Monday 1 November 2021

HAPPY NOVEMBER 2021, HAPPY ALL SAINTS DAY TOO.

 

HAPPY NOVEMBER 2021, HAPPY ALL SAINTS DAY TOO.

Hello hi, happy new month! We are already in the eleventh month of the year; can you believe that? Also, happy ALL SAINTS DAY to Catholics all over the world.

Long time, no write/no read/no see! I know it has been a very long time since I penned down my thoughts here and I am not proud of myself about that. It’s not because I don’t have things to share; as a matter of fact, so many things have happened to me since July! However, I have been overwhelmed with other things, some of which I will tell you later. Nonetheless, since the last time I wrote, I took my first flight since the pandemic (the last time I had flown was February 2020, just before the lock down). I had a meeting in Galveston, Texas, and so I went there in August; from there I “branched” to Liberia in Costa Rica, LOL. My experience in Costa Rica was nostalgic in a weird way; from encountering undisciplined Nigerian adults acting like children at the airport, to my stay and return back home. Maybe that should be my next post? Below are some teaser photos from my trip






Anyway, after then I stayed at home for a short while but it looked like my travel bug had burst a bit, so I managed to escape for a few days to Toronto/Niagara falls for thanksgiving weekend and then to British Columbia. Now, I’m at home sha and even though I miss travelling, I am trying to be careful because the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet over.

While I obviously have not accomplished my goal of blogging this year so far, I have achieved other goals by God’s grace– I’m not even sure I should call them goals because some of them were unplanned. So, I am really thankful and happy to be here. For today, I just came to wish you all a wonderful new month ahead. May this November bring us showers of grace and favour, Amen. Before we blink, it will be Christmas so start making your holiday plans, if you have not already done so. ๐Ÿ˜Š

Until next time, stay safe and well. Also stay tuned for some new Youtube videos on my channel (VivioGogo) and please don’t forget to subscribe to my Channel and share (including my blog) with your friends. Also follow me on Instagram @ugochiukah and @lavivisblog, and on twitter @vivio_gogo . Until next time, stay safe and happy. XOXO, God bless. ๐Ÿ˜Š

  

Thursday 1 July 2021

HAPPY JULY 1ST 2021

 

Hello hi,

Happy July 1st! We made it to the other half of the year! Na wa o, this year is really running fast; I remember vividly saying ‘Happy new year’ to people, almost feels like yesterday. In any case, I am really happy and thankful to be here.

I’ve been MIA (Missing in Action) for a while because I recently moved to a new place. It could have been a more stressful move but thanks to my amazing friends and neighbours who really helped me out; I’m so grateful and blessed. I still have not even finished unpacking because my back started aching from all the heavy lifting. And since then, I have had conferences and I’m trying to catch up with work but I have some nice videos to share with you on YouTube soon.





PS- this beautiful outfit was made by my friend, Olga. Hit me up if you would like her to make some for you.

 Today is also Canada day; sort of like Independence Day in Canada. Usually, there are lots of festivals and celebrations, with many colours of red and white. However, this year is going to be a relatively quiet one; not just because of the pandemic but also because of the recent discoveries of remains of children in residential schools. My heart breaks to think about how these children were forcefully taken from their homes and subjected to insane cruelty. It’s so sad that I don’t even want to write much about it, but you can search the internet to find out about the history of residential schools in Canada.

On a brighter note, Covid19 vaccines have been rolling out and seem effective; of course, we still need to stay careful and carry out safety measures, but it finally seems like there is light at the other tunnel. I have taken my first vaccine dose and will be taking the second one soon hopefully. How about you; have you been vaccinated?

For this month of July, I wish you an exciting summer filled with bright colours in your life. May this remaining half of the year be better for us all than the first half. Amen. Stay safe, remain masked up in enclosed spaces with people gathered, and let’s hope for a better future.

Also stay tuned for some new Youtube videos on my channel (VivioGogo) and please don’t forget to subscribe to my Channel and share (including my blog) with your friends. Also follow me on Instagram @ugochiukah and @lavivisblog, and on twitter @vivio_gogo . Until next time, stay safe and happy. XOXO, God bless. ๐Ÿ˜Š

 

Tuesday 1 June 2021

HAPPY NEW JUNE 2021

 Hello hi,

It's already June! Can you believe it, almost half of the year and we are still here by God's grace. I'm really thankful. How have you been? How was your month of May? Mine was really busy; I found myself involved in a lot of administrative stuff - organising webinars/seminars and moderating events, but they were fun and I learnt a lot. I'm also in the process of moving so it's been an occupied period. I'm still not done packing my stuff, ugh! So I ended up not posting on my blog but hopefully after my move, I'll be back. ๐Ÿ˜ The weather here has also been fluctuating, blowing hot and cold, but I can't really complain. I've had ice cream and poutine, so I'm good.







