Category: Lifestyle

AN ODE TO A RARE GEM

It was sometime in January 2011, I was ill and assumed it was malaria again. You see, I am one of those people who get ill with malaria at least 4 times in a year even though I still wonder how , considering the fact that everyone around me never gets malaria. Like someone once said, maybe there are special mosquitoes who prefer me for lunch and never leave any bite marks. Anyway, I left my office which used to be off Alfred Rewane and headed towards Obalende to First Consultant hospital.

It was my first time at that hospital and after a few minutes of waiting at the doctor’s waiting room, I heard a voice, a feminine but strong voice coming from the corridor towards the waiting room. Every staff  around me immediately started “forming  serious” if you know what I mean, so I was quite eager to see who that voice belonged to. And there comes in a petite woman with a pleasant disposition in a white Doctor’s coverall and I watched as she walks into the Doctor’s office.

So I get called up into the doctor’s office and initially it was just like any other appointment until she sent me to the lab for some tests. On returning to her office for a review of the results, well she gave me the best news ever, I was pregnant, but that was not all she said, she gave me a lecture. Yes I said it, a proper lecture on how lucky I was as I was newly married and still under 30, and said quite a few things about not taking it for granted and prioritizing my health and the safety of the baby over everything else.

That was my first encounter with Dr Stella Adadevoh, and I really did not appreciate her style and just took it for granted (until I had another bad pregnancy experience with another doctor)

A couple of years after this, I had my second encounter with Dr Adadevoh. Being an asthmatic patient from a young age, I had often times handled my asthmatic attacks with a puff from my Ventolin inhaler, and for those few episodes that I had to go see a doctor, they just nebulize me and I get sent back home.

On this occasion however, it was different simply because the doctor on duty was none other than Doctor Stella Adadevoh. After she instructed the nurses to nebulize me, she once again called me into her office and yes, I got another lecture. This lecture made a huge difference in my life. She had taken the time to print out articles for me on recent medical breakthrough in treating asthma. She then introduced me to a different kind of inhaler which was more for preventing asthma attacks instead of treating it when it already happens. I used this for a month and “viola” I could do practically everything I was once limited to do because I was asthmatic.

Today, I can engage in High Intensity Impact Trainings , and run laps(something I had never in my life been able to do before that lecture).

When the Ebola crisis broke out and I heard about how she insisted that all protocols was followed and refused to let  Patrick Sawyer out of the hospital, I was not surprised at all.

 

What I saw when I met this woman was  an embodiment of what I want to be. My mother raised me never to be mediocre and instilled in me, the need to see an opportunity to make a difference anytime someone needs my help. This has nothing to do with giving money. There is so much we all have to offer but we are rather blinded by the “am too busy syndrome”

 

I want to inspire people and have a positive impact on everyone I come across. In Nigeria where mediocrity is the order of the day and where most people just coast along in a never ending  rat race, I  want to be remembered when I die for the impact I have had and am sure most of you want to as well.

 

There is so much to emulate from this woman, and as Nigeria clocks 56 today and everyone is celebrating her independence, I chose to celebrate a Hero.

Please take a minute to remember this rare gem and say a prayer for her soul.

On a final note, take a minute to listen to Beyoncé’s “I was here ” while meditating on the lyrics.

When you die, what will be the proof that you lived? What will you do???

RIP Dr Adadevoh, we truly lost an angel.

 

Ladypreneur Interview with Msmodish

Finally, it’s Monday, and as promised, we are posting the first Ladypreneur interview. This was actually the second interview we had in the first series out of five; we decided to bring this to your screen first.

To be sincere, I wasn’t exactly thrilled by the audio quality but I decided to share it all the same, while we work on improving this as we commence shooting of series two. This is because the message and the value of this interview go beyond the aesthetics of the video or audio.

 

I will be posting a transcript of the video before the week runs out for people who can’t spare enough data to watch till the end. So without further ado, I present to you, Damilola Oke, popularly known as Msmodish of Fierce and Modish.

