MREMBO
Hiatus
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Been toying with the idea of closing this blog since late last year. March 2010 marks my 4 year of blogging and to be honest I am getting bored with it all and find I have nothing new to say.
That said, having shared my thoughts with hubby he recommended that I go on hiatus instead of shutting it down.
So this is my “til I see you again” post.
I am totally fine, all is good and well in Mrembosville, so don’t let your imaginations run wild 
Take care folks, be good, be happy, be blessed and be a blessing
Thank you, thank you for having read this blog and for having commented. It has touched me in many ways that some of what I wrote resonated with some of you.
later
Mrembo
PS: I have locked the ¨”commenting” option for this particular post
Food and stories
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Was smiling to myself on the way home cause I remembered a funny incident:
I was to meet a certain danish lady sometime last year. We had talked on the phone a number of times and finally had arranged the meeting. We agreed on the time and place. Her not knowing me and viceversa I said “I will be the tall black lady there” she giggled and said she would be the “strawberry blond in a brown jacket”.
I got the the venue before her and was waiting, she came in, headed for the only black lady and put out her hand “Hi, you must be Mrembo”. I smiled shook her hand and replied “you must be Anita”. She responded with “Yes that’s me, strawberry blond lady”.
Now me I was looking at her hair and I was thinking to myself “ok.. strawberries are red, so if you are a strawberry blond, I am thinking something reddish in your hair”. The hair in question was no where near red, but more like dark brown blond. That day I learned what strawberry blond looks like, though if you ask me to point it out, I will be like huh???
On facebook theres a fanclub called “farmers choice sausages are the tastiest” or something to that effect. That had me reminiscing. When I was back home in 2006..(it’s been long since I have been to Nairobi), one of the gals who lived with my mum at the time asked me to get her “smoky bili na chips”. I looked at her like..”eh, smoky.. hizo ni nini??” Mum piped up laughing
“aieh Mrembo, you don’t know what smokies are, even me I know “
No one believed I did not know the term and refused to tell me what they were. Simply said ” nenda dukani, wambie wataka chips na smoky mbili”
That’s the day I found out smoky means sausage!
Talking about food, to my utter disgrace I put up my hand and admit I never learned to cook ugali, of all things I cannot cook a “cooked” ugali. To date my mum is scandalised, but appeasese herself by saying ” at the time you would have learned how to, you had already moved to Uganda”. When she was here in 2007 I made her cook ugali for me almost every lunch time and I would have it with maziwa mala (sour milk). Yup they have it here. Maziwa mala with sugar and ugali goes down really well.
I have been so bored with my own cooking and buying take out. I really need to eat someone else’s home made cooking. So since that is not feasible on a daliy basis, I decided to get some recipies and follow them to the “t”. That is an issue with me, I hardly ever follow a recipe to the as exacted cause I never have all the ingredients, so in the coming weeks I am making concerted effort to print the recipes and take them with me when I go grocery shopping so that I have all the ingredients. I have downloaded some interesting “southern cooking recipes” and intrestingly enough they all involve beans. Which should tell you something, I am hungering for beans and rice. Problem is, my husband and son.. yes, this little nearly 3 year old boy, do not like beans. Ati I cook just beans and rice. There has to be some meat or as hubby says “something to beef it up”. Nikh just refuses to eat period.
So every time I cook beans, whatever kind, mung (dengu), pinto, blackeyed, I end up freezing the whole batch and eating them alone over a period of time.
Right now I am soooooo stuffed. at 12:00pm I went to the hospital cafeteria and had 2 pieces of chicken breast, 5 boiled potatoes, sauce and salad + cake for dessert. My stomach is sooooo stretched I am uncomfy. I was hungry when I ate! It’s now 16:34. NO supper for me
Have a foody day and tell me what you like to eat.
PS: The foods that I love best in no particular order
- chai na mkate ( african home made tea with milk & sugar accompanied with bread or as my husband likes me clarify, bread with butter and jam). If the bread is fresh and soft, mum and I have been known to demolish superloaf at one sitting of 4 o´clock tea.
