A clean slate

2014 was a pretty bad year for me, in fact I'd go as far as saying I'll be happy to see the end of it. Throughout this year I've started to work incredibly hard at keeping myself happy and now I can safety say I am surrounded by people that make me laugh everyday and generally make my life better.

With that In mind, I'm looking forward to what 2015 will bring. I'll ignore the looming prospect of final exams for now, and focus on what I will be doing to contribute to a great year!

Blog-wise
. I am aiming to upload a post AT LEAST once a week, this will provide a great stress reliever from exams and I mustn't stop myself doing from what I enjoy.
. To get to grips with shooting manual and get out and experiment with my new camera.
. To discover my blog niche- by experimenting lots and finding out what works for me.

Personal-wise
. Organise my studying and social life so that I feel comfortable going into exams, not scared and overwhelmed.
. Eat less sugary snacks- think of your skin!!
. Try to become a master  decent at applying liquid eyeliner.
. Experiment with hairstyles.
. Try not to take your exam related rants out on your family. Save it for those who will rant with you- your friends.

What are your goals for the new year?

Abbie
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Holiday Baking

Today I joined forces with my incredibly excitable 6 year old cousin, to bake up a storm before Christmas.

First on the agenda, were these incredibly easy sugar cookies, made with Mary Berry's simple vanilla dough recipe. We did end up decorating these but I forgot to snap a picture before Molly took them home for Father Christmas.

And what does every baking session need? Why Frozen inspired cakes obviously, duh.

(and teeny hands to model them too)

These were incredibly easy too, considering they were just a packet mix. Little packets like this are great for getting the younger ones involved. Although, her favorite part of it all was allocating a sugar stamp to each cake!

Finally, a traditional Yule log- complete with figurines.

Have you been baking this holiday season? In the future, would you like to see recipes?

Abbie

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A catch up

I wondered If I should do a 'Hello December' but, considering I've only posted one thing since 'Hello November,' I figured I'd just have a chat with you instead. I should really stop starting my blog posts with apologies...

November turned out to whiz by a LOT quicker than I imagined it would, with the coldness slowly creeping in and the daylight hours quickly shrinking. It's certainly much colder in the mornings but, with not owning a single decent coat, I find myself having to grin and bear the frost nipping me on the nose slapping me in the face.

My mock results turned out to be much greater than my expectations. Which is good, considering I had already set them high enough. I've got another set mid-January though, followed by my final exams. so my revision doesn't stop just yet.

A few of you may remember this tiny post, about how my room was slowly being transformed. Well, nearly a year later, It's complete! (minus one wardrobe door but we won't talk about that)

As both the days and nights are becoming colder, Saffron has started to damn right refuse to venture outside. And while I appreciate all the extra cuddles, she is a slight hindrance when It comes to wrapping gifts. Here's a cute picture of her after one of her ribbon wrestling sessions.

Abbie
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Panic!At The Disco cover Bohemian Rhapsody

I'm aware I haven't been the most active blogger recently but countless amounts of revision means I barely even have time to eat my dinner.

However, I stumbled across this and thought that I must share it. I'm not sure quite how many Panic! fans are following this space of the internet but I just think this needs to be seen by more people and, as an avid fan myself, I thought I would share it just that little bit further.

Even If you are not a fan, I recommend a listen. Brendon Urie's vocals are easily appreciated.

I promise I will have a lot more content coming your way soon.

Abbie
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P.s Ed Sheeran at the 02

Hello November

Well hello November, haven't you crept up on us fast. It seems like only yesterday it was the first of October! This year, you brings some very exciting (and some very scary) things towards me. The first being tomorrow, my birthday! Later on you present me with two weeks of mock exams and, most likely, two weeks of stress.

As the month begins, my new bedroom is nearly complete. The furniture has been built (minus one missing door for my wardrobe), the carpet has been laid and the wallpaper has been hung. All that is left to buy is my favorite part, all the little knick knacks and accessories.

Although summer really is glorious, I am looking forward to your nipping frost and cold winds. They give me an excuse to shut out the world and snuggle up in my duvet. Something that I wish I had the chance to do much more often!

I feel that you often bring families closer together, November, there is nothing sweeter than curling up on the sofa and watching a Sunday film with your family except, maybe, the gingerbread lattes you grace us with.

As I look out my window today, it seems quite deceiving that you have started your month with sunshine and a pleasant breeze, I'm sure the rain will make up for that at a later date.

Abbie
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What are you looking forward to in November?

Post concert depression// Ed Sheeran at the O2

*WARNING: contains concert spoilers!*

How cool are these tickets!? My thumb is covering the tiny Ed.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind when I say this, Ed Sheeran is a lyrical genius. Not only is he a lyrical genius but a performing genius, a crowd-pleasing genius and and all round genius genius.

