Sunday, December 19, 2010

A little something about me (2) My weird little thingy with music.

There’s this old song that goes this way.

I don’t wanna, talk about it.


How you broke my heart.


If I stay here just a little bit longer


If I stay here would you listen


To my heart…..oh my heart.

I think I was ten years old when I first heard this song and I didn’t know who the artiste was then but the song always made me cry.

I write songs and I love music but one weird thing about me is that unlike most people, I can’t go to bed with cool music playing. You know that type that lulls most of you to sleep? It keeps me awake and alert. I can sleep soundly with the T.V on but not with any kind of music playing. I would just think and think about nothing and everything.

I just mentioned this song that I later found out was originally sang by Rod Stewart because I hadn’t heard it in a while and I just did. Sometimes, you hurt so much that you just want to hug yourself and talk to nobody. Even the person that has hurt you. Your heart is bleeding and you are thinking it is partly your fault that you are hurting or you shouldn’t even allow yourself to hurt that much and you are confused. You want the person to understand without you saying much that you are hurting and you need some love, some encouragement or maybe a heart-felt apology.

No matter how close you are with someone, how great you guys understand each other; there would always be the down times when it seems like you guys are total strangers. It is how you deal with these situations that makes what you guys have stronger.

Yeah, and I just realized that the song still brought tears to my eyes. Do you have any song that does that to you or should I feel embarrassed for sharing this?

And yes, it is better if you talk about it.

Lily Johnson.

Pics from Sacramentoscoop.com

Saturday, December 11, 2010

That mole hill doesn’t have to be a mountain!

About three weeks ago, I woke up one morning and as I was brushing my teeth, my eyes caught the bathroom mirror and I was horrified at what I saw. I had this big and ugly bulge on my forehead. I couldn’t believe it. It looked like someone had punched me in the face! I had a meeting in the next two hours. You can imagine how embarrassing it was for me.


I used the art of make up to salvage the situation trying as hard as I can not to look like a clown. It was fair. Everybody still wanted to know what happened to my forehead.

The bulge happened to be a very small pimple. A blackhead actually. So I tried to press it out but couldn’t and I mounted too much pressure on it because I hated blackheads on my face. Nothing came out; instead I had a bigger bulge that left a spot on my face eventually.

This is exactly what happens when you fret and fuss about a very minor issue; you make it a big problem.

Like the old saying ‘Making a mountain out of a molehill’, some of us just have a penchant for blowing up small issues that can be addressed and solved within minutes into a problem that would take ages to solve. Most of us do that once in a while. When an issue is small, it should be treated as such if not overlooked. In a bus, a man mistakenly stepped on a woman’s toes and apologized profusely and even brought out his clean handkerchief to dust her feet. You would have let it go if it were you right? This woman didn’t. She kept on shouting at the man, calling him unprintable names and cursing him. He apologized again. People were like “Is there more to this? He apologized. Shouldn’t she let it go?” Then one thing led to another and she slapped the man. That was when the real problem began. The man just made some calls without saying a word. The bus was stopped by a group of mobile policemen several minutes later and the woman was arrested for assaulting an officer. You and I know that before she would get herself out of that situation, they would have taught her a lesson. And all for what!?

When an issue (problem, quarrel, and misunderstanding) is small, it is best to approach it like a small one. That is not the time to bring out your guns and prepare for fire. Leave that and save that energy for big issues. You know what I am talking about. What could be a small thingy to me might be a biggie to and vice versa but then let it rest dear, if it is not worth the trouble. Just like I should have left that tiny blackhead. A scrub would have removed it. Not the pressure I mounted on it by squeezing and squeezing. You would think I should know better than that. Now I need something for the spots it left on my face. Feel free to recommend anything that could work.

May God give us all the wisdom to deal with all our issues in life.

Lily Johnson

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Wedding bells and pictures.

I apologise for not being here for a while now because I know that I was missed. Right? Thanks. I have good reasons though. My internet subscription expired and I am kind of in a tight spot and now have to visit cybercafés. Plus this wedding took some of my time. I and my best friend Dara were with the bride Bosun, who is a friend to us for almost a week. Dara was her maid of honor and I was the bag lady. Everybody in my life kind of trusts me to know where everything is and I'm very capable of taking care of things. So I was with the makeup bag, tissues, extra handkerchiefs, the camera and the camcorder. I took some of the pictures you are about to see except, of course, the pictures that I am in. I selected just a few because I don’t want to bore you guys.

I hope you like it.

On our way to the registry. Lily, Bosun, Latifat, Ola (Bosun's son) and Dara.


I was holding a mirror!
                                                         
Bride and Bag Lady








Feeling fabulous!







This is wishing dear Bosun a happy married life.




I and my best friend, Dara!(She is Dammy to me)




And smile!



I miss reading you all and will try to do so and comment when I can. You guys are awesome!

Lily Johnson.

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Saturday, October 23, 2010

Time to play dumb.

A lady that I see around walked up to me some days ago and told me that she needed my advice. I was surprised because I really didn't think that she would want to confide in me. She had this 'air' about her like she had all she needed.And she could afford a counsellor or something if she needed any help. Bottom line: She came to me and I was in for more surprises.


Pam{not her real name} told me that her step-sister's husband was giving her the 'eye'. (Jeez! It was weird enough that she came to me for advice and this?!)

Her step-sister was a very religious person and didn't believe that her equally religious husband could kill an ant. The guy appeared so. They lived in peace and harmony. The woman was a school teacher and The man worked in a bank.They had two beautiful boys. Pam had to stay at her step-sister's home every weekend to attend school because it was closer. The man would give her money, smile suggestively at her and throw compliments at her like it was going out of fashion when his wife wasn't within an ear shot. So she didn't know if it was okay to tell her sister that her husband had a roving eye. She wanted to know what I thought.

I had one question for her.

Lily: Has this man ever told you in clear words that he would want an intimate relationship with you?

Pam: (raises an eyebrow) Are you kidding me? What does that have to do with anything?

