Diva's A To Z Blogging Challenge Theme

By now you would be aware that I’m taking part in the A to Z Blogging Challenge which kicks off on the 1st of April.  In fact I’m one of 1416 people who are participating.

This will be the 3rd blog challenge I’m participating in and the one thing I have learned from all of them is that – one must plan ahead.  A few months ago when I discovered this challenge, I actually wrote up 5-6 posts (with no theme) but those didn’t get transferred when I switched laptops.  So for the past few weeks I’ve been contemplating what sort of theme to focus the A to Z challenge around. Technically I can write about anything I want – or even use photos as long as it corresponds to the alphabet of the day and has about 100 words.

I’ve decided to go with the theme ‘A to Z of Blogging’ where I’ll associate each letter of the alphabet with tips / ideas of how you can enhance your blogging experience. 

Here’s a run down of the topics behind my Blogging theme (please feel free to add points on what you would want to read about or perhaps a topic that you feel I could include)

1. A – about page / accountability / advertise /
2. B – blog blog blog / bookmark your fav blogs /
3. C – comments / challenges /cite your sources
4. D – Delurk Yourself
5. E – express yourself
6. F – Follow others / Facebook / Friends
7. G – guest bloggers / grow as a blogger
8. H – humour
9. I – Intense Debate / Interact
10. M – make the time / music / Memes / mix it up
11. N – new ideas / networked blogs / networking
12. O – Opinions Matter / original posts
13. P – pimp your blog on social networks
14. Q – quotes / quality over quantity
15. R – respond to comments / Read & Respond
16. S – sexy Saturday / Sunday / Schedule your blog
17. T – tweet away / tweet & tumblr
18. V – visual content / video content
19. W – wordless Wednesday / we heart it
20. Y – your blogger voice

I’m having trouble with the below letters – and really hope you guys can give me some suggestions on what I can write about.  It’s like my mind is completely blank in trying to put together something for these letters.

• J
• K
• L
• U
• X
• Z

If you are participating in the challenge, have you decided on a theme ? What is it ? Do let me know if you can think of other tips I can throw in based on the alphabets.  If you aren’t participating, what are some of the topics you would like to read about based on my current theme ? If you fancy taking part, then feel free to sign up for the challenge here.

A to Z Blogging Challenge Calendar

As you might be aware (if you follow my blog) that I’m going to be taking part in the April Blogging from A to Z Challenge. With April just around the corner, I’ve tried to get a head start and at least decide on a theme for the challenge.  Have you got a theme in place ?

To help keep me (and anyone else participating) on track with the challenge, one of the hosts Jeremy of Retro-Zombie has created a desktop calendar that has the breakdown of which Alphabets has to be used with each day in April.

You might want to download this onto your computer / laptop and use it as your desktop background as a form of motivation.  You know, just so you don’t forget to post each day.

You might also want to consider scheduling posts in case you think you won’t be able post every day for whatever reasons (work, travel, unexpected power cuts, illness) 

Good luck to everyone participating in the challenge ! If you have happened to stop by this page, please do share your blog link so that I can come visit you during the course of the challenge.

Wine Stopper Favors

Party favors have now become a norm; they feature prominently on the to do lists of party planners and while they are intended to be given away as small tokens of appreciation to the party guests for their participation and attendance, party planners take great pains to decide appropriate party favors to give away at events. Ideally party favors should not add greatly to the event budget, be visually appealing, hold sentimental value and capture the theme of the occasion.

The Best Favors for All Kinds of Occasions

Wine stoppers are elegant and practical favors for all kinds of parties: engagement parties, wedding showers, corporate events, reunions and get together, housewarming parties and even birthdays and baby showers.

For weddings particularly, wine stoppers can be personalized by adding a wedding ring or perhaps a heart shape to symbolize that the favor belonged to a wedding party. You can even use them during the party and then later passed around on trays for guests to collect them as they leave. If you want to go an extra yard, you could pair the wine stoppers with wine bottles featuring pictures of the wedding couple on the bottle labels or quote some lyrics from the couples’ wedding song and generally any favorite song of theirs’.

