Rambles Archives - Page 6 of 7 - Relentlessly Purple

Leibster Award Nomination

Rambles / 10 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

I got a notification the other day from LCpl Titwank (IKR what a name!) letting me know I had been nominated for the Leibster award. I really appreciate the nomination from this rather crazy teddy bear as I lost a lot of drafts when the LGG4 died on me and I’m struggling to post. So thank you so much LCpl Titwank!

Rules for the Leibster Award:

Thank your nominator.
Show the award on your blog.
Answer 10 questions asked to you.
Ask 10 questions to 10 new nominees.
Notify them.

So here goes..

My questions:

Are you a morning or night person? Im more of a night person to be honest although I’m generally up every day at 7am I rarely feel human before midday!
What is the one thing you can’t go a day without? Tea! I rarely ever drunk tea but the Mr always starts his day with a cup of tea and makes me one too, these days I need at least 2 to feel semi-human.
If you knew you couldn’t fail, what would you do and why? Become a support worker for care leavers. My brother seriously lacked the support he needed when he left the care system. He didn’t know how to pay bills, fill out forms, he lacked simple life skills and felt as if he had just been shoved out into the world and left to get on with it. If I could have the chance to be a support worker and help people like my brother learn how to look after themselves & their homes & how to adapt to life on their own then I know I’d be making a huge difference & potentially prevent them ending up depressed, scared and lonely.
If you could meet anybody (alive or dead) who would it be? Stephen Fry because he amazes me with his intelligence, humour & kindness.
Do you think your life is book/ film worthy? Which one would you choose? Not really but if it had to be either I’d choose a book.
Beach holiday, jungle adventure, or quiet getaway? Quiet getaway.. muchly needed right now but I would love a jungle adventure too!
If you could have a special power, what would you have? I’m going to go with the same answer I gave when I was nominated for the Sisterhood of the world Award – Healing powers. I hate seeing people in pain and suffering especially those I love and always hate the fact I cant take it away and make it better for them.
What would be one piece of advice/wisdom for the next generation? Do what makes YOU happy.
I’m mixing some drinks, what’ll it be? Rum & Relentless TYPLZ!
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Omelette 😉

Some of those questions really got me thinking again! I really do love answering questions like these although coming up with 10 more was slightly more difficult and I may have roped the Mr in to help me haha! Anyway here’s my 10 questions for those I’ve tagged…

What is your most favourite scent & what does it remind you of most?
If you could spend one day with a famous singer singing all your favorite songs who would it be and what song would you request first?
What is your birthstone & do you love it or hate it?
If you could eat lunch anywhere where would it be?
How many pairs of shoes do you own?
What makes you unique?
Which phrase do you use the most?
How many times have you moved in your life?
Warner brothers or Disney?
What was your favourite year(s) for music? (Feel free to name specific songs/artists)

The 10 lovely bloggers I have decided to nominate for the Leibster Award are:

Dont forget to drop me a link if you’ve been tagged 😀 Also feel free to re-tag me if your struggling to find nominees as I really enjoy taking part in these!

The death of the LGG4

Product Reviews / 10 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

I’m absolutely gutted over the death of the LGG4, my beloved phone I won!

A little while ago I mentioned I had tested the LGG4 for TheInsider’s & was lucky enough to keep the phone which honestly i was delighted with as it was a great phone, amazing camera & so easy to use.

However, on Tuesday morning I got up, used the phone as normal & left it on the side whilst I nipped to the toilet. When I came back the LG loading screen had appeared & I figured it had restarted itself. I took the battery out for a few minutes and popped it in again in the hope it had just got a bit warm or something.

Unfortunately the phone just would not go past the loading screen & just wouldn’t load the android operating system at all. After stressing myself out trying to do soft & hard reset’s and not even being able to get into the bootloader myself, I handed it over to Rich, our go to guy for any tech problem.

After quite a few attempt’s he finally managed to attempt the reset’s but each time the phone would begin restarting again without loading the android system & he believes the system has been corrupted as it kept trying to load & update then restart.

After 3 day’s of trying to even get the phone to load & not being able to retrieve any of my data I finally gave up and admitted defeat. I am gutted though If I am honest as there is no way I can afford to replace it at all it was a £500 phone!!! I was so lucky to win it but I am so damn unlucky to have lost everything that I have lost from it. I gave my old phone to my brother as he had no money & needed a new one badly to stay in contact so unfortunately I had no back up phone.

Luckily Rich had an older phone I can borrow until I can sort out a new phone some how but it mean’s I’m not going to be online as much as web pages take months to load on the phone I have borrowed.

