“No pain, no gain, which is why I have foolishly agreed to my son being my personal trainer!”
Ritu Bhathal
For Linda’s #1LinerWeds and #JusJoJan
One-Liner Wednesday – No Pain No Gain #JusJoJan 4/1/23
04 Jan 2023 34 Comments
in #onelinerwednesday Tags: #1linerweds, #jusjojan, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, One Liner Wednesday
Solo – #JusJoJan the 3rd, 2023
03 Jan 2023 16 Comments
in #jusjojan Tags: #jusjojan, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging
Welcome to the daily prompt! Today is your third prompt for Just Jot it January 2023, and it’s brought to you by Dar. Thank you, Dar! Please be sure to visit Dar’s blog to read her post and say hello. And follow her while you’re there, if you’re not already.
Linda
Your prompt for JusJoJan January 3rd 2023, is “solo.” Use the word “solo” any way you’d like. Have fun!
When the word solo comes to mind, the first thing I think of is singing.
I’m a great car singer, and a shower singer. I often perform solos there, a) because none of the others will join in, in the car, and b) because I am alone in the shower!
If I’m honest, I don’t think I’m too bad of a singer… but that’s just my opinion!
Stepping up, solo Blanking out the audience Microphone in hand Singing alone is a dream And a nightmare all at once Ritu 2023
Constellation – #JusJoJan the 2nd, 2023
02 Jan 2023 13 Comments
in #jusjojan Tags: #jusjojan, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Constellations
So, I shall be trying to keep up with Linda’s JusJoJan challenge this month, as well as getting back into the swing of things with school and trying to exercise a bit more and write… phew! (Anyone know how to add a few more hours in the day?)
Welcome to the daily prompt! Today is your second prompt for Just Jot it January 2023, and it’s brought to you by Willow. Thank you, Willow! Please be sure to visit Willow’s blog to read her post and say hello. And follow her while you’re there, if you’re not already.
Linda
Your prompt for JusJoJan, January 2nd 2023, is “constellation.” Use the word “constellation” any way you’d like. Have fun!
Now, I’m not an astronomer…so I have no telescopes or fancy camera to aim into the sky, so I can see and identify planets, specific stars or constellations…
But I do love a clear night, where I look up and see the twinkling in the sky. Not having that extra technology means that I give those stars my full attention.
Here, at the new house, we often seem to have clear nights. Maybe it’s because we are in the countryside, so there is less pollution. I don’t know.
But when we still lived at the old place, I was able to point to one particular cluster, and identify it as The Big Dipper!
And there ends my thoughts on the word of today… Thank you to my blog sis, Willow for the prompt!
Chai And A Chat #217 #ChaiAndAChat
02 Jan 2023 24 Comments
in Chai and a Chat Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Catch Up, Chai and a Chat
Welcome to the first Monday of 2023!
You got your drink? I’m nursing my cuppa today, calmly, which will be a different matter from next week, as well be back into the seeing of school! Still, let me relax today …
- If we were having chai, I’d start by saying this week has felt very long but also extremely short as well! As I mentioned the last week, Pops and Mum were coming over for a few days, so on Boxing day, we had our second family Christmas dinner with them! No,w in our new home, we still don’t have a decent dining area, so we usually feast in the living room during the colder months and the conservatory when it’s warmer. So our dinner was on our makeshift table in the living room!
- If we were having chai, I’d mention that we popped over to the in-laws on Tuesday so my parents could visit, and we paid our respects. at the gurdwara, and then on Wednesday, we had a trip to Bluewater, seeing as there were vouchers to be spent and post-Christmas sales!
- If we were having chai, I’d say that Pops and Mum headed off on Thursday morning after a lovely visit, even though it sped by, then Lil Princess and I attended a long awaited appointment, for something she’s been struggling with. I’ll tell you about it, one day… Just not yet…
- If we were having chai, I’d tell you that I have been cooking more than usual, as well and I made an awesome (even if I do say so, myself!) shepherd’s pie for dinner one day!
- If we were having chai, I couldn’t avoid the other event that took place, aka New Year! As always, we didn’t do anything crazy, but visited the in-laws in the afternoon, then saw the new year at home. As I posted yesterday, my new Word Of The Year is Strength, so let’s see how I get on with that! It’s also probably the last one for a while that we are all together, as this time next year, we will have a new adult in the house, and I am sure he will want to see in the New Year with his mates!
