IT WAS SO MUCH EASIER WHEN I ONLY HAD ONE .....

As I type, I am wearing two pairs of pants, a sweatshirt and a large bubble jacket just to keep me warm. No, power holders have not struck, thank goodness, but the freezing temperatures are just no fun. Add to that the approximately 3 feet of snow that surrounds the entire region - can you feel me now?

It snowed for approximately 24 hours non-stop. All one could do was snack on Doritos, drink aloe tea, snack some more, eat coconut rice and curry chicken (you know how my people love chicken). Now that I think about it, I should have cracked open my bottle of Hennessey 44, a special edition bottle manufactured to celebrate Obama's inauguration. Hmmm, I think I'll see how much I can get for it on Ebay instead.

Anyway, so back to the gist - it is freezing cold. Brrr. All I want to do is drink some more tea, curl up in front of the fireplace with my human teddy bear and pass out while he watches his team, the West Indian cricket team, try to beat Australia. It was hard sleeping by him yesterday as he was watching his team lose. Lots of angry grunts, yells and dissatisfied sighs.

Gosh, I can't stay focused. All this cold. And snow. Anyway, here are pictures of my neighborhood post blizzard.

And my backyard looked like this -

Argh! The question is how long will all this snow take to disappear seeing as we are expecting another 5 inches on Tuesday this week?

My guess? Forever!

Have a great week, people! See you on Friday for a new TTTEC installment.

Happy Friday to everyone. I want to take the time to say thank you to everyone who participated in last week's installment. It appears that the tenor of that discussion was very good because I have received 2 emails from readers with advice and one with a personal story to share.

So, today, 'Priscilla' shares her story in the hopes that it will encourage someone to do the right thing for another person if and when the opportunity presents itself.

I hope all is well with you all. Have a blessed weekend!
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I am glad that I stumbled upon your blog. I was reading another blog and saw the title of your blogpost and after reading the comments, I knew I had to share my story.


I am the 4th of 9 children that my mother and father had. Daddy died when I was 14 and at first, we depended on relatives. But, soon, the burden was too much for my mother and I was sent at the age of 16 to live with a relative in Lagos.


Upon arrival, I immediately became the househelp for this family of 5. The 'madam' was a distant relative of my late father's and well, I was glad to be in Lagos and see flashy cars and wonderful things. However, things got ugly when my 'oga' started coming to my room at night. Like the story you shared of the girl who discovered her father with the housegirl, I was also warned to not make any noise or else I would be beaten. And yes, you can imagine, I became pregnant, at the age of 17. He insisted I have an abortion, and one day gave me some sort of concoction. It made me very sick. I thought I was dying. When 'madam' asked what was wrong with me, because I was vomiting everywhere, her husband offered to take me to a neighbor's house, as that neighbor was a doctor. It was late at night and luckily, the neighbor was there. They soon drove me to his clinic and well, I lost a lot of blood and the baby as well.


Believe it or not, I was abandoned at that clinic with nowhere to go. My 'oga' and 'madam' never came back for me. I was given transport money by one of the nurses and when I got back to their house, 'madam' told me to never come back. Just like that. No money. Nothing. I had no way to get back to Calabar.


For some days, I slept outside. A househelp in the area had pity on me, fed me and  encouraged me to speak to the doctor that saved my life that night after that man tried to kill me in the name of abortion. I walked to their house and luckily, the doctor and his wife where there. I think they suspected what had happened even though their friend told them I was sleeping with maiguards in the area. Thank God for that family, because from that day, I stayed in their house with them and their children. They sent me to school and I managed to get my first certificate. I then went on to get a job as a secretary and soon met my husband at Church. Today, I am a mother and wife, and I still cannot believe what I went through to get to where I am today.


I chose to share my story (and I hope you will not reveal my name) because far too often, what happens to househelps is ignored. But, it is the kindness of absolute strangers that can make or break a human being. In my case, I was fortunate to be 'adopted' by a kind family and a man who literally saved my life so many years ago. Even though I ended up on my feet, my life is not a Nollywood film, I am just a simple woman who has seen extreme wickedness and extreme kindness. And just so you know, that same 'oga' that raped me, his son impregnated a neighbors housegirl. After living for months in shame in that neighborhood, the son's actions redeemed me in a way because from then on, many people treated me differently. They realized that something was wrong in that house and not with me. We in this country can be very, very wicked to those who are of a different level and I pray that anyone reading this will not turn a blind eye if they know of a girl being raped by a friend all because that girl is a housegirl. Please, I am begging.
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So, there you have it. I promised 'Priscilla' that I would share her story, and I have. DO you have any thoughts on the matter of househelps and sexual abuse? From last week's comments, it seems Lagos State has some facilities for victims, but I wonder if there are similar options in other states, or would a victim have to find an NGO? Anyway, I will read your comments and learn form you all. There are so many causes to support and champion in Nigeria - this issue should definitely be one of them. Thanks!

By the way, 'oga' refers to a boss, 'maiguard' is the word for a gateman, 'housegirl/househelp' refers to a live in maid.

What happens when you have a boiled egg that has gone cold and you want it reheated?

Well, if you opt to put it in a microwave for longer than 5 seconds, this is what you get -

A disgusting mess!

I mean, I know eating eggs can cause some gaseous explosions of the stinky kind (i.e. farts) but and eggsplosion? My, people, I had absolutely no idea.

Ahhh, my life!