For me the major lesson learnt from this interview is to always have a plan B for my business, please watch and share with me, what you can relate with in this video as well as the most important message you can take away from the video. Okay that’s enough talk already, watch and enjoy.

AGING

In this age of Botox, vampire facials and tummy tucks, women have taken the concept of forever young to a whole new level. Women like Mo Abudu, Halle Berry, Sade Adu, to mention but a few in their 50’s and 60’s are giving women in their 20’s a run for their money and believe me most of them never paid a visit to DR 90210 if you know what I mean.

To join this league of ladies who have succeeded in aging so graciously, you need to work for it and earn it; don’t be deceived it is all about good genes.  Overall, there are some things you definitely need to know and do, as early as when you are in your 20’s in order to age gracefully. It’s okay if you are way older than that, there’s no better time to start than now

 

First you need to identify likely problem areas and pamper them before they start to show. Ever heard the saying “Black don’t crack”? Well, it will definitely crack if you don’t take care of yourself.

Eye bags – Your face is the first thing anyone will notice about you when trying to determine your age, and the most prominent tell on your face is the presence of eye bags. These mild swelling or puffiness under the eyes is natural effect of aging. The tissues around your eyes, including some of the muscles supporting your eyelids, weaken, normal fat that helps support the eyes can then move into the lower eyelids, causing the lids to appear puffy. Sometimes they are simply caused by retention of water, due to high concentration of salt in the area. Although there are common quick fixes like placing a cool cucumber or a tea bag on your eyes, you should take the following long term and preventive measures earlier.

* Change your sleeping position- If you are not pregnant or have any medical condition that requires you to sleep on your side, switch and start sleeping on your back with your head slightly elevated. This is important because this posture allows fluids to drain from your face. Use an extra pillow so that your head is at least a couple inches above your body.*

 

Catch up on your beauty sleep- You see why it’s called “beauty sleep”? An average person needs at least 8 hours of sleep. It is rather obvious that when you do not sleep well you get bags under your eyes, and the more often you get bags, the higher the likelihood of them getting permanent.

 

Skin on your hands and Feet

As you age, your natural supply of collagen (the protein in human body that holds the body together) reduces. Collagen apart from its several usefulness, helps plump up your skin, and as its supply reduces, it leaves your skin patched and it dries up and cracks. As the skin on your hands and feet are quite thin, the dryness gets very noticeable on them first. Most people pay too much attention to their face and not enough on their hands and feet and after you get fooled into thinking they are young, the hands and feet gives them away. There is only one way to avoid this, HYDRATE AND MOISTURIZE. Drink as much water as you can (my daily goal is 3Liters, don’t worry, you are no balloon, so you won’t burst) and keep your hands and feet as moisturized as possible. Keep a small bottle of Bio oil, shea butter or even your regular moisturizer in your bag and do touch ups during the day, don’t depend on only the morning and night ritual.

 

SKIN ON YOUR NECK THE FAMOUS TURKEY NECK /WATTLE

This reminds me of a character (someone please remind me of his name) in an old series I watched in my twenties Ally McBeal, who loved dating older women so he could touch their necks and feel their wattle- disgusting right!

Anyways, aint nobody got time for a Wattle, so to prevent the early onset of this you need to include your neck in your daily facial regiment and when moisturizing your neck, use upwards stokes. The use of sunscreen cannot be overemphasized, we black women always assume sunscreen is for whites and this is far from the truth. The sun screen breaks down collagen and elastin in your skin so you need to pay extra attention to your neck.

You should also do some targeted exercise such as the neck tilt and avoid any rapid weight loss program (losing more than 1kg per week) as this leaves you with flabby skin.

 

In addition to all of these, two major things that cannot be overemphasized are proper hydration, healthy diet and a fit and healthy lifestyle. If you can take care of your skin, most of your problem areas will be fine. So remember to take at least 2.5 liters of water in a day and stay active- walk, jog, join a gym, dance classes or simply always take the stairs.

You can look like any of the women in the picture above as you get older. The Choice is yours.

Deyodee

Get Ready With Me – Ladyprenuer Interview

Hi Guys,

As we gear up for our first Ladypreneur Video on Monday, I decided to share one of my YouTube videos.

Those of you who know me personally know that I always record a lot of random videos, and on this day I had recorded several short clips and when I posted the last picture on this video on Instagram, it got the highest number of likes (63likes as at today). You see, I don’t really get that much likes on the Instagram page @houseofravissant so 63likes is a big deal (by now, I hope you have picked up on me hinting that you should go like pictures on my  page lol) . Anyways, I decided to share the video of me getting ready for that day, plus it was my first shot at attempting to edit a video. You won’t believe I did everything on my phone, from video recording, to editing and posting on YouTube. Most of these things are actually easier than you think; you just have to give it a shot.

 

And for those of you who asked, yes my outfit is from House of Ravissant, you can check it out on the homepage.

 

Will you like to see more get ready with me videos, behind the scenes of the interviews and bloopers? Let me know in the comment section below. Remember to subscribe to the blog so you can get first hand updates.

TGIF and have a lovely weekend.

Deyodee signing out with hugs and kisses.

 

WORK-LIFE BALANCE

HAVING IT ALL AND MORE

Have you ever come across a woman who seems to have it all figured out? A typical “super woman”, who has somehow gotten the secret formula and is successfully juggling a promising career, and successful marriage, motherhood and a business of her own, Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying having all of these defines how successful a woman is, however, if this is what you are all about and would like to achieve, then this article is for you.

The major key to having it all is PRIORITIZATION. Yup. You need to prioritize. Nobody sets out to having it all on day one. So to start off, you need to consider what the end game is. Not all you seek to achieve will grow at the same rate and as you know, the grass is greener only where it is watered so you need to determine what you want to achieve at each stage in your life, and focus more energy on it.

There is this popular story about prioritization where an old professor of the School of Public Management in France, was invited to lecture on the topic of “Efficient Time Management” in front of a group of 15 executive managers representing the largest, most successful companies in America. The lecture was one in a series of 5 lectures conducted in one day, and the old professor was given 1 hr. to lecture.

Standing in front of this group of elite managers, who were willing to write down every word that would come out of the famous professor’s mouth, the professor slowly met eyes with each manager, one by one, and finally said, “We are going to conduct an experiment”.

Jar of rocks

From under the table that stood between the professor and the listeners, the professor pulled out a big glass jar and gently placed it in front of him. Next, he pulled out from under the table a bag of stones, each the size of a tennis ball, and placed the stones one by one in the jar. He did so until there was no room to add another stone in the jar. Lifting his gaze to the managers, the professor asked, “Is the jar full?” The managers replied, “Yes”.

The professor paused for a moment, and replied, “Really?”

Once again, he reached under the table and pulled out a bag full of pebbles. Carefully, the professor poured the pebbles in and slightly rattled the jar, allowing the pebbles to slip through the larger stones, until they settled at the bottom. Again, the professor lifted his gaze to his audience and asked, “Is the jar full?”

At this point, the managers began to understand his intentions. One replied, “Apparently not!”

“Correct”, replied the old professor, now pulling out a bag of sand from under the table. Cautiously, the professor poured the sand into the jar. The sand filled up the spaces between the stones and the pebbles.

Yet again, the professor asked, “Is the jar full?”

Without hesitation, the entire group of students replied in unison, “NO!”

“Correct”, replied the professor. And as was expected by the students, the professor reached for the pitcher of water that was on the table, and poured water in the jar until it was absolutely full. The professor now lifted his gaze once again and asked, “What great truth can we surmise from this experiment?”

With his thoughts on the lecture topic, one manager quickly replied, “We learn that as full as our schedules may appear, if we only increase our effort, it is always possible to add more meetings and tasks.”

“No”, replied the professor. The great truth that we can conclude from this experiment is:

If we don’t put all the larger stones in the jar first, we will never be able to fit all of them later.

