Thoughts Opinions & Memories | But I Smile Anyway...

#JusJoJan Daily Prompt – Jan. 5th/17 – Spangly

05 Jan 2017 37 Comments

by Ritu in #jusjojan, Challenges, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: #jusjojan, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Judy Martin, Linda G Hill, Spangly

Day 5 of Linda’s #JusJoJan challenge, and this time it’s hosted by Rosemary Carlson. Go check out her blog too, by clicking here!

Now for your prompt for January 5. It is brought to you by Judy of http://www.edwinasepisodes.com/. Your prompt is: “Spangly.” Use it any way you like. Make sure you stop by Judy’s website and say hello to her!

My in-laws came back from India last month, and as usual, they came with a selection of gifts, which usually include some sort of outfits. I have a cupboard groaning with clothes, as MIL tends to get a little overexcited when it comes to getting me clothes, even though she knows I hardly get a chance to wear these beautiful outfits!

The same goes for Lil Princess, but the worst thing is that she is a child, so she grows fast, and there a huge amount of gorgeous clothes she doesn’t even get to wear, and they are left to languish in the wardrobe, getting smaller and smaller

This time, I managed to convince MIL to only get me one thing, as we have a family wedding in February, and she bought just two outfits for Lil Princess.

It can be touch and go as to whether they are outfits to my liking, as I tend to wear more understated things, and sometimes MIL can find the most blingy things lovely! Hey, I am not averse to spangly outfits, they can look great on others. It’s just not quite my thing!

Below is the outfit she chose for me. It’s in a purple and biscuit colour, with gold thread work, and a few shiny stones thrown in too. Not bad, eh!

So here is a little haiku dedicated to my spangly new outfit!

Pretty blingy clothes
All the way from India
Won’t miss me in this!

Ritu 2017

#JusJoJan Daily Prompt – Jan. 4th/17 – #OneLinerWednesday

04 Jan 2017 40 Comments

by Ritu in #jusjojan, Challenges, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: #jusjojan, #onelinerwednesday, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Challenge, Linda G Hill

As part of #JusJoJan, day 4, Linda has asked that we take part in her weekly One-Liner Wednesday Challenge!

The rules are:

1. Make it one sentence.
2. Try to make it either funny or inspirational.
3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.
4. Add our very cool badge to your post for extra exposure!
5. Have fun!

I’ve never done this one before, so I hope I get it right!

“Even just one little step forward is better than sliding ten feet back.”- Ritu

Apt considering the temperatures and ice around at the moment!

#JusJoJan Daily Prompt – Jan. 2nd/17 – Time

02 Jan 2017 21 Comments

by Ritu in #jusjojan, Challenges, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: #jusjojan, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Challenge, Linda G Hill, Time

My entry for day 2 of #JusJoJan with Linda G Hill.

The Just Jot It January 2nd prompt, brought to you by JoAnna, from her blog “Anything is Possible,” is: “Time.” Use it any way you’re inspired to. And make sure you stop by and say hi to JoAnna as well! Here’s her blog: https://joannesilvia.com/

Just reading the prompt word brought the Cher song, “If I Could Turn Back Time” to my mind.

We can’t though, can we?

There are so many things that happen in life, so many events of note, conversations that change the path of your life. Some for better, some for worse.

It’s great if you are one of those people who are able to take a breath, and think before you speak or act, but let’s be honest, I think there are a lot of us who tend to be more impulsive with our reactions.

There are times when that impulsiveness will work in your favour, but many a time, that good old thing called ‘hindsight’ kicks in, and you wish you hadn’t said that or wish that these words had tumbled out of your mouth.

Thing is, we can’t turn back the clock, and revisit that same time, or moment.

And the way that things work out will depend on the reactions of the others around you. If you’re lucky, a simple retraction or apology might work, but sometimes you may have crossed the line. Trust broken, hearts shattered, dream bubbles burst.

Once that trust breaks, though, can you repair it? Will a patch up work, or is that crack going to be visible forever?

“Everything happens for a reason.”

So they say.

But when you are wallowing in a sea of misery, because of something stupid you said or did, you can’t help but wonder what that reason was.

If only we could turn back time…

Time – a Tanka

Once a moment goes
You can’t get it back again
Can’t change anything
Revisit it, remember
It’ll always be the same

Ritu 2017

Connections

01 Jan 2017 57 Comments

by Ritu in Challenges, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: ABBA's, Ali isaac, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Competition, Connections, Geoff Le Pard, Hugh Roberts, Sacha Black

It’s easy to stay connected nowadays, isn’t it?

What with everyone cradling a mobile phone, you are always a mere message away from connecting with someone.

And with all the different versions of social media out there, Facebook, WhatsApp, Skype, Twitter, Instagram etc. it is even easier.

Heck, you can connect with whoever you want to, whether it is by just following and liking a celebrity’s photos, or by commenting on blog posts!

Then you have all these new-fangled ways to make ‘love connections’; Tinder, Grindr and all these kinds of apps. They are a bit beyond me, I went the old skool way of actually meeting a person, not using photos to reel my man in!

But with the ease by which we can maintain these connections, though very accessible, are they real?

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love interacting with family, friends and Blogily on all these various mediums. I’d be the last person to say they shouldn’t exist!

But what about old fashioned connections?

What about actually getting off our phones, off our arses, and going to meet people? Or what about actually using our phones to shock, horror, speak to someone, rather than sending messages, or forwarding chain mail?

In my eyes, nothing beats the physical sensation of meeting someone, face to face, and being able to engulf someone, or be engulfed in a huge hug!

That is the way I felt last June when we all met up for the Annual Bloggers Bash Awards, take 2!

My life in the blogosphere started in November 2015, and slowly, I built up an amazing collective of bloggers, who I like to affectionately call my Blogily. We interacted on a weekly, if not daily, basis and these names became part of my everyday life.

For a non-blogger, understanding the importance of these folk would be hard. In fact, even though I kinda knew what my blogily meant to me, I sometimes found it tough to comprehend exactly how these virtual strangers had come to mean so much.

But that day in June, finally seeing so many faces, in the flesh, not just that Gravatar photo, was truly amazing!

As I hugged my way across the room, each person became more real. And not only were old connections reinforced, but new ones were established too.

It was a wonderful day!

Let us all connect
In every way possible
Join lives together
We are all of one planet
Let us be of one soul too

My entry for the ABBA Blog Post Competition.

A competition for us all! ABBA hype about to start here!

01 Jan 2017 15 Comments

by Ritu in Challenges, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: ABBA's, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Bloog, Competition

You know I mean The Annual Bloggers Bash Awards, and not Abba the group, don’t you?!

Well, last year, I attended the second bash and it was amazing to finally physically meet bloggers who I had interacted with for over a year!

This year it promises to be even bigger and better, and the committee have set up a competition for all bloggers to enter, with some amazing prizes!

There is a little fee, but it is for funding the bash, and making it even more amazing than before!

For some reason I couldn’t just repost or share the post, but if you click here, you will get to the original post, so you can see if you would like to enter!