Buy her a pretty bouquet
and watch her face transform
with a smile 🙂
Author: jacquelineobyikocha
A wordsmith with a vivid imagination, an eager mind and a burning desire to carve out tales. As I journey with my muse to that land of all possibilities and self discovery, I hope my personal evolution will serve as a beacon of inspiration for anyone who chooses to stop by.
Tuesday Trickles – My Thinking Corner
Every Tuesday, I share snippets of thoughts that I call ‘My Thinking Corner.’
I would like to invite you to participate. The challenge is quite simple. You can check this link for more details.
The difference between who you are right now and who you seek to be lie in what you choose to do. Are you taking the right steps?
♦  If you have a dream, yet you choose to do nothing, be rest assured that it will never materialize.
♦  A dream works when you work on it. It may be slow in arriving, but consistently taking the rights steps, slowly but surely will get you to your desired goal.
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Shhh! My Zips Are Sealed! – A Click A Day
A cool and fun looking handbag I must say, but since the price wasn’t cool enough for me, I walked away and ignored the ‘psst, hey buy me,’ that the pink purse uttered from sealed zips 😉
Wild Hunter – Ronovan writes weekly haiku challenge
An exciting pair of words ‘Hunter & Moon,’Â from Ronovan for our weekly haiku. Do you take part in any haiku challenge? Give it a thought.
The wild hunter’s blood thrummed;
he sensed her presence from miles away,
it’s a full moon tonight.
I’m Every Woman! Breaking The Fashion Mold and Mindset – Personal
A journey of self-discovery is a continuous affair that may sometimes come with the discomfort of stretching one’s boundaries, but the elation derived from the success of breaking these boundaries is worth the discomfort.
Earlier in the year, my decision was to keep pushing myself to step up and dare to be different. Daring to be different to me means not settling for less but to keep aspiring and putting in my best. I’ve realized that once a mind opens up to such thoughts, life presents the playing field.
Sometime in July, I saw a call for action in the newspaper inviting interested people to audition for the opportunity to model at a fashion show and my interest was certainly piqued. After quelling the initial butterflies in my stomach, I dashed off an email to the organizers of FFA – Fashion For All.
A part of my brain was praying that they shouldn’t respond so that I would chicken out but lo and behold, they responded and invited me to the audition.
Yours truly Jacqueline built up all the imaginable excuses – valid and not so valid – within me. I told myself that I am too old, that models come in rail thin sizes, that they are probably only looking for Asian, Far-East, and European looks. Just think of the excuse, I had it, however, the niggling voice that pushes me wouldn’t let me rest, so I went for the audition.
Two weeks later I received a pleasant phone call that I had been selected alongside 30 other participants and to cut a long story short, we started rigorous and interesting training sessions that took place in the evenings after work hours.
This exposure has shown me sides of myself that astound me. In me, I’ve found facets of every woman. I realize that failure is truly for want of trying and that most times our fear which stems from being judged by others holds us back, forgetting that the people we face are human like we are and all have their own burden of insecurities to deal with.
The wonderful organizers of Fashion for All did a fantastic job and pulled off a successful show. I daresay that all those who participated in this event went away the better for it. I gained friends, laughter, and limelight and I must express my appreciations to Zareen Khan of W2W, The Founder of FFA and her team. To my fellow models ( yes we’ve earned the title) I wish you all the best as you reach for the stars in your endeavours.
The best things in life are yet to come for those who believe and while you are searching for these best things, embrace yourself and your curves because your beauty has no boundaries. Love who you are in totality and know that your age does not define nor limit you. Stand tall in quelling those niggling thoughts of doubt that gets in the way of living your dreams or aspiring for more.
Just walk your ramp wherever it may be.
Below is a gallery of some of the photos that were taken before and during the event. For more photos, you can check out  W2W FACEBOOK page.
Slow Poison
Agatha went around the house and rearranged everything in a haphazard and rebellious manner.
She went to the pantry rack and deliberately disorganised its contents, placing them in a manner that she knew would annoy Harvey; even though he would never come back to see it.
