Triple Rays of Sunshine…

September 22, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha48 Comments

Its an honor to be nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award by three different blogger friends Honestme363, hallenterprises132 and Inspiring Max.

This award is in recognition of blogs that share positivity in the blogging community.

As the saying ”three times a charm goes,” in that spirit, I humbly accept all three nominations and merge the rays so that I can leave some fingers of some Sun shine for other friends of mine 🙂

In my native land, when a person wishes that the Sun will shine on you, they project Life, Prosperity and Brightness in your life. The spoken word bears a lot of weight on our lives even when we fail to realize it. In deed, the power of life and death lies in our tongues. When you lift up your face to the rising Sun, may the shadows fall behind.

A big thank you to my nominator blog-some friends. Do take a little while and visit their virtual corners.

The Rules:

Thank the person/people who nominated you
Answer the eleven questions from your nominator(s), in this case 32 questions.
Nominate eleven other bloggers and give them eleven questions to answer

The merged questions: 30 in all

Where is your favourite place you have lived?

Ans: I have lived in so many places, briefly and lengthy. From the Eastern part of Nigeria to the Middle Belt, North and West in my growing up years. Stints in Europe and migrating to the US. I presently live in Dubai – United Arab Emirates, but in the innermost part of my heart, my favorite place is the place of my childhood. A small University community known as The University of Nigeria Nsukka. It was a childhood of dreams; a place, where it took a community to raise a child.

If you could change one thing what would it be?

Ans: The fact that I didn’t start writing seriously earlier than now!

What is your favourite childhood memory?

Ans: Christmas in the village 🙂

What is your dream job?

Ans: My aspirations have changed over time and snowballed back to my passion and first love which is writing. It’s time to take it to higher grounds.

What was your best subject at school?

Ans: English, History and Literature.

Do you prefer to live in the country or the city?

Ans: I love both places and since I am living right now in a major city, it is better to be in love with it.

If you were stranded on a desert island which celebrity would you take with you?

Ans: I am not so much into celebrities but I could live with Oprah. I love the wisdom that she shares.

Everyone has a song that makes them want to dance, what is yours?

Ans: It is almost common knowledge that I will dance to anything called music apart from the cat’s noise.

Favourite colour?

Ans: I love them in splashes. Not fair to make me choose but there is something about orange and white.

Do you prefer camping, caravaning or staying in motels?

Ans: The thought of marauding snakes has made me not to enjoy camping; even when I was in the girls guide. Now, I would settle for the comfort of a decent motel. There must be a writing table in the corner.

How many different careers have you had?

Ans: Five

Name one aspect of yourself that you would consider quirky/odd/amusing/weird.

Ans: I cry over silly things.

What do you do to relax/unwind.

Ans: Reading, writing, dancing or lounging by the poolside, playing with my kids, people watching…..

Name one thing that is vital to your daily routine.

Ans: Writing things down and praying.

How many posts do you have in your drafts?

Ans: Fourteen posts.

Regarding blogging: are you…a) obsessed – you would be embarrassed to add up the hours you spend reading, writing, commenting etc. You also sneak a peek at WordPress while you are at work.
b) intermediate – there are moments when you can’t leave the screen, but there are also times when you don’t look at it for days.
c) you write your post and leave.

Ans: I think I am a B. I have been able to have a successful one week without looking at it.

The blogosphere is most often read through:

Ans: On my laptop.

Name one possession you covet – something that if your children/friends/family wish to touch, you hover over them protectively, watching them to make sure they handle it delicately, if you allow them to handle it all.

Ans: Nothing. My wedding rings, maybe? Oh yes! My laptop too! 😉

Name something that you read, or do, that you feel enhances your personal growth.

Ans: Asides from my Bible, lots of motivational books from different authors.

Since I enjoyed answering this question…If you could channel your soul into an animal, what would it be and why?Ans: An Eagle or a Panther

Ans: An Eagle. I would soar high and free. I would visit so many places and see so many things.

Who are your favorite published authors?

Ans: There are loads of them and more are joining the list. I am currently enjoying Marian Keyes.

What did you want to grow up to accomplish in your life?

Ans: Sincerely speaking, I am still growing up and learning new things. However, leaving my footprints in the sands of life through my writing, mentoring and life coaching would be my greatest accomplishments.

What is your favorite holiday and why?

Ans: A holiday at Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi combined with Burj Al Arab in Dubai. It was pure decadence.

