#Giftideas, #Moneytree, #Thoughtfulgiving, #Abouquetofflowers, #Appreciation, #Art, #Giving
Tag: appreciation
Did I ever say thank you?
This is a little thank you note to appreciate every single one of you. To all those who have kept me company in this space through these months; to all those who found me worthy to honour with a blog award now and again, to all those who supported this blog in many little ways that kept it alive, I thank you.
Some days when I’m low in spirit, your bright posts, comments and encouragement peps me up. Many may consider this as ‘unreal friends’ because we are all online… but I don’t think so. You all impact my life from wherever you are. You all make me a better person and for some reason, you are in my heart.
Kind regards,
Jacqueline
To My Recent Follows…
I would like to appreciate all my recent follows of the past few weeks. Forgive my tardiness for failing to do this earlier and for not stopping by to visit and say hello.
I am not that ill-mannered and can only offer the excuse of the deluge of emails, blog posts and duties that besiege me each day. That’s one hazard of blogging and running two blogs, but I am loving it nonetheless.
Now, a proper thank you to you and you and you. In this space, my vision is to keep things positive and warm, to engage and inspire others whenever possible and to build an interactive positive-minded community that hopefully transcends the online blogging community into our various lives.
This community is such a supportive one and in my own little way, I seek ways to create more cohesion in our midst and appreciate those around me. Asides from my regular posts, I have a series ‘featured posts’ where I share weekly posts of others and ‘author zone’ where I spotlight the published work of others.
I also offer guest posts, bloggers interview and partnership opportunities, as well as a recurrent monthly blog party for the purpose of networking and growing. I’ll also mention that I offer a few services that might interest you and you can always shoot me an email through the contact page.
Once again, you are welcome to my house in bloglandia. I look forward to furthering interactions with you and extending an early invitation to the month’s end blog party coming up on Sat/Sun 29/30th of July.
My regards,
Jacqueline
Just a Little Note to Give You a Virtual Hug
All good things that surround us are sent to us for a reason and these includes blog friends.
The friends we form in this place validate our talent and craft. Their feedback is precious and their support is like a backbone that helps you to stand tall.
Yes, I do get warm fuzzy feelings when I see all the Gravatars with the beautiful faces of humanity on my page. I may not have met you physically but believe me when I say that I feel you. I appreciate your presence and your support.
To all my recent follows, I say welcome and thank you for choosing to follow this blog. Feel comfortable in this space. In as much as it’s my blog, I’ve always loved being part of a community, so it’s ours.
Without your presence, my ramblings would be to the empty wires of the bloggily. In this space, we have monthly blog parties and they are always the bomb. Please do feel free to join our parties and I believe we shall be having one in a week’s time.
I’ve received loads of nominations and awards over the past few months but due to the daily exigencies in my life, I never seem to get to publishing an acceptance, secondly, I believe that it would be bothersome to inundate my readers with an award post every week. A warm thank you to all those who have thought me worth bestowing an award. One day, I am going to publish a mega huge blog with all the plaques hanging around my neck.
Now to that warm virtual hug, wherever you may be right now, feel that thread of fresh air/wind, a whisper of kindness, they are my virtual arms extended in fellowship.
Thank you all and have a pleasant Sunday.
Blessings,
Jacqueline
For The Gifts That Come From Above – Personal
There were times in the past that I climbed the steep heights of elation and then came crashing down to nothingness, that I was left feeling like a happiness junkie always in search of that elusive happy rush and when it wasn’t present I felt that everything was wrong with my world.
It took the conscious stepping back and trying to understand myself, trying to break down my issues, compartmentalize and address them one by one to grasp what was going on and how to deal with them.
The tendency was that if something was not right in one aspect of my life – for instance, shortage of finances, I would allow that to dictate how I felt about every other thing, thus missing the beautiful and little things that made my life better.
It’s taken years, soul searching and being in the moment to come to the point where I deal with issues as they are and not allow it/them to mar the rest of my joy.
As I sit writing this little note, I look back and I’m amazed at how the simple journey of journaling my gratitude and making the effort to discover myself inside this body of mine has helped me learn to live in the moment and to appreciate every bit of it.
I no longer seek the happiness rush from momentary elation, rather, I’m charting a steady course of contentment gained from living life itself.
I am thankful for journey mercies bestowed on my husband who returned last night from Toronto. For the great things and little things that I’ve been able to achieve, for the thoughts, inspirations, and imaginations that flood my mind, for vitality and the drive to stay focused and keep moving forward. These are not things that I could buy with money, but they are gifts that come from above.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
If you wish to participate in a gratitude challenge, there are several gratitude/thankful platforms in the blogosphere that you can tune into and get your ithankful going on. I can’t express in words the enormity of Joy and fulfillment that comes from having a heart of gratitude. Please check out Maria’s blog,Colline’s blog and Bernadette’s for thankful/gratitude challenges.
Thank You and An Open Invitation.
Almost remiss of me, I duly apologise for the delay in publishing this post. My life has been a rat race of late that each day I fall into bed all tuckered out.
