a cooking pot and twisted tales
Thoughts and Tales…A Lifestyle Blog with a Zing.
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Sometimes, nature forces us to slow down due to certain challenges that it throws our way and we are literally left in the waiting room.
While in the waiting room, it shouldn’t be seen as a drawback, but as an opportunity to decompress, to keep our eyes gazing up at the stars and yet our feet planted firmly in the present.
That would be a good time to have a bird-eye review, regroup and relaunch of that which you are projecting on.
I call it the 3 R’s .
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
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When all we do is to talk and we don’t do, it then becomes Cock and Bull story.
Our reflections and introspection must try to match our conducts for any meaningful change to occur and this applies to every aspect of our lives that requires change and growth.
Some might say ‘oh yes, it’s in the plan, tomorrow I will do it,’ yet five years down the line, their tomorrow is still waiting to arrive.
The future belongs to all those who embrace constant growth transformation and exploring its directions.
Your future does not know waiting because the future is right now as we speak.
© 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.
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© 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?’
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When I was much younger, I thought it was possible to please everyone.
Boy! Did I learn a lesson from the school of hard knocks!
Some didn’t like me for reasons best known to them.
Some weren’t sure how they felt about me; their thoughts swinging one way or the other like a pendulum.
Some tried to like me, but I kept falling short of their hi-falutin expectations.
Some out-rightly wanted harm to befall me and actually set about planning harm.
Now, this is the scenario in a whole lot of people’s lives and this transcends from personal to business life as well.
The sad truth is that in a given 100% of people around you, 5 % care about you. 15% Don’t give two hoots and are busy caring about themselves, the other 80% are holding their bated breath and wishing you would drop off planet Earth.
So, if you are preoccupied with the thoughts of what people would say to decide each step you have to take in your life, you need another thinking coming on.
If you are caught up in the act of people pleasing, you will probably run yourself ragged and into the ground trying to fit into every bodies expectations.
That my friend is tantamount to signing away your life.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Sometimes, saying thank you may sound so trite and flippant in the face of such warmth and fellowship.
It may sound surprising, but I always feel humbled when I see the hands of fellowship extended, the encouragement received and the respect accorded within this commendable, intelligent community of humans.
Inherently, a lot of people are wonderful and if half the positive fellowship, vibes, hugs, motivation and care that are expressed within the blogging space are experienced in the real World, it would be less acrimonious as it is currently.
This week and several weeks in a row, so many of you put smiles on my face in different manners, some went out of their ways to nominate me for an award, to do a blog review for my blog and to extend their warmth.
I say thank you, ‘dalu, imela’ in my native language because it strikes a deep cord inside me.
Thank you for the generosity of your hearts. Thank you for the gift of your time. Thank you for your outstretched arms of fellowship. Thank you for supporting me in this space. It is heartwarming.
Jason, The opinionated man at Harsh Reality , I thank you for a delightful review that tickled me pink 🙂
Maria Holm, I thank you for the lovely synopsis and celebration in your post.
Ngobesing Romanus of Success Inspirer, a big thank for the invitation to the interview challenge.
Joanne Bretzer at Velissima, I appreciate your nomination for Blogger Recognition Award.
Sunesiss of Atomic Words , Joan of Marlton Trainer, Voyager of Freedom and Diana of Toast and Tea together, thank you all for the Sunshine Blogger Award.
Thank you to Vibrant of Blabberwockying , Stephanie Cardozo, Vincent Wambua , Smiling away allergies,Obscurasomnia, and Keeping up appearances for, The Liebster Award. You guys are great 🙂
Africa Bohemian at Tribe 53 thank you for the Infinity Dreams Award.
A big thank you for One Lovely Blog Award and The Versatile Blogger Awards to Anand of Blabberwockying
For the beautiful Respect Award, I thank you Anand with all humility. A lovely new bling for my blog 🙂
Susan, I appreciate the double nominations of One Lovely Blog Award and Blogger Recognition Award.
Kay Morris and Psychochromatic Inception, thank you for the nomination for One Lovely Blog Award. You guys rock 🙂
“You all, are huge sources of inspiration, encouragement and beautiful souls.” I appreciate the affiliation.
To quickly answer a few of the questions picked from the different bloggers:
Knowing the amount of hours that goes into doing these posts I am truly at loss at who to nominate.
Kind regards and blessed love.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha.
The Beautiful Commendations
Whoot! Whoot! You don’t say! My 200th Blogging Milestone post is in!
I feel like floating out of my seat and singing loudly and off-key too!
I didn’t set out to hit this mark so soon just after hitting my 100th blogging milestone on the 8th of September, but I just did it!
