We have moved...

Hey Guys and Gals,

If you are looking for me here please take note that my blog has moved...it's a case of out with the old and in with the new.

I would be honored to have you join me on the "other side".

Simply follow the link to my new site >>>>> JR Books and Blog

See you there.

JR

I am proud to reveal the cover of Spilled Coffee, A Short Story Compilation being released December 2016.

This is a project very close to my heart as it deals with things often frowned upon, many of those things are applicable to me and my life.

The aim is simple. If I can inspire just one person with this book, someone that has been bullied or abused or a person that struggles with depression or addiction then my job would be a success.

So often we keep quiet and we find ourselves stuck in darkness. This compilation is not light and fluffy or served with cream, it is black and dark roasted at its finest. With it however it ends with light because let's face it who doesn't need a bit of light during these times.

Catch more on Facebook for previews and giveaways.

JR xx



www.facebook.com/jrrobberts

The Year Ahead

It has indeed been a long time since my last blog entry...but its a new year with new goals and ambitions so even though its 18 Days overdue, Happy New Year! If your first thought was, we will see how long it lasts, well I am with you on that one lol but I promise to keep the creative juices flowing for as long as I can cause like in the movie Terminator you can count on me always coming back!

This year is going to be exciting so I hope you stay tuned in on the crazyness. I have a new book in the works - the second in The Journey of Secrets series. I am also working on an art project, going to take scrapbooking classes and learn some sewing all thanks to Mom Grace.  Biggest of all we started the adoption process and hoping to have our little one before the end of this year. That is just some of what 2016 holds for me.

If asked what I want to do this year online, well I would like to broaden my horisons and meet as many authors, artists and bloggers as possible. Do a few guest posts here and there, do a few reviews, tweet and retweet, like and share and help anyone else struggling to make a difference due to the lack of support from others. We are all here for each other, in the end its not a competition but more like a network of friends, a place to share your thoughts on pretty much anything worthwhile.

So join my #friendsnetwork and lets do this.

Here is what you can do:

1. Interact with my blog by clicking follow. (the one you are on now)
2. Message me a link to your blog, posts you find interesting or topics you would like me to take a closer look at.
3. Follow me on Twitter and I will #followback.

I do hope we can grow our #friendsnetwork together and enrich lives, brighten days, support and get the word out there.

Looking forward to hearing from you...

J.

In his garden... *30 October 2015*

Rose petals scattered on the ground
In the morning breeze swirling in a colorful symphony
Of things to remember and things to forget
Who you were and who you will always be to us
A golden memory

Broken you were not meant to be
Swirl and twirl your colors in our life
let the wind restore your power
take you from us and make you whole
To be where you were meant to be



He will take you in His caring hands
Place you in his garden
A special place reserved
No darkness
Only light
A rose unlike any other in love combined

We will always see
We will always remember
Never to forget
Grow in our hearts you always will
Till we meet again in that Garden one day, someday, soon...

Previously on...

A day filled with such beauty cant be wasted. So its sunday and months since my last post but here I am back with the words and coffee to match. I love this blog, it got me through some not so nice times and helped me celebrate great times.

So what has happened since we last met up? The answer to that is a complex one which would mean a ten page essay on my life since then. How easy would it be if we could have this program that allows us to create a previously on insert filled with dramatic music and action sequences paused just at the right moment. Oh and the voice, that deep voice of the narrator painting the picture of now and then. My narrator would probably be very confused, mental almost trying to keep up.

Life is life, you either make the best of it or you don't. I have always gone on and on about choices and how todays actions can impact tomorrow and I am still on that track. People can say many things, make promises and give false hope but if you are meant to fall on your face in slow motion it will happen.

The important thing is to get back up even if your narrator loses his or her mind and recordings get stuck in one place...confused? Feel me?

Dance to the music, make your previously on worth watching. Its a journey and as long as you know where you going you will get there. Dont lose sight of your dreams, for its those special goals that makes it all worth it.

