10 things that make me happy :)

I am doing this post because Livi tagged me in her's asking me to and I never argue with her so here it goes! I apologise for my bad spelling and grammar Liv I know it is probably driving you mad.

1) My friends and family.

This is for pretty much the same reasons as Livi. My friends and family make me happy for so many different reasons because each one is different. As I am getting older my circle of close friends is getting smaller and I was slightly worried by this at first but I have come to realise that this is actually a good thing as the ones that are still close to me are still there because they are important and can never be replaced. Not only my closest friends make me happy all my friends do but my close friends are the ones that keep me sane! :)

2) Chocolate!!

Yep a typical girly thing to say but chocolate really does make me happy! And not just the standard chocolate bar. All forms of chocolate!!! white, dark, milk, buttons, cake, hot chocolate, chocolate drops, things that smell of chocolate.....the list goes on! It's a good thing Easter is coming up!

3) The squeals :)

The focus of my research makes me happy because to everyone else they look like generic seals but to me they are so much more. Each one has a personality and each one will look at me and come to me when I call their name. Watching them always makes me smile because they do the funniest things, Oscar will jump out of the pool to get his fish, Gringo likes to swim around the pool upside down and Tuna likes to play with anything she can find there are so many different things I never know what they might do!

4) Pickle

Pickle is a penguin and he is a very naughty penguin. He was hand reared at the zoo I work at and he follows me everywhere! he waddles after me wherever I go with his cheeky little face, sits on my feet and pecks my wellies when i'm not giving him enough attention. He makes me happy because although he can be very annoying and make things allot harder to do he is like a little child and just wants attention it's hard not to love him.

5) Arts and Crafts

I have always loved doing arts and crafts. Cutting, sticking, designing, painting it all makes me happy. I used to annoy my parents by making such big messes but now I can do it whenever I want and no one shouts at me for making a mess.

6) Sleep

I don't sleep very well and I haven't for a long time according to my mum. This is for various reasons but when I do sleep it makes me happy. I don't like being irritable and unhappy but that's what not being able to sleep does to me.

7) Splodge

Splodge is a children's club that I helped run at University, it was one of the best things I did at University. It was so much fun and made me so happy, partly because of the fact I enjoy arts and crafts and partly because it made me happy to know that I was helping underprivileged children.

8) Cooking

Cooking makes me happy! Since moving to Paignton I have tried cooking allot more different things and I really enjoy it. I enjoy cooking meals and baking cakes especially cakes and taking them to work and seeing what people think of them.

7) Living by the sea

Living by the sea is something I take for granted now having lived by the sea in Bangor for 3 years and living in Paignton now. But the thought of not being able to live by the sea in the near future makes me sad.

8) Colour

Everyone who knows me knows I love colour, Wearing colourful clothes makes me happy, being in colourful places, writing in coloured ink, drawing colourful pictures, multicoloured flowers it all makes me happy!

9) Karma

Karma is my rabbit and I miss her because she is at home with my parents at the moment and she always makes me smile. I had always wanted a rabbit and was never allowed one as a child so when I got her it made me very happy :)

10) Twilight, CSI, Supernatural

Geeky I know but twilight really does make me happy especially reading the books. The books are very well written and I got totally absorbed in them and managed to forget about everything while reading them. I like science fiction stuff so I also like watching CSI and Supernatural. Strange I know! I don't know why watching programs/ films about death and vampires and demons makes me happy but for some reason it does. Maybe because it is so different from real life!

So there we go that's it! 10 things that make me happy! It took a long time but I got there in the end :)

Zoo Life

Here are some of the pictures I have taken of my time at Living Coasts so far! I have hundreds and hundreds of pictures but thought I would just post a few.

The first one is of Oscar (one of the seals I work with) The second is the view from where I stand to collect my data and the third is a cheeky little macaroni penguin about to head into the water to eat some fish I threw in there for him!

Since the sun has been showing itself over the past few days I have been thinking how lucky I am to work in such a beautiful place with so many fantastic animals. Although I am far away from home and miss everyone loads I should remember how lucky I am to have this opportunity. Obviously it's not perfect there is the rain and the freezing wind and the pecking and biting and fish guts smeared all over my face everyday but the good outweigh the bad!

This week has been a sad week at the zoo as one of our elephants had to be put to sleep as she was in a lot of pain so the mood has been quite subdued! She was a lovely elephant and had been at the zoo for over 30 years!

On a plus side we have a number of baby penguins in the nests and Living Coasts which is exciting! :)

More on the Zoo later just thought I would make a little post about it while I had a minute!