Happy New Year To You.

Welcome into the year 2016. I wish you all a very happy, remarkable, memorable, astounding, successful, peaceful, joyful and prosperous new year.

May all your beautiful wishes and dreams come true.

#AllHeartsAlways

Reflections. Reflections. Reflections.

Hello everyone, how has your year been? Congratulations for making it till the very last day of year 2015. So much craziness went on this year which led to several loss of lives but you and I are here now, and as ridiculous as it may sound to some, we must be grateful for the opportunities. 

I got to a point a few weeks back where I almost decided to change my attitude towards people. I felt used and betrayed by a few close friends and I deeply hurt. I was convincing myself about the need to be less kind and open to people because they always hurt me in the end. I was struggling within myself about the change I intended to make when I got a message from a friend on twitter, commending me for something and then she sent these words " May He bless you more. Pls don't change". I was shocked to my bone marrow. I never hexperrerit. How could she have known the precise thing to say to pull me back from the brink of the dark side I was about to cross into? 

I took that as a sign not to conform or change my ways no matter what poppycock I am served in return. (Thanks Eghe @Euphoria9ja for that eureka moment!) I have come to realise that a lot of people are not genuinely nice and they will try their darnedest to pull you down, but it is up to YOU to choose what your reaction to their meanness would be. I now know it is best to always do me, I couldn't do anything else even if I tried to anyway, lol.  One thing that kept me sane during that ferocious inner battle was my constant slogan of being #AllHeartsAlways, it just kept ringing in my head and I am mighty glad I did not do otherwise.

When we wake up tomorrow, it would be a different year and a brand new day. We must make the most of it and take steps towards becoming better people. We must strive to achieve most of what we aim to achieve regardless of the challenges or hinderances which may pop up. We must stay strong and survive. We must stop giving the reins of our lives to others but learn to take charge and excel. 

I want to thank everyone who has supported me wholeheartedly this year in various ways. I also want to thank all of you, my blog visitors, who have stopped by at some point in time or the other and for the daily visitors. I thank those who sent in their #DearBuki emails and I sincerely hope I was able to help. I really appreciate you all and seeing the number of visits daily is what propels me to blog more and better. Thank you all so very much.

Special thanks to Mayowa (@czarohm) who has always been #AllHeartsAlways, to my hubby, kids (yes, my troops are aware of my blog, lol), my parents, siblings for their love and support, my friends and loved ones and to my dear @gidi_traffic for the endless support. 

I wish you all a fantastic and prosperous New Year ahead.

God bless Nigeria.

Keep being #AllHeartsAlways

Buki O.

:)

Some British Humour. :)

So some chap went out clubbing, got drunk, woke up the next morning to realise that the club had gotten some 'compromising' pictures of him with his ex-girlfriend. He contacted the club's Facebook page and begged them not to post the pictures and they, with their wicked British sense of humour, asked for a ransom of £10,000 and a pack of Haribo sweets, LOL. Gotta love the British and their wry sense of humour. 

See the exchange of messages below: 

#ISpyInGidi: Mirror Mirror

So this happened some weeks back. I took a taxi and that's what the cabbie had as a side mirror. I could literarily hear my bones creaking during the entire bumpy ride in the rickety taxi but I had no other choice at the time.

Sigh.

We will get there someday, I suppose.

Trolling Terrorists Online

Since ISIS felt it was acceptable to 'recruit' converts via social media, they got quite more than they bargained for. Their 'vacancy ads' were mocked by so many true and sensible Muslims and others. ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi released an audio statement urging Muslims to take up arms and join ISIS while rising against Saudi Arabia and promising to keep attacking Isreal.

Several people trolled him immediately on social media and some went as far as mocking his dentition, lol. For those of you who do not know what 'social media trolling' is, it is basically when you put up something personal or serious on social media and total strangers deliberately put up offensive or provocative responses with the aim of upsetting you enough to extracting an angry response from you. Yup. Trolling is terrible but if ISIS is the one being trolled, then bring it on.

Peep some of the funny responses why they can't join ISIS just yet below:

LOL. This person says he'd join but he needs to find out what happens in Game of Thrones when it comes out in April. 

Pix Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Pushing Ahead No Matter What.

I had plans of writing a lot during this holiday but I haven't even had the time or strength. It has been one thing after the other, good and bad alike.

I think the 27th of December, for me, was one of the saddest days in this year. So many news of tragic and avoidable deaths of people I knew. I've never been one to trivialise any death but it hit me yesterday that it's a different ball game when the global press headlines are of someone you actually knew.

In the past week, I've also had really close friends and family members narrowly escape death. It really puts things in perspective for me and makes me more grateful, appreciative of life yet confused AF as to what the heck life is all about at the end of the day. Sigh.

