Closing 2015 by Paulo Coelho

CLOSING 2015
One always has to know when a stage comes to an end. If we insist on staying longer than the necessary time, we lose the happiness and the meaning of the other stages we have to go through.
Closing cycles, shutting doors, ending chapters – whatever name we give it, what matters is to leave in the past the moments of life that have finished.
Did you lose your job? Has a loving relationship come to an end? Did you leave your parents’ house? Gone to live abroad? Has a long-lasting friendship ended all of a sudden?
You can spend a long time wondering why this has happened.
You can tell yourself you won’t take another step until you find out why certain things that were so important and so solid in your life have turned into dust, just like that.
But such an attitude will be awfully stressing for everyone involved: your parents, your husband or wife, your friends, your children, your sister.
Everyone is finishing chapters, turning over new leaves, getting on with life, and they will all feel bad seeing you at a standstill.
Things pass, and the best we can do is to let them really go away.
That is why it is so important (however painful it may be!) to destroy souvenirs, move, give lots of things away to orphanages, sell or donate the books you have at home.
Everything in this visible world is a manifestation of the invisible world, of what is going on in our hearts – and getting rid of certain memories also means making some room for other memories to take their place.
Let things go. Release them. Detach yourself from them.
Nobody plays this life with marked cards, so sometimes we win and sometimes we lose.
Do not expect anything in return, do not expect your efforts to be appreciated, your genius to be discovered, your love to be understood.
Stop turning on your emotional television to watch the same program over and over again, the one that shows how much you suffered from a certain loss: that is only poisoning you, nothing else.
Nothing is more dangerous than not accepting love relationships that are broken off, work that is promised but there is no starting date, decisions that are always put off waiting for the “ideal moment.”
Before a new chapter is begun, the old one has to be finished: tell yourself that what has passed will never come back.
Remember that there was a time when you could live without that thing or that person – nothing is irreplaceable, a habit is not a need.
This may sound so obvious, it may even be difficult, but it is very important.
Closing cycles. Not because of pride, incapacity or arrogance, but simply because that no longer fits your life.
Shut the door, change the record, clean the house, shake off the dust.
Stop being who you were, and change into who you are.
Paulo Coelho




Let's let by gones be by gones and close all the chapters that no longer have character development. Everything and everyone that nolonger serves you purpose or helps with your growth needs to be let go of. Even roses need to be pruned from time to time so they can bud again. So as we close off the year 2015, I hope we sit and reflect on what the year really was like, and decide what's worth carrying over to 2016 and what needs to be pruned. What needs to be nurtured and watered and what needs to be disposed off and burned. Choose wisely.   .
Hope to see you blossom and flourish in 2016. Happy new year

Golola 'Knocks out' opponents at Kampala Celebrity Cook off

Hello Food was at it yet again, only that this time there was a plot twist. well this is the story....
The online food masters treated food lovers to the first ever celebrity cook-off held at the Great Indian Dhaba in preparation for the upcoming Kampala Restaurant Awards. 

Hello Food MD with the chef champion of the day.. Golola

The restaurant treated us to a variety of the most delicious Indian cuisine.  The array  of dishes ranged from chicken lollipops, biriyani rice, mutton makhni to mention but a few. 

The cook out required celebrities to prepare vegetable rice and chicken curry all done Indian style. All spices were made available, and the participants were required to put a creative touch to their work for the best results. These aspiring chefs to say the least included; Sanyu F.M's FatBoy who was teamed up with Great Kick Boxer Golola Moses, Isaac and Moses from the telecom giants MTN Uganda, and last but not least Peace and Nadia from Radiocity.

Golola Crowned Celebrity cook- off champion

Well the Immovable object in Fatboy, and the Unstopable Force in Moses Golola proved a too good and with their amazing partnership came up with dish of the night. hot their heels was the duel form RadioCity, Peace and Nadia who came in second. MTN's  Moses and Isaac who managed to make the best dessert, came third. 

The Celebrity Chefs with the professional Chefs at Great Indian Dhaba

Robertson Winery crowned the successful evening with a wine tasting session. And as the saying goes, ''Fine dining is never complete without fine wine''



 

Some of the dishes from the celebrity Chefs of the day

 To view the nominees for the upcoming Kampala Restaurant Awards go to:

http://kampalarestaurantawards.ug/nominees/

See you at the awards!!!