I am gutted as I’m now so behind with blogging & I’ve just spent the last 3 days going out of my mind panicking because I can’t be contacted by anyone or contact anyone else if something goes wrong especially as the Mr managed to lose my bank card & it took us a few day’s to sort paying the internet bill so I couldn’t even talk to anyone online either.

I’m sure anyone with anxiety can understand just how awful I have felt the last few days especially with Eva in school & trying to help my brother a few miles down the road, being out & knowing you can’t be contacted if there’s an emergency with your kids is absolutely terrifying! Then to add to it all when I’m home I feel trapped unable to call out or talk to anyone high up on the 11th floor & not knowing many people around us makes it worse.

I have contacted TheInsiders & LG this morning in the hope something can done but I have very little hope.

I have to say the phone whilst working was an absolutely amazing phone but the fact this has happened with no damage, no dodgy download’s etc I definitely won’t be attempting to get an LGG4 again as I have lost so many photo’s, note’s, documents etc as I hardly thought the phone would die after just 8 months. Considering my last 2 phone’s were a HTC one X and a HTC wildfire which both lasted 2 1/2 year’s before selling on with plenty of life left I think when I can afford it I will be going back to a HTC phone of some sort.

If anyone has any phone recommendations please let me know, I will be attempting to scrape together £100 for a second hand phone in the next few months and want something that I can use for blogging & social media with a decent camera. Feel free to share any product reviews in the comments!

Turning down days into up days

Crafts / 10 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

This week hasn’t been too great If I’m honest. So I’ve been find ways of turning down days into up days. My pain levels have been high & I keep losing my balance. I’m trying my best to stay positive and just rest but sometimes it’s difficult as I explained here.

I guess there are always going to be bad day’s & I just need to fill those days doing something easy and simple to stop focusing on the pain. So I decided to do just that and busy myself with something & ended up finishing off knitting Izzy’s red scarf I started before Christmas & forgot to pick back up again.

I finished off the scarf quite quickly and decided to make a start on learning how to crochet using this Youtube video. The first thing I decided to try crocheting was a simple flower. At first it looked complicated & I thought Id never get the hang of it! Admittedly Izzy hopping on and off my lap didn’t help much at first but I managed to make my first crocheted flower.

I was quite impressed with how it turned out although a little annoyed I had obviously made 1 too many links on one of the petals so it was slightly larger than the others and a bit wonky.. But hey it was my first try 😀

After that I felt quite confident I could make another without a video & managed to produce this second crocheted flower.

I was much happier with this one and carried on making a few more..

Eva loved the flowers & asked me to make her a headband with a flower on. ( Just happened to be the wonkiest one!) So I gave it a go and this is how it turned out..

Eva loved it and tried it on straight away and wore it for the rest of the evening 😀

I’m quite pleased with how it turned out even if Eva did choose the wonkiest flower I’ve made (haha). I have really enjoyed learning too, I’m going to make Izzy a headband next and I want to learn to crochet hearts next too.

Do you crochet? Do you find it a calming hobby too? If you have any patterns or tutorials to share send me a link & I will check them out 🙂

10 Things I’m Looking Forward To In 2016

Rambles / 10 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

10 Things I’m Looking Forward To In 2016.. A whole new year to look forward to! I usually don’t have too much to look forward to as we enter each new year however so far 2016 seems to have a few things in store for us which I can not wait for. So here are My 10 things I’m looking forward to this year.

