Christmas Makes Everything Magical And Sh*#

The only thing certain this and every Christmas is I get my daughter a gift wrapped up in sparkly colours and glitter. These little people never tire of presents. Today I’m spending the day with my daughter and my oldest sister. The plan includes but isn’t limited to stuffing our faces with chocolate cake, eating a lot of take out, watching old movies; (we love Sounds of Music it’s definitely on our playlist), taking lots of pictures and drinking a lot of alcoholic beverages.

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  Miss Kupsy & MaKupsy

As 2018 draws to an end different experiences have shown me that as human beings there’s need for contrition, forgiveness, mending of fences and being right with the Almighty at all times. In as much as material things are lovely to look at and possess it’s important to nurture solid relationships with those around you. We aren’t going to be here forever and when we do depart from this earth you would want people to remember the positive impact you had in their lives and priceless memories you made. Spend your time and money on things that matter.

Here’s wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a beautiful New Year ahead!

© MaKupsy 2018

Smile, You’re Beautiful

Thank you for being an awesome friend to me.  I pray God watches over both of us until we become millionaires even if we land 5 figures we will travel the world together.  Always remember you are special in your own way; don’t pay attention to what anyone tries to say or do to bring you down or try and make you love yourself less.  Smile more we want to see those small teeth they are perfect just the way they are.  Have you ever seen me hiding my skinny legs?😂  l flaunt them the way they are because they are mine and l love them as is.  No one is perfect but we cant go around hiding our imperfections if anything we should learn to embrace them.

MaKupsy

After my friend Tanyr sent me that message a few weeks ago I now smile and show my teeth more when I take pictures.  What would I do without her positive words of affirmation?  She’s amazing!

What was your best compliment in 2018?

©MaKupsy 2018

 

 

 

 

3 Killer Fashion Trends For 2018

Fashion pieces that are comfortable, trendy and colourful easily win me over.  However, you must know that I’m not fashion forward I just buy what I like and what will stand the test of time because clothes are expensive in Zimbabwe.  Or maybe I’m the one who can’t afford them?  Chances of the following trends being so 2000 are highly likely; but I do know you’ll want to try out one or two of them.

Image from Pinterest

 

Blouse

I have something similar to that blouse in my collection.  I avoid showcasing my body flaws so this blouse works perfectly at hiding my flabby arms.  The earth tone colours are a bonus as they would compliment my beautiful brown skin.

Image from Pinterest

Body Piercings

I have 6 body piercings and counting.  When I got my nose piercing a few months ago I vowed I wasn’t going to do anymore of this madness.  The process was traumatic.  Then I bumped into this picture and realised I lied to myself.  I want my ear to mirror those piercings, I want them all!

Image from Pinterest

Winter Dress

This look is perfect to showcase my thick thighs and legs.  I love the texture and colour but I might need to pair it up with a pair of black tights.

What were your 2018 must-haves in the fashion department? 

Have you read my other post titled I Love Being Naked?  If not you might want to head over there right away.

Follow me on Pinterest, I have a board dedicated to fashion, style and summer.

©MaKupsy 2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

Women, Wine & Words

Women, Wine and Words Festival was held in Harare for the first time on the 17th of November 2018 at Theatre in The Park.  I had the honor of being one of the three panelists at this event and spoke on the topic of Body Positivity.  All three of us put together were a recipe for censored content, we didn’t mince our words and kept it real.

I noticed that the venue had been repainted.  A job well done to the guys who took the time to make this place captivating.  You can read all about their reason for doing so over here. The colours they used were made for perfect selfies, I took more than enough of them.

Thembi Terry, Sokostina & Patience Phiri

Steph Kapfunde & Rumbi Takawira aka News Bae 

I met different women in the creative industry who are making a positive impact to the community.  I enjoyed every bit of this event because women had a platform to express themselves and touch on different topics and talk about them at length without feeling judged.  There’s nothing as refreshing as talking about something the next person can relate to.  Think hair politics, body issues, what the media industry is like for women and everything in-between.  We need more of this please!

