Flower delivery from Flowerworld UK

Everyone knows how much I love flowers so imagine my absolute delight when I found out I had won a competition with Flowerworld to win (wait for it)..... a bouquet every fortnight for a whole year!!

Whaaaat?!! I actually couldn't believe it. I screamed!

Everyone loves flowers but I find that with being stuck in a lot because of my illness, having fresh flowers around the house makes me smile. It makes me feel happy.

After I found out I had won (and freaked out a bit/a lot) I waited for the site to launch and made my first order. I am so impressed with the whole service that I decided to blog about it. They have not asked me to or anything but I just want to share as it's so good!

You never know with online flower delivery places how good the quality will be. I have seen so many expectation V reality photos from very well known companies and they have sometimes not looked anything like advertised.

I chose a bouquet called the Summer Meadow which was stunning and it looked like this online

It was really easy to order and did amuse me writing a message for myself on the card! I waited with anticipation the following day and I got giddy when I saw a delivery van pull up and the lady knocked on the door with a huge box. Eeeek...

I'm not sure what I was expecting but they were arranged beautifully and wrapped in lovely cellophane.

I couldn't believe how gorgeous they were and not only did they look exactly as they did online, dare I say they looked even nicer! Three huge sunflowers with roses, lilies, stocks and a few others with a lovely bow amongst them. Simply stunning.

I couldn't stop looking at them and felt incredibly lucky to have won.

Another thing about Flowerworld that made me smile is that their tagline is 'send happiness'. Everyone who knows me knows how much I love a Random Act of Kindness and I often send stuff to people to make then smile :-) I am allowed to send the flowers to other people too so perhaps you will get a surprise at some point over the next year...

It's now just over a week since I got the flowers and they are looking as amazing as they did when they arrived. The lilies have just started opening and I think they will last a good while yet. They make me happy every time I see them. Instant happiness!

When I was browsing the site I noticed that they have 20% off first orders with the code FIRSTORDER20% so if you are looking to send someone (or yourself!) some flowers then I would definitely recommend them. The prices are pretty reasonable too for what you get.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Flowerworld for picking me as one of their winners. I really do feel very grateful and I can't wait to keep my house full of pretty blooms for the next year!

They have an animated journey on their website showing how the flowers go from being picked to being delivered which I found really interesting!

Let me know if you order and which bouquet you go for :-)


Ali 
xx

Don't be a bully!

Everyone knows I'm all about positivity so it makes me sad that I've seen so much nastiness recently. Is there really any need for it? Of course it's unrealistic expecting the world to be full of rainbows and unicorns and equally nice things all the time, but surely people don't have to be horrible for no reason?

Bullying is a very strong word but I have seen so much of it. Whether people realise it or not, that's what it is. Social media is a brilliant thing, yet it is also a place where some people feel that they can say whatever they like no matter how hurtful it is.

Look at all the celebrities or people in the public eye who receive hate messages on a daily basis. Keyboard warriors are disgusting yet they do it constantly. The YouTuber Em Ford, whose channel is My Pale Skin Blog, made a powerful video called You Look Disgusting  which has been viewed millions of times. It's about the vile comments she receives and the impact it has. It shouldn't happen but it does.

What is also horrible is people we actually know who do it too. It may be indirect and without naming names but it still equates to the same thing. It falls under the same umbrella. A few seconds of typing and pressing 'send' means your words are there for all to see. Be it blatant nastiness, sly digs or pretend sarcasm, it is the same thing.

Whatever happened to "if you can't say anything nice then don't say anything at all"?!

Think before you speak. Throw kindness around like confetti.

If you see hate, don't encourage it. There's enough rubbish happening in the world already.

I have very strong feelings towards bullying for a few personal reasons and I believe it shouldn't be tolerated. It affects people and not just at the time it happens, yet it goes on all the time.

If you need some inspiration of how to be more kind, have a read of my previous post  which is what it should all be about!

Be a lover not a hater :-)

Ali
xx

Say yes more!! Inspired by Danny Wallace

I started most of this post a week or so back and between then and now it's been a pretty horrendous week. The mass killings in Orlando and then the horrific murder of Jo Cox 2 days ago in the town where I used to live. It's made a lot of people question what the world is coming to and a general feeling of sadness has been apparent everywhere. I am however determined to keep smiling and try and focus on the stuff I've written about below.

