Day 31 - Why do you blog

31 Day Challenge

Why do you blog

Why not?

I do it for myself mainly - well, I'm not really doing it for anyone else am I? I have a grand total of 3 comments and 1 follower, so really, no one is actually at all interested in what I have to say.

None of my friends or family know I Blog.

So, yeah, I do it for myself.

I like to write about things that I enjoy reading about on other peoples Blogs.

Sometimes I read back through my Blog and forget it's me, and my life.

So why do I Blog?

Because I enjoy it!

And that's the 31 Day Challenge over and out!

If anyone out there did it as well, I hope you enjoyed it! :)

Day 30 - What's in your make-up bag

31 Day Challenge

What's in your make-up bag

I did a post showing this last month, and nothing has changed except for the addition of this: -

 

Exciting stuff! :)
 

Day 29 - Where have you travelled

31 Day Challenge

Where have you travelled

I've been very lucky, travel-wise. When I was younger we always went on holiday abroad. And I try to have a holiday abroad every year with the boyf, to somewhere I've never been before. I'm not sure I can remember all the specific places, but here's what I do remember: -

Majorca - Spain

Menorca - Spain

Ibiza - Spain

Torremolinos - Spain

Barcelona - Spain

Grand Canaria - Spain

Gibraltar

Yugoslavia

Malta

Faro - Portugal

Rome - Italy

Paris - France

Lille - France

Amsterdam - Holland

Noordwijk-an-Zee - Holland

Sharm-el-Sheikh - Egypt

Luxor - Egypt

New York City, New York - USA

Ancramdale, New York - USA

Lakeville, Connecticut - USA

Orlando, Florida - USA

Miami, Florida - USA

St. Petersburg, Florida - USA

Tampa, Florida - USA

Clearwater, Florida - USA

Day 28 - What are you looking forward to

31 Day Challenge

What are you looking forward to

The usual stuff:

Having my own house

Getting married

Winning the Lottery

Oh, and my bestest bud getting married next year - that should be one helluva party!

Day 27 - Post your favourite recipe

31 Day Challenge

Post your favourite recipe

Warm Potato & Chorizo Salad with Balsamic Dressing

6tbsp extra virgin olive oil

350g baby new potatoes, halved

100g chorizo sausage, sliced

2tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 bag mixed beetroot salad

Boil the potatoes. Fry off the chorizo. Add the boiled potatoes to the chorizo pan to coat in chorizo juices. Dress the mixed beetroot salad with balsamic vinegar and mix with the potato, chorizo and chorizo juice.

Quite possibly the simplest recipe you'll ever see, but the flavours are amazing, and it includes 2 of my favourite foods!

Day 26 - An old photo of you

31 Day Challenge

An old photo of you

Day 25 - Your 5 favourite blogs

31 Day Challenge

Your 5 favourite blogs

In no particular order:

Cupcakes and Cashmere

burkatron

Gem Fatale's Style Blog

Zoella | Beauty Fashion & Lifestyle Blog

Color Me Katie

Day 24 - Your favourite childhood book

31 Day Challenge

Your favourite childhood book

Kevin and Darren are very surprised when they find a little dragon on the number 19 bus. They are even more suprised when the Little Dragon tells them that he has fallen out of a story book, and asks them to help him find the book again.

I used to love this book when I was younger. and when I dug it out to take a picture of it, I fell in love with it again. it is such a sweet little story! What I didn't realise whilst looking at the back cover, is that it's a sequal from a series - I may have to do some book shopping!!

p.s. new layout.... what do we think?

Day 23 - Your dream job

31 Day Challenge

Your dream job

I would love, love, love to be a CSI.

Day 22 - The best thing to happen this year

31 Day Challenge

The best thing to happen this year

Nothing overly outstand-ish has happened this year.

But, my highlight of the year so far has definitely been getting to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida and the Harry Potter Studio Tour in London.

I am a mega fan of Harry Potter, so to be able to go and visit the actual sets from the film, and a theme park based around it was amazing. And a nice ending to the franchise.

Until I convince the boyf we should go again next year ;)

Day 21 - Your 10 favourite foods

31 Day Challenge

Your 10 favourite foods

In no particular order:

Chorizo

Jersey Potatoes

BBQ Ribs

Corn on the Cob

Chicken

Scrambled Eggs

Calamari

Creme Eggs

Walkers Sweet Chilli Sunbites

Custard Creams

Day 20 - A difficult time in your life

31 Day Challenge 

A difficult time in your life

8 years ago.

My mum was diagnosed with breast cancer.

My dad gave up, he really struggled, he'd never had to cope on his own with my brother and I before.

My brother refused to visit my mum in hospital because seeing her surrounded with tubes traumatised him.

Then...

6 months later.

I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease.

It was a tough time in our house.

The rest of the family, sort of, gave up on us. No-one knew what to say to us.

It was bad enough with my mum, but with me too!? At the same time!?

We got through it though, together.

We were the first mother/daughter duo to be treated at the cancer unit at the same time.

In fact, we were the first pair of relatives to be treated at the same time!

Then... 

Two years later, the Hodgkin's Disease came back

This time it was even more serious. The survival rate for relapsed Hodgkin's Disease was dramatically low.

