a cooking pot and twisted tales
Thoughts and Tales…A Lifestyle Blog with a Zing.
Finding pop was not as easy as I anticipated. Hmm! The Photo 101 themes are getting tricky.
I had to look in-house and out-house for any relatively satisfying pop.
My meandering made it starkly obvious that we love rich, vibrant textures here and the shinier, the more attractive it seems.
Anyway, I managed to scrounge for a few popping items *at least in my eyes*.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
![1458226073949[1]](https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/14582260739491.jpg)
Dreams don’t only occur when we sleep.
We can also dream with eyes wide open, okay maybe glazed over with a silly goofy smile plastered on.
I am learning to deliberately sit back and stretch my mind the way that I would stretch my muscles and even though this might sound juvenile, it surprises me sometimes, how far I can stretch them.
It tells me that if my mind can conceive it, then I can find ways to accomplish it by giving it my best shot.
We tend to use all the self limiting excuses under the Sun as a limitation to arriving at our desired goals.
Maybe, it’s time we tried to dump the excuses and start dreaming as well as whittling away at it.
Good luck.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
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.
Each Tuesday, share your very short snippets of positive, inspiring, motivating, health, spiritual, writing advice, clips, posts etc, that can serve as a prop to motivate others and simply add my link to your post.
I call it my thinking corner because, I actually take out a bit of time just to think through things, encapsulate my thoughts as much as possible and detoxify my mind. It helps give me clarity of vision and might help you too.
It might work for you in a different way, but the idea is to get the positive thoughts flowing.
Please send in your little thoughts. You never know whose life you might inspire.
![1458013970003[1]](https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/14580139700031.jpg)
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Our Thinkers Thoughts came in from:
Stressed reading, stressed writing These words from Rosema are so short, yet sweet and pack’s good dose of inspiration.
Feeling encouraged sometimes, it all gets too much, but a kindle of encouragement gets you some good ways.
Annette’s I like this post so many times. The candid thoughts and willingness to look at oneself is the only way to grow.
Free Spirit a brilliant thought said in haiku.
Words of wisdom are words that are succinctly said and truly are full of wisdom.
Inspired series are you staring your fear boldly in the face?
Thank you to all the contributors. May these words take roots in our lives and may our harvest be bountiful 🙂
‘So, when will you share those nuggets of wisdom of yours?’
I knew that I was forgetting something and that’s The Great Book Of Lists.
This week’s word is about food. My favourite dishes and more.
I like food, no doubts about that but the strange thing is that I am also not finicky about it.
I am adventurous as well, as long as it’s not a live squiggly creature.
The shameful truth * with my eyes covered* is that I would probably prefer to eat desserts 365 days of my life to proper food.
Cooked food bores me easily especially since I do the cooking and this hasn’t helped my weight struggle. After cooking for my household, I will reach for a piece of croissant or cookies.
It’s been a struggle to break that cycle and I am trying to find ways of eating better.
That being said, there are some dishes that are constant faves of mine and I will resist adding the sweets 😉
2. Nigerian porridge beans and fried plantain
3. Oha soup and pounded yam is a traditional soup made from cocoyam paste, Oha vegetable, dry fish, meat and other condiment.
4. Soft boiled yam and egg sauce
5. Pepper soup is a special peppery broth, made with a mix of spices, lots of pepper, and scraps of meat, most especially goat meat.
6. Isi ewu is another delicacy prepared with special spices and the severed head of a goat, cut into little bits.
7. Peppered Gizzard
8. Blueberry pancakes with maple syrup
9. Chilli bean soup
10. Mashed potatoes, mushroom sauce and steak.
11. Lasagna with lots of cheese and ground beef.
12. I love Pasta.. in all forms
P.S. Images borrowed from Nairaland and Pinterest.
![1454607799044[1]](https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/14546077990441.jpg)
Opportunities don’t run up and hug us as we traipse down the alley of nothingness.
Opportunity has to find us doing, for it to turn up and when it does turn up, do we recognize it?
It comes in many forms and a whole lot of times, it may not come wrapped in a nice box with bows and flowers.
Do we stand in the way of our own progress with all the road blocks that we inflict on our path, waiting for an opportunity that will land in our laps while we sit on the rocking chair going back and forth and gossiping about the neighbour?
Sometimes, we have to push ourselves out of the rocking chair to get where we want to go.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
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.
Each Tuesday, share your very short snippets of positive, inspiring, motivating, health, spiritual, writing advice, clips, posts etc, that can serve as a prop to motivate others and simply add my link to your post.
I call it my thinking corner because, I actually take out a bit of time just to think through things, encapsulate my thoughts as much as possible and detoxify my mind.
It might work for you in a different way, but the idea is to get the positive thoughts flowing.
Please send in your little thoughts. You never know whose life you might inspire.
