Holiday Cooking - With a Side of Brussels Sprouts

Because we traveled over the holidays, I tried not to do anything too adventurous in the kitchen with my cooking. I planned to bake a cake but scrapped it in favor of store-bought pie, buns and chin-chin for dessert. The main meal was whole roasted Chicken and I played it safe with plain Jollof Rice as the primary side dish.

For veggies, I decided to go with Brussels sprouts. This is not the favorite vegetable to grace my table neither did I grow up eating it, but since spending a few years in the UK with a couple of Christmas Lunches with natives, I hardly think 'holiday' without thinking of the small sized cabbage wannabes.

I hear that Brussels Sprouts are not very well loved, and truly on their own, they don't taste that great. However... however, they do have some things going for them. For me, first and foremost is that they're veggies and so obviously, the calorie count is relatively low. They also provide some variety to the usual suspects of lettuce, carrots, spinach, cabbage, etc.

What is the Mu-mu thing about Love?

Whenever I hear this question, some quotes from one of my favorite movies of all times come to mind. In Moulin Rouge, a poor poet is in love with a cynical courtesan, and when she says she couldn't fall in love, he tells her, "a life without love, that's... terrible...Love is like oxygen! Love is a many splendored thing. Love lifts us up where we belong. All you need is love!"

I watched that movie a long time ago, when I too was beginning to ponder the meaning of love, and I'll like remember those words forever. Another quote that has stuck too is when one of the characters says of love, "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." I totally agree. It takes courage to love, and when your love is returned, it can be beautiful.

The other exposition about love which I hold close to my heart is the one by Paul in ICorinthians 13: 4-8a

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

Oscars Nominations and who gets my Votes

I have watched several movies, some of which are I've reviewed, and it was with interest that I realized that a lot of those movies were being mentioned when touts for Oscar glory were being made. The nominations are out now and Lincoln takes the lead with 12 nominations, including best picture and best director for Steven Spielberg. I won't be surprised if it wins both, it is a worthy film though not my favorite.

At this point, can I say that I'm disappointed that Cloud Atlas did not make any of the top categories, and was not nominated at all, at all? Imagine the great work by Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, and the other actors, as well as the directing, makeup, cinematography, editing, etc? Were they disqualified for some reason I don't know? Anyway, too bad.

So what do I think of those that were nominated? Not that it matters. The award winners are selected by "members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a group of some 6,000 working professionals in cinema", and I can assure you I'm not one of those esteemed people. But let's have some fun with this, shall we?

Let's Talk to the Men Who Rape - Shall We?

There is often the perception that men who rape are beasts and animals, the dregs of society. But is that really true? I think we make a mistake when we equate rapists with murderers, violent delinquents, street touts, depraved armed robbers, etc. In my experience, and that of a few women I've spoken with, or heard their stories, rapists are more usually the men around you, men you know.

It could be a male friend, coursemate, colleague, or neighbour. In some terrible instances, it could be someone related to you, a father, brother, and for some women, a boyfriend or a husband. Now, I know, I know. I am being heavily gender biased. A contributor to a thread on Facebook almost derailed a discussion on rape by bringing up the fact that women rape too, and that men can equally be victims of rape. I will not deny that.

However, history, statistics and current events, as well as shared experiences show that rape is a crime that is predominantly committed against women. So I'll focus on male rape against women here. As I was saying, rapists are not always strangers. In the sensational Abia rape case last year, the victim knew some of her rapists, and called them by name. They were not armed robbers, they were not street touts, they were university students.

New Year Extravaganza! 18 Books, $100 Grand Prize

Welcome to the New Year Book Extravaganza!

We're featuring 15 authors, all with book giveaways AND you'll have a chance to enter at each stop for the $100 Grand prize Giveaway!

Meet featured authors and learn more about them and their books on the dates below. You may also enter their giveaways, and read "glimpses" of the books, at any time on the Event Page.

Bad Boy Rehab - Giveaway Hop

We tried giving up Bad Boys for our New Year’s Resolution…..
but try to make me go to rehab and I said no no no.

Bad Boy (n.) person
1. A guy who has many characteristics of a naughty, naughty boy.
OMG let the drooling begin.
2. A heartbreaker with a five o’clock shadow.
Rawrrrrrr!
3. Independent and willful. Does what he wants when he wants. Never follow trends, they follow him.
4. Someone that’s not looking for trouble, but there’s a serious sense of danger about him.
We love danger!
Usable Note: A bad boy is a gorgeous man with MANY layers and is INSANELY irresistible to women.
 *raises hands*… YES PLEASE!

It is said that most of us ladies prefer the bad boys, I don't know about that. What I do know is that I like reading about them in romantic fiction. There's just something about a bad boy falling in love and becoming vulnerable, just like in Obsidian, the YA novel by Jennifer Armentrout.

It Happened before Ten that Morning by Seun Odukoya

I’m some kind of a rules person. I like rules. They keep things simple.

While I believe that ‘law and order’; either as a TV series or as a legal system is nothing but a crock of shit, I also believe that some order is necessary. I mean – how do you get anything done without discipline?

So it follows that I have rules that govern my life and living. Rules like no eating after eight at night. No eating before twelve noon. No alcohol during the week except on vacation. Yeah. Pretty boring I know.

I had a couple concerning relationships. No serious relationships or commitments before I am a particular age. No romantic anything before twelve noon except on weekends. And no romance around the office. I believe the informal expression for that last one is; “don’t shit where you eat”.

Fast Grow Hair Growth Oil - Product Review

Since my big chop, my hair has been growing, but like I mentioned in my hair journey so far, not as fast as I expected it to. And definitely not as fast as I want it to. Some say healthy hair should grow about half an inch every month, if that is the case, then I'm right and though my hair has made good progress, it still has a ways to go.

Around the time I started researching better hair products than the one I had been using was when I was contacted by Sunset Hair to try out some of their Exotic Allure products.

From their website before I accepted to try the products, I found that the Exotic Allure Hair Growth products were specifically formulated to help promote fast, healthy hair growth by reducing hair breakage and shedding. It can be used for both relaxed or natural hair, and can be out on hair when wet and also while dry. For those with dry, flaky, itchy or inflamed Scalp, the oil supposedly helps too. I agreed to do the review and soon received the Fast Hair Grow Oil and Black Hair Vitamin.

Are Men Willing to Wait till Marriage?

A lot of the posts I have shared on this blog on celibacy and abstinence, both for personal or religious reasons, have been mostly focused on women. Someone sent me a Dear Myne post, asking how to find true love as she is celibate. Another sent in a comment that some men who will accept to abstain from sex with their women are often not interesting.

The articles I have written on this issue are more middle of the road, taking both genders into account, either as singles, or as people in a relationship.

One question that hasn't been really tackled here, and which I found while looking through the search phrases for my blog is the title of this post. Are men willing to wait till marriage? I know for certain that some men are, the question for the ladies may be, where are they and are they enough?

Downton Abbey Season 3 Begins With a Wedding

I first heard about Downton Abbey from Sting and after a while, I decided to check it out. The first episode I caught up with on PBS was not so encouraging. There were some characters I knew I could get to love, like Maggie Smith's sharp witted old Dame, but not knowing the full story held me back.

However, finding out over the weekend on Twitter that a new season was starting, I decided to try again. And I was rewarded with a fantastic episode, which included a lovely wedding. Matthew Crawley and Lady Mary of Downton Abbey had a beautiful spring wedding in their village church.