Memories

Nigerian Dancers

Last night, was the annual Small World event here in Lagos. This organization is made up of all women who come together to raise money for various charities in Nigeria. It has been going for 17 years now, and has given money to over 160 Nigerian charities.  Last night, they reported earning over 42,000,000 naira for charity  (about 257,000 U.S. dollars!!!) That money is then divided equally among about 34 charities who are sponsored by different countries participating in Small World.  I helped out with this event a few years ago on the decorations committee, you can check it out here and here.  I have never lived in a country where I have experienced so much need. Sometimes, the need I see each and every day out of the windows of my car or flat feels overwhelming.  How can anyone help so many people???  That's when I realized that I can't help everyone I see, but I can focus my time and energy into different organizations.  During my time here in Lagos, I gave blood sweat and tears to Small world 2010.  After that year, I decided that o would like to help by buying tickets and showing up.:)  Don't get me wrong, the hard work was worth it knowing I was helping put together something great for Nigerian charities...but there is a reason why even the chairperson for Small world only has her job for one year.....it is just too much to do!!! Only here, have I experienced being around so many people from all parts of the globe... ( I didn't bring my good camera...but you get the idea, dancers from different countries perform on a huge stage.)

Ibero America

South Africa

France

Lebanon

Philippines

India

Syria

While we were walking out, I had to have Guy snap a quick picture of me and the "Small World Lady"...I am not sure, but I think she may have remembered me....we have a lot of memories together from 2010:)

NO Waholla Day:)

 So far, today has been a great day with no Waholla!!! No big problems:)  The gen was repaired last night, and believe or not....the power has been OK today:)  We started off the day by going to Jeremy's second tee ball game of the season.  I can't believe I didn't blog about his first game last week.  This is the third season he has played here in Lagos, and he is better than he has ever been. You can check out the pictures of his games over the last two years by clicking here and here.  The team started out with a team meeting to get the kiddos psyched up for the "big" game!!!  His coaches are doing an awesome job, and since he is in kindergarten this year, he is feeling like the "big" kid on the team.  At his school, the teams are divided by grade levels, and his team is made up of pre-k and kindergarten children.

up to bat!

rounding the bases...

and it's a home run...well, maybe not a "real" home run after all the kids on the other team were fighting over the ball...by the time they stopped arguing over the ball..Jeremy had run to home base!:)

after team meeting:)

 After the t ball game today, we headed on over to the G.Q. on Ikoyi and had a nice quiet time at the playground and the pool.  I can't say enough about the hamburgers there......THEY. ARE. AWESOME. and worth every penny of the eighteen dollars you pay for them!!!!!!!  Funny how the novelty of getting a great hamburger can lift the spirits here!!!:)

I don't remember if I have ever posted pictures of the lizards I see here everywhere.  But, I thought I'd take a picture of the one today who was eyeing our table while we were eating.  He (or she) wasn't scared of us at all.  It was about 10 inches long, and they are literally EVERYWHERE  around here.  I even tried to find out the name of this type of lizard a few times, but have had no luck, so far...so I'll just call it the colorful lizard.:)  However, during my research of the name of this lizard, I did come across a web page for the Lekki Conservation Center. We have been out there before as you can see  here and here.  I thought the web page is worth checking out.  You never know....you could end up in Lagos and have nothing to do!!!:)
 I hope your day today is a NO waholla day, too!!!  E kaasan!!:) 
p.s. To see a video of the future National Baseball League star...check out the video at the bottom of the post!:)

NOT my Best Side

So, tonight, I am sitting in my flat with my kids and Guy and we were just getting settled to watch a movie with the kids and then put them to bed so we could watch something also before we both pass out from exhaustion.  When, we got a call from security saying that the power would be going out so the generator could be serviced.  What the %$#@?????????? There wasn’t a better time to fix this &#@% thing????? A Friday night, really?????? So, now we are at the mercy of  NEPA which isn’t even called NEPA , by the way!  Let me just tell you that our UPSs no longer work and the batteries have been replaced twice in them and the power has gone off 7 times in the last hour and half. The Internet is spotty and I can see this from the window of my flat…..yes, that is a Nigerian worker who is “working” over there….

I don’t know, but, when I moved here, I really saw everything as something new and exciting. I still do see some new and exciting things here, but I don’t see things with the fresh eyes I used to have…and lately, things are just irritating me beyond belief. Today, I went down to get Jeremy from the bus , and Elizabeth and I got on the elevator which didn’t work and spit us right back out onto the 9^th floor….we took the steps and then the power was out …AGAIN!!!!!! Ugh!!! When we got to the bottom, the steps were wet from being mopped and it was dark and I slipped and Elizabeth almost did.  The guard at the bottom floor said, “What’s wrong, Madame? The lift is working.” I couldn’t even talk to him…I was so mad.  Has anyone ever gone down 9 flights of stairs with a three year old in flip flops who has dropped her new make up kit about 5 times along with way in the dark??? If you have, then you know my frustration…. Just FYI, when I was coming back up the steps, I could hear someone pushing the alarm in the elevator because they were stuck…poor things…..the security guards tell us to push the button for help but they don’t have any kind of tool to even open the doors.  My friend last year had to pry the doors open with her bare hands ( I am NOT kidding!!!!!)…something I could never do. Oh, and did i mention that there is NO air flow in the elevators....you are completely sweating by the time you take it down from the 9th floor.. and there is no cell phone service inside the lift either.  I think maybe the next time I need to take a bottle of wine with me so at least I can self medicate!:) Who knows how long I could be stuck in there!