XoXo

The first ever Kampala Restaurant awards

Don't you just love Hello food? well I do, and its not just because i'm too lazy to drive to the restaurant lol, but seriously how cool is it that you can just sit at your home lazy on the couch, order food and VOILA!!!! food at your doorstep. It's like having a personal chef without having to pay him a salary.

 SO, you can guess my excitement when I heard that they are going to have the very first Kampala Restaurant Awards. Basically all our favorite restaurants are being rated and the public gets to vote for their favourite restaurant in the various categories. To vote for your favourite restaurant go to http://kampalarestaurantawards.ug/login/ are voting for their favorite one!!. The reason I'm excited for this event is because, well it's no secret that I'm a foodie, but I love that its a Black Tie event. I feel like its 007 all over again. Also this means that now chefs have to bring their A-game or we wont be voting for their food. It's such a healthy competition and I get to eat the best of the best because I gotta vote.

The Kampala Restaurant Awards will be on the 25th November 2015 at the Kampala Serena, Victoria Ballroom, starting at 6pm. Tickets go for 300k (ugx) per person which includes a four course meal. See more details here http://kampalarestaurantawards.ug/event-tickets/

The Kampala Restaurant Awards will be recognizing the achievements and excellence in the Restaurant and Hospitality Industry within Kampala in 15 categories and will also be celebrating all aspects of the Industry from Restaurants, Cafes, and Bars, to Wines and Beers.

The award categories include: Restaurant of the Year, Best Customer Service, Best Value for Money, Best Indian Cuisine, Best Ugandan Cuisine, Best Asian Cuisine, Best Pizzeria, Best Food-On-The-Go, Best Café/Deli, Best Bar Food, Best Fine Dining, Best of Africa, Best Newcomer, Best Beer, and Best Winery, 

With great food paired with good wine, what more could you possibly ask for... I'm just so excited that we're finally having such cool events happening in Kampala. Its a reason to smile in this El nino November. So, go vote for your favorite restaurant, get your tickets and cross your fingers for your favorite restaurant to win. Lets wine and dine Kampala

XoXo

Food for thought from Stepanie Ike

The root word for likeness in Hebrew is ‘damah’ meaning ‘thought.’ The original intention for man amongst others, was to think like God. For this reason, when God created the animals, Genesis 2:19 tells us, He brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. What’s fascinating is that “whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.” Adam’s mind functioned like God; he knew the very names God had already assigned to the animals.

However, after the fall of man, we became sin conscious, our thinking was contaminated with evil. This is evident when a person is judgmental, or calling others names that dishonor whom God says they are. We ought to understand that regardless of the wrongs that people may do; that does not define them. A mind that is God conscious sees through the wrongdoing and is able to speak life and destiny.

A horse might act like a dog, for example, but if you treat it like a dog, you’ll never experience its true purpose. God has placed people in your life as purpose mates, but we often fail to identify them because we’re calling them by the wrong names.

Jesus died to restore all that had been lost, to give us freedom from sin, that we may also no longer operate from sin consciousness. So I pray for the grace to identify people according to their God given name.

Adapted from her Instagram.

Don't leave it broken... Fix it!!!

Have you ever had something missing in your life? It is irritating for something to be missing in your life. I can't stand anything broken in the house or generally around me, if it's broken i think you should either fix it or get rid of it. I don't want a toaster that doesn't work, because I can't stand to have things taking up space that serve no purpose. You see, if something is missing, it reminds me to replace it, but if it's broken and there, the impostor gives me a false sense of validation, that says "I don't need something that I really do need". I don't want a toaster just to look good on the counter if I can't put bread in it. I'd rather have an empty space, so it would remind me to buy one, than to have an impostor sit there, perpetrating something that it doesn't produce. And I realize it's just a matter of choosing irritants, whether you choose to be irritable by the emptiness of the counter, Or irritated by the fact that the toaster doesn't work is a matter of preference. 

But I would rather deal with the gravity of the empty feeling of something missing, than to have something in place that doesn't provide what I need.

 That is to say, if I'm gonna be broke I'd rather be without a job, if I'm gonna be lonely I want to be single. At least, when you roll over you're not expecting nothing, at least you don't have to get up and go to work only to still be broke. I'd rather have something missing, because if something is missing it can be filled. I want to talk to someone who knows the pain of something missing.

Some of the ways that we learn that something is missing is by looking at other people. Everybody in our lives in some way is an instructor, and we learn something is missing by determining what is normal. We learn what is normal by looking at other people and seeing what isn't the usual way of doing things through interacting with other people. 

