BAKE (not a cake...)

Hello! I am super intrigued by the blogging world. It is like a hidden secret, almost a treasure. There are a huge amount of people who do this seriously and consistently. Not only that, they write about serious stuff. From technology, agriculture, politics, sports, poetry - it is amazing!
The reason I know this is because I am on the judging panel for BAKE - Bloggers Association of Kenya. Have a look here - bloggers.or.ke or www.bake.or.ke

I have to say I was super honored to be asked and to be part of a fantastic panel - who made me laugh out loud a lot (LOLAL). I am somewhat humbled to be associated to the Bloggers of Kenya. In a word - wow! There is so much creativity and talent in this KE of ours!

The award ceremony is this Saturday at Serena - I am super excited and looking for something FAB to wear! Call me a geek, but I say geek-ism is the new black baby and I am embracing it. It is cool to know your isht when it comes to blogging and tweeting and all things that we left to the nerd herd (the smart people)- I have a thousand and ten things to learn but from this point on I am going to take it seriously and blog so that I can be worthy of being called a serious blogger.

Happy days.  :D

Breath, Breathe...

Hey bleeps (blog peeps)!
How are you? I know, I know, it has been forever since I blogged. First off, I have to dedicate this blog to my doggie Sanka whose untimely death still has me tearing up. I am an animal lover and I totally blame myself for his death and I really wish he was still here. Anyway, my consolation is that we all have a time to depart, and his came sooner than I had ever anticipated. So Sanka man, this one is for you.

Now, here is how my life has been - chaotic to say the least. I am shedding kilos like I am running 10kms daily! I tell you my days are so unpredictable but so busy that I find it hard to put food in my mouth - only because my schedule is crazy. To be honest, I am not proud of this, I am one of those healthy humans - eat right, exercise right and look good. The hotch potch of my diary is unsettling to me. Ah well, I need a PA and when that happens perhaps my life will go back to normal. Or I need a clone - either way, I need someone as anal as I running around the way I do!

So this blogging stuff is serious business huh? The reason I say so is because I have been asked to do something for some people regarding blogs. Sounding vague as am not sure if it is top secret or not. If not, in my next blog I will reveal all - but for now, I like the mystery element of this story. Basically if you are a blogger, I have major power over you (cue evil laugh.....) I am kidding, but I will know more on the morrow and in turn I shall put you in the loop.

Other than that Ariyana is talking and of course knows the word No really well - so much so that she uses it a  lot especially with me. I love her to bits and cannot believe that she is growing at such a super fast pace. She is another reason I cannot seem to keep any weight on. The girl is on the go all the time. She is ready to discover and try new things at any given chance. God bless her. Raj said to me tonight that before we know it we will be planning her wedding. I looked at him and said 'you are totally jumping the gun' and he said 'well, there is a long way to go and we do have plenty to go through but trust me, time will fly.' This is the sad but true fact.
Time is not on our side. As human beings we are always running after what should be or what could be. We plan dates and meetings, holidays and trips without actually living in the present. How many times do we stop and savor the moment. We are quick to complain and very slow to give thanks. We always plan for the future but don't stop and live in the present.

Someone told me that our breath is important - we breathe in and out - every time we do so, we have less breaths to take here on this earth. Our number of breaths have been granted to us and when we use them all then we can breathe no more. How much breath do we waste on bitching and moaning? How much breath do we waste on complete and utter crap? Give thanks for your breath. Let it be slow and deliberate and when you breathe give thanks for that moment, you know it will never come back and you know it brings you closer to the next.

Aah, philosophy. My half brother loves his philosophy. Oh yes, I have an entire family that I need to tell you about. But that is for another day and time. But the few times I spoke to him in my adulthood, I realized that he likes to think he is a philosopher. May be he is - in his own way. Who am I to judge?

I have just been handed a cup of hot chocolate with lil marshmallows in it. Its raining outside and my husband has told me that I need to get off the laptop and 'chill'. I have worked hard this weekend and I need a break. I will adhere to his simple request (I know, can he stop giving me reasons to fall in love with him over and over again?) and log off now..
Thanks for allowing me to share and give you a glimpse into my pink world..

My dear Sanka,
I love you loads and always will. Your life was super precious and I am so glad you were a part of mine. Rest well in doggie heaven you cute monster- you are missed dearly my cuddly friend.
RIP Sanku
Pink xxx

Old Wife!