Anyway, I just came here to check up on you and say hello ๐Ÿ™‚ I also came to wish you an amazing new month, filled with more blessings and favour. May your good heart desires come true. Amen.

Thank you very much again for all your love, kindness and support. God bless you! Please don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube Channel (Vivio Gogo) and also share (including my blog) with your friends. Also follow me on Instagram @ugochiukah and @lavivisblog, and on twitter @vivio_gogo . Until next time, stay safe and happy. XOXO, God bless.

Happy new month!

Saturday 24 April 2021

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME – APRIL 24TH

 Hello hi,

Happy birthday to me! I am grateful for this day, for my life, my family (Daddy, Mummy, Iheanyi, Ada, Edo, Odi, Chimdi, and all my nieces and nephews), friends, colleagues, acquittances and everything thing that God has done for me.

Thank you all for the birthday wishes; I really appreciate them. We are still on lock-down, so this year, I’m just going to chill indoors and take a walk later. I got a birthday cake – the usual ice-cream cake and I’m looking forward to enjoying it ๐Ÿ˜Š I also plan to be on Instagram live around 1.30pm EST/ 6.30pm UK/Nigerian time, so please come wish me happy birthday there.

As I wrote on my last blogpost, if you are wondering what would be a great gift for me this year, I’ve got the answer for you ร  Please subscribe to my YouTube channel (Vivio Gogo) if you haven’t and also get at least 10 people to subscribe. My target is to reach 3000 subscribers by this month end and I know it is feasible with your help, so please do so! Thank you in anticipation of your help! I see some new subscribers already so thank you so much x.

Below are some photos from a photoshoot I did; enjoy ๐Ÿ˜Š













Thank you very much again for all your love, kindness and support. God bless you! Please don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube Channel (Vivio Gogo) and also share (including my blog) with your friends. Also follow me on Instagram @ugochiukah and @lavivisblog, and on twitter @vivio_gogo . Until next time, stay safe and happy. XOXO, God bless.

 



Thursday 1 April 2021

HAPPY APRIL 2021, HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY AND HAPPY HOLY THURDAY.

 Hello hi,

Happy new month! It is the fourth month of the year 2021, April! This month is very special to me because it is the month of my Father’s birthday (April 14th), my younger brother’s birthday (April 12th) and guess who else, my own birthday – April 24th! So, we’ve got 3 April-born in my home and we are the leading month in my family, ha ha.

Anyway, if you are wondering what would be a great gift for me this year, I’ve got the answer for you ร  Please subscribe to my YouTube channel (Vivio Gogo) if you haven’t and also get at least 10 people to subscribe. My target is to reach 3000 subscribers by April 24th and I know it is feasible with your help, so please do so! Thank you in anticipation of your help! I also have a new video for you, so please check it out here.





Today is also a significant day for other reasons. First, it is April fool’s day; honestly, I have never cared for any of the silly stunts and games . Then, it is Holy Thursday – also known as the last supper, or the institution of the Holy Eucharist or Holy communion of Christ, which is the first day of the Triduum (that is the three days before Easter - Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday). Holy Thursday is also the day when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples during the Passover feast, to show that what true leadership means – service. Therefore, during Mass on Holy Thursday, the catholic priests usually wash 12 people’s feet. I always wished I would be selected for feet washing but did not think there would be much of a chance, since only men were selected back in my family church in Nigeria. I guess they were trying to emulate the fact that the 12 disciples of Jesus were male, even though He had many other followers including Mary and Martha. Anyway, fast forward to years later (about 10 years ago when I was living in Sheffield, England), twelve people sitting at the aisle of the church were randomly selected for feet washing. And I happened to be one of them! I was so excited that I could not stop grinning while my feet were being washed by the priest. I made sure to stretch them out very well, lol! I know I have told this story on my blog before but I keep telling it as it was definitely one of my best Lenten moments. ๐Ÿ˜Š

I pray that this new month of April brings you joy and clarity in your life. As we enter this Triduum, may we be reminded of the Love of God for us, that he sent his only son to die for us. May we extend this love and forgiveness to others and may we rise with him again on the last day. Have a wonderful April and happy Easter in advance!

