its just too soon. Besides, she needs to focus on sorting her head out because to be honest, if you don't love yourself, no one will love you.

xxPretty Lashesxx

Picture Source (google images)

I'm alive!, Seriously this time, Thank God!

*Dusts off cobwebs*

Hello People,

I been a bad BAD girl, I haven't forgotten I have a blog, I just been so busy at work, I literally come home  just to sleep.

Our system at work crashed a couple of weeks ago so yours truly was sent to our Sussex branch to work. I've been driving for 4 hours a day for the past 2 working weeks. I only live 15 mins away on the bus from our head office so needless to say the HELLISH commute has been an eye opener.

I have so much to share with you lovely people.

 First things first, yours truly got into an accident. Thank God I didn't have to pay on my insurance excess but more importantly, thank God I didn't kill another man's child.

The steering wheel on my  beloved mini' 'Pepito' (yes I know I have too much time on my hands to name my car) failed. The steering wheel literally locked in the middle of a HUUUGGGEEE roundabout.

I saw my life flash before my eyes (to be entirely honest,  I saw my insurance excess fly before my eyes). I really thought this was the end of it all. I was millimetres away from hitting the car in front of me. Thank God I didn't.

GreenFlag came to take me and my car to the place I bought it from. The guy told me it would cost £2000 to fix because the 'power steering pump of mini's are different to others'. I looked at him up at down and then looked at Mr Lashes (who by the way was looking at me like 'na you wan buy mini, it no be my problem'). I told the man that I am broke an accountant and the £2000 would be better spent on another car.

 I started kicking up a fuss because he must have sold me the car in that condition. I mentioned 'Trading Standards' and 'Consumer Rights' (not that I have a clue what either of them mean) so he offered me another car as a part exchange.

The new mini is a newer and much nicer model but its gold. Yes Gold (well Champagne coloured). Lets just say I took it before he withdrew his offer without looking at the colour properly.  Every time I walk past it, I have to do a double take, Its sooooo bright. The only positive things about the colour are that :

1. It would NEVER get stolen.
2. I can't lose it in a parking lot.

So yeah, Pepito is no more. the new car is called Pepito 2

Hope you are all doing well.

xxPretty Lashesxx

When Love isn't Enough

I know this girl. Let's call her Sunshine because that's what she is like; a great big dollop of goodness that puts you in a good mood.

I wouldn't exactly say we are friends but we talk and are very cordial. For a month or so, she hasn't been so full of said sunny disposition. She has been really down and didn't want to talk about it. I had an idea of what was wrong and when she eventually did, it turns out I was spot on.

She moved to the UK for a man. She left her family and everything she knew and loved to move to a new continent with a man she thought she would get married to and have kids with. This was about 9 years ago. Things were good for about 6 months then they started to go horribly bad. He became incredibly possessive. She couldn't go out. She couldn't have friends outside of his friends. He took full control of the meagre wages she earned., seeing as she couldn't work more than a certain amount of hours a day.If she so much as five minutes late home, he would question her.

Then the beating started. It was a slap here and there at first; when they got into a heated argument. It then became a regular occurence. She only needed to look at him the wrong way for him to punch her. She still had to send money home to her family; an amount he regulated.

She had no one to confide in, he basically owned her. The way she was able to get out of the hellish relationship was when he went back to his native Jamaica for a family emergency. She packed her things and RAN. She decided to stay in London because the didn't want to go back to her country without having achieved anything.

A few months later, she got a promotion and started doing a bit better for herself. She saved up enough money to go home for a holiday and met a guy there. So in need to be in love and to be loved she dove into the new relationship head first. This time the man moved here and 8 months after they met, they were married. She honestly thought the beginning of the rest of her life had started. Except it hadn't.

He couldn't get a job at first so she paid for everything, rent included. They lived in a small room, sharing a flat with students. This was ok though because that's what you do when you are married. You make sacrifices in the hope that the future gets better.Except it didn't.

 He decided that he would stop looking for a job and go to school full time to study basketball because he had it in him that he would be the next big thing even though he is 33 years old.  She took out loans to pay his school fees because he told her he would 'pay her back'. She would leave the flat at 7am to go to work and wouldn't get home till 9pm but would still have to cook and clean because all he did was watch basketball and play video games.

