a cooking pot and twisted tales
Thoughts and Tales…A Lifestyle Blog with a Zing.
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Please come to my party.
Support your friend.
We can’t allow all that food and drinks to go to waste 😉
The link will go live in a couple of hours.
I hope to see you there.
Reblog, Tweet, FaceBook and invite as many as you can.
Thank you very much and yes indeed, I love you too ♥
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
For the next few days till my Valentine Shindig I will be featuring several blogs a day on one post, as a way of showing some love to fellow awesome and supportive blogger friends of mine. ![1454511643782[1]](https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/14545116437821.jpg)
You can share the fun and the love by sharing the party invitation as much as you can. Bring your Bae, your sweetheart, your neighbourlybloggers, your old lady, your old man, even your dogs and cats are invited.
It’s a way to connect with other bloggers and hey, who knows, you might hit it off with someone 😉
Please share and share alike. Thank you very much.
For today’s features, I am showing some love to the bloggers listed below:
‘Above all, love each other deeply because love covers a multitude of sins.’ 1 Peter 4:8
Gpicone thank you Sir. You are one of the very first bloggers that followed me right from the start and you have been there all this while. My sincere appreciations.
Where’s happy, thank you my dear friend. We’ve grown in this journey and it’s been good interacting with you.
Claremary my lady, you have been a wonderful support all this while. Thank you very much.
Izzyasabee thank you for being there through these months. My regards.
Lisa I appreciate your visits and interactions. Regards
Joel its been a total pleasure connecting with you in this place. My sincere thanks.
Shiva you have been a gentle support since we connected here. Thank you.
Eric my appreciations for your time and encouraging words in this place. My regards.
MLou my lady. You have been a friend all these months. Thank you MLou.
Blabberwockying Anand, I enjoy our interactions in this place. My regards.
Rixlibris thank you Sir for your support and good words. My appreciations.
Tildy my dear lady, you have been such a gentle support with your kind words and I totally appreciate you. Thank you.
Marquessa my friend, it’s been lovely connecting with you in this space.
Thomas thank you for your encouraging words and presence.
Koko thank you for being there all these months. It’s been a pleasure connecting with you.
Anand my dear one, you provide me with laughter and merriment. Thank you.
‘Walking this path, I have been so blessed to have you all by my side. Thank you very much.’
My regards,
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
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Are you new to the choppy waters of the blogging World? Are you relatively young in Blog-Land * I am still young too, just a 9 months shy old baby* but I have a way of appearing old 😉
I know what it feels like to be a new kid on the block, wondering how I can find my footing and makes some friends.
Sometimes, it seems like a drag and takes ages, but we are here to support each other.
This is one place you can join and do some good stepping at my Valentine Shindig on the 13th/14th. Just a few days away.
It’s an opportunity to meet some awesome, lovely, friendly blogger friends of mine.
You get an opportunity to showcase yourself, interact and gain some confidence.
It shouldn’t be a worry that you don’t have so much going on in your blog at the moment.
Remember that ‘iron sharpens iron’ and you can get inspired from seeing what others are doing by mingling with them.
We are quite a supportive bunch to hang out with even if we do get to paint the town red a couple of times, it’s just in good faith 😉
Now don’t be shy. Join the party train to bubble and shuffle.
Looking forward to seeing you in your glad rags.
Enjoy a good day.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
P.S. To my old friends. You can help by sharing this to reach other younger kids in the zone. If you get my drift. Thank you 🙂
Sometimes, you read some things that make you shake your head in wonder.![1455163144750[1]](https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/14551631447501.jpg)
It makes you realize that even though humans are inherently selfish, some have extra doses of it.
Here I am feeling happy with my stats that seems to be jumping up in bits and I read someone’s blog only to hear them complain about having just 500 views which they consider as ‘piddling views.’
How ungrateful is that? In my opinion, you ought to be grateful for even one view!
It’s a privilege that people come to your site to read your articles and not your right. They are not obliged to do so.