I am truly surprised because according to the timeline/goals that I had set for myself, I expected to get here by the end of the December. Naturally, I expected to gain a few more blogging friends as I went along, but I have managed to exceed my own humble expectations.
I personally don’t like putting too much expectation out there and wearing my heart on my sleeves; that way, I won’t feel particularly disappointed or perturbed if things are a bit slow.
To have started this 5 months ago and happily sustained a tempo is what really makes me glad. I had expected the fascination to wane a bit, but not yet! It has only grown stronger by the day.
The desire to write solidifies more and more.
I take a closer look at my posts and found that in September alone, I had churned out 86 posts and this month 29 posts so far! I firmly believe that Blogging University contributed a grand deal to this scheme and I would like to encourage anyone having second thoughts to give it a shot.
I also look at my stats and yes I am pleased to bits. I try not to check it too often – maybe once a week to decipher which day or what article came out strong.
Compared to my 100th post which took me 3 months from May to September to arrive at and my stats stood at:
I am celebrating my 100 posts, my 192 blogger friends, my 4,247 followers and my 5,220 stats on this blog.
TODAY:
I celebrate, my 200th blogging milestone, my 435 blogger friends, 6,556 followers and my 12,327 stats! More than a double jump in a month and 5 days!
To say the least, I am very happy! No! my bank account did not swell from blogging and that has never been the reason why I started blogging in the first place; if it comes as time goes on, of course, I will celebrate that too.
I like to dream realizable dreams and though this might not mean much to some big bloggers, it means a lot to me!
I will not despise my little beginnings, because we all have to start from somewhere.
The magic that it holds for me is that I got up from dreaming about it, to actualizing it! Well that’s a little dream come true for me!
My heart swells from meeting so many of you. To some of you, I have already imagined who they are in real face time based on our exchanges and their blogging voices and I so hope, that maybe one day in the future of WordPress, we may be opportune to encounter in real face time.
To all of you, I do say thanks. Thank you for the encouragement. Thank you for the smiles. Thank you for adopting me in this community of well meaning individuals.
I Thank God most of all for the sustenance and Grace.
Now let me go and hoot my horn and make some noise in my house 😉
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Dancing cartoon gif courtesy: picgifs.com
The Laurels are multiplying by the day and it is really time that I attend to them.
My sincere apologies to my dear good blogging neighbours who have nominated me for these 15 awards for my delay in responding.
I appreciate each of you individually and collectively as a community of encouraging, motivating, inspiring, fun loving and wise people.
I may not have met any of you in the flesh, but to a large extent, your words do speak for who you are and I would like to refer to y’all as those that I call ”FINE GENTRY.”
Due to the fact that it would be inundating to take these nominations one by one and my desire not to drive my friends batty with spurious award posts, I will have to break so many rules and merge these laurels of mine into one fine post.
Please stay seated whilst I give my speech 😉
First and foremost, I would like to thank the following awesome bloggers who nominated me for:
Blogger Recognition Award
For this nomination, I thank the following bloggers enlisted below:
Cathy Lynn Brooks, Carol of Designing Life,KAT BLOGS Spontaneous Whimsy, Pancake Bunnykins
Creative Blogger Award
For this nomination, I thank the following bloggers enlisted below:I care, U care, Velissima, Theshivasponder
Versatile Blogger
For this nomination, I thank I care, U care .
Sunshine Blogger Award
For this nomination, I thank:Anand of Blabberwockying
Infinity Dreams Award
For this nomination, I thank I care, U care .
Leibster Award
For this nomination, I thank the following bloggers enlisted below:
Wife who writes, EttaD Keeping up appearances,
Premio Dardos Award
For this nomination, I thank I care, U care .
Answer: I started my blog precisely on the 6th of May, 2015. My synopsis for starting this blog are: to meet other people who can enrich my mind through their stories and posts. An avenue to share my stories and thoughts and also as a medium of honing my writing skills, whilst developing the discipline of writing everyday.
Answer: My advise to new bloggers (I am still one by the way) is to write from within; from their hearts and not an attempt to be a copy of another blogger. That is unsustainable and would probably end up being disappointing. Keep your eyes away from the statistics at the onset. It is worse than watching paint dry. Write your post, then go out and engage with other bloggers. Visit other blogs and generally mingle. Attend as many blogging courses as time permits you. Don’t be a stranger!
Answer:
Answer: The fact that I am writing consistently these days. That I am at peace with myself.
Answer: I hardly ever think of things as the best, because I always feel that something better might turn around the corner, but I think so far, my childhood days are my best memories.
Answer: I think I answered in the first question before getting here. Yes indeed, I am at peace with myself.