If you got to choose your last meal in life, what would it be?

Ans: A very large greasy steak, with mashed potatoes and a glass of Veuve Cliquot, to send me off.

What is your favorite temperature? Mine is negative 30 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ans: 30 degrees sounds fine to me.

Introvert or Extrovert?

Ans: I am a blend of the two. An introverted extrovert 🙂

What about yourself would you change if you could?

Ans: Stop eating too many sweet things.

What scares you the most? Claustrophobic, myself. That and I hate needles.

Ans: Snakes. I don’t mind being cooped in as long as I have a good supply of good reads and a jotter + Food

Why do you blog?

Ans: So that I can meet people like you. So that I can share my thoughts

Who is your favorite musician?

Ans: Women of Faith, Dido, Bob Marley, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Nigerian Musicians: It is a very long list.

Here comes the Sun nominees…:

Anand’s Parodies & Caricatures

Christian Mihai

The Motivational Team

MLou Photography Blog

A Good Blog is Hard to Find

Lynz real cooking

Destination Enlightenment

Eloquentparadise

Tlizzy – My little bit of serenity

Haddons Musings

SabahBatul

Tasha

Just 11 questions..:

Do you have unusual hobbies?
Do you volunteer with any charity?
What is something that you tried but will never do again?
What quirky habit do you have?
Any best friends?
What is your biggest fear?
Where is that one place in the World you wish you lived in?
Who has most influenced your life?
Who is your favorite author?
What is the one career you would love to enter?
What is that thing you used to do as a child that you wish you could still do?

Thank you for your time. I hope you enjoy the reflections the opportunity to answer the questions gave me.

Regards.

Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

Keeping the embers of love glowing hot…

September 19, 2015September 19, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha27 Comments

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Take Me to the Moon.”

Would I go to the moon for you?

Not so sure about that, since I am not an Astronaut!

Would I want you to go to the moon for me?

If you fancy a jaunt at zero gravity, you are most welcome!

I promise to love you till we are both long in the tooth!

I promise to love you even when you snore and keep me awake!

I promise to love you when you hog the blanket and my butt is out in the cold!

I promise to love you and laugh at re-runs of your dry jokes!

I promise to love you, wrinkles, warts and all!

But don’t get any ideas about holding up the bank!

I have no plans to go to jail for you!

I will be right here!

Keeping the kettle warm!

Until you return.

Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

Musings · Writing

Come On Over, I’ll Get The Mugs…

September 18, 2015September 18, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha45 Comments

At long last, I get an opportunity to ask you to come over for a cuppa coffee. We need to catch up on a lot of stuff.

You and I know that I take coffee in spare quantities. That I am an Iced-Tea babe or a sinful Caramel Macchiato chick. It gets me to loosen up and share every delightful morsel of gist that I have been saving up to share with you..

If you were to come over for a cup of coffee, I reckon we wouldn’t settle for the living room; there would be too much distraction with the children and the husband underfoot. We would probably go to a spot that I discovered by Dubai Marina where we would imbibe in several cups over laughter and enjoy watching the scenes of the Marina dotted with expensive yachts.

Alternatively, we could opt for Starbucks at one of the Malls (The Village at Dubai Mall is my favorite) where we catch up with gossip and people watch too. We could equally feast our eyes with window shopping until they glazed over with all the beautiful over priced goodies beckoning to us. Sounds like a good deal right?

Of course, you know that we won’t have just a cup of coffee without something chewy to go with it. All the lovely smell of baked goods would cause some rumbling in the tummy and I bet my last dirham that we would convince each other to add a slice of something nice. We might settle on a carrot cake and red velvet or anything that appears decadent…we can always walk it off together, tomorrow 😉

Settled down in a vantage position for people watching, I would listen to you regale me with tidbits of the current goings-on in your life and I would interject with an aah, ooh, or you don’t say! It would all depend on the expression that fits the moment.

If we were having a cup of coffee right now, we would cluck over the abysmal situation of migrants and the sorry state of affairs of the World, and possibly end on an optimistic, philosophical note that things would hopefully look up soon.

Over that warm mug of drink, I would share tales from my last visit back home and my experience so far in moving from Houston to Dubai. I would tell you how the search for a new abode went and how expensive living spaces are over here.