Lily: Answer my question Pam.

Pam: No. No he hasn't yet.

Lily: Do you still want my advice?

Pam: Obviously.

Lily: I believe that you are an incredibly smart woman but my dear, it is time to play dumb.

People, we know that issues like this are very sensitive. One has to be very careful who he/she talks to about it which is why I think Pam chose me because I barely knew her and would probably never know the people involved. Yes, I said she should play dumb. It would be better for everyone if Pam acted like she didn't understand what the man had in mind.

I think the only time she should act is when the man uses WORDS to explain his motives. A lot of people are already dealing with issues of husbands going out with their wives's sisters. The man said the word, the stupid sister agreed and together, they defiled the matrimonial bed of a woman who is clueless about what was going on and trusted them both. Now that is a huge problem.

I believe since he is just smiling suggestively and telling her how hot she looked, she should just act like it didn't mean anything. And avoid him like a plague. And she shouldn't tell anyone just yet. What good would that do? It is always a lose/lose situation for everyone. Yes, the woman confronts her husband and most times it doesn't end well, they go their separate ways. Then she is given a medal? No. Things would never be the same. Especially between she and her sister so if she is going to go down that road, let her at least have something serious on her hands.

Besides the guy could deny it and ask the crucial question, "Did i ask you out?". The answer would be no of course which is the truth.

When discussions of adulterous men come up and he is in the room, she should express her disgust in colourful language about men that cheat on their wives and preach a little too. And make it clear that she would never date a married man and help him cheat on his wife. Then add some drama by telling him that she is grateful to God that men like him that feared God still existed.

Pam laughed and told me she was glad she talked to me. She agreed with me.

Now I want to know what you guys think. And don't hold anything back.

May you all have the wisdom to deal with all the situations you find yourselves in this crazy, crazy world.

Lily Johnson

Monday, October 18, 2010

Crazy Moments

Crazy moments. We all have them. Right? Those moments that you totally eff up or something bizarre happens to you. Could be a mistake on your part or maybe fate was just having a good time messing with you. And grinning something fierce.

A girl recorded her most embarrasing moment to be the day she was studying in a library packed with all kinds of people; old, young, geeks and stalkers. Then it got a bit hot. She was wearing a tank under her sweater so she decided to take the sweater off but unfortunately, she took the tank off too. So she was in this library packed with all kinds of people in her old lacy bra and all kinds of eyes were starring at her. She tried to put the sweater back on but you girls know that the hardest part of wearing a tight piece of clothing is actually putting it on.

A word here.

In situations like this, darlings, there is no winning formula or anything you can do to make the situation better than it is. And please, do not expect anyone to do anything to make you feel better either. They could try and fail and you would feel worse off. So this is the time to visit the only person that can actually do something that might work; you!

Now, do not make eye contact with anyone immediately something very embarrasing happens to you. Trust me, you might make eye contact with an elephant who in my opinion, has eyes that ooz care and pity, and see 10 shades of mockery. You have less than two minutes to stare and not see anything and to brace yourself. During this time, your thoughts should bother on things like this:

I am afterall human.
This will eventually belong to the past.
Everybody faces terrible moments once in a while and erm.. the lady that is chuckling there if you haven't, I hope you trip and fall.
And yes people, this isn't going to change the fact that I am a fabulous person with a great personality.

Then you pick yourself up (and your sweater) and apologise if you have to.

One evening, I was in a hurry to go see my favourite aunt. I was wearing flats and when I was about to cross the road, bam! I fell on one knee by the side of the road with the bags i was carrying. A fall that was anything but graceful. I was wearing a sweet top and skinny jeans. I looked good! I was up in a split second because it was a busy road and it was a miracle that I wasn't hit by a bike. What did I do? I just crossed the road and kept walking. The people that saw me didn't laugh. Infact, they looked surprised. Though I am still not sure if it was because I actually fell and it wasn't like anyone pushed me or because of the Robocop moves after it.

Get over it dear. Even stars and celebrities are having their fair share of embarrasing moments and the whole world gets to 'google it', watch it on YouTube and E!. Do you envy them now? And jeez! it is like Fate was having a drink with his best pal and had an epiphany "Lets just make them trip and fall on stage!"
Best pal: "Who?"
Fate: "Uuh! Singers."
Best pal: "Oh!" (he is already well acquinted with his jokes and sometimes doesn't find them funny)
Fate: "They'd be performing on stage as usual and bam! they fall." (Laughs hysterically)
Best pal: "Oh!" (Lets face it. What can he really say to change his mind?)
Fate: "The female singers. The best of them. They already have everything they want so...."
Best pal: "Oh!"
Fate: "Lets face it. They should know that a day like that would come with all those sky high shoes they wear. What is it called again? Pumps right? And they dare to dance in them?" Puts hand on Best pal's mouth. "One more Oh! and I will......"

Have yourselves a great week!

Lily Johnson

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Random thoughts and so on..

I just had my first body scrub at home and ever. Eww! Right? Well, I love experimenting with beauty products and just love make up and stuff but somehow, all these years, I just hadn’t gotten around to scrubbing my entire body. I see body scrubs displayed when I go shopping but it just never occurred to me. I don’t even know why it did this time. I read in a blog about home made beauty stuff on how to make your very own body scrub and I tried it out. So I mixed sugar, honey, olive oil and coconut oil (The last wasn’t on the list but I saw my bottle of coconut oil and figured, what the hell) and I converted our small bathroom into a steam bath by covering the only window with a thick towel and placing a bucket of boiling water in the middle while I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed. Wasn’t easy at all but the result was marvelous! My skin feels soft and smooth. I didn’t use the mixture on my face though.