Wine bottle stopper favors can really jump out and make a statement of your gratitude and appreciation towards the party guests. When choosing wine stoppers as party favors, ask yourselves the question whether they tie your choices of event theme, color palette and general ambience together. Office parties are generally conservative events, therefore going over the top with your party favors can seem inappropriate and inconsistent with the sober nature of the event. When celebrating a successful takeover or merger or even acquisition of an asset or realization of company targets, wine stoppers can be a very practical choice of party favors that can mark the momentous nature of the occasion. Monogrammed wine stoppers featuring the date and nature of the cause for celebration can prove to be joyful reminders of corporate successes.

Monogrammed wine stoppers can also be used as reminders of other happy occasions as well, when inscribed with graduation or wedding dates. You can have fun with wine stoppers by painting them in different colors, decorating them with beads and sequins and even carving shapes on their tops that signify the occasion they were meant to celebrate.

Sarah Mitchelle makes party favors come alive with her unique ideas. From weddings to baptisms, she can help you find the perfect favor for any occasion. Check out the Partease website and follow them on Twitter @partease

MM #79 Lady Antebellum - Just A Kiss

I actually heard this song a few months ago via someone else on the #MM blog hop and really liked it.  Always thought about featuring it but guess I only just about got around to it.

Listening to the lyrics of this track – I find myself in a situation I was in before and at the time it made sense not to push too far and that maybe by giving things a bit of time we would get closer.  THAT obviously didn’t work out BUT it’s still a beautiful song and it really makes a lot of sense.

Although don’t you think starting your Monday with just a kiss would be the perfect start to the day and set the tone for the week ?

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the ACTUAL LINK POST here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.   PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

Acceptance & Moving Forward

“Nothing fixes a thing so intensely in the memory as the wish to forget it.” Michel de Montaigne, French Philosopher and Writer. 1533-1592

I actually heard this quote at the end of the latest Criminal Minds episode and it really struck me.

When it comes to relationships be it with your friends, family or your partners – sometimes no matter how hard we try to forget something – a situation, an incident, a milestone, a breaking point – it seems to be as if completely instilled in the mind with no signs of letting go.

My interpretation of the quote is that instead of focusing on the memory that you want to forget, one must just let it go.  The only way to truly just let go is to accept that everything happens for a reason and accept the given conditions, circumstances, and go on with your life.  There’s no need to wreck your mind or heart over a situation that is beyond your control and is laden with emotional, mental and psychological tangents.  Take everything that comes your way as it comes and deal with it then.  It’s all part of the universal spectrum and perhaps the ultimate key to happiness ?

Decide how important that relationship is to you and how much you value it in your life – and then you’ll notice that your subsequent actions will naturally weave them in your life (or unweave them).

It’s unlikely that you may share that memory with someone else but unless you give yourself a chance to do that – you won’t know.  And by focusing on what you had – focus on the things that you could have.  Just because things change between people doesn’t mean that its impossible to achieve again. 

Your thoughts ?

Sexy Saturday : Eva Longoria

I can’t get over how stunning this woman is !! I’ve only ever known of her through her role as Gabrielle Solis in Desperate Housewives and I’ve often wondered how come one doesn’t see much else of her.

Longeria has contracts with L’Oreal and Bebe Sport, and of course one would have seen her on the cover of various international women's magazines including Vogue, Marie Claire and Harper's Bazaar.

Did you know that Longoria suffers from ADHD ? She founded Eva’s Heroes – a charity which helps developmentally disabled children in addition to supporting causes such as the Clothes Off Our Back Foundation, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the National Stroke Association.

It’s always good to see celebrities spending time and money on good social causes instead of making news with their most recent purchases !

She gets my #SexySaturday vote and I know my Twitter friend Panku will throw in his vote too – what about yours ?

 

All You Need To Know About Easter

Can you believe Easter is almost here ? There are a lot of things about Easter that I didn't know about until my guest blogger Yang shared this info graphic with me. 