Maybe, you should consider paying for the views, that way, the line would grow so long, hmm?
You ain’t no superstar yet, so just why do you think that 500 views are piddling for you when there are so many other bloggers who are scrounging for 100 views?
What have you been doing for these faithful readers of yours, that should make them glad to be around you?
Possibly, Ziltch, Nada, Nothing, Rien.
Maybe, you don’t even bother to read other peoples blogs, because you are too busy feeling like God’s gift to blogging Earth and caught up in your own World.
We all want millions of views, but it comes at a price and with  lots of sacrifices.
I keep reminding myself each day that ‘yes, I love the stats, but I should never lose focus on the reason why I am writing.’
When you lose focus on why it is that you are mingling with others, you stand the chance of becoming ungracious.
You stand the chance of developing unnecessary anxiety over the numbers and spend all your time comparing notes.
Appreciate where you are at each point in time. Adjust if need be.
Otherwise, not only will you begin to suck, but over time, your blog will suck as well.
Attitude is everything and I honestly can’t stand selfish people.
There it is! I have had my little rant and I hope someone will read this and make some sense out of it, especially the whiner.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
The funny African proverb that says ‘when we all piss together it foams’ comes to my mind as I write this post.
Another one equally states that ‘when you want to go fast, you go alone, but if you want to go very far, you go with others.’
For the first time, I will be hosting a blog party (Valentine Shindig) and hopefully, from then I will continue hosting a monthly blog-hop meet ups to encourage newbies as well as the older ones to mingle and develop a cohesive community.
I sent out feelers to feel the pulse of my readers and not only has the response been awesome but the support as well and I cannot fail but to express my appreciation.
A good number of lovely bloggers have shown their support and encouragement to me by re-blogging and tweeting my invitation and posts in this regard and it totally fills me with a sense of gratitude and joy.
There is no way that I would be able to do it by myself or to cover as much ground if not for the generosity and support that I have received from a good number of you.
I am thankful and indeed grateful to have supportive friends in this community and as is said in my place ‘the fowl does not forget the person that allowed her to roost by her fireplace during the raining season. ‘During your rainy days, may you find a warm fireplace to roost.’
You can join Colline’s or Maria Jansson gratitude challenge platforms.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Image: Quotesgram.com
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Well, WordPress dear, you always take the words out of my mouth by asking a question sometimes, when I am thinking of it.
I have looked at the my stats and I am still trying to understand the correlation of the views to the posts that got the highest number of views and the thing is that the articles all differ but my stats have been popping like popcorn for going on two weeks.
I think it is owed to the fact that I turned up the heat of my blogging a notch higher and putting in a little extra work so it’s showing on the stats.
Like is said, the stats don’t tell a lie and I won’t either.
As at January ending my streak was ranging between 300 and 400 views a day, but since the past 10 days, it’s scaled up.
My highest view was 723 views and the post that got the most views on that day was ‘Echoes Of My Neighbourhood.’ Yayy!! My new challenge is topping the charts 🙂
The second highest was 644 views and it was from my homepage/archives, followed by ‘I hacked it off.’ I had no idea people would be interested in my chopping off my hair. Hmm!
The stats for 622 views had the post of ‘what a gracious host’ coming tops and it was just a thank you note.
I honestly haven’t been able to figure out how these posts relate. I have been running the ‘It’s a love thing post’ for several days and my thought was that it would generate far more views, surprisingly, I see that it has not.
The stats 546 and 505 both have my archives as the top pages/posts and I would love to know what the readers a looking at. Unfortunately, clicking on it does not provide a breakdown of what they are reading.
If anyone can make sense of these things that I just said and my stats, I would be glad to listen and learn. Let’s wait and see if it’s a fluke.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
The Daily Post Stats Connection
Go to your Stats page and check your top 3-5 posts. Why do you think they’ve been successful? Find the connection between them, and write about it.
Blogging can be likened to having a child.
When you first start out,
You are expectant. Then you have anguish over everything being okay.
Then you labour over it endlessly.