I would like to thank all my dear blogger friends who made my last blog party rock. You guy’s know how to make a girl happy and some of you do have good dance steps 😉
I sincerely appreciate the support that I receive in this place from all of you.
For those who were unable to attend the monthly shindig, here’s the link to the party. There are loads of bloggers in there waiting to say hello to you. Do take a peek.
When you read the numbers upside down, the answer to the party riddle is: BILL IS BOSS HE SELLS OIL.
NOW, to the interesting new thing coming up. You may be aware that The Writers’ Quote Wednesday which was primarily hosted by our amiable blogger Mistress, Colleen of Silver Threading and Ronovan, has been discontinued due to other exigencies.
However, with Colleen’s blessings, Bernadette of Haddon’s Musings and I have decided to pick up the Writers Quote baton because it is such an interesting series and it would be a shame to let it go.
Here’s the thing, we are looking for 2 more coordinators to join us in running this weekly series. Each week, a coordinator will give us a prompt word to work with, this way there’ll be four of us running the series as a team; it makes it more fun and lessens the burden when it’s just one coordinator.
Let me know if you are interested and what your thoughts are with regards to this. There are no hard and fast rules about the particular day that it should run, though the weekdays Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are preferable.
When we get other coordinators, the rules of engagement will be published and we hope to take off in November.
The intent of the writers’ quote series is to inspire your writing. You are free to write whatever you like based on the given prompt, but you must include your quote with your piece. You could write a story – preferably flash fiction, poetry, music or even share songs.
This is an open invitation to all interested bloggers. Let’s keep the ink flowing. Hope to hear from you.
Jacqueline and Bernadette
Waking with music…
“We thank thee each morning for a new-born day,” an old classic tune by Jim Reeves woke my brain up this morning and has been on redial all day in my head in the background of everything else that’s going on around me.
Do you find yourself stuck at times with a particular tune that follows you through the day, humming in the background of your mind?
This old song was a daily staple in my family home when my dad was alive. He would wake up early and start playing it followed by a medley of other music and I believe so much that this helped to set a happy mood and tone of the day as the household rose to this sound of music.
My thanks for today stems from having beautiful childhood memories that make me smile and warm my heart when I remember them.
It makes me know that even when a loved one is no longer here in the physical realm, that I have been blessed to have shared some time here on Earth with them and hold close the candle that they lit in my life.
Along with our thankfulness to God, our state of appreciation for our loved one’s should be expressed to them while we still have them with us. There’s never a better day to say ‘I love you’ or ‘I appreciate you’ than the day that you have.
Let me share the beautiful Jim Reeves song We thank thee with you.
There are several gratitude/thankful platforms in the blogosphere that you can tune into and get your ithankful going on. I can’t express in words the enormity of Joy and fulfilment that comes from having a heart of gratitude. Please check out Maria’s blog, Colline’s blog and Bernadette’s for thankful/gratitude challenges
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
P.S. Our monthly Meet and Greet/Blog Party comes up this weekend Sat 27th/Sun 28th August. Hope to see you there.
The state of gratefulness…
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With the ups and downs of life, sometimes, it’s difficult for your minds to clinch into a constant state of grace because most times our reflections are on auto drive on picking out the things that may not be going as we wish as against the other blessings that are pebble stones on our path and act as GPS to help us navigate back when we stray down the road of doubt and ingratitude.
Making a conscious decision to express gratefulness has made me more conscious and appreciative of the little things that I ordinarily took as a given and with this comes a greater sense of contentment and peace.
I’m totally grateful for the kindness received from those around me. To Tasha of Hit below the belt hard, I appreciate the slice of carrot cake you bought for me 😉
I’m grateful for the fact that though sometimes I fall short in my responsibilities as a parent and wife, my husband has been doing his best to remain my supportive backbone.
I don’t take these things for granted and I always encourage anyone to practice the state of gratitude not so much for the present state that you are in, but for the journey of the wonderful sense of contentment that it builds in you.
There’s always something to be grateful for and you will probably find so many when you look.
Love and light.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Below is my first just published Poetry Book “Out of the silent breath” which is available on Amazon and Smashwords.
When you buy my book, you support me in an invaluable manner.
From the very first poem, “Dreams,” this book captivates with passionate and perceptive words. Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha captures a broad expanse of the human experience in this book of richly layered poems.
The speed of time…
We draw to the close of May so fast that I’m left gasping to catch my breath.
Yesterday was just December, and now we are done with the 1st quarter of the year, with some water gone under the bridge and quite some notable celebrities have crossed over to the other side.
Today, my thoughts have been on a reminiscent drift. It’s three years today that my dad passed on and I find myself replaying a lot of scenes of the past in my mind. Not in a bad way but in a bitter-sweet way.
I find myself filled with peace. Peace for having known him as my father.
I’ve not achieved all that I set out for myself for this quarter. I’ve been slow, but I’m thankful for the much that I’ve done.
I’m grateful for the Grace and Favour received each day, to wake and see the rising Sun and pursue my dreams. To drink my warm cup of beverage and hope for tomorrow. I’m grateful.
