Blogging | But I Smile Anyway...

The Mystery Blogger award | Actually Anna – Thanks Anna!

02 Dec 2017 19 Comments

by Ritu in Awards Tags: Awards, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, The Mystery Blogger Award

Thank you Anna for thinking of me for this award!

I have been lucky enough to receive this before, but I would like to share your post as thanks, and I will answer your given questions!

Did you ever attend a blogger event and which one (if not which one would you like to attend)?

Oh yes I did! I have been lucky enough to attend the Annual Bloggers Bash Awards in London the past two years and I aim to be there for the next one too! It was awesome to meet some of the bloggers who I admire so much!

Do you have pets and what kind of pets are they (if not would you like a pet)?

I have the wonderful Sonu Singh, our Punjabi cat, and my parrotlet pair, Heer and Ranjha!

What are you most proud of?

My children, Lil Man and Lil Princess – fur and feather babies included!

What is your favourite blogpost and why?

I have been asked this before, and I really don’t have a favourite blog post! So many of them strike a chord as there was a reason why I felt compelled to write them!

If you could stock up one thing for a lifetime supply what would that be?

It would have to be Maltesers Chocolate!

Thank you again Anna!!!

I haven’t done much Blogger Awards/Tags in a while. When Jasmine from Thoughts From Jasmine nominated me for The Mystery Blogger Award, I thought I’d do another one. I really like the t…

Source: Actually Anna Christmas Countdown Day 2: The Mystery Blogger award | Actually Anna

#SoCS Nov. 25/17 – Cramp

02 Dec 2017 14 Comments

by Ritu in #SoCS, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: #StreamofConsciousnessSaturday, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Cramp, Linda G Hill, Socs

Linda’s prompt for SoCS this week…

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “cramp.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

Cramp…

So many things come to mind when I think of cramp.

Firstly, it’s that general accompaniment to the monthly ‘blessing’ that women get. I’ve been lucky to not have really experienced them badly, but they are debilitating for some ladies out there. All you want to do is curl up with a hot water bottle and wither away until Aunt Flo has disappeared!

Then there is that cramp you get in your leg. Again, not one I get often, but it affects my sleep sometimes as when Hubby Dearest gets a cramp in his leg in the middle of the night, the groans are insufferable, and then I have to get up to help him stretch it out!

Writer’s cramp – there’s another one that us bloggers and writers don’t want to suffer from, but thankfully not as many of us spend hours grasping a writing tool, so much as tapping away at a keyboard, to aid our craft. But then again, because we write physically with a pen much less, the cramp is more likely to hit quicker, when we do!

Cramped spaces was another thought that came to mind. Cosy. I like cosy places, but cramped is another matter; when you are made to be near other people or objects, against your will… The Tube is a place which, during rush hour is really cramped. If you are lucky, you may get a seat, or else you are left hanging on to a bar or handle, or possibly wedged between other commuters; that being the only support you have to prevent you from being thrown around as the carriages move along.

Right, I’m off now… don’t wanna cramp my style, waffling on about cramp!

Happy Saturday Peeps!

November 30: Flash Fiction Challenge – Self-Care – New Mum SOS

01 Dec 2017 42 Comments

by Ritu in #CarrotRanch, Fiction, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: #CarrotRanch, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Charli Mills, Flash Fiction, New Mum, Self-Care

Charli’s prompt this week:

November 30, 2017 prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that includes self-care. Does the character need it? What does the character do? Think about how you can use this action to deepen a character or move a story. Go where the prompt leads.

New Mum SOS

The crying was relentless, but who else was going to do anything?
He was at work all day, he needed his sleep.
She was exhausted.
“It’s okay,” they all said, “just sleep when the baby does. You’ll be fine!”
What world did they live in? Self-care with a newborn…? Impossible.
When was she meant to do the housework, the laundry, the cooking, if not when the little mite was taking his precious naps?
But after thirteen weeks of sleepless nights and little support from anyone, she was ready to muffle the cries with the pillow currently covering her head…

https://carrotranch.com/2017/11/30/november-30-flash-fiction-challenge/

The Magician’s Curse (Book 1) – Linda G Hill #BookReview

01 Dec 2017 11 Comments

by Ritu in Reviews, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Book Review, Linda G Hill, The Magician's Curse

Another book read, another series I am waiting for the sequel too now!

Linda G. Hill

I have supported and followed Linda for a long while now, taking part in her challenges on her blog and I read her novella All Good Stories with pleasure, so to see her full length book finally out there, I was excited to read it!

The Magician's Curse: A Paranormal Romance The Great Dagmaru Book 1 by [Hill, Linda G.]

Here’s my review:

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I started out reading this book, not knowing what to expect really, and after a few chapters I was hooked!
Herman (the unfortunately named female main lead!) is leaving home to attempt to make a better life for her brother and her and somehow is led a different path by the meeting of a stranger on a train. Stephen Dagmaru is drawn to this stranger on the train, and invites her to become his assistant. He draws her into his life and family worries with an ulterior motive, but also for love.
Though I wondered whether it was believable that someone would just go off with someone they had just met, I continued and was not disappointed.
We meet certain characters and get a good idea of what they are like, and others are hinted at, so you know they will be of importance at a later date.
Helping a magician break a family curse, falling in love, the prospect of a happily ever after… but with the open ending, as you know something is going to happen…

On Amazon

On Goodreads

The Blurb:

When Herman Anderson leaves home to make a better life for herself, she doesn’t expect to meet a tall, dark stranger with whom she’ll fall hopelessly in love.
Charming and mysterious, Stephen Dagmar is a stage magician seeking an assistant. The moment he sets eyes on Herman, he knows she’s the one. He brings her home to his Victorian mansion where they embark upon an extravagant romance. Yet a shadow hangs over their love. Will the curse on his family end Stephen and Herman’s happily ever after, before it really begins?
Amidst lace and leather, innocence and debauchery, The Magician’s Curse begins the Gothic tale of The Great Dagmaru. Magic and romance await.

Purchase it here.

#WritePhoto – Magic

30 Nov 2017 31 Comments

by Ritu in #WritePhoto, Fiction, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: #WritePhoto, Barbie and Ken, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Fiction, Magic, Photo Prompt

Sue’s #WritePhoto Prompt this week:

I thought I’d continue the adventures of Barbie and Ken! Will he ever learn???

“This, Babe,” Barbie turned towards Ken,” this, is just perfect!”
She looked around the winter wonderland surrounding her and sighed.
She had dreamed of a white Christmas for so long, and finally, Ken had got something right.
A surprise truly worth having!
Looks like the magic of Christmas had worked for Ken!
“No no no no no!”
He turned to see Barbie manically crunching around in the snow, phone held aloft.
“There’s no signal Babe! No WiFi either! How am I gonna get my selfies posted now? I told you we should have just booked to go to the Winter Wonderland in London!”
Ken rolled his eyes… It had been too good to be true… no matter how he tried, he never got it right!

#writephoto