Seattle Rain Spoils My View of a Solar Eclipse

Last weekend was another reason to rail against the poor weather in this side of the country. While most of the other places on the West Coast were enjoying views of the solar eclipse that happened on Sunday, the rain and clouds over Seattle ruled that out for us. I've been looking forward to the eclipse for a while now, and was very hopeful since we had excellent weather most of last week.

AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Johnny Hanson

That bright run ended on Saturday and the whole of Sunday was all bleh. And to think we actually drove several miles to see if we could catch it in another part of the county. It got dark for a while but the clouds were just too thick. Well, thank God for pictures and video. Did anyone else manage to catch this?

My Big Fat Nigerian Wedding - Creativity or Extravagance?

I was reading a blog the other day by an expat who attended their first Nigerian wedding in Nigeria and was amazed that there were over 10 priests. The blogger joked that it was as if the planners of the wedding wanted there to be as many ministers as possible witnessing the marriage so that no one can deny it took place after the fact. I smiled as I remembered my own wedding. There were two bishops, 3 Archdeacons and about 7 other priests.

In any typical Nigerian wedding, there are at least 2 or 3 priests and then you have to talk about the 200 - 1000 other guests that attend, and the masses of money paid for photography and video for the big day. Of course, it is not about witnesses, but about the Nigerian way of inviting as many friends and family as you can to celebrate with you.  This ties back a bit to my post on destination weddings and the recent CNN article on the wedding boom in Nigeria.

How I Take care of My Skin

I'm talking about my skin today because I was reminded by the last meme I took part in - 11 Question Tag - where I answered questions about my beauty regime and my favorite beauty product. While I'm not a cosmetic junkie by any means, I try to use a small number of good quality skin care products to take care of my skin, especially my face. While it's not susceptible to acne, the sun is a different matter altogether and I have noticed that generally, my face tends to be darker than the rest of my body.

You see, when you do not use products with sun protection in a tropical country like Nigeria, the possibility of sun damage is very high. A few years ago, I began to notice the uneven skin tone down the sides of my face. Funnily enough, I never realized how susceptible I was to sunburn until I moved to the United States.

I had gone to the beach with Atala wearing a halter-neck bathing suit and without sunscreen. It was my first summer here after a very dreary spring and I was lapping up the sun like a dog starved of water. However, I had to beg for us to leave after some hours. My back was on fire. You guessed it, I had sunburn on my face and my back. It was so serious that I had to use medication for almost a week after that.

The 11 Question Tag - Who's Next?

It's been quite a while since I did my last meme that I've almost forgotten about them. But I do like reading the getting-to-know you tags on other blogs, and it's nice when someone remembers you. I was tagged by Destiny + Yankeenaijachick Success. Thankyou, dear.

These are the rules - You must post 11 things about yourself. Answer the questions that your tagger posted for you. Create 11 questions, then choose 11 people and tag them to answer your questions. Remember to let them know you tagged them. No tag backs...Let the tagger know when you answered their questions. So these are eleven things about me -

1. I live 8, and sometimes 9hrs behind GMT. This is for those in Naija and UK who beef me on FB and Twitter cos they think I ignore their tweets and chats. I am possibly sleeping by then.

2. To those saying HUH! to the above, don't be fooled by when my blog posts are published, most of them are scheduled days if not weeks in advance.

3. I am from Asaba and like to brag about it, but seriously, I don't know much about Asaba and the people. I sometimes cringe when people ask, oh...do you know so and so family?

4. I like musicals and so I guess it follows that I like the Opera. After attending about three Live Performances, I was almost about to scratch it off my interests list then I saw Madama Butterfly on a large screen. I now know I prefer it that way.

How I almost fell for a GTBank Email Scam

If anyone had asked me about my vulnerability to bank email scams two weeks ago when I received and trashed a GTBank Scam Alert email, I would have scored it zero. When it comes to phishing scams where you are supposed to go somewhere and fill in your details, I considered myself sophisticated and above all that. I used to think, I've been doing this internet thing for ten years now, they can't get me.

