As Magic Abounds…

December 7, 2015December 7, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha20 Comments

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The air is so crispy
The birds are quite chirpy
The magic of nature abounds
As I imbibe all the sounds

My quick strides grow shorter
My eyesight gets sharper
My senses soak in deeper
Pictures become magically wider

The lady and her dog walk past
Bow-Wow says hello
The labourer offers a fleeting smile
And he works pretty fast

So much floral blooms
And golden, droopy trees loom
Scented float of planted perfume
There is simply no room for gloom

More barking dogs
The tinkle of calm waters
The men play a hand of golf
And a bird catches a grub

A deep sense of satisfaction
Of peace I sense within
As the Sun peeks to say hello
I am happy to embrace me

My passion has called
Now, no longer ignored
I hear the reverberations
Of the magic hidden within.

Writing 101 – Day 1: Magic

Creative Writing · Fiction · Short Stories

Barnyard Circus…

December 7, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha20 Comments

The circus came to town. Lizzy wished to go, but she knew that was unlikely.

They were poor. Ma couldn’t afford such frivolities as she called it, but Lizzy’s eager heart still yearned.

As she milked Bess her friend, she confided in her.

”Oh Bess, it would be lovely to see those wonderful things that Alice described.” Bess mooed in understanding. When she was done, she patted Bess, collected eggs from Henrietta and went back to the cottage.

Bess mooed to Henrietta, who clucked to Gertrude the Gander, who quacked to Bucko the goat, who bleated to Gobbles the Turkey, until Hootensia the wise barn owl made a suggestion and they agreed to the plan.

What a wonderful time Lizzy had. Lots of fun stuff to do and bright lights too.

Her animal friends and the fairies dotted on her. They made face paints from flower petals and wove a flower tiara for Lizzy.

When she woke up, she was disappointed that it was a dream, until she saw some petals stuck in her hair and the sprinkle of gold dust on her window ledge.

Inlinkz code

In response to the FFfAW photo prompt above. Thank you Priceless Joy for this challenge platform.

Family · Humor - Bellyful of laughter · Life · Personal story · The Daily Post

Twiddle Dee…Truant Me…personal

December 6, 2015December 6, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha24 Comments

Mum, now that I have grown old enough to know better, I am sorry for wasting your funds in the past; this apology was long overdue. Thank you WordPress for reminding me.

You painstakingly paid for several sessions of holiday piano classes with my primary school music teacher, but it seemed like a waste of precious childhood vacation time in my eyes, not when some of my playmates were busy playing hopscotch next door.

So, I hopscotched away my time and never got past clumsily tapping little ditties and the ‘do re mi fa so la ti do’ of piano things.

In simpler terms, I played truant with my piano lessons and I received a thorough telling off, a note-worthy smack and cancelled piano lessons since it appeared that I had no appreciation for the fineness of music.

Who knows, maybe if I had stuck to it, I might have struck the right chord and become a musical child prodigy.

Please don’t dare chuckle when I say that I am now expending my own money trying to play catch up with the piano lessons that I should have learnt back then 😃

However, I am not totally a lost cause, I did learn how to play the flute quite well and it’s not such a bad thing, just that it leaves me breathless.

The Daily Post prompt Strike a chord.

Do you play an instrument? Is there a musical instrument whose sound you find particularly pleasing? Tell us a story about your experience or relationship with an instrument of your choice.

Creative Writing · Love · Poetry/Poems · Quotes For You

To Read, To Love, To Laugh, To Live…

December 5, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha8 Comments

As we lay basking
Under soft gentle breeze of the day
I beseech you, my love
To read to me some more
That your words may give me life

♥

Read to me, my sweet one
That your soft words
May wash over me
Flowing through my veins
Embedding themselves
In the core of me

♥

Mesmerize me with
The flow of your words
That drops from your pale glossy lips
That I may drink in each syllable
To nourish and satisfy
The deep yearn within

♥

Enchant me with
Your expressive eyes
That I may find myself
Ever caught between
The reflections of your pupils
And there shall I remain

♥

Embrace me with your love
That it may cloak my being
With serenity and with warmth
And I may taste it’s sweetness
Like honeydew even when
The days fail to look bright

♥

Read to me my sweet love
That these words may empower my mind
And put laughter on my lips
That I may go places with you…
Where I have never been before

DAY 5

Jennifer at INK and QUILL has invited me to participate in 5 day photo story challenge.

Challenge Guidelines:

Post a picture each day, for five consecutive days. Attach a story to your image.

*can be fiction / non-fiction
*poem / short paragraph
*each day nominates another blogger

I invite Sam at Starlit Octave Band a fabulous blogger and poet, to join the photo story challenge. I look forward to reading from you if you choose to participate. Enjoy 🙂

Devotions · Family · Gratitude · Love · Personal story

To The Daughter Of My Heart… personal

December 5, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha47 Comments

Wearing a crown painstakingly made by my younger brother :) — Wearing a crown painstakingly made by my younger brother 🙂

My dearest darling daughter,

I watch in awe as you edge on the cusp of teenage-hood, so fast, so soon, since it seems just like yesterday that your cute, squiggly and warm self was handed into my arms and you truly became mine.

