Tag: NaBloPoMo

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

Yippee! It’s Over Now…*singing a song*

jacquelineobyikocha63 Comments

Tra la la la! Yippee!woohoo

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 🙂

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

NaBloPoMo prompt – Monday, November 30

What do you like to do to celebrate an accomplishment?

Musings · Quotes For You · Writing

My Best Material Possessions…

jacquelineobyikocha33 Comments

1448608720988[1]

Whenever someone asks me what the best purchase I ever made was, I wonder why my mind simply drifts to the books that I have read and those that I look forward to reading?

Books are such ordinary things to call prized possessions, yet no gemstones like them have I found. Does this happen to you too?

My mind traces back to those books that have imparted valuable knowledge and fed my eclectic taste and senses.

I am always hard pressed to think of other material belongings that give me as much pleasure as my books and my Kindle does.

Is it my diamond encrusted ring? I do love it so and it always glows on my finger and makes me smile.

They say that diamonds are a girls best friend but I am still not yet so sure if it is truly mine. I appreciate it’s value but it is yet to speak to me.

Is it my latest pair of LV slippers? Yes they are certainly popping beautiful feet candy but not my prized possession.

Is it the fantastic new perfume of mysterious origin that I discovered at the Souk? 1448608832940[1]

I have no idea what the name of the perfume means, since it is written in Arabic, but I must tell you that the fragrance is divine.

The list could go on and on but if the truth be told, none of these other things gives me the depth of satisfaction that books I have read gave me.

When I buy a book, it’s like I found a new friend. I usually can’t wait to curl up on my sofa or bed to get acquainted.

I always think that the cover of a book is like a door. Which gives me delightful glimpses of where I have not been before.

Sometimes it casts a spell, tickles, teaches or chastises. I always wonder when I knock what welcome there will be.

This little poem I wrote a while back will tell you more of my thoughts about books.

So what’s your best purchase of recent? Do share the fun, whatever that may be 🙂

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

NaBloPoMo prompt – Friday, November 27

What’s the best purchase you ever made?

Blogging · Humor - Bellyful of laughter · Musings · Quotes For You · Weave that Dream

I am Jacqueline Of All Trades and not a Boring Bumkum!..

jacquelineobyikocha25 Comments

How would you feel if you are at a cocktail party or any social gathering, where several chit-chats are going on in small circles and you are stuck with a Mr/Ms Know-it-all, who is busy spouting boring bunkum over a singular topic that would probably put you to sleep at the get go; no matter how much you try to steer them into a more interesting  topic?

Your ears will twitch and strain in a giraffic eavesdropping attempt to catch morsels of discussion going on across the room, where every body looks animatedly  engaged, while you nod in mindless agreement to phrases and lip movement’s of a conversation that lost your attention 2 minutes after it started

I bet you, once you think it is polite enough, you would definitely find the quickest and possibly a dumb excuse;  usually a visit to the rest-room always comes in handy, then make a fast get-away, only to slink back in and go over to join the merry crowd who are laughing off their heads and having a swell time.

I definitely don’t want to be that boring bunkum that you  want to escape from!

I love to know bits and pieces of this and that, even if I don’t know all of them with the proficiency of an expert, at least let me know enough to hold a sensible, intelligent and entertaining discourse.1448372992825[1]

Certainly, there are people who are designed to be experts in physics and geology and what not but, I am simply not one of them!

My interests are so diverse that sometimes I wonder when on Earth I am going to be able to experience doing them all!

Serious consideration on making a bucket list as long as ever, is currently on-going on my part, so that I can start prioritizing those things that I want to do or learn to the best of my ability and for my own pleasure.

Maybe it is due to my spirit that seeks to find beauty and fulfillment in everything that I see that pushes my desire for a bit of  knowledge of diverse things.

