Saturday 31 March 2012

Birthday Message To My Son

I can hardly recognize the young man in front of me. All grown and looking great!


Time does not wait for no one. Not even me!


I can still remember those days...the chubby cheeks, the bubbling laughter, the chuckles
Those cute dimples and lovely thick brows.


I can still remember the changes over time though they were a bit fast for me!
And here we are celebrating you, your birthday!


 "How many years again?" I ask myself.
I can't still believe my little boy has grown into a confident young man. I am pleasantly surprised and grateful to God for this beautiful and special day in your life, in our lives.


Ever grateful to God for all His Mercies and pray He would continue to be with you, guide and guard your ways all the days of your life, Amen.

Happy Birthday Son! Have fun!

To Chibuzho, Chikha and every young man out there!

"Let us come before His Presence with thanksgiving and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms"-Psalm 95:2
                                         

                                                       Linda Aliogo

Thursday 29 March 2012

Sweet Sixteen: A Message From Mom

When I look at the  framed baby picture on the wall, I just wonder! I just wonder how time flies! I could still remember the baby that had thick curly hair.


I could still remember her first day in school, I could still remember those fun things she used to do..


Through it all, she has gone through a lot of changes- physically, mentally, emotionally and otherwise.


I didn't know it would be this soon! How time flies!
I still see her as my baby, well even if she is Sixteen. Here you are now, looking Sweet at Sixteen and living up to it.


I just remain grateful to God for this opportunity- to be your Mom, to be in your life.
HE has been faithful with you and the good works HE has started, HE would definitely complete.


Wishing you a very sweet and fun  birthday as you now become Sixteen.


To Lisa and every Sweet Sixteen


"Enter into His gate with Thanksgiving, into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him, and bless His name" Psalm 100:4


                                     Linda Aliogo




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Saturday 24 March 2012

You, Your Words and Your Husband

 The world we live in was created by God with words. This shows you the power behind words as what you say has a lot of power and influence. It was ‘words’ that led to your meeting your husband (speaking) before it blossomed into a relationship which eventually climaxed as marriage.

You enjoyed each other’s company, you laughed because of the fun things you say and do together. You shared jokes! All these are possible just because of our language-our words.

How come things changed?

The jokes are no more there, the laughter has since been forgotten!  Rather than have peace, there is now war?

Where did these ‘words’ go wrong? How did you ‘talk’ yourself into this unpleasant situation?
Your words can make your husband love you, they can also make him leave!

As a wife, you should know that husbands loved to be respected. You should reverence your husband. This gives him a sense of pride, authority, and control as the head of the family. This actually affects his self-esteem and ego. This is so important to him- the way he is seen by  family, friends and colleagues.

What am I saying?

You should learn to use words to encourage and boost your husband’s confidence rather than otherwise!  Allow him to be the ‘head’ just like CHRIST is the ‘head’ of the church. Allow him enjoy the role as it were.

For instance, the economy is bad everywhere in the world and a lot of people are out of jobs! Your husband is not the only one, so why punish him with your words constantly! Reminding him of how useless he is  financially to the family would not take you anywhere rather, it would cause deep cuts that both of you would regret and remember, especially your husband!

Your words should be soothing, encouraging  and hopeful! He should know after the day’s activities seeking for employment, there is someone there to comfort him of his frustrations. That person is no other one than YOU! Be there for him when needs someone.

I am not saying you should condole and encourage lazy behavior but hey as adults, you know where and when to draw the line. You know genuine and lazy efforts right?

I know you feel the pressure too but, he is more under pressure than you are! He is already feeling like a failure!   A loser!

You do not need to remind him again.

Keep hope alive and let him know you believe in him. Let your husband understand that he is capable, he can and he will make it in life by HIS grace.

Even when there is a quarrel or fight, your words should not be bullets or missiles against him. Fight clean and away from the kids!

What do I mean?

Keep the kids away from the scene, learn to iron out your differences when the children are away or in bed. Keep the discussion to the current problem and nothing else. CONTROL your anger and of course your words!

It is not easy, you would say, but who says marriage is easy! But with God, nothing is impossible.