There’s always something to be grateful for. You canYou can join Colline’s or Maria Jansson gratitude challenge platforms.
P.S. You are invited to our monthly blog party this weekend. It’s fun and you get to meet fantastic folks 🙂
Below is my first just published Poetry Book “Out of the silent breath” which is available on Amazon and Smashwords.
When you buy my book, you support me in an invaluable manner.
When his face is sought with such fervent endeavour
huge burdens become less of a pressure
for he adorns us with unquantified favour
which takes us up to a higher measure.
You’ve got to meet graceful Yentl of Younfolded.
Today, I have beautiful Nena telling us a bit more about herself and giving us a peek into her World.
She’s one of the encouraging and refreshing voices that I’ve met in this space. I enjoy her posts on showing simple ways of how we can be kind to each other as well her health and wellness posts.
Thank you, Nena for sharing a bit about you with us.
![Rose[1]](https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/rose1.jpg)
Hi! My name is Yentl (like the Barbara Streisand movie), but close friends and family call me Nena so I like for my blogging family to call me that as well.
Nena is a term of endearment in Spanish and it means “baby girl” and although I am a woman in her early 30s there is a sense of warmth every time I hear my nickname.
I was born and raised and still live in hot, sunny, and very humid Miami, Florida. If you haven’t guessed it already I am Latina and speak English and Spanish fluently. My dad is from Venezuela and my mom from Guatemala; two very distinct and beautiful cultures.
I like cooking healthy (and sometimes not so healthy) meals, staying active, exploring my world via traveling and reading, and expressing myself through writing and connecting with others.
I dislike criticism, judgments, and insults that break others down. We go through enough pain and despair in our lives so there is no room for hurtful words from people that don’t know any better.
For this reason, I try to always uplift those around me even if it’s through using simple, positive words like, “You are appreciated” so that they come to see their own worth.
My husband had been telling me for years to start a blog or YouTube channel mainly because of all the different hairstyles that I would do and also to share my nutrition knowledge.
I was hesitant because I was passionate about more than just nutrition and hair. I wanted to inspire and uplift others so when I started the blog it was more about unfolding bits of myself to promote self-discovery and self-love.
That is where the name YOUnfolded comes from.
I fell in love with blogging because of the supportive community. One of my fears with YouTube was all the competition that you see amongst vloggers so I was a bit apprehensive about what I was getting into with blogging. But I am so happy to have taken the plunge!
When I received my first like on my very first post “How Could I Forget?” I was elated!
It felt good to express myself and share info that could be helpful to others. Now I can’t wait to sit down and write up my recipes like The Pumpkin Soup that was a hit with my loved ones, my weekly workouts on my Move It Monday posts, and get my creative juices flowing when I write expressively like I have been doing for my Pet Series.
My favorite is when I get to showcase some of you lovely bloggers in my Pay It Forward Friday posts as a way to demonstrate my appreciation for all that you do.
I also started a YouTube channel to finally do some hair tutorials and decided to do them bare-faced (no makeup) to continue to promote self-love and the beauty of simply being YOU. Watch Younfolded on YouTube.
Lately, I have been waking up at 8am with just enough time to get up, brush my teeth, take my girls (dogs) out, get dressed, and start work at 8:30 am.
I work from home, but I am on a schedule (currently it is 8:30am – 5pm) and don’t have a lot of free time. I am a dietitian and I work as a health coach where I provide nutrition counseling to people over the phone.
I mainly make calls back to back and my lunch break consists of 30 minutes of eating in front of a Netflix show with my hubby.
After work, I clean (I use my cleaning schedule : ) take the girls out again, and work out. My hubby is usually the main cook in the house, but sometimes if he’s still working I cook dinner. Dinner is also in front of the TV watching one of our fave shows.
Once dinner is done, I take care of any pending things like taking a webinar for continuing education for my dietitian/nutrition license, shooting pics or videos for either my site or my husband’s work, writing posts, catching up with friends or family. Then it’s time for a shower and bedtime (around 11pm-12am).
I recently moved my WordPress hosted blog to a self-hosted one because I wanted to try to generate some income from it. My original plan to support and encourage others remains the same.
I found myself spending a lot of time putting together things for the blog, brainstorming ideas, and promoting companies whose products I have been using and truly believe in. I figured that it would be great to gain even just a bit of income from the free advertisement I am already providing to various companies out there to keep the blog running because, as most of you know, it is not free to have a .com without the word “WordPress” in there and it takes time to put together content.
With my already busy schedule, blogging and doing YouTube videos feel like a part-time job so why not make a bit of money doing something I love and dedicate a lot of time to.
I have plans to continue to provide content in each of the categories on my blog that will hopefully inspire others to take care of their entire well-being; whether it’s through nutrition, fitness, fun, or relaxing, as long as they find joy and fulfillment from within.
When you buy my book, you support me in an invaluable manner.
Never leave me lonely
With words left unsaid
You walk away into the dark
Like a mist, that melts away.
a cooking pot and twisted tales 