- Chips with ketchup. Ketchup is a must. Chips on thier own without ketchup do absolutely nothing for me. With ketchup, I can eat monday to monday 365 days a year baby.
- Cake. A simple pound cake, no fancy creams or whatever, just simple fresh pound cake espeically straight from the oven, yum!
- Simple rice and beef stew. Right now or rather tomorrow, the idea of the sukuma(kale) mixed in the beefstew with rice.. aha
- Mum’s pilau is off the chain. My mum can cook pilau and I can make one hell of a kachumbari. That is Big Al’s request when mum visits or when he is in mum’s house
let me get back to my other duties
ciao!
Say you are one of them
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This is what I am currently reading. I have just finished reading the second story and I just had to go and see the web cast Uwem had done with Oprah.
If you want something to read.. pick this book up. It is really good, and I am only on story 2. It is a compilation of small stories.
If you want to watch the webcast here it is..
http://www.oprah.com/oprahsbookclub/Watch-Oprahs-Book-Club-Say-Youre-One-of-Them-Webcast-Video
PS : by now you should know I am obsessive like that. I stalk authors when a book touches me. I need to know everything about the author and how they wrote the story… and the webcast filled that place for me about this book
Darlings!
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Happy new year! About time I showed faced.
I hope the first 8 days into 2010 have been good for you so far. If not, hang tough it’s just the begining.
Mine has not started out as hot as I had hoped. I have been sick throughout the holidays and trying to get back to full speed. I think I need a trip home. Seriously. Said that to hubby today. Maybe all this ick, yuck, flu, sijui what headaches etc are all a sign that I need to go home and recharge my batteries.
The thought has me feeling really buoyed up, so watch this space, you might be reading a post coming from a place near you. Hehehe, just had to use that line.
Otherwise sina mengi, I am very restless in my soul and it’s a horrible feeling. Nothing satisfies or brings joy. I mean, this is the same chick who went window shopping and saw some really cheap cheap t-shirts at Espirit and left cause “i just don’t feel like opening my purse and getting the money out”. I am a bit low in the spirit and it’s compounded by this flu, sijui what the heck it is that I just can’t shake off.
On an off note, I was telling hubby that I am the grumpiest patient I know. When I am ill, the whole world needs to stop and feel sorry for me. I am miserable and withdrawn. I was joking saying if I ever get a terminal illness, one thing he will not be saying about me is “she fought her illness with courage and always had a smile” It will be more like “about time she kicked the bucket, got tired of hearing how misreable she felt”
As you can see this post is going nowhere.
So tada folks
PS: I have about 5 draft posts sitting. Was thinking of putting one of them up…..
Shuga
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I was not in the know, now I am.
Below is a Kenyan anti-AIDS drama that is really good. I enjoyed. It’s in 3 parts each about 25 mins long. I tried to link it like those Youtube thingys but it jammed. So follow the link.
Encouragment
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Was surfing and thought to share this with you guys.
You know how much I love to read, well one of my ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE authors is Francine Rivers. She writes fiction with a christian theme. I believe she refers to her self as a christian fiction author. I have read all her works except for 2 sets of books which I am planning on getting soon.
If you like to read and want to read really really good fiction with a christian theme and that does not stray from biblical accuracy or make you go hmmm (I may be a kafiri (heathen) of sorts but I do know my bible) I highly recommend her.
Strangely enough I discovered her way back in the day and all her books that I own I have always bought in Nairobi from one christian book shop or another.
So if you are interested do check out www.francinerivers.com and her books are available in Nairobi.. that I know for sure.
What I like is that she tackles true life issues without glossing over them in that annoying “christian” way or over simplifying as if everything is black or white.
And they are very very encouraging in for the spirit
I was not paid to promote her.