Last night was one of the best nights of my year so far, I traveled up to London with a close friend to watch Ed Sheeran and I can honestly say It couldn't have been better.

I was slightly apprehensive as to whether or not Ed would be able to fill the O2 arena, after all he is just one man and his guitar (plus a loop pedal but we'll talk about that later) however, I was blown away by the way he had the crowd completely gripped and engaged. To my own experience, he actually did this much better than a particular popular boy band playing on the same stage, a couple of years ago.

Unlike many artists, Ed Sheeran didn't need any fancy band or backdrop. He simply started his set by walking onto stage, adjusting his guitar and jumping straight into the opening song- I'm a mess.

From there, It only got better. I actually found that he sounded better live rather then pre-recorded on the radio, which is the opposite for many artists!! At concerts he tends to hold the notes longer, rap faster and add random songs into his own music. For example, In the middle of don't, he had us singing,'these girls ain't loyal!'

And when we weren't screaming at the top of our lungs, we were waving our arms to a slow song, such as thinking out loud.

Another great thing is the variety of songs he included. He didn't do the annoying thing of sticking to his most recent album, he went right the way back and sung songs for everyone and it's things like that that stick in your head,

BY FAR my favorite part of the whole concert was a little moment when Ed was talking about 'a band that he had recently be touring with in Northern Island', he mentioned that he considered these people best mates and had managed to drag one of them down to London to play for us. He then announced, no less than, Nathan Connolly from Snow Patrol!!

The place erupted with cheers and when they announced that they would be singing chasing cars together, I could have exploded with happiness. That song is one of my favorites on its own but Nathan and Ed harmonised perfectly, and made it even better. I was on the verge of tears right at the very end, on the last two lines, Ed and Nathan stopped completely and left it completely to the audience. Hearing a whole arena of people, singing the same song at completely the same time with such passion in their voices is one of the reasons why concerts are one of my favorite things, ever. I found this video of Chasing cars, if you skip right to the end, you will see what I mean. Absolutely breathtaking. 

After the encore, it was sadly time for the last song. Of course, Ed went out with a bang with sing. Every one was on their feet dancing and singing at the top of their lungs. Right at the end, he told us to, no matter what, carry on singing. He slowly put down his guitar, danced a bit and then walked off stage to end the concert! We sang him off stage and, as the lights went up, I felt absolutely on top of the world.

Abbie

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Why I smile at strangers

Yes... I am one of those people.

The type of person that grins at you whilst you are having a bad day, 'who does she think she is, smiling at me, and whilst I feel like this!.'

-source-

The truth is, I feel it is my duty to simply acknowledge others. We have, for one reason or another, ended up crossing paths in our lives and I think the least I can do, is to smile at these people. More often than not, we are too engaged in our own lives to realise that everyone else is coexisting beside us too.

I'll give you an example of a conversation I heard outside the gym, between a dad and his two children.

Child 1: Hey Daddy, they are redoing the gym, you could use that!
Dad: ...And why is that?
Child 2: Because you haven't exercised in FOREVER!!

The two children then proceeded to laugh and as I looked up from what I was doing, and smiled at this man, we shared a moment of, 'Oh god, children say that funniest things, how embarrassing!' All without opening our mouths.

It's moments like this that explain why I believe in smiling at strangers, so what if it's that grumpy old man on the bus, we should all spread a little joy!

Abbie
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5 Signs that you may have a sweet tooth

1. You scroll quickly past the pictures of apples of Pinterest and go straight to an AMAZING picture of cake. You pin it to your, 'yum' board and move on.

2. You have a stash of sweets for special occasions. That you dip into far too much.

3. You find yourself justifying why you chose the mega triple chocolate deluxe cheesecake for dessert when all your friends ordered coffee.

4. You claim your face is just going through, 'a break-out stage.' When, In reality, it's being charged up with all the sugar zipping around your body.

5. 'Whhaaattt, It's only my third chocolate bar, pfft...'


Abbie
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If you cannot be a poet, be the poem// Poet Feature

Those who know me, will know that I am an absolute sucker for all things literature. In particular- poems. I've written a far few poems myself however I doubt that I will be sharing them anytime soon. Keep in your mind my love when I tell you that BY FAR my favorite poet is Erin Hanson, of thepoeticunderground.com

Whenever I see a quote, poem or something similar that inspires me, I always save it. For a while I've been building up a HUGE collection of literature that I can refer back to on days where I just need something to take comfort in. Poetry always wins in this case. I was scrolling through this collection one day when I noticed that most of my all time favorite poems had the initials '~e.h' on the end of them. This sparked curiosity within me and I'm pretty sure I simply googled 'e.h poems.'

I could not have been more pleased with what I discovered, the mysterious 'e.h' had a blog! As soon as I discovered Erin's blog, I fell even more in love with her writing. She constantly updates it and her poems never fail to mesmerize me. What I love most is the way in which she uses continuous metaphors throughout her work and her use of personification is simply perfect.