I still relive your valiant struggle to surmount all the challenges faced by a tiny preemie and as I look at you today, my tall elegant child, it is in amazement of God’s goodness and grace over your life.

Daughter mine, my gentle unassuming child, in my minds eyes, I remember your tiny arms outstretched to me so many times as you uttered, ”carry mama” always a toddling step behind my feet.

Now, look at you! My beautiful budding young child, full of her own dreams and aspirations and bright as the morning star.

The love that I have for you cannot be expressed fully with words and my heart burgeons with so much delight with The Heavens for allowing you to be mine.

I say this so that you may always know, that even if you look back tomorrow and I am no where to be found, that I love you to the ends of time.

That I love you unconditionally and irrevocably.

Know that as your wings grow and are stretching to fly, that I pray for you today and always.

I pray that your star will always shine as bright as The Heavens created it to be.

I pray that you will soar like an Eagle and that wisdom will always follow you.

I pray that deep peace that flows like the oceans of time will always be your portion and the flow of your joy shall be like a river.

I pray that the generosity and compassion of your heart will continually expand.

I pray that abundant Grace will be your daily cloak, that favour will be your portion and that the Mercy of God will never depart from you.

I pray that your courage will be boundless as you grow into a confident, strong lady, filled with faith, hope and love.

I pray deeply that life will treat you well. Be blessed. Be happy. Be well.

Happy 12th my precious girl Nnenna, Adaobi, Christine, Mmesomachukwu.

You truly decorate my life and my heart.

I love you loads and loads.

Mummy.

Creative Writing · Photographs · Poetry/Poems · Short Stories

On Guard!…

December 2, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha12 Comments

Out of the blues,
They appeared.
Whence they came,
No one knew.
They stood stock still,
In proud array.
Like timeless rocks of Gibraltar,
That you could see from afar.
Some simply marveled at their mysterious presence,
Some used them for their resting and leaning essence,
Some vowed they heard their curious whispers,
Which simply gave them the shivers.
But the wise among them knew,
That these were the ancient ones,
Formed over timeless ages,
Hewn from endless stages.
They are the centurions of the fort,
Who stood in firm support,
In silence they watched the port,
As each person hurried back and forth.

DAY 2

Jennifer at INK and QUILL has invited me to participate in 5 day photo story challenge.

Challenge Guidelines:

Post a picture each day, for five consecutive days. Attach a story to your image.

*can be fiction / non-fiction
*poem / short paragraph
*each day nominates another blogger

I invite Lucid Gypsy, who has a wealth of pictures that fascinate me, to join the photo story challenge. I look forward to reading from you if you choose to participate. Enjoy 🙂

Family · Hope · Life · Quotes For You · Success · The Daily Post · Writing

When I Was Just A Little Girl…personal

December 1, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha38 Comments

I have to hum this song of Doris Day in my head while at it:

When I was just a little girl
I asked my mother what will I be
Will I be pretty will I be rich
Here’s what she said to me

Que Sera Sera
Whatever will be will be
The future’s not ours to see
Que Sera Sera
What will be will be

When I grew up and fell in love
I asked my sweetheart what lies ahead
Will we have rainbows day after day
Here’s what my sweetheart said

Que Sera Sera
Whatever will be will be
The future’s not ours to see
Que Sera Sera
What will be will be

Now I have children of my own
They ask their mother what will I be
Will I be handsome will I be rich
I tell them tenderly

Que Sera Sera
Whatever will be will be
The future’s not ours to see
Que Sera Sera
What will be will be
Que Sera Sera

Doris Day Que sera sera

Like most young children, I had as many aspirations as my diapers were changed, ranging from being a newscaster, an actress, a mother, a singer, a nurse, a pilot, a lawyer, a writer, a fashion designer….just about everything that you could think of in the book.

I don’t recall wanting to be a police officer, because the Nigerian police of my growing up years were not particularly inspiring.

We hardly knew what fire service men looked like, because if someone’s house unfortunately caught fire, they would attempt to quench the thirst of the licking hot flames with buckets of water while watching their properties turn to cinders, so I had no aspirations in that direction.

I fancied being a doctor at some point, because of the films that I watched, where they looked so capable and nice in their scrubs.

I dabbled a bit here and there in living my childhood dreams.

A bit of novice modelling and amateur acting, debating and writing for young magazines.

I learnt how to sew and realized that I would rather draw the designs than sew the clothes.

I studied law but I am not a practicing lawyer.

I went into international relations/French language and spent over a dozen years working with Multinational and Diplomatic corps.

After my children arrived, I waded into entrepreneurial ventures and found it to my liking – I love being the boss of me and having time for my young family.

In all my multi desires, the strongest desire which has not fallen by the wayside over time, but has only grown stronger has been my writing aspirations.

This is the flame that I want to keep stoking so that it can burn as high as possible and I think that my cumulative, diverse experiences brings a lot to bear into my writing.

I feel as if my writing is an embodiment of all my past aspirations and even those that are still at incubating stage such as some of my interests in Life coaching and Entrepreneurship. We shall see how it goes.

