We are approaching the commercial month of love, though I am of the opinion that love should be a practiced existential part of our everyday lives. Sometimes, I kinda feel that the commercializing of valentine is a bit much, but that’s just my opinion.

Why don’t we have a lovely, lovey-dovey blog hopping party weekend :0))

If you are interested, I can be the hostess. Just sending out feelers.

There will be lots of candles and flowers, cakes and chocolates too *at least virtually* and we can share loads of links to our soppy love stories – non-fiction or fiction, poems, lyrical prose, pictures etc.

Posts that tugs at the heartstrings, plasters smiles on our faces and makes you bring out your scented tissue box.

Let’s make it a date ‘cos I am falling in love with you 😉

If you think it’s a worthwhile idea, please indicate below.

I will be re-blogging this post till the Valentine weekend.

Please do share if you can and invite others. The more the merrier.

Regards,

Family · Humor - Bellyful of laughter · The Daily Post · This Is My Life

The Dear Diary Day’s…

January 26, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha31 Comments

Of course there was life before the computer and there will still be life after the computer.

It’s called ‘Living and The Dear Diary Day’s.

Before I started blogging, my dear diary took the brunt of my words and my dear Himself’s ears were perpetually hot from lending his ears to my nattering.

Now he can flip through the channels in peace while my gleaming eyes are dancing as I mumble and mutter over the clattering computer.

I still scribble a lot in dear diary, though not everything anymore and sometimes, I do get the feeling that she feels disenfranchised because at times, I feel her giving me the cold shoulder when I want to write those personal tidbits at the end of the day.

My typical day starts at 4.30 am on school days, when the alarm shrieks to wake me up. I groggily waddle to the bathroom to take care of business with eyes at half-mast so that the sleep can be retained for a little longer.

I then lie back for a few more minutes and just either read the Bible or pray quietly, going through things in my head. I enjoy that part of the morning when everywhere is quiet.

With school age kids, I prepare their breakfast and a meal that they take to school. On a lazy day, I slap a sandwich together. They have a canteen, but I am not particularly enthused with the offerings especially since my younger son has allergies.

We get ready for school and hopefully the morning goes sanely without looking for a missing sock, or pencil pouch or their glasses and what have you. It’s always a nice morning bustle.

After shooing them off to school, I try to get in some brisk exercise or lazy walk and just take in the fresh air.

Thankfully, for the past few months, I have not had to dash off to work like a headless chicken as well, but that might change anytime soon, when I get back to school myself.

The rest of my day follows with attending to Himself as well, planning the days meal, dashing out for xyz, homework’s, housework, personal business, reading, writing, listening to music and what have you.

Some days involve church work, charity work, this and that and those work, but life is usually full of odds and ends of things to do.

Now that I blog, I also fit it into my days schedule. Blog early. Switch off and get other things done, then come back to the blog later when the dust of the day has settled.

I keep pretty much busy without my computer, but please don’t get any ideas of coming to take it away.

I just got this new one when the old one gave up from exhaustion during Christmas, though I think my dear diary would be secretly pleased if you nick my computer.

The Daily Post Life After Blogs.

Your life without a computer: what does it look like?

Haiku · Humor - Bellyful of laughter · Poetry/Poems

Testy….Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry.

January 26, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha43 Comments

An interesting combination of words we have this week for Ronovan’s weekly haiku challenge, ‘trill’ and ‘final’.

Here are my attempts.

Her final attempt to squeeze into it
Caused a sharp rip in the skirt
Oh! This will not thrill the sales lady

**************

It’s his final degree examinations
The professors tricky questions
Didn’t give him any thrill.

Uncategorized

Scammers, and How to Avoid Them

January 26, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha5 Comments

Before you run off with that Indie publisher who is promising you every thing under the Sun, you might consider one or two things.

Words from Emma Woods

My day job consists of telling people, “No, the FBI is not going to call you up and demand money be wired to China” and “I don’t care what they told you, no one is down the street with a car for you, waiting on you give them your credit card number for ‘taxes’. You didn’t win a car. It’s a scam, I promise.”

scams

What does this have to do with writing? Actually, a lot. Scamming happens in the writer’s world just as much as anywhere else. And if you’re a writer, especially an indie writer, you can’t afford to lose your cash to scammers.

So, here’s a Top list of scams to watch for:

Vanity “Contests”

This type of scam is almost as old as writing itself. The most common are the “poetry contests” that you enter with a nominal fee ($2-$10), but then the author gets a letter…

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Five Sentence Inspiration · Lifestyle · My Thinking Corner · Quotes For You · Success

Tuesdays Trickles 6…My Thinking Corner.