I just finished watching Spartacus: blood and sand and was like wow! It was really terrible back then in Rome. And I liked Andy Whitfield, Spartacus himself. He is gorgeous! Then I found out that he had cancer and might not be available for the much awaited season 2. What!? I was hurt. Why did that have to happen? I wish him all the luck in the world that would put him among strong cancer survivors that are living to tell the story. He would forever be the only Spartacus I know. The real champion of Capua. Even if they get Brad Pitt to replace him. (I loved him in Troy though)



People are just gaga about this corn rows! I get compliments everywhere I go. To think that I didn’t even tell my hair dresser anything. I just sat down on her chair and said, ‘I trust you would make me look good’. And voila! She made me look wonderful.



Why on earth am I suddenly having a crush on Usher? I mean come on! I am a grown woman and I shouldn’t still be having crushes. I absolutely adore his new tracks: OMG, There goes my baby and others that I don’t even know their titles. He seems all grown up to me now. And quite appealing.

Grrrrrrr!

It is taking me ages to finish my nameless novel. It is a story about a girl that got married to this US based guy only to find out that the guy’s ex who was an older woman was still hung up on him though the guy had told her it was over. The infuriated woman began to wreck havoc on the young man spiritually and it turned into a series of events that was as shocking as it was intriguing. I hope I finish it soon. It is not easy to be a writer at all. Sometimes I wake up in the morning, stare at my writings and feel like weeping. I submitted a short story to one African magazine website and was told that everyone was running to witches and herbalists for the solution to their problems. I looked down at the editor’s name at the bottom of the e mail and he was from my side of Nigeria though he and his company are based in the UK. When a person is terribly sick here and the doctors have done everything they can but to no avail, the people are advised to seek other means and since this is Africa, we go back to our roots. My story was even set in a village and yet I was told that by a fellow country man. Thank God I have been published by a well known soft sell magazine before. I would have thought I was a hopeless writer. Anyways, I hope to finish my book.

I got to wear dresses and skirts more often. All I wear is jeans trousers. Except when I am going to church. I have beautiful tops and shirts and stuff that I pair with my jeans. I think people are beginning to think that something might be wrong with my legs and I do have great legs. I just like being comfortable. In Lagos, you have to take bikes to your destinations and I don’t want to be giving people free ‘peep shows’ each time I get on and off a bike. Still, I should get dresses and shoes to match and take a cab throughout the day. (The hole in my pocket would be the size of a small country and I hate being in traffic when I am in a hurry but I would try)

To those of you that followed me back, thanks! You guys are just cool.

Enjoy the rest of the week guys!

Lily Johnson.

Pics from starpulse.com, mostbeautifulman.com

Friday, October 8, 2010

Be the man!

I was chatting to a friend last night and he said things that got me thinking. And royally pissed. I have known this guy for quite a while and he lives somewhere in the Uk or wherever and the issue was about relationships.


Why on earth would a man see a woman, fancy her and then expect her to make the first move? Like just sit down there and expect her to be the one to come over and say ‘Hey, can I join you?’ or ‘Hi, my name is Lily and I kinda think you are cute’. It is different if the woman is the one that fancies the guy and he hasn’t even noticed her so she tries to make him see her. That is acceptable. What I am talking about is a guy ogling at you at a restaurant and smiling in that ‘come on’ way and just when you are expecting that he would leave his ego beside his plate of chicken and chips and ask to join you, he doesn’t!

Then he leaves the restaurant still starring at you and smiling in a way that seems to say ‘you don’t know what you are missing babe’. Then of course, the best of us would want to hurl our bowl of chocolate ice cream at him.

Some men are so full of themselves; they don’t think they should be the one to approach a woman and try to woo her. They just feel a nod, a smile or a wink should tell you they are interested and a cue for you to come running to them. It doesn’t stop there. This guy gives you his number and tells you he would call but never does. And when you run into him again and asks why he didn’t call, he would ask you the same question. Like are you kidding me?!

I know some women do not see any thing wrong if you fancy a guy and even though you know he might be interested and not making the first move, you should do it. Anything that works for you girl. But I think that there is some respect that we so deserve accorded to us when a man walks up to you and tries to be friends and you know what is at the back of his mind. It also makes him a gentleman.

This friend of mine happens to be one of these guys. Terrible.

We deserve gentlemen who would buy us flowers, open doors for us and be generally polite.

Have yourselves a fun filled weekend.

Lily Johnson.

Monday, October 4, 2010

What ever happened to love letters?

Those were the good old days. When romance was traditional but colourful. When men still wrote poems and love songs to impress and win the hearts of the women of their dreams.

Love letters were such a huge thing then. I remember how older girls opened envelopes to reveal perfumed papers in different bright colours and giggled endlessly jumping up and down their beds in excitement. You could see the effort put into writing the letter. The handwriting would be so beautiful and the words, very touching.

When the girls replied, of course it involved some drama. I knew one particular girl that ended her letters with an imprint of her lipsticked lips. Then she would write, "Kiss me".

I received a number of love letters in my early teenage years. All I did was laugh. What did I know? I didn't understand why anyone would call me 'the sugar in their tea' and 'the rose in their garden'.

I think when a person writes by himself, he gives a part of himself and a degree of passion is involved. As a writer, I write in long hand and I write using my laptop too and it is slightly different when I stare at my own writing as I write.

I guess typing away on the phone to send messages and the computer to send emails have replaced the art of writing love letters in long hand.

I miss those days though.

Read this beautiful piece and tell me what you think.



I Love You

Just three little words don't seem like enough for someone whose smile still brightens my day,

whose touch can makes me forget the rest of the world.

They don't seem like enough for someone who's always been there to celebrate with me

when everything goes my way and to hold my hand when my whole world seems to fall apart.

But even though "I Love You" can't express the depth of my feelings for you.

I hope you know what's in my heart.

Because loving you means more to me than anything in the world and it always will.

Wishing you all the best.

Lily Johnson

Pics from Momlogic.com

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Pretty red...in the face!

I found myself in a rather embarrassing situation this morning. I know some people really know how to deal with situations like that but sincerely, sometimes, I just go really red in the face and smile in that ‘I am so embarrassed’ kind of way.



