VEDA Day 16 - Soundtrack To My Life Tag

Hello my happy little people,

I know this is so soon after the last but I have another Tag to complete. This, is the Soundtrack To My Life Tag. 

I was tagged by Lauren (http://loserwhowins.blogspot.co.uk/) to do this tag and it was one of the most difficult tags I have ever done, ever! I used the music collection on my iPod to do this tag apart from the song I hate question. There is a bundle of fantastic songs that I adore that I couldn't mention in this tag but here are my answers anyway :)

Song you listen to when you're happy: 

This was a super difficult question as when I'm happy I love pretty much all upbeat songs. At the moment whenever I'm On Top Of The World by Imagine Dragons comes on I can't help but get up and dance along. Another one that I super loved last year was Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy by The Tams as that was what I spent my summer listening to after dyeing my hair bright purple.

Song you listen to when you're sad:

Most of the time when I'm sad I just flick on one of my more sombre 8tracks playlists and it will find nice easy listening songs that help me relax. However, picking songs from my iPod I chose Wake Me Up When September Ends by Green Day and Back To The Way We Were by Carrie Hope Fletcher. This is just because both are really great tunes and I like to sing along to them when I'm feeling down.

Song you wish to play at your wedding:

Again this was quite difficult as I am quite the romantic so there are quite a few songs I would love to play at my wedding but these two are a definite. The first is Dancing In The Moonlight by Toploader as it was this so that I learnt to ChaCha to and whenever it plays I can't help but get up and give everyone a fabulous rendition of my ChaCha skills (honestly anywhere, anytime, ask anyone). The second is Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran. This was actually my Dad and his wifes first dance when they got married last year and since then I have fallen completely in love with the song :3

Song you dance around your house to:

Again, quite a difficult one as I would happily dance around to the majority of the songs on my iPod. I ended up choosing Weightless by All Time Low and Shake It by Metro Station. This is purely because I can remember certain occasions where I would play them on repeat just so I could dance a little longer. Also the lyrics are quite relate able for me so I love belting them out :)

Song you play in your headphones when you are out:

I listen to music constantly. I really don't think I would be able to get by without it. Whenever I forget my headphones when I'm travelling I would be quite upset and annoyed as I really do love listening to it whenever I can. The first song I picked was Devil In Disguise by Elvis Presley as I was listening to my Elvis album yesterday and this is my favourite song. Also it always reminds me of Lilo and Stitch so whenever I listen to it I can just imagine Stitch dressed as Elvis playing this on his electric guitar. The other song I chose was Happy by Pharrell Williams because I played it constantly last summer when I was going places as it was really sunny and it was a really sunny song.

Song you listen to when you are angry:

I don't really have any particular songs that I listen to when I'm angry cause I don't really get angry. I get upset. But if I'm upset I sometimes like to listen to my Pierce The Veil album and my favourite song on the album is King For A Day so I'm gonna go for that. Another one that I thought fitted the question is I Don't Care by Fall Out Boy which is also one of my favourites.

Song you would like played at your funeral: 

I thought that this was a particularly strange question. I literally had no clue what to put for this so I decided to try to be funny. I ended up deciding on Dead! by My Chemical Romance and I'm Still Standing by Elton John. On a more serious note however, I'm going to add a third song. I chose A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes from Cinderella purely because the melody is just so sweet and even though its slightly upbeat, I thought it would be quite a nice one. 

Song that makes you loose it at a party:

Okay so this was an easy question. The other week I went to a ceilidh and after it was all finished and they began tidying everything away they just began to play a CD over the speakers and the first song on was Uptown Funk by Mike Ronson and everyone just stopped what they were doing and immediately began to dance along. So now everytime I hear it I can't help but boogie along. The other song is Where Did The Party Go by Fall Out Boy as I thought it fitted with this question so well and if I'm ever going out this is the song I get ready to.