PS. once you read do give me your feed back
Another christian writer I like, who I classify as sci-fi writer is Frank Peretti… as to how biblical accurate his books are.. well… eh.. me I enjoyed the books and took them for what they are fiction with a christian theme. I really like his books. Have read everything he has written except for the last one which sounded a little too ..”out there” for me
I stopped reading that ridculous series of End of days or something like that.. cannot even remember the name of the author.. wrong wrong wrong.
PS. all these authors I discovered in my early 20’s.. was over at Francine’s website to see if she had anything new and yippe she has a book coming out March 2010..so there is something for me to look forward to.
Zee holidayz!
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So x-mas is over and done with, around the corner is new year and a new year. Imagine that 2010 is here ; you and me are alive, how about that huh???
The festivities went on as usual and since there is nothing to report it means all went well. All my danish family was together. Nikh got more than enough presents. (the excesses of it… well that is a discussion for another day). For someone who grew up without the whole christmas gift hulabaloo.. I find it all a bit too much. I was swearing to hubby that I will not be buying any new toys for Nikh for the rest of the year. Between x-mas and what he will be getting for his birthday in March.. me thinks he has MORE THAN ENOUGH to last him a life time. But as they say, this is an aspect of my husband’s culture I must roll with. He rolls with some aspects of MY culture that he doesn´t quiet get, so we are fair and square.
I have been under the weather and it´s still lingering. Hopefully it will be over before Monday..yup I am working on monday 28th thru to wednesday 30th then off for new year break and back on 5th Jan. Anyway some good news is that I am quitting my job in August 2010. Date is set in stone. I am pleased as punch. A number of factors have led to that date, things like work insurance..yada yada.. some technicalities.. that are very danish. So yeah.. it may happen sooner, but the fact that there is a date is so so lovely and mind freeing.. such a load off. In the mean time.. I just hang on.
There really is nothing new from Mremboville. Life is just bumbling along. Hubby and I have been reviewing the year that has been and the year to come. I said to him “I know not what 2010 holds for us.. what challenges, what joys, but I do know that if we continue to love each other was we do.. we can triumph over whatever comes”. The scary part about life is the knowing that CHALLENGES WILL COME. It’s just that, you know when you feel like you have been through so much you would like to ride a pleasant wave for like 5 years without nothing but good challenges and tidings.. but alas… when was that ever known to happen.
So to whatever 2010 brings; the good, the bad, the ugly. I am ready
And that’s all folks.. nothing much.
be blessed in the new year
Be happy
be tough
and you will be alright
mwah!
Ageing every day
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Thirty came and went without fanfare or event, so did 31 and likewise 32. Thirtythree is something else though. The term mid thirties has me shaken. I mean when does one cross over from early thirties to mid thirties. Thirtythree is a number I am not so willing to embrace, but embrace I must for everyday I age and will continue to do so. The question now is “how well will I age”
Fabulously baby, fabulously! That is the answer I have decided upon. Since October I have been looking at ads of all “virim” (you have to sa y it in Kiswahili.. plural for creams) for the face wondering which one to use to prevent all the signs of aging. I am hesitant to plunge in because there are so many promising youth in a bottle. One part of me tells me those “virims” are not aimed at me the black woman. Crow feet, wrinkles etc are things that the black woman begins to worry about in her 50´s or there about. I am thinking of all the women in my mother’s and father’s family who by 50 still are without lines on the face. What I have noticed is the loss of elasticity in the skin and that I think is ok. So what to use in the question. And more specifically, what should a woman in her early/mid thirties with moderate acne use? Sometimes I am amazed that at my age I am still battling with acne, its like “ala..when does this shit end”.