***********************

During my fundraising (see previous post) someone asked me if I had ever read any of Danny Wallace's books. I hadn't but I was intrigued. I bought the ones I had been recommended, Yes Man and Random Acts of Kindness.

I haven't read a book properly in ages but as soon as I started reading Yes Man I couldn't put it down. I have also been trying to establish a bit of a better night time routine to try and help with my sleep. Not watching stuff before bed is one of the things I need to stop, so I thought some reading might help relax me.

I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it and may want to, but the general message from the book is to say yes more. Say yes to opportunities. Say yes to having fun. Say yes to living life. Say yes to being positive! Obviously having chronic illness, saying yes is very difficult in a lot of situations but I am all for positivity and this book certainly gives you a kick up the backside!! Danny is a comedian and I laughed a lot whilst reading which is also good. Laughter is the best medicine isn't it...

I have now started reading Random Acts of Kindness which is basically a long list of things you could do to spread happiness to other people. 365 ways to make the world a nicer place. Some of the suggestions make me laugh but if everyone did at least one nice thing for someone else, can you imagine how much happier the world would be?

One of the suggestions was to write a note in a book which you are returning to the library. I have actually done that before in a book I read which was really inspiring (One Million Lovely Letters by Jodi Ann Bickley) and I love the thought of the next person reading it and smiling. I wrote something like "never forget you are amazing". I also did the same thing  in the same book I sent my friend and she cried when she found it!

The book is rather old and the idea of 'rewinding a video tape before returning it to the video shop' clearly shows how old!! Nice gesture though all the same.

The one that says 'if someone cuts you up in traffic, instead of flicking them a finger, smile at them and wave at them like a lunatic' did make me laugh.

There are loads of simple things you could do which would make a real difference to someone's day. I love random acts of kindness so much and am always sending little things to people. Try it, it makes you feel good and you make someone smile. What's not to like about that??!

I also think people don't smile enough at other people so why not try smiling at the next person who you walk past? Seeing someone smile back at you is lovely.

Or do something like buy a friend a cupcake. Send someone a card in the post. Offer to buy someone a cup of coffee! So many simple things that are actually big things when you see how much they make people feel good.

In a world where there is so much nastiness (& this week has proven just that) people really should try to make it a nicer place. Even if you can't do something for someone then just be kind. Kindness costs nothing. I've seen some really nasty behaviour too recently. Totally unnecessary and just really pathetic. Perhaps acting like that makes people feel good but I would rather feel good for doing nice things!

Let me know in the comments if you've ever done any random acts of kindness or whether you plan on doing!

Lots of sparkle


Ali 
xx

38 things about me for my 38th birthday!

Yes it really is true, I am turning 38 at the beginning of May. However much I try to deny it, it is happening. Booo!

People who don't know my age usually guess at late 20's and that will do me just fine! I certainly don't feel (or act!!) my age. I did a previous blog post where I mentioned it here.

So as it's nearly my 38th birthday I thought why not tell you 38 random things about me which you may or may not already know. In no particular order let's go.....

1. I was a lawyer before M.E struck and I had to stop working

2. I have 2 middle names

3. Hardly anyone calls me by my full name and I usually get Ali or Al. Or Sparkle!

4. I used to be really really shy when I was little and people never believe me when I tell them

5. Peanut butter with jam is one of my favourite things to have on toast

6. I prefer savoury to sweet food

7. When I was little my sister pushed me into a lake and I had to walk round the rest of the place in just a Fat Willys Surf Shack t-shirt because my jeans were soaked. I  have never forgiven her

8. I love marmite

9. Glitter makes me smile lots (like you didn't already know that!)

10. I don't like boats or bridges

11. I love the sun and would like to live abroad

12. People always think I am Spanish or Italian, especially when I have a tan

13. I used to bite my nails really badly and only grew them when I was about 24

14. The sound of rain relaxes me

15. The sound of cutlery scraping on a plate makes me cringe

16. Having no fringe doesn't suit me!

17. I was a huge New Kids on the Block fan and went to 3 of their concerts. My mum came to one once and was the only one who wasn't screaming! It was at an ice rink too so was freezing. Sorry mum!