Answer: I have no human that fills that category. My Bible serves as my spiritual guide. My mother and husband serve as my human counselors and then I read a ton of books written by renowned motivators and counselors.
Answer: I try not to base my feeling good on the conditions of anything because life as we know it can get very sporadic, but I feel good when I set out to achieve something and succeed in doing so, even if they are menial, daily tasks.
Answer: For quality I would say my empathetic and resilient spirit and for habit, I think my reading habits.
Answer: The word of God and my mother again. This is because she is one of the most generous humans I have ever met. Her faith in God always appears as solid as a rock in my eyes (maybe, she might have her doubts, but she never voices them). I don’t know if it means that I am not ambitious enough, but other people’s wealth does not really inspire me. What inspires me is how much they have positively impacted the lives of those around them.
Answer: In everything, I always try to give thanks. Gratitude turns what we have into enough and more. A grateful heart knows a lot of happiness.
Answer: Yes, in so many ways it has enriched my life. My blogging path has crossed those of other people who I may never have been opportune to meet. It serves as a personal source of accountability because it has kept my mind focused on writing.
Answer: I am still on a journey of self discovery and evolution. Maybe, I may still chance on a box of tricks hidden somewhere.
Without any obligations because I appreciate how long it takes to respond to these nominations, my Nominees, in no particular order are:
Please check through the Awards and choose ONE that most appeals to you.
Enjoy and kind regards.
Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
The intent of my blog acookingpotandtwistedtales is to serve as a virtual reflection of my true personality. It is my Alter Ego. Like it’s name indicates, it is a platform that I use to share the little stories that I have a natural flair to come up with. It is an avenue to share a bit of myself, what I feel, pray for, fear, think, love and rant about.
In brief, it could be described as a melange of bits and pieces of me and bits and pieces of the human stories that surround us.
I find daily inspiration in the things that surround me, the day to day human life that I witness.
I chose my Matala Theme because I love the fact that it is not bland. I don’t do bland. I love vibrancy and splashes of colour. Having a theme that reflects such colours with a dash of whimsy which is exhibited by the pastel twisted vines reached out from the very first day and curled around my senses.
Even though I upgraded the status of my blog and tried out other themes for size, I still choose to keep this theme because of how I feel about it. It is my abode and I should be very comfortable in it.
My thoughts reflect my optimistic views about life and my beliefs. I am in constant search for the positives in every situation, for the rays of sunshine and hope, for succour and healing, for laughter and dreamy, for the miracle of life itself and the joy of living.
I don’t like to dwell on so much darkness that can be found in some people. It weighs down the soul.
I do not want to sound like a goody-two shoes because I am far from that! In as much as I stand firm in my beliefs, I still have sharp sheathed claws and can turn into a Mama Bear once I sense any danger to my well-being or that of my family. I still haven’t learnt how to turn the other cheek or to play possum and pretend dead.
Looking through my blog, I find that I am driven to show the reflection of a warm, wholesome, down-to-earth, upstanding human, who is not far removed from my physical self. I sincerely believe that our thoughts are a reflection of who we are and I am glad that so far my blog continues to exude that warmth and friendliness that is synonymous to me. I can strike up a conversation with a total stranger and you would think that we have known each other for a long time.
I pray to remain a realistic source of inspiration, motivation, and strength. A loyal friend that would always lend a listening ear and share any wise counsel that I may have.
To be like your best pair of old feet snuggies/warmers; without the pinch 🙂
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
In response to The Daily Post Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Think of your blog as a mirror: what does it reveal? Consider your blog name, theme choice, design, bio, posts… what does every element tell you about yourself?
Let me tell you something.
You may have heard this a countless times before.
Even so, I still cannot resist telling you just one more time.
Let not your heart fail you; nor your mind deny your strength,
For within you lies courage; just reach deep and it will show forth.
Let me tell you that the measure of your courage;
Is not determined by whether you reach the goal or not;
It is determined by your decision to get back on your feet;
No matter how many times your trials failed!
No one said that it will be easy!
But if you have the courage to remain steadfast;
But if you have the courage to pursue you dreams;
You will give your life its richest rewards;
You will give your life its greatest adventures;
The brightest adventures do not lie on the peaks of mountains!
The brightest adventures lie first within you..
You must be of good courage!
And rise again….even when you have fallen flat on your face!
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Nagging painful pangs wake her from sleep. It is still a week to the Expected Delivery Date (EDD) but she knows that it is time. A cursory glance at the half parted window curtains shows the pale orange hew of the rising Sun. The day has dawned and it seems like it will be an interesting day.
The contorting of her stomach compels her to tap Desmond on the shoulders in an attempt to wake him up. He hardly rouses. He sleeps so deeply that wild horses would enter the room and take the bed under him and he would sleep through it all, she thinks to herself.