Follow this link to embed the above image on to your website Easter Facts

Yang, is an Events Organiser at Chillisauce Ltd, who specialise in organising hen weekends and stag dos. You can follow her on Twitter  and catch up with her on her FaceBook page.

WW #59 Colouring Wood

I smiled when I saw this and knew I just had to share with you all.  Doesn’t this remind you of a box of scattered colour pencils ? I haven’t used colour pencils in the longest time and wouldn’t mind grabbing a few and see what comes of it !

What’s your first thought when you see this picture ? What memory does it evoke ?

Don’t forget to share your linky below !

Blogging From A to Z Challenge

April is almost here and I’ve decided to take part in the A to Z Blog Challenge.  That’s right folks – it’s another month and time for another challenge ! 

What is Blogging from A to Z All About ?

Basically you need to post every day except Sundays during the month of April and to make things interesting, you have to blog thematically from A to Z.  The way I see it, start from the letter A and just think of a word / a proper noun / or just the letter it self and write about it – until you reach the letter Z.  

The posts should be at least 100 words to show that you’ve put some kind of effort into the topic.  If you have a photo blog – you can still participate and just use photos that start with the letters of the alphabet.  If your blog is sporadic like mine – just pick something pertaining to a letter from the alphabet and write about it.  You get my drift ?  If you're still stumped scan a dictionary, an encyclopaedia or even other bloggers who have participated in previous years to get some inspiration.

The Rules

1. Sign up for the A to Z challenge list
2. Follow the theme A to Z which will give you a total of 26 Posts for April 2012
3. Post every day except on Sundays.  However since 1st April is on a Sunday, you will start with the letter A on Sunday 1st April.  After that all Sundays are ‘break-days’
   • 26 Posts
   • 26 Alphabets
4. Each post must be a minimum of 100 words
5. Share your posts on the A to Z Facebook Page
6. Share your post links on Twitter tagging @AprilA2Z (and following them too)
7. Share your post links on Twitter using the #atozchallenge hash tag

When this challenge started in 2010 there were only 100 participants; today when I signed up in the blog-hop – I was participant #1076 !! That’s a lot of bloggers out there taking part in this challenge.  Are you up for taking part in the challenge ?  If you are – then don’t forget to sign up for the A to Z Challenge List !

Feel free to grab a banner or a badge and share it on your blog if you are participating or even just supporting those who are taking part in the challenge.

What are your thoughts about this ? Would you take part in such a challenge ? I’d love to hear any ideas or post suggestions that you might have to keep me going through the challenge ! I’m contemplating a ‘theme’ for the challenge and ‘blogging’ is the obvious choice – are there any other themes you’d like to see me explore ? Do share in the comments.

Another Month. Another Challenge.

Last summer I took part in the 10 Day YOU Challenge to see if I could actually blog 10 days in a row.  I did and it felt good to know that I had been a part of a ‘community challenge’ – I came across some fun blogs and got to know a few new people on Twitter.

Then at the start of this year in January – I participated in the Ultimate Blog Challenge – where the rules stated that one must write a post a day or a total of 31 posts in the month of January.

This month, I’ve been taking part in a small ‘photo-a-day’ challenge that my friend Sabu put together on FaceBook and we are 11 of us just doing it for fun.  I’m so thankful to my mate for doing this ‘cos it has kept me on my toes and its made me accountable for actually taking a photo a day and sharing it with the group.

Somewhere in between these challenges, I came across something called the A to Z Challenge and it caught my attention.  So much so that I had even prepared in advance and scheduled some posts in anticipation of participating in the challenge and not falling behind on schedule.  That was until my laptop died and I had to get a new one – which meant that none of my posts got saved as I had written them on live-writer.

Today, I came home after an amazing spa day with my girlf and decided that I need to stop procrastinating and just prepare myself for this blog challenge in April … and so this post is there to sign it off in black and white into blogosphere that I’m gonna do this !

That’s right folks – in the words of Barney Stintson ‘Chalenge Accepted’ I’m going to take part in the  A to Z April 2012 Blogging Challenge !