Well last weekend, they almost did. I had recently opened a GTBank Non-Resident account which I could use from here through internet banking and had little complaints. Funny enough, I had mentioned to Atala that I felt they were too security conscious. Logging into my account online was like going down to the bank vault, there were so many locks and bolts, pincodes, passwords, secret questions, tokens, etc...it took almost 5mins and compared to the one-minute transaction on my account here, I was chaffing.

Going Down Memory Lane - TV Throwback

First of all, thank you all so much to those who read and commented on the last post. With such love from you guys, I'll be doing more personal posts like that. :)

For today, I want to take you back to those good old days of naija in the eighties. Yeah, I know, my age is showing now, I'll pull it up soon, lol... I saw this picture of Rita Dominic on a movie set and it took me down memory lane, straight into the parlour of our Enugu flat.

That TV in the left corner, I can almost swear that was the exact same model we had back then. Ours was a Sanyo, I think, and you could draw the front together and lock. And lock it my parents did sometimes. But I think we figured out a way around that, don't quote me please.

He is Risen! Happy Easter to Everyone

I want to wish all of you my wonderful friends and blog readers a Happy Easter! I wish everyone a day filled with enjoyment, friends and family. For me, it is more than the bunnies, eggs or chocolate, but the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ which has ushered in a hope for life eternal.

 In the midst of all the celebrations and happiness this Easter Sunday and Monday, I want us to remember the true meaning of Easter. I wish you all a blessed and purposeful new month of April. I know that great things will surely happen and keep happening to all of us.

Jackpot! I'm a Mega Millions Winner!

I was among the millions of Americans who sat before their TVs and Radios last night, Mega Millions ticket in hand, and hoping to hear my numbers being called. While I was not among the three who will be sharing the $640 million jackpot, some of my numbers were actually chosen and I'm a big winner!

The three lucky winners in the historic jackpot are each expected to receive $213 million before taxes but I'm happy with what I'm getting, I'm a Dollar Millionaire! This is so amazing, you guys! A Thousand in March and a Million in April, wow! Now, what to do with the money. *Dancing Azonto...*

Faith that Moves Mountains - Woman Prays away Tornado

I couldn't help the goosebumps I had while watching this video. Maybe I wouldn't have stood outside like that, but yeah, I believe in that kind of faith and prayer. My heart goes out to the people who have lost friends and family, or their homes and business, to the rage of tornadoes sweeping across the USA.

May those who have died, rest in peace. Hope blogger peeps are doing OK. Take care, everyone.

Happy Valentine's Day and Giveaway Winners

This was the e-card sent to me by Lady Ngo and I really loved it. She mentioned Atala too, so I shared it with him. I hope you all have a lovely and loving day. Happy Valentine's Day all.

The Winners of the With Love Giveaway are;

A Love Rekindled - Pendo and Miki
A Heart to Mend - Sally and Savannah
Always and Forever, Love - Okeoghene

Picture Weekend - For those who like my Braids

As you can see, I can never be a Fashion Blogger so be gentle with me. I already know there's no sense of style or color coordination. As for the postures, I'm shaking my head at myself this time. What of the Poncho and Sneakers combination? My only excuse is that I'm still looking for a stylist, lol. All credits for any nice shots go to the photographer, Atala. The setting is the Redmond Town Center sometime last year. Continue for more pictures, and do have a great weekend, mwah!

Bringing out your inner extrovert

I used to be very introverted. Still am, sometimes. But only when I want to be. Most people who meet me in company these days would be surprised to hear Myne and introvert in one sentence. I can laugh and make conversation like the next person, even dance and get some PDA going where it is possible. Starting this blog wasn't such a big deal, and I only thought about it for a few days before I opened up my Facebook page and my Twitter account to the public. Now I tell my readers what I put in my meatpie, and chat with complete strangers on Facebook on a daily basis. On twitter, someone even caught me whispering about Atala's beard. So what happened? The following are some of the ways I have learnt to bring out my inner extrovert;

Birthday in pictures - A Surprise Helicopter Ride

Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes on my last post. I was blown away by those who actually called, and everyone that sent text messages or email, I appreciate you all.