Your karaoke song:

I have never actually done karaoke but I think it would be amazingly fun. Maybe a little drink first would settle my nerves however. The first song was easy to choose. Just Can't Wait To Be King from The Lion King. This is purely because my friend and I can sing both Zazu and Simba parts perfectly as a duet and it's just so fun to sing. The second was more difficult to choose as I would love to be able to karaoke to so many songs but I settled on Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison just because it is the latest song I learnt on Ukulele and I really love the song :)

Song you like to exercise to:

I don't really have any particular songs to exercise to (as I don't really exercise aha) but I remember being in P7 and as a class project we learnt a dance to Don't Stop Me Now by Queen so now whenever I hear it I can't help but attempt, and then fail, to remember our dance. The other song I picked was Walking On Sunshine by Katrina & The Waves as It just seemed quite upbeat and I could certainly imagine working out to it :P

The last song you listened to: 

For this question I just picked two songs from two albums I have been listening a lot recently as I have no idea what the last song I listened to would be as I'm constantly listening to music. I chose Uma Thurman by Fall Out Boy as it is one of my favourites from their new album. I also chose This Is The Life by Amy McDonald. I found her album in a CEX shop (trade in shop) for only £1 so I couldn't help but get it.

Song with the most memories:

This was another difficult question as every song has memories I think. It was really difficult to determine which had the "most" memories but I finally managed to decide on Circle Of Life from the Lion King. This is due to seeing it twice in theatre, in the cinema when it came out in 3D, having my boyfriend gargle it to me on holiday (I didn't manage to guess what it was, sorry dear) and so many other amazing memories to do with the Lion King in general. The second song I picked was Stacys Mom by Fountains of Wayne. This is because I can remember it coming out and it being on MTV or whatever music channel we had on our TV playing constantly. So I always remember being young when I hear it.

Song that makes you cry:

Songs don't generally make me cry unless I am already upset and then the lyrics of a song apply to me and I get emotional because it describes exactly how I'm feeling. I ended up choosing The Promise by Emma Blackery and Hazy by Rosi Golan. This is just because I can remember certain occasions where these songs have definitely made me cry.

Song that you hate the most:

So for this question I couldn't use my iPod songs as funnily enough, I like all the songs on my iPod. I had to do a bit of thinking but the first one was obvious. La La La by Naughty Boy. This is purely because the really annoying childs like lalala parts. The rest isn't actually that bad. Also the summer it came out I remember every Friday where I worked it would play constantly on the radio and it drove me insane. The second I chose Baby by Justin Bieber. More because when it originally came out everyone was singing it and it was really very annoying.

Your favourite song: 

This was obviously the most difficult question as there are so many songs I absolutley adore. However, I couldn't help but add a bit of MJ to the list. The artist I was ever really into and the first song I was ever properly obsessed with. Man In The Mirror by Michael Jackson. The second song is an all time favourite for me, Bohemian Like You by The Dandy Warholes. Maybe because it is in Flushed Away, one of my favourite movies, or just how summery and upbeat it is but either way it has a spot on this list :)

I hope this wasn't too much of a boring post and I would love to know all your favourite songs! 

I am going to tag:

TheKingBeth - https://www.youtube.com/user/TheKingBeth

AidansVoice - https://www.youtube.com/user/AidensVoice

AbbieG - https://www.youtube.com/user/MrPigwigeon

Annd anyone else who wants to have a go! Although I am warning you, it is pretty difficult...

I hope you are all having a wonderful day,

Hev xx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKg_j8G1HWQ

VEDA Day 15 - Woofie Wanders

Hello there happy little people,

Todays VEDA is a little video of a walk I recently went on with my pooches. But first, I shall introduce you all to the silly little pups themselves (I say pups but really they are anything but)!

First up is Moss.

Also known as Mossy, Mossy-poo, Scruffle-bum and Pup-dog. He is around 4 years young and we have had him around 3 years. We adopted him from Dogs Trust West Calder. We have dubbed his birthday to be April 1st as that was the first time we saw him at the shelter. He is a black and white Lurcher which is generally a cross between a greyhound or any other sighthound breed, with a pastoral dog, which are collies and other herding dogs. His biggest obsession is food.  He will do anything for any kind of food. He can currently do paw, beg, sit, lie down, and twirl in-between my legs. His other great love is mucky puddles and he will go out of his way to find them. His favourite way to sleep is completely upside down on his back with his tongue hanging out. He loves attention and hugs of all kinds and really is such a sweetheart.

Second of all is Bracken.