MM #78 Kid Cudi - Day & Night

This is such a tuuuuuuuuuuune !!! Love the start up beat.  Here’s one of my favourite versions of the track !

Hope you enjoy the track – don’t forget to crank it up and start your day !

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the ACTUAL LINK POST here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.   PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

Mr Mixed Signals. Maybe Yes. Maybe No.

Seeing that I have yet to finish writing about my dating experiences in this city – here’s a new one for the Diva’s Dating Diary.

A couple of weeks ago I met this guy.  He approached a girlfriend and me at a bar with a relatively cheesy line but just ‘cos he was funny (and was an NRI) – we all got chatting.  He asked me to stick around for a drink whilst my girlfriend went to join our friends and I did.  Hey, it’s the most direct a guy has been with me for a while now (in public) so why not right ?

Turned out that he was in fact quite a laugh to be around, extremely witty, well travelled and spoke French.  He asked for my BB pin – not my number – which led me on to a rant about why can’t people just pick up the phone instead of texting / sending BB messages (huge pet peeve of mine). 

The lad didn’t disappoint – he made it a point to call me and only used BB messages as a way of informing me if he could / could not call.   I can’t begin to tell you how nice it was to ‘talk’ to a guy who gave off positive signs of being interested.  If I really think about it – this guy knew the rules (not that I go by them but it’s something to consider) – called when he said he would; call to ask me out a few days in advance (no sms for dates) and generally very charismatic. 

The first time he asked me out – it was just him and I – at a social event wherein he was aware that I would know people there.  He arrived early and waited for me, we spent the entire evening hanging out together after he found a cushy corner sofa for us to have our drinks at.  The second time – was at another party – where he spent the evening hanging out with my friends.  The third time – same sort of thing but I made it clear that I was out to hang out with him and not with other people.  The last time was a few days ago, a mid week social event to raise funds for an NGO and it was just him and I (again, he was the one who asked me to join him)

At some point in the evening I come to know that he is not only avoiding being in a relationship; but he has gone out on a few dates with another girl and wants my advice on how to break it to her that he’s not looking for anything serious.  Whilst on the surface, I gave him very good advice on how to deal with this girl – at the back of my mind I’m thinking ‘WTF – how on earth could I have been so ‘off’ on whatever signals he was giving off’.  Not once in the entire month that we have been talking to each other, did he bring up ‘dating’ another girl.

Even though I’ve not been dating much the past few years – I think I know when a guy is into me – and everyone around me who met this man thought the same thing … but this wasn’t actually the case (which is absolutely fine) … what I don’t get is – why spend so much time and energy on someone (i.e me) if he wasn’t even interested ?  I have guy friends – and they do not spend hours chatting to me in the middle of the day or the night … but this one did … the more I think about it – there were absolutely no signs that he may put me in the friend zone and his body language told a different story altogether .. it  was all about staying out of the friend zone.  Everyone who has seen the two of us together (including random strangers that he enjoys chatting to) has assumed, implied or stated that we were a couple.  So you can imagine the slight state of surprise I was in when he broke the news above.

Whilst driving home that night, I went through every conversation and interaction I have had with the man .. and for the life of me couldn’t figure out where or when I would have missed an indicator that said ‘maybe not interested’ … oh well at least the conversations were entertaining ! Next please !

Sexy Saturday : Jake Gyllenhaal

Today’s #SexySaturday is dedicated to my mango-loving, cockroach hating, always studying Twitter friend TheOreoQueen !

Until the other day, if you asked me who Gyllenhaal was – I wouldn’t have had a clue.  But if you told me remember that cutie from Donnie Darko or Brokeback Mountain or the marine from Jarhead – I’d recall him much better.  Honestly I’m so crap when it comes to knowing names of actors / musicians unless I’m a huge fan (which considering I barely watch movies is never the case).  But I’m digressing … I should know his name – ‘cos he’s so unconventionally sexy in his own way !