I would tell you about my fascination for the new culture that I am experiencing and my plans to immerse myself in learning Arabic language whilst I am here, so that the snippets of conversation shared by passers-by would make meaning to me.

I would tell you fascinating tales of the places (like the Underground pub, the Gold Souk, the Safari) that we have been to and would urge you to come for a visit longer than a quick cup of coffee so that we would share a memory.

About how at odds I feel having my Sundays as a work/school day and today, Friday is a weekend – I am still struggling to adjust to the change. It’s only been six weeks anyway!

I would tell you how much I minded having my status classified as ‘house-wife‘ instead of ‘writer‘ because my resident permit comes under my husbands own and you know how things are in this part of the World.

I would share the thoughts warring in my head about diligently seeking full-time employment over here or should I focus on my writing and the little things that I do to earn some income? What do you think?

If we were to have a cup of coffee right now, there would be so much to share. So what do you say? Are you coming over?

Lest I forget, I would tell you of the blogging ideas bouncing around in my head, then I would share this link: A little pick me up with you as well as little bits about the fascinating people that I have met so far in the virtual World and how husband has grown used to my bursts and cackles of laughter….

Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

In response to Writing 101 – Day 10: Update your readers over a cup of coffee

The Daily Post

Me, Myself and I…..

September 17, 2015September 17, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha38 Comments

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “From the Top.”

If you had the chance to be reborn, would you choose to return as your present self, or would opt for a fresh start?

Why would I want to do that, if I may ask?

To change and become who or what?

A dribble nosed tiny tot, suckling and gurgling without a care in the World?

A terrifying whiny toddler that drove her parents crazy and singed the cat’s tail?

A gangling unsure teenager, riddled with acne and all? Not sure if I liked the boy’s or hated them all?

A cocky twenty-something know it all? With lots of broken pieces of my heart to patch?

Nah! I think I shall pass on this ostentatious offer!

It has been a hard journey to get to this point of self-love,

A place where I found love for me, myself and I, past, warts, accidents and all.

I am not enthused at such an idea!

I have no energy to invest in such!

I love me as I am now!

Let’s leave it that way! Thank you for the offer but I pass!

Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

The Daily Post · Writing

My Narcississtic Self Tooting it’s Horns….

September 15, 2015September 15, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha33 Comments

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “These Horns Were Made for Tooting.”

It almost borders on narcissism to talk about oneself with any form of adulation. It is as if you are opening up a voyeuristic door into the heart of your soul; but self-confidence requires sometimes, that we push the shackles of shyness aside and come out of our self-imposed shells, allowing eyes, ears and minds to take a glimpse into our soft core.

The softness of my core has been built with Resilience and Adaptive strength that even tends to surprise me as well. Having weathered some very discomfiting and turbulent seasons in my life, I have only come out more refined and stronger.

I sincerely do not accord this character trait to my individual strength, but to the Grace of God which abounds and has proven to be enduring.

Bearing grudges is to harbor pain and a waste of time by allowing someone to occupy rent-free space in my head. Thus said, for some reason which I cannot decipher, I do not indulge in creating expectations from anyone, that way I have no lingering feelings of disappointment if they should fail to meet such expectations.

By so doing, every little warm gesture becomes a pleasure to be savored.

As much as I like lovely, expensive things 😉 I am very, very contented with simple things.

Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

Image Credit: Funmozar.com

Blogging · Inspiration - Motivation · Writing

A shove in the right direction….

September 14, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha23 Comments

Isn’t it peachy and very ambitious of me to lump in doing Writing 101 and Blogging 201 along with the busy-ness of my life hmm!

Truly, the bargaining chick in me saw the offer as a BOGOF (buy one get one free) and couldn’t resist biting the bait.

Well, sometimes, I guess we need these extra push to step out of our comfort zone and push our limits just a bit harder. Well, lets see how far I fare with the heat under my butt 😉

I love blogging because I have so many tales to tell and it would be selfish to keep them all to myself, what do you think?

I decided to start blogging because writing stuff down on notebooks no longer satisfied me. Writing gives clarity to my thinking process and helps me focus on the goals ahead.

If by chance of passing through this corridor, I gain notoriety as a leader in my field, that would be absolutely delightful.

If per chance I continue to connect with more fantastic bloggers; like I am doing right now, then I would be very glad and enriched with the presence of beautiful souls.

If per chance I am able to succeed in snagging a book contract or self-publish, then that would be a complete circle of success.

