a cooking pot and twisted tales
Thoughts and Tales…A Lifestyle Blog with a Zing.
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© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Writing 101, Day 5 – Freedom
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The air is so crispy
The birds are quite chirpy
The magic of nature abounds
As I imbibe all the sounds
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My quick strides grow shorter
My eyesight gets sharper
My senses soak in deeper
Pictures become magically wider
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The lady and her dog walk past
Bow-Wow says hello
The labourer offers a fleeting smile
And he works pretty fast
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So much floral blooms
And golden, droopy trees loom
Scented float of planted perfume
There is simply no room for gloom
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More barking dogs
The tinkle of calm waters
The men play a hand of golf
And a bird catches a grub
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A deep sense of satisfaction
Of peace I sense within
As the Sun peeks to say hello
I am happy to embrace me
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My passion has called
Now, no longer ignored
I hear the reverberations
Of the magic hidden within.
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© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Written during my morning walk.
Writing 101 – Day 1: Magic
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Around and around the weeks don’t last
Monday is here, in a blink floats past,
And Tuesday rolls in just as fast.
Quick fun fact:
It is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open. We dare you, give it a try!
It’s lovely to start the week and each day as much as we can with positive outlook. I find Leannenz Monday memes interesting.
Do have a beautiful week, awesome people.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Sometimes, our approach to everything is a case of mind over matter especially when it comes to weather issues that we have no control over.
To an extent it might be true that peoples moods are highly affected by the weather, maybe there might even be a scientific explanation for this.
However, I maintain that since we have absolutely no control over sultry summer heats or bitter winter chills, we can only exercise control over how we choose to react to either situation.
Each season has it’s beauty, even the harsh seasons like Winter which comes with a lot of challenges, dampness and grayness.
Nonetheless, if we choose to look at things with the attitude of acceptance and positivity, it will also elevate our mind and change our altitude, that we will begin to actively seek ways to make that period pass more pleasurably.
There is no point in wasting a good couple of months sitting in the doldrums of misery, for a situation that cannot be changed. It is a case of Lord give me the grace to accept and endure the things that I cannot change.
When we moved to Dubai in July, the heat was second to none.
It sweltered so badly that one would have surely suffered from heatstroke from being out in such fiery heat.
We simply adjusted and found ways of keeping out of the heat, living and hydrating.
Now the temperature has cooled sufficiently and the weather is absolutely divine.
I intend to wring out every moment of it to the best of my ability whilst it last because, who knows what Madam Winter has to offer next time around.
My little ditty might make you catch a cold but will put a smile on your face.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
The Daily Post prompt Climate Control
The idea that the weather and people’s moods are connected is quite old. Do you agree? If yes, how does the weather affect your mood?
Image credit: Pinterest/funny2014.com
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It is very easy to sit down and dreamily wish for the niceties that life has to offer, but the bare truth is that those niceties come at a certain price. That price entails working smart and being less slothful.
Achieving most of our life’s goals emanates from our minds, which now transforms itself into the required energy.
So in essence, how we treat this powerhouse (our minds) that controls virtually everything that we are or we aspire to become really matters.
We have to choose daily, the seeds that we plant in our minds very wisely.
A weevil eaten seed is already faulty and is likely not to germinate into anything, much less giving any yield.
Our actions or in-actions emanates from our thoughts or lack of thoughts.
When we change our thinking, we change our lives.
If our thoughts are not working for us, it is time to switch into a better route of thinking.
As my people will ask with a proverb, “If you are building a house and a nail breaks, do you stop building or do you change the nail?”
As we plant the seeds of our thoughts wisely, may we hold onto belief, hope and grace to bring about increase and a bountiful yield.
This is applicable to everyone, irrespective of our religious or non-religious incline.
Thank you Vincent Wambua for inviting me to partake in the 3 quote challenge. Let me extend the invitation to other inspiring bloggers in the house.
Oh Yes! In the presence of the Lord,
I will bring my gift,
In thanksgiving and joy,
There is joy in my heart,
It is flowing like a river,
And I will praise the Lord,
In Thanksgiving and Joy.
For today’s gratitude challenge, I am thankful that I don’t have to jump out of bed early for a couple of days and rush around like a headless chicken, to ensure that the children are ready for school.
It’s National Day celebration over here, so we get today and tomorrow off school which spills right into the weekend. Yes!!!
I am thankful for the season that we are in. I feel the joy in the air. Even in this city that is Muslim dominated, there is so much liberalism at this point.