Please don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube Channel (Vivio Gogo) and also share (including my blog) with your friends. Also follow me on Instagram @ugochiukah and @lavivisblog, and on twitter @vivio_gogo . Until next time, stay safe and happy. XOXO, God bless.

 

Monday 1 March 2021

HAPPY MARCH 2021

Hello hi,

Happy new month! It is the third month of the year 2021, March. Don’t ask me what I did last month because I honestly don’t remember, lol ๐Ÿ˜Š Actually, apart from work stuff, I managed to share a few videos on my YouTube channel – so please check them out. I also had a couple of presentations, one of which I won best oral presentation award for! I was so excited; I have always wanted to win something like this and in the past, I had gotten honourable mention for poster. So indeed, this was a wish of mine that came through. What else happened last month? Hmm…valentine’s day! Lol. I actually got some flowers, and chocolates from some old and new friends. That was very nice.

How was your Valentine’s day?





There was no other event for February, except that Lent season began for Catholics. For those who may not know, this is a season that marks the day of repentance, in preparation of Easter (the resurrection of Jesus Christ). So Lent season starts on Ash Wednesday, when the priest puts some ashes on our foreheads as a sign of repentance, and ends on Good Friday, the day when Jesus was crucified. Given the current circumstances, this year, there were designated times for the ashes. Also, the priest in my church did not touch our foreheads; he just sprinkled the ashes over my head which felt a bit weird, but of course is much safer.

During Lent season, we are encouraged to fast, abstain from something, be more prayerful and give alms to the poor. Last year, I gave up meat i.e. chicken, beef; I only ate fish. However, this year, I was not too sure of what of give up or do. I am still thinking about it (it’s not too late), but for now, I decided to sing more praises to God. Let me know if you have any ideas.

How about you, what did you give up or change for lent?

And that’s all I wanted to pen down today, basically I want to wish you a wonderful new month. I pray that this new month of March brings you your good heart desires and peace of mind and body. Thank you so much for reading and don’t forget to share how your February went and your plans for Lent (if applicable) in the comment section. Please also share with your friends and subscribe to my YouTube Channel (Vivio Gogo) and follow me on Instagram @ugochiukah and @lavivisblog, and on twitter @vivio_gogo . Until next time, stay safe and happy. XOXO, God bless.

 

Monday 1 February 2021

HAPPY FEBRUARY 2021

 


Hello hi,

Happy new month! Welcome to February, the second month of the year 2021. It's the month of Valentine's day and also Black History Month. Needless to say - January flew by quickly, but don’t we say that every year? ๐Ÿ˜Š My January was comme ci – comme รงa; what I mean is that there were happy moments and painful moments. For example, I was able to do some planning and thinking, gain a new good habit of listening daily to some French audio (at least, I have been consistent for now), and I put up 5 videos on YouTube! Wow! There are 2 on life lessons, 2 on food and 1 really fun video on feminism. If you have not checked them out, please do so here. I also lost a really dear uncle (may his soul rest in peace) and shortly after I had lower back pain where I could not move for some days; it was awful. I won’t bore you with too many details but in general, I am thankful for last month and I feel hopeful for this new month. How about you, how was your January?





Bringing you some throwback photos :)

Today, I just want to talk briefly about Love – since many people call February the month of love. Of course, this is because of Valentine’s day on February 14th, where people buy gifts, especially flowers and chocolates, for their lovers. This is actually what I want to talk about. Love is not just about gifts or only for your lovers. Love is for all. So please, this month, try to spread love in anyway you can, not only to your partners, but also to your family, neighbours, and even strangers. Remember to call people to say hello, send messages to check up on them and also say a little prayer each day for others. Many people have gone through a lot due to the pandemic and some don’t have anyone to comfort them. So please keep them in your good thoughts and prayers. And you can share some food/bakery with them when you can, if you don’t have money or flowers to give. Speaking of flowers, I would not mind receiving some for Valentine’s day, :P but please also send a flower vase along. LOL. And that’s pretty much what I want to say.