I would rather have a spicy and flavorful life of bits and pieces of knowledge than a staid, cold custard of expertise.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

NaBloPoMo Prompt – November 25, 2015

Do you think its better to be a recognized expert for one thing or known to be really good at a lot of things.

Inspiration - Motivation · Musings · Personal story · Quotes For You

The Game Of Best…

jacquelineobyikocha29 Comments

be yourself

There are no two ways about it, the utmost thing that I do better than anyone else is being myself.

I am an original of who I am and not a poor quality copy of someone else – well, except bits of my parents, who did the very needful to create me 😉

It is important to reaffirm this to oneself time and again, especially in voyeuristic recent times where the over-zealous drive to be perfect seems to increase more and more.

There is absolutely nothing wrong in striving to be the best that one can be, but there is something wrong in getting carried off in the drift of trying to be too many people at the same time; even a persons brain will surely get wonky and tired from the ping-pong of living lives or attempting to live lives that don’t belong to us. Never You

I may not be particularly adept at doing somethings that other people are very good at doing or being better than anyone as a matter of fact.

What I know for sure is that whatever interest that I develop, I try to put in the best of my ability and my real competitor is myself because I keep pushing my boundaries and keep aspiring to improve on my standards.

When we look at our palms, no two finger prints are the same, likewise, all fingers are definitely not equal. Each is characteristically different and that is how all human are different.

It is a foolhardy, frustrating, exhausting and stress inducing process to keep comparing notes and juggling the attempts to beat others.

There will always be someone better at one thing or the other.

Trying to be the very best at whatever your game is the first part of being the best and I must reiterate that in the game of best, being the best authentic you that you can be is better than being a confused nobody.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

NaBloPoMo Prompt – Monday, November 23

What do you do better than anyone else?

Blogging · Gratitude · Hope · Life · Personal story · Writing

Staying Alive, staying alive….

jacquelineobyikocha59 Comments

1448011622622[1]

The year fast draws to a close and it has really been an eventful one with a few dashes of rainbow and a lot of World mishaps.

Let us be prayerful that the next few weeks will be calm, joyful and refreshing.

On a personal note, by the end of the year, I will be thankful for having survived a turbulent World.

In today’s World where even the mundane part of life seems fraught with danger, we should be grateful for each day that we spend successfully as we lay ourselves down to sleep.

By the end of the year, I would have been running my blog nonstop for 7 months and should have concluded the draft of one of my books.

It was my hope to finish two of them, but with blogging in the mix and other duties that beckon for my attention daily, without ceasing, I had to focus on one and take it easy so that I don’t break down whilst trying to hurtle at a full-on break-neck speed.

I am currently at 50,000 words + and may be closing in with 70 to 80k words or so. I am not sure.

Being alive these days is a major achievement and it is only when we are successfully alive at the end of the year that we can count how many eggs our chickens have laid.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

NaBloPoMo prompt – Friday, November 20

What do you hope happens by the end of this year?

Blogging · Hope · Inspiration - Motivation · Life · Love · Weave that Dream

How Complete Do You Feel?…

jacquelineobyikocha29 Comments

1447768353272[1]As the days go by, I have truly realized that contentment and peace are not items that can be borrowed, purchased or stolen.

No amount of prosperity or material gains can put something in a soul that is derelict or lacking and no other human is responsible for my happiness but myself.

One can aim to attain the satisfaction of living a complete life from within themselves and not from without.

Personally, I don’t tie the state of my well-being to anything that lacks intrinsic value outside myself and God.

It is a continuous pursuit for me and I strive to achieve this state of being by:

  • Trying to understand myself and what truly makes me happy.
  • Staying in tune with my responsibility.
  • Seeking enabling ways to free my mind and de-stress.
  • Finding positive things to do.
  • Strengthening my health and finances.
  • Extending kindness to others.
  • Pursuing my passion and interests.
  • Maintaining good relationships.

Keeping my life simple and trying not to worry as much about things that are not within my power to change but doing my absolute best to change those that are within my line of sight and control.

