Ladies, Beware the Suitor Con - Guest Post by Chinwe Obi

This is indeed a tough one for me to comprehend as I still cannot fathom the extent to which a full grown healthy man can go to extract some good money out of an innocent, unsuspecting and most times desperate single lady. This is my story as it happened to me, hence the need to warn my fellow single ladies.

I attend one of the very popular and fast growing churches in the city of Lagos, been there for a very long time and have given up the hope of marrying from there as my thinking was that most of these guys have actually confirmed their insecurity because most of the single ladies in the same age brackets as these guys are better off financially, so they are afraid to even start up a conversation in most cases due to the fear of rejection. As a result of this, I decided to start visiting other churches and one of these churches won my heart by the way and manner they conduct things and I decided to stick with it for a while.

Can Women Propose to Men Without Saying the Words?

A couple of posts by fellow bloggers got me thinking about Leap day and that obscure Irish tradition where a lady can ask a man to marry her on this day that only occurs once every four years. Fragile Looks says she's feeling stressed, and what does the doctor order? Get Married! As if. As if it's so easy to get married, right?

I can just imagine a woman walking down the street with a placard around her neck saying, "Marry Me?", until a man stops her and takes her to the nearest priest or registry. Or, she'll barge into her neighborhood bar and pick up the first guy her eyes land on. I hope you're imagining this happening in Nigeria? What do you think will happen after that?

Nigerian Power Couples - The Secrets to their Long-lasting Marriages

What has really kept them together this long? Does having lasting relationships have anything to do with working together? These couples are in the spotlight and contrary to the notion that celebrity marriages don’t last, these ones have been able to weather the storm. Probably there could be some peculiar observations that we can make.

Married for 10years+

Fela and Tara Durotoye: Fela is a motivational speaker and business coach and Tara is an Entrepreneur. Need we say more about how they help and complement each other? This is what Fela Said to Tara on their fourth wedding anniversary :

“I am committed to working with God to bring out the best you that God has put in you. I am determined on seeing all of God’s dreams for you come to pass. Today, it’s House of Tara, in a short while, the WORLD OF TARA would soon become a reality, the multi-national empire that reveals the real beauty in every woman from the four corners of the world.”

Black History Month Blog Hop - Best Of WA Romance

The final post for the Black History Month Blog Hop, hosted by Reflections of a Bookaholic and Mocha Girls Read, is here! It's purpose was to give black authors, books, and those who support them a month in the spotlight. This week focuses on the "Best of" in Black literature (or authors) and this topic runs from February 26-29th.

Leap into Books Giveaway - Your Choice from Book Depository

AND THE WINNER IS TRESSA O! CONGRATS!

Dynamic Views Now Supports Limited Blogger Gadgets

Profile Gadget

Blogger's Dynamic Views were introduced as a way to catch up to the new direction of the internet - something to do with HTML5 or something like that. I don't know much about these things, but if you've noticed, a lot of web property are adopting a stripped down look which is supposed to make the web faster and all. If you use Google a lot like me, you would have noticed it in Gmail, G+, Youtube, Blogger; and I noticed Amazon is the doing the same, and in their corner, so is Microsoft. Anyway, Dynamic Views was Bloggers front end answer after premiering the new backend sometime last year.

For now, it is still optional, but I can imagine that with time, it may become the only choice available. Don't get me wrong, I like it. I love that it has infinite scrolling and is faster for my readers. I also like that the reader can select various formats by which to interact with my blog. My reluctance to move yet is the minimal customization. Previously, the only thing available to differentiate one blog using Dynamic Views from the other was the background and maybe title font. Not any more.

Do Men Really Want Love?

There was a sub in one of Lady Ngo's blogs where she said that blogsville desperately needs more men. I replied that I also wonder why there aren't more male personal bloggers. Because I think ladies need to hear more about life from a male POV.

Well, a female writer on Naijastories shared a short and sweet story titled "The Perfect Gift" on what it is men may want. She says she wrote this in May of 2008, but it was published on Valentine's Day because that seemed like the perfect time to share it.  The moral of the story is that all men want is a kiss and a cuddle. Now, male readers may have a different opinion. Read and let me know what you think.

Chioma and Tita Obii-Obioha - Take Time for Romance

Today's guest is Chioma of Love. 'n Words.com. She says of one of the reasons she started her blog, "my family will tell you that I am a hopeless romantic. I love love LOVE “love” and coming up with little romantic ideas. So, I figured that I would channel all that romantic energy to a blog that celebrates love and romance in a fun and passionate way." She is currently running a series of thank you's to her husband as a pledge to Twenty days of Good Good Lovin'. Enjoy her marriage avowals below.

Oscar Best Picture is The Artist and Fabulous Red Carpet Couples

I have watched six of the nine movies nominated for the Oscars this year and I saw The Artist last, just last weekend. However, it is my tip to win best picture at the Oscars this evening, it was amazing! I heard so much about the movie floating around that I just had to see it. The film is shot on black and white and is basically silent, with subtitles at key moments. The story itself starts in 1927 and runs through to 1932 spanning the American Great Depression which is subtly referenced in the movie. Why am I rooting for the the movie? It is a fantastic movie and it is in my favorite genre - romantic comedy/drama

When in Love, Age is just a Number. Isn't it?

 

Now, let's put aside visa issues and whether that was the reason for the couple above to get hitched. What I want to ask is; Is it impossible for a young man to fall in love and marry an older woman and vice versa? I think that though it is uncommon, it does happen sometimes. Say the older woman is independent and takes care of herself, and that is what the younger guy needs in his woman. Or an older man is much more mature and has a ecletic knowledge, and that is what the younger woman finds attractive in men. I know age differences beyond 30 years may be pushing it, but surely 15 to 20 years is not so bad?

There are things that attract people to each other apart from looks, and really, apart from what society expects, age is usually the last thing on one's mind when we're talking basic attraction. Let's imagine this scenario, you see a guy, he looks OK, and you both strike up a conversation which goes on and on... you feel so comfortable and in tune with each other. Or a guy meets a woman, she is a fantastic cook and very caring, maybe he was in hospital and she's a nurse or doctor. When do they ask each other their ages? What if they had already fallen in love by then?