What's more, she connects with her audience so much. She passionately replies to messages and comments as If she were talking to a close friend and It just creates so much more of a community. Moreover, You can actually pay (a tiny sum may I add) to receive a handwritten letter, equipped with a unique poem. This is such a lovely idea and I know If I were to receive one, It would mean a awful lot, the fact that the poet has gone out of their way to provide such a thing is a truly sweet gesture.

Erin has also recently released a book, which just tops it all off for me. The idea that I can have a collection of her poems sat in my bookshelf or the book open on my desk, fills me with joy. It will definitely be on my birthday list!

If you haven't already, I HIGHLY recommend you have a wonder through thepoeticunderground and fall in love with Erin's poetry. She continues to be a huge inspiration of mine and I wish her massive success for the future.

Abbie
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Quotes to end the week #1

A while back, I started writing up a few quotes in my journal on a Friday that I particularly liked or thought summed up the week well. I think this is a nice way to look back on your week, either in a good or bad light. Regardless of what happened, you can reflect on your week and get ready for the weekend ahead. Here are some quotes I think relate to this week.

What quotes sum up your week?

Abbie

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Sunday Adventures

Last Sunday, my family and I decided to go for a drive, with the intention of heading towards the new forest and not much else, we set off.

We ended up a place called Buckler's Hard, a natural port and Maritime Museum. It didn't take us very long to walk the whole thing; however, we skipped out on doing the woodland walk so maybe that would have taken us a longer time. The history of Buckler's Hard is extremely interesting (especially if you're a history nerd like me) and has bits of information that everyone can enjoy. From the history of the smugglers to the remains of the artifacts re-discovered after the sinking of the SS. Persia.

To summarize, It was a interesting trip but I would not call it a day trip unless you bring a picnic etc. and really milk what the sight has to offer.

Abbie
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Autumn playlist

It's not technically Autumn yet but we will just skip over that small fact.

Evenings are drawing in, I've traded tanning for studying and shorts for leggings. Here's what I've been listening to since September started.

Reasons Not To Be An Idiot//Frank Turner
Cigarette Daydreams//Cage The Elephant
Not Nineteen Forever//The Courteeners
School Uniforms//The Wombats
Tenerife Sea//Ed Sheeran
Wires//Athlete
Scar Tissue//Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Kathleen//Catfish and Bottlemen
Many of Horror//Biffy Clyro
Kids//Cover of MGMT by The Kooks

What's on your playlist at the moment?

Abbie
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Write away the blues

A while back, I purchased an A5 notebook, with the intention of turning it into a journal. If I'm honest with myself,  I didn't expect that it would last very long. I've tried (and failed) to keep journals in the past and have given up after I hadn't been able to fulfill my vision of what I wanted it to be like.

However, 7 months later, my journal has become a hive for my thoughts, ideas, fears and everything that is whizzing around my head. I feel like I have to write, to do my thoughts justice on paper. It has become so much more than 'dear diary...'

Thinking about it now, I was able to overcome the viscous circle of half finished journals by trying to forget what I was trying to accomplish. To me my journal isn't just writing about my day but about putting the world to rights, through words. I am able to unwind after a long day or even write about an out of this world theory, one that I'd thought up while browsing the internet.

If you are, like I was, someone that likes the idea of keeping a journal but ends up quitting: persevere. My journal is for my benefit only and I love what it has become.

Do you keep a journal?

Abbie
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Hands down the busiest summer to exist (ever)

7am starts are never a welcome sight, especially when they mean starting a routine that will finish when you have finished exams and closed another chapter in your life. In short, I have a hell of a busy -but exciting- time ahead of me. And, through it all, when I feel like curling up and screaming about how much coursework I have to complete or how I only have 2 days until a science exam and 3/4's of a topic to revise in that time- I can think back to my amazing summer and how things can only get better once exams are over.

Without further ado, here is a whistle-stop tour of my summer.

I visited a family-friend's farmhouse in somerset, one of my closest friends and I stayed in an adjacent cottage to the farm house and got up to all sorts: building dens, exploring Glastonbury and wells, midnight walks and generally just goofing around.

We stayed for 5 days but, If I am quite honest, I could have stayed there all summer.

I met up with friends, attempted to go for a run that ended up a walk, fell over rollerskating and soaked up the summer sun before packing for my first long-haul flight to the Caribbean island of Barbados!

We managed to get through Gatwick super fast (considering our flight was at 9am) and struggle through a 9 hour flight to walk off the plane into a super hot paradise.

'Ceasaur'

Pictured above is our resident monkey, who often spied on us from the bushes looking over the pool.

Unsurprisingly, Barbados wasn't short of things to do. We stayed in Holetown, around 5 minutes from the celebrity-ridden Sandy Lane and although many things seemed overpriced, you definitely didn't miss out on quality.

I have hundreds of photos from my summer and I will most probably end up sharing many more in future blog posts and sharing more Barbados anecdotes.

What did you get up to in your summer?

Abbie

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Summer Mini Haul

A couple of days ago, my family and I decided to go shopping for a few holiday 'essentials.' We started of with a walk along the seafront and a quick breakfast at a local restaurant and then hit the shops. 

Our first stop was a local surf shop looking out onto the beach, the shop itself is reasonably small and its stock stretches outside the store under shelter. It could easily be pictured in an idyllic holiday destination and sells everything a 'surfer girl' could need!


I was quick to pick up these simple but cute flip flops, I originally had my sights set on an identical pair with turquoise straps however eventually decided against them. The colour of them was beautiful but this pair will go with so many more outfits. Comfort wise, they are comfortable but slightly narrow. This doesn't pose too much of a problem for me due to my small feet but makes them just that little bit harder to slip on your feet. I paid £16.00 for these.Although the particular shop I visited does not have a website, you can find them here.

I have been looking for a pair of sunglasses for a while and happened to find some lovely floral ones in the same shop.

I absolutely adore these glasses. I am obsessed with everything floral and these practically screamed at me! The pattern extends down the side of the glasses and I just love it! Seriously though, can you imagine cushions in this pattern?! I cannot find the exact sunglasses online but there is an extremely similar pair here. I actually discovered the website above whilst writing this and it is safe to say I've found a new gem!

Next, we walked away from the seafront and into the town. Although It wasn't really holiday related, we decided to have a look in a jewellery shop, known as Essential.

I didn't originally intend to buy anything from Essential however I absolutely fell in love with this necklace. These pictures really do not do it justice. It is very shiny and sparkly and works great as a statement piece to change up simple outfits. Although many statement necklaces are much larger than this, I still feel that It can really brighten up an outfit.The pastel colours and the silver gems make for a pretty piece. At £15.00, only time will tell if it will keep up it's shine. But for now I am loving it!

What is a holiday without good reads? 'Nothing!' I hear you cry. I have been after some holiday reads for a while so couldn't resist popping into good ol' Waterstones.

After 1, hearing everyone rave about them; 2, constantly seeing adverts for the movie and 3, needing a long book to sink my teeth into- I decided to buy one and two from the Divergent series. The story line of these books looks absolutely epic and it is taking every ounce of my willpower not to read them before I go on holiday. I don't really have much more to say on them because I haven't read them yet, but I'm sure a book review will come up sometime soon.

Lastly, we had a quick look around Primark. It is all well and good buying expensive holiday clothes, but sometimes you buy things to wear on holiday and they stay in your wardrobe there on out. While it is nice buying quality footwear, it is useless if they are just going to be worn at the beach and around the pool.

Out of the pairs I picked up, these were by far my favorite. They are incredibly comfortable and the open toe section means that I can wear them on hot days without my feet suffocating. On top of that, I can show of cute nail polish. I like the fact that they are not your regular holiday flip flop so will add to a somewhat casual holiday outfit.

I much prefer buying small things here and there rather than shopping on a large scale so small shopping trips are something that are received very well. What have you brought for your travels?

Abbie

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SUMMERRRR!!

...To enthusiastic? I think not. Since Christmas I have been up to my eyeballs in work, deadlines and pressure. All of the above are fine singularly, but having to juggle them all at once, with sport commitments, life commitments and god knows what else, it becomes a bit tricky. Of course, I am still faced with work over my break. But it is a lot less quantity wise and requires nowhere near as much time, so I'm enjoying freedom while I can!

Currently, where I live we are dealing with intense heat in the day and extremely scary thunder storms at night, I can live with the thunderstorms- as long as this weather keeps up! In a few weeks time I will be jetting off to sunny Barbados so that's another big thing to look forward to. As far as getting things done are concerned, I have a few things that I would like to achieve this summer.

1. Get outside a lot more, appreciate my home town but at the same time explore, and appreciate everywhere else too.
2. Document. Snap photos of the summer sky, or the sand beneath my toes. Carry a journal and make little jottings as I go along.
3. Sort out my room, make my new space my own. Get the furniture up, have a mass trip to Ikea and create a space that inspires me daily.
4. Relax! Deadlines are far off in the distance, for now. Enjoy doing nothing while you can. Before you know it, you will be up to your eyeballs yet again, this time with final exams.

Those are just a few things that I would like to get up to. What are you planning to do with your summer?

Abbie

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Veterinary stepping stones #10

Today marks the last day of this placement and the last day of my work experience. Both practices have helped me learn things, both related to veterinary and not, in completely different ways; so I really think that I chose the right places to work. I've met some great people that no doubt I will keep in mind throughout my studying and further. Today was much more like my last placement than the other days as It was incredibly busy. We had around 6 or 7 cats one after another and after a while I was quite relieved to see a dog!