Remember, the kids hear you and copy what you say. You are meant to build your home and not tear it down with your words!  I believe you are wise.

Be gentle with your words on your husband and other people would wonder why he showers you with so much affection. It is all about giving to receive.

Ponder on this and let me know what you think!

Thanks.

"When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise"- Prov.10:19

"Words are some of the most powerful and important things I know...Language is the tool of love and weapon of hatred. It's the bright red warning flag of danger..and the stone foundation of diplomacy and peace"- Unknown


                                           Linda Aliogo

  

Monday 19 March 2012

Children's Jewelry: What You Must Know

We love to see our children looking beautiful and well dressed with the right accessories – bags, belts, shoes and jewelries.
Buying accessories like jewelries for our children is usually fun as they get to try out and experiment with the different colours, shapes and sizes of jewelries displayed.

But wait!  
Have you ever thought about the content of the jewelries?
What they contain?
 If you are like me (some time ago) then I suggest you get informed!
I never thought about those questions (above) because I didn't really think buying jewelries for my kids is a big deal! After all, I buy them cheap and I do not bother if I have to replace them again for another occasion because they are everywhere!

But you know what? I was dead wrong! I did not know I was exposing my kids to danger! We buy these jewelries from boutiques and clothing shops or even in the local markets as they are mostly imported  from other countries. Now, here is it, they contain a lot of  bright and shining stuffs (blings) and black-like stuffs that add beauty and fun to these jewelries.

Do you know what these blings and black stuffs contain? Well they contain LEAD!
Lead  is an element used in most jewelries, both for adults and children. It is a toxic metal which does not decompose in the environment rather it accumulates in the body.

Lead is used in children’s jewelry to make it heavier and give those blings. It has little or no effect on adults but very dangerous to children! Especially if these jewelries find their way into their mouths either by sucking, licking, swallowing or chewing.  It has been established that most children’s jewelries contain this harmful substance, so beware!

What are the health implications?
Some of them are Emphysema, kidney damage, anaemia, behavioural changes and learning disabilities. Lead poisoning has also been linked to lower I.Q (Intelligence Quotient).

So do be careful when picking up jewelries for your kids (especially those with their favourite characters) .

However, if you are interested in safe and unique children jewelries all handmade at affordable price, then check out  my  website www.fulfilljewelry.com

Thanks.

“Some choices we live not only once but a thousand times over, remembering them for the rest of our lives”- Richard Bach

Linda Aliogo


Friday 16 March 2012

17 Wonderful Uses And Benefits of Pure Natural Shea Butter

I started using shea butter a few years ago. I did not know there is a natural moisturizer out there from Mother Nature that could be used for so many things!

Pure Natural Shea butter
My first use of shea butter was as a result of bumps. Shaving and waxing bumps!  Ever since, I have been using shea butter. In fact, I’m in love with it!  No apologies here hence I secured marketing right from a company reputed as one of the world producers of pure natural shea butter.

So what is this- shea butter?

Well, shea butter is from Mother Nature. Shea butter is got from the karate tree grown predominantly in West (Nigeria, Ghana inclusive) and East Africa.

It is yellowish in colour, like light butter and it is high in fatty acids with natural anti-oxidant compounds.

What are the uses and benefits?

Healing
·   Shea butter helps to ease and reduce the discomfort of sun burn. It contains cinnamic acid, a substance that helps protect the skin from ultra violet rays (approximately spf 6).
·    It helps to heal cuts, burns, bites on time. It helps to reduce dark marks and scars  accompanied with this.
·    Shea butter has been used to heal dermatitis, psoriasis and  eczema.
·    An excellent  moisturizer for dry skin hence minimizing itching.
·    Shea butter is used for baby skin and also helps to prevent and treat diaper rash.

Therapeutic
·   Very good for massage, as it helps to relax and relief tired muscles which improves sleeping.
·   Helps to manage minor arthritic pains as it has natural anti-inflammatory properties.
·   It helps to sooth and relieves post-exercise pains and aches.