Carefully, she poured the lethal drops of the arsenic-tainted drinks down the drain.
It had taken longer than she expected for the poison to take effect, but she would never forget the last look of surprise on Harvey’s face when he learnt that she had poisoned his drinks.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
I’ve certainly missed writing Flash Fiction. Welcome back Priceless Joy and thank you to Maria for the photo prompt.
Night Light – Mundane Monday
Mundane Monday Challenge is created to find beauty in almost everything.
The challenge is simple. Find beauty in everyday mundane things, capture the beauty and upload the photographs.
What I find particularly interesting about this photo is that in trying to capture the traffic and lights outside, my reflection and other people in the room is caught as well. Don’t ask me how it occurred. I’ve no idea, I guess it’s all due to the lighting.
Featured Posts 139 – Share Your Post Links.
![1456149614808[1]](https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/1456149614808121111.jpg?w=652&h=652)
‘PLEASE KEEP SENDING IN THE LINKS.’Â
Today’s featured blogs posts are:
The Visitor A beautiful start for the day 🙂
The Evil of Two Lessers So, how are your going to vote in November? Don’t sit on the fence because that’s no decision. Vote your conscience and may November pass by fast enough!
A bed-ly thought Light and sweet for those who count sheep when they should be asleep 😉
Trust When someone breaches your trust, do you forgive them or do you move on?
Do step in and show some love.
‘Do you want more eyes on your words?’
Well then, add your LINK INTO THIS LOOP.
Comments are disabled here to keep the loop tidy. Any comments or link you want to send can be added through the link in the post.
Thank you for your understanding and regards.
‘We create a cohesive community when we come together.Â
Midnight Motivations and Musings 112
It is natural to suffer trepidation and even fear when we are experiencing dark moments in our lives. These challenges could be daunting to such an extent that we stall and lose sight of how far we’ve come and the focus on where we are heading to.
When we go through disconcerting moments, we may actually get to our brightest moments and experience far more growth than we anticipated because our deepest struggles have a way of refining us and making room for enlightenment and growth.
The important thing is to keep picking yourself up and keep moving forward no matter how many times you stumble. You will look back and be amazed at how far you came and you’ll leave your situation behind feeling far more fulfilled.
Sometimes, life pushes us through these difficulties so that we don’t become blasé, life keeps us dreaming and reaching for more.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Robert Doyle. The Charming, Talented and Wonderful Blogger Friend of Mine.
There’s something to say about a man who loves and has good taste in music and that’s what I first noticed when I met Robert in this space.
His posts not only give you a glimpse of the beautiful soul of the man behind the blog, they are equally rich in knowledge and the way he spins his posts around selected soundtracks is just awesome. He simply doesn’t spin just any vibes, but the post always reaches in and grasps me and leaves me better for it.
I’ve enjoyed following Robert since we connected over a year ago. Thank you, Robert, for taking the time to answer my intruding questions. I appreciate your friendship and support.
A Bit About Robert
My name is Robert Doyle, and I live in New York City along with my wife Jennifer, and our two cats. I grew up in and around the NY area and had a normal life with my parents and two older sisters. In college, my major was Foreign Affairs, which explained why after college I worked for 14 years in a Garden Center and Plant Nursery! In terms of likes, I love photography, baseball, and hanging out with good friends. In terms of dislikes, I dislike how difficult it is to find a meaningful and good paying job these days. I have dreams…but it’s tough. My general outlook on life is to always find something to smile or laugh about. There is always something silly or funny (even in the darkest moments) on the surface, and it helps to remember that.