Gyllenhaal was named one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" in 2006 and also listed in People's "Hottest Bachelors of 2006”.  He was also ranked at No.1 in 2007 & 2008 in AfterElton.com Hot 100 List and at No.2 on the Gay Wired Magazine poll of male actors who have played gay characters in movies

 

Not only is this 31 year old quite a hottie, but he’s an environmentally conscious hottie who recycles regularly and spends $400 a year to have trees planted in a Mozambique forest, partly to promote the Future Forests program !  How nice is that !!

He’s got my #SexySaturday Vote – what about yours ? Don’t forget to share your linky if you are participating !

WW # 58 Take What You Need

We all need a little something every now and then … found this and had to share it with you all … just take what you need =)

Funnily enough, today March 14th also happens to be Steaks & Blowjob Day (a sort of Valentines Day for men minus the flowers and mushiness) – so gents, feel free to ask for a steak, a blowjob or both and see what your lady has to say about that !

Steaks. BlowJobs. How About Both ?

Ladies, be prepared to get down on your knees (or on all fours over your man), risk a few carpet burns and blow his brains out ‘cos today is none other than Steaks & Blow Job Day !! 

Alright lads, calm down now, I know you can barely control the excitement at the thought of a blow job with no frills attached !! I’m sure you deserve it after all the effort that you put in during the Hallmark Holiday last month.

Today 14th March officially entitles a man to a good home cooked (or fancy if you want to really spoil him) steak and a blowjob (without him having to ask) .. consider it to be a ‘blow-gift’ if you must.  I swear I’m not making any of this up (not that the guys would care even if I was ‘cos its all in their favour).  This holiday was started by Tom Birdsey (a radio show host on FNX Radio) in 2002,  so that ladies finally have a day to let their men indulge in simple pleasures – Food & a Blow Jobs !

Ladies what are you going to do today ? Indulge your mans’ whims and cook him that steak ? Or are you thinking of ways to give him the best blow job ever ?

Guys – do you want the steak or the blow job ? Do you really care about the steak ? I reckon you’d replace the steak with a second blow job *grins*

Damn, what a way to spice up Wednesday !!  To add to that – The wonderful folks over at the Steaks and Blow Job Day have put together some video tutorials of how to give the perfect head and some cheeky e-cards as well if you want to give your man a heads up about what he can expect once he’s back home !

And if you still wanna have a bit of cheeky fun, why not join the Steak & Blow Job Day Game on Facebook & Twitter ?

The rules are simple:

1) @ mention Steak and BJ Day on Facebook / Twitter.
2) Favourite type of steak.
3) How you like it cooked.
4) Preferred hair colour of your partner on March 14th.

The folks at Steak and Blowjob Day HQ have drummed up the following examples.

Facebook: @steakandbjday – Sirloin – Medium/Rare – Brunette.
Twitter: @steakandblowjob – Fillet – Blue – Red.

Go on then, be a sport – what’s your preference ?

Sometimes It's Better To Forget

If you recall, I once said that running doesn’t always help.  Honestly, it doesn’t and hence I threw it out at the universe so that it was all out of my system.

This morning, I woke up like any other morning and saw a FB alert that a friend of mine had tagged me in some pics.  I knew these pics would be dated a few years ago as I haven’t seen this friend in almost 5 years now. 

I saw the first picture and I smiled.  It was a picture of me on my 25th b’day weekend.  The second picture was of one of my oldest girlfriends (we even lived together at one point) and me and I smiled more ‘cos she’s getting married this summer and I’m going to be at the wedding. 

I didn’t quite know how to react to the third picture.  I stared at it for what seemed like a while and then just closed the screen.  Later in the day, I told NC about it and she was quite surprised.  I saw it again now ‘cos another Twitter friend brought it up.  I’m proud of myself for not letting my heart cave in or have my stomach turn inside out.

And almost immediately after, I saw this sign and I felt this sort of relief … ‘cos it makes sense.  

I’ve learned to let go of people who don’t belong in my future.  But for the longest time, I have inadvertently let this person be around despite everything I’ve done to ‘delete’ him from my life. 