Hello my blog peeps. Thanks for reading my blog and you do read it from all over the world. Asante :)

As I type I am still waiting for the city council to provide my home with water so basically - I have no water, we had no electricity for two hours the other night and we had no internet for over a week. I was losing the plot! I was, in a sense, living in simpler times but I was pulling my hair out. Ah yes, I also have no nanny - she called in sick! How spoiled am I? I am so used to things being done and being there I just take it for granted, and God forbid something stops in its supply or service for even as little as two hours, I am falling apart. I do have to admit, I am addicted to twitter and, now because of my daughter, Mickey Mouse Club House, and I like having things work and function. I wouldn't say that I have OCD - but I am a bit obsessive and compulsive. I told you before, I need a good therapist! Whooosaaaaa

So, did I tell you about the 3 days before my birthday and how the dentist pulled my tooth out and then the following week my gum got an infection and then I got a temporary tooth to put there but because of the infection I cannot use it! I have nice friends. They must have noted that I am kinda mapengo (without a tooth) but they did not say a thing. It is toward the back of my mouth and because I have a wide smile you tend to notice it. Also, because its a gap it looks black so if you notice it for a second it looks like I have a rotten tooth! It is kind of sad really, but I take it in my stride and with humour. If you see it and point it out, I will totally make fun of it with you - so feel free!

So, remember the show I told you about that was on the back burner? Well, am told that the producer of the show changed and because I was involved in it, the show was trashed. Ah, another boost to the ego. Then I found out who the producer person is and it all made sense. I wonder how treading on me makes you higher? But hey, whatever floats your boat. It is amazing how much politics we play in media! Shame! Not only in media though, all around us there are those really miserable people who enjoy attempting to make your life unhappy.
I just shrug my shoulders and throw up two fingers. I am so past the point of giving a haq! If it is in my destiny, no one can stop it from coming to life. No one. Even the Bible says so! Do these people not know it? 

I am looking out the window and wondering what the weather is doing! It needs to decide if it is going to rain or shine. These 5 minute showers are doing nothing for my washing, my plants, my outdoor play time with Ariyana. Also, exciting news - there is a wedding in the family and it is an outdoor one, so the rain needs to behave (if that makes any sense)! I have heard an old wives tail that if you put a knife in the ground it keeps the rain away... Do you think these old wives (by the way when does when become an old wife? Is it when you reach a certain age or when your husband tells you he is finding a new one?) have any remedies for nannies not showing?

Fab week my lovelies..don't let your haters, or any other negative circumstance, get you down!

Roberto Cavalli...

So here I am a year older. It feels different. I feel more confident in my skin, I have stopped the need to people please as I know my worth and most importantly I am grateful for the life I have had and what is in store for me! Thank you for the birthday wishes and the special messages that came through to me via twitter, facebook (or as it is now known as- stalkerbook) and text messages or phone calls.

I had a blast. The reason; I didn't plan anything with anyone but myself and whoever wanted to was very free to join me. I have to say by the end of the day, alongside my very pish posh friends and family, I celebrated with the Pratts, Gecagas, Gichurus and Martha Karua herself. How cool am I. Of course, this just meant I was in the right place at the right time with the Wokabis, Patels, Sehmis and Ghelanis! Oh look, there is me, name dropping! One more name I must drop is Roberto Cavalli as he too made an appearance at my celebrations through his Vodka, sent from a special friend. How cool am I?

But my week was full of the celebs. I wined and whined with Jeff Koinange. He is a cool dude. No matter what anyone says, he is who he is and has achieved plenty! It is so nice to hang out with like minded individuals. We had such a laugh over 4pm glasses of wine, mid week! Then I got to lunch with Caroline Mutoko who is also such a fun babe. I remember once at Kiss FM I walked in for my shift and made a comment about me being hungry - as you do when at work. Chick ordered me a box full of donuts that I could munch away on for the next four hours. Say what you may, but only a good person does that.

I partied on Friday and my daughter partied on Saturday. She was invited to party after party, not bad for a 16 month old. It is ok when mommy is ushering her to all the parties, I am sure I won't be this excited about her social life when she hits 16! So, the gossip at one of the parties caught me off guard totally! So, a few weeks ago I did a show stopper at a fashion show at Zen Garden. I enjoyed it, in fact another celeb, Fareed Khimani did my ego some good when he introduced me on stage, it was fun.
Turns out, according to word about the crowd (or may be one unhappy individual), someone should have come backstage to 'tell pinky to pull her stomach in as it is bulging'. Shock! Eh! Errr, I think when am on stage, wearing something that reveals my stomach, I suck it in- even though I do not need to. Sorry to sound like an arrogant beeyach, but I work hard on my body and I am not in denial nor do I like lying to myself, but I know my stomach was not bulging. Even if it was - I stopped the show, not the person who made that comment!

Sometimes things are said that make me SMHOL- shake my head out loud, for lack of a better term. The older I get the more I get that people will say whatever, whenever. Sometimes just to make them feel better about their own lives. Whatever, fact is that I have worked to get where I am, to be able to name drop and sip some Roberto Cavalli Vodka and to get up on stage and do my thing when asked to. Like it or lump it!
Happy Birthday to me..here's to saggy bits and bobs that I am working toward cosmetically enhance!

StupidQuestion...

I seem to attract plenty of stupid questions, best response...stupid answers! Here is one..