18. I had my tonsils out when I was 21

19. I don't think there is any such thing as having too much jewellery

20. Keith Lemon is my idol (not really but I'm a huge fan as you probably know already). I was lucky enough to meet him privately before one of his book signings due to not being able to queue for long because of my health. We chatted about glittery jackets and took a selfie!

21. I hate spiders

22. I have to use a wheelchair because of my M.E but I blinged it up and it looks super cool

23. One of my favourite sounds is my little girl's laugh

24. I was meant to be in a TV advert when I was about 5 but I was the only child who wouldn't stop crying so they had to pull me out

25. I did some modelling for a series of childrens' books about ballet called Scrambled Legs. I was mortified about having to wear a leotard

26. I didn't get another job after the leotard one!!

27. People who make me laugh are my favourite kind

28. I love my friends and family to bits and would be a bit lost without them

29. It makes me sad not being able to do lots of things because of my health but I'm doing well at looking at the positive rather than the negative

30. Acting silly with my daughter makes me happy. She says she likes that I'm not a boring mummy!

31. Cheese and onion Walkers crisps are my absolute favourite flavour

32. I prefer drinking from plastic cups (adorned with unicorns and such things) rather than drinking from glasses

33. I sometimes daydream about going on an American roadtrip on an old blue vintage scooter

34. I always have really vivid dreams and I sleeptalk

35. I love watching people do streetdance.

36. I'm short sighted and have astigmatism so everything is a bit blurry without my glasses

37. I love doing random acts of kindness.

38. I am fundraising for a charity called Smile for ME as part of my annual M.E fundraiser and you can donate via this link (cheeky plug!). If you fancy buying me a virtual drink for my birthday you could donate a few pounds instead and I'd be mega grateful. My previous blog post has all the information.

Thank you for making it to the end :-) Hope you enjoyed it and if anyone wants to send me glitter covered cheese and onion Walkers I'd be ever so happy!!

Ali
xx

Gratitude

Do you ever look around at all the things you have or the things you can do and feel truly grateful or do you not give it a second thought? Perhaps once you are faced with a situation you have no control over, when you have the things you always took for granted taken away, then you realise how lucky you are. Or were.

Having a chronic illness changed me in some ways. I don't think I realised how lucky I was before I got poorly. All the little things that you take for granted. Every day things. Stuff that you would never give a second thought to until you can no longer do it. Getting up in the morning and feeling ready to face the day after a splash of water on your face. Popping out to the shop for a chocolate bar. Running for a bus (as annoying as it was at the time). Just having the ability to do those things is pretty huge.

Along with all the little things, there are some pretty big things too which I would never in a million years have imagined I wouldn't be able to do. Being able to walk was something I would have never thought would be taken away from me. I was so independent & suddenly I couldn't do it without suffering severe pain or feeling as though I would collapse. There are lots of things I am unable to do anymore but it's made me super grateful for the things I can do or that I have.

Little things become big things when you're ill. I have talked about this before but it's so true. Your world gets smaller & everyone else just carries on living while you are stuck in a ball of existence. Your days are long. Your pain and fatigue is persistent. So little things really do make a huge difference.

Fresh flowers, sunshine, laughter.

Getting a nice message from someone or a card in the post can literally make your day. Knowing someone has thought of you is something to be very grateful for. I have a scrapbook which my friend Sian got me for Christmas & it is full of little things that have made me smile. Letters, cards, notes and just "stuff". I sometimes look through it when I need to smile. It works!

I am so grateful, possibly more than anything, for my gorgeous girl. She makes me smile every day and I would be pretty lost without her. She gives me purpose. She gives amazing cuddles. She sings me songs. She draws me pictures. She reads to me when I'm not well enough to. She makes me feel lucky for being her mum.

I am grateful that I have comfortable places to rest. For my electric heatpad, which is never off me! For having food when I need it. I bought some stuff for the local Foodbank this week & I wish more people would do it as there are people who can't even afford a pint of milk. In this day and age it's shocking.

So look around you and think of all the stuff you have. The stuff you can do. Feel truly grateful for it. So many people don't have those things. Health and happiness should be something everybody has but they don't. Life can be so cruel & it's very unfair. Hug those close to you, spare a thought for others less fortunate than you and just appreciate :-)



Ali
xx