Anyway, life simply must go on no matter what, I have chosen to see all glass cups as half full rather than half empty. I have resolved to find the silver lining in every dark cloud and to find a positive in every seemingly negative situation. 

What's that situation, person or thing getting you down and making you feel so blue? I promise you that there are always better and brighter days ahead so do not give up or relent. Instead, cheer up and forge ahead. Life goes on, so do not be left behind. Everything will be alright eventually. 

Cheers.

#AllHeartsAlways

#Update: Promising Victims Shot Dead

Remember the story I posted here yesterday about the mobile policeman who killed three young men and then turned the gun on himself? Well, it turns out he was drunk while on duty and had gone around a bar threatening to shoot people if they did not buy him drinks. Residents of the area say he has always been a drunken nuisance and a menace to the society, yet no one did anything about it until now. 

Two of the victims were twins Taiwo and Kehinde Oyesunle and the only children of their mother. Sadly, they lost their father a few months ago and now this. :( I cannot imagine what their poor mother must be going through right now. One of the twins is a newly promoted naval officer while the other is an engineer. The third victim called Jeje, whose birthday it was, was a friend to the twins. 

I think it is high time the Nigerian Police Force takes the lives of the citizens more serious by weeding out the drunks in their midst. This is not the first time we would be hearing of reckless drunken police officers shooting, maiming and killing innocent people over the most trivial things. Something needs to give. 

Nigerians also need to do more in highlighting the ills within our societies. We cannot keep ignoring or overlooking these festering menaces around us. No matter what, we must bring them to light and find permanent solutions to them lest we all end up being victims ourselves.

See a graphic picture of the murder/suicide scene after the cut below.

#OnMyRadar - Mopol Kills 3 And Self Over Football

News coming in about a mobile policeman who killed three people this evening and then turned the gun on himself at Paulson Hotel in Ketu, Lagos over a mere argument on football matters! This occurred at Alibaba Street in Ketu a few hours ago. 

More details soon. 

Some people just do not know when or where to draw the line between reality and make-belief. 

Sigh.

The Reason For The Season

I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a prosperous new year in advance. 

I want to extend my sincerest appreciation for your support and readership through out this year. I really appreciate each one of you and your presence on my blog. 

Enjoy the video below and let's all remember the reason for the season and be #AllHeartsAlways by reaching out to the needy around us. 

Thank you. 

#BlogFeature - The Miracle Of A Yawn.

Hello everyone, let me introduce a new writer on my #BlogFeature posts to you guys. His name is Mayowa Ojo and he is a Writer, Script Writer, Baker and Dancer based in Lagos. His stories, be it real or fiction, are always very interesting and captivating.

He also happens to be my kid brother. (Yeah, that's how we roll in my family, lol)

Enjoy. :)

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It was precisely five weeks to Christmas. The air was cool and thin with the harmattan chill but hazy with the accompanying dust that is de rigueur of that time of the year. I felt the chill even more because a little over a week before, I’d asked my friend of ten years to be my girlfriend and she was yet to say a word in the affirmative or otherwise. Being a baker, I instinctively turned to work, distracting myself with early-bird festive-cake orders while being a little antsy about those who would call on the 23^rd of Dec wishing for a miracle, literally.

The day started out like any other except for one seemingly minute detail – my dad was slightly under the weather. I shrugged it off, ascribing it to the sudden chill that started over night or maybe “just malaria” as he suggested. I went about my day’s activities in the bakery while he went out to purchase drugs for a fever that soon evolved into bouts of coughing throughout the day.

By the end of the week, my father had gotten no more than 4 hours of sleep in total, most of which were sudden power naps that lasted for about 15 or 20 minutes. He was frail, in gross discomfort, hungry but lacking the will to eat and looked like he had aged 20 years in 5 days. In spite of these, he refused to go to the hospital - swollen feet and all!

At four weeks to Christmas, his condition deteriorated and his breathing was now labored. We shipped him off to the family clinic where the doctor assessed him for 2 days before recommending that we see a cardiologist.

The bills were piling, opportunities to sleep were far and in between for mom and I. For the most part, my business had shut down - I stopped taking orders and ignored all business calls. Christmas was looming but we barely even noticed.

In addition to the conclusive results of a battery of tests that were run, the specialist also strongly recommended that we needed to get him to the teaching hospital late at night. Our car was the ambulance, my dad the obvious patient, my mom the paramedic and yours truly - the designated driver. We encouraged my dad to hang in there while I prayed frantically against any screams from the back seat.

After a few phone calls, we made a detour for the military hospital since there was “no space” at the University Teaching Hospital, not even in the private ward that would have cost an arm and a leg for an overnight stay.