I just got a MAC compact powder as a gift from a very nice gentleman who happens to be my best friend’s man. Being a lover of make up, you can imagine how thrilled I was. I have been using IMAN and Mary Kay for a while and they have been serving me just well but this was something I hadn’t tried before and I am adventurous.

So, I had to go to school today and I used the powder and made up real well. Not too much though. I actually despise too much make up. It comes out tacky and makes the lady look cheap. Seriously. I just go for moderate and flawless finish.

I dressed up and headed for the bus stop. I had an important lecture by 8 a.m. I was making calls and greeting people on my way. I took a second to observe my surroundings. Why on earth weren’t people rushing to board buses as usual? Why was the street sort of empty? But then I didn’t slow down. I got to the bus stop and the bus drivers and conductors just stared at me like I fell from space. I thought I heard a chuckle.

Then, it hit me like a thunderbolt! I was at the bus stop gorgeously dressed, wearing my new makeup and looking sweet on a day that Lagos state calls Sanitation day which is every last Saturday of every month. I was at the bus stop by 7:30am and the exercise usually ended by 10am. It has been like that for years now. So there I was, standing there wondering what on earth I was thinking. After a while, I just turned back and started walking home. Some of them had a good laugh.

To make matters worse, I realized that some petty traders sweeping out their stalls were starring and gossiping.

Jeez!

I thought the best thing to do was to bring out my phone and call someone and be oblivious of my surroundings until I got to my door. That lttle show cost me a lot.

I had to go back anyway. So I did by 10:30am you know just to make sure that I didn't get any more surprises. I was lucky that every body was too busy to see the ‘girl that forgot it was sanitation day’.

Wishing you a great weekend filled with pleasant surprises.



Lily Johnson.


Pics from Imperfectwomen.com

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

A note on pearls.

Nature has provided us with such beautiful things. Mountains, lush forests, springs, beautiful caves to mention but a few. It also provided us with things to beautify ourselves with; of course everything you can think of has a natural background.


I am thinking more in the line of gemstones, precious stones, semi precious stones and pearls. And I just adore pearls!

Pearls are just breathtakingly beautiful. They do not have the ‘bling’ factor stones have but they certainly can hold their own ground. If pearls are correctly used to accessorize, one word comes to mind; classy. Other words could be ‘vintage’ and ‘sophistication’




Although the modern man is beginning to realize that he can wear pearls too, we know that it totally belongs to us. The only men that wore pearls and probably still do are Maharajahs and royalty.


We can’t really say that about gem stones.

Stay as beautiful as always!

Lily Johnson


Pica from Picturesdepot.com, Sterlingandpearls.com and Karipearls.com

Saturday, September 18, 2010

The ‘In’ and ‘Out’ of love.

Falling in love is a beautiful thing. You know, the sudden smile when you remember how he looks at you, the happiness you feel knowing that you would see him again soon and the weakness in your knees when he kisses you.

It is simply wonderful.

But sometimes, this beautiful feeling can be….well everything but beautiful and wonderful.

Sometimes, women {or men} find themselves in love and wishing they could just fall out of it. They want to feel burning hatred for a partner instead of the passionate love they once felt.

The major reason why people seek this change is betrayal. Once a lover is betrayed, she/he feels so bad; so hurt that it ruins a lot and a lot more is seen in another light.

When some people prove the age old statement “There is a thin line between love and hate” absolutely right, the deep, sentimental and emotional seem to show that there is a thin line between love and extreme pain, rivers of tears and neurosis.

When these people are betrayed (or even constantly so), they find it hard to instantly despise the person and move on.

And even when they finally break up with the person, instead of tearing pictures and breaking gifts in blind rage, they just curl up and suffer. The problem for them isn’t just moving on. It is falling out of love. It is wanting desperately to stop loving the person.

This makes them feel weak, fickle and terribly indecisive which causes them more pain.

It is wrong to feel this way. You are not weak, fickle and indecisive. You fell in love genuinely and gave all you had. You just need a little more time to get over it.

And darling, take your time.

If you have ever found yourself in love, you are a strong person

If you have been in love before and it didn’t work out and you are still standing, you are stronger.

And if you have been in love before and had your heart broken and you managed to get over it and is still willing to try again, dearest, you are the strongest of them all.

I wish you all the strength you need to face every situation you will ever find yourself in.



Lily Johnson.

Pics from pschologytoday.com and isitrue.msn.com

Thursday, September 16, 2010

A little something about me (1). My romance with music.

When I changed my blog title, I told you guys that I wanted to talk about everything that I can talk about the way I see it. I want to talk about any issue that comes to mind. And that includes my own issues. I want you my dear readers to know a little more about me than what my profile says; which isn’t much anyway. This is rather intimate.

I said in my profile that I am an aspiring musician. Yes and I want to elaborate on that. I don’t want to bore you with what seems to be the anthem of every musician on the planet. I did start writing stories and songs when I was barely 10 years old. I had small books that I wrote my songs in. I was in my 2nd year in secondary school and although I wanted to study medicine, I still wanted to do music somehow. I was a very shy young girl and when I was invited to join the school choir, I refused but of course I was dragged into it by girls that thought I was just being stupid. I sang the alto part with one other girl. While the soprano and tenor part had many girls singing it, it was just two of us doing the deep alto. I later became sort of popular when I started singing alone or with my ‘bunk mate’ in school gatherings. The shy girl became well known and loved in school.

Now the present; what’s happening to me now? Well, not much. I still write songs and hope I start recording soon. I write pop and jazz songs. I didn’t pursue a career in it immediately because I wanted to at least have a degree.


Romancing the guitar.

My favourite musical instrument is the guitar. My best friend was teaching me how to play it for a while then we all got too busy with school stuff and other things.

In my life, I must have written more than a 100 songs; gospel, R&B, jazz and African music. I still do because when you hit the studios, the producer and music marketer would give you a lot of trouble about the songs that are saleable and stuff. You would write and write until you get it right. I am so ready for that now.