Well let me get back to my now cold coffee...chat soon.

J

The Friday Edition: Goodbye

Till we meet again it was written
with thought it was done
a promise or a saying
we never know which one

Its not easy to say goodbye
when so many memories conflict with time
the albums of days and years forever frozen and inked combined.

Its not easy to say goodbye
when days are so long on printed paper
the big blocks a reminder of the days and nights to come.

Its not easy to say goodbye
when flowers from the ground grows and with grass it spreads
a stone the memory of what once was in silence to remain.

Its never easy to say goodbye
but there is always hope of views in the future
when time allows us or simply to remember
 in a prayer

Till we meet again it was written
with thought it was done
a promise or a saying
we never know which one.

To never forget
Always remember
We are only borrowed to each other
make it count

Will you answer?

Words lie like dirty sheets on the floor, the curtains blocking the light to the inner fight, the hate spreading like wine over a carpet of white. The furniture like the rest of the room is old and damaged, except for the red telephone hanging on the pealing  paper walls. So long have I looked at the phone waiting for it to ring, a way out, an escape out of this dream.

Days have passed since I opened my eyes and till now no one has knocked on the rusted metal door. I remain alone here with my actions, paying off my debt for a day, a life, a night. What lies behind the door I do not know, a portal to reality written on the wall. When will I stand and face this messy place, how long must I wait.

Its been a month now and I am still alone, the phone stopped working days ago. It did not matter, who would I have called? I was the one that was better first, I had success and everything, I did not need them like I needed them before. Gone is the sun now, the shadows it used to cast over these filthy words and stained carpeted floor. If I am to make it I must open that door, I cant stay here much longer, I am going backwards and need them all again. I need the people at the bottom to carry me back to my majestic chair way up in the sky.

The door is heavy. It had been shut for a long time, clouds of swarming dust filled the room as I pulled on it. It cracked and squeaked until finally I could make out something on the other side. It was paradise. I was home. I swung open the door and ran as far as I could until I reached a pool of water and jumped inside.Then I heard it, it was faint at first but soon became clear, standing in the middle of the water was the red telephone ringing away.

I approached with caution lifting the receiver remaining silent. Truth is just like the last time someone hung up and the message was the same. I thought I was to good for other people when I reached the top, truth is I was wrong.

I guess in the end the question is whether that red phone is also ringing for you? Will you answer it or ignore it just like others will eventually start to ignore you.

I choose to say Thank you!


 

Ring the Bell for Service...

Bad service is old news on my blog. I have never been a fan of it and lets face it who really is? But,there are some instances when a person can just shake your head in amazement where neither customer nor business is right.

This particular complaint comes from a daddy who I guess was watching his little girl hard at work, you know earning money for college and all, learning to stand on her own two feet. He describes in his complaint the client as a person who was rude and a bit loud towards his little girl, who ended up leaving the establishment because his food was late, his drinks not as frequent as he would like and unfortunately left little girly  to pay the bill.

In all fairness I agree that this customer handled the situation wrong but daddy went even further to say that he hopes this guy sleeps well at night because he had done the biggest injustice to his daughter, making her pay his bill, costing more money than she makes in a day. So his message was clear.

I only wished it stopped there but this is where he shot himself in the foot by saying what no one else had told this customer. He goes on asking if this guy was at all aware that the kitchen was understaffed on that day, a bunch of staff did not show up at work causing the slow service. He made it clear if the client had asked for management the whole incident could have been avoided.

I disagree, reason being when you go to an establishment you expect what you pay for. If that is not available you should be informed about it first thing. Secondly if not informed immediately, the waitress could have gone and spoke to management and asked for help in adressing the situation. The thing is there was no communication between the manager, the client or the staff. In fact customers were expected to be happy with what was given to them.

There is a right way of handling a situation and a wrong way. Maybe walking out and not paying to me is wrong but it depends on the extent of the frustration. In the end it does all come down to service.


