a cooking pot and twisted tales
Thoughts and Tales…A Lifestyle Blog with a Zing.
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.
The way the runner plant is all twisted around the ceiling grid is just lovely.
To create beautiful surroundings takes only imagination.
∞
Jacqueline
The most interesting thing about the blogging world is the connections you build with people from all walks of life and one such person that I have been totally delighted to connect with is Adebisi.
I call her sis or ‘Nne’ – which means mother in my language, not just because we share a common bond of being Nigerians and her consistent support, but her loving and endearing spirit that shines through her work and her words.
I am the first of 6 siblings and my sisters and brothers call me madam action *Wink*. This stems from having to fill the shoes of being the oldest and wanting everyone to fall in line. On Saturdays, while growing up I would wake them all up and assign chores to everyone. We would scrub, clean and tidy up the house before anyone takes breakfast…now you get the picture! Now they are enjoying the dividends of that as adults running their own homes I imagine…well, I somehow know and I still behave like a mother hen to them.
I was also the end of year party organizer back then. All the teenagers in our neighbourhood or who were our friends looked forward to our Christmas party which normally holds on Boxing Day, 26th of December. Looking back now I laugh as I remember twisting my dad’s arms to foot the bill of our budget for the party.
If he didn’t have enough to cover for what we had in mind we would consult with our friends coming for the party and ask everyone to contribute towards making the party a success. Some would bake a cake or make pastries, others will make fresh drinks and it always was a lot of fun for everyone. Great fond memories that we still talk about till date were made.
I like reading story books a lot so much that my parents couldn’t keep up with buying me new ones. Any great story still catches my attention even now whether it is a movie or literature. Perhaps this hobby is why I am a writer today. My life’s passion and goal is to make a difference in people’s lives no matter what Job I find myself doing.
I dislike lazy people who just drag their feet when something needs to be done. So you may say I can be impatient sometimes.
Most importantly for me is my spirituality. I believe in God and see him as my father. Simply put, knowing Jesus is what gives my life a meaning.
Firstly, training on blogging at a workshop opened me up to the world of blogging. I was thrilled. It came at a time when I felt dissatisfied with how things were being run at my workplace. I felt choked and needed a space where I could express myself not necessarily about what was going on. It was just a place to pursue my passion of reaching out to others on my own terms and at my own pace.
One of the things I learned about blogging was to write about what I am passionate about. I know I am passionate about making life better for women and girls and so I decided to go in that direction. But since I started blogging I found out from the community and courses on WordPress that I could spice my purpose with writing about other things. It is interesting to know that your readers want to have a peep into who you are and what your life is all about. So I have learned to spice my blog with a few other ideas.
Here is my first blog post ….. Why Femininematerz https://femininematerz.wordpress.com/2015/05/26/why-femininematerz/
Another from my first few posts – https://femininematerz.wordpress.com/2015/05/30/a-happy-girl-without-virgina-violation/
Once I started blogging I found out that it can be addictive so that in itself has kept me going. There are days when other aspects of my life get in the way for example when I have work deadlines or a project I am working on like this one: https://femininematerz.wordpress.com/2017/02/24/people-and-places-that-have-made-my-week-memorable/
It can sometimes seem like I am barely floating with my blogging goal. At such times I try to post at least once a week.
My greatest challenge is juggling my job with my blogging goal. I can get really busy sometimes that I simply do not have time to spare blogging. At such times I try to share a bit of what I am up to with my followers/readers.
I’d love to publish some of my written work but I am yet to get there.
This interview has been fun.
Thanks Jacqueline for your friendship and the opportunity to share my life and story on your page. I call her Nne…
On our life’s journey, one literally doesn’t know what lies around the corner until they’ve taken that turn. These few photos are some of the corners I took in recent weeks and got my surprises.
I had come to the end of my walk but for some reason, I felt inclined to break the habit of stopping at that point and I took the turn at the junction. I had just taken three steps when a loud squeak startled me, I stared at my feet thinking that I had stepped on something, then the noise repeated itself, so I followed it and behind the beam was a seagull resting in the corner.
It was pecking at the feast set before him intermittently and I noticed the little plastic cover had water inside it. This sure made me smile and wondered who the thoughtful person was, at the same time, I wondered if the bird was hurt. I watched it for several minutes before moving on.
My GPS was programmed to take me somewhere, but I missed a turn and lost my route. In an attempt to retrace my steps I simply got more lost and ended up in this interesting back street with the divine view of the sea and harbour.