It is not going to be easy I know. But then nothing in life is. All I need is courage, focus, determination, dedication and of course resources. The latter is the hardest part but I will get there somehow.

Encouraging you to pursue your dreams. The most humble and even the wildest of them.



Lily Johnson.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

The Doctor and the Boob

I was watching The Doctors on MNet series and I heard one of the doctors say that breast firming creams don’t work. You have to get surgery and he had this huge plastic boob with which he described how the nipple is moved from the rather embarrassing position it was to a higher position on the breast making it look perkier.


Jeez! I wanted to say “Sir, you gotta be kidding me. Now there are a dozen and one tablets and creams that are said to firm the breasts especially after breast feeding (tons of!) babies and most young women believe that they would put them to good use when the time comes. Especially those who are mortally afraid of the knife. I happen to be one of them.(Not to mention that I might not even afford it). So sir, are you saying that these companies are just out there to take the money straight from our purses, leaving some of us with the saggy boobs we started out with?”

Well, an aunt told me that a friend of hers used a breast enlarging and firming cream and after using two cups of cream and tablets, the breast just (in her own words) got strong. It was not bigger but it was no longer soft. Was that the result she wanted? She wasn’t sure.

Hmm!

What if the doctor is right? You know he may be ignorant of some of the ‘wonder’ products around with the ‘amazing’ ingredients that would go to the very core of the problem and ‘Voom’, whisk it away. But I have always believed that doctors are one of the most realistic people in the world. So may be what he is saying is that if you want results that you can see, touch and feel not to mention that you will have your new boobs in 3 weeks after the procedure, get surgery baby.

We want to stay hot forever. I know I do and there is no shame in that. The question is what length are we willing to go? It is your choice doll. Just think it through and just do what is necessary. Necessary!

Love yourself anyways.

Lily Johnson.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Magic Mascara!

I love make up. I am good at it and I'm always trying something new. My sister came home one day and as usual I peeped into her make up bag to see if she had anything that was interesting. She isn't the make up type but she would buy loads of it anyway. Good for me because I just take them and she wouldn't even notice.  She walked in on me and told me not to take her mascara and she wasn't smiling. I wondered what the big deal was all about. She just said something about it being expensive and super. Wow! I checked it out. It was L'oreal Extra Volume Collagene.So I applied it on my long and full lashes and I was thrown! It gave instant fuller and longer lashes. Very dramatic effect. No wonder she KNEW she had this one.

I don't advertise products or stuff like that and L'oreal wouldn't even notice if I did. It is an amazing product and I want you ladies to know that it wouldn't be a waste of money to buy it. That is if you don't already have it.

Keep looking fabulous.

Lily Johnson.

Pic from Loreal-paris.co.uk

Friday, September 3, 2010

The Mother, You and the Balance

Okay, this is a very sensitive subject but I am going to talk about it. Some of you might think it isn’t that important especially if you and your partner decided a long time ago to exclude all other members of your families in your affairs. But if not, you would definitely understand and appreciate what I am about to talk about.

You meet a guy; start dating then it develops into a relationship. If things are really good that is if your guys are compatible, really understand and make each other happy, then marriage would be considered. Then of course, you will have to meet each other’s families.

Your man already has a way he relates with his parents. You are expected to either try as hard as you can to please them or be your very self. In any case, the latter would prevail.

Now, just as you and your man have your disagreements, occasional shouting matches and different opinions and beliefs, so have he and his mother. So there would be disagreements once in a while between them.

If you occasional go to your man’s folks when you are having conflicts with him and they have been able to call him to order each time, you develop a deep sense of respect and admiration for them even without knowing it,.

Now, what happens when your man and his folks especially his mother fall out and his mother tells you about it? This may seem very easy to answer and even handle right? You just talk to your man and of course, he would listen to you, apologise to his mum and you all lived happily ever after. Very possible especially if he was wrong. But what if he wasn’t? What if his mother should be the one to apologise and not the other way round even though she is seriously expecting it? And expecting you to talk some sense into him to do the right thing? Oh no!

You are just standing there, wondering what to do because it isn’t about taking sides but being as sensible, practical and unbiased as you can be. And trust me, it is difficult.

One wrong statement could destroy the good relations you have with your mother in-law (or to-be) and could also bring serious conflict between you and your man. And of course, if you are too hard on your man, you might be surprised to get a negative reaction from his mother and vice versa!

So what do you do for crying out loud? I am not a pro but listen to these do and don’ts.

1. If you want to say “You are wrong” or “You shouldn’t have done that” to his folks, put it mildly and never raise your voice. Even if your man is there fuming and shouting the house down

2. When your man is having a fight with his mother, always remind him that the woman is his mother for crying out loud and he shouldn’t shout at her or disrespect her even he feels she deserves it. Never support that and trust me, he doesn’t want you to.

3. If you were rather unfortunate to be there during a shouting session between them, apologise to the mother and ask your man to be quiet and allow her to calm down so they could talk reasonably.

4. If the situation gets out of hand and your man heads for the car, tell the woman how sorry you are for everything before running after Mr. “I’m outta here.”

5. When the older woman is so hurt she is like, “I won’t forgive him for this”, please don’t get overly defensive. Just apologise on your man’s behalf and remind her that he is her beloved son.

6. Unless you are invited to air your views, stay away from rather touchy family subjects.

7. Be nice, be respectful, be tactful and of course be yourself.



My strong African values may have influenced my opinions but hey, you can’t go wrong if you try your best to hang in the balance, give respect to who it is due and say the right words at the right time when you can.



Do stay out of trouble and be good.



Lily Johnson.


Pictures by istockphoto.com
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Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Give them away!!

I was going through my things some days back and found some things that I'd had for some years that I don't use anymore. I didn't even know that I had some of them. Makeup, some accessories and old perfume bottles. (Jeez! I didn't know that I still had that odd red lipstick. And the broken silver earrings. And an almost empty Chanel No5 bottle that I got as a present).