I pray that this new month brings us the Love of God, many great testimonies, good health, and joy. May this month of February be better than last month and be your best so far. Amen. Thank you so much for reading and don’t forget to share your January experience and hopes for February in the comment section. This month, I hope to bring you some original proses of mine, so please stay tuned. Please also share with your friends and subscribe to my YouTube Channel (Vivio Gogo) and follow me on Instagram @ugochiukah and @lavivisblog, and on twitter @vivio_gogo . Until next time, stay safe and happy. XOXO, God bless.

 

Saturday 9 January 2021

GOAL SETTING: 2020 GOALS REVIEW AND SCORE

 Hello hi,

I hope your 2021 is going well so far. Can you believe that we are already in the second week? Before we blink, the year will be over, lol. But before that happens, it’s that time of the year where I review my goals for the previous year (2020 in this case) and score myself based on how well I made an effort to achieve them. So, I don’t score on whether I achieved the goals or not, but more on whether I really tried to. This year, I had a 5 out of 10 – yay! That was a great improvement from 2019 where I scored 3 out of 10, LMAO. And given how 2020 went, this is really an achievement, so I’m happy and thankful to God.

In 2020, I pretty much rewrote most of my 2019 goals :P. I was determined to give them another try, switching things up as needed. Below is a brief break down of each goal and why I gave myself the scored for that goal (see photo):






1.     Being thankful everyday: This was the first time I had this as a goal and it was perfect for 2020 as it helped me recognize God’s blessings and favour upon my life. Everyday, I found a reason to say thank you to God and honestly, I did not have to think much to see a reason. Being alive was more than enough. I gave myself ¾ because of course there were so many times where I complained bitterly, even though I said thank you. LOL. So for me, that’s sort of ingratitude. This year, I hope to do much better by His grace.

2.     Volunteer for a good cause: Last year, I became a volunteer peer-mentor in 2 different organizations. I’m still learning and hoping to help out more this year.

3.     To be more organized and punctual, especially for church: I gave myself half mark because I was still late for church early last year, but when the pandemic hit, I started watching mass online, so I guess I became punctual :P. I still need to be more organized, for sure!

4.     To weigh 58kg ± 2kg: This one has the best score, I passed with flying colours! I’m so happy about it, especially as the reverse could have easily been the case, since I was working mostly from home and eating whenever I wanted, lol. Even though I would like to take credit for it, believe it or not - I seriously prayed about this, so I give God the glory.

5.     Blog every week: Ha ha! Let me just say that I hope to do better this year. Also, although I did not achieve this, I ended up achieving some unexpected objectives. I had Instagram live every Saturday for about 4 months – something I started impromptu with my friend, Sylvia which exposed me to more guests and so much fun! I also started making more videos and uploading them on my YouTube channel here. So at least, I did something new. ๐Ÿ˜Š

6.     Improve French: According to my French teacher, I’m doing great. I know I can do much better, so hopefully this year.

7.     Learn to swim or bike: Okay, this was really not my fault. I’d just leave it as a consequence of the pandemic, because I had made some serious plans for these but could not follow through.

8.     Publish ≥10 academic papers: I gave myself half mark as I worked hard on this. By God’s grace, publications with my name will be flying out everywhere this year ๐Ÿ˜Š

9.     Enter a writing competition: I have no excuse but this year o... LOL

10.  More art work e.g. painting, music lessons etc.: Again, the pandemic prevented me from attending the in-person art class I had intended too. Although that is not a good enough reason. I painted twice on a drawing book and I should continue to do more. As I also mentioned, I had IG live shows and I think I developed or advanced my hosting skills, so I hope that counts for art work, LOL.

So that’s the summary of my goal achievement. This year, I know a lot of people are discouraged based on how 2020 went and don’t want to plan ahead. However, I think planning is always great, even if you don’t achieve all. For 2021, I have set some very “Adult” goals (in my opinion), so I really pray that I will achieve them ALL by God’s grace. On my latest YouTube video here, I discuss the steps I usually take to plan my goals. You can watch and let me know how you plan yours.

So how about you? Did you make any goals last year and if so, how much of it did you achieve or at least try to? And did you make any goals for this year 2021, or will you be making any (it’s not too late :P)? Leave a comment below. Remember that “Planning is everything but plans are nothing” ร one of my favourite quotes. Also, “Man proposes, God disposes”.

I really hope that this year will be much better than last by God’s grace. Thank you so much for reading and please share with your friends. Until next time, stay safe and happy. XOXO

PS - Please subscribe to my YouTube Channel (Vivio Gogo) and follow me on Instagram @ugochiukah and @lavivisblog, and on twitter @vivio_gogo.