~~Steroid injections in March~~ – I know it’s strange to look forward to a procedure like this but especially as the pain is creeping back again I’m hopeful they will help ease even a tiny bit of the pain to allow me to continue strengthening my core.
The Easter holidays – Although we don’t particularly celebrate Easter as we aren’t religious in any way we do love to scoff a few choccy eggs! (Don’t we all!?) The holiday itself is a nice break for us and a chance to do things as a family. Things are looking slightly better financially so we are hoping to fit in a trip to London during the Easter hol’s to visit the science museum and anywhere else that takes the girl’s fancy. We haven’t had a chance to get out and do much with the girls & I intend on changing that this year!
Eva’s 6th Birthday (10th May) – The last few years the majority of people have let Eva down on her birthday so last year we decided against a party. This year however I’ve decided we are going to do something different & take her & her friend out for the day to the zoo. If we have our own car by then it will probably be Colchester zoo otherwise we can all take the train & visit London zoo instead! ( 😀 I Love it when I have a back up plan!)
The summer holidays (June-Sept) – Who doesn’t love it when the sun is shine and that alone is a perfect excuse to go out & enjoy it. I hurt so much when it’s cold it makes it hard for me to feel motivated enough to take the girls out much but in the summer I always make up for it.
August – It’s part of the summer holidays but I love it for other reasons too! My brother turns 21 on the 5th, Izzy turns 2 on the 6th, and I turn 20… (6 D: ) on the 14th. It’s a big one for my brother this year and I fully intend on making sure he damn well enjoys it!
Spending more time with my brother – In the last 2 weeks we have seen him 4 times, usually we see him maybe once every 2-3 months as he hides away when he is struggling but he seems to be realising now he can come to us no matter what & we will help in any way we can even if he just needs to be around people and chat nonsense 🙂
Figuring out how to make pretty knitted & crocheted items – I’ve been knitting a few years now but never had the confidence to do anything other than a plain knitted blanket or scarf, this year I want to focus on my knitting a bit more & learn to crochet properly. (If you have any tutorials/patterns etc please Get in touch :D)
Growing the blog – Getting back into blogging again has already helped me loads & it makes me really happy to see my followers growing and people actually reading my rambles. It makes me even happier when people like & comment too. I’m really enjoying blogging again & cant wait to see what progress I can make in 2016 & look forward to connecting with other bloggers too.
Working with brands – I love product reviewing and testing all sorts of stuff from technology to food, toys to appliances, there’s very little I wouldn’t mind reviewing if I’m honest & after testing a Cake for Baker Day’s it’s reminded me just how much I loved doing this on my last blog.
Learning to manage my pain – I am now under a pain management consultant who really seemed to listen on my first visit & has explained so much to me that although I still feel a little lost with it all after we now have a plan in place to help me manage the pain and build my core strength back up. The plan so far is that I will see my consultant every 8 weeks or so with steroid injections & physiotherapy alongside it and once I am able to manage the pain better I can work harder on building up my strength, in the meantime though I just need to keep active but not push myself so hard and actually rest when I need to.. easier said than done admittedly with 2 young children but I am at least trying to slow down!

So that’s my list (I love lists!) of 10 things I’m looking forward to this year, what are yours?

Sisterhood Of The World

Rambles / 10 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

Sisterhood Of The World Nomination

I was nominated to take part in the sisterhood of the world Award thanks to @thewaitress88 🙂

I find these kinds of things quite fun to fill out so it didn’t take me too long to answer my 10 questions and come up with 10 more for those I’ve tagged 😀

RULES

Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog

Answer the questions given to you

Nominate 10 bloggers for the award

Write 10 questions for your nominees to answer

Display the award on your blog/post

My Q&A’s

If you had to live without one of your senses, what would it be?

After putting some thought into this I decided I’d prefer to live without my hearing above all my other senses although I’d still hate not hearing my daughter’s voices (as much as some day’s they drive me crazy!) or listening to music.

If you could get away with a crime would you? If yes what would it be?

Hmm this is a tough one! It would probably be a petty crime doing something silly like trespassing and skinny dipping in someones pool.. Because surely if your going to break the law and get into trouble you may aswell have fun doing it, right?

What animal best represents you & why?

I’d say a dog because they are loyal and loving & try to do anything to please those they love.

Why did you choose your profession?

I don’t have a profession, I was studying Childcare and then changed my mind to ICT but didn’t manage to finish either course due to ill health & my miscarriage. I’m really hoping to work in Admin or something similar when I am feeling better and managing my pain, anxiety and depression well 🙂

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?

New Zealand. On my dad’s side my grandfather was from New Zealand, its always been an interesting place to me and finding this out at 18 has left me wanting to visit ever since.

If you could take only 3 items to a desert island what would they be?

A book, my knitting & a solar powered mp3 player 😉

What was your dream job growing up?

I wanted to work in childcare with young children so badly. Unfortunately my work experience really has put me off as much as I really enjoyed working with the kids.

If you could have one superpower what would it be and would you use it?

Healing powers. I hate seeing people in pain and suffering especially those I love and always hate the fact I cant take it away and make it better for them.

How would your best friend describe you?

Crazy as hell, obsessed with literally ANYTHING that is purple, caring and loyal.

Who is your personal hero?

I cant really think of anyone I would class as my hero if I am honest.

I really enjoyed taking part in this and answering my questions, Here’s my questions for those I have nominated..

If you & your family could move anywhere in the world where would it be and why?
If you had 1 hour to do absolutely anything you like (with no restrictions i.e money, travel etc) what would you do?
What are your top 3 books?
If you could support only one charity for life which one would it be & why?
What was the most useful item you bought in 2015?
If you could have dinner with absolutely anyone living or not who would it be and what would you talk about?
Whis your favorite hobby? (Apart from blogging)
What is your dream car?
Do you have any pets?
What do you collect?