 

“The show; a full on celebration of creative women through music, poetry, theatre and art, has been staged at the Intwasa festival for the past five years and has been a hit among festival goers. This event has clearly been admired by Harare’s leading theatre venue – Theatre in the Park through Rooftop Promotions who have partnered with Intwasa to stage the show in Harare.” – Chronicle

The event was so good it trended first place on Twitter.  You can search for the hash tag #WWWFest to see more of what was shared on the day.

Have you been to this event before?  If yes, what was your experience like?

©MaKupsy 2018

 

 

What You Need To Know About Solo Travel

I’ve always wanted to solo travel but never been brave enough to actually do it.  I was meant to go with a friend but she cancelled last minute.  I considered not going but I told myself that if you wait on friends and those close to you to do something you might never get anything done.  After I did my first solo trip to Barcelona on my birthday I told myself that this would be a tradition from hereon.

Nessa in Barcelona

1. Never wait on friends and family if you have the opportunity to do it just do it otherwise you will miss out on a great adventure.

2. I stayed in an Airbnb as I was meant to go with a friend but next time I’d rather stay in a hotel.  I bought some groceries which I never got round to cooking so that was a complete waste.  Hotel accommodation would be more flexible as I’ll have my breakfast and decide on what to eat during the day.

3. A lot of women travel alone . I joined Girls Love Travel, a group on Facebook of women of all ages and races across the world who are solo travelling.  It’s a great way to meet new people.  I met a lovely American young woman we spent the day sightseeing Sagrada la familia.

Sagrada la familia

4.  Don’t be afraid to ask people for directions or to take your pictures. I met another young woman who I spent half of the day with, she was solo travelling . We took a dozen pictures of each other.

5. Google Maps is your best friend. I got lost but this was a life saver and you can always save some directions to use off line for when you have no data or WiFi access.

6. Pay attention to reviews for activities you want to do.

7. I always book a 5 day or week pass to use both on trains and buses.

Food Market

8. I love booking classes especially cooking classes. It’s a great way to meet new people and also learn about the culture. Use Google via Trips Adviser and AirBnB to make bookings for these.

9. Plan ahead.  You get to focus on things you actually want to do especially things you may not be able to do with friends. I went to 5 or 6 museum’s.  I bought an art passport which gave me access to museum’s and art galleries.  This also gives you a chance to enjoy your own company.

10. To ensure my safety I didn’t stay out till late and didn’t drink much.

Barcelona National Museum

 

A big thank you to Nessa for sharing her Best of The Year Travel Experience with me.  You can find Nessa on: Twitter @NessaNess_x  and Instagram: @nessaness_x

All images courtesy of Nessa.

Which destination did you travel to this year?

 

©MaKupsy 2018

Three Time’s A Charm

My version of Ox Liver 🙂 

I’m a huge fan of Zimbo Kitchen.  I used to boil ox liver for a good 30 minutes and then fry it afterwards.  The result was always  hard pieces that I didn’t enjoy eating.  (I want to sue whoever taught me to do this!)  I concluded that ox liver was trash and I should move on to other types of meat.  Then again, I don’t give up that easily so I decided to give it one last try.    Zimbo Kitchen saved me because I got a quick and easy to follow recipe with ingredients that I had access to. (Ox Liver Recipe)  My meals have been colourful and tasty ever since!  I was delighted when I met the face behind this vibrant website a few weeks ago.  I told her I was going to take a dozen selfies with her because I couldn’t believe I was in the presence of the one person who changed my attitude towards food preparation.  She’s a superstar!

Rumbie & MaKupsy

Stylish and genuine accessories speak to me.  If I’m going to spend a lot of money on something it must be a versatile piece that won’t need to be replaced anytime soon.  I had two handbags in my life a few months ago and they were all worn out.  I decided I’d only buy a genuine leather handbag and the maximum I’d spend on it would be 100 Bond.  I’d kept a card from an open market event I’d attended months back.  I told the lady (Zenzima) I couldn’t afford her alluring collection at the time but I’d give her a call as soon as my money was right.  6 months later I was ready and I was in luck; she had a sale and she was accepting all forms of payment.  She personally delivered my hand crafted genuine Ethiopian leather handbag to my office!  She’s a pleasant woman and has a shop just a few minutes out of town.  You should pay her place a visit, she has affordable leather products in stock and you will certainly find something you’ll like.