Welcome to the real world girly...truth is owners worry first about the cash before they worry about you. Oh and where does the customer fit in; guess that remains a mystery.

Don't Run

If you run what is it you will find? Is it the dreams you left behind, will nightmares run swiftly by your side, will all that is so right and wrong leave you to find your own way home or will it return to remind you running is like the sky. The clouds come and the clouds go and so does the rain and what might be gone tomorrow can easily return the next day.

The road to run is long, it has rocks and sharp glass to cut your feet, it brings with it no signs of sun, just darkness follows in its path. Here lies loss and pain. Empty graves of darkness lies within the field, a field of broken promises and disgust. The trees stretch their long bony arms pulling at your clothes, trying to hold you back, no one is to leave, no one ever can. It is a door within a forest of weeds and thorns you will never find, a never ending tale.

In the end is it not best to abandon the cause, leave that door alone and look towards the sun. Clouds come and go and so does the rain but if you hope and keep fighting it can return any day and you will be okay. Stay true to yourself and face things as they come no matter how hard it may seem.

Monday Read: ?

Your face was turned away from me, rain was pouring down harder now as you walked away leaving me standing there on my own. For the first time I could not see the emotion in your eyes or read you like the book I understood and knew so well. How did it happen? How did it come to this? The black cloth of lies that hung between us for so long was finally torn leaving the truth unraveling in the wind. I never meant for it to happen but this road, the road i have walked smiling so many times before was beginning to fill with the filth of the rain creating puddles of thick mud. Just like that you disappeared, just like that you were gone and the days that were filled with sunshine became cold and dark.

Names and faces does not matter, I have seen so many staring back at me. Every new mission brought a new identity, every identity programmed with a past, a future, hopes and dreams. The more I do for them, the more I end up not knowing who I am anymore. I fear I will wake up one day and remain a Jake or a Andrew, some box filled with a lie of who I am not. I don't know how you did it, I am not suppose to feel, not suppose to remember but you hacked the program, you brought out a part of the real me. I wish now I could just have told you about who I was and not the fake hired to bring you in. You walked away because I betrayed you, I handed you over to them. I don't know where you are no but I know you wont remember. Once you have the D.O.D device it owns you and not the other way around. Yes I wish this was some film; you talked so much about them; but the truth is this is real. If we don't make the changes to yesterday and tomorrow today will remain the same.

I hope our paths cross again somewhere in time. For now I must begin a new chapter, betray someone else, wake them up and tell them who they really are.

As for you I will never forget or will I ? Will this even make sense when I see it later?

"So is that it?"
"Im afraid so mam," a young man replied dressed in black and white armor. A red dragon filled his chest piece, flying high in an open sky protecting that which lay below.
 "I want you to find him, I don't care what it takes but we cant lose him, reset his D.O.D device if you have to but bring him home," Thena said worried pacing up and down.

To be continued...

Planning the Holiday...

Here we are, saturday. Woke up this morning with proper filter coffee and foam with a little bit of cinnamon to finish. Yes the sweet things, the little things brings that warm feeling to your heart. The music playing softly in the background adding a bit of flare to the morning and then it hit me, only one week till holiday.

Any moment so long waited for comes in and brings with it the planning and preperation and a sort of underlying excitement. Honestly im not at the jump out of your skin moment yet but im getting there and growing impatient for the time to pass. That, I have had enough moment. Well this time I decided to distract myself with a list, one that i thought up to keep busy. So here it is:

1) Start looking at what you are not going to wear: This helps, this tells me how little I will really need when away. I would advise never to keep the speedo you wore ten years ago, trust me it wont fit and most likely you will end up asking, what happened to me? Burn it or flush it down the toilet. All dependant on size.

2) Start packing: See what needs to be taken with. On a camping trip I suggest starting in the kitchen, no faster way of getting you to clean cupboards and with each trip like lets say to the garage the same procedure applies.