Diagnosis in plain English? His heart was weak and incapable of pumping blood out as fast as it was pumping it in. This caused excess fluid to accumulate in different parts of his body, part of which had found its way into his lungs and caused an infection that irritated his lungs. The irritation explained the scary coughing fits he had whenever he lay down, it also explained the hyperventilation and his sleepless nights. Soon after we arrived at the military hospital, he needed an oxygen mask to breathe.

Prognosis in plain English? There was hope but even the doctors could not resist the urge to suggest that we pray – never mind that we had long turned the corner onto that lane.

Watching him sleep for no more than a few minutes at a time, I constantly had to support his head to keep it from tilting to odd angles while he slept in the chair. By our third day in the military hospital, he started to tell me about family history, rehashing family ties and describing family property in his hometown - all the stuff that people say when they feel their time has come. I don’t remember the smallest fraction of anything he said because I wasn’t having any of that. He then started to say “I’m tired. I’m fed up,” repeatedly and I had to subtly but firmly call him to order. I was not having any of that either even if I was very shaken within.

By our 2^nd week at the military hospital, he’d received several rounds of antibiotics to clear the infection, and had passed most of the excess fluid in his body and especially his lungs, nonetheless sleep continued to elude him. Then one afternoon on the 16^th of December he yawned. For the first time in three weeks, he showed the age old sign of fatigue and that night he slept like the proverbial baby.

I remember how proud I felt at the sight of that first yawn and the nap that followed. You would have thought I’d just witnessed my child take their first baby steps. For him, it was the first step on a 10-week-long journey to recovery. As though on cue, my friend became my girlfriend on the 17^thof December. Christmas loomed closer and I was finally starting to notice.

Save the prayers and faith, no other sign gave me the hope that he would make it through his stay in the hospital. That yawn signaled an end to the battle for his life, and I knew we were on the winning side. Before he came home on the 22^nd of Dec, I was certain that I would sing “Silent Night” at Christmas remembering the birth of Jesus and not the death of my father. With that yawn, I knew Christmas had come in early for my family. 

We found our miracle in a yawn!

Article by: Mayowa Ojo

Twitter: @CakeMayor

#DidYouKnow - You've Been Pouring Juice Wrong

Interesting video clip on how to pour juices, oils and other liquids perfectly without any spills. He took his time to explain why it works better this way.

I have tried it and it actually makes perfect sense.

#Learning :)

2015 Epic Fail Moment

So this happened a few days back and I simply cannot imagine how mortified the host of the Miss Universe pageant, Steve Harvey, would have been at the error of announcing a wrong winner to a pageant on live TV!!

From his look and posture, you can see that he was genuinely contrite and embarrassed at the error but it was an error that could have been made by anyone, to be honest. The way the winners were arranged on the card was a bit scattered, in my opinions and you have to strain to see the Miss Philippines written beneath the MISS UNIVERSE 2015.

#DearBuki:He Said I'm Not Romantic. Help!

Hello dear blog readers, how has your day been? I have started a column tagged #DearBuki where you can send whatever issues weighing on your minds and I would do my best to proffer solutions to them by giving my opinion and showing other perspectives to them. I do a lot of these guidance and counselling offline so I felt the need to bring it on my blog. Do send me an email on bukiotuyemi@gmail.com and we will put heads together. Check out the other posts here.

As they say, a problem shared, is a problem half solved................ :)

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Dear Buki, 

So glad to have someone like you to share issues such as this with so that you can help proffer a candid advice. This is my situation; 

It was one of those nights when you just want to chat with your hubby and as the conversation gets deeper, he began  to spill out lots of issues bothering him about our relationship.

Firstly, he complained that I have neglected him since the arrival of our second baby, and that I no longer pay close attention to him like before. He also said that he can no longer find any spark in our relationship that its just always the same old things, wake up, go to work, eat, watch TV, pray and sleep.

Further more,  he lamented that I'm not romantic and that he has been enduring it for some time but he can no longer endure the pain its causing him.

I do feel a bit bad that he has been suffering in silence all this while and I never had a clue. Though motherhood is very challenging and tasking but still I don't want our marriage to turn out like this and I do want to be romantic.

Please I want you to help me with tips on how to be romantic, make my hubby happy and bring back the spark in our relationship.

Thank you.

SK

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Dear SK, 

I feel you and I feel for your husband as well. This issue is not peculiar to your marriage alone, it is much more rampant than we care to voice out. I have two children as well and I know the stress and strain that comes with juggling being a working woman, a mother, a wife, a sister, a sister-in-law, a daughter-in-law, a friend, a daughter, a sibling,  and host of other things together all at once. It is a lot to take on, but take on we simply must. 

