Practice makes perfect

 

One thing that I have realized, is that practice makes perfect and once you try and fail, never consider yourself a failure. When I got married, I used not to know how to make good ‘chapatis’. Despite this, I used to make chapatis often because my husband liked them a lot. However, the chapatis were tough to chew. People used to complain as they ate. I felt discouraged and did not like it when my husband asked me to make them.  I told my friend Saphina about it, and she encouraged me to be participating in cooking during church functions. I used to participate in food preparation, but not cooking. I was afraid not to expose my tough chapatis to other women. I liked assisting those who made chapatis, by assembling all the requirements, and at the same time stayed there as they cooked in order to learn. After the chapatis were done, I would go home and do what I had seen them doing.

I also became very active during women group functions with an aim to know how to cook good chapatis. At our neighborhood, we had a ‘chama’ (women group) of twelve members. We used to contribute Kshs. 500 each, monthly, and after 4 months, we voted for what to buy. We used to buy households and shared amongst the members. During the sharing, we had a small party. We ate chapatis, beef stew and cabbage and of course tea. I liked the cooking and assisted in preparation of chapatis. Little by little, I started cooking better chapatis.

Today I cook the best chapatis. My family will even appreciate eating my ‘chapatis’ every day. Recently, I cooked chapatis for my daughter to carry with her to school for ten o’clock tea. She shared with her friend Vivian. “Is your mother a chef?” Vivian asked. “No” Replied my daughter. “Your mother cooks good ‘chapatis’ like a chef”, said Vivian. As the saying goes, patience pays. My husband was patient with me all this time, and now he eats the best ‘chapatis’.

 This is how I do it;

Put 6 cups of wheat flour in a bowl

Put two cups of water in a container and add one table spoonful of salt.

Stir to mix.

Pour the mixture in the bowl as you stir with a wooden cooking stick to mix.

Continue until a dough is formed.

Add two table spoonful of cooking oil to the dough.

Continue kneading until the dough is smooth.

Make balls of desired sizes with the smooth dough.

Roll the balls, apply oil and fold to round shapes.

Roll the round shaped balls to round shapes of desired size. Put the pan on fire.

Place the rolled round shape on the pan.

Let it cook for a few minutes, add oil, let it cook a little and turn it to cook the other side.

Once the chapati is ready, place it on a plate.

Repeat the process until all the rolled balls are no more.

You may also like;

https://www.bigoven.com/recipe/kenyan-soft-layered-chapati/2296480

https://cookpad.com/ke/recipes/4689642-soft-layered-chapatis

https://nairobikitchen.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-softest-chapati-you-will-ever-eat.html

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/324470348135782041/

 

  

 

Is it possible to study, work and take care of family?

One thing that gives young mothers headache, is studying as well as working, taking care of kids and spouse. I went through such an experience, and believe you me, it is not a walk in the park. It may be stressful, draining, and sometimes you may get worn out. Nevertheless, it is doable. I had a desire to further my studies, but it was difficult for me to decide when. After I got married, I left employment and started a computer services business. I thereafter got two children. Since the business required a lot of support, and family too, I had no option but to walk and chew gum at the same time. 

   Things did not go so well with the business, since I had bills to pay and the business could not make good on all the debts, I moved the business at home, Soy. My husband had constructed a house and a shop along the Eldoret-Kitale tarmac. Soy was far from Eldoret town. As the saying goes, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, we had no option but to take a back sit and move the business there. The shop was yet to be completed so it took about six months before we commenced the business at Soy. The business got running and we managed to get walk in clients though a few as compared to Eldoret town.

No sooner had the business picked up steam, than the elections happened, followed by post-election violence. We were forced to move to Nakuru, my husband’s home town. When still at Nakuru, Our home was set ablaze, we lost all our property, and now we could not go back to Soy. We decided to settle at Nakuru. My husband bought land at Nakuru and we settled.

The business was no more, so I decided to seek employment at Nakuru town. As soon as I got employment, I remembered furthering my studies. By this time, my daughter was 4 and my son 1 year old. I could not afford hiring a nanny because we were trying to get things back to normal and what we had could only help us make ends meet. Despite the situation, I decided to take a step of faith and enroll for my BBIT degree program. I had to juggle between studies, work and family, and for sure, it was not a bed of roses. 

I knew I was in lack of time, so I used to read from 9pm to 11pm and in motor vehicles as I travelled to and from work. Fortunately my husband was in full support. I managed to pay for my studies little by little and before I knew it, I was done with my first year. I went on with second year, third and finally fourth year.

 It is not enough to say that you want something, it requires action despite the circumstances. In whatever situation, never give up on your dream.

You may also like;

https://healthcaremba.gwu.edu/blog/10-tips-for-balancing-parenting-work-and-school/

https://studyonline.ecu.edu.au/blog/tips-to-balance-study-and-life

https://www.workingmother.com/practical-tips-for-moms-balancing-kids-studies-and-work

 https://this.deakin.edu.au/study/how-to-juggle-work-family-and-further-study