At each point in time, it is worthwhile to review one’s goals, fine tune them where necessary and ramp them up as well if need be and in that spirit, I want to keep my goals simple and feasible.

Double my social media network by the end of 2015.
Add a bi-monthly series feature to my blog on or before September 30th.
Visit and socialize a bit more with my followers and discover new blogs each week.
Keep my nose on the grind and get the draft of one of my novel’s completed by 31st November.

Now let me not get too ambitious and just leave it at that.

Let me know what you think, please?

Thank you and regards.

Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

In response to Blogging 201: Day One: Set Three Goals

Creative Writing · Uncategorized

What inspired my Title and ever changing Tag line? Blogging 101

July 7, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha9 Comments

Here goes. For me, there is nothing like jumping in two feet into the moment than getting tardy and feeling like I have an albatross around my neck several days later. Therefore in answer to the question why I chose the title acookingpotandtwistedtales:

For a long while, I had been satisfied spinning my yard tales for my children and family alike (even my husband likes to listen in), as well as sharing them on Facebook with friends, but I never got round to blogging. I was far too busy with other things (I kept telling myself) and writing the stories in my journal, waiting for the right time, but the right time was a list of never ending tomorrows.

On New’s years eve, after outlining my long list of resolutions, I chose to fly out the window and test my wings, but I had no name with which to express my thoughts and tell my stories, the short and long of it all.

After several attempts which did not quite settle with me, since I was in search of something that spoke specifically to me, my Ah ha moment came, whilst preparing a meal for my children and spinning a long tale by moonlight for them. I think a little fairy dropped some gold dust on my ears and whispered: acookingpotandtwistedtales and it simply clicked. For me, my title represents a medley of ideas tossed together to create a patchwork of interesting stuff.

I spend a good portion of my time cooking for my family, and funny enough, I had dabbled into catering business at some point in time in my interesting Topsy-curvy life, so it felt it was quite apt and I think I am going to keep it even though my Title and URL are the same name. Well, who knows, only time will tell what changes would be made.

My tag line had pretty much stayed the same until I joined the blogging university and fire was put under my butt to think out of the box 😉 so in the space of twenty four hours it has changed several times and might even change some more. From “Let’s spin a tale” to “Think. Spin tales: True, False and the Downright absurd”. I am trying to capture the essence of what I want to convey through my blog, which are basically centered around short fictions, my inspirational thoughts, social criticism and rants (when the fancy catches me).

Since it’s not a revolution but an evolution, I will keep tweaking that tag line until I am a hundred percent satisfied.

So, what do you think?

Uncategorized

Introducing myself: Blogging 101

July 6, 2015July 8, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha7 Comments

Let’s hope I don’t bore you to death with my ramblings on this assignment of “who I am and why I am here” in the blogosphere.

Jacqueline, the face behind acookingpotandtwistedtales, is a passionate Nigerian woman.

I am a wordsmith (on the cusp of authorship, in my mind at least). I am an entrepreneur, an advocate of truth and moral values, a people’s person, a motivator and a bi-linguist; French/English (also attempting to pick as many languages as I can, even just in their smattering forms).

I am the spouse of an interesting and intelligent gentleman who makes each day in my life spontaneous and devoid of boredom.

I am a mother of children who keep all my faculties engaged (physical and non-physical).

So this is me, an avid reader (not mind reader, unfortunately), an everyday woman with a passion for life and family.

I love to sing in my wobbly voice (who cares), to dance and strut my stuff and to laugh heartily. I love fitness and good nutrition when I can encourage my other lazy self to lace on her training shoes and not to eat all the cake.

I am still a child of Evolution.

I started blogging when I got tired of keeping my thoughts penciled in my journals (I still pencil though). It serves as a voice to some internal thoughts and turmoils. I think in clarity, I recuperate and I exhale when I write. It is therapeutic for me.

I see a story in everything, humorous, serious, life matters, beauty, child rearing or anything that inspires me that we might have in common as humans.

So here I am, exhaling after a long time of staying under water.

If I blog successfully throughout the next year, I would have cultivated the discipline of settling down to write and ramble. I would (hopefully) have finished the drafts of the three novels that I am working on.

Indeed it would be good to arrive at those goals, but I believe that the trip through blogging would be a whole lot of fun.

I look forward to meeting and interacting with other members of this community.

Yours in sincerity,

Jacqueline.