olaoluwatomi

Ever gotten out of bed because you cannot sleep? The heater is on 71F which on a good day is enough to warm the house but it looks like tonight the heat is not willing to seep into my bones and chase out the chill. I am heavily dressed and Im imagining that if this was in Lagos, I would be pouring out tons of sweat by now. Fortunately for me the predicted snow storm is a rain storm:) I prefer the rain to the snow anyday cos the cold is not as bad. Overhead a conversation on a bus today where a man said that it had not snowed in an area renowned for winters with 6feet piles of snow leaving those who ran the local skiing resort and all those dependent on it for a living very miserable. The effects of global warming! Even though its pouring instead of snowing,I still cant but miss the heat of my homeland and the familiar chatter of yoruba accents outside my bedroom window when Im trying to sleep.The voices of people passing by on the paths below talk and their voices rise to my ears still...

This Post should have come on Monday and I totally forgot about it, See how grateful I am! Anyway I thank God: 16.For my best friend- Oluwatoyin. 17.That the robbers who went to my sisters house a few nights ago took away only things that can be replaced and left the more valuable things i.e. lives intact, and them unaware of their visit. 18.That I am never alone. 19.That His word is true and is always to be trusted even when things 'look' just the opposite. 20.For My friend Temitope who will be a year older in a few days!

I first wrote this sometime in 2008 but I post it again to remind myself that I am blessed beyond measure to have a friend who loves me unconditionally! My world has been much richer because of my friends and the post below is dedicated to my first and best friend. My first friend is someone who I came into the world with. I shared the same room with her nine months before I was born and grew up sharing my first few rooms on earth with her. We have gone through a lifetime of experiences together. The stories of our early years are not amongst my earliest memories but they are tales that have been recounted over and over again. We were said to have our own special language which no one but ourselves understood and it was with mock horror that I was observed to speak to her in our language and she would go and get my shoes for me or pick up our toys while I stood by watching! I was some friend wasn't I? Later our friendship proceeded to the fighting stage, we fought over books, house...

I remember a great song from childhood, it is a yoruba song that always set our feet to dancing on the assembly lines just before we started the march past into our classrooms. It was one of those jingles whose words put together do not make any earthly sense but the combination of the silly words and the beats just made us wild with joy. It goes thus: Aeroplane i to mi n lo, ba mi ki iyami eleko Eko meji o yo mi oyo mi o oyo mi Moriranwo lagege aja wewu oro so O gbe bag i sapako o wo bata sese kan........... The third line is translated thus I have seen a strange sight in Agege, A dog wearing a dress and tying a wrapper, carries a bag on one shoulder and wears shoes on its feet walking daintily. I really do not know why Agege which is a suburb in Lagos is touted as the place where strange sights occur but in my own experience the strange sights are not in Agege but in the streets of the US. I have really seen dogs dressed up! Call me a girl from the hinterlands but I could not stop m...

Its so amazing how time flies when you count your blessigns, It is already time for my thankful Monday Post! So here goes.... 11. I am grateful for high speed internet connection:) Like many who have experienced the frustrations of a slow browser being able to hit a button and see the page appear compared to boiling a pot of rice while waiting for documents to download is a blessing beyond measure! 12. I am thankful for the gift of another day where God shows me just how much He loves me, with Him every day is valentines day:) 13. I am thankful for having so many books around me,the ability to read just about anything I want to without censorship, without worrying about how to get my hands on that particular volume,thankful for libraries, amazon where books can be bought! 14. I am thankful for help that always arrives when I need it, not one moment early not one moment late! The ministry of angels I call it. 15. Thanking God for my blog:) Its been 4years and 7months since my first post...

Courtesy twitpic http://twitpic.com/photos/LisandroSuero?page=11 Vwa anba debris - (Voices beneath the rubble!) by Joel Theodat! Anmwey! Nou tande m? Eske n tande rèl mwen? M pa konnen si nou ka tande n men mwen anba debris yo Eske tande m anba debri yo? Mwen la, mwen pa mouri M gen blok sou tout kò m epi yo lou M pa ka vire Gen sant kò pouri anba kote m ye a Gen yon moun ki akote m ki pa vire Li pa pale Li kouche la rèd Eske n ap vin chèche m? N ap vini? M pè Poukisa pa gen okenn moun ki vin pou mwen? M tande vwa deyo a. O! O! M tande vwa manman m. "Manman! Manman! Mwen la Manman, wi?" Mwen swaf anpil. Gòj mwen sèch Mo paka soti nan bouch mwen ankò M pa ka respire Manmi, ou kwè m ap janm we figi w ankò? Ou kwè? M santi m anci dòmi, manmi. Toutbagay nwq. Tanpri manmi, tanpri, pa kite m mouri Lè,lè, lè...pa gen ankò.................................. Translation ANMWEYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you hear me? Can you hear my cry? I don't know if anyone can hear me but I am beneath ...

6. For my daily bread-I am grateful for the gift of food,I do not have to search for my daily meal, I am extremely grateful. 7. I thank God for Parents who care so much for me and who continually pray for me. 8. I am thankful for the gift of my senses. Too often I take for granted the fact that I can see and hear all that is happening around me. I thank God for the gift of touch, I can feel the keys of the computer as I type and sense the temperature of things I hold. 9. I am thankful that I have friends who are many times just a phone call away, who I can call on and who will take at least a few minutes to listen to what I have to say. 10. I am grateful for the gift of the written and spoken word. The ability to put down in words my feelings and state things clearly and not be frustrated by an inability to do so is something I am extremely grateful for.

Could not help myself bought a new pile of books in India. The attraction? They were not expensive. Not all the books are from India though, one of the books is a birthday present, one I picked up enroute and another a recommended text for a course on Leadership. Read just three of them and in the middle of two of them. My favourites are the two by Greg Mortenson- 'Three cups of tea' and its sequel, 'Stones into Schools'.The story of Mortenson's Central Asia Institute shows that education is a far more powerful tool than a Kalashnikov and you make more friends with the blackboard than you will with a mortar!

Going to literally do that and pray that I do not become inundated with life's cares that I forget to count God's blessings in my life! Join me every Monday as I join the gratitude community and list the blessings God has blessed me with! It promises to be a journey we wont forget! 1. Thanking God for the gift of life. 2. A nice warm room in winter. 3. A lovely and most delightful niece. 4. A sister who is worth more than all the diamonds in the world. 5. A brother who I love dearly.