The Ultimate Blog Challenge Theme Reveal

With the Ultimate Blog Challenge just around the corner - I have more or less decided on a theme for my blog posts.  Have you heard or come across 'LastLemon.com' or perhaps you know them better for the cute cartoon 'Happiness Is ...' images that are floating around the internet ?  

I'm going to use illustrations from LastLemon.com to help me get my blog on as it's been over a year since I've written on a consistent basis (although in my defence there are quite a few partial drafts sitting in my dashboard).  

Ever since my Dad passed, it hit me hard in the face that life is unpredictable.  I've always known this but it 'sunk in'.  I've made it a point to try to enjoy / do more of anything & everything that makes 'Me' feel good.

I've started collecting illustrations that I feel an instant connect with and hopefully I'll get a few blog posts ready before the challenge actually starts ! So there you have it, my blog theme for the UBC is based around 'Things That Make Me Happy'

I hope you enjoy these posts and if you find yourself relating to any of them - I would love to hear from you in the comments.  If you're participating in the UBC then do let me know so that I can visit your blog as well.  Are you following a theme for your blog posts ? If you use Twitter then drop me a tweet on @dazediva 

#WW 76 The Yellow Brick Road

I came across this stunning picture on the Dragon Writing Prompts blog and there was an instant connection to it.  I think it's perfect for #WordlessWednesday ! 

I love the way the yellow stands out against the grey starkness of the picture. There's so much detail.  I can almost feel the fog shifting across the trees.  The branches eerily calling you towards them - almost enticing you to walk down the yellow brick road.  Something must lurk beyond the fallen tree trunk - why else would there be an obstacle on such a pretty path. 

What do you think of when you see this picture ? Would you go down the path to see where it takes you ? 

How About The Food Pill ?

I came across the below blogging prompt from The Daily Post free E-Book : 365 Writing Prompts last week.   

If you could get all the nutrition you needed in a day with a pill - no worrying about what to eat, no food preparation - would you do it ? 

Damn right I would !! I'm well aware that a 'nutrition pill' or a 'food pill' can't ever really substitute real food - however, given the fact that I'm not really a foodie - such a pill would make my life easier ! 

I love desserts ! I have a baaaaaad sweet tooth.  I'm one of those people who would happily skip all meals and replace them with something sweet.  Therefore an all-in-one nutrition pill would be quite ideal for me to ensure that I get my 5-a-day.  Mind you, I'm quite sure that I would still eat things such as fruits, cereal / muesli, smoothies, other liquids (coconut water, lemonade, a yogurt based drink known as 'lassi') and of course actual chocolates / desserts. 

There is no substitute for dessert in my eyes.  I'm suddenly craving a small bowl of nutella and crunchy peanut butter along with an apple ! [I'm making it a healthy-ish dessert] 

At the end of the day, I'm the kind of person who enjoys going out to eat (hint - I don't have to cook) and at the same time I enjoy cooking for a group of friends for a brunch / dinner party.  I never really make an effort when it comes to 'food' when I'm looking to grab a bite on my own.  Give me fruit yogurts and I could eat them all through the day. 

What about you ? Would you take the pill substitute and forsake the prep time required in making a full meal ? Think of all the time that could be saved that is spent cooking (yes, I know I'm making it sound like a task).  I know it doesn't take long to actually cook if you plan your meals out or have a stocked fridge (neither of which is applicable to me haha).  

Pop on over to The Daily Post to read more about what other bloggers have to say about the Red Pill, Blue Pill 

Red Pill, Blue Pill

#WW 75 What Are Your Roots ?

Apparently my roots are Greek ;)  What about yours ? 

Happy Wordless Wednesday folks ! Don't forget to share your linky below ! 

To Theme Or Not to Theme ?

As you may be aware, the Ultimate Blog Challenge is back in October 2015 and yours truly is taking part in it to get out of my blogging rut ! 

My very first UBC was in Jan ’12 where I just blogged about random topics every day – and it did get hard towards the end of it.  Then I went ahead and with a general theme 'Think About It' wherein I wrote about quotes / images that connected to me.  I've also written about the 'A to Z of Blogging' and 'A to Z of Sex' for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  

Given the above actually helped me focus my blogging in a particular direction - I'm wondering whether or not to go with a theme for this years' challenge ? I'm more than likely to do it - but then it's the topic that I need to think about. 

