29 Things That Make Me Happy: Inspirational Quotes

Day 14...

Inspirational Quotes

So I played hookey from work today because I've been feeling a little under the weather, I don't really know how to describe what's wrong I just knew staying in the office was not helping so after coming home and having a good old snooze I now find myself feeling rather pensive. You see, today is the eve of my twenty third birthday and for me, my birthday resolutions are always greater than my New Year's ones. Growing up is such a journey and sometimes it's easy to compare yourself to other people and think "But if Lagbaja has this, why can't I have it too?" The truth is, there is no reason why we all can't have what we want in life, through prayer, consistency and hardwork, I truly believe that there is nothing I cannot have or do.

Whenever I find myself feeling a little bleak and a little blue I pull out my phone and look through the motivational and inspirational quotes I've gotten from around the web and just remind myself to keep working hard for what I want, pushing myself wholeheartedly and making sure I do it everyday.

What are some of your favourite quotes?

I hope these inspire you as much as they inspire me... Have a blessed day everyone x

Eeda's Atelier: Chasing Your Dreams

Hey hey hey!

Happy clocks going back day! Haha. There really ought to be a proper term for that. Today in the U.K we gained an extra hour, I love it when the clocks go back, I can sleep for longer and not feel guilty, I go around with a smile on my face the whole day knowing that I've managed to cheat time. I just feel generally great for some reason, 25 hour days are so much better than 24 hour ones let's be real... On second thought I might be a little too excited about this... Such a loser! Lol. Who cares! 

Remember sometime back when I stopped blogging and stuff and I mentioned one of my very good friends Eeda of Eeda's Atelier as part of my motivation for coming back? Well today I want to properly introduce her, prepare to be blown away! Eeda is an up and coming make up artist and I must say she is amazing, not only in her actual artistry but in her work ethic as well, I've seen her work and she is so passionate and dedicated to her craft, it almost makes me want to be a make up artist myself! Well maybe not a make up artist but it makes me want to put in the effort to be amazing at what I do. Okay, enough washing her let's get down to some pictures, I'm sure you're all dying to see! 

This client rocked her look to an engagement party, I especially love the eyes. Oh yes, Eeda did the gele (headpiece) as well.

Another happy client of hers!

She did these lovely bridesmaids too

This client got Nigeria's Independence Day inspired make up. Check the green white green lips!

She did this look for a client shooting a music video for a competition.

Eeda herself! Rocking a goth/vamp look. Aint she beautiful?

Check these different lip prints that she did. Top left: Tiger Skin (my fave!), Top Right: Ombre Lips, Bottom Left: Vamp Lips, Bottom Right: Caviar Lips

Of course being friends with her has its perks, not only did I get to go with her to a photoshoot  and watch her do her thing (more on this later), I got myself a free face beat and boy did she do a great job!

Don't watch that before picture, you KNOW that's not what I look like without make up, her camera is a liar! Lol. I look sick! I don't get it. I keep wondering whether posting this picture is a good idea... It probably isn't.

Here's a close up of the eyes. I'm in love!

Follow her on instagram @eedasateliermua to see more of her work, if Lagos' top MUA Banke Meshida followed her then you know she's a big deal, there's also some haloween make-up coming up soon, you don't want to miss that! Also like her Facebook page, she does personal shopping for people in Nigeria and has some great offers on products. (All round entrepreneur I tell you). I'd leave you guys with a sneak peek on some of the stuff she did at the photoshoot.

Can you imagine that she's mainly self taught as well. Well, she's inspired me to continue chasing my dreams, you never know when it can become your reality! Show her some love people and enjoy the rest of your evening. I hope everyone is ready for the storm that's meant to hit tonight/ tomorrow, stay indoors, stay safe and stay blessed!

P.S. Let's pressure her into starting some online tutorials! What do you guys think?

Reni x

Exam Season: Distraction and Procrastination!