To be honest, my head is still buzzing from the events of the past two days and I can't coordinate my thoughts. Below are the pictures from the surprise that Atala gave me on Tuesday - a helicopter ride! It was an amazing experience and one I'll treasure for a long time. Enjoy...

On-camera audience: Extreme Makeover - Weight Loss Edition

Some weeks ago, I got an email invitation from on-camera audiences to be at the Tacoma filming of a local resident's big reveal for Extreme Makeover - Weight Loss Edition, and I clicked delete. If you remember, I had enjoyed being part of the Seattle X-Factor taping which was like a concert, with the added sugar of seeing Simon Cowell and his gang. But though we had followed the first season of this new ABC show and liked the idea and the presenter, Tacoma was over an hour away from us, and I thought the drive would be too much hassle. A week later, another email came saying The Harlem Globetrotters would be playing a live game for the audience. I was like, really!?

Picture Weekend - Revenge, my tiny Afro

I learned a new phrase last night, double infinity.

It's from the new ABC show, Revenge, which I watched on the Friday showing. We missed the premiere on Wednesday cos we went out but now the show has definitely found its place on my must-watch list. Growing up, I struggled with the revenge side of my scorpio, and it's a theme that still holds a fascination for me (see A Heart to Mend). Anyway, I went on wiki and found that the TV show is an adaptation of "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alex Dumas, and I'm a huge fan of that book. There's been a lot of changes obviously, but I'm already liking that the two main characters are strong females, terrifically acted by Emily VanCamp, and Madeleine Stowe, and I look forward to how the writers will pull it off.

On to my hair, I cut my it in late March and the second picture was taken in the second week of April. The first was taken just this Wednesday, and if I do say so myself, I think the hair is growing. As you can see, the front grows faster than the back, giving me a punk look, lol...

Friendship - Can we not agree to disagree?

A topic has been flying around blogsville for the past couple of days and  with posts, counter-posts and comments, the battle lines were drawn. I am a strong proponent for social rights and while in Edinburgh, I worked to promote gay health and rights, but that doesn't mean I'm blind to the feelings of those who feel uncomfortable with homosexuality. I don't think it's right to demonize them as stupid, sad, ignorant, close-minded, judgmental, archaic, etc; which was what it seemed most of the counter-posts were about, or they were providing platforms for others to throw the insults.

See, I can be very sociable most times but I find it difficult to make friends. This is because I can hold different opinions from most people on various topics. Also, I find cliques very confining because it seems that once a group has agreed on one thing, the members are expected to agree on everything. And this is so difficult for me because my mind sometimes works in seemingly illogical and sometimes contradictory ways. So, when I see people I think understand difference, it gladdens my heart, be it in real life or online.

Picture Weekend - SADE Tour in Seattle

How is everyone? Hope the weekend is going well? I'm still sticking with my plan of taking it easy today, but I think in addition to reading, I'll be doing some writing as well. Atala is going for a long bus hike and street discovery in another part of town and wants my company, but naa...it's good for couples to spend some time apart, or so I hear sha. :)

How I broke my hand

Did anyone try to guess how I broke my hand? One person on Facebook said something that made me go, huh? Ehmmm...no, nobody beat me up. I might be an author but my life is not that exciting yet, :) So what really went down? I'm sure some of you put two and two together from the pictures I used for the Confession Time post, helmet = biking = fall?

Confession Time

Yes, I've been keeping something from you all along, two things actually.

1. I have started on my third book *big grin* and I'm over 20,000 words after a month. It's a bit slow going for my liking but my next secret will reveal why. Anyway, I've decided to start sharing some bits of the first draft here with you guys starting this Monday. I hope you like it. This also means that I'll be cutting back my posts to maybe just twice a week cos the story is really calling me to finish it. What are the particulars? Below is a pitch I made to an agent recently.

Picture Weekend - Book Reading at the Redmond Library

So I was booked to do a book reading and discussion at one of the Libraries in our area. They recently stocked both of my books, A Love Rekindled and A Heart to Mend and were impressed by the interest in them from the members. Anyway, it was a lovely outing and even though only five people in all turned out, I had fun discussing with them in a more intimate and personal way. I even made a new fan/friend, lol...