I simply couldn’t resist so I parked my car and spent well over two hours enjoying a cup of smoothie, soaking in the lovely view, and the peaceful atmosphere which was interrupted now and again by the roar of a boat coming into the harbour or pulling out into the sea.
Since then, this place has become one of my fave spots to visit for my me time. It also boasts some enchanting cafés.
I met the duo (the rabbit and the pigeon) on a lonely path in the park. It was the highlight of my walk 🙂
The blessing is just around the corner. Whatever you do, just hold on.
Where have you been? Come right in, we’ve been waiting for you. Just click on the duckie 😉
Project dreams of your life as vividly as you can into your mind like a 9D cinema that they are imprinted into every fiber of your being. Let every waking moment find you rising up with a purpose that even the failures in your path serve as projectiles that fuels and fires you up to keep going after your dreams.
Experience keeps teaching me that our lives are not projects full of checklists but an experience with lots of vicissitudes yet when we come to this humble understanding that how our life pretty much turns out is dependent on how we transform these sometimes daunting circumstances that life tosses our way and indeed that sometimes we have to aim at living a Purpose Driven Life by applying rules of project management to achieve the success we seek for.
Our approach also involves a clear avoidance of projecting our failures on someone else and using them as a lame excuse to justify our shortcomings. Doing so is simply giving up ownership and responsibility of our lives to someone else.
Would you feel safe transferring a sensitive project that its result determines and defines your success into the hands of someone else?
Your life is your project so, what’s your answer?
You are invited to our monthly blog party taking place right now. Just follow this link and meet others.
Jacqueline
P.S. My consciousness has been constantly focused on following my dreams maybe because I keep reminding myself that time is too short to waste it and interestingly one good thing that I find about SoCS is that the prompt we receive each weekend from Linda has a way of tuning into my present thoughts. You are invited to join the fun.
Thank you for coming to my Spring party. I love Spring. It’s a beautiful season with a lot of refreshing promises of budding life and blooms. A season of rebirth.
Do make yourself comfortable. Refreshments are nicely arranged down the page: Drinks, Chocolates, Cakes, Donuts, freshly squeezed juice, Coffee, Tea and so much more. 
A lot of times, we need support from others to get where we need to be and this leads to a mutually benefiting partnership.
Would you consider being my strategic partner?
I am sourcing for blog partners who are interested in renting prime advert space on my sidebar which will be at a very nominal fee and arrangements can be made for convenient durations of 6 months, 1 year…
What are the benefits?
So, what do you think? You can reach me through my email: Jacquelineobyikocha@gmail.com
I look forward to working with you.
Jacqueline
When things fall apart all around us
let’s hope that the glue of human love
can hold the center together
even if it’s by a thin thread.
♥
Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
The Daily Post – Center
This week zoomed past before I could say hey presto. Phew! I’m trying to exhale and catch up with lots of things.
We’ve had unprecedented drippy weather that I anticipate the heat will heat us soon with disgusting enthusiasm and my week has been a mish-mash of this n that.
From going to view the display of city lights for the festival of lights in Sharjah, to attending a jet-ski race on Dubai marina – those machines are powerful and the riders have gumption – sometimes life seems to be hurtling along on a speed train.
Have you seen the movie John Wick Chapter 2? I went to watch it over the weekend and it was a blast. I wrote a little review on it in Niume. Have you joined yet?
Do share your neighbourhood with us. To join the fun, check this link.
It’s a beautiful new month, let’s make the best of it.
Bernadette at http://www.HaddonMusings.com
Jacqueline at http://www.Acookingpotandtwistedtales.com
Joan at http://www.familyparentingandbeyoned.wordpress.com
Oneta at http://www.onetahayes.com
This is my prompt for this week, have fun with your thoughts.
It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it. Lou Holtz
The load that life places on your shoulders
must be borne with a levity of heart and the strength of a boulder
for a back hunched in grumbling
only makes the load punishing
and your journey a lot more grueling.
We are continuing the same format here and that is: there are no rules to follow. Either make up your own sayings or use a quote from a famous author that you find gives you inspiration.
Each Thursday, we will post the prompt and all you have to do is participate!
On your own blog post do a pingback to this post and make sure to “like” or “comment” on everyone else’s post. A pingback is when you embed (or copy) the URL of my weekly prompt into your own blog post.
Make sure to check our weekly prompt to see if your entry is there. You can copy URL of your blog post and include it in the comments section of my original weekly prompt if that works better for you.
Copy the badge above and include it on your own post. Tag your post on your own blog as “The Writer’s Quote Challenge,” so we can find the posts in the reader.
We are still welcoming co-hosts. Come and join in the fun.
a cooking pot and twisted tales 