When it comes to acne, I am a resource power house. I have done my research juu chini. I know what I will use and what I won’t. A really informative website for black skin is www.brownskin.net . When it comes to the individual prescription meds I use, I research them individual in relation to thier effect on black skin. The one thing we black people have to watch out for is hyperpigmentation from acne. That is those black spots left behind after the pimple is gone. I have never used a bleaching agent to get rid of them, but I am seriously thinking of this product. The thing is this, there is nothing special about this cream. The key ingredient in any skin lightning cream is hydroquinie. In the 1990´s skin bleaching in UG was so popular and one would see horrific results hence my hesitation. When certain family member came home from abroad my mum and aunt were so disgusted when she tried to pass of her bleaching as “si it’s the weather, the sun is not so bright huko, this is my natural color” The look on mum’s face when she told the story was priceless. “kwani she thinks we are so stupid”
What has worked for me over the years with the dark spots is my prescirption meds cause of how they work. It takes a long long time for the marks to fade but they do, which they normally do naturally, as long as you do not have new acne coming up.
Anyway, I have been thinking of clinique’s Uneven skin tone range. It seems promising also because they seem to have a dedicated range to ance prone skin. The other under consideration is Murad’s acne range. The only reason holding me back from buying this stuff is the price. NOthing like investing over $ 150 in stuff that does not work. Then again if I am serious about this aging thing, I must do as I must ama?
Which leads me to the other thing. With me turning 33 and all I have decided to get serious about my dressing. I am a careless dresser. But with that number hanging over my head, soon to be fitted, I have decided to update my look, which means, new sensible handbag. Going around with a backpack is not a good idea. I need two bags, one that can have Nikh’s and my nik naks, cause he is still young, so things like extra diaper, wet wipes, gloves, hat, my lunch pack etc and another small one for when I don’t need to have the nik naks. Thing is I have been on the look out for an over the shoulder, funky, hot looking handbag. MISSION IMPOSSIBLE. Me I will not do those ridiculous big handbags that cannot go over one shoulder. Ati those silly big handbags which sit on the arm and one has to bend thier arm. So not pratical when you have kids. I think I found one yesterday. Expensive as shit but on the list for consideration
Infact to make this post short, let me tell you what I told my hubby.
“My new year’s resolution is to buy all the things of this list by the end of 2010″
That list reads as follows
- New glasses. my current ones are boring, or rather I am bored of them. Have had them since 2005. Time for an upgrade.
- 2 leather handbags. I have never owned a leather handbag cause I never could buy the ones I liked.
- New running shoes, more specifically Nike LagunaAir or something like that. I tried them on and run on the treadmill, baby they were not joking ati it feels like air. They did not have my size and refered me to Nike.com to get those mass customised ones. Did you know that the difference between men’s running shoes and women’s is that women’s are built narrower since statistically we have narrower feet.
- Proper running clothes. When I go running most times I have hubby’s “stay at home” pants which I have hijacked. Poor thing he doesn’t have any more cause I use them for running and cleaning lol
- Proper hot boots before winter ends
- A parfum : Daisy by Marc Jacobs. Had a wiff of it some time back and the fact that I have not forgotten the name, means I really like it. Right now I have only two scents. Ever since I got preggers with Nikh, parfums don’t do it for me so much. Through out my pregnancy I could not stand the stuff and for the 16 months that I breastfed I could not stand any parfum on me or anyone. Once I stopped, it’s like my taste changed. I like very very light and airy parfums.
- A silver toe ring
- A tatoo
- Large silver and gold hoop earings.
The list is flexible and subject to editing
So what does your list look like if you have one. hehehe
nighty night.