♦ When you’ve achieved everything but you failed to love anyone and impact on them positively, you’ve achieved nothing.
♦ Living a more intentional life, leaves little room for waste.
♦ Whatever time that is not used well is lost. You will never get it back again, however, remember that rest is part of it, so that you do not experience diminishing returns from exhaustion. The idea is to create balance.
♦ You don’t have time to join issues with everybody. Choose your battles wisely. If something is not adding any value to your life and purpose, then it is probably not worth wasting valuable energy on.
♦ Your joy is dependent on you and can only be stolen when you allow it to be so.
Regards,
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Our Thinkers Thoughts came in from:
Deb of Bookyglover words are always succinctly stated. Observing these little things can go a long way to a fulfilled life.
Giggles & Tales in Stella’s words ‘Life is a bristle of challenges. Life is filled with ups and downs. But no matter the difficulties, don’t allow it to kill your enthusiasm for success.’ The rest of her wise words can be found in her link.
Kingsoracle sometimes, we need to take those quantum leaps of risks to make any head way. Oba’s words strike a chord in me.
Striving Mom words on taking note of your life lessons are words that we should repeat to ourselves everyday.
A Thomas point of view makes me want to keep striving and so should you.
Anette’s With these three simple things from a Hippie Chick who knows her worth, you’ve got it going right.
Thank you to all the contributors. May these words take roots in our lives and may our harvest be bountiful 🙂
‘So, when will you share those nuggets of wisdom of yours?’
Procrastination and evasion deprives us of so much and over time, when we weigh the time wasted debating on whether or not we should take a step, it accumulates to a tidy part of a lifetime.
Procrastination leaves us with so many, what if’s, had I known and should have’s which can be avoided, when we conscientiously take daily steps in living more purposeful and intentional lives.
We not super-human and are bound to falter now and again, but when our focus is targeted and meticulous, a falter will not send us completely off track.
In tying in evasiveness and forgiveness or kindness, some are far willing to cut the entire slack for themselves and granting every excuse under the Sun as lee-ways to dilly-dally, while they use an iron fist of expectation on others.
To lead, or impact on others, you must, yourself be an example worth emulating.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
![1456384878115[1]](https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/14563848781151.jpg)
No matter how careful we are.
No matter how well we plan.
We never know what lies down the next bend on this journey of ours.
We never know what curve ball that is heading our way.
How deep we would be tossed into the cold waters
Oh how high into the winds it would flip us.
Nevertheless, in all these uncertainties
There are rudders and life buoys that helps us steer and keeps us afloat
These are the things that we must always hold on to in our life aid kit.
For day to day, we never know when we will need each of these things.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
![1456476573169[1]](https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/14564765731691.jpg)
There are times when we are inadvertently hit by blows that destiny sends our way. Blows that we may never have been in a position to deflect, but one thing is that we can choose our attitude towards how the rest of our lives continues after these experiences.
Are we going to be stuck on the ‘Woe is me junction?’ Filled with bitterness and the bile of it all?
What purpose will that serve? None! Except building up the bile and angst, which is dangerous for our wellness and state of being.
Now, there are also incidents and hurts inflicted on us by others and we bear grudges the size of a mountain for them.
That’s giving someone rent free space in your head. Space that could be used for better things than dwelling on bitterness that takes us nowhere.
Forgiving them does not mean that you have forgotten the lesson learnt from the bitter experience, but it’s a way of setting yourself free.
Allowing these bitterness to dictate your life means that you will always remain in the victim mindset loop.
Cut yourself loose. Whatever it will take to get your life back, talk about it, cry about it, write about it, pray about it…..
….Set your heart free and get your life back.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
![1456337984239[1]](https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/14563379842391.jpg)
In my place, there is a proverb that says that ‘to start sleeping might be difficult, but when you do start, you begin to snore’ and another says that ‘when an old woman learns to dance to the rhythm that beats for her, she will not stop until that song is over.’
When we want to start something, there are usually a lot of hurdles set before us but if we stand our grounds and take off, the burden lightens as our stride gets firmer.
Yesterday, I wrote about distractions that pops up as we set out to achieve any goals or to do those things that needs to be done our lives, and the truth is that there will never be a perfect time for us.
There will always be distractions, so we also have to brace up and not lose focus when hit by these distractions, until we get to where we are going.
To a large degree, we have to be single-minded in our focus, otherwise, we will only find ourselves in a stagnated position or with bags full of regrets and self-recriminations.
The core strength is within us, it is only left for us to be resolute in pursuit of our purpose and at the end of it all, it will be well worth the effort.
In as much as our individual sense of success varies and is relative, there is always an enormous sense of fulfillment to be found within anyone who stuck it out and achieved their set goals.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
a cooking pot and twisted tales 