My Nominees

@budgetfoodmummy

@Lopez_x0

@BumbisMom

Samsung SmartThings win

Product Reviews / 10 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

Over the last few months, I’ve been posting about the Samsung SmartThings Starter kit I received to test and review in a word of mouth campaign thanks to The Insiders.

Samsung SmartThings Win

Throughout the campaign there were a few challenges to make videos. Unfortunately due to my anxiety I was really struggling to participate in these challenges. I contacted The Insiders to apologize. In the last few weeks of the campaign The Insiders added a challenge for those that reported conversations, posts etc the most so they could also win their starter kit.

Luckily I’ve spoken to a good few people about the starter kit as well as posting about how I have used it on-line and reported back several times.

A few days ago I received an amazing email from The Insiders! I was one of the lucky few that gets to keep their starter kit. I will also receive 3 extra sensors including the Motion, Presence & Multi sensors!

To say I am over the moon would be an understatement. I thought all the challenges were over. Because I thought this, I was gutted I would have to send my starter kit back. I couldn’t afford £99 to buy it but getting to keep it along with 3 extras is awesome. Honestly, I cant wait to receive them and put them to good use!

Along with the LGG4 campaign I have thoroughly enjoyed being an Insider! I can’t wait to see what campaigns are coming up next!

Christmas Wishlist 2015

Rambles / 10 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

Every year I say I don’t want much but this year I have several things I really wish I could have, 5 in fact!

Christmas Wishlist

1. ~~Dishwasher~~ – Standing at the sink washing dishes has me in tears. The bottoms of my feet feel as though they are burning and almost as if a metal rod is being pushed up through them. My knees burn and my hips feel like someone is trying to pull them apart. I struggle to stay upright with the deep pulling on my spine. It’s one task that hurts so much it makes me angry and snappy. If I had a dishwasher it would cut down on the time I’m standing and me snapping at everyone, its a win – win! Due to lack of space only a slimline would fit in our kitchen but loading it several times will still be much easier for me. * Whilst writing this post my lovely Mr turned up with a dishwasher he had won on Ebay!!

2. Purple Skull Candy Headphones – Our lovely cats decided to chew through my pair earlier this year. After having them for close to 5 years my cheap Morrison’s £3 pair just do not compare. Admittedly they beat the pound shop ones I blew up with one use though!!

3. A toastie maker – I find it difficult to put food together for myself throughout the day, Most days I tend to only eat dinner but when we had one of these and a fridge and cupboard full of options I would always be tempted! Plus who doesn’t need one of these?

4. A decent jumper.. Not a hoody..not overly big and baggy like I normally go for.. One that doesn’t make me look like a tramp! On the odd occasion I’m feeling up to the school run, it would be nice not to feel quite so scruffy & out of place.

5. A weeks worth of thermal socks. I constantly have freezing cold hands and feet. The Mr moans when he washes the clothes and I have forgotten to pull my socks out of each other when I wear 2/3 pairs at a time. I bought a PURPLE 😍😍 pair of thermal socks a few weeks ago and they stop my feet feeling like ice blocks and stops them hurting as much.

This is the first year in a while I’ve had a few thing’s I am after & having already gotten a dishwasher I’m more than happy to get the rest myself in the January sale’s 😉

What are you wishing for this Christmas?

Desperate Backpack Search

Rambles / 10 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

I’m on a desperate backpack search! The Mr has a backpack that he has had for years and I mean YEARS! He had it long before I met him which was 9 years ago. It is just a simple looking black Surfanic backpack. It has 2 large pockets and several smaller pockets. He absolutely loves it as he can cram tons of shopping in there.

He regularly manages to carry an impressive amount of shopping back from town!

Loading Up!

There are 2 large zip up pockets, both with inner pockets. One inner pocket is A4 size with cushioning allowing you to keep documents etc flat and uncreased.

The smaller pocket of the two has a few little pockets inside and a clip.

On the sides there are two mesh side pockets which he usually stores sunglasses and a drink in.Lastly there is a small front pocket he puts his keys in for easy access.

The shoulder pads and back of the bag itself is well padded. It also has a carry handle and a chest strap.

Needless to say this is pretty damn impressive for a pretty regular sized backpack to carry those kinds of weights so often and last for so long & unfortunately after a lot of use and abuse this beloved backpack (AKA Mary Poppins bag) is beginning to die.