Seeing that I'm in need of inspiration - it would mean a lot if you could suggest a theme or post topics that you would like to read about.  

#MM 95 Pit Bull Feat Chris Brown - Fun

There are people who are bummed out by Mondays - I'm NOT one of them.  Then again, I like to call Mondays my unofficial day off since I run my own business and majority of my work is Wednesday to Sunday.

I've had this track on my SoundCloud.com playlist for a few weeks now and reckon it's the perfect peppy track to start the week off with. 

I generally like most of Pitbulls' music even though some of it could come across as repetitive.  What do you think of his music ? Have you heard this track before ? 

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!

The Social Network

I came across a prompt from The Daily Post free E-Book : 365 Writing Prompts whilst on the hunt for some blogging inspiration.  I'm going to combine this prompt with another one (which says to set yourself a time goal of 10 minutes and answer the question).  So here's the prompt and my response : 

Do you feel like you "get" social media, or do you just use it because that's where all your friends and family are ? 

I DO get social media.  Sure I have friends and family on it - using various types of social media but I'm there for my business and myself.  I truly believe that one can build themselves as a brand if social media is applied in the right way.  

Over the past month - I decided to upgrade my educational skills.  I have a B.Comm in Management & E-Commerce but it's been a while since I have studied anything.  It came as no surprise to me when I found myself signing up for a Diploma in Social Media Marketing & Online Reputation Management.  It's an accredited course from a reputed educational academy.  I enjoyed it so much that I signed up for the Advance Digital Marketing Diploma as well. 

Before I even began to develop the social media platforms for my business - I had already been (in a way) building my personal brand up.  It all started with a few blogs and then there was Twitter - and all of a sudden I found myself being asked to blog for other amazing blogs who actually wanted my perspective on topics.  I managed this without really putting too much thought into it - I was going with the flow and learning the ropes myself.  

Now when it comes down to my business - I want to grow my brand using all the available channels that social media has to offer.  Let's face it - the power of social media goes a long way  !  I guess that's why I took the course and why I still want to learn more.  Social media is constantly evolving - probably too rapidly for most of us to understand .. but the way I see it - there's no harm trying to keep as up-to-date as we can. 

If you want to know more about social media for business then I would recommend reading 'Will Social Media Take You On A Magic Carpet Ride (To Success' and How Social Media Can Help You Get Ahead. 

Do You Need Daily Blogging Inspiration ?

I've been on the look out for some blogging inspiration - especially now that I've decided to sign up for the Ultimate Blog Challenge .  The last few days have been spent doing general research on the past challenges that I've participated in to get an idea of what kind of themes or topics other participants were blogging about.  The challenge sends out blogging topics each day as well to keep the participants inspired. 

Then, the other night I came across The Daily Post blog site which has a Daily Prompts section.  It's quite cool as there is a 'daily' prompt (as the name suggests).  The prompt is a word or up to 3 words from what I've noticed topped up with a question / statement that you can put your own response to in case you don't want to think of a topic solely based on the prompt word(s).  The site also allows you to pingback to their posts and enables your post to be visible to all the participating bloggers. 

Quite a few of the prompts have caught my attention and I'm hoping to get cracking on them at the earliest.  I may have to back-date some of them to go in accordance with the Prompt schedule or maybe it won't matter at all.  I'll figure that bit out.  I'm a bit of a stickler for order. 

I also came across A Prompt A Day which has only just started in June and as the name suggests - the host puts up prompts ranging from a word, an image, a quote.  There are about 80 prompts so far. 

Another interesting site is The One Minute Writer - wherein there's a daily prompt but you have 60 seconds to jot your thoughts down in the form of a comment.  Of course you can take this a step further and expand on your own blog.  I know I would do that.  

So there you go - in case you are in need of some writing inspiration, I'd definitely recommend heading on over to any of these blog sites and see what it is that inspires you to write.  

p.s Don't forget to share your blog link in the comments so that I can visit your page. 