For one reason or the other mostly emotional, we keep things we don't need. And that is because sometimes, we buy things we don't need. I love the 'wet and luscious lips' look so I tend to buy tubes of lip gloss whenever I go shopping even when I know that I had three years supply in my make up bag.

I am writing this piece to advise us (you and I) to do away with things in our possession that we don't make use of and probably don't need instead of leaving them to amass dust and occupy much needed space.
Some of us have closets full of clothes and shoes that we are done with. Give them out to friends or charity or simply get rid of them.

I know you might want to keep some things that you are emotionally attached to but do your best to keep those that are kind of important and evoke pleasant memories.
So it is time to be generous and to get some space to keep things that are important people. And be mighty tidy too.

I am writing my exams this week. Wish me luck. Thanks.

See you guys soon.

Lily Johnson

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

I am.... still Lily Johnson!!

I just changed my blog title people. Yeah, I want to include a whole lot in my postings. I want to tell you guys what i think about everything. Now, it is only the name that changed okay? I am still me. You might see a part of me that you have not seen before. It is still good old me. Proudly Nigerian and a lover of all the races of the world. Highly opinionated and still down to earth.

I am still the woman you know and have come to love.  You will still see what you expect to see, some that you do not and a few that would amaze you.

Thanks for being there y'all

Lily Johnson

Friday, June 11, 2010

Posting problems!!!

I have been in a cyber cafe for hours now trying to post but Blogger is telling me that it cannot be saved due to 'form errors' so it cannot be posted!

Just imagine how frustrated I am right now. I have spent my time and my money here and I have achieved nothing.

Anyway, I really wanted to connect with everyone because i missed you guys more than you can imagine. I am just trying to make ends meet and get steady connection and I will very soon.

I changed my blog template so if anyone is having problems like viewing it or leaving comments, kindly let me know.

I love you all.

All 23 of you.

Lily Johnson
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Monday, April 26, 2010

I am back! I hope.

Hey guys! Thanks for being there for me. You all are amazing. I have been going through a rough patch and I sincerely hope that I can be consistent for a while and if I am not, please try to understand. But I will try. I missed you all and I want to say thank you again. And again.


I celebrated my birthday on the 17th of April and I tried to blog that day but I couldn’t due to bad connection. Since I couldn’t throw a party or anything like that, a gentleman took me and my best friend out. I had fun. I realized that I hadn’t had that kind of fun in a while. And since I couldn’t pop the champagne bottle with my blogger friends, I decided to post one of my short stories; April fool. It contains scenes of violence and loads of swearing so if you are not into that kind of thing, I understand. I sincerely hope you guys enjoy it. Please bear in mind that I want my collection of short stories to get published some day so just tell me what you think.

I love you guys. Seriously.



APRIL FOOL

April 1st 1979. 7:48pm

Eric reassured himself that he was doing the right thing as he entered the dank and smelly joint. A fat and ugly woman dressed in a short see-through dress that showed her sagged breasts and flabby belly, was dancing to some crappy music in a corner of the small room. The men, mostly old butchers and pensioners were clapping and pushing coins and dirty notes up and down her dress exposing more wrinkled flesh. They looked like they were having the time of their lives.

Eric walked to the bartender who gave him the usual patronizing look before nodding in a direction. He thanked the old man and walked towards the table at the extreme right of the room. The man at the table had his head and hands on the bottles on the table and was oblivious of the young man’s presence. Eric wrinkled his nose in disgust and hesitated but he knew that there was no turning back now.

“Jake!” he tapped the man’s shoulders, “Jake!!”

Jake grunted like a wild pig and moved. Some of the bottles on the table fell off and broke. A red faced Eric looked around to see if they had attracted attention. The fat woman was wriggling her bulbous bottom in the face of a deliriously happy old pervert. No one had noticed them.

“Well, well, well,” Jake’s voice startled him, “Look who’s here to get his old man”

Jake was a big man. It was a wonder how he sat on the small chair though it creaked dangerously under him. His coffee brown T shirt was tight fitting and showed off his large biceps. He flashed a drunken grin.

“Nice garb Eric. Do you have a date or did you dress up this good to come get me huh?”

Eric looked from his white cotton shirt to his dark blue Levi jeans trousers and his well worn black and white Nike sneakers.

“Let’s go Jake.”

“Did she send you?”

“Doesn’t she always?”

Jake laughed and revealed small yellow teeth, “Now that’s my girl! Help me up son.”

“I am not your son!” Eric snapped. He was tired of reminding him.

His father was killed in a hunting accident some years back. He was ten years old. Some months later, Jake showed up at their doorstep. His mother had told him that he was her ‘special’ friend. Night after night, he had listened to them argue about payment of bills, Jake’s alcoholism and a whole lot of things. Then he began to hit her. His mother would try to smile with a spilt lip to bid him goodbye to school. Sometimes, she wouldn’t be able to come for the parents and teachers meetings or art days because she had a black eye. He had even broken he arm once. He had missed two weeks of school because he had to be at the hospital with her. He had listened to her cry her heart out all those nights. But she had always gone back to him and Eric couldn’t but wonder why.

He helped Jake to his feet. At seventeen, Eric was five foot nine inches tall, just a few inches shorter than his step father.

“Your mother knows what’s good for her boy,” Jake’s breath stank of booze and cheap cigarettes. “I just can’t wait to spank her!”

“Really?” It took all Eric had in him to resist punching him square in the face.

“Yeah, she loves it when I knock her around. Gives her the kicks I tell you”

“It does?”

They walked out of the room with Jake trying to walk without stumbling.

“Where’s the car?” Jake asked Eric as he walked towards a Volvo in the tiny car park opposite the bar.

“Over here,” Eric opened the door of the same car. “Mum bought it last week. I think it is for you but don’t say I told you or she would be mad at me.”

“The bloody bitch!” Jake exclaimed and ran to the car. “I like Volvos. How did she know that?”

