By Wini Nduta

 Joan Thatiah is a 28 year old mom of two aged 8 and 6. She loves reading and writing and if she isn’t doing that, trust that she is glued to the TV screen watching a movie. A self-proclaimed introvert, she needs her time to re-charge after being around people.
Her inspiring book, ‘Things I will tell my Daughter’ has social media buzzing. Moms are always looking for ways to improve the parenting experience and a Kenyan point of view was very well received. Joan was inspired to open lines of communication between mothers and their growing daughters. In our society, some topics are no go zones and too often children get into situations that could have been avoided with some honesty at home.

What from your childhood or life experience inspired you to write this book?
This book is a combination of all the life lessons I have learnt so far. What led me to write though was the realization that there is so much out here that our mothers never talked to us about.

What, in your words, is the book about? 
The book is a look into things I believe to be true. I have delved into various topics, namely love, money and womanhood. I give my views on these topics based on my life lessons and the experiences of the women I have met.

How long did it take to write the book? 
The writing of this book took me 8 months

What can readers expect? 
Readers should expects lots of hard truths and taboo topics

What's one thing moms should remember while raising a girl?
Remember that experience isn't always the best teacher.

What can be done to empower our kids, especially in regards to the Kenyan education system?
We are obsessed with grades. In our quest to get our children to clinch number one, we miss out on our opportunities to nurture their talents.

Do you have any self-love tips we can teach our kids?
The most vital tip would me remembering at all times that you matter.

What's your message to the world?
My message to the world would be, refuse to sink. Refuse to let the world drown out your voice. Your voice is your most valuable asset.
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Where can we buy your book? 
You can email me on jthatiah@gmail.com or get it at Magunga Bookstore, it’s an online bookstore.
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Like her Facebook page here

By Wini Nduta

Email is a huge part of our lives right now and it's one more thing we need to keep organised, Let's face it, are you one of those people who always volunteer their email for a sign up? Attend an event, sign up. Get service at a pharmacy, sign up. If the kiosk had a sign up you know you would too. But now look, you have 3000 messages in your inbox. Let’s be honest. You will not read all those.

Declutter your inbox today with these easy steps:

           1. Delete all emails sent to you one month earlier
If you are not referring to them, delete them

            2. Use the labels provided for you by your email service
This is an easy way to spot what’s important. And can we talk about how each and every email is marked important? No. Not now.

            3. Delete all expired emails
If your friends were organizing a snap dinner last week and it happened, it’s time to delete that email. Records are good but learn to spot what will be useful later rather than keep everything
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             4. Unsubscribe from newsletters that you do not read
Maybe you are telling yourself, ‘you never know I might just buy this bag that’s on offer at Neiman Marcus’, let go for now and sign up again when you will actually do it.

 ​Exfoliation is the process of removing the oldest dead skin cells from its outermost surface. This clears the skin and allows products to be absorbed easily. It makes your skin smooth glow from the inside even without that highlighter.

It’s important to exfoliate at least twice a week.

Here are four products you can try on your skin. Always remember to do a skin test before applying any product to a large area of your skin.
​
1. Scrub
Apply on your skin and rub in circular motion. Rinse and proceed with your skin regimen. This is a highly manual process so remember scrub gently.
Popular ones in the local supermarkets include Eden’s and St. Ives Apricot Scrub

2. Cream
Exfoliating creams are said to be gentle when compared to a scrub because it’s not a manual process. Apply onto clean, dry skin. Let it sit for the required amount of time and rinse.

3. Peel off mask
​The mask lifts blackheads and dead skin off the surface of your skin. This clears the pores and allows product to get absorbed easily.

4. Exfoliator gel
​This product is applied to clean skin. After you let it sit for 15 seconds rub your face with your fingertips. This gets rid of the dead skin and you will see it when you rinse your face. Get it from Amazon, see link here http://amzn.com/B0048UFTOU

Make sure to follow the instructions on the label.
 
Try these out and pick your favorite! 

By Wini Nduta

Have you ever been at home and don't know what to do with yourself. I would feel like that on a Saturday afternoon after cleaning my place. Like at around 1:15 pm on a hot Saturday afternoon, i'd be like now what?? We go to work all week, waiting on the weekend and sometimes it's just 'meh'. I was like, why? Why am I bored? I waited all week for this. Free time. A lazy day. Then one day I changed my mind. I wanted more and a few years ago I came up with a way to make sure I would never utter the words 'I'm bored'. Well it's a whole list, enjoy!