Christmas decorations are popping up at the malls and Christmas tunes float in the air from several shops. It’s amazing and I am thankful that we are in a city that is tolerant of other peoples’ religion.
I am quite sure that you have something to be thankful for today.
Blessed Love.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
“If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness, it will change your life mightily.” – Gerald Good.
Tra la la la! Yippee!
Tra la la la! Yippee!
I did it, Oh yes I did it!
I am doing a jig and a boogie-woogie at the same time 😉
I managed to finish the NaBloPoMo with a flourish.
Not a prompt missed.
Honestly, there were some mornings that I woke up and wanted to play truant, but the little effervescent encouraging voice in me kept prodding me to try, and this was in fierce contest with the little imp of discouragement that kept saying ”come on, just a day’s kicking back won’t hurt.”
It seriously, wasn’t easy trying to do this, coupled with other posts that I usually make, in essence, each day, I was posting 3 to 4 original articles per day.
Some of the prompts were fly by the seat of your pants prompt like The Daily Post; I love participating in The Daily Post because you just never know what the prompt is going to be all about, so it helps my thinking quickly on my feet.
Somethings did suffer a bit with all these writing and the very first one was my butt. This is my little ditty about a writers flat butt.
The second thing that took the flake was my book. Instead of a thousand words a day, I was limping in at 500 words.
Each night, by the time I read two paragraphs of the John Grisham that I am currently reading, I am out cold and I bet I was snoring too – mind you we ladies don’t snore, we just make delicate noises.
My hubby is too nice to tell me that I am snoring. He knows the side that his bread is buttered on *wink* if he wants his nice hot meals 🙂
Now to celebrate, I am just going to kick back for a couple of days; I will still post each day as usual; but not with the rabid intention of the past few days.
Where is my Irish cream and some deep tissue massage?
Hmm! I feel the relaxation coming on before the next upheaval.
Thank you for staying with me my dear friends and for all your beautiful support.
To persevere and to finish is really a good feeling 🙂
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
NaBloPoMo prompt – Monday, November 30
What do you like to do to celebrate an accomplishment?
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Monday’s child is fair of face.
Are you fair of face today?
Arise and Shine! Be thankful for each day.
Soon enough, soon enough,
It will be another Friday.
Make the most of the moments.
For each moment is a precious gift.
Quick Facts:
Did you know that more lifeforms live on your skin, than there are people on the planet.?
It’s lovely to start the week and each day as much as we can with positive outlook. I find Leannenz Monday memes interesting.
Do have a fruitful and blessed week awesome people.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Until I started blogging, I didn’t realize that not only is it an art, it could also be an intense affair which gets a bit addictive, most especially if a blogger is striving for excellence in content and building connections.
It is also a slow burning, time consuming venture. You’ ve simply got to love writing, learn how to organise thoughts, have a schedule, set sensible goals in order to make it less stringent as well as interesting.
It is easy for a blogger to burn-out if the balance becomes badly skewed heavily to work and just more work. Once it becomes tedium, it loses its appeal, so striking a balance between fun and professionalism is also taken into account.
I am still learning the ropes as I go and making the rules that work well with my circumstances.
There are days my brain cells feel as if they are getting fried from all the original content writing, connecting and browsing other blogs, coupled with the rest of my life’s exigencies.
I notice my stress when I start feeling my shoulders bunch up, which is my main stress point and once I feel that way, it is time to de-stress.
It is time to take a step back and relax. I let the phone and the rest of my paraphernalia lie fallow for several hours and do something different to detox my brain.
An act as simple as a leisurely walk, singing off key to favourites, going to the cinema, watching a comedy that makes you laugh until tears roll down my eyes, spending time faffing around with the kids, going to a spot to people watch, can go a long way in recharging my batteries, then I get back into it with gusto.
One smart blogging practice that I started, which I have found very helpful is that on the days that I feel up to it , at least once a week, I work flat out for hours, producing rough draft’s of different post’s. I go with my feel of the moment. It could be a poem, a story, a haiku, a thought, an inspirational post, prayer…
On days that the energy is flagging or inspiration is not kicking in as usual, those drafts come in very handy and I borrow from there.
This further reduces the hours spent staring at the shiny box, leaving you with more time to just be.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
The Daily Post Bloggers Unplugged
Sometimes, we all need a break from these little glowing boxes. How do you know when it’s time to unplug? What do you do to make it happen?
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Praise gives us lots of Grace.
Some boundless strength to run the Race.
So, let’s keep up the Pace,
Voices we lift, as we increase the Base.
♥
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Psalm 150:6
a cooking pot and twisted tales 