The treatment involved 10 weeks of chemotherapy then a bone marrow transplant and a 6 week stay in an isolation unit 100 miles away from my home town.

But again, I got through it.

It's been 4 years since my last treatment. 

I'm still seeing my Haematologist every 6 months, the plan is I'll be discharged for good next year.

Mum was discharged 3 years ago.

It was difficult at the time. But I think we handled it extremely well.

We both continued with work, we both led normal lives outside of our appointments. I even carried on with my Thursday nights out with the girls!

It was everyone else around us who freaked out.

Day 19 - What do you collect

31 Day Challenge

What do you collect

Unless a serious shoe addiction counts, I don't actually collect anything. Although, I seem to have amassed a rather large pile of Post Office receipts from all my eBay selling - but that's probably as close as it gets...

Day 18 - The meaning behind your blog name

31 Day Challenge

The meaning behind your blog name

When I was younger, I had a series of books called "What Katy Did". 

When it came to naming my blog there was only one option, to make it a real life...

What Pippa Did

Day 17 - What is your most proud moment

31 Day Challenge

What is your most proud moment

I have no great academic achievements, no great personal fortune, but I do have the best family, they are a great source of pride.

And, it's not exactly a 'moment' but I am proud of what and who I have become.

And that's all to do with my family, and how I was raised.

Day 16 - What's at the top of your bucket list

31 Day Challenge

What's at the top of your bucket list

To move to Florida.

I fell in love with St. Petersburg when we were over there on holiday.

It is definitely my dream to live over there some day.... soon.

I'd also definitely love to travel more - top of the wishlist is Australia. 

Day 15 - Timeline of your day

31 Day Challenge

Timeline of your day

8:00am - Wake up, get dressed, have a wash, prepare my breakfast to go

8:30am - Leave for work

8:45am - Arrive at work and eat my breakfast at my desk whilst sorting through the filing

1:00pm - Lunch time - where I usually stay in and do some online shopping.

2:00pm - Back from lunch

5:00pm - Finish work

Then I go straight home, either for tea, or to get ready to go out for tea.

But generally, after eating and/or returning home from wherever I have been, I'll visit my 7 daily websites, MSN for my e-mails, Blogger to catch up on Blogs, Facebook to play on The Hunger Games Adventure game [cool], Perez Hilton to check out the latest Celeb gossip, River Island, Topshop and ASOS to have a browse at the 'New In' sections, and then I'll catch up on t.v recordings whilst either reading the paper or a book.

Day 14 - If you won the lottery...

31 Day Challenge

If you won the lottery...

Gosh, if I won the lottery...

The amount of times we have had this conversation in work - it's usually followed by a "I won't see you on Monday then since I'm going to win it tonight!"

Depending on the amount, obviously. I would love a house, a nice big house, with a walk in wardrobe. That's all I ask for in a house, that it be big enough to have an acceptable sized walk in wardrobe!

If we're talking triple-rollover Euro Million Lottery win than I'd also have a penthouses in London and New York, and a house in Florida - which would potentially be my main residence.

I'd like a boat, to be parked up across from my Florida house. A brand new car, though I'm not in to cars, so I don't know what type I'd like, just something pretty :)

And then obviously I'd go on mammoth shopping sprees - my first purchase would be a classic Chanel Shopper Bag and some black Louboutin shoe-boots.

And then finally I'd set my family up for life and give some money to my local hospitals Cancer Department.

Day 13 - What's your earliest memory

31 Day Challenge

What's your earliest memory.

I don't have a good memory, at all. Even things from my last holiday to Florida I can't remember, and that was two months ago. So my earliest memory isn't very early, I don't think. They all revolve around my Grandad, who died when I was 5.

I remember the morning my brother was born. I came downstairs and my Grandad was waiting at the bottom for me with a box of Coco Pops in his hands, a big smile on his face and "some very exciting news" to tell me. I didn't think it was so exciting, I wanted a sister not a brother, not a "stupid boy" - I didn't want him so much that I tried to sell him to the neighbours!

I remember my Grandad used to pick me up from school, and we'd go the the pond across the road from his flat and feed the ducks. It was always Pippy and Grandad time; precious time spent with him that I miss.

Every so often I will smell a smell, like peppermint, and cigars. I know that's my Grandad's smell, his flat used to smell like that. It's strange that I can still smell that, and that I know what that smell is and where it came from.

My last memory, I was about 7 or 8, and it was open day at my brothers nursery. I was with my next door neighbour whilst my mum chatted to other mums, and there was a table full of drinks, one side was orange juice and the other-side was white wine.... I picked up the white wine! When I think back to it I can still taste it in my mouth, obviously it tasted off to me, but I just assumed it was dodgey orange juice... and carried on drinking it - it put me off orange juice and white wine for life!

Day 12 - What's inside your fridge

31 Day Challenge

What's inside your fridge

Well, as you would have read, I still live at home with the 'rents, so it's not my fridge. And in fact, when taking the photo's below, there's not actually much if my things in there, but here we go...

I would say my fridge is quite a typical fridge, we've got yogurts, vegetables, soup, pastas, puddings, quiche, butter, eggs, Sunny Delight (who knew they even still made this!!?) left over chinese take-away, alcohol, and the last easter egg that everyone seems to have forgotten about!!