- If we were having chai, I would give Sonu a couple of mentions since we had less pics of him the last few weeks. He’s had a fruitful festive period, with lots of family company. He was so excited to have Nanu and Nani (Pops and Mum) visit, as he always remembers them. He tried to get into their bags and left plenty of his fur for them to remember him by! Now, below, you can see some of his gifts! He got a teepee as well as a radiator bed, which he seems to enjoy. Bless him!
This week I shall savour Monday, as it is a bank holiday, before the craziness of the term starts up, again! I am back at school on Tuesday, and my kids are back on Wednesday. So the grindstone calls us! Elsewhere, we have nothing else planned, so let’s see how things go!
And while you’re here, did you sign up for my mailing list? I am in the middle of writing an exclusive Chickpea Curry Lit story for my subscribers, and there will be news, tips and even recipes! You know you want to join… go on! Click the pic below to sign up!
Word Of The Year – 2023 edition! #WOTY Strength #JusJoJan
01 Jan 2023 44 Comments
in Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: #WOTY, 2023, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Word of the Year
Another new year has arrived.
Hello, 2023. And wishing you all a Happy New Year, too!
I keep it a teeny bit subdued, as everything I get excited about something at the start, things have a tendency to nosedive…
There have been tremendous highs, like my publishing contract and the rerelease of Marriage Unarranged, and the positive outcome of the OFSTED inspection at school, but there have been horrendous lows, too. We’ve lost loved ones, and handled some more personal issues that I pray no one else ever has to handle, themselves…
And, as you are aware, I have chosen a word to accompany that year over the last few years, as I haven’t set resolutions..
- 2019 – it was SELF. And I am happy to say I have been pretty good at keeping that self-care up since then, too!
- 2020 – BELIEVE. Well, let’s all agree that 2020 was a kinda unbelievable year, all in all, with the pandemic and BLM… However, I did believe. And my beliefs meant that 2020 was the year I finally became a published author!
- 2021 – I chose the word HOPE. I think we all needed hope to pull us through what I found to be a tougher year than 2020 in many ways. I travelled through it, exhausted and worried about everyone and everything around me. But I did keep that hope alive, within.
- 2022 – my choice was CREATE. I’d like to think that I managed a bit of all that I had hoped to achieve!
So, last year I centred my Word Of The Year aspirations on these four things.
- Create harmony in my household (with two teens, that will be a challenge!)
Now, that has been quite a biggie. I’ll be the first to admit that this hasn’t been easy, but it has taken a whole load of communication and understanding, education and listening, I think we have got there, just about. I can’t be specific here, but we have had a HELL of a year in some respects, and it has been tough trying to stay upbeat, all the time, but I feel like we are leaving 2022 with a fresh, better understanding of how to handle certain situations, and I’d like to think 2023 will echo that and continue on an upwards trajectory.
- Create new dishes in my kitchen ( I just want to get cooking again!)
I may have started this one a little later in the year, but I am happy to say that I have got my cooking mojo back over the last couple of months. I have perfected old recipes and am trying out new ones, learning how to adapt recipes to suit the palates in this household, because goodness knows, there are a whole load of different preferences and tastes floating a
- Create new traditions in our new house (New house, new traditions!)
We now have our own ways to celebrate special days that involve us and our household, i instead of always rushing off to the rest of the family. That is not to say that we don’t do that. It is as much of an important part of our special times as before, but we now make sure we do things in our own home, too.
- Create new adventures for others to read (That’s the biggie!)
Well, I definitely achieved that one! Book two Straight As A Jalebi is with the publisher, already, and is due for a release in 2023!
So, which word do I add to my list for 2023?
I thought long and hard and came up with this:
Strength
- Build my strength up physically, as I know that will help me as I enter that middle-aged time of life.
- Have the strength to face all the ups and downs that will come because that is life.
- Be strong for my family and have the strength to fight for what is right for them, not the rest of the world.
- Build my community around me, be it my physical friends and family or my online ones, as there is strength in numbers.
- Ensure I keep the strength in myself so that I never lose myself under the demands of my life.
And with this post, off I go to start that new year, filled with Self, Belief, Hope, creation and STRENGTH!
This post is also part of #JusJoJan