3) Test out the old umbrella: Nothing like a long walk with a beach umbrella around the block to remind you of what lies ahead and to test its durabilty. Sitting on a camping chair does not count.

4) Practice tan angles: U need to look good always so use a mirror if you unsure of what u look like. Also check your costume for any unwanted skin sticking out. Dont flash if you are not using a camera.

5) Swim a few laps: No bummer worse like not being able to on holiday. Inspite of popular belief floaties are not in fashion.

Oh well let me go and stop writing nonsense in preperation for my holiday, did I mention its another thing you can do..just dont talk to yourself please, some might find it creepy.

Awesome weekend!!

Blowing out the candles

Birthday cards bring happy thoughts, the kind that makes you smile and think for a second. It is nice to receive, nice to hear those words that says all is okay or to feel that so many has your back. These are the people that accepts you and stands by you through thick and thin.

In an ideal world the above would be true for some but it is not always the case. How many times do you buy the birthday card and provide the support and all your left with in the end is a fake friend only wanting and acting his or her way through. The best of all is some of us does not give up so easily and we try again and again until we start thinking that the fault lies with us and not with them. So it starts, all the questions about what is the real truth behind it.

Never give up on anyone or so we believe but why should u stick around with someone who does not really believe in you. Why spend time laughing and smiling knowing that behind your back its all one long conversation. The truth is what you do for someone else or let me say try and do for them is real but it goes with notice and then gets ignored.

So i guess the real question is how many birthday cards will it take for you to realise that you are wasting your time. Best advice let go if you can or just act along and pretend for the rest of your life that you are infact important to this person. And that what you say means more than just a smile from them.

In the end i share my cake with those that deserves it, that makes me whole and supports who I am and as for the rest sorry there are only so many invitations...

Dont  lose your chance to do right upon others, you will answer for it in the end and that person might just be listening to all of it.

The 2014 Challenge

Its a new year. 2013 or at the end of it was surprising and brought forth a new challenge. I like a new challenge as long as i know what it is and how to get through it quickly. The truth is that no challenge is ever that simple, especially those that jump out from nowhere just smiling. Murphy is it? Is that what they call him or her or it?

So here we are in 2014 and we all hope for that good fresh start;it is like wishing you will win millions tomorrow or that all will be just right. Sorry if this is coming from a negative  perspective but sometimes it is and other times it is not. Who has never prayed about life or wished upon a shooting star? At some time we all do and face it nobody is perfect , nobody lands on their feet each day, we all have our down moments.

So what does a person do? Well im no professional but talking about it might help and might not help. Sitting at the drawing board all night might also do the trick and also not. I once believed in smoking and I am glad that I still think about it,  just less. Im in no means promoting drugs or alcohol , i was always the best i n my class; :-)) several years ago.

Truth is 2014 is here and there might already be drama but if you stand together with those friends or family or just ask for help it does make the load a little easier to bare no matter the situation. In the end its about love and how far a person is willing to go for yourself or someone else.

I for one am grateful for this year and even if it is a bumpy one, im spending it with the people i love and care about.  Losing yourself in stress is not.

See u guys tomorrow and care always.

Broken Heart(s)

The "shop" has been closed for a long time but not to worry the doors are now open and more weird and not so weird writing will be coming your way; now...

An experience I am currently going through with some friends of ours is both shocking and an eye opener. You want to be there to help, to fight, to do more but when I am home having some quiet time I realize there is only so much we can do. Life at times throws us these curve balls, other times it is massive rocks that hit where it hurts the most. It is never a good thing but it is during such a time when you need friends around you to just be there to listen, not to judge or give advice on how to live their lives. 

We all make mistakes, bad mistakes and when we look at ourselves in the mirror after we realize just how wrong and stupid it was of us, especially when you are in a relationship it seems like a monster is staring back. I have learnt not to look back, some people deserve the second chance but others who always have some hold over you and keeps on interfering does not deserve to be near you. Think of yourself and what you want first for your relationship before you think of them. Opinions might be different here but it will hurt me more to know that the person who was part of the pain and confusion in my mind is still hanging around. 