I don’t know, but lately, I have lost my temper a few times over things I never would have lost it over in the U.S, I feel like my patience here has worn thin after more than 2 and half years.  I really wish I could say that it has gotten easier to live here, but I think you just know what to expect and then get pissed off anyway…but that could just be because the power has gone off two more times since I just wrote about in the last paragraph…

Anyway, if anyone is even still reading this post, thanks for letting me vent!!!  I know this attitude is not reflecting my best side right now…but on a positive note…the power just came back on again after the 12^th time of going off since 7:30!!! The bad news is that Guy just got a call and was told that the crew working on the gen couldn’t fix it , but the “good news” is there is another crew who “ thinks” they can fix it………heaven help us!!!!!!

Purpose...

On Sunday, I finished a great book lent to me by a friend here in Lagos. It wasn't a travel book or information about Lagos, but it did pull at my heartstrings.  It's a book she told me about almost 6 months ago...but I thought it was too soon for me to read it.  I knew it would bring back sweet memories of my Bernie....and some painful ones also. For more about Bernie, click here and here.  I don't think I ever understood how much your dog becomes another "being" in your family.  Sometimes, you almost think of them as "human".  I know I didn't feel this way about any dog...even my two dogs my family got when I was in high school....partly because I was too busy trying to be cool with an emphasis on trying and hanging out with my friends. And also because my mom and dad did all the work for them (s orry mom and dad.....I guess I thought I was too far above scooping the poop!)  But, when Guy and I brought Bernie home, she became our whole world.  We had no kids at the time, and since we lived far away from our familes...she was our family.  I can't believe that it has been more than a year since she passed away, and I think of her often.  Last week, I was getting ready in my room and I heard something jingling...I immediately knew it was the unmistakable clinking of her dog tags.  I came out in the living room and saw Jeremy curled up holding her collar with her name tag and his stuffed animal that looks like Bernice. (We have her collar hung on the side of picture of her and Jeremy, you can see above)  He told me "Mommy, I miss Bernie...I don't want her in heaven anymore...I want her here with me."  Of course, the whole sight of him sitting there made my heart crumble, but I knew that I couldn't fall apart. I told him that she had a good long life, and that she was loved and happy.  Now, she didn't have any more pain.  But, after I had him calmed down and we put her collar back, I couldn't help but ask myself if I did give her the best life possible.  Did she know that we truly loved her even when she wasn't our only "baby"?  I always think that with Jeremy we paid a little less attention to her and then when Elizabeth came along, she really got pushed to the side, but I hope she felt we loved her...
So, when I read A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron, it was like a breath of fresh air!   It is such a heart warming tale of one dog's journey through many different lives.  It will pull at your heartstrings but, the theme was the same throughout the book.  He always felt love, and he always wanted to please his family. And, his love was always unconditional.   I highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever had a dog or is even just a dog lover.  It is a wonderful book, but I recommend tissues while reading it.  I know it is fictional, but it helped ease my sadness of wondering if Bernie knew we truly loved her.  She will always have a special place in our hearts.  My hope is that wherever Bernie may be she will always feel safe, loved and most importantly... she had a purpose in our lives.:)

Love is in the Air...

 yesterday was valentine's day, and I got way too busy with everything to even have a post about it. But, that's okay because there is still over in the air over here.:)  The kids had valentines to make for their classmates...

Valentine greetings came from across the ocean....with tattoos!!!!!!!!

 There were Valentine parties with lots of yummy treats...

 And tiny Valentine greetings from our little ones....

 And of course, no Valentine's Day would be complete without my own personal Valentine.:)  And if there is anyone who doubts that you can find beautiful flowers in Lagos...you need to talk to Guy.....he finds them for every one of our Anniversaries, my birthdays, Mother's Day and Valentine's Day...I guess I've trained him well!!!:)  Happy Valentine's Day to you all!!!:)

The Moon???

So, looking at the picture above, you would think the sun was setting and the moon had risen into the sky...right??????? You couldn't be more wrong.  On the way over to Ikoyi this morning, the harmattan was so thick that you could actually look up and see the sun as a small circle in the sky.  I took these pictures at 8:20 a.m. That must explain why my eyes have been watering and my sinuses are revolting against me!  For more info on harmattan, click here.  I think these pictures give new meaning to a "gray day".:)

Just Another Holiday:)

This weekend is a Muslim holiday weekend here in Nigeria.  It is Mohammad's birthday, and Muslims all over the world  are observing this holiday. The kids have Monday and Tuesday off from school.  Although we are not Muslim, we are taking advantage of this time to spend some fun time together with each other and with our friends.  We ventured over to Ikoyi yesterday for some fun time with our friends at the American Guest Quarters. I need to do some more research on the "GQ" but as far as I can tell it was a part of the American Consulate.  Americans and people working for American companies can become members and after a year's long wait on a waiting list, we are members now.:)  Funny how it takes living here to find access to another swimming pool something to be on a waiting list for!!!:) ( and okay, the burgers are great.,....and totally worth the $18 U.S. dollars you pay for them!!!!)

Guy and Jeremy:)

kids loved playing in the shower:)



This is totally off the subject, but has one lived here to long when my daughter comes to me and says, " Mommy,look!!  I made a really nice zed!"? ( Zed is the British way of saying the letter"z").  The teacher in me has to wonder!!!:)