You nourish it diligently. It takes up all your time and you lose sleep.
You pray that it will grow and be a good child.
…But the growth seems slow.
You worry some more that it’s a slow child suffering some developmental challenges.
Then you pray some more, nourish some more and begin to look for professional or elderly advise.
You hope that every friend that drops by would say ‘oh what a beautiful child you’ve got.‘
Then there’s a growth spurt and you finally feel some pride.
…And the cycle continues.
Some even go ahead to have more blog babies 🙂
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Image credit: Pinterest
For the next days till my Valentine Shindig, I will be featuring several blogs a day on one post, as a way of showing some love to fellow awesome and supportive blogger friends of mine.
You can share the fun and the love by sharing the party invitation as much as you can. Bring your Bae, your sweetheart, your neighbourlybloggers, your old lady, your old man, even your dogs and cats are invited.
It’s a way to connect with other bloggers and hey, who knows, you might hit it off with someone 😉
Please share and share alike. Thank you very much.
For today’s features, I am showing some love to the bloggers listed below:
‘Be sure the one’s you love know how much they mean to you. Don’t wait until it’s too late to say something.’
Sarah found me on Facebook and followed me to my blogging abode. She has been one very supportive blogging neighbour of mine, even in classes. We always hang out during recess and natter a bit. I appreciate Sarah’s support and her can-do spirit inspires me totally.
Beth There is nothing as lovely as a lady with a beautiful sense of humour and humanity. You need to hang out with Nutsrok and your ribs will crack from laughter. I also enjoy reading her sage advise to people who write in with perplexing issues on her agony aunt’s page.
Leannenz forays, photos, volunteering and views inspire me.
Mandibelle‘s sense of community can be seen in so many places including mine. I see her little footprints on other people’s blogs and her supportive nature is totally awesome. Thank you Mandi.
Simply me writes as her name reads. I enjoy her fresh perspectives to stories with the shades of humanity painted inside.
Lynz real cooking, mama Lynz is a Hercules of a woman. Admirable, gentle and wonderful. I have asked her to adopt me 🙂
Nena, a gentle spirited lady whose words inspire me to be better.
Nedoux my Ibo sister in the virtual World. My next trip to Nigeria, will find me knocking on her door. Her write ups crack me up, make me hanker for home and just delightful.
Folake another Nigerian blogger sister that is passionate about her World. I am happy that we met.
Kay‘s words are always, always enlightening for me.
GChan‘s tenacity with her translations, her candid freshness with her words always makes me look out for her.
La Duchesse Derat, yes you can say that I am biased about things French and you are right. Her name first struck me, then the fact that she is bilingual drew me in and like the say, the rest is history. Step into her World for light-hearted chats.
Bernadette makes me think of strong women always and her posts inspire me to aim for greater heights.
‘Walking this path, I have been so blessed to have you all by my side. Thank you very much.’
My regards,
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
In respect of blogging matters, networking, interacting and connecting is key.
Just like is said in real estate, that location is key, in blogging, after your content, mingling with others and pushing your buttons is your trump card, which cannot be repeated enough.
It’s always bemusing to see some people plunk their butts in a chair, write a good post, stick it out there and go off to Timbuktu.
Naturally, we humans respond to stimuli of association, thus, any blogger who wants to grow has to get past their shyness and get more friendly and others will respond. As you Work Hard, Also Play Hard.
Well, that said, I turned up my own blogging heat just a notch higher by pushing myself to engage in a few more challenges.
Yes indeed! It’s called a challenge because it’s meant to push you beyond our comfort boundaries of your cosy armchair and it’s doing that to me.
I got involved in 3 different challenges + the 2 that I already do.
They are Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Prompt Challenge, The great big book of lists, Streams of consciousness, Flash fiction for aspiring writers and Colline’s gratitude or Maria’s gratitude challenges.
The good thing is that there is something to suit different taste and for me, it leaves no time for me to feel bored or lazy about writing.
So, what are you waiting for? Search around and you will find something that interests you.