Have You Tried The Ultimate Blog Challenge ?

I've been thinking about the way I can edge myself back to the blogosphere and I reckon that the best way for me to do this would be to get myself in gear for the Ultimate Blog Challenge October 2015.   

  

There are few simple rules to follow if you are interested in taking up the Ultimate Blog Challenge:

1. Post every day for 31 days (yup - that's why it's a challenge).  Doesn't matter if you post twice a day and then skip a day – but you have to hit 31 posts over the entire month of October.
2. Each post must have a minimum of 100 words to count – so you can’t just put up a picture or a video and leave it there.  You need to actually express yourself in at least 100 words.
3. Once you've posted, then tweet your post with the tag #blogboost so other participants can find you, and come comment on your blog
4. Join the UBC Facebook page and find yourself amongst fellow bloggers; just add your link on the daily post comments section and visit other blogs 
5. Go to the #blogboost page and take the time to read other participants blogs (and don’t forget to comment!)
6. No adult blogs – so keep it PG
7. Have fun whilst you blog !

You can sign up over here : http://www.ultimateblogchallenge.com and enter your name and email address (this also allows the organizers of the challenge to send you across daily blog ideas and gets you listed on the site as someone who is participating)

Have you ever been a part of any Blog Challenges ?  Would you consider being a part of this 31 Day blog challenge ? I have really enjoyed the UBC in the past and discovered some fab blogs along the way.  Given my recent writers block - I hope to be able to just get on with it and hit my target of 31 posts for the month of October.   Now I just need to think of a theme !! 

If you do decide to take part in the challenge, please make sure you leave a comment and share your blog link so that I can stop by your blog .

And There Was A Dream About A Crow

Imagine having a lazy early evening nap (it's rare for me), feeling the breeze brush against your skin, and then there's a crow / raven flying right at you to take rest at your feet ! OMG - I found myself jumping out of bed and on the floor.  My windows were open and I really 'felt' that bird at my feet ! 

Naturally, I do what any sane person would do - Google'd dream dictionaries for the interpretation of seeing a crow in my dream.  The results were actually interesting and insightful; and given that I could relate to it all - means I'm pretty happy about it all. (albeit a little shaken at the thought of a crow landing at my feet WHILST I'm asleep !!) 

My take on it is that seeing a crow in ones' dream is generally rare and when you do see one it is a good omen and an omen of intelligence / wisdom as well. 

1. It implies that your subconscious wants you to try harder and educate yourself.  Would you believe - I recently completed a Diploma in Social Media Marketing and am due to start an Advance Digital Marketing course next week.   I haven't 'studied' (in the traditional sense of signing up for courses) in almost a decade and after doing the first course, I was ready to sign up for the next.  I've always enjoyed 'learning' and I guess this means I'm on the right track in terms of improving my own mind. 
2. It is associated with a major life decision such as buying a home, investing or entering into a relationship.  This summer I decided, I wanted to own a property. Somewhere to call my own space.  A base if you would like to call it.   I've been talking to my friends about it and have raised the topic with my Mum as well.  Fingers crossed I will become a home owner. 
3. It means it's time to take risks, to look for opportunities to create and manifest the magic of life.  For me this means that anything I choose to do with the above two points will be successful and materialize positively for me.  Maybe this is just the sign I needed to know that I'm on the right track. I'm building on my dreams. 

Of course there were a whole bunch of other interpretations which were on the depressing to almost morbid but I didn't really get that vibe from my dream. Do you remember your dreams ?  I remember almost all my dreams quite vividly.  It's kind of a scary at times especially when I end up with a sense of deja-vu over a situation similar to a past dream.  

Do you consider dreams to be symbolic ? I'm sure you have all had a grandma or relative interpret a dream on your behalf at some stage in your life.  In case you are curious, are you aware of these 12 Facts About Dreams & Dreaming ? 

What was the last dream that you had ? It's only fair that you share your dream given that I've shared mine with you. 

#WW 74 Kitty Hugs

Saw these two adorable kitties at a busy street market and had to capture the hugs ! 

And here I thought cats were not meant to be affectionate =P 

Happy Wordless Wednesday folks ! Don't forget to share your linky below !