Lucky guess, Eric thought as he remembered how he had snatched the car from a young couple. It wasn’t hard as both of them were high.

“Get in. She has other pleasant surprises for you I guess.”

“Really?” Jake entered the car. “And how would you know that son?”

“Because she told me to bring you to an old cabin somewhere out of town.”

“I didn’t think she was romantic. Infact, I didn’t think she had any brains at all.”

Well, isn’t that a surprise Jake?” Eric smiled mirthlessly

“Yes it is son. Take me to my whore.” He patted Eric on the back, “Take me to those surprises.”

“I sure will.” Eric drove off clutching the steering a bit too tightly.





The car pulled to a stop after eighty minutes of driving, in front of an old cabin.

“Well what do you know,” Jake whistled as he got out of the car. “This place is like in the middle of nowhere”

“Yeah.”

Eric had found the deserted cabin a few weeks back. It was surprisingly in good shape. It had a large four poster bed in one of the two bedrooms. He just replaced the dirty sheets. Everything had to be perfect.

“So is she in there?” Jake asked.

“I believe so. Let’s find out.”

They walked into the cabin with Eric in the lead. There was a candle burning in the sparsely furnished living room. A bottle of Scotch and a glass were on the small wooden table in the middle of the room.

“Ah! Claire has really gone nuts,” Jake’s eyes widened as he saw the bottle of Scotch. “She is in for it because Scotch really drives me wild.”

“Don’t you want to check out the bedroom?” Eric asked heading towards the tiny hall way that led to the bathroom and two bedrooms

Jake sat on one of the chairs, “No. Not now. I want to romance this bottle for a while.”

“She wouldn’t want you to be drunk Jake”

“Am I always not?”

“Excuse me then, I have to use the bathroom,” Eric walked down the hall and opened a dimly lit room. Once he was in it, he began to hit the walls in rage and frustration. He had wanted to be swift and ….merciful. But not anymore. Jake had pushed him to the wall by calling his mother names. He opened a drawer and brought out a pistol. He was about to take the baseball bat that lay on the floor when the door opened.

Jake staggered in with the bottle of Scotch in his hand. Eric hid the gun behind his back.

“What are you up to young man? Where the hell is Claire?”

“She must be in here somewhere,” Eric tried to smile. He stood up and made for the door but Jake hit him on the face. The gun dropped off his hand as he fell.

“What?” Jake tripped on the old carpet and fell spilling the contents of the Scotch bottle.

“You and your slut of a mother wanted to kill me?”

Eric held his stinging left cheek, “You bastard! He brought out a pen knife out of his jeans pocket and slashed the older man on the arm.

“Son of a bitch,” Jake reached for the gun but Eric was faster. He took the baseball bat and knocked it out of his reach and stood up.

Jake panted for a while and smiled mischievously, “So what’s next son?”

“This.” Eric hit the baseball bat hard on his left leg.

Jake screamed wildly, “You broke it! Damn you! You broke my leg.”

“That was for the slaps that gave her face those bruises,” Eric said menacingly.

The bat came down again on his right leg. Jake groaned in pain as he felt his leg break. “That is for breaking her arm. It affected me too Jake. I missed my exams and failed a class.”

“You son of a bitch! You coward! You got me drunk so you could do this to me? You gave me the goddamned Scotch to break my legs”

“You were already drunk when I got to that cheap joint Jake. Don’t fool yourself. You are a hopeless alcoholic Jake. And if you think I am a coward, well that’s your problem.

Jake’s legs were apart so when Eric hit his groin, it was right at target. Jake became unconscious.

Eric was breathing heavily when he dropped the baseball bat. There was blood on the floor and on his shirt.

He ran out of the room to the bathroom where he had kept the plastic keg that contained fuel. He quickly poured it all over the place and some, outside the cabin. He entered the Volvo before throwing the ignited lighter into the house. He heard the roof of the cabin blow off a few meters away.





April 1ST 1990. 8:45pm

“So I’ll see you tomorrow?” Shannon asked Eric and kissed him once more. “We could go to a fancy restaurant.”

Eric’s car was parked in front of Shannon's house. “I don’t know. I could be working tomorrow.”

“I could come over at night and sleep over,” Shannon flashed him a sexy smile.

“That could work,” Eric stroked her cheeks.

“See you tomorrow then. Goodnight,” she kissed him again. Eric waited for her to lock her front door before heading home.

He parked his car in his small garage and entered his house through the kitchen door. The house was dark and when he switched on the electricity, it didn’t work.

Strange, he thought aloud, I will have to call Mark.

He lit a candle in the kitchen and headed for his bedroom to get his mobile phone. He had forgotten it there earlier.

Once in the living room, he thought he saw a shadow entering one of the rooms. He heard the door close almost noiselessly. His gun was in his bedroom so he brought out a Jack knife from the pocket of his jacket. He opened the door of the room and scanned through it with the candle in his left hand. He saw nothing and exhaled. Must have been his hurting head showing him things that weren’t there.

When he turned to leave the room, the electricity came on and at the door, a grotesquely shaped figure with charred flesh and familiar eyes smiled through oddly shaped lips.

“Hello son,” it said. “Did you miss me?”



Lily Johnson.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

I am so sorry for the M.I.A thingy!!

People, my dear friends that i have come to love and cherish. I am so sorry for not being there to post or read and comment on your blogs. I have been ill, traveling and sorta broke.
Please forgive and do not "unfollow" me.
I love you guys!!!!!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Beautiful liar

No, it is not just a figment of Beyonce, Shakira and their song writer’s imagination. Some one I know met one.


They had met on… well the internet and became friends so they set a date and met in person. They had been talking for more than a month so she felt she knew some vital things about him until she met him. Her earlier suspicion made her do some detective work though. These were her findings.

1. His name was the only thing that was true and real.

2. He said he was single but he was married with a beautiful daughter. His wife was expecting their second child.

3. The house he claimed was his was his boss’s mother’s house.(Not really sure about the ‘boss’ part )

4. He was a womanizer masquerading as a cool guy looking for a woman to marry.

5. His mobile phone was always switched off because of his wife or another woman but he would always say he was in a meeting with his boss.

6. He might be jobless (Explains the not-so-sure thingy about the ‘boss’ thing) though he claims to be the manager of a trading company.

7. He was handsome, sweet and witty. He had a personality that made you want to become his friend. He drew you in and made you like and trust him.

Personality profile: Beautiful liar.

Years back, I worked in a school with a young man called Emmanuel. Our salary was pathetic and was hardly paid on time. He obviously had the hots for me and told me that he was a pilot. He told me he had gone to a rather expensive aviation school in Australia and was in another one in the US where he was paying millions of naira for tuition. He would come to school every morning in an overall and tell me he had flown to Paris the previous night and would fly to Amsterdam after school hours. I didn’t know what to say to him. Then he said his father was Greek! People knew his father who was always tipsy and his mother who grew vegetables. I just couldn’t stand him anymore when he denied his own parents. So one day, I exploded. I told him that I was sick of his pathetic lies and that he needed serious help. He didn’t come to work for a few days. He sent a boy with a note for me. In the note, he said he was in a hospital after suffering a heart attack. He was breathing with the help of machines! (WTF!).

After laughing my behind off, I asked the startled boy one simple question; which hospital Emmanuel was in. Of course, he couldn’t produce an answer. The psycho case must have given him some change to buy meat pies. He came back to work after two weeks looking grim and was spotting a surgical plaster on his nose! You know, to make the ‘breathing with the help of machines’ story seem real. I actually felt sorry for him he was living in a fantasy world. He needed help.

Now, I know these are extreme cases but once in a while, we encounter people that tell too many lies. Every body that is still dating should beware of people that are always trying to cover something up or trying to make something up. Trust your instincts. When listening to him or her, listen attentively. Listen to the words and the body language.

Some people believe that the only way that they can be accepted is if they are anything but themselves. Others just tell lies to get what they want and don’t care if someone gets hurt in the process. It is a crazy world people!

If you have any encounter with a handsome stranger with a lot of sweet words that simply aren’t true, join Beyonce and Shakira in doing that dance

We laugh about it

It’s not worth our time.

(Sorry I don’t know the next line)

I do know that he is a beautiful liar.


Have fun people.


Lily Johnson

Thursday, March 11, 2010

You are human. Deal with it!

I made a great mistake! I shouldn’t have done this! I should have said that! News flash: You are not a robot. You are flesh and blood (please don’t make me get the anatomy guy to break it down for you). You are not perfect and nobody is no matter what they say! You have emotions that sometimes can’t be controlled. You are not God! So you are not all knowing, ever present and all powerful and trust me you can never be and we are not expecting you to be. You are (wait for it) human! End of not-so-flash news flash.


We all do it once in a while; beating ourselves up for something we know that couldn’t be helped. We keep seeing things we should have or would have done even it is so clear that there was nothing anyone could have done about the situation. Even when we had done everything in our power, we still tell ourselves that we shouldn’t have done more; we should have done better. Yeah, I understand. I know how it feels. I do that too sometimes.

But my dear, there is so much that you can control. I am sure that you try hard enough so when there are some flaws here and there, as hard as that can be, try to take it in your good stride. It is nearly impossible in fatal cases but what can you, a mere mortal do? Even when you could have done something, blaming yourself till you breathe, eat and drink self condemnation can’t change the situation. And you would have turned into a zombie. Now that’s horrible!

I just want to encourage everyone to try to live with themselves when they make bad choices and great mistakes. Regret it. Please do but just enough to learn from it, swear never to do it again, share your experience with people so they can learn from it too and put it behind you and live your life. And when you know deep down that there was nothing you could have done about the situation, quit looking for ways to bring yourself down! It can’t change anything!

And if you know someone in such a situation, do the ‘blaming’ thing and encourage the person to learn from it and move on. It could be you so be good.

It is difficult but with determination and prayers, we can do it.

Keep being positive.



Lily Johnson.

Monday, March 8, 2010

I got...lost!

I had to travel to Benin Republic. My dearest brother just got admission into a university there. Benin republic is a small country beside Nigeria. That’s all I can tell you. I, my mum and my aunt went to the place. I was intrigued by a lot. The language difference which is French and the long French bread, the music and the notes and coins (money). I and my family used to live in Togo, the country after Benin Republic with loads of similarities. I especially love their music! It is called ‘Makossa’.

I am embarrassed to say that I got lost in the city of Cotonou. My mum and aunt got on motor bikes and left me behind believing I was behind them. The driver of the motor bike I was on was rather sluggish. He was busy trying to impress me with some words in English and hit on me. You can imagine! So we didn’t know which way my mum and aunt went. I didn’t know any where. They just told the motorbike driver to follow them. So I was lost. I didn’t have any of their money which was CFA francs. My purse was stuffed with Naira and it was useless. My mobile phone wasn’t working there either. My outgoing calls were barred so I couldn’t call my mum or my aunt. It was one of the most terrifying moments of my entire life. I told the driver to take me back to the university. So I began to wait for a miracle.

The driver I must confess was a good person. I quickly forgot his earlier ‘eff ups’ when he gave me some money to call my aunt using their pay phone. I got through to my aunt and told her where I was. It took my mum who was pretty freaked out herself about 45 minutes to get to the school. I was torn between hugging her and crying happily and going completely ballistic. I had stood under the sun, which was hotter than what I am used to, for 45 minutes. I was warned by the driver to stand under some shade but I was pissed and embarrassed. I was looking hot in my off shoulder top and jeans trousers but I was freaking lost!

I should have listened to him though because now, I am rocking sunburns on my neck and shoulders and I got a shade darker.

Anyway, I bought a lot of French bread and ate them with salad to console myself. A grown woman doesn’t get lost in a country where she doesn’t understand the language with no money in her pocket and a useless mobile phone all the time.

Be good people



Lily Johnson.

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