     Beauty
·  Helps to visibly minimize and prevent stretch marks. The essential fatty acids,      vitamins A and F help to maintain elasticity and softness of the skin.
·  Shea butter can also be used to diminish wrinkles by moisturizing the skin,  promoting cell renewal and increasing circulation (anti aging).
·   Barbing, shaving and waxing bumps removal and protector. This is especially on the scalp and bikini areas. Helps to calm down that irritating and itchy feel.
·   It gives an all-round even tone especially for pigmented skin with dark patches and discolouration.
·    Acne treatment and prevention.
·  Excellent for natural hair (kids) as it helps to detangle and moisturize the hair making it easy to comb.
·   Eliminates dandruff when added for hair steaming products helping to moisturize  and promote hair growth.
·    Very good for pedicure and manicure ( hand and feet treatment).

Health
·    Shea butter is used for the management of sinusitis and relief of nasal congestion.

Having given the benefits, it’s important you use the real pure and natural shea butter to achieve these results. There are a lot of things and products out there claiming to be pure and natural shea butter, I tell you, some of them have been refined; hence most of the active ingredients present in the natural shea butter have been removed.

Locally, some of them are actually mixed with animal fats which give a very awful smell. So be careful on what you buy and get as natural shea butter. However, if you are interested in the real one and on how to use it for your face and body to achieve great results then, contact me.

You can also try out your hands in testing for the following chemical properties which our  own natural shea  butter has as duly certified by Nigerian NAFDAC, GMP, ILF, Institute ,Hamburg, Germany, American Shea Butter Institute Atlanta, USA among others vide:

-Has no unpleasant rancid odour
-Soft and creamy excellent spread
-Ultra pure 99.95%
-Readily absorbed into the skin- i.e. excellent penetration index
-No chemical additive whatsoever
-No microbial contamination
-No PH contamination widely associated wih traditional roasting of nuts
-No heavy metal contamination
-No pesticide residue
-No water used at all
-Consistent quality
-Very high healing index up to 22.5% compared with 2% in most crude shea butters in the market
-Naturally fortified with vitamin A,E,TrIiterpenes  phytosterois,cinnamic acid
-FFA(Free Fatty Acid) as low as -0.4%
-Every nut is controlled and every batch analyzed by our in-house quality control staff
-Our extraction process is environmentally friendly
-High mosturisation factor(Low TEWL factor)

Thanks
Please note that shea butter is not recommended for people with nut or latex allergies.

"To keep the body in good health is a duty... otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear"- Hindu Prince, Guatama Siddharta

                    
                       Linda Aliogo

Monday 12 March 2012

LIFE

Life is like a journey. As you travel further,you get older, you become wiser, stronger and experienced. This is how the journey begins anywhere…

As a Baby
I learned to sit
I learned to walk
Life was simple

As a Toddler
I learned to talk
I learned  to run
I learned to share
Life was easy

As a Child
I learned to feed
I learned to bath
I learned to dress
Life was fun

As a Teenager
I learned I was no longer a baby
I learned I was no longer a child
I learned to accept the body changes
I learned to accept rules
Life was Different

As an Adult
I learned I was no longer an adolescent
I learned to make decisions
I learned to accept my experiences
I learned to accept my pains
Life is Complicated

Life is in stages
At every stage
I remain grateful to HIM
And always thank HIM
For this precious gift

Please tell a friend about this blog.

Thanks.

"The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even forever more"- Ps. 121:8

"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honourable but more useful than life spent doing nothing"- George Bernard Shaw

                                   Linda Aliogo

Wednesday 7 March 2012

5 Things You Must Love About Yourself

You are uniquely and wonderfully made. You are created in the image of God making you perfect and beautiful in HIS sight. So why are you still not happy and grateful for the person you are rather than wanting to be who you are not?

No matter the storms of life you should be grateful and must learn to be appreciative of what you have or you have become.

Here are five things I believe you should love about yourself regardless of who or where you are;

Your Life
Life is a gift given to us. It can be taken at any time. Love yourself and live in fulfilling life. It is not guaranteed, so make the best out of it.