One memorable case was a cat that came in with an extra 'toe' on each paw! They were not causing her any pain and apparently she actually uses them to help her climb up trees! They were nothing more than a genetic defect but I couldn't help but be intrigued, they looked so out of place!

The day went by in such a blur that I've actually forgotten most of what happened, I was told to leave my details so that if they had any interesting cases or ops they could let me know so I could observe! Overall, I am very pleased with how these two weeks have gone. I was asked by a client today if seeing everything that goes on behind closed doors has put me of going into veterinary medicine. When, if anything, it has made me even more certain that I have chosen to do the right thing and even more inpatient to get going!

My veterinary journey is in no way stopping as my work experience does, it's only just begun really.

Abbie
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Veterinary stepping stones #9

Today was much busier than usual so it was all hands on deck throughout the day. There were many ops and consultations and as time went on and I was given many more responsibilities. A few things that happened today were:

• A very restless Spaniel needed two lumps removing, they weren't anything serious luckily but he wasn't too keen on us nevertheless.
• The beautiful Newfoundland puppy came back in, his leg is gradually getting better and he ran straight towards me, even with a slight limp.
• A big bubbly Labrador came in for a shoulder x-ray, I was kneeling on the floor with him when all of a sudden the anesthetic kicked in and he flopped onto the floor face first, he was unharmed but it gave me quite a shock!
• I found a new found love for the dog name pebbles, I mean, how cute!
• A blind dog came in, I found it ever so sad that he was bumping into table legs etc. He was referred to a specialist.

Overall, a successful day!

Abbie

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Veterinary Stepping stones #8// The cat swap

Today a client came through the door announcing that 'she'd actually brought the right cat this time!' The staff all laughed and began to tell me the story of how that funny statement came to be. This woman had recently bought a puppy and, as a result of this, their cats started to leave home for much longer periods of time. Last week, she had called for this cat and a extremely similar black cat responded to her call. In a brief moment of madness she picked up this cat and tried to put it in the carrier, thinking (of course) that it was her own. She questioned why this cat struggled so much, as her cat was usually perfectly fine with being put in a carrier. Nevertheless, she went on her way to the vets anyway.

When she put the carrier on the table she suddenly had a thought, thinking about it, she wasn't really sure if this was actually her cat. The vet laughed when the cat was brought out but decided to scan for a microchip- just in case. Funnily enough, it wasn't in fact hers, just a random cat that lived in the area, she'd never seen it before now! Mortified, she left the vets, with the vets laughter echoing behind her. Apparently, that's the first time that had ever happened and it's safe to say it tickled the vet quite a bit.

Did I mention the fact that this woman in the vets was actually my Godmother? No? Must've slipped my mind...

So after that incredibly humorous consultation, the day began as normal. I viewed my first cat spay and it was incredibly impressive to watch, the tiny kitten was adorable and constantly wanted a love. A dog came in for a groom under anesthetic, as he freaked out if the groomers tried to do it. But, apart from that, the day was pretty chilled.

Abbie

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Veterinary stepping stones #7

Today was incredibly inspiring for me, I was able to really get a grasp as to what it's actually like treating the animals, instead of just observing the vet's routine. While that is still interesting, nothing beats learning and then applying what you know. As this practice is a lot quieter, the staff have a lot more time to teach me and speak to me about what i'm observing. Obviously this is great and I feel like I can talk to them a lot more but a quieter practice has its downfalls. With my last placement their were no gaps in the day, you barely had time to take a breath, let alone have a chat. I personally feel that I am suited to this fast pace style of working, I thrive when there's added pressure and knowing that everyone is working just as hard as you really helps. It's also nicer at the end of it when everyone can finally relax after a job well done, but I guess  I missed the personal side. I think it's all about getting a happy medium and as much as I love discussing all things veterinary, It's nice to have a bustling waiting room.

Anyway, today in the quiet hours, one of the vets took it upon herself to teach me the basics of a clinical exam, it was nice to be actually handling an animal- even if it was one of the nurse's pets! I love to do anything that gets me involved. I think they have been surprised at my willingness to volunteer to do the 'dirty work' as such, but I would much rather be cleaning poo and sweeping floors than stood twiddling my  thumbs.

I also was asked to go into the lab, and I watched blood being spun and then placed into the machines that work out different cell counts, levels of glucose, levels of potassium etc. I have also found that in this placement I am quizzed an awful lot more than my last, I guess that with the teaching the questions are just second nature. To summarise: This placement- mentally draining, last placement: physically draining.

And I cannot conclude without mentioning this ADORABLE puppy, she was a cross between a Jack Russell and a Chihuahua and I don't think I've ever seen a smaller dog. She looked a lot like the pup pictured above! Later on in the day, another puppy was brought in- a blonde German Shepard. She was unbelievably chilled and incredibly fluffy!

I should stop gushing over puppies now...

Abbie
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Veterinary Stepping Stones #6

Today was the first day of my second placement, my hours for this one are a lot less so I hope I still can experience as much as my last placement. I worked out that last week I did around 45 hours give or take a bit, no wonder I felt so tired. This placement is much more relaxed, as the practice is no where near as busy. This has its ups and its downfalls, There is less to experience each day but I get much more time to just chat to the vets and get to know what the job is really like. Here are a few things that happened today:

• A gorgeous Newfoundland puppy came in about a small lump that was on his leg, causing him to limp around the place. He had bundles of energy, despite the hopping!
• An extremely aggressive cat needed an ultrasound, even under the circumstances, the vets and nurses remained professional and got the job done quickly to cause minimal stress to the poor animal.
• An elderly client was telling the story of  how when they rescued their little Westie, they were told he had 3 months to live, 6 years later and he's still going strong!

Of course, there were many more clients through the door, but it is hard to recall the fleeting cases. Until tomorrow,

Abbie

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Determination

Up until fairly recently, this blog has been a bit hit and miss. I've only really posted when I have had a spark of inspiration, but I haven't really gone out of my way to find that inspiration or to stick to a certain schedule. I'm not planning on putting a schedule in place just yet, but I do think a bit of consistency is required- instead of going whole months without posting at all and then bashing 4 or 5 posts out at once.

What I am going to aim to do is when I do feel inspired (on days like today) I am going to try and write multiple blog posts then schedule them. Opposed to the months that I am not inspired being left completely blank.

At the moment I am trying to work out what my blog style really is, so you can expect me to be dipping in and out of different features and content. I'm not going to rush into sticking to one thing because I know when I do finally realise it will almost be a moment of eureka and the posts will come in thick and fast.

I feel like this post was a bit all over the place but I just needed to transfer my feeling across. I guess the big task begins now.

Abbie
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Tattoos

Long gone are the days were having tattoos meant that you were a skinhead sailor with 'Mom' tattooed across your bicep in an anchor. Nowadays, tattoos have taken a much more creative, feminine turn-and I love it.

I've pretty much always known that I wanted a tattoo, and I have a variety of ideas floating around in my head. I love viewing people's tattoos, they're like a tiny snippet it into someones life and, being the nosy person I am, this makes them even more exciting.

Some say that tattoos are unpleasant because they will be with you for life. But for me, that's what makes them even more awesome! Maybe you will regret that tattoo you got on a whim at 18 OR maybe, that same tattoo will take on a completely different meaning and remind you of times gone by. Whatever it is, there is something so captivating and mysterious about tattoos, something that will never stop my admiration of this fine art.

This post was somewhat inspired by Tattoologist, an absolutely amazing tattoo blog that kept me scrolling for hours.

Abbie

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Veterinary stepping stones #5

Today was my final day at my first placement, I'm sad to go because I was really beginning to feel a sense of belonging in that place. The people there were absolutely lovely (even if they were no-nonsense) and they were willing to answer any questions I had. Granted, there was an awful lot of cleaning. But there was also an awful lot of fascinating stuff such as minor and major operations, x-rays, heart scans, pregnancy scans and scopes. It really was a great experience- I just hope my next placement can either match it or beat it!

Today was rather slow but there was still a few things going on:

• The car accident dog came back in again, I'm pretty sure I've seen him everyday this week. He really is a lovely dog, so it's such a shame what he's been through. His legs are now absolutely fine but one of his eyes has filled up with blood so he was referred to a specialist. He's certainly a case that I will not forget.
• An adorable dog with an extremely fluffy coat proved to be the biggest wimp going! He squealed at everything and anything, even when the vets were only applying cold water to his leg.
• The stray cat that was admitted yesterday calmed down a lot. The vets have continued with treatment and are still looking for the rightful owner.
• One client brought 3 massive dogs into the consulting room, an extremely dribbly Great Dane, a very excitable German Shepard and a very worrisome Labrador-cross. Needles to say, they left a trail of noise, dribble and shed loads of hair wherever they went.

Overall, I've really enjoyed this placement and It has been a huge learning curve, onto the next one!

Abbie

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Veterinary stepping stones #4

Today was another quiet day, with many nurses going home much earlier on. At this moment I am thinking that first opinion clinics, dealing mainly only with dogs and cats- are not for me. Over the course of this placement, I have come to a (sort of) conclusion that I would like to broaden my horizons a bit more. It's not like I do not like dogs and cats, of course I do, it's just that I think I would be better suited to specialising else where. Over the course of the week, we haven't had much in terms of 'exotics' (one rabbit, one hamster and one parrot.) Mind you, I may go on my next placement and change my mind completely- who knows.

Today consisted of:

• A multitude of ear problems, the hot weather really brings them out. That, and fleas. *shudder*
• A poor little dog that had to have a mammary gland tumor removed.
• A parrot (!) that needed a quick beak and claw trim. Before this could happen, he flew around the room and caused everyone to quickly duck their heads.
• Around half an hour before I was due to leave, a stray cat was rushed in. He had hardly any fur around his neck and a definite skin problem. We found he was micro chipped but could not contact the previous owner. He was quite feisty, and the head nurse got a long scratch down her arm. But, once he had calmed down, he was a very sweet boy. He was very hungry and went to sleep almost straight away- I think he must have been relived to have food and a warm place to sleep.

Abbie
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Veterinary stepping stones #3

After a full day, I am completely-excuse the pun- dog tired. If I'm completely honest, I don't really know why as today was really quiet in comparison to the other days. Quiet days often lead to more cleaning and this was definitely the case today, not to worry, it needs to be done after all. Here's some of the things I got up to today.

•  I viewed my first pregnancy scan, unfortunately it was a false alarm, as it would have been great to see an ultrasound properly for the first time round.
• I also viewed my first major scope of a large (practically wolf sized) dog. For those who don't know what that is it is when you send a camera down the throat of the animal, to check for different things. Today we were checking the stomach and intestine and it turns out the dog had swallowed multiple sponges!
• A beautiful Rag Doll cat had to have a heart scan and X-ray, it seemed almost sad shaving a tiny bit of her fur off for the heart scan, her coat really was lovely.
• We dealt with an extremely feisty Westie, who just did not want an injection. She was practically using her owner as a climbing frame!
• I also got the great news that our car accident victim was sent home! Hopefully he will continue to recover well.

Those were just some of the points of interest, like I said, today was pretty quiet. In other news, my hands have completely dried out- due to excessive washing. A perfect excuse to go out and buy top of the range hand cream, me thinks.

Abbie

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Veterinary stepping stones #2

As i'll be at work experience every day from this week to next, huge blog posts about everything that has happened in that day -and in a busy veterinary practice that is A LOT- would become some what tiresome. So I am going to start making bullet point lists about the more memorable cases of the day.

• The car accident victim I was speaking about yesterday took his first steps since the accident this morning, aided by a lead and a drip. It is moments like these that make me remember the reason why I want to go into veterinary medicine in the first place.
• Our first patient(s) of the day were three adorable Bengal kittens, these lovelies were quite a noisy bunch!
• The Bengal kittens were swiftly followed by one growing andrex puppy in need of vaccinations.
• I witnessed for the first time the removal of an ulcer from a rabbit, I will spare you the gory details, but it wasn't pretty!
• One of the more memorable patients for me was a small toy poodle. With the barking coming from the kennels, you wouldn't think he was small! I often went in there just to find that he wanted a stroke.
• On the other end of the spectrum was a huge Labrador that came bounding into the room, he just wanted to be loved by everyone and reminded me very much of the talking dog from UP.

Until tomorrow,

Abbie

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Veterinary stepping stones #1

Over the course of the next two weeks, I will be attending work experience at a small animal practice in my local area. Today was my first day, and it was most definitely memorable.

On arrival, I was given a brief tour and health and safety talk. I was told that I would be a quiet day, with no major operations taking place later on. I was just about to be set on task, when a man burst through the door with a dog in his arms. The dog had been hit by a car- and needed urgent treatment.

Everyone got to work straight away, although hectic, they worked in unison together and sooner or later the dog was stable. As soon as the drama had started, it had calmed down just as quick. The day went on as normal, I sat in on consultations, helped with general cleaning duties and minor surgeries. Some of the more memorable patients were: a dog who had rolled onto a wasp and was experiencing trouble walking, a beautiful cat that needed dental work (and took a while to come round!) and a little pug who sniffed at you anytime you went near him.

Later on in the day, the vet I was shadowing had the task of putting down an old dog whose quality of life due to old age was extremely poor. euthanasia is obviously never easy to watch and I had to sit this one out, although it was a learning curve for me, my heart goes out to the poor owners. R.I.P little one.

All in all, It was an eventful day but extremely interesting. As the day went on I was given more responsibility's and I look forward to what tomorrow will bring.

Abbie
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Grand Designs

As you may have noticed, Thoughtsandthunder has undergone major changes recently. When I first started blogging, I had absolutely no clue what I was doing. Sure, I've done programming and likewise in school but creating a small space on the internet that looked pretty, grabbed people's attention and also worked as an escapism for me and my ideas all at the same time was never really on the agenda.

Until recently, I wasn't aware of the great resources available to me and the great community out there. Anyway, I propose a mid-year promise- I have lots of exciting things coming up this year and I've only just dipped my little toe into the pool of blogging. I'm not going to say that I am going to dive bomb into the deep end just yet but I am going to keep on churning out content. I'm gaining more and more experience as time goes on and it can only get better from here, right?

So thanks to those who have joined me on this little blogging journey so far, and here's to great things to come. Please bear with me for the meantime, as I work on making this little space even better.

A somewhat optimistic,
Abbie
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The cycle of blogging

...Or as I like to call it- the reason my posts are few and far between.

-source-
eh, eh. See what I did there ;)

Stage 1- inspiration:

'oh myyy godddd, I have this GREAT idea that everyone's going to love!' The spark of inspiration that leads to the scribbling of ideas on a scrap of paper, the one that you just had to find before the original idea leaves almost as quickly as it came to you.

Stage two- determination:

'Right, this is going to be my best blog post yet. What? I said that about the last one? I lied.' The tapping of the keys on your keyboard, so fast that steam is appearing from your hands as you type. This is going to be brilliant.

Stage three-realisation:

'Wait...Maybe this idea isn't as good as I originally thought...' Your hands on the keyboard slowly start to slow down, until you are sat there blankly looking at your computer screen. This stage can last anything from 5 minutes to an hour until...

Stage four-dissapointment:

'This idea is definitely not worth pursuing, I'll just wait until a better idea comes along...'

And repeat from stage 1.

Stage four is what I'm trying to combat at this moment in time, English has always been my strong point so I often judge a blog post as If i'm judging an essay. I don't want the standard to slip, and I won't start talking lyk dis... But I wan't my content to be quality. At the moment I'm trying to get the balance right.

Can you relate to the cycle of blogging? Or have you found ways to keep yourself determined? Let me know!

Abbie

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500 days of a great soundtrack

500 days of summer is officially my new favorite movie. Not only because it aches with creativity, heart break, inspiration, sadness and triumph- all at once. But because it's soundtrack can only be summed up in one way- bloody brilliant.

I'm not normally one to appreciate a movie's soundtrack either and don't get me wrong, the songs are great but alongside the movie they take on a whole new meaning. Take the smiths//There is a light that never goes out and Mumm-ra//She's got you high. I cannot even begin to express my new found love for this movie.

If you don't do anything else, watch this movie, and fall in love with it.

Bye for now, i'm going to make popcorn and watch it on repeat for the third time. 

Abbie

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Countryside in bloom

The great thing about having friends that own a farm is the random breaks to the countryside you can have. Although it is not in the middle of nowhere (quite close to Glastonbury, If you stand on a hill that is part of their land you can actually see the Glastonbury Tor) it's nice to just get away for a few days.

My family and I stayed in a cottage just next door to my friends house, they are in the process of renovating it and turning it into a holiday cottage, so we were the first official guests!

Although I didn't take many pictures of what we actually got up to, I did take an awful lot of pictures of the flowers that were dotted around their land.

They're all so pretty!

And of course, I took some photos of their lovely farm dog, Jess.

Ever get the feeling that you're being watched ;)

Quit taking photos of flowers and play with me!

All in all, It was a lovely countryside retreat- even if it was only brief!

Abbie

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Sunday rambling #1

Today, we wondered down to a local market to buy this years hanging baskets. I am one of those people who loves strolling around these places, there are so many hidden treasures to find! It's places like these that my magpie-like tendencies come out.

A somber moment of our day was coming across a house clearance stall, it is obvious that whoever used to own all the lovely antiques had passed and that someone had been left to deal with all his/her belongings. Among the array of china and teddies, we came across an old wedding photo. It seemed sad that someone had put a price onto a memory; I was tempted to buy it just to keep the memory alive.

On another note, Eurovision was last night.I actually watched all of it for once and-as usual- the selection of craziness was on form. 

This is such a cute idea, future husband take note!! ;)

The weather has been so weird lately, no word of a lie as I am typing this there is a double rainbow outside my window. So i'll leave you with this.

Abbie

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How to be more productive

Being productive is hard, it doesn't take a genius to work that out. But today I was oddly productive, which lead me to thinking- what did I do differently?So I've looked at what personally makes me more productive, hopefully I can keep reapplying these tips so that freak productivity days are more frequent!

1.Change up your environment 

My room is being painted at the moment, forcing me to move from the same desk I always sit at and downstairs to the dining room table. I've found that a change in environment actually makes me want to work more, it refreshes my mind and takes me away from the place I automatically associate with work. Simply moving to another room or taking your studying to a coffee shop etc. spices it up a bit.

2.Immerse yourself in what you are doing

I know you've probably heard this a million and one times but eliminating distractions really does help. Personally, I feel guilty every time I log onto Facebook when I should be working but that doesn't mean I don't do it. Even music can be a distraction sometimes. Strip back everything that isn't what you should be doing- that one notification can wait. 

-Source-

3.Give yourself time limits

It can be hard to get things done when your time's your own. Try setting yourself time limits for different things, 'in half an hour this and this will be complete.' This way you can measure your progress and work out if you are working too slow etc. 

Procrastination is hard to kick, but so worth it in the end when you have nothing left to do!

Abbie

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