With all these things on a balanced scale, I feel excited and alive, knowing that each day, I give life my best shot because tomorrow is not guaranteed anyone.

I cannot afford to extend the promise of living and feeling as complete as I can in expectation of  events which are merely temporal and may never arise.

Traveling to see new places, buying the little niceties that I can afford to buy are just toppings on a life to be savoured.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

In response to NaBloPoMo prompt Tuesday, November 17

What is one place you need to see to feel like your life is complete?

Humor - Bellyful of laughter · Little rants · writing ideas

One-In-Town! Limited Edition!….

jacquelineobyikocha34 Comments

In my opinion, the dish washing machine producers simply didn’t think the production of thisScientist useful apparatus through when they were making it, except they indirectly created an automated cupboard for washed crockery.

It is really tiresome to engage in loading plates and off loading plates, then using the same plates within hours of washing and offloading and the hamster cycle continues.

My plates seem to live in the dishwasher more often than not except my fine china, which is brought out for auspicious August visitors and I dare say, that this is the case in a lot of homes.

With my tongue in my cheek, I know several African friends of mine whose dishwashers are mere items to decorate the kitchen and only put to use once in a while.

As a matter of fact, we actually end up washing the dishes ourselves and putting them on a plate rack to dry. Less trouble that way.

In that light, I am embarking on reinventing the dishwasher with an assistant attached to do the loading and offloading. Not that I am much of an inventor 😉

Who knows, I might come up with a fangled sophisticated new plate loader and off-loader.

Please queue up for your own limited edition of this one-in-town apparatus.

You can put down your name below, with required specifications and preferred colour 🙂

It’s first come, first serve basis!

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

In response to NaBloPoMo prompt – Monday, November 16

Pretending you have the expertise to make the product a reality, what do you wish you could invent?

image credit: gogobambini.com

Humor - Bellyful of laughter · Musings · Writing

Wouldn’t you just love to have your own Jeeves?…

jacquelineobyikocha33 Comments

Let’s be honest with one another, if the truth be told, wouldn’t you want to have that magical Jeeves/Personal Assistant who will tackle those dreaded and impossible to delegate tasks that you are faced with?

Oh! I so would love me some Jeeves. Genie Jeeves would take care of my business in an efficient manner such as:

Exercising for me, and passing all the nicely contoured muscles to my body. He sweats it out while I shape up nicely and of course I would recline on a plush chaise-lounge like a rich Nabob eating whatever I liked without the repercussions of the weighing scale. How awesome would that be 🙂auntie acid and exercise

My dear genie Jeeves, would write those bestseller stories and books running around in my head to a perfect T and as quickly as possible too, so that he can start selling and make me wads of money.

Genie Jeeves would read my tons of mail, weed out the unintelligent ones and pass the intelligent information that I need to know into my head.

All those boxes of knick-knacks that found their way into the house would be nicely sorted out, labeled, given away or whatever. Jeeves will take care of that mess.

Running all those distracting little errands that can cut into my precious “knowing me time’‘ would be up Jeeves alley.

…..Earth to Jacqueline, now stop the daydreaming and remember that wishes are not horses, so no ride for this poor beggar.

Let me keep staring out of the window as often as possible, hopefully, I just might catch a shooting star and make my wishes; you never know these things 😉

So, tell me, do you have any chores that you need sorted out?

I might just be in the mood to lend you my Jeeves when he arrives.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

In response to NaBloPoMo – Thursday, November 12

If you had a personal assistant who would do your most dreaded tasks, which items from your to-do list would you assign out?

Blogging · Inspiration - Motivation · Tips for the day · Writing

You Can’t Stop Now!…

jacquelineobyikocha8 Comments

Starting a new project is akin to venturing on an unknown expedition which is fraught withKeep trying excitement, uncertainties, trepidation, breakthroughs and a basketful of other emotions of unknown origins.