Soundtrack Of A Photograph and it’s purpose
My blog is called Soundtrack Of A Photograph, and it explores the connection between my own photography and the music I love.When I started it almost three years ago I was having a bit of a personal crisis. I wasn’t happy with a lot of things, and I saw a video on Vimeo about some guys who made a documentary about a remote island. I read their story and thought…why didn’t I push myself to do those sorts of things. I had scrapped an earlier attempt at a blog a few months before, because after writing it, I realized there was no hook to it. So I took a day off from work, got out of my apartment, and sat in a coffee shop doing some research and writing things down. I decided to write my passions down on paper to help guide me. At the top of the list were music and photography, my true passions. A few moments later I had defined it as ‘soundtrack’ and ‘photograph’ and the blog was born!
I had no set goals in mind when I started, other than hoping that people would like it and that my concept made sense and would draw people in. The long form description of my blog is- Have you ever looked at a still photograph you have taken and had a song pop up in your head? Something that fits the mood of the photo, the season, or maybe even the weather? Just like with a movie soundtrack, I think music can really fit nicely with a still photo.
As to the blogging phenomenon itself, the reason I think it still is vibrant and growing is because unlike other social media, you really interact in a more meaningful way with a blog. So much goes into a blog, be it a travel, cooking, photography, or lifestyle blog that you tend to take your time when reading it. Blogs are a way to slow down this fast paced, short attention spanned World, and it is a big reason why I continue to do it.
My Blogging Experience
It has been wonderful, interacting with fellow bloggers from all over the world in a big shared community. Stats are great of course, but I’m more tickled by the fact that my posts have been read by people in over 80 countries now. It’s the coolest thing to know that someone in Guyana liked something I wrote. Or Norway, or Argentina. It doesn’t matter. The meaningful conversations I have not only on my own posts, but by so many others is perhaps the best thing. Its hard to pick a favorite post..I think of them all as ‘my babies’ but here are a few-
The Soundtrack of A Photograph – My First One
Soundtrack of a photograph, Part 12
Motivating Myself To Keep The Blog Going
This is a tough one. Because of the dual nature of my blog; music and photography, I get stuck sometimes. I might have some great photos I want to show, but I can’t find the right musical match for it. Or I have an artist I really want to feature, but don’t know how to accomplish that with my photos. What has helped is to continue to take photos. All the time. Even of the most simple things because I found I never know where the inspiration will come! That is the big reason why I always keep my camera with me if I can now.
My Challenging Moment So Far
I think this was probably when I wrote a 4 part autobiographical series called My Four Seasons. It was a massive amount of work, and I wrote it while we were in the process of moving. I had spent the previous year photographing trees using a new technique. I realized I had these shots in all four seasons, and decided to use them as ‘markers’ to describe my seasons of life-spring for birth, summer for growth, fall for change, winter for a decline. Aside from the writing and layout work, the actual emotion behind the writing, about my youth, the worst period of my life, and then the happiness of meeting my wife was an emotional and exhausting journey. But it was still worth it!
My Typical Day
Oh! A typical day for me starts with an early morning run, which depending on if it’s a work day or not might be anywhere from 3-6 miles at the moment, though I want to get back up to 10. Then a cup of that magical elixir coffee, before I hop on the subway to go to work, where I typically read the newspaper, and then whatever book I’m reading while listening to music. After work, or on the weekends, I like to meet my wife for dinner and a drink or to sit out on our little balcony and watch the world go by. In between any of these moments, I may spend time thinking, or actually writing a new blog.
Going Forward
I am currently planning on a few options which are all directly related to my blog posts. One is that I have been urged by several people to produce my own photo book. I have massive self-doubt about my work, yet I know people do enjoy my work, so I do plan to have this happen some day.
I also am thinking of using the My Four Seasons idea and combining some of my other posts to become My Musical Autobiography. Key moments of my life, defined by the music that means the most to me. In some cases, I will expand my existing posts, or trim them back, but writing a book has been probably my number one bucket list item, and after three years of writing over 100 posts and thousands of words, I think I have a good head start!
A Word To Others
I absolutely encourage others to blog. If you have passion, you should blog. Be it music, cooking, poetry, travel, crafting…whatever. If you are passionate, you should blog!
Thank you so much, Jacqueline. I feel deeply honored to have been selected by you for this.
a cooking pot and twisted tales 