He left her 2 years ago because; in his words; 'Their life was boring and she always nagged'. She begged him to take her back and promised that she will try to work things out her end as long he promised to do the same.

They got back together and things were OK for a while. She says she tried to nag less. He still didn't look for a job. She still paid for everything. She tried to carry on the best way she knew how to. Then a month ago, he left her again because 'she wasn't trying enough for him'. He is with his lecturer now. He has moved in with her; even though she also knew that he was married and had met Sunshine a few times. Things aren't so straightforward this time though. She just found out she is pregnant.

He wants nothing to do with the baby. He already has 3 kids by 3 different women back in the States that he doesn't take care of.

I broke down in tears for her when she told me her story because I really felt for her.She said all she has ever done is to try to love; all she has ever wanted is to be loved. She has given everything she can to men only for them to treat her like a leper. She is in £30000 worth of debt because of this man. She doesn't know where to start from. She is 34, living in a room with a baby on the way.

I know she could have done things differently the second time round but to be honest, I can understand the need to be loved, especially after coming out of a very bad relationship. She jumped to the first man that treated her decently.

I didn't have anything to say to her except cry. What to do say when someone bares their soul in this way?

My question is that is love ever enough? When will men realise that taking women for granted is just plain evil? Why are people so cold hearted?

xxPretty Lashesxx

Whats In My Bag Tag

The lovely NaijaMum tagged me in this meme.

First of all, let me preface this by saying that I am an incredibly organised person, my bag just doesn't reflect this. My bag is a little bit of a 'lucky dip'. I have been known to have everything from nail varnish remover to a tape measure in my bag, ''just in case''. This is my bag on a tidy day...my apologies in advance for the poor quality pictures, I couldn't find my camera USB and Mr Lashes's Mac doesn't take memory cards so I had to use my phone...

 My bag is a LV Artsy, it was my 2010 Christmas present from Mr Lashes...I tend to carry this when I don't want to carry much, its one of my smaller bags. I know, SMALLER! my obsession with handbags and purses is quite disturbing but like most things I don't want to accept, I keep telling myself its nothing to worry about...I'm not usually keen on such obviously branded bags but I was really drawn to this one because of its shape and Mr Lashes indulged me.

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT


Sunglasses: When I wear my contacts, I almost always wear these, not as a fashion statement but because I hate the feeling of direct sunlight in my eyes.

Camera: I am one of those people that takes random pictures, you never know when a memory can be made, I always want to be able to capture it. My sister is always teasing me about my 'photographer' camera but whatever...:-)

iPhone: I love my iPhone. it is SERIOUSLY the best phone in the world, I don't care what anyone says. I have also got a Blackberry, which I predominantly use for work and blackberry messenger.

Purse: It is a Miu Miu purse, I can't remember the name but I got it about a year ago. It has everything in it, my bank cards, my license, my NUS card, my oystercard. My life would literally come to a complete standstill if I lost this. I went for this because of the colour, red is my favourite and I can easily find it in my bag because it stands out so much

Perfume: I'm a 3 perfume kinda girl. This is Stella McCartney's Stella. I also wear Chanel's Chance and Blvgari's Omnia. I always carry one of them in my bag, you never know when you need to smell fresh.

Koran: I'm a Muslim. I always carry this mini Koran with me because I believe it protects me. I can not read a word of what's in there but hey, its the thought that counts!!!

 Keys (out of shot): I've got a big bunch  of keys, my house keys, Mr Lashes' keys, Car keys and a whole load of other ones. No word of lie, it must weigh about half a kilo.

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT


Hair brush and two combs: There is NO excuse for looking like you just got into a fight with a lion. I carry these about, just in case.

Lip Balm and Hand Cream: I gats control that ashyness so this is always with me. I'm about the only person in the world that thinks Vaseline is evil. Its just fancy grease.

Mini Deodorant: Self Explanatory :-)

Umbrella and Hand Sanitiser (out of shot): Its always raining in London, the most horrible thing in the world is being caught out without one or worse still, having one that turns inside out every time the wind blows, I've found a good one and I watch it like a hawk.