I’ve moved on with my life – so has he – and as much as FaceBook wants us to be friends – I think I’ll just ignore that part and deal with the other 1900+ friends I have.  My theory on this – Forgive, Forget & F*ck It ! (and I had to put it out there so the universe hears me on this)

MM #77 David Guetta - Crank It Up

Anyone who knows me can tell you how much of a David Guetta fan I am ! I simply love the man’s music – he has some serious skills behind the decks !

A few of us went to see David Guetta’s first ever India concert over the weekend and I am still buzzing from it ! So no surprise that I will be featuring one of his tracks for #MusicMonday.  This is a new track called ‘Crank It Up’ in collaboration with Akon (who by the way was a surprise act at the concert!)

 

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the ACTUAL LINK POST here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice. PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

Sexy Saturday - Adam Levine

Adam Levine is the lead singer of Maroon 5. He looks like every girl’s sultry bad-boy fantasy covered in tattoos and serenades with a beautiful male voice full of sweetness. I know women who hate tattoo who still can’t help but through googly eyes at Mr. Levine. It’s hard to believe the guy is 32. Behind the enchanting voice and handsome looks there lies a caring heart. He once stripped naked for Cosmopolitan in support of testicular. I don’t always understand why celebrities feel nudity will do anything to progress issues like cancer and fur coats, but whose asking questions when they get to see this.

Mr. Levine is also a huge supporter of LGBT rights, as his brother is openly gay. Early this year he even change the location of his post-Grammy awards show due to an unnamed LA restaurant that was supporting Proposition 8. He’s also started and educational campaign about ADHD awareness in 2011 called “Own It.” He was diagnosed with ADHD as a teenager. There’s nothing sexier than a man with a rocking bod and a soft heart. The fact that he uses his fame in part to promote awareness of various social issues only makes him that much more drool worthy. The only bad news for us ladies is that Mr. Levine is currently taken with Anne Vyalitsyna. Luckily, that doesn’t stop any of us from staring.

Tonya Vrba is a passionate writer. Her work has been published in newspapers and blogs. She writes frequently about health, career and dating issues. Tonya currently writes with The Online Dating Site Blog. Learn more about her work at her personal website or follow her on Twitter

WW #57 I See You

Just ‘cos I haven’t been around the past few weeks doesn’t mean that I’m not keeping my eyes on you !!

I love the unusual symmetry of this photograph – it’s just perfect ! Need to try and get a real picture done like this.

Yes, I'm Still Here ...

I can’t believe we’re in March already !! The last 3 months have flown by ! I’ve barely had time to enjoy it – with the amount I’ve been traveling for work – my days just seem to merge together ! I’m physically exhausted; mentally drained out and yet it’s as if the auto pilot mode has kicked in to get me through the work pile !

I realized that I’ve sort of (ok fine I have!) neglected my blog the last few weeks … although if I’m honest, the Ultimate Blog Challenge actually zapped me of any creative energies since I was hell bent on completing 31 posts in 31 days (and hey I managed 30 posts so that’s definitely worthy of an A for effort !) … but the point is that – I’m still here even if I’ve been a little quiet on the blogging front … There’s so much I want to write about but genuinely just haven’t had the time to do that ..

March has a lot going on for me … My friends and I are off to see David Guetta in Pune this coming weekend !! I’ve been looking forward to this for the last 2 weeks and I can’t wait to see him perform !  Don’t get me started on the organizers of the event though … never seen anything so disorganized before !!! I mean seriously – it’s enough to make me want to beat them up and ask them what they were thinking when they thought about organizing a concert !!  (that my friends is another post altogether but I don’t want to give the organizers so much importance either)

Moving along … if you’re into movies and are living in the Uk - a good friend of mine is releasing his first movie this weekend (on 9th March actually) titled ‘7 – Welcome To London’.  Whilst I’m not a fan of watching Hindi movies – this is a Brit Indian film and the trailer looks wicked, so definitely looking forward to catching this flick.  Plus I get to see my mate on the big screen !!  So if anyone reading this from London decides to go watch it – do hit me up with a mini review so I can let my mate know.

That’s all from me for now folks !!