Most times, we are hesitant to approach a project that looms in our minds, overthinking the process of that new beginning with all the should I, would I, could I and what if’s under the sun.

Once that overthinking, over-preparing process begins, our zeal starts to wane and that little nay-saying imp hanging around the corridors of progress waiting to say nay at the slightest opportunity, will validate our excuses with all the best laid out reasons and will nip at our heels with glee.

A simple approach which I have found that works before I jump into the fray with two feet, is to ask just two questions with a chart to tick my answers:

– What is the purpose of this project and what do I stand to gain with its success?

weighed against:

– What do I stand to lose if it doesn’t pan out the way I thought it would?

Once these two bits have been sorted out in my head, I dive in wholeheartedly and give it my best shot. Some days along the way might be arduous but I limp along and keep telling myself “hang in there, this too shall pass”.

By the time I know it, time is flying past, I am enjoying the process and recording success to the point that when the end looms in sight I start feeling withdrawal pangs, wondering why I didn’t do this before.

Over the years, with little things that I done here and there, I found that the greatest fault is not failing to succeed in that which one sets off to achieve, rather, it is the failure to attempt in the first place that is the biggest problem.

“To my fellow NaBloPoMoer’s and The NaNoWrimoer’s, just hang in there, this too shall pass!“

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

In response to NaBloPoMo, Tuesday, November 10

What is the hardest part of a big project: getting the energy to begin, finding the time to work on it, or feeling down that it’s over?

Family · Humor - Bellyful of laughter · Life · Love · Personal story

In Many Ways, We Become Our Parents…

jacquelineobyikocha27 Comments
One of the voluntary days spent teaching children etiquette in a school in Lagos
One of the voluntary days spent teaching children etiquette at a school in Lagos

Except where parents are as mean as rattle snakes, during their formative years, most children look up to their parents as their heroes or role models without clay feet and worthy of emulating.

They soak in mannerisms, attitudes, lifestyle and a host of character moulding outlooks from those who have been placed in positions of authority as their custodians. This serves as a reminder that it is very needful to exercise diligent caution in writing positively all over the clean slate of life of these young ones whom we are responsible for.

Recently, I find myself gravitating towards a lot of things that my parents used to do and those that they inculcated in me in years that I hardly knew anything.

I catch myself these days, repeating certain statements that my mother makes.

The wise adages and idioms which laced my fathers enunciation’s line my speech and thoughts every other day.Your children

Asides from working for the University until they both retired, they both dabbled into so many other things such as side businesses, farming, arts and craft etc. and I can proudly say that maybe I did inherit some art skills and entrepreneurial abilities from them.

Though it seems I haven’t been a successful green-fingers like my dad. I think my lack of success has been out of sheer laziness. Plants thrived under dad’s fingers, but in my own case, I have been more inclined in putting in the plant into the soil, watering  and whispering to it a few times, then with a pat on the head, I stroll along, expecting the sapling to know what to do and to thrive. Of course the poor young sapling either strives to thrive or dies trying :/

Career wise, I did dabble into working in a school environment for a while but it didn’t hold my interest for too long. I reverted to volunteering my time to school work.

My mother told us a lot of stories when we were growing up and since we have long flown the coop, she currently enjoys the pleasure of volunteering her story moulding services regularly to the children’s church and it is always impressive to see how these children hang on to her and adore her. They call her mummy ever so often that I even feel twinges of jealousy occasionally.

I think I must have acquired storytelling genes from her.

I cannot recollect making conscious decisions to follow in their footsteps, but I catch myself sliding in directions that they have taken and it does make me ponder for a moment….maybe, I am becoming my parents. Who knows, I may still become a plant-whisperer as the days go by. Not a bad feeling at all is it? 🙂

In response to NaBloPoMo prompt – Wednesday, November 4

When you were a kid, did you want to have the same job or a different job than your parents when you grew up?