Your Body
No matter the colour or race, love your body. No matter your size or shape, you are stuck with this for the rest of your life. You can always improve, the areas you might not like however, these alternatives do come with a price. Love yourself, love your body


Your Experience
Experience comes from living. This comes from you or others. Learn from experience; bad experience makes you stronger while good ones make you better. Every experience comes with its own lesson. No matter the experience, learn, love and keep going.

Your Passion
The passion in you keeps the fire in you burning. You must be passionate in what you enjoy doing. This gives a positive result. Any area you are passionate make the best out of it. This makes you, YOU!….. unique.

You are Human
 You are human and you can identify your strength and weakness. You improve. You have a time to be happy and a time to be sad. You do not like the fact that you are human? What will you rather be? How can you want to be what you don’t know?

When next you feel you have nothing to show or be grateful for, please do remember these things. They may not be what you are exactly very proud of but, do know when there is life there is hope!

Keep up the positive attitude!

"The Lord thy God is a merciful God; He will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee"- Deut. 4:31

"I have long considered it one of God's greatest mercies that the future is hidden from us, if it were not, life would surely be unbearable"- Unknown


Linda Aliogo

Thursday 1 March 2012

The Beauty of Handmade Jewelry


Oval Pearl with Swarovski rondelles (Bracelet and Earrings)
I did not know much about handmade jewelry until I developed an interest in it. This interest grew and became a passion.

Now 5 years down the road, I must say it has been a pleasant as well as a challenging path!
My interest actually started from seeing beautiful beads in different colours and shapes strung into necklaces and bracelets. I loved the colours and the combinations- the ease at which you can wear them and look lovely.

I discovered the other types of handmade jewelry and became amazed at what these hands could do!

Handmade jewelries are unique and one-of-a-kind. This is due to the fact they are not mass produced. Each piece (be it an earring, necklace, bracelet, ring or brooch) are created with hands from the beginning to the end. This takes time, energy, creativity and passion.

Due to the creativity behind each design, it’s rare to see the exact design from another jeweler except the design is copied or duplicated on the request of the customer. Even when the design is copied by another, it’s still very difficult to be seen everywhere.

Every handmade jewelry is unique and never the same. That’s the beauty in creativity….in handmade jewelry.

Have you ever looked and admired those high-end jewelries and wished you could afford them? Well, if you cannot, you can definitely afford handmade jewelry. They are equally exclusive but far less expensive when compared to those high-end ones.

The designs of handmade jewelry can be altered and customized to your needs. It can be designed for YOU!  For that birthday dress, wedding occasion, dinner wear…  You pick what you want and how you want it, this can be brought to life, to become a very beautiful and stunning piece of jewelry you could cherish for a long time.

Handmade jewelries can stand the test of time. For instance, gold-filled jewelries (I wrote about the meaning of gold-filled jewelries in my earlier post) could last for years without tarnishing if used and handled properly.

A 6-strand Coral Necklace with Gold-filled and Sterling silver balls
Handmade jewelry can be re-designed, re-stringed based on your needs. This is simple because you can have access to the jeweler unlike some jewelry where you cannot contact the jeweler directly or worse, you do not know the jewelry designer!  The jewelry is not likely to be handmade hence may not be duplicated if the quantity demanded is very small or if the machine is no longer available or even when the design is considered as ‘old’. Thereby a ‘new’ design has replaced the ‘old’ one. The cost involved in these processes may be huge not to mention the time and energy involved.

This you would not experience with handmade jewelry since you can always contact the jeweler directly or through your retailer.

Did I also mention the personality that can be reflected in jewelry design?
Yes, it’s possible to express yourself, your personality. For those who are loud, they can get it really big, am-in-your-face kind of design.

For the reserved, there are designs for you. Remember your personality is all about YOU.
You can have beauty, uniqueness, personality and value for money with your handmade jewelry. Try them today for those of you that overlook them and experience the art, creativity and love connected to this special kind of jewelry.

Check out my designs and pick for yourself and loved ones.

I would love to hear from you. Thank you so much.

“These gems have life in them; their colours speak, say what words fails off”- George Eliot



                                                                 Linda Aliogo


Crying

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