Wow, I cant believe it's pretty much two weeks into the new year and I haven't posted a thing! This is what happens after you have a rocking Christmas break and put exams on the back burner! I've been trying to go hard at the books because my goal is still to finish this masters degree with a distinction! (70% average) but today and yesterday haven't been the best days! I mean I hate exam season. I know we all do, but I really really hate it! Hours and hours spent reading material and learning things only for them to not come up in the exam! I know people say “No knowledge lost” but what about the time spent?  O ti so nu ni now! (It’s lost now!) It’s so unfortunate that I actually want to be an engineer, I would have dropped out of school and become a stripper, sadly I don’t have the upper body strength for their profession. So here I am, typing away while I really should be studying, who does that? Oh all of you you say? LIARS! You guys are busy hitting the books hard and I’m here, allowing the spirit of procrastination to take over my life, Lord be with me! I need to become more serious about my schoolwork, how else am I meant to get that distinction? **sigh** but seriously though, can school somehow be made more interesting? I mean there are so many other things I’d rather be doing, e.g. reading blogs, updating my blog, listening to gossip, Facebook stalking people, Instagram stalking people, twitter stalking even more people (yes, I know a lot of stalkable people), sleep, stare. I don’t know, anything but studying! Luckily for me after an average of 5-7 hours all these things lose their charm and I think, heck, might as well study… After I have dinner.

When I eventually get down to studying after eliminating the demon of procrastination, a second gargoyle rears it ugly head; distraction! I’ve finally opened up the books, I’ve even read the first few pages then all of a sudden, I read something and my mind wonders down a completely different train of thought, so I pick up the phone and text my best friend the funny thing that just popped into my mind, this leads to an hour long conversation about nothing in particular with me saying “I really should be working” every 10 minutes or so. Ha! It’s ridiculous really! But I feel better because the books are at least open, that’s step one complete. After chatting to my friend and updating her on everything she’s missed over the last hour I finally resume studying. Just that I’ve forgotten what I just read, so back to the beginning I go. Surely you guys can see how this is a vicious cycle? I mean, I get to the line that made my mind wonder the first time and my mind wonders again! Sometimes even down a completely different path, which means I have to relate this NEW information to the bestie! **sigh**

Luckily I’ve found a means of combating this cycle, I have to say it actually works! Well except today where I’m just really allowing the laziness to take over! But it works on a regular day :) Here’s what I try todo:

1.     Eat

The number of times I get up to “find a snack” while I’m trying to study is insane! So I just cut the crap and eat something! Hey! Listen! This is not the time to chow down some pounded yam or other carb heavy food that just makes you sleepy oh! Something small and relatively filling should do the trick. It also helps if you plan your snacks and put them on the table so you don’t have to get up eventually, as long as you don’t gobble them all at once like I would, hehe.

2.     Plan your study time.

I recently started this thing after a suggestion from a friend and I’ve found that it really combats the distraction. I get my watch out and place it somewhere visible, then I study in on-off fashion. So basically, I study for 60 minutes straight, then take a break for 15-20 minutes. Study again for another hour, break for another 15 minutes. Obviously this method needs some tweaking depending on what you’re studying, sometimes it’s possible to do 90 minutes straight then 15 minute break, the key for me is to not take too long a break, the whole distraction thing just comes back if I decide to spend 30 minutes on Facebook/Instagram and I lose the flow! 15 minutes is just enough time to pee, reply messages, quickly check Facebook and breathe. Sometimes in the break if the flow is going to good to be broken, I review the work I’ve just done to actually help me remember stuff. I’m working on maybe taking shorter breaks? Maybe.

3.     Don’t Get Overwhelmed.

Staring at the mountain of books waiting to be read is not helpful, if you’re anything like me all that does is put you in panic mode and then that makes you unproductive, then you get depressed about how unproductive you’re being and then depression sinks in and you feel like doing no work. If you’re lucky this only lasts hours but sometimes it can last days! I’ve found that making a timetable is really helpful but if I don’t meet the goals I’ve set for myself then I start panicking about falling behind and we all know what panic does… What I’ve been trying to do instead is set mini goals for myself from when I wake up or possibly the night before. This helps me break the work up into bite size pieces and the mini goals for the day are usually more realistic and achievable than the timetable I made two weeks ago! Being overwhelmed causes you to lose focus. Just think baby steps, little drops of water make the mighty sea.

Well, after churning out all this advice I believe it’s now time for me to take some of my own advice and get a moving! It’s time to resume studying and stop faffing. Right after lunch. **wink**

Good Luck Everybody!