The shoulder strap is slowly coming lose and the cats have used it as a scratching post several times leaving a nice long rip along the bottom, he refuses to let it rest as we have searched high and low for an exact copy!

This is where you my lovely readers come in.. I would absolutely love to find him either this exact backpack or a very very similar one.

I have spent hours searching and unfortunately he finds most of the new surfanic designs quite garish and would much rather find something closer to what he already has.

Has anyone spotted one of these in a shop? On a website? Do you or a family member have one in very good condition hidden away somewhere you would be willing to sell?

If anyone does have any information please leave a comment or contact me using the Get in touch page. Any help at all will be greatly appreciated!!

Can you phone the fish?

Product Reviews / 10 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

I hardly expected ‘ Can you phone the fish ‘ to be something I’d hear twice a day. Thanks to the Samsung Smart Things Power Outlet it is now a regular occurance in our home.

To be able to put up our Christmas tree this year we had to rearrange the living room, as part of this we moved the fish tank onto a bigger sturdier table as I was beginning to panic daily at the way the smaller table bowed in the middle especially with both girls constantly leaning on it! Having moved the fishtank and bigger table the Mr realised it was going to be awkward to turn off the fish tank’s pump whilst the fish were fed and begun trying to think of a way to solve it.

Eventually I realised the Smart Things Power outlet could come in useful here allowing us to keep the new changes as I can turn the pump on and off via the Smart Things app as needed. I told the Mr he could do it on his phone too since the app allows you to share your account with several devices.

The Mr isn’t a great fan of technology though and still hasn’t installed the app, admittedly I keep saying I will install it and set it up for him but keep forgetting to do it! Instead every morning and every night the Mr turns to me and says ‘can you phone the fish’ 😂 it makes me giggle every time he says can you phone the fish as well as making it easier to turn the pump off and on.

Im absolutely in love with the Samsung SmartThings starter kit from The Insiders and slowly finding more ways to use it around our flat to make our lives easier. Im quite tempted to attach the presence sensor to Eva’s school bag next since it keeps getting lost in school at least that way we can beep it to try and locate it faster and save a ton of stress.

I wish there were more Power Outlet’s too so I could have the Kettle boil when Eva is almost home so the Mr can make himself a coffee without having to call me to put the kettle on… Hmm perhaps 2 Presence Sensors would be better so we could attach it to the Mr’s Backpack as he take’s it shopping.

I seriously hope I get to win my starter kit as I think I could quite easily get carried away buying extra’s for it!

Do you think Samsung SmartThings could be useful in your home?

Feeling good

Rambles / 10 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

This week has been absolutely crazy but I’m feeling good. We finally saved enough Amazon credit from Surveys to order the girls beds for Christmas after working hard on surveys the last few months between us. It turns out we ordered just in time as we managed to get the last one before the bed was discontinued! HUGE sigh of relief as it’s something I had been panicking over constantly. In fact I’ve been panicking so much the Mr waited to tell me until he had confirmation from the seller of the date and time of delivery and that they definately had one in stock for us before telling me it was being discontinued and we had the last one!

We have really struggled financially over the last few years and christmas is always a last minute rush & extremely stressful. Luckily our money has been back in place a few weeks so we’ve slowly managed to clear the bills that were building up and this week we have had a little bit of spare money to get the girls some presents. This is the earliest we’ve ever done our christmas shopping so it feels like a great achievment and a huge weight off of our shoulders.

I had already bought a few presents for Eva over the last few months but we also managed to get a good few items from their ~~‘I want’s’~~ Christmas wish list’s (Thanks tiny pop & youtube!) today and plan to get a few more bits as we can over the last few weeks leading up to christmas! I still need to finish off their christmas eve sacks with PJ’s, slippers, and a christmas story. (Feel free to offer any recommendations). I also need to buy Eva a shopkins playset from Izzy as I managed to a get peppa pig playset in morrisons today from Eva to Izzy.

I ache like crazy, Ive had several meltdowns across the week BUT sitting and wrapping the girls presents and watching the pile grow knowing how excited they will be and the joy as they discover what lies beneath the paper christmas morning make it worth it. I can’t wait until christmas day & knowing that in the last week leading up to christmas I can sit back and relax playing with my girls, getting them excited with christmas crafts, songs & films without rushing around panicking last minute is the reason im sitting here with a smile on my face.

Relentlessly Purple

Category: Rambles

Leibster Award Nomination

Like this:

The death of the LGG4

Like this:

Turning down days into up days

Like this:

10 Things I’m Looking Forward To In 2016

Like this:

Sisterhood Of The World

Like this: