Procrastination smack down part deux- Christmas edition

Joyeux Noël, Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad to you and yours! Now, I must express that the original setup was to post on the blog on a fortnightly basis [which still is the plan] but because of my start date last week the next post fell on the 23rd of December. I not only had to hit the iron whilst it's hot for the sake of keeping momentum; I also didn't want to release a Christmas tip laden blog two days before the big day. Not only would that exclude the more organised people who planned in advance and by then would be marvelling at the gifts they'd wrapped in advance and the turkey defrosting in the shed, over a cup of tea looking at their perfectly and proportionately designed tree (envious snarl;) I also didn't want to add to the list for those who will be frantically elbowing others in hot pursuit of brusselsprouts that no one [but grandma] will eat and putting on the last of their decorations to their lopsided tree...my people!!! 

I'm currently stuffing my face with this wonderful and healthy selection of snacks including yoghurt, apples, satsumas and a flap jack as I write to you all. Happy to report that all my gifts are wrapped (in the most askew and barely aesthetically pleasuring way possible with a lot of exposed tape might I add) I'm listening to music and winding down from a busy day of Christmas planning. There is still so much to be done but I had to take some time out and put something out into the blogosphere before Christmas so I hope you enjoy this post!! 

Speaking of food, I have dug deep into my recipe files and got two of my easiest and funnest recipes for you to wow your party guests with and enjoy healthily and organically leading up to Christmas. 

I happen to have bad Gastro-oesophageal reflux and frequent Gastritis attacks and have been on daily dose of Omeprazole for years. This makes stuff like commercial, shop bought mulled wine an enemy to my stomach. As it's very sugary (borderline saccharine) and concentrated it's not even enjoyable enough for me to deal with the consequences afterwards! 

I've been looking in my little book of recipes and I've found a mulled wine recipe which can be made organic, fuss free and you can whatever you want to it. It's been a good substitute for me and friends have loved it over the years.  Last year I got the chance to hold a mini workshop at a ladies' luncheon at my church at taught the ladies how to make the mulled wine and a canapé. [pictured below] this year I thought of share it on the big old interweb for a mild and organic alternative to the usual mulled wine! 

 2 studded [with cloves] oranges halved
 2 cinnamon sticks

 3 star anise
 A glug of honey (more to taste later)
 2 apples star cut and wedges kept on the side
 2 litres of water 
Squeeze of lemon and extra honey to taste afterwards
 
Put all ingredients together and boil for 15 minutes, simmer for 5 and strain. Put all fruits and spices in separate bowl for decorating later. Add fresh lemon juice and honey to your taste and ladle mixture into glasses. Add garnishes upon serving i.e. Cinammon sticks (fresh) or fruit wedges from earlier. 
Or
 Cool down for a few minutes Pour everything into a punch bowl for more theatrical presentation where u can see all the ingredients.

For a bigger crowd add a whole carton of grape or pomegranate juice to serve for the colour and sweetness. Suitable for everyone; kids, pregnant women, drivers and people wanting an organic alternative! 

Canapés: 

Above pictured is an example of how you can wow your party guests with a range of canapés. Instead of a plate I opted for a slate which can now be widely sourced. In the picture we have mushroom galettes (puff party topped with a duxelle of mushrooms. Satay chicken, avocado and prawn sushi and a red pepper and goat's cheese crostini. 

Not to overwhelm  you with a list  of recipes for things in a language foreign to us both I've included a a fun and simple recipe which requires minimal prep and can be served hot or cold.  This recipe has served me well and works well to get the kids involved in the cooking and hosting process and it's something they will enjoy eating. 

Mini posh pizzas! On a toasted baguette  with a simple Italian tomato sauce and can be served with a mild cheddar cheese for kids or goat's cheese for the adults.  Here goes the process! 

Baguette cut on a bias into little disks- drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle salt n coarse black pepper and put in a preheated oven (gas mark 6- 200C) for 10 minutes

Tomato sauce
1 medium onion
I can of chopped tomatoes 
Bunch of fresh basil + more to garnish
3 cloves of garlic 
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt+ pepper


Fine dice+ sweat onions in olive oil with the garlic crushed until translucent. Add tomatoes and half the basil and simmer on a low heat till it reduces to half and season with salt n pepper. And stir in the rest of the basil.





Assembling - spoon a teaspoon on to bread disks and spinkle grated cheese (cheddar cheese for kids and richer goats cheese for adults) place under grill for a minute to melt cheese and serve! 

So to the newly empowered hosting novice or the enlightened hostess with the mostess looking to cut corners enjoy Christmas! I hope these recipes will be of use to your modern day Gatsby-esque festivities!!! 

So I went ahead and did my hair for Christmas!! Well I needed to do it anyway! It's been a rough year on my body and I've been on every drug from painkillers to anaesthetic and have been under a lot of stress with my health playing up and so many changes. This left my hair in distress! I would run my fingers through my hair and leave with a chunk of hair my braids were falling out from the root and my scalp was tender and painful. I felt, for lack of a better word, UNPRETTY and lost a lot of hair especially in the middle and edges of my hair. However and amazing cousin who is cosmetology school and already an extraordinary hair dresser came to the rescue and fixed my hair!! It was a very long process but the feeling I had after was priceless and I'm so grateful for my confidence being restored evey day through the internal work I'm doing on a daily basis and the external makeover we did! 

I already had some good hair lying about the house, any weave wearing sister knows the difference between good and not so good hair!! 

Before my cousin came on board to sew the weave in for me I went about treating the hair (Remy virgin hair) which has been used before. 

I mixed 1tbsp conditioner, 1tbsp castor oil, 1tsp coconut oil with some warm

Water and put in the microwave (in a disposable Tupperware tub) for 1min 30secs. 

Dried it in the airing cupboard overnight, reversed the bundles and dried for another couple of hours. 

I then straightened it per track and rebundled it (left straight). The process wasn't over! 

We (she did all the work really) then bleached it using Clairol naturally blond hair lightener. I wanted a new and different look. I thought I'd never gone blonde or red before so either way the hair processes it'll be a welcomed change to the status quo of my hair! 

 After a full sew in with a middle part this was the result!!! 

It would have been nice to go all the way blonde because blondes do have more fun but at the hour mark, this is as much processing as my minuscule peroxide level box lightener could offer. Not to worry my edges are grateful!!! I feel like a new woman and along with all the love and prayers, this has been my strongest week and the amount of medication I'm taking is dwindling by the day! It's a great feeling feeling your miracle slowly but surely come into fruition. This trace is proving no to be for the swift and every day I get to appreciate the progress I'm making in my mind, body, soul and spirit. It's all the more rewarding!! I want to encourage anyone else going through health issues and feeling frustrated that you aren't recovering as quickly as you would want to recover. There will be a day when you will be completely healthy, healed and whole but that day you will wish you had all this time on your hands again. Bittersweet but true, I say this to encourage you to use these times to do something your future self will thank you for. Be it keeping your spirits up and not letting yourself hit yaw pits of depression. Or writing down goals and dreams, doing any possible planning so that you stay ready and when your time comes to do what you are longing to do now, you will be ready this is what this blog is to me, a way to have some control of my life and to be able to express myself with my words when my body had and has been failing me. I hope and pray you also find an outlet to make you feel useful, purposeful and alive which will allow you to dream again. As you should feel anyway because you may hold the answer to someone's issue one day with the very thing that lies within you as inspiration. Don't count yourself out because of a temporary set back. I don't know who I'm encouraging but I just felt this strongly on my heart as I encouraged myself and a friend going through something similar, we will be just fine and so will you!!  

Christmas can drive you to drinking at the best of times with the over commercialisation of the whole holiday. All the colours screaming for your attention, the nostgic music from original iconic centuries old versions to pop music misinterpretations hauntingly blasting out of every speaker. Not to mention the weather which is enough to make an Eskimo feel at home with the added bonus of unpredictable bursts of rain, an enemy to every woman's hair, it can be tough. This is not at all including the vast array of errands and to do lists long enough to clothe Santa Clause himself! I know I've had the least active Christmas prep buying all my gifts online and being a shadowing member of the cooking crew as I physically cannot take over the kitchen and make a feast as I've done in years past. 

It's been all about the music this year. Away from the Christmas carols I'm made to listen to by mother blasting out old Bing Crosby and Sinatra CDs I've been up to some music listening myself. 

Here's my top 5 tracks I've listened to most this Christmas period: 

Jhene Aiko- Bed Peace

Anita Wilson- More of you

Pharell Williams- Happy 

Tye Tribett- He turned it 

Thank you- Busta Rhymes ft Qtip

I haven't heard much from the readers, please feel free to leave a comment with your top 5 music this Christmas I would love to hear from you!!!

Right! That's all I had on my heart to share with you before Christmas. I will be going back to the original format of posting every other week and posting any random and riveting tidbits in between blogs if anything happens or I do anything interesting that's worth noting! 

Have yourself a Merry little Christmas :)

Lots of love

Kymmiisha

Xo

Tantilising Tidbit: Beyonce Album Review And More!

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Hey World Wide Webbers!!

If you had the chance to read my first post which I posted on Monday you know this blog is posted every fortnight with the exception of times like this when something happens and it shakes the world and I have to be part of the world wide commentary.

I'm currently sitting here enjoying my lunch and thought I would share my thoughts on the new album that's taken the world by storm. 

I'm a chef too so, sorry but the music comes with the food and on the menu this afternoon is toasted olive bread with thyme and mustard glazed mushrooms and a beet and cucumber salad with leaks on the side. I've got my tea at the ready and I hope you enjoy the review! 

This morning people were snatched by the edges waking up to Beyonce sneaking a masterpiece into the stratosphere whilst we slumbered! There had been a lot of talks about Bey not releasing an album this year (yet still maintaining buzz might I add) and a lot of people criticised her new team alluding to the fact that this wouldn't have happened on Matthew Knowles' watch! Well in true Beyonce, headline grabbing, love on top-esque fashion she went ahead and put the critics in their everlasting seats, causing Stans and Queens all over the world to GET THEIR LIVES this morning!

*Provided courtesy of iTunes

For those of you who haven't made a beyline to the iTunes store to get you life, I have just the fix for you!! Don't say I don't give you anything!

My take on this album and Beyonce as an entity goes as follows:
As an artist myself I find her inspiring and has broken many barriers and went ahead of her time in many ways...case in point- this visual masterpiece for iTunes which I have never seen before. I think her talent is on crack, I've never seen music, dance and showmanship presented so well together without compromising each of the elements.However I somewhat checked out of the Beyhive and became and admiring observer (not a hater, never that) when we were introduced to Sasha Fierce. Most of my early teen years were spent stanning for her and I guess I was disappointed when she went on record and attributed her performance prowess to being [verbatim] "possessed by another entity" besides herself. At the time I stopped listening to her music completely and was as disappointed as Shawne Merrimen's fans when his steroid scandal broke out. What had made them fall in love with him was the performance on the pitch and what he stood for off the pitch, well likewise, I felt cheated of authenticity and realness. I felt cheated and weirded out because growing up in the church, demon possession wasn't a light topic nor was it celebrated so when she said it loud and proud, I was quite frankly put off. The rise of conspiracy theory added to the fear, mystique and disdain I had at that moment but I guess my fear of the unknown faded with the growth of my artistry and understanding of the industry. I got to appreciate the work that goes into her empire, the hours of practising it must take to perfect her art and the good music that she provides in an age where we are deficient of good music.So as an admiring observer I think this album [for lack of a better term, this is more than an album] is a first of its kind in history, kudos to her and her team. The visuals are second to none, the quality of her imaging alone is enough to make Keyshia Cole, Kerry Hilson and other Beyhive Twitter targets retire and accept defeat.

My Top 5 Tracks in no particular order are: *Courtesy of YouTube

I find that these are the most light hearted and rateable without double meanings and even the hue of the videos is lighter and they all make for an easy listen. I know that every girl can relate to "Pretty Hurts" I know I can! "Blow" makes me want to dance and can tell it's going to be my beach song come summer! "XO" is so young and fresh and the moment I played "Heaven" I could relate to the pain of loss which is universal and I'm sure everyone who hears this song will relate. Lastly "Blue" is everything! Which two year old do you know has a feature on what appears to be a future hit? Only Blu Ivy Carter!! As well as having her own fan base within the stan community, Blu has a song and I'm just in love with the whole idea. 

The rest of the album is either a nod to Houston, which I must say if they don't name a street after her and have Beyonce day in Houston after this...the mayor needs glasses, or a bold statement with provoking imaging which I know will cause people to talk! Check conspiracy theory websites tomorrow and you will get a run down of the occultic meaning behind the whole thing starting with the fact that it came out on Friday the 13th at midnight!

I must say her features are second to none and the controversial "Bow Down" got a makeover and reincarnated as "Flawless" which was given an injection of afro feminism with a feature from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. If you aren't familiar with her work, google her, she amazing!! I'd like to hear what the original critics will say about that and I must say, good save on her part! I spent most of summer 2012 obsessing over Frank Ocean's "Channel Orange" and I must say I never dreamt of him and Beyonce collaborating!! The harmonies on the song are impeccable and the rest of the album will be blasting out at Christmas parties in the hood guaranteed! Or as Charlamagne tweeted: 

Beyoncé really dropped a Black Album tho.....
— Charlamagne Tha God (@cthagod) December 13, 2013

 Enjoy the album and divas take some notes on how it's done!!

The fact that you're reading this means that I have beatenprocrastination!!!

Hello internet users! I'm Kymmiisha and in true AA fashion and as aforementioned....I'm a huge procrastinator!!!! However as a believer in breaking habits irrespective of time and season (not waiting for the New Year) I am going ahead and posting my very first blog post!!! 

Let me assure you that whatever you're procrastinating against in your own life couldn't not be as bad as mine because I secured this domain a long time ago and downloaded the app months ago so 1) you are not alone and 2) please join me in breaking the habit and get off your butt too!!!

Blogging has become the new black and anyone who has as much as an opinion and the aptitude to use the internet to express it in a way more coothed and acceptable than trolling and social media ranting has taken to the the keyboard. I too felt the need to share my vast array of passions (yes passions I don't just have hobbies I do fall deeply in love and obsess over everything I do or have an interest in!!) 

So I'm sure you're wondering what this blog will be about, who I am and what gives me the right to blabber on the World Wide Web and demand an audience.....here's a brief introduction!!!

My name is Kymmiisha and I'm 21 years old. I'm keeping my precise location undisclosed in lieu of over sharing but I live near London, England. I do most of my interactions, business and pleasure in and around London and haven't travelled in the last year for reasons I will explain later. 

I am obsessed with fashion in every form and I'm that girl who sits, stares and drools at fashion editorials and takes clippings of inspiring things and I also save pictures of all my favourite things. Part of this is because I'm a very visual person in learning and in dreaming and I also love to capture moments and take pictures of EVERYTHING!!! Sooooo this is an example of my obsession. I'm sure some tweeted this picture, I gasped and I saved it on my phone!!

I was mostly raised by my grandmother who was a beautiful woman of Botwsanian and South African heritage and lived in Zimbabwe where I was born and lived during some of my childhood. As a result my world came crushing down when she died on May the 7th 2011. Though it was hard and I never got closure after she passed. With time and counselling I have gained so much peace about it and find inspiration in all she taught me and I'm grateful for the times I spent with her.  I am also grateful for times spent with my grandad (another dearly departed soul who left a big imprint on my life and played a key part in raising me.) 

Pictured above is my piano Ms Brown Sugar who was first called "Tinkerbell" derived from the saying "having a tinker on the piano." I bought her when I was 18 as a quarter life crisis instead of buying my first car like other normal teens with a grasp of reality as I had little training but fell in love with her whilst browsing a vintage warehouse. The fact that she only had one previous owner and at that point she was a hundred and ten years old and had been sold by the old lady who owned her from charity proved too good a history to pass. Also the thrill of bargaining with the owner was my first ever experience of a thrift high!  All those year later she adorns my dining room and is an aid for my vocal excercising, composing when song writing and as a guide when I give vocal lessons. 

The best thing about it all is that I put pictures of family, both dearly departed and living, which feels like motivation to work hard as they are looking down at me. 

I was unfortunately born with a fairly rare heart condition called Wolff Parkinson White Syndrome with which I have suffered symptoms from the age of ten and was diagnosed on the 17th of May 2013. I passed out during a rehearsal with my  then band, suffering from chest pains and breathing difficulties. To cut a long story short I felt like my life had come to a screeching halt and my whole world was upside down. As my birthday is in July, this meant planning a surgery to fix this and I was becoming increasingly weak and tired and worst of all my surprise 21st birthday was cancelled and couldn't have a party at all. I had the procedure done 12 days after I turned 21. I felt like my life was over, little did I know the journey was about to get rougher. The procedure I had was called a catheter ablation and not only was it unsuccessful I also found myself fighting for my life twice that day. First it was a reaction to the general anaesthetic and the second time my blood pressure was dangerously low and I was dehydrated. Again, the fight wasn't over because ten days after the procedure I was in a so much pain I was crying. Was taken back to hospital only to find out I had some nerve damage in my right leg as the procedure involved sticking 7 catheters into my groin through arteries that led to the heart and when effective, the catherters are used to apply heat and burn off the extra connections in my heart that caused dodgy heart rhythm and fast heart beat. I was then to go on for almost eight weeks in a lot of pain half the time and drugged up on medication and unable to walk for the rest of the time. So yeah, that was my 21st birthday summer!!! 

Not all hope was lost however, and as a believing and practising Christian, I and so many amazing family and friends were fervent in praying for me to get better and my prayer was answered in one service when a pastor asked to lay hands on my leg since he had seen my limping. Lo and behold after months of prayer and in a room full of brothers and sister who compassionately cried out on my behalf the pain on my right side ceased. It took a couple of days and I was walking again like my old self and the pain was fading away. 

I have been able to inspire many through my faith God and my story from adults to young people as I would share it with anyone who cares to listen and had the privilege speaking at a youth conference in November!!! 

The story of my health is still being written and every day I fave new challenges and have to adapt my lifestyle with my new found knowledge of the condition up until I'm completely cured of it (yes my faith is big and crazy but I know one day it will just be a name!!)

Meanwhile I'm often in hospital if not for tests (I've had an MRI, Tilt table, Treadmill test, Echocardiogram, Ultrasound, Many ECGs and Blood Pressure tests just to name a few and cardiologist appointments) I have been rushed there and stayed due to atrial fibrillation and  tachycardia attacks, chest pains....the lot!!! I always find that many junior doctors have either never seen a case like mine since medical school or they have only dealt with one or two patients like me. Most nurses can't pronounce it and have often never heard of it. I have been asked for my ECG to teach people about the disease as it's rare and most staff at my local hospital know me on a first name basis! Google WPW and educate yourselves and please remember me in your prayers :). I have had to have faith in God because the doctors often use trial and error, for which I don't blame them, it's been a heavy road but it would be nice to know that they know what they're doing!! 

My most recent hospital stint was due to a virus that most people bounce back from within a week or so but due to having WPW and frequent Vasovagal Syncope attacks among the list of ailments I'm fighting against including Chronic Anaemia I was wiped out. I had to spend a gruelling four days in hospital including ambulance transfers to other hospitals nd am still not back to my old self. 

I say all this to tell my colourful story that has had a lot of trials (and I still am dealing with a lot) but I choose to be open and wear a smile but also don't wear a mask on the rainy days and often use the torch of my faith as a light to not only light up the end of the tunnel but to light up my surroundings. In all this I also hope to inspire anyone going through similar or worse to love, live, dream and to know that they're not alone because I spent a lot of time feeling alone in my journey! 

Phew I need a drink after all that heart pouring and seriousness!! Right, on a more hopeful and happy note, I am a songwriter and I also sing (in that order!) Although l love performing and come alive on stage but it's something I'm not always able to do due to breathing problems and other complications. On the plus side I can always write a song anywhere and and any time and get that pleasure even at times I can't perform. My goals and dreams are one in the same and at the forefront of it all is to have a Publishing Deal. This will allow me to bring my music to the masses one way or another, and one voice or another and as long as I can create, I will grow, inspire and be fulfilled so this is at the top of my goal list! I hope one day those of you who are reading this post will be able to recall this moment when it was all a dream and my songs are being played on a global basis!  Trust and believe! All of this is not to take away from the pleasure I get from pouring out my soul through song and connecting with an audience and finding new dimensions to my voice. Since we're on this topic here are my top musical influences:

Patti LaBelle

Chaka Khan

Aretha Franklin 

Jenni Rivera 

Erykah Badu

Corinne Bailey Rae

Chrisette Michele 

Ledisi

Tamela Mann

Luciano Pavarotti 

Qtip 

Earth Wind and Fire 

Whitney Houston 

Luke James

The Clark Sisters 

Just to name a few!!! The list really does go on, I get inspiration from so many other artists. The Neo Soul, Rhythm and Blues sound with a Gospel influence is what my natural instincts produce and I feel most at peace singing and listening to it. Though I have had the chance as a writer to my words to Dance, Hip Hop, Reggae and so many other genres for other artists.

As I've mentioned before I have a great passion for fashion and have had the privilege of being a plus size model for a couple of designers, campaigns and more recently fashion week. It's something that is a source of inspiration for myself and other little girls and young teenage girls I meet who don't necessarily look like what they see on tv or in the media and find it hard to find what they see in the mirror beautiful. I'm in a position (and gratefully so) to encourage them on the basis that beautiful and healthy comes in different shapes and sizes. That they were fearfully and wonderfully made and in order for them to love others they need to healthily love themselves, and take care of their minds, bodies and souls so that they have both inner and outer beauty. Funny enough I've spent less time and at shoots and fashion shows and more time speaking to ladies of all ages and sizes and encouraging them that it can be done and find the modelling work that I do as proof and a tangible example that it can be done more than anything really. 

I myself have had my own struggles with my weight and despite all the attacks and obstacles felt that this summer was the first summer I truly and wholely felt beautiful, complete and content on the inside and out. I had gone on a life cleanse since February that included unhealthy relationships and unproductivity and took up excercising as a way of dealing with problems in life. Instead of replacing inner work with excercising I did both and started taking prayer walks, jogged listening to my gospel music and would find myself so isolated in the country side far away from home and anyone for that matter and in a matter of months was able to shed 33 pounds and go down up to 4 dress sizes. 

Although it's been a struggle to stay healthy and maintain my size due to health issues and found some medication side effects to include weight gain etc, I found a formula that works. Your body, soul and mind must be healthy. Whereas dieting may be the quick fix you need but a healthy lifestyle is better than a quick fix because food is medicine and exercise is for the mind as much as it is for the body! 

 As time goes by I want to be able to share recipes and pictures of food etc. What qualifies me, you may ask....well!!! The picture above was taken in September 2012 when was a Commis chef at Brasserie Blanc (one of Chef Raymond Blanc's restaurants) and the bottom is my winning entry for "Young Chef 2012" whilst in chef school! Yup I'm a trained chef!!! Some may be mind boggled because it has nothing to do with glamor (hours spent in a hot sweaty kitchen making food in bulk and carrying heavy things at the helm of a vulgar and loud head chef for insanely long hours and pay that doesn't really equate to the ulcer giving stress you're subjected to on a daily basis) but I fell in love with cooking when I was 16 and for a while whilst training and working as a chef found, purpose and expression through cooking and making food art. Though for previously mentioned health reasons and a loss of my passion for restaurant work I still find myself writing recipes, food and restaurant reviews and have dreams of one day being a published cook book author, getting to travel and write about food and making merchandise as part of my business empire which stems in my love for writing and creating be it music or food. 

This is much as I had on my heart to express and introduce myself to you all!!! Please stay tuned as I will be conquering procrastination and posting on this blog on a fortnightly basis!!! Please do spread the word to your friends, family, colleges, enemies, heck even strangers let them know there's a new music, food and lifestyle blog in town!!! 

Lots of love and God bless

Kymmiisha

Xo