My Daily Bread

Lately, I have had some very  tough conversations with myself ..... Especially regarding my weight! Yes, I know these are weighty issues that girls do not like going public about.
I am an African woman in all contexts but that does not gurantee size 16!
So i decided to journal everything I eat...and OMG! at the end of the day, I thought, NO EMMA, NO!!!

My mama tells me that I loved good food...When my sister Martha's did not feel like her Lunch, she would ask me to please clear her plate and in turn she would do me a favour... That was fine with me...
31 years later, I have started to ask myself some very tough questions. I want to be able to cheer Ethan during his school sports day, I want to be able to swim with him over the holidays, I want to show him that veggies are actually tasty and healthy, I want to be an example to him.

My gym instructor loves my determination. He says I need to loose 20 kilograms to get to my ideal BMI, I know I can. Only if I cut down on my calorie intake and run harder on the trademail. So far, I am loving it.
I like my  bread with butter, its yummy! but I really need to cut on that...really!

I guess that is what being healthy is all about, letting go of all the yummy, unhealthy things that we love to indulge in... the ice- cream, the cheesy pizza, and the sizzling steak with fries...

I will keep you posted on my progress, keep reading



My love,

Emma K

..Now.....

...I feel like my life is at the crossroad...could it be the fear of the fact that I do not know if I  will move to Nairobi as desired?
I look back in my life and get out my dream board..... I have to make major decisions regrading my life, Ethan is Almost 2( his actually 15 months) and he needs to be settled in Nairobi.
Is a job there forthcoming? Am I casting my net deep enough?  Am I making the right connections?
I ask myself a lot of what  questions, I dream, I wish, I want, only if..... For now, I am making the best of what I have. Trying to live my life, and to have fun while at it.....
...what if i did not take my job in Mombasa 4 years ago......
what if I studied HR instead of Communications?
...What If I worked in Windhoek and never relocated back to Kenya......
Ken tells me no situation is permanent, I know this too shall pass....

My love,

Emma K!

MY LIFE'S LESSONS

I love to read / listen to Robin Sharma. He is a great speaker......he teaches on Business success, life, building relationships, fun and everything else.  He says  he is NO guru but I think he is. 

He has taught me great lessons as i go through this journey - LIFE.


When I completed my degree in Communication and Industrial Psychology, I pictured myself anchoring  the 9 o'clock bulletin as an Anchor. I returned to Kenya with great expectations of taking on the Media Industry.


Fast forward to today,8 years later I am not in a studio anchoring the bulletin. I am in an office, managing the people development docket in the Human Resources Department. I love my job! it gives me great satisfaction....and I like to think,   I am now  wiser and  a better person.... I have made and broken friends and relationships, grown networks and learnt a few things along the way................. 


1. Your work ethic will speak for you. I'm a hard worker. I work hard and play harder... I have learnt how  to set aside time to  smell the flowers, I put 100% into whatever I do. I learned to deliver beyond expectations very early on in my career, because that's what makes you exemplary. 


2. Build your networks. I learnt that i should not be forgettable, much later on in my career, How I wish  I  had known earlier how to build networks. I once flew with former Safaricom, CEO,  Micheal Joseph on a plane to Mombasa. I met him in the waiting  lobby, I wish i had walked up to him and chat him up. Life presents small windows of opportunities. Once they shut, they may never open again.....
Carry your business card, know how to catch the  possible talking points with those you meet...whether you're off to a cocktail party or lunch .


3. Be Knowledgeble. Read, a lot. Get to know what's happening in the world that we live in... Know what's news in America,  Egypt, In Syria and around the corner.....news of global importance are a great points to start a conversation... make an impression. You never know who'll be paying attention.Read, read , read.... build a library and you will be SMART!


4. Work towards personal growth:  If I lost everything today, my job, my house, my car, and everything else I own, I have a plan...... I will start from scratch and will rebuild what i had...... I may grow vegetables on my little garden, sell second hand clothes; I may sell cakes, or create something  for sale. I have learned to be confident in my passion for things outside my career that can still hold me up if everything else fell apart. 


5. Have a mentor. When you're busy building and working towards getting to the top, you need a mentor! Someone who will hold your VISION BOARD and help you spell everything out. Someone tho will push  you towards your dreams........your greatness!!. It's easy to get lost in the current, but you need to keep  focus on where you want to be tomorrow. 


6. Set your goals. I read somewhere that resolutions don't create success, habit does. I have a long list of goals that I look at least once a day. I have written them down and I have reminders that keep me on toes. Know why you need to wake up every morning........


7.I keep learning every day, but the most important thing is to keep amazing people around you. People that will challenge you to be better, that will laugh and cry with you, but who know the value of tough love. You cannot win when you are alone. I have learned that I am nothing without my family, my friends and GOD. 


I am a work in progress..... am not there yet, but i know i will ...


Much Love,


Emma K!

My Cuppa

Cafeserrie is the new restaurant in Town. Italian owned and managed.

Everything about this restaurant has a WOW factor, from the food, Ambiance, the service..... I love being here.....

One thing that really makes it special is the coffee, the Latte in particular.... I love it................

Next time your in town, make sure you stop for a cuppa.....