I have come to the conclusion that people are NASTY. They sneeze and then hold on to railings  without wiping their hands, they don't wash their hands after using the toilet then shake hands..its just wrong and my mama didn't raise no fool so I'm not trying to catch some incurable disease. I go through this stuff like its water.

Nurofen and Glasses case: As I spend about 45 hours a week glued to a computer screen, I'm constantly getting headache's so I always carry painkillers with me. My glasses case houses my contact lens case for easy changing.

Mirror and Kleenex: I need a small mirror to check my lip gloss (see below). This is a really cute heart shaped one I got from Monsoon. I have found that I hardly ever use the Kleenex, I usually offer it to people, especially when they sneeze and feel the need to carry on like they haven't expelled thousands of germs.

Lip gloss: Don't judge. I have got 7 different kinds currently in my bag. I don't touch of my makeup during the day so I usually reapply this just so I don't look washed out.

Soft mints: I hate bad breath. I think its incredibly disrespectful to someone to impose your bad dental hygiene on them so I carry these around.

So! Does my bag show exactly how superficial I am???

I think I'm one of the last people to be tagged in this so I tag anyone who already hasn't been tagged.

xxPretty Lashesxx

A to Z of Me

Age: 23 years and 356 days (wink wink)
Bed Size: King
Chores you hate: Taking the bin out, that's Mr Lashes job.
Dogs:Helllllllll to the nawwwwwwwww!!!
Essential Start to your day: Prayer
Favourite Colour: Red
Gold or Silver: Silver, or white gold
Height: 5"4
Instruments I play: lol..you know how people have two left feet? I've got two left hands
Job Title: Accountant
Kids: Nope

Live: South  London
Mum's Name: Bola

Nickname: Mr Lashes calls me B..my family and friends call me Abisco Special

One wish:  That God continues to bless me
Pet Peeve: Untidiness
Quote from a Movie:  'Everyday above ground is a good day' SCARFACE

Right or Left handed: Right handed but I was born left handed

Siblings: Three CRAZY sisters
Time you wake up:  7am
Underwear: La Senza is the reason why birds sing :-0
Vegetables you dislike: Mushrooms.
What makes you run late: Lazy Mornings!
X-Rays you've had done: Jaw
Yummy food you make: My fried rice has been called legendary! 
Zoo Animals: Helllllllllll to the  Nawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!

Guess Who Just Passed Her driving Test????

I finally did it! 6 months it took me from start to finish! I finally have a license to drive manuals AND automatics!

If you see a girl with a silver Mini playing R.Kelly at full blast with a disgruntled looking man wearing shades in the passenger seat, toot your horn because its Pretty Lashes and Mr Lashes!

Stuff That Probably Shouldn't Piss Me Off But Does

1. People who SAY 'thanking you'. WHY?? What's wrong with THANK YOU????
2. Ppl who write all thr convs in shrt frm. If you've got enough energy to write shrt frm, YOU CAN WRITE SHORT FORM!!! English Language is dying every minute.
3. Linked to number 2 is when people write 9ice instead if nice and 10q instead of thank you. SERIOUSLY???? and WHY do people write 'should of' instead of 'should have/should've'??
4. People who feel the need to spit in public or sneeze in enclosed places. No one wants to see mucus and gunk. You need to SWALLOW that mess.
5. At supermarket checkouts, the attendant rationing carrier bags like we are in a war. I understand that the planet needs to be saved and all that good stuff but DON'T give me two  bags to pack 50 items then get offended when I ask for more...The.Bag.Will.Break.Bitch
6. People who yawn without closing their mouths, No one needs to see all that nastiness.
7. Dogs that aren't on a leash. Hell ALL animals that aren't on a leash.
8. When people clap when a plane lands...I don't see anyone clapping when I finalise accounts.
9. Chelsea. With their smug richness and their multibillionaire owner.Bastards, the lot of them.
10. Attention Seeking Facebookers. We don't need to know EVERY aspect of your lives. You are in a relationship. Then you are not. Then you put a link of a random heartbreak song.Then you are back in a relationship. Then you write a post along the lines of 'I should have known all men are bastards...' The you have the nerve to reply all the people asking what's wrong by saying 'Its PERSONAL, check your inbox'. If you want your life to be a soap opera, the least you can do is let people watch it. Not Cool, not cool at all. 

What are all your pet peeves?

xxPretty Lashesxx

Baby Got Back

I'm not even going to start making excuses for why I haven't been around in a while, I've been a crappy blogger, simple as.

Am I forgiven? No? Not even if I bat these Pretty Lashes? No? Well be like that then!!


I went for a baby shower yesterday. It was my work colleague's baby shower, she's expecting a boy on the 3rd of June (the day after my birthday, wink wink)...

Me and some of the other girls at work decided to throw it for her as she had never heard of it before (she is British-Cypriot).

A Nigerian friend of mine was due to have a baby shower last summer but it was cancelled last minute because her pastor didn't agree with celebrating the birth of a baby before it arrives; which makes sense.

Before the westernised world influence came to us in Nigeria, baby showers were unknown. We did (and still do) celebrate the baby's birth with the naming ceremony/7 days. The west haven't got that so is it pointless to adopt a tradition when we have got a richer and by far superior one ourselves?

At the same time, should we take it so seriously? Its just a fun day for the mom to be to receive advice, gifts and to have people to care about her and the baby round for food and drinks. Shouldn't we celebrate the fact that something amazingly beautiful and special is happening?

All in all, it was a fun day; we played games and I won one. It was a 'name as many songs as possible that have baby in the title'. I came up with seven. What I didin't know at the time was I had to sing each song, just so people know they are real songs. Guess the number one song Pretty Lashes had? 'Baby Got  Back' by Sir Mixalot. Yes. I rapped it. At a baby shower. With people, including over 60's there.

For people who don't know, this is a TOTALLY INAPPROPRIATE song for ANY occasion. This is the video. Please put in on loud and close your eyes, imagining a quiet room with Pretty Lashes rapping her little heart away...People were literally rolloing on the floor at the end...I have to admit, so was I.



xxPretty Lashesxx

I'm alive!

Hi Everyone,

Happy Easter!

Thanks to everyone who emailed me to see if I was OK

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while; this thing they call Masters Degree is something else...to have to combine that with work and some very dubious clients, who feel my reason for existing is to reply their emails about marginal relief at 1am..yes people, 1 in the morning...

I've been lurking for a while, commenting on a few people's blogs...I just haven't had the time to blog myself.

My proposal is due next thursday. After then na you people go dey beg me make I stop blogging!


Sidenote: Am I the only one not excited about the royal wedding? I'm grateful for the bank holiday and everything but I just don't get the hype. Man sees woman, they fall in love, man asks woman to marry him, woman gets very excited, they marry and have lots of babies. It.Happens.Every.Day.

xxPretty Lashesxx

Mothers Day, Pity Party and other random randoms

So its mother's day here in the UK, I want to use this opportunity to wish every mother, grandmother and mother to be a fab day.

I'm the youngest kid and as my dad never ceases to tell me, a 'happy mistake'. My mom thought she was done with having kids, she was 33 when I was born, which is relatively young these days but bear in mind she was 19 when she had my oldest sister.

To this day, my mom has never told me no. I understand people may translate that into me being a spoiled brat but I'm a well behaved brat :-)...My dad wasn't really around when I was growing up and neither were my sisters (my mom had to travel alot for work, I was young enough to follow her around) so it was just both of us for long periods of time.

My mom and I are scarily similar, this is good and bad in equal measures as the things we dislike about ourselves are evident to see in the other person.This causes laughter and conflict in equal measures.

Its days like today I appreciate her so much, so many people don't have their moms with them any more, others don't have the kind of relationship I have with her and I'm aware I take her for granted sometimes because I know she loves me unconditionally. I love you mom, Happy Mothers Day.

Mr Lashes' birthday was alright, thank you all for all your kind words/suggestions. We did NOTHING I planned. I made the mistake of telling Mr Lashes about the hotel before I'd booked it and he said he'd rather I booked a hotel for two nights in the summer outside London. He then mumbled something about how I'm meant to be the accountant in the relationship. I tire.

We just ended up going to Selfridges to buy him a present and then out for dinner. I REALLY want to know if I'm the only girl in the world who has a partner that enjoys shopping more than I do.

Mr Lashes runs around like a headless chicken while I just sit with a book. Maybe its because I'm not a size 8 that I feel the nice clothes are wasted on me. Meh

I know these paragraphs are kind of haphazardly put together but please forgive me. I'm rambling because I feel funny.

Please join my pity party.

Do you ever have days where you just feel like nothing is going right? Everything that has been said to me today, I seem to take the wrong way....I just want today to finish so that I can start all over in the morning.

I wish my relationship with God was better.

I wish I had more willpower.

I wish I was a size 10 again, I hate being a size 14.

I wish Mr Lashes plays his bloody Playstation less

I wish I never bought Mr Lashes said Playstation.

I wish I could get married tomorrow.

I wish I could look as put together as all these other Naija girls in my age group. HOW do they manage to look so glam??

I wish I didn't have to study anymore.

I wish I added a pinch of salt to the pastry of the meatpies I made this afternoon.

I want a baby. NOW

I wish I could drive my mini that's parked outside Mr Lashes' front door, I can't wait to pass my driving test.

I wish Mr Lashes wouldn't shout careful CAREFUL, I SAID BE CAREFUL every time I practise my driving.

I wish I got paid the market rate for my qualifications, I'll be laughing all the way to my wedding.

I wish I could stop having days like these.

I'll stop now.


 Happy Sunday Lovely People.

xxPretty Lashesxx

My Lovely People, I NEED YOUR HELP!!!

Hi Everyone!

So its Mr Lashes birthday on Saturday the 26th of March and I was thinking of cooking for him.

Now I can cook the rices and efo's and other somewhat basic foods of the world but I can't make banga soup. Mr Lashes is Urhobo and I thought it would be a nice surprise to make that for dinner on the Friday or the Sunday.

For the birthday, I was thinking of getting a hotel on the Saturday, (I was thinking outside London before but since the nice driving assessor man  decided to fail me, that's not happening). We could check in, go to Oxford Circus to get his present, come back, go out for dinner/maybe see a movie then go back to the hotel room. Have a lie in on the Sunday, go and get breakfast then check out and go home.

So what do you think about the hotel idea???

Anyone have a recipe for Banga Soup?

What else can I make for him?


Any Urhobo recipes that will remind him of home?? I know he'll appreciate anything with fish, seeing as I've only made him fish based foods twice in the past three years as I can't stomach the stuff.

Thanks in Advance :-)

xxPretty Lashesxx

One Lovely Blog Award

So I've got my very first blog award!!! This is amazing, seeing as I've only been doing it for a couple of months and my posts have been somewhat erratic but YAY ME!!!!

The lovely Miss KitKat tagged me.

All I've got to do is to is:

• Link back to the blogger who gave me this award
• Tell you seven facts about me you aren’t aware of
• Pass the award to fifteen recently discovered blogs that I “really” like  
• Notify the lucky chums of their awards

SEVEN TRIVIA FACTS ABOUT ME

As you lovely people probably already know, this was my Second Post. I wasn't tagged then but I did it to introduce myself to you.

I'll do 7 more trivia facts about me though because I'm random like that :-)

• I can't drink water after eating rice or bread, It will bring the food right back up.
• As you know, I'm an accountant. What you don't know is that so is my dad. And my mom. and my older sister. and another of my older sisters. and her husband. Yes. we are all boring number crunchers.
• My eyesight is HORRIBLE, I'm a minus 5.5.
• I don't get spots. ever. 
• I can put my legs behind my head :-)
• I don't understand how people can watch fantasy movies. Harry Potter, Twighlight and similar books/movies is my idea of hell. As in, how can you get into something you KNOW isn't real???

• I am starting to believe that Miss KitKat is my sister from another mister. We have so many things in common, with the cheese, the animals and the weddings. :-)

THE BLOGS I'M TAGGING

• http://anyaposh.blogspot.com/
• http://blazerwhore.blogspot.com/
• http://brownskinaijachic.blogspot.com/
• http://gbemisoke.blogspot.com/
• http://thenitty-grittytalesofahousewife.blogspot.com/
• http://naijamuminlondon.blogspot.com/
• http://omosi.blogspot.com/
• http://www.sugarspiceandallthingsfabulous.com/
• http://sarah-farmerswife.blogspot.com/
• http://thirdworldprofashional.blogspot.com/
• http://say-bleurgh.blogspot.com
• http://blessingsoutlet.blogspot.com/
• http://coco-caramel2011.blogspot.com
• http://eveediary.blogspot.com/
• http://pweetytales.blogspot.com/

I FAILED my driving test

So I'm pissed off, and a little teary...I failed my driving test today. I really put so much effort into it...I even took this whole week off work just so that I could focus on it.

The sad thing is that my instructor said that as soon as he saw the assessor, he knew I was going to fail the test. Apparently, the guy is notorious for failing black people, especially the young ones. Not to be horrible or anything but he looked like an axe murderer. You know the kind of face that little kids see and scream? That's exactly what he looks like.

I digress.

You should have seen the route that this crazy man took me on. I even tried making conversation with him, homeboy out his hand up like  'my friend, why are you talking to me?', basically telling me to be quiet.

You should have seen the road he took me to turn into. He asked me to reverse on a HILL!!!

I saw that and thought. Ok I can so do this. Na so I started moving off and when I got to my reference, started slowing down when this crazy mo fo stopped me.

He didn't even give me a chance to finish it, as soon as  I started slowing down a bit, he told me to stop. Like how the f!?:-(**ing hell am I meant to reverse with speed???


I had soo much plans, I had even started calling some people on autotrader to buy my mini cooper (red, with black wheels, two black stripes in front and leather seats...just thought I'd add that in for you to visualise  :-) )


My instructor was saying on the way back that if I was in Naij, I woulda started driving a long time ago. I KNOW I can drive. Its just this stupid 45 minute assessment that's in the way of me and my mini.

 I tire for this country.

xxPretty Lashesxx

Mini Rant and Frenemy update

OK so I'm sat here on the bed scared as hell and so frustrated.

One other random thing about me is that I have an irrational fear of all animals. (I'll probably do another random things about me post in a few months, as you guys have alredy prbably noticed, i'm VERY random).

This fear ranges from seeing a dog and crossing the road 'just in case' (I have been known to sense them from far away), to REFUSING to have goldfish because 'I'll have to feed them and change the water'.

Anyways, back to my rant...I took the day off from work to take a break before the wahala of school starts again and seeing as its valentine's day, I thought I'll make my fiance (let's call him Mr Lashes) some nice Naija food for when he gets back from work.

There I was after breakfast on the internet, looking for  valentine's day gift ideas for him to buy me (we're unromantic like that :-) ) when my super SUPER vision spotted a mouse out of the corner of my eye. IN THE KITCHEN!!!

Now I hear you guys saying, 'it can't bite you', 'it's no big deal', 'take it easy', but before you could say 'pretty lashes' I had flown out of the living room and landed on the bed in the bedroom...I swear I did it in less than 5 footsteps!!

Mr Lashes could hear me screaming and thinking I broke a leg or something equally as serious, he ran to ask me if I was ok....Turns out my idea and his idea of OK are totally different....Mr Lashes actually LAUGHED at me!!!!

I asked him very nicely to go and get rid of it for me and he told me that he's be late for work if he did, Mr Lashes basically told me to suck it up till the evening when he'll sort it out.

Mr Lashes lives in a new build, the flat is 6 years old at the most, the problem is that there are a few points of entry for mice. we're blocking them as we are find them, we just can't seem to stop finding them.  We are both obsessively clean so its all the more frustrating for us. He even goes as far as to blame me because they can 'sense' when I am around...all the tantilizing smells of food draws them out....not sure if I should be pleased or offended when he says that...

Anyways the point of my rant is that how am I meant to make magic happen in the kitchen when I can't even go in there??? I KNOW the mice will kill me and eat little chunks of my body the second I step in there (see what I said about irrational???)  I tire :-(

I actually have another funny mice story involving me, Mr lashes, the toilet and some oven chips...Please let me know if you want me to share, this post is long enough as it is

Ok so to the other part of this post...my one and only frenemy called me last week...'I heard you're engaged, why didn't you tell me? 'Are you pregnant, is that why he asked you to marry him?' 'I can't believe this common rat (yes o, she has relegated me to rat status) is getting married, I started going out with my boyfriend at the same time, why are YOU engaged?'

She said all this in a joking manner to me but me, you guys and Jesus know that she meant every single word of it....I made me excuses and got off the phone ASAP...

Happy Valentine's day y'all, hope you're having a better day than me so far....

Remember val's day is just not about boy and girl (or girl and girl if you're ..ahem.. that way inclined), it's about LOVE...love for yourself, your neighbor, your family, for your friends and most importantly, for God..

xxPretty Lashesxx

Mr Endowed Remix - D'Banj ft. Snoop Dogg (official Video)

Pretty much self explanatory, fast forward to 3.50  :-)

FRENIMIES

I come from  a very close-knit family. This is almost always a good thing. There are some times however that it has some negatives, one of which is that we don't let outsiders in.

By this I mean my sisters and I don't have a lot of friends. We are not antisocial by any means but we'll rather stay in and watch a movie/gist than go clubbing or go out.

About a couple of years ago, while studying for my ACCA qualification, I met this girl, also a Nigerian and our 'friendship' began. 

As weird as this may sound, it was a new experience to me (the last time I made new friends was in Secondary school, some 5 years before). I was finally one of those girls that always had someone to talk to in class, someone to study with, go shopping with and talk to about my love life....It all seemed blissful, or so I thought.

At first it as little things I noticed like she'll only call me when she needed me to do something for her. Of course I  ignored it at first because I FINALLY HAD A CLOSE FEMALE FRIEND....as time went on, it became tellingly obvious the sort of person she was.. she never wanted to hear anything I had to say, as soon as I'll call, she'd start talking about her life, her boyfriend, her school work, her family and her work. When she finished, she'd be ready to end the conversation,  nothing I had to say held any interest whatsoever.

Her attitude to life was also disturbing..she was and still is in a 'serious' relationship..her poor boyfriend had no idea that she had about 4 men on the go, who were all there to provide for whatever her boyfriend couldn't...It was when she tried to rope me into her shady life that I realised she was a liability...little things like 'let me use your phone to call this guy'( All random men that would later call my phone asking to speak to her) to 'I know someone I can hook you up with'...She was also incredibly envious...she'd see something I have and she 'had to have it'. I could never tell her about anything good going on in my life because I knew the reaction I'd get from her

She was also very fond of sly comments 'You're too fat', 'Your makeup looks terrible', 'Your outfit looks tacky' were statements I heard from her on an almost daily basis.

Needless to say I cut her out of my life a while ago., not in a bad way, I slowly stopped returning every call, which wasn't too hard to do seeing as she only called when she needed a favour...

Being the sort of person she is, she reacted by telling our mutual friends lies about me and spreading rumours about me. All she did was confirm I don't need her in my life

I realised that some people are much more trouble than they're worth. Not everyone wants the best for you. When something or someone brings you down,  pick yourself up, dust yourself down and KEEP KEEPING ON!

Do you know why a car's wind shield is so large & the rear view mirror is so small? Because our PAST is not as important as our FUTURE. So, look ahead and move on.

xxPretty Lashesxx

7 Random Things About Me

1. I was born left handed but because of an incident *Ahem* with some boiling water, my left hand was burnt to a crisp. I now use my right hand to write...I'm still amazingly able to use my left hand for just about everything else :-)
2. Because of said incident above, I have to wear my engagement ring on my right hand.
3. I cry EVERY SINGLE DAY...not about the same things, I always find something to cry about on a daily basis.
4. I've got three sisters and no brothers.
5. I won the a baby beauty pageant when I was 9 months old and another at two years old.
6. I have never eaten Pizza, the thought of eating cheese makes me feel physically sick, same with anything from the Sea.
7. I couldn't speak English till I was three years old; all I could communicate in was French :-)...My current knowledge of French is limited to conversational French.

xxPretty Lashesxx

My First Blog Post!!!

So I've done this, finally!!!

This here will just be my place to vent about my life, loves, hates and all things in general!!

I'm an accountant, going back to school to do my masters in Financial Management (Fun Times!)...I'm engaged to my better half, I love reading and I ADORE handbags!

I don't ecpect to have thousands and thousands of followers, I'm not a make up or fashion guru, there ain't anything special about me but I fully intend to enjoy doing this!!

xxPretty Lashesxx