My first of many leather handbag

When I have a fitness challenge coming up; Elnathan  is always available to brain storm ideas with me then he gets to work and delivers a beautiful poster.  I’m thankful for him because I bother him every other minute asking how far he has gone and he still doesn’t complain. However, I made a decision to learn how to do Graphic Designing myself and stop waiting on anyone because apparently being pro active is very admirable.  Elnathan directed me to mypostermywall.com and after using it a couple of times I feel extremely guilty for pestering him…Designing a poster is hard work, it takes a toll on your creativity but the result is always rewarding. I’m still learning how to use it but I love the fact that I can now put my thoughts can now come alive, I’m a very visual person and this has been the best app ever!

While you’re here do join the movement on @fitnessbaeint

©MaKupsy 2018

 

 

2018 Has Been Magical!

My WhatsApp Status from the start of 2018 has read;

At the start of the year I was determined that for the first time I’d blog about a love story with a happy ending.  I’m with someone who truly loves me and my daughter I couldn’t want for more.  Everything I wrote down; been speaking into existence and working towards has come true.

My lesson for 2018 is that whatever you do, DREAM BIG.

©MaKupsy 2018

WordCamp Harare 2018

WordCamp is a conference that focuses on everything WordPress.  WordPress is the simplest, most popular way to create your own website or blog.  I had the pleasure of being one of the WordCamp Speakers in Harare this year.  The WordCamp theme for 2018 was Business and Tech Aligned. I have two blogs I currently run on WordPress.  My Lifestyle Blog and my Fitness Blog.  I’ve been a WordPress user for the past 4 years and one of the main things I love about it is how user friendly it is.

Part of my fitness blog mission statement reads:

 “Fitness Bae works towards enhancing the lives of the community through support, encouragement, mental and physical health awareness activities.”

When I started my fitness blog my goal was to reach as many people as possible and change their lives with one blog post at a time.  The plan was to make Fitness Bae  a household name, the moment anyone thought of fitness the first person who was supposed to come to mind was going to be Fitness Bae.  I’ve had my fitness blog for the past two years and to have it recognised by an entire WordPress community after all the hard work I’ve put into it means everything to me.  I happen to be the only Fitness Blogger in Zimbabwe and that truly is a big deal.  The fact that I got to combine two things that I love, blogging and fitness made this WordCamp experience double the fun. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that having two separate blogs would work for the greater good and actually have one of my mission statements accomplished.

I attended the WordCamp to share both my Fitness and WordPress journey.  The first thing I did when I got up to speak was to ask everyone to stand up and get moving.  We did a few exercise moves before we jumped into my speaking segment.   However, if you haven’t done a presentation before please learn from my mistake.  DO NOT put everything on your presentation; put your ideas down in bullet or numbered points and then expand on them during your talk.  You want your audience to focus on what you’re saying not reading your very colourful work.  Despite that I made sure I kept my audience engaged and ended the session with another exercise routine.

It was great to mix and mingle with people with the same passion for content creation.  I didn’t realise that there were so many WordPress users in Harare alone.  Day 1 of WordCamp had about 70 attendees.  I couldn’t make it for Day 2 which was Contributor Day but I’ll certainly attend next year and bring my daughter along; I know she’ll love it, she’s a tech savvy little person.

My favourite time of day 🙂

 

Laptop swag

 

WordCamp Harare 2018

Some of the nuggets I got from attending WordCamp were:

• Disney, Sony, Facebook are some of the top companies that use WordPress.
• Keep your customers and consumers engaged.
• Sell people an experience.
• Become an authority in your niche.

You can follow #wchre18 hash tag on Twitter to see what other WordPress users had to say about the event on the day.

My Fitness Blog is www.fitnessbaeint.wordpress.com

The most popular posts from my Fitness Blog are;

Meal Prep For Beginners

I Found My Purpose

My Banting Journey

What has been your biggest achievement this year?  Let’s talk about it in the comments section.

