#SoCS | But I Smile Anyway...

#SoCS Feb. 8/2020 – (un)Pack

08 Feb 2020 35 Comments

by Ritu in #SoCS Tags: #SoCS, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Busy, Linda G Hill, Pack, Stream Of Consciousness Saturday

Linda’s SoCS prompt this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “(un)pack.” Use “pack” or its opposite in your post. Have fun!

My in-laws family sure know how to pack things into a small time frame!

Seriously, it’s all about the birthdays in this family, during the month of February!

It feels like, with the addition of Valentine’s day, not a week goes by without something that needs celebrating!

So, on the 3rd we had my bro-in-law’s birthday, then today itself, we have Hubby Dearest celebrating his special day, as well as his mum, aka my mum-in-law! He actually appeared on her 21st birthday! That’s a present that packs a punch, eh!

Forward on to the 20th, and it is our very own Lil Princess turning 12, and she made her entrance into this world on my father-in-law’s birthday! So, yes, it’s his on the same day!

Then add in Valentines, and it is a pretty packed (and expensive!) month!

Not content with all these births, I only went and added one to the mix… tomorrow is the official birth of my first novel, Marriage Unarranged! If you want to check it out, click here!

Wish me luck, Peeps!

Oh, and my cover is a part of Cover Wars, this week. If you fancy voting, click below!

Author Shout Cover Wars

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Feb. 8/2020

#SoCS Feb. 1/2020 – Choices

01 Feb 2020 27 Comments

by Ritu in #SoCS Tags: #SoCS, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Choices, Linda G Hill, Stream Of Consciousness Saturday

Linda’s #SOCS prompt this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “choices.” Base your post on the subject of making small, uneventful choices. Enjoy!

Ham or Cheese?
Oh help me please!
I don't know which to choose.

The pink shirt
 And new blue jeans
But, boots or high-heeled shoes?

Chocolate bar
Or pack of ten
Which one makes more sense?

Wash today
Or blowdry tomorrow
Can't think - I'm on the fence!

Ritu 2020

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Feb. 1/2020

#SoCS August 24/19 – Preposition

24 Aug 2019 46 Comments

by Ritu in #SoCS Tags: #SoCS, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Linda G Hill, Prepositions, Stream Of Consciousness Saturday

Linda’s #SoCS prompt this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “preposition” Start your post with any preposition. Bonus points if you end with one too. Enjoy!

Near me, sits my daughter, Lil Princess, hurriedly doing homework.

Yes, it is the summer holidays, and she starts her new school in 10 days (EEEK!), yet still, she has homework.

I’d have thought that, considering they finished primary school, and were getting ready for a whole new chapter, in their education, that the kds would get a break. But no, don’t be silly.

And no break for kid, means no break for mummy either!

Not one, but three different pieces too!

A book review – well that’s not too bad, considering she likes to read, and had already read some of the books on the recommended reading list. So a review of Wonder has been written.
Maths – design a farm (?!?!) with fields containing animals and crops, but the catch is each crop or animal has a field that has a specific shape and plot area that you have to work out and adhere to… Yeah. That’s not a relaxing easy task… Believe me, I know! It’s what she’s battling with at the moment!
Create a Solar System fact poster, with a list of 5 items that need to be included. We haven’t looked at that yet, but it’s pretty straight forward.

Still.

Homework. In the holidays.

I’m not convinced. And I’m a TEACHER!

When to kids get a chance to relax nowadays?

I’d much rather they were sent with a not from both schools, last and future, saying “Enjoy your break! You’ve worked so hard, and there is still plenty more of that work to come, so this holiday, enjoy your freedom! Read, meet friends, play outside. Then come back fresh and ready for the start of a new chapter!”

Is that too much to ask for?

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS August 24/19

#SoCS August 17/19 – Co

17 Aug 2019 32 Comments

by Ritu in #SoCS Tags: #SoCS, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Co-, Londa G Hill, Stream Of Consciousness Saturday

Linda’s #SoCS prompt this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “co-” Find a word that uses “co” as a prefix and use it in your post. Have fun!

I’m tired.

You’d think, with a 4.5 week vacation, I’d be anything but tired.

Well, the first week, or so, I was in school setting up my new classroom.

The following two weeks, I managed to avoid going into school, even though I wanted to pop in on several occasion to just check things were okay!

So, instead, I started my edit, with gusto!

And in 2 weeks, I had completed the main restructuring and tweaking of my book.

That was a long time looking at a screen though.

My eyes suffered, my head suffered, and even my poor screen suffered. It has developed a flicker, rather like a nervous twitch, that starts up after a few hours of me using it.

And the mental exhaustion has kicked in.

I’ve sent the MS to a few readers, three known, trusted readers, and two who are writers I have met via a FaceBook group I am an active member of.

So for the next few days, I shall be operating on auto-pilot. Actually, it might be a good time for Hubby Dearest to rise from the Hurt Foot Brigade, and co-pilot for a while, so I can rest up a bit, while he deals with the kids demands!

(Who am I kidding? Firstly, I am too much of a control freak to totally let go. He’s there. He does plenty. It’s just not how I want things done, so I do them again, anyway! And secondly, even if I did, I’d end up implementing more changes to the MS as suggested by the readers, because I CAN’T SWITCH off!!!)

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS August 17/19

#SoCS August 10/19 – Where

10 Aug 2019 38 Comments

by Ritu in #SoCS Tags: #SoCS, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Linda G Hill, Stream Of Consciousness Saturday, Where

Linda’s #SoCS prompt this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “where.” Start your post with the word “where” and write whatever comes to you. Bonus points if you end your post with “where” too. Enjoy!

Where do you think I am, right now?

Actually, if you are a regular reader, you might just remember me mentioning it in my Chai catch up on Monday. (Don’t cheat and find the post – I’m just about to tell you…)

I am in Birmingham for the weekend. (As in the real Birmingham, not the one named after our original Brum in 1871!)

Birmingham is my home town. It’s where I was born. And when I die, there will be a plaque, somewhere here saying “Birthplace of famous writer, Ritu Bhathal (nee Padhaal)”

What?

I can dream, can’t I?

Where was I?

Oh yes, I’m back home, spending a couple of nights with my Pops, kids in tow, before he ventures out to Finland, to join my mum, and his wife, who has been ~~gallivanting~~ helping to look after the grandchildren out there.

No matter where I live, I have to say, Birmingham will always be home to me.

Home
A place
Where I fit
A place where I 
Feel comfortable
Always an open door
Where all is familiar
No matter what the address is
You see, my true home will always be
The place where I find my Pops and my Mum

Ritu 2019

Yes, my marital home is home too. But it’s a different kind of home and comfort. Another home filled with love.

But my childhood home was filled with so many precious memories, that if you want me to be honest about where I call my home… thats’s where…