If you really care about someone and you see the relationship and the hard work they are putting into it rather do the noble thing and walk away - don't think that part of your world is still your oyster by saying you care, doing favors and then expecting those supposed good deeds back way before schedule. 

Leaves me thinking, my relationship is so important to me that I would do anything to make sure it stays that way. Yes nothing is perfect and their might be problems but you don't give up. Take that second chance both of you have decided on and walk with it...

From friends to friends :)

So much feelings that thunders from within

lightning strikes my heart and soul

I long for you still in memory and thought

time in our lives together be forever short

Together we can beat this storm

I need you by my side

Remember all that we built and all that we share

to know I love you rainbow or not. 

The work wheel

We all live our lives each day, fighting and working hard, trying to provide a better life for our children, our family, for everyone. So it goes they say, that is what the truth is and the answer above is always the same. Is it true always, applicable to all or not? I have read many posts about how we should do this and how we should do that and everything will be fine if you follow certain steps. To some it is motivation, to others it might  mean something totally different. What more can you possibly say or do. Pictures with nice words, comments of motivation, a simple thank you and the list goes on and on. It is true we do fight and work hard each day for the sake of those we love but I believe we often go through it with our eyes closed. Just like other things in life we choose to ignore and deem it as irrelevant. So for the person on the other side it is bad news, you are wasting your energy and your time by trying to offer something of emotional value to someone else. But the question is to who? I don't know that answer as many won't admit that they are irritated by smiley faces or fed up with those living in their happy land, writing happy things. Some will acknowledge that they appreciate each one but...

Nonsense. You can provide and work but at some point you have to slow down and take some time to look around you, try and take in what others are offering in words, for it is powerful. We need to be more open, we need to sometimes force ourselves because we get stuck in this working hard wheel that just goes round and round and never stop. I am not saying one should not work hard, I am saying take a break. In the end it is not only about the work, it is about how we choose to do it. Read or look at something that touches the heart, spend time with those you love and escape from the end destination for a bit. We all want the success and be able to give but who will take care of your loved ones if you do not take care of yourself? 

Fear is normal, thinking that we won't make it. Saying there is nothing wrong is normal because we would rather hide than face the reality of what we are doing to ourselves. We dismiss words, pictures, time and before we know it the time is up and what have you accomplished? You have worked and worked and worked till the end unable to remember that dream you once had, the inspiration you once withdrew courage and strength  from, having taken all that you deserve away from yourself. 

In the end it remains a choice, one that needs to be made. I can't speak for anyone in saying what you should do, what you should not do or what steps to follow. In the end you will succeed, if one person sees or reads you have already made the difference and who knows you might change an opinion or two. 

Just take one minute, eyes wide open and look, not just see but look around. There is so much more! 

The Journey of Secrets (#1)

Welcome Home

We all want someone to welcome us home after a long trip away from land and country. It is what we all want, we want to feel welcome, accepted and loved. What we crave most will always be there, on the inside, hidden where no one else can see. It is just who we are, not everyone comes out flags waving saying this is how I really feel. Everyone deals with this emotional roller coaster in their own way, some talk about the past or the present because they know it is a safe place for them to share. Others watch, comparing situation against situation, to them silence is golden but the message it carries is clear. 

,

There are lots of places to have private conversations on how we feel, places where one can just take in what is being said and use it as a positive rather than a negative. Everything we share with people has meaning, has a need attached to it, a message that needs to be heard. Whether it is shared on your blog, twitter, facebook or pinterest or all the others, what you feel will come across in a certain way. But you know what, it is the people that are willing to share, listen and take in that matters the most. Those are the kind that makes you feel welcome, accepted and loved. 