©MaKupsy 2018

 

The Budget Phone You Need To Know About

The Xiaomi Redmi 6A is a budget phone that has given me the ultimate Android experience.  It was released in June 2018 and I had mine delivered in October after making an online payment of $115 sometime in August.  This is the first time I’ve owned a brand new boxed smart phone.  I always buy second hand phones so this was a whole new encounter for me.

Pros

1. Amazing battery life.  I can go for two days without having to recharge it.  In Zimbabwe you can go for day(s) without power and this is the answer to one of my struggles.
2. The picture quality is crisp and clear. A bonus feature is the beautiful pictures the front camera takes.  You can check out some of them from my Instagram account over here.
3. The price is very affordable, for just $115 you can own your very own brand new boxed phone.
4. It has an internal memory of 32gig which is ideal for my selfie addiction and video taking during events.
5. It comes in three fresh and trendy colours which include Rose Gold, Blue, Grey and Black.  I had to settle for black because the Rose Gold I wanted was out of stock.
6. It’s a sleek phone, a handful of people have mistaken it for a Huawei P10.
7. It comes with a dual sim (I always forget I have this feature on my phone) and memory card slot.

Cons

1. It can’t be repaired in Zimbabwe.  I asked my go to person for all things smart phone related before I made the purchase and the first thing he told me was to take care of my phone because the parts for the phone are not available.
2. I failed to use an app (DADApp) and resorted to using my iPhone instead.  I’m not sure if it’s the application or my phone that had a problem but either way I made no progress.
3. No tempered glass or phone back covers are available.  I had to resort to improvising on sizes to protect my phone.
4. No finger print scanner.  This was a huge disappointment for me because it’s 2018 and having to manually type in our passwords is really old school.

I watched this YouTube video yesterday and I was left feeling rattled.  I could never try this out but it’s good to know that if my phone happens to be exposed to water I won’t suffer heart palpitations.

 

I would rate the Xiaomi Redmi 6A a clean 8 out of 10.  If you would like to get your hands on this phone click on this here.  You can also find out which other awesome phones you can buy for just under $200 from one of my favourite Tech websites over here.

What was your best purchase for 2018?

©MaKupsy 2018

 

To Bleach Or Not To Bleach?

Experts say 1 in every 3 women in Africa bleach their skin. If there was a way to carry out skin bleaching that didn’t come with major side effects I’ve read about and seen with my own eyes I’d be first in line to try it out.   I have what I think are dark and unsightly knuckles and they kill my confidence sometimes.  You don’t get to choose the knuckles you want but it would be nice to have pretty ones that don’t look like they can be mistaken for feet.

My knuckles

Waking up sometime in October to news that my favourite Dancehall singer, Spice; had bleached her skin must have been the most devastating thing that happened to me this year.  Sounds very contradictory considering I said I would give skin bleaching a try; well, hands bleaching in my case.  I was shocked that Spice would want to tamper with bleaching her skin because she’s gorgeous, her skin is unmarred and most of all she’s a talented singer and songwriter.  Why on earth would she think she needed to bleach her skin with all these positive things going on for her?  Oh, I know why…because society has drilled it in our heads that light skin equates to all things beautiful.

Spice (Jamaican Dancehall Artist)

Turns out Spice had a new video coming up and she found a way to capture our attention!  When it comes to social media I’ve learnt that if you  want to trend you have to hop onto what everyone is currently talking about.  Spice took colourism to a whole new level when her makeup artist made her look like she had gone yellow bone on us.  This topic isn’t just something we talk about now it’s something that we’ve BEEN talking about for years.  She found a great concept to showcase the issue at hand and I love how she refers to her skin as, “Melanin dripping honey” in her music video. That right there is black power.

I’m a mother to a little girl. I remind her that she is beautiful.  I don’t want her to feel inadequate.  She has pretty little fingers and I’ve taught her how to take care of them.  I only found out how to do so a few months ago.  She gets to grow up with better looking hands than mine and hopefully pass on the routine to her children some day.

Growing up I wasn’t told dark skin was beautiful. Were you?

©MaKupsy 2018