The auditorium fell silent, as every manager processed the significance of the professor’s words in their entirety.

The old professor continued, “What are the large stones in your life? Health? Family? Friends? Your goals? Doing what you love? Fighting for a Cause? Taking time for yourself?”

What we must remember is that it is most important to include the larger stones in our lives, because if we don’t do so, we are likely to miss out on life altogether. If we give priority to the smaller things in life (pebbles & sand), our lives will be filled up with less important things, leaving little or no time for the things in our lives that are most important to us. Because of this, never forget to ask yourself,

What are the Large Stones in your Life? And once you identify them, be sure to put them first in your “Jar of Life”.

With a warm wave of his hand, the professor bid farewell to the managers, and slowly walked out of the room.

 

Identify the pebbles, stones and water in your life and you will be surprised at how things will change once you change the way you look at things.

Most Nigerians are trapped in the Wok-Traffic-Home rat race. Live a little, go dancing, goof around with your kids, learn something new, don’t say there is no time, you know you can make time.

You were not born to pay bills and die.

I will love to hear from you. Are you good at juggling? Do you find yourself with little or no time to do anything apart from work every week day? How do you maintain that work life balance? Please share and comment in the section below.

REMEMBER, YOU HAVE THE SAME 24HOURS IN A DAY JUST LIKE BEYONCE,…

 

Ladyprenuer Series with Deyo

Have you ever had an experience and felt the urge to reach out and share so bad, just to ensure others don’t go make all the mistakes you made? WELL, THAT WAS WHAT BIRTHED THE LADYPRENEUR SERIES ***and the fact that I like to gist ***

I have always been determined to run my own business, and with a day job, it hasn’t exactly been a walk in the park.  Knowing that I still have a lot of room to build and improve on my business before I can be qualified to share, I decided to seek out successful and thriving woman in business. Forget the myth of women not supporting each other, they were all very willing to share their journey, their struggles and mistakes made and how they seized opportunities when others didn’t recognize it.

The goal of this series is to inspire and encourage all ladies in business and give them an opportunity to learn from the successful veterans and other thriving ladypreneurs.

So I am very excited to introduce to you, the first set of Ladypreneurs who were gracious enough to share a “couch” with me. These ladies were intentionally chosen from different spheres of business and at different levels of their success story. Believe me; you will relate with at least one if not all of them.

 

  • Banke Meshida Lawal – CEO BMPro
  • Damilola Oke (Msmodish) of Fierce & Modish LTD
  • Zainab Opeloye – Creative Director of Tosho Woods
  • Chidinma LaPearl Ogbulu of Maison La Pearl
  • Elaine Shobanjo – Owner of Shomya

I will be posting an interview every Monday so watch this space for the first one.

Who do you think is coming to your screen first?

 

TO BLOG OR NOT TO BLOG? THAT IS THE QUESTION

I have always loved the idea of putting pen to paper to express my thoughts, but with a full time job, a business to run, kids to raise and a hubby to wife,…

Did someone say excuses, excuses and more excuses?

I decided to build a website for my retail business, and the thought occurred to me to add a blog to the website.

As a child, I loved reading, I always had my head buried in one book or the other and it’s sad to see the reading culture in Nigeria dying. I visit different blogs daily and see entertaining and enlightening articles and news but after reading, the first ten comments are from people complaining about the length of the article.

 

So here I am, lounging on a couch, listening to the reggae version of Locked up by Adam Levine and wondering, do I really want to blog and can I make that commitment without flaking after just a couple of articles? To make this decision, I decided to try an old trick. I flipped a coin (finding the coin itself is a story for another day). Before the coin landed, I silently prayed and wished for it to land head first, so here I am!

The whole idea is to bring you some fun reads, motivational, fashion, lifestyle posts and lots of vlogs. If you thought this was going to be a strictly fashion and style blog, am glad to disappoint you.

I will love to hear from you in the comment section below about what else you will like me to blog about, please share and let’s have some fun!

Deyodee signing out,…