I even started two of my own challenges as well, details can be found at the top of my blog.
Talking about playing hard and networking, please come to my party. Here is your invitation in this link.
Thank you for listening and kind regards.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Image credit: endare.com
For the next 10 days till my Valentine Shindig, I will be featuring several blogs a day on one post, as a way of showing some love to fellow awesome and supportive blogger friends of mine.
You can share the fun and the love by sharing the party invitation as much as you can. Bring your Bae, your sweetheart, your neighbourlybloggers, your old lady, your old man, even your dogs and cats are invited.
It’s a way to connect with other bloggers and hey, who knows, you might hit it off with someone 😉
Please share and share alike. Thank you very much.
For today’s features, I am showing some love to the bloggers listed below:
‘Many waters  cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it.’ Song of Solomon 8:7
Diane  loves to read, loves to write, loves a good natter and laugh. I enjoy reading her book reviews on her platform ladies who lunch reviews and I have said to her, based on one or two stories that she wrote, that she is a natural storyteller. She is charmingly witty and I expect that when I eventually have an author’s blog which will include book reviews, I will be looking at Diane a lot to learn from her.
Oneta is one sweet grandma that I would so love to meet one day. Her posts are so homegrown and her supportive attitude is totally awesome. She always, always has a lovely saying and sage counsel. Please do go over to Sweet aroma and say hey.
Paula has been one cheerful blogger on this side of virtual things and I enjoy her refreshing outlook on running marathons with her champion of a husband. Her blog Never a dull bling speaks for itself.
My dear friend Rosema is one enthusiastic, friendly and supportive sister blogger. She is quite a wise one for her young age with a very humane nature. I see her going places. She can be found at a reading writer.
Oba is my Naija sister blogger and I am sure glad that I met her in this space. She has been so supportive and her lovely soul shines through. She will croon to your heart’s content and you will be richer for knowing her.
Where do I start talking about Tasha? In my language, when we say that someone is your personal person, that means a whole lot. Tasha is my personal person. I hope that one day, when I am back in the States we will meet up and have a girls day out together. She is a fabulous lady. How many ladies do you know that venture into security? She knows her security onions for sure ‘cos I have learnt quite a thing or two from her.
I keep telling Edwina that she is my sister from another mother. I love Edwina’s humour and simplicity. Her unassuming and friendly nature. I am happy to call her friend.
Maria’s photos attracted me to her and I simply got hooked to her beautiful nature. I admire the work that she does and right from the onset, she has been with me through this blogging adventure, supporting in her words. She is very down to earth and it will not be a mistake to hang out around this lovely lady.
We cannot put a price on joy can we? Joining Flash fiction for aspiring writers hosted by the amiable and lovely lady Priceless Joy, is one challenge that I am very glad I got involved in. Writing the stories on this platform has brought me far more satisfaction than I can say and interactions that have proven to be precious.
Pam is another beautiful friend that I am happy I connected with. She is always full of warmth and sage counsel and her love for God shines through her support. Thank you Pam for being there.
Gilly my big sister at Lucid gypsy is the Haiku master and very nifty with her clicking fingers. She has very good eyes and every time she is out and about, I feel as if I took the walk with her. She has been so wonderful to me with her encouragement and maybe she does not know this, but she is actually the one that me made start participating in some of the photo challenges.
When she serves up those dishes online, I take note. I enjoy interacting with Koolaidmoms and her obvious love for her family shows.
Dr Meg Sorick is one lovely prolific writer that I admire. Her short stories and limericks are always entertaining. She has made the challenging journey of becoming a writer look like a walk in the park and looking at her gives me hope.
My highly inspiring blog-some sister Emma is one lady who has selflessly offered her counsel, tips and encouragement without holding back. Emma’s multi-talents run deep and getting to know her is a blessing. Step into her virtual abode Shut that negative noise off for a wee bit.
‘Walking this path, I have been so blessed to have you all by my side. Thank you very much.’
My regards,
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
a cooking pot and twisted tales 