January 26, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha23 Comments

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.

The single truth that we tell ourselves is a million times better than the half-truths that we are told by a dozen.

Hope is that last little flicker in the rubble of our burnt ashes. When you stoke the embers sufficiently, the flames will come alive.

Our dreams can never be the same neither will our journey. You must dream your dreams and not wait for hand-me- downs.

An empty heart will never have anything to give. Fill it with good things and it will overflow naturally.

Once that little voice in a mind asks, is this all there is? Then, there must be more to be done and we should be on the quest for that more.

Here Are Last Week’s Thinking Corner Thinkers 🙂

Small Choices. Rosema of Reading Writers little nuggets in brief.

The gift called today from Oba of the King’s Oracle fills me with beautiful thoughts.

Tuesday’s thoughts by Bisi of Femininematerz connects the dots of rising to the skill of your art.

Deep thoughts of Trickles and Tears from Diane of Ladies who lunch reviews.

Persevere. These very few words from simply me speaks very loud and clear.

Let’s hear your thoughts, quotes, advice et al.

Blogging · Inspiration - Motivation

Let’s Do The Mathematics Of Blogging…

January 25, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha70 Comments

If I were to lend an ear to a new blogger, my first words would be: Cartoon Teacher | lol-

Go to school! WordPress Blogging University offers such facilities at no cost. Get involved and learn how to make your blog better.

Don’t sweat it! Don’t chew off your fingernails in anxiety with your eyes glued on the statistics of your blog right from the onset.

If you keep your eyes on that statistics dashboard, it will leave you with lots of angst, which can get pretty exhausting.

Easier said than done, but if you really want to grow, you have to be pragmatic in your approach.

Write from your heart and not someone else’s heart.

After the writing, go and mingle with others as much as you possibly can.

No! Don’t just pin up a post, then go off to the beach to pluck your toes in the water and your butt in the sand, surfing YouTube and sipping pina colada. Your blog will not read itself. Nope! It won’t.

I will say it again. ‘MINGLE IN THE MIX.’ As time goes on, you will find your footing, gain some lovely friends and it will surely grow.

Be social media friendly. Yes I know it’s Evil, but it has it’s good sides too 😉

The Truth and Nothing But The Naked Truth is that every good and successful blog out there took a lot of work and time from the blogger.

Lest I forget, please check the grammar as well. No one likes to read mumbo-jumbo. An occasional mistake can be overlooked, but I must warn you that there are grammar Nazi out here looking for who to catch 😉

Now Go Ye And Be Blog Happy. Every successful blogger started with zero follows and when you add these recipes plus more, you will see the digits come up.

The Daily Post Key Takeaway.

Give your newer sisters and brothers-in-WordPress one piece of advice based on your experiences blogging.

If you’re a new blogger, what’s one question you’d like to ask other bloggers?

Image credit: Cliparts.co

Creative Writing · Fiction · Hope · Short Stories

Out Of The Cold Damp…

January 25, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha17 Comments

Sandra’s eyes glazed over in tears of joy, as she perused the documents in her hands with careful intent.

At last! At long last she has a home that she could rightfully call hers. Her heart swelled in gratitude.

A home in a decent neighbourhood and not the squalid neighbourhood that she grew up in.

Sometimes, they had no electricity, because there was no money to pay and it was always cold, damp and freezing during the Winter.

She had promised herself that she would not end up there.

She knew that life held more for her than that and she was determined to succeed.

Studying hard to break out of that mould has been worth all the trouble.

Working and saving all that she could is yielding positive dividends.

Now she could move her aged mother out of the pits to live with her in a beautiful neighbourhood, where there would be light and warmth.

In response to the FFAW photo prompt above. Thank you Louise for the photo and Priceless Joy for your enabling platform.

Inlinkz

Family · Mundane Monday · Photographs

Freshness…Mundane Monday

January 25, 2016January 25, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha29 Comments

Trablogger says, this is is a challenge created to find beauty in almost everything. The challenge is simple : find beauty in everyday mundane things, capture the beauty and upload the photographs.

I love the crunchy taste of fresh vegetables and fruits as well as its beautiful, attractive colours.

It’s taken years to arrive at a point where my last two kids can nibble at them. While I sit with them, they always eat it like people who are swallowing bitter pills and once my back is turned, it turns to selective picking and tossing.

What’s with kids and veggies?