Now, I find several me’s embedded inside one me: Me (myself), me the wife, me the mother, me the child of my parents, me the writer, me the friend, me the life student and many more me’s to discover.

Life is a consistent transition and as I roll with the constant fluidity of life, part of the affirmations I make to myself are that:

I will live and not die wishing that I had lived better. I will live to declare the goods works of the Lord in the land of the living. I will live moment by moment, loving my life as it is and loving those around me. I will not live in fear of daring to succeed but will dare to succeed and fail forward.

The Daily Post Ballerian-Fireman-Astronaut-Movie-Star

When you were 10, what did you want to be when you grew up? What are you now? Are the two connected?

Image credit: Pinterest

Creative Writing · Life · Photographs · Poetry/Poems · The Daily Post

The Transitions Of A Neighbourhood…

November 30, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha28 Comments

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The cycles of a neighbourhood,

Are the same, even in Hollywood,

And I daresay, also Bollywood.

Dawn to dusk, Year after Year,

We break our backs with wear and tear,

As we aim to make it good.

The Daily Post Photo Challenge prompt Transitions.

Blogging · Humor - Bellyful of laughter · Inspiration - Motivation · Musings · Success · The Daily Post · Writing

Yippee! It’s Over Now…singing a song

November 30, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha63 Comments

Tra la la la! Yippee!

I did it, Oh yes I did it!

I am doing a jig and a boogie-woogie at the same time 😉

I managed to finish the NaBloPoMo with a flourish.

Not a prompt missed.

Honestly, there were some mornings that I woke up and wanted to play truant, but the little effervescent encouraging voice in me kept prodding me to try, and this was in fierce contest with the little imp of discouragement that kept saying ”come on, just a day’s kicking back won’t hurt.”

It seriously, wasn’t easy trying to do this, coupled with other posts that I usually make, in essence, each day, I was posting 3 to 4 original articles per day.

Some of the prompts were fly by the seat of your pants prompt like The Daily Post; I love participating in The Daily Post because you just never know what the prompt is going to be all about, so it helps my thinking quickly on my feet.

Somethings did suffer a bit with all these writing and the very first one was my butt. This is my little ditty about a writers flat butt.

The second thing that took the flake was my book. Instead of a thousand words a day, I was limping in at 500 words.

Each night, by the time I read two paragraphs of the John Grisham that I am currently reading, I am out cold and I bet I was snoring too – mind you we ladies don’t snore, we just make delicate noises.

My hubby is too nice to tell me that I am snoring. He knows the side that his bread is buttered on *wink* if he wants his nice hot meals 🙂

Now to celebrate, I am just going to kick back for a couple of days; I will still post each day as usual; but not with the rabid intention of the past few days.

Where is my Irish cream and some deep tissue massage?

Hmm! I feel the relaxation coming on before the next upheaval.

Thank you for staying with me my dear friends and for all your beautiful support.

To persevere and to finish is really a good feeling 🙂

NaBloPoMo prompt – Monday, November 30

What do you like to do to celebrate an accomplishment?

Blogging · Inspiration - Motivation · The Daily Post · Writing

It’s A Consuming Art…

November 29, 2015November 29, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha27 Comments

Until I started blogging, I didn’t realize that not only is it an art, it could also be an intense affair which gets a bit addictive, most especially if a blogger is striving for excellence in content and building connections.

It is also a slow burning, time consuming venture. You’ ve simply got to love writing, learn how to organise thoughts, have a schedule, set sensible goals in order to make it less stringent as well as interesting.

It is easy for a blogger to burn-out if the balance becomes badly skewed heavily to work and just more work. Once it becomes tedium, it loses its appeal, so striking a balance between fun and professionalism is also taken into account.

I am still learning the ropes as I go and making the rules that work well with my circumstances.

There are days my brain cells feel as if they are getting fried from all the original content writing, connecting and browsing other blogs, coupled with the rest of my life’s exigencies.

I notice my stress when I start feeling my shoulders bunch up, which is my main stress point and once I feel that way, it is time to de-stress.

It is time to take a step back and relax. I let the phone and the rest of my paraphernalia lie fallow for several hours and do something different to detox my brain.

An act as simple as a leisurely walk, singing off key to favourites, going to the cinema, watching a comedy that makes you laugh until tears roll down my eyes, spending time faffing around with the kids, going to a spot to people watch, can go a long way in recharging my batteries, then I get back into it with gusto.

One smart blogging practice that I started, which I have found very helpful is that on the days that I feel up to it , at least once a week, I work flat out for hours, producing rough draft’s of different post’s. I go with my feel of the moment. It could be a poem, a story, a haiku, a thought, an inspirational post, prayer…

On days that the energy is flagging or inspiration is not kicking in as usual, those drafts come in very handy and I borrow from there.

This further reduces the hours spent staring at the shiny box, leaving you with more time to just be.

The Daily Post Bloggers Unplugged

Sometimes, we all need a break from these little glowing boxes. How do you know when it’s time to unplug? What do you do to make it happen?