At a fashion show in December one of the designers came up to me and said: "Aren't you 38 and have like 3 kids?"
My reply: "No actually, I am 80 and I ate two of my kids which has kept my youthful look"
He was trying to be a bitch about my age and how long I have been modelling for and that 'mothers' should not model. Of course he called me when he saw me in the paper to ask me to model for him. Dude, if you upset by older models, Heidi Klum, Cindy Crawford and the rest of them need to be afraid as am sure they are all dying to work with you!

Mumbai...Bye Bye

There's no place like home, there's no place like home...Just like Dorothy in with Wizard of Oz, this time when I went away, I heard myself saying that a lot. Strange how one changes. Before I was ready to up and move to Mumbai, I had even decorated my flat in my head and bought a car in my mind. Do not get me wrong, I still love the hustle and bustle and the vibe of the city of Mumbai but when I got home I was so in love with my country and my home and my dogs and everything about my home.

Although it was a bit scary to come back to stories of friends and even family being robbed or almost being robbed. People breaking in with knives and guns. The sad part was that some really amazing dogs had been killed by thugs (I am an animal lover), my heart broke for them! I don't understand it and is it ever going to get better?
I remember some of my conversations with my cousin, her husband and their friends in Mumbai were about 2012 and the end of the world. In the Bhagvad Gita and in other Holly Books, they talk about the end coming and us face dark ages. To me, this is all dark - greed, poverty, war, sickness, etc. But according to them this is just the beginning. Think of the worst of the worst happening - their example was the relationship so sacred - parent and child and think of that being turned into a romantic relationship and it being the norm - when that happens then the world will end. I was gobsmacked, I even felt a little bit ill and the word that came to mind was 'eeeeeeew'.

I think it is up to us to work toward being better people. We need to find out spiritual side and nurture it because only then will we take responsibility for the direction of our lives. Today lying is second nature to some people, they shrug their shoulders and just say what pleases them so that their lives are made easier. Some people even have the energy to sit and plan and plot on how to make others lives a misery. That is just sad, instead use that energy to better your own life. Where are we headed?

I talk like this today perhaps because I am a parent. I feel responsible for someone else's life and I want her future to be pretty. I also want her to be a good human being and not question herself when her friends are doing the complete opposite. We should all be headed down the same road and wanting more or less the same goals. We want to bring up good human beings because they will better this world. I don't want, in generations to come, my descendant to be sleeping with another one of my descendants! Yuk

The point I am making is this - if 2012 is  meant to be a year of change (or even the end) let us begin with changing ourselves and teaching our children the same.Also, let us build our home, our country. I want to be able to travel and say I am from Kenya with pride. I want good news to be the headlines. I want to be on holiday and have someone from back home call me with something amazing that has happened at home - because this is my home and I really need it to be a place I love and not fear.

2012 the year of the hustler

Happy 2012. Of course I made a mistake on my twitter timeline and said goodbye to 2012 - but it is amazing, you think no one is listening until you make a mistake; that is when you know. That was our rule of thumb on radio too, never ever think no one is listening, even if you are on the graveyard shift (1am to 5am) and if you want to know, just make a teeny tiny error and watch the phone lines light up!

Have you resolved to do anything? I have! I want to be a better cook. My mom is a bad ass cook and to be honest, I can be better in the kitchen, I just find it such a drag. I mean you spend hours chopping, cleaning, cutting, etc and then it literally takes all of two minutes to finish the prepared meal. My motto is can cook, won't cook but that is all about to change in the oh twelve. I have to do my mother proud.

So it has been a while since I blogged right? I had gone off blogging because well, I had to take care of me and my health and then I just got lazy. The end of 2011 was a lazy time for me, but I make no excuses for it, I needed time off and I took it! I also attracted some silly drama in my life, but you know me, where I am, drama follows. It is laughable to be honest, but like one of my statuses on FB said - if I hurt you in 2011, if I misbehaved with you in 2011 blah blah do not hesitate..slap yourself, it must have been your fault. I have stopped being the nice guy. Now a days I speak my mind because I have realized no one is waiting to give you a medal for good behavior and if someone has royally pissed me off, believe you me, they will know it. They call me a bitch and I will make good use of the title.

Ariyana is growing and is talking, it is adorable to hear the words come out of her mouth and her try to say things that her mother and father are saying (note to self, the bad words must stop). I do enjoy motherhood but hats off to mothers of two or three or more. Wow! Those are true women of substance!

Work for 2012 - so much! I cannot wait to get back from a trip I am planning to unleash the pink in me. 2012 is the year baby (or so everyone says), but it is!

Speaking work by the way, I have to complain about service in this country. What is up with the service industry? Do managers not take enough time to train their employees? And with the current trend of inflated prices one really would appreciate a smile at the supermarket or from the waiter at Java. I need to blog about the instances and my encounters - trust me, they have been super entertaining but if one thing is letting us down it is employees who would rather be somewhere else and are just at a job for the pay. Do you have any experiences?

Next blog before I travel. Happy 2012 again. Hustle well this year..