We begin to understand that something is missing out of our lives, based on what we are exposed to. I've often wondered how people can be in bad situations and be comfortable. But then I realized, if you've never seen a good one, then the bad situation doesn't let you know that something's missing out of your life. The irritation comes once you are exposed to how it is supposed to be. Then you begin to become frustrated with how it is. 

Had Hannah not been exposed to a woman named Penina she would've been totally content with being married to Elkanah (In the Bible Hannah who eventually gave bith to Samuel couldn't bear children). After all he was a wealthy and successful man. Any woman who is married to a wealthy man who loves her the way he did Hannah, should've been content (1 Samuel 1:8 Her husband Elkanah would say to her, "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?") But she wasn't content. Hannah would've been content with what the situation was, except her husband had another wife who was having  babies. Which exposed Hannah to what should be there,  but isn't. And she reveals that something is missing in her life. 

You don't know that something is missing in your life until you're exposed to someone who's filled in the blanks in your life. And suddenly, you realize you need something  because you have been exposed to how it should be.

There are things that we accept as normal in our lives that are not part of our purpose. That's when God comes and fills in the blanks of your life. Sometimes, we make do for so long that we redefine what normal is. You start to allow circumstances to control your dreams. To the point that you stop dreaming for fear of disappointment. But you should never let go of what your dream is.

You have to get out of your uncomfortable situation and and get your dream out of the closet and step out into the unknown so God can work your dream into existence. You have to have that empty space so God can fill it with what is supposed to be there, not the impostor that is just taking up space and serving no purpose. 

The only reason you realize that something is missing is because you've been exposed to somebody who had it. Once you see it, you become frustrated because now you recognize that you're not getting what you need. And what you need is based on your exposure. Its only because of Penina's blessing that Hannah knows to want it. 

Sometimes God uses people who get on your nerves to bless you, He uses frustration to lead you to fate because frustration provokes you to go to God and say, I know I have all these fancy things but something is missing out of my life, and I cannot rest, until I fix it. You suddenly can't leave it broken, you have to fix it! Don't make do, fix it! Don't put up with it, fix it! Don't make the most of a bad situation, fix it! Don't endure it, fix it! Whatever you do, you have to fix it!!! God does fill in the blanks of your life, but the space has to be blank. So you need to get rid of the impostor so God can fix it while accomplishing His purpose.

I felt like a sermon today...

Stay Blessed

XoXo

Kampala Restaurant Week, I'm pumped... are YOU???

When you're a foodie like me, any opportunity to eat good food sounds like a terrific plan. So imagine my excitement when pearl Guide Uganda decided to organize Kampala Restaurant week!!! And if you're not a foodie, you're probably lost wondering what I'm going on about, but Fomo is probably killing you, because Ugandans and Fomo are like Bahima and cows... (<----see anyway...="" back="" did="" i="" kampala="" p="" restaurant="" there="" to="" week...="" what="">

What is it?: 12 days of early Christmas where 30  restaurants around Kampala will be serving their best dishes at discounted prices. multi-course Casual meals will be going  for UGX 15,000  and Signature menus for UGX 25,000

When is it?: 2nd to 13th June 2015 (and there's two public holidays!!!)

Where is it going to be?: Well the list is endless, But I picked out a few of my favorite restaurants top on the list being Mediterreano because thier lasagna is to die for...  More of my fave restaurants include: Mantra, The Bistro, La Patisserie and Piato. 

All I'm saying, is I will be hitting the gym after 13th June, because I plan to gain as much weight as I can during the Kla Restaurant week. Don't say I didn't tell you... see you there!!!!

You can check out the pearl guide Uganda website for more info here: http://thepearlguide.co.ug/kampala-restaurant-week/

Shine your light on their darkness

 Matt 5:16

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

The Devil is a Liar, I keep saying. Lately, it seems the Devil be looking for one or another to try me. He don't sleep I tell you. I used to have a short temper, I prayed about it and I've since become less temperamental. I'm also a very impatient person, although lately my tolerance for people and annoying situations has greatly improved. I no longer snap at people, or curse them out. I don't get urges of wanting to strangle the toxic person trying to try me. When faced with uncomfortable situations, I simply walk away, because I have learnt to tell myself, it's never worth the drama. 

But what do you do when the person bringing the drama is one you can't just walk away from. What do you do when you tell God to remove that thorn in your flesh, and He says "my Grace is sufficient for you". When the thorn in your flesh is someone you love and God has just refused to remove them from your life, yet you have decided to remove yourself from all drama and toxic situations in a bid to live a positive life? It can be quite uncomfortable.

 I recently had a one such situation, I was in the middle of drama I didn't even start, didn't want to be a part of, and I tried to walk away, but it just kept coming my way, that I snapped. When I awoke the next day, I felt disappointed in myself, because I was unable to handle the situation maturely, but sometimes you have to be the bigger person and understand that we're all human. So, I prayed about it, and asked God to give me clarity, that when it came to dealing with the situation I had better perspective and was able to forgive even without the other person apologizing.

 Although I originally stormed off in a dramatic exit, the next day I was able to resolve the situation after realizing that its part of the process of God making me a better person. God will allow you to be tested so that you can become more patient, understanding, forgiving, and compassionate.

 You can't be an over comer without overcoming obstacle. I'm glad that I was able to let my light shine instead of throwing blame, I was more understanding and the issue was resolved amicably. Being that we are all human and we all fall short sometime, we are bound to snap at the world sometime, So I didn't beat myself up too much after that. 

When you realize that you are God's vessel and are supposed to use your life to bring glory to Him, you put your personal feelings aside and be the bigger person. You let your light shine on the other person's darkness, because you might just be exactly what they needed to find their way out of their darkness. And sometimes they snap at you not because you're the problem but because they are dealing with a deeper issue and you just happened to be the scapegoat. 

So when next faced with difficult situations, remember to let your light shine instead of being consumed by someone else's darkness.

XoXo

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• Standing Still

Be Kind Anyway...

I like to think of myself as a kind person, because I usually go out of my way to do stuff for people. Most of the time, I do them without expecting anything in return or at least I thought I did. This has most times led me to frustration. Especially when people don’t appreciate what I have done for them, or take my acts of kindness for granted. 

Sometimes when people don’t appreciate my efforts, I question my whole entire existence, which usually leads me to feeling unappreciated, unwanted and unworthy. I sometimes even get angry at God out of failure to understand why He tells us to be kind to people who clearly can’t even have the courtesy to say thank you for the act of kindness or at least appreciate the effort. I had one such experience recently. I went out of my way to do something nice for someone who by the way didn't even ask for what I was doing for them and as usual, when I didn't get the desired and expected sense of gratitude for my act of kindness, I almost threw a fit. It had actually become a thorn in my flesh, but as I was going about my usual routine of reading a chapter a day, I read something that put everything in perspective. 

I've been reading a book titled “Don’t sweat the small stuff” by Richard Carlson, P.H.D and If you have known me for a long time, then you probably know that I am the queen of overreacting. Like seriously, it’s like second nature to me. Then again, if you've been around me lately, you have probably noticed that my overreacting meter has been on hiatus. Thanks to this book. It’s the real deal but, that’s not what this post is about.

 Back to my act of kindness struggles… I was reading the book and came across this chapter entitled: DO A FAVOR AND DON’T ASK FOR, OR EXPECT, ONE IN RETURN. I had an epiphany; and suddenly I realized I had it wrong all along. All this while, instead of getting worked up because someone didn't say thank you, I could have just been rejoicing in the fact that I have been blessed enough to bless others with my kindness and that alone should be enough. The book goes on to say “It’s almost as if we keep score of our own good deeds rather than remembering that giving is its own reward”. I guess that’s why they say God loves a cheerful giver, because we should get our reward from the act of giving rather than from the appreciation of the act. I've been doing it wrong this whole time because I gave and expected to be thanked, or at the very least get some kind of acknowledgement that the person was grateful to me for my kindness and thoughtfulness, and that’s why instead of being happy it’s brought me frustration.

 People won’t always appreciate your efforts, your kindness or your love. It doesn't mean you should stop loving or stop being kind to them. When God blesses you, you must share in His blessings by blessing others. Don’t let the ungrateful people drag you down with them. Don’t become bitter or frustrated like I would, or let their darkness cloud your light. I have come to understand that instead, you should let your light shine on their darkness. They need it. Broken people spread hurt, bitterness and resentment, happy people spread love, kindness and good cheer because it comes as second nature. So don’t get discouraged when you feel like your kindness has hit a brick wall.  After all, it is more blessed to give than to receive.

 Remember, people won’t always receive your love, love anyway. People won’t always be grateful for your giving or sharing with them, give and share anyway. People won’t always appreciate your kindness or be kind in return, be kind anyway.

Remember that your reward is the feeling you receive in knowing that you participated in an act of kindness. You don’t need something in return or even a “thank you”.

So go ahead, do something nice for someone and don’t expect anything in return. Be kind anyway….

XoXo