Love,

Emma K

THINGS I LIKE

1. Banana's… got to have one everyday..


2. High Heels…yes, as tall as I am, I love heels, they have a way of changing the whole look....

3. Love and basketball……the movie..it is so chic, and heart warming…very romantic..maybe because it reminds me of a guy I had a huge crush on…hehehe

4. My legendary girlfriend……a novel by my favourite fiction author Mike Gayle, I have read all nine novels of Mike but I cant get enough of this one. Its about a guy who cant seem to get over his first love and still looking for the one just like his ex… it’s a chic and guy flick… what I love about this author is that he writes from both a man and woman perceptive…PLUS his English humor is just infectious...lol…

5. Make up .........Without it, am NAKED…

6. My Husband Ken  went to California 2 years ago and  bought me a purple sundress, I wear it with heels, with sandals, with anything I still look pretty.... I love it!


7. H&M stores…wonder when they are going to open one here…....They sell everything a woman needs!

8. Huge Chunky Bangles…..lost count how many I have, …



9. Red Roses....... What else can a woman say?



10. Last but not least….Sunlight soap… this is a wonder multi-purpose soap, since I was a baby my mother bathed me with it, I still use it to date..........I use the soap for my face as well… best invention EVER!.…



Love,
Emma K

Long time

Been long since I was last here.. a big hallo all my followers. A lot has been going on in my life exciting stuff and not so exciting stuff.

WORK
I have had a busy start to 2012. Its not yet  June and I feel like i have been running! .

TRAVEL
I am been on the plane and on the road ....heavy traffic. I have 2 homes to run, I got 2 babies, I got friends to see and things to do! In September am in LA...Cant wait..Vagas is a must!

NETWORKING
Yes...am trying to spread my wings wider, Trying to get a new job and relocate to Nairobi. I need to know people, who know people.......

BEING A MUMMY
Ethan is 13 months and counting. He is exploring his world and he keeps me on my feet. I love my mushkin:)

IN THOSE JEANS
Unfortunately am still struggling with post baby fat...wondering how Beyonce did it?????? Salad for breakfast, lunch dinner ..maybe???

SOCIAL LIFE
So many milestones to celebrate this year, Ethan turned one, Our Nuptials, Its been one year since we moved into our new home, My vegetable garden is a success... my blessings are indeed running over....

ON THE TO DO LIST:
Start  swimming(with Ethan) and jogging... maybe this time round i will fit into size 8 jeans......

Start experimenting new culinary recipes, I discovered I love good food, so I might as well know how to do it myself!

Photography, I love taking pictures especially in 3 dimension...

Keep reading, I will keep writting

Lots of Love,

Emma K

Family Union

I met all my in-laws( read in - loves) two weeks ago. I had met Ken's mother, and brother in 2009 in London, I was excited and anxious to be meeting his two sisters- Judy and Joan.

The two weeks I spent with them was filled with immense warmth and love. This is a family rich with Love.

From the moment I met them, I knew I was a part of them. By the time they were leaving, we all had very teary goodbyes.

Ken and I took leave from work so as to host them. We booked vacation and took them around the country. From the Kenyan coastline to the Masai Mara to the depths of the Rift Valley, we had a wonderful time!

They were happy to be home after 12 years! They came home and found that life had moved on, without them, despite them, because of them, they missed out on many things, babies were born, grew up, talked, walked, people got married, divorced and some even remarried. Goverments fell and others took power, trees were felled and river dried up! indeed its been a long time.

Other than meeting Ethan and myself, they wanted to see their country, meet their relatives, go places and soak up every minute and every experience.....

I can imagine their excitement when the flight captain announced, "mamabibi na mabwana…tumewasili nyumbani!'

We enjoyed the sandy white beaches of Mombasa, the evening sea breeze at the Sarova Hotel, the sea food was tasty, the cocktails.... everything was magical.

Masai Mara was wonderful! we stayed at the Mara Sopa Lodge. The game-drives were exciting. We got to see the big 5 up close and personal, the hyena feeding at 10p.m, massai dancing, Robert and Ken enjoyed having a cold Tusker under the big African skies...

While at home, I got to sample and try out different recipes with the girls. Ken's mother can make the best fish!

Judy and Joan were excellent with Ethan. They sang him songs, put him to bed, bathed him and feed him. After afew days, Ethan was in love with his aunties. I guess its also because, they are fabolus;they make an effort to look good. From their hair, to fashion sense, these girls are on top of things!

Ethan was spoilt rotten! He got enough gifts to last him another year. The memories are indeed great!

We laughed together, played together, prayed together, watched the sunset together, dined together over great wine! All the small things that make life so beautiful......

Judy and Joan left on Saturday for Los Angeles, Robert leaves tomorrow for London and mum will be here until end of March.

It was sad to say goodbye to Judy and Joan. I hope we shall have a wonderful time with Mum. - I really hope to see them in September during Judy's wedding.

Anyway, I could recount family anecdotes and events ad nauseum but I realise they only mean what they mean, to me. And my skewed sense of belonging to these people- my family!!

I see though, that this longing in me draws from our culture. The unwritten rule that calls you to love. Because your brother, sister, mother, father are your family. And THAT is who you are.

I ask myself now how I have got by for so long on crumbs of the meal that mean the most to me. Well. That right there is what life teaches you... to cherish what you have, who are and where you have been, in the moments that are given to you. Because each one of those things is rich. Amazingly so........

All my love,

Emma K!