Strange things
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I have a new obsession, ok perhaps obsession is too strong a word, “a strong liking for” would be more appropriate:
Jay Z is my new love. It all started like this. First I heard from a facebook friend about his new CD and how it had sold sijui how many copies on it’s debut. I was intrigued. Who is this rapper people are still listening to. That generation of rappers is gone; was my thought. I mean, who listens to P. Diddy anymore or LL. Cool J, si they are old news. Then Oprah had him on her show, her magazine and I was like.. “kwani.. this man” So off to Youtube I went and lo and behold I found a concert he had done.. and so begun my love affair. I am in love, mpaka he is even looking hot! all buff and everything. Then this weekend I found this other concert on Youtube by Alicia Keys and the last number is “Empire State of Mind! Yanniiiiiiiiiiii me I was in heaven. I have been bobbing my head like an idiot, singing about New York like I live there… truth be told, when she sings New York, I am busy screaming “Nai” (aka Nairobi)
Enjoy
Before Koffi Olomide blew up, Dad, Step-mom and I used to go to which ever beach he would be playing at. Back in the day when akina Tabu Ley and Mbilia Mbel used to come and play at Bomas of Kenya, we were there. Si those count as concerts ama
Been to Miriam Makeba (RIP) when she was in Ug in the nineties. I have never been to an international star’s concert. Never made it to Shaggy’s concerts all the times he was in Ug. Either I was in Nairobi or out of East Africa at the time. Tina Turner is my all time favourtie. I am not big on music so it’s not something I invest in, but I do enjoy it. I own two CD’s and two DVD’s by Tina Turner. That shows how much I love her cause I hardly buy music. It’s like this; music or a book guess what comes out tops every time.
Enjoy
Yesterday and Today
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Don’t know if I mentioned this to you guys, but I am contracted to work 3 days a week (23hrs), but sometimes due to employee leave, sickness and plain old extra work, I get asked to come into work the other 2 days. The past 3 weeks I have worked all week and I have been exhausted. So this week when asked if I could come in, I was like no, no, no . Come December I am planning on working full working weeks.. God help!
Yesterday:
I cleaned the house, juu chini (from top to bottom). We are still only using 4 rooms in the house; living room, study, kitchen and utility room. The rest is still inaccessible due to the bathroom renovations which is about 5 days away from completion. yipee! I plan on taking 2 days off to clean .. anyway who knows, might not be able to get those two days off.
We had a windstorm last night. Throughout the country 47 trees went down. Our roof leaked. I had to call in the roof people. Called 4 companies, got lucky with the 4th. He came out immediately by then Big Al was home and did all the talking. We got to go up on the roof. Fun fun. Our roof is flat topped. He repaired it and talked us through it’s maintenance which was very appreciated by Big Al and I. He assured us the roof is in perfect order.. the leak was due to water coming in through the chimney, collecting in the beams and leaking onto my new carpet. We swept the roof clear of the water . Very pleased about some tips for the future work to be done. Some exposed beams have rot …..but that’s for sometime early next year.
Cooked oven chips, chicken fillets, tomatoes, cucumber and rucolar salad for supper. It went down well. Before that did two loads of laundry. Put Nikh to bed at 9.00p and fell asleep myself which was not in the plan as Big Al and I had a date to watch “House”.
Today:
Woke up full of engery feeling high. On the way out to drop Nikh at daycare, the last of the capentry work for the bathrooms was delivered. Got back home Big Al was on his way off to work, he picked the mail.. hey presto, big ass bill for the temporary toilet we are currently using. We agreed not to let it bog us down. Tidied the house, did 2 loads of laundry, baked a cake, went running 5.5kms or thereabouts. Washed my hair, had a shower, fried turkey breasts for tonight´s supper, ironed mine and baby’s clothes for tomorrow. Made another cake for a collegue at work. I promised him on Tuesday that I would do so. At work all the foreigners sit together during lunch. All the Thai chicks and 2 guys sit together, then the rest of us, Iran, Iraq, Uganda, Ghana, Burma and Afghanistan sit together. So we kinda bring stuff for one another during lunch break. That is our longest break; 25mins.
It’s now 15.03. I leave the house at 15:10 to pick Nikh. The hours go by so fast. I had planned on going to town for myself and do some windowshopping.But after a quick consult with my bank account all plans of going into town were nixed.
Big Al is coming home late tonight. So it’s just me and baby. Everything is done and ready for tomorrow as well as for supper. So when he gets home we will play and watch tv.
Gotta run. It’s cold gray and ugly outside. I usually use the bike when I go pick him up.
I finally found the camera, now I have to find out how to charge it, then I will start taking pictures.
have a fun day wherever you are.
Kisses!