You cannot afford to neglect your husband in all of these, you simply must not. You have to find a  way to balance things without spreading yourself too thin. Don't feel bad that he's been suffering in silence because the fact is that he probably could see the pressure you're under and did not want to add to it by whining. Of course now that he has mentioned it, it means he has reached his own threshold so you have to meet him half way.

Now, to bring back the romance into your marriage, you have to be open-minded and willing to try new things. First of all, I'm glad you have both brought it to the open (between yourselves) and are willing to do something about it. Can you recall some of the fun things you both used to do together before you got married? If yes, then you need to modify and resume parts of those fun times.

Compliment his haircuts and dress styles, dress up stylishly yourself and always ensure your hair is on point. Ensure you invest in some colourful and sexy underwear and night wears. Ensure you both go out on a date night at least once in two-weeks if not weekly. This doesn't even have to cost so much but just make sure it happens. You can drive to the movies and have him drive back. You can go out to have a unique dinner that offers meals you wouldn't ordinarily make at home. There are loads of restaurants and hotels where you can make this happen on the mainland alone, let alone on the island. By asking you to go out to dinner, I hope you know this must be without the kids, right? Get your mum or a trusted nanny to watch your kids while you both go out and rediscover yourselves. Make out in the car before you go inside your house (ignore your nosy neighbours and get your groove on hun;)

Drop handwritten love notes for him. Call him pet names, rub his head while he is driving, hold hands and smile into each other's eyes.

On occasional nights, after the kids are asleep, dim the lights, light up some scented candles, play some soft music and just cuddle or dance or both. Also, add more new sex style to your list when that time comes. Not overtime, missionary style sometimes try the scissors, space explorer, snake in the money shadow sef, etc. :) 

The fact is, you must to these things not just for him, but for yourself as well. You have to love yourself and make yourself happy and satisfied always. When you are happy and content within yourself, it oozes outwards and sets you aglow.

p.s I expect you to show him parts of this post and tell him I said it works both ways. Marriage is about two people, always looking out for themselves. It is not easy being a mother and a wife, so he must assist you as much as possible. Being romantic is not a job for one person, he must do his bit too. He should take some of the tips above or email me to give him some more tips on how to get you in the mood always. ;)

I sincerely wish you both all the very best. I know these tips WILL work in bringing the romance back into your marriage. Let me know how it goes over time. :) 

Thanks.

Buki O.

Music Like Never Before.

This is acapella like you've never heard it before. I'm blown away by the harmonious way these guys put a whole song together without actual instruments. The song is Hotel California by an Acapella group called Cubanos Acapella.

Enjoy and do have a happy Sunday ahead. 

p.s. Apologies for not blogging yesterday. I went shopping in Lagos Island for the kids in the morning and I was absolutely knackered by the time I got home in the evening. The fuel queues and the traffic are stuff that nightmares are made of. Still, we triumph. 

Introducing QMFarms To Nigerians.

Agriculture is more than a trade or profession, it is an absolute way of life that brews all sorts of opportunities. We at QMFarm are keen to uphold the tenets of the profession, sustain agricultural products and produce at best, assured quality and quantity. 

We present to the world, our flock of birds reared within a conducive and hygienic environment and fed largely on organic products. From the pictures below, one can see that at QMFarms we take very good care of our birds, for their sake and for the end users' sake as well. 

Prices of the birds ranges from N2,500 - N3,000 each (live weight). You don't have to stress about processing the chickens, we have got you covered. You can order them live or cleaned and prepared for delivery to your house.

Place your orders today via our Twitter handle @QMFarm or email us on qmfarm@gmail.com. 

P.s. Mayowa is a dear brother to me and watching him grow up to a point of owning his own farm is just amazing. It was this young man-turned-brother that brought the plight of the Ijagbo 30 pupils, who were going to be sent out of school for being unable to pay their fees, to my attention. 

He is #AllHeartsAlways and I would appreciate your support in growing his business. 

Thanks a bunch. :) 

Amazing Christmas Give Back.

Ok, if you thought the post I did earlier was heartwarming, you need to see this one. An airline decided to rewards its customers with a special Christmas surprise. It really touched me. No, I'm not crying, there are onions on my keyboard. 

Can't believe a guy was asked what he wanted for christmas and he said "socks and underwear"!!! Hian. Bless his simple heart. :)

I am here still believing I will get a car and a few other things I have wished for all year. Yes ke, the year has not ended yet after all. Still enough time for last minute miracles. ;) 

We will have a Christmas give-away on this blog. I am still thinking of the format. Hit me up. Let's go #AllHeartsAlways.

Enjoy.