Things I do when I see boredom creeping in:

1. Listen to new music. Something you have never heard before. Go on YouTube. Type in Tibetan music, something. Anything. I like music from this website called musicmp3.ru it's the best. You can get any genre, any year. It's very resourceful. Click on a section you would not normally go for. Just do it. You might find your new favorite song. Give yourself a chance to enjoy something new.
2. Run your errands. Yup, do it. Get it done.
3. Get out of the house and walk around. Look around your neighborhood. I recently found out there's a guard at a nearby estate who picks his nose for long moments at a time and has crammed peoples faces and when you want to pass through that estate, he will not open the gate. At all. Like ever. I'm not the only one who has experienced this. It's like his thing. Meh
4. Crafts. We've all read that somewhere. Try a DIY project and if you're good at it, who knows, you can turn this into a side job. Or your main job, let's be honest.
5. Watch your favorite movie. I like movies that make me cry so I just let it all out. I mean, I already know what will happen but it's like a new experience each time. Can't explain it.
6. Organize your music library, get it cracking. Now. My iTunes can sometimes get overcrowded and I only listen to a few playlists most of the year so I back-up my music then just have the ones I listen to regularly on deck. This can also go for your movies folder, phone contacts and actual library. Share your books with people you know will relate. It spreads the joy.
7. I love 2 topics, anything natural and spirituality, so I end up spending hours researching on a topic like, what's the best way to get benefits from turmeric to boost my digestion or something like that. I can spend hours going over books and reading stuff online. I enjoy it. So find what you love and do more of it.
8. Go out and spend some time in nature. I like to walk so I'd look for some place that has trees and lots of green around. We spend so much time in buildings, I feel like we lose our connection with the outside world. Plus some guy on YouTube said the same thing so it must be true.
9. Sleep. I feel like most of our time in Nairobi is spent in traffic or just being around other people and we do not take good care of ourselves. 'Always on the go' type of life can wear you down. Take some time to rest. Doing nothing is so underrated.

By Wini Nduta

This is a great group activity to get your creative juices going. It is a great way to personalize your dining or coffee table.

​What you will need:

1. Pencil
2. Muskin tape
3. A pair of scissor
4. Craft paint (this absorbs easily and becomes water resistant when dry)
5. Paintbrush
6. Table mat made from sisal/water hyacinth

Steps
Make sure the mats are clean. Use soap and water to wipe them off. Set them aside to dry. Let them dry completely.
Decide what your design is going to be. It could be;

• solid colors that will contrast with your plates
• your initials
• names of the cities you want to visit
• polka dots of different colors

Trace your design on the mat. Do this lightly because you don’t want dark marks on your design.
Next use the muskin tape to line your work area on the mat
Start to paint
Let it dry for 12 hours or more depending on thickness

​Quick tip: you can also do this with a welcome mat and spray paint!

By Wini Nduta

By Wini Nduta

I'm talking about baking soda people and all of it's goodness!! It is easy to find and affordable too. This powdery substance has multiple uses and I will take you through the uses including your sheets.

Washing your sheets with about a cup of baking soda leaves the clean and crispy.

Mixing a cup of baking soda and lemon juice in equal parts makes a natural, mild bleach. This helps with the stains or just give the sheet some freshness. You may want to soak your sheets for about 20 minutes before using detergent. Or if you are satisfied with them you can skip the whole harsh detergent step. But remember to use plenty of water to rinse your sheets because some people react to detergents but don't even know it. We wouldn't want you sleeping on I'll call it 'unfinished laundry'. 

Another tip with baking soda is you can use it to clean the floor tiles, that's if you have tiles on your floor. Add about two spoons of baking soda to your bucket and fill it up with water. Mop the whole area and let air dry. You could follow up with detergent if you wish. 

How else do you use baking soda to clean? Share your neat tips and tricks with us, we would love to hear from you.

Here is a neat trick, next time you soak your feet add a cup of oatmeal in the mix. It helps give your skin a a silky smooth feeling. I usually soak for about ten minutes before my manicure. I also add about a tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar.

2.  Nail Polish: Use your clear nail polish over new jewelry to keep it from tarnishing too quickly. Plus, you can use your favorite color nail polishes (especially neon colors) to revitalize old jewelry.

3. Cotton Swabs: If you are tired of your perfume fading after a few hours, carry cotton swabs dipped in your favorite perfume and keep them in a zip-lock bag. The scent of perfume lasts for hours on a cotton swab and it would be perfect for a quick touch-up.

4.  Baby Powder: It is great for removing oil stains. For instance if you have an oil stain in your bag, pour some baby powder on it and leave it overnight. The stain will disappear. Repeat if you still find the stain.

5. Pumice stone: They are great for shedding the dead skin off the underside of our feet, but did you know they are great for de-fuzzing sweaters too? Gently rub it over your favorite sweater to remove the fuzz and you’ll be happy over the results.

It's almost that time of year again and we have to watch out for the flu.

So here is a neat tip to stop you stop reinfecting yourself with the flu each time you brush your teeth.

Take a drop on Listerine and mix it in with about a quarter cup of hot water. 

After brushing your teeth, rinse the brush with this mixture to kill the bacteria. 

Another great tip would be to have two brushes and alternate them everyday. The flu virus needs a moist environment to survive so letting them dry completely between uses would help.