“Desmond!” “Wake up!” She orders loudly; wishing that she has a bell to peal close to his ears.
He grunts, snuffles and rolls over to his left side.
“Desmond!” “Desmond!” “We have to get to the hospital, right now!” “Except you want me to have the baby here in bed, you need to wake up.”
That magic word baby! His eyes quickly fly open, the cobwebs of sleep recede fast as his scrambling thoughts quickly process the information.
“Baby, as in baby?” “Right now?” His eyes fly to her contorting belly in stupefaction.
“Yes baeeby, dear.” “I think we are having the baby today.” “No more false alarms this time.”
He gathers his wits and quickly jumps into a pair of jeans, throws on a shirt, a hasty mouth wash and helps Debbie to the car.
She walks funny and sluggishly. Her belly feels like it is being ravaged from inside out and her stiff lower back, as if an ill-fitting screw is being tightened into it in slow degrees. She is panting and trying to keep calm, but this is her first baby and all the lessons taught in the birthing class fly out of the window.
They manage to get to the car, without baby popping out when Desmond realizes that he doesn’t have the keys and rushes back inside to pick it up. It is a good thing that they place a stick-on hook on the cabinet in plain sight. Too many times of searching for the keys have been reduced and less gray hairs sprouted!
He spy’s the cute new baby bag that Debbie has put together with things that she wants to take to the hospital still sitting by the new cot and grabs it, rushing out to his doubled-over Mrs. who was looking quite red in the face and growing waspish by the minute.
It is a hair-raising and palm sweaty drive to the hospital, the early morning work rush and the frequent traffic stops are not helping matters along.
”Honey, try the Lamaze breathing” he suggests, tapping his fingers on the wheel as he counts the minutes for the light to turn green; it wouldn’t do to run a red light, he had nearly run a red light at the other junction.
“And just what to you think I am doing?” ”Practicing my ballet steps?” She snaps at him.
The sudden rush of warm fluid down her thighs, her exclamation, growing pants and whimpering all turn Desmond’s stomach. He feels like using the loo all of a sudden, however, spying the hospitals cross a few meters across the road, calms him down a notch.
Hopefully, the hospital will be ready for them. He had remembered to place a call to Debbie’s Obstetrician.
A quick dash to the reception and with the help of waiting attendants, they are whisked to the labour room. A quick examination and a disappointing observation. “You are 3cm’s dilated.” “You should be ready in a couple of hours” the mid-wife intoned. She sets up of an IV line and a heart rate monitor.
The hours are crawling. Debbie is almost hyperventilating. The pain has grown hydra-heads and the waves of doubling contractions are like the twist of a hot rod. She now wishes that she had opted for an Epidural instead of satisfying her desire for a natural birth.
No one had explained precisely that it would be this excruciatingly painful and so mind numbing, that she begins to see pin points of white light zooming in and out of her pain riddled brain and Desmond is driving her crazy with his placating words.
At a point, she wants to jump off the birthing bed and run away. As if her running would leave the pain behind.
“Bend you legs and breathe deeply” Debbie, “Let’s see how things are getting along” the OB/GYN directs. A quick swipe with sterilized swabs, some pokes and prods and he expresses a satisfaction that things are moving along rather well.
You are 7cm dilated. Almost there! Almost there! Just hang in. The baby should be coming within the hour or so, he pronounces.
The back rub helps and annoys her at the same time, the poor dear Desmond is trying but nothing seems satisfactory at the moment. She wants him there but not standing on her last nerve.
Her short, smart bob is now damp. The tendrils hang in lanky strings like limp noodles. The herculean effort not to scream her head off can no longer be contained as the desire to bear down and push grips her.
A flurry of organized movement, the OB/GYN utters words of caution and encouragement not to push so that the cord around the babies neck can be gently disengaged to avert the danger of choking her wind pipes. Seconds, minutes tick past in a blurry, a surgical episiotomy cut…. at last, with that big push and heave of the uterine muscles, the hardworking baby slides out of her mom heads first, in a slippery bath of amniotic fluid and blood.
The squalling perfect cherub is placed on her mothers semi-concave belly. A crying and laughing mommy, a dewy eyed proud daddy admire the sweet red-faced bundle that nature just gifted them.
They sigh in gratitude, pleasure and relief.
“She is ours,” Desmond whispers in utter amazement. “Our Mary-Louise” – the combined names of the little one’s grannies.
It’s been an exciting, hardworking nine hours since dawn.
Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
In fulfillment of Writing 101- Day 14 Assignment: Recreate a Single Day
a cooking pot and twisted tales 