We all read that post where someone might say how they lost a loved one, how they were bullied in school, sharing those little extra details that makes us learn and understand how they made it through. Some might express it only in a post and say nothing further leaving the mind in thought. Even a poem can boggle your mind and make you think how did this person get here, what feelings brought this on? 

It is good being part of a group that understands you but the realization is just like in real life not all of them will. This is not to say they don't read or take in what you write, they simply choose to stand in the background watching as your story unfolds. But don't let this stop you from supporting them. 

We all want to feel welcome, accepted and loved even if it is expressed on paper. Strangers take notice, strangers see and then something called friendship forms. So in the end I don't just see a post as just what it is, I see it as a door, a opportunity to share, care and support. 

No matter your background or where you come from, everyone deserves to be welcomed home. 

The Journey is starting.

The Door will open 1 June, so more to follow!

Check out my Interview by

Alana Munro

and support her, for she is doing a great job in helping others. 

Under Construction

Next post will follow 14/05/2013
All the last minute stuff for my book needs to be completed and I'm running around like a chicken without a head.

To those that have supported me so far I can only thank you and hope that you will keep on doing so, and whenever you need a hand, a Q & A , discussion, promotion or just a friendly chat, I am here.

My book "The Journey of Secrets" will be out on the 1st of June.

Please see the page if you have not seen it yet.

The advanced side of talking.

I am up early this morning, hoping to get some other writing done before my blog but hey it flows when it flows, the mind waits for no one. So being up now and craving more caffeine I could not help but wonder, who came up with the saying about early birds and catching worms.

Who thought of stuff like that, to put some lesson behind a few words. Honestly sometimes I love it, other times it just does not make any sense. Well to be honest like this morning I can disagree completely with the words and myself.  I suppose some prefers missing rush hour traffic and likes to get to work and hour or two before the time, they prepare and plan to be successful and make their day more productive.
Well I got woken up, told myself two more minutes and woke up an hour later. I dragged myself out of bed with very little energy and no worm, I am probably a very slow bird compared to others.

But let me give some more, some that I was not familiar with at all:

A fish rots from the head down: This is when a organisation or state fails and it is always leadership that is the problem...
1.(Boss did you know, a fish rots from the head down? Think about it, it makes sense.)
2.Turn around and walk away.

A turnup for the books: This is something we all hope for. Somewhere in the early 20's the word turn-up has been used to describe a surprise or good fortune.
1.) Remain Positive and it will happen.

Butter wouldn't melt in his mouth: This refers to a person that is prim and proper and have such a cool demeanor that not even butter will melt in their mouth.
1) In the past this was most often applied to woman.
2) These people are still around...(Thinking) both male and female.

To call a spade a spade: This means to say it like it is, be direct to those you speak with.
1) Honey you are a spade.
2. What, am I just some garden tool to you now?

Don't keep a dog and then bark yourself: Don't pay someone to paint your house and in the end you do it yourself.
1) Decide.
2) Stick to it.

Get your goat: To be annoyed or angry.
1) James I am going to fetch my goat if you don't stop.
2) We don't own a goat, are you coming down with something?

The hair of the Dog that bit you: A small measure of drink intended to cure a hangover.
1) Get me a hair of the dog please?
2) Why? I promise it is your dog.

Know your onions: To be experienced or knowledgeable about a subject.
1) I am a writer so I know my onions.

Nail your colors to the mast: To display your opinions and beliefs and hold onto it until the end.
1) Never give up what you believe in just because someone else shoots you down.
2)Your life, your terms.

To use a sledgehammer to crack a nut: To solve a minor problem with disproportionate force or expense.
1) Don't go overboard.
2) Look before you act.

These are just a few I found interesting. I know we don't use phrases that often but maybe we should, maybe it will bring something extra with it, teach a lesson or simply state a fact and maybe provide a laugh here and there.
Don't know if I hit the nail on the head or if I am just talking hocus pocus?

Oh well... :))))

Source: www.phrases.org.co.uk