Also known as Brackie-boo and Fluffy. He will be around 7 and we have had him around 2 years. He is also a lurcher but he is a Saluki lurcher. We actually adopted him from a lurcher/sighthound rescue centre in Ireland. After getting Moss my mum became obsessed with looking at sighthound rescues online and so we began to think about getting a second dog. We decided it should be a female and smaller and possibly younger than Moss to prevent any arguments. And one night we saw this cutie and mum decided we should give him a home. So within the week everything had been set up and he was shipped over from Ireland especially for us. He is a bit more temperamental than Moss. He likes to be near people but isn't too fond of cuddles and kisses like Moss. His favourite thing is to chase bunnies as we found when we first got him. Also as he was straying for longer he is a bit more wary of other dogs. So now he has to be muzzled just in case and kept on the lead when walking. He loves to speak all the time and constantly makes happy little noises.

Anyway onto the walk itself. So I had never gone up to it but my mum had told me there is a big pond up the hill from where we live. So one day we decided to take the pups up to have a little look. It was safe to say that he thoroughly enjoyed the pond and jumped straight in when he was let off the lead. Mum and I originally thought he had seen a frog or something swimming in the pond as he seemed very interested in the water. However, he was actually chasing a baguette. The only things Moss has ever "killed and brought back" was a doughnut before this. So this was no surprise. He came bounding back out completely covered in mud. And then decided to shake himself right next to me. I was wearing my nice pair of pale blue jeans (which in hindsight was a bad idea when walking with Moss) so they went straight into the wash when I got back home. Moss himself also went straight into the wash. But his wash just consisted of dunking his paws into a bucket of warm soapy water and cleaning him off. Thankfully it was a nice sunny day so he dried off quite quickly.

I hope you are all having a wonderful day :)

Hev xx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVBoYdw8g-E

VEDA Day 14 - Mahoosive Haul

Good day happy little people,

Todays VEDA will be a haul video. Which means that it will be quite long (I'm sorry) and possibly boring if you aren't into watching Hauls. But if you are keep reading! This is a Haul from over a couple of weeks and everything was bought with my own money. Also this was filmed in March :)

Basically it was my birthday in February so I got quite a wee bit of money so last month I decided to let myself spend a wee bit of it. I have been trying to stop myself spending so much money recently as I always spend far too much money in Primark. I can't help but go in and see all the cheap, pretty, nice fitting and cheap (that is a very important factor in my purchases) clothes. So the first shop I went to buy things from was, unsurprisingly, Primark.

The first trip in I picked up 5 things.

Because I always end up wearing dresses in the summer and avoid my skirts I decided to pick up a couple more to try and encourage myself to wear skirts more often. It sounds obvious but when you wear a skirt, you need to match a top with it. And I don't think I'm particularly good at that. I always just end up wearing a black camisole with my skirts so I generally don't wear skirts that often. But I picked up three on this trip. 

The first was this gorgeous geometric type print skirt. I would say it would be close to a mini skirt in length. The great thing about this skirt though is that it has an elastic waistband. I have a teeny tiny waist so I really struggle to find skirts that fit (hence why I don't wear them often) so having an elasticated waistband is a life saver for me. It is also a really light fabric so this will be great when I go on my holly-bags in the Summer. I paid £4 for this and it is a size 6.

The also got this gorgeous skater style skirt. I love these kinds of  skirts and I loved the print on this one. These skirts are great for me as it accentuates my teeny waist. This is a navy blue coloured soft cotton with what I think are white cornflowers dotted all over the skirt. The only thing I disliked about this one was that there is a clear line of stitching on all sides (as you can see from the photo) but for the mere £5 I paid for it, I don't mind that much. This was a size 6.

The last skirt I bought on this trip was kinda an experiment/project skirt. It is another gorgeous emerald green skater skirt which I just fell totally in love with. However, they didn't have my size so I got a size 8. This means I'm going to have to take in the skirt which, hopefully, will work. I have only ever taken skirts in from the back before but this skirt has a zip detail up the back so I'm going to have to battle with thicker fabric on the sides instead. I paid £3 for this.

Even though I tried to stop myself from buying more dresses I couldn't help but get this one. I had actually tried on this exact dress in a plain khaki green colour a few weeks before. I liked the fit of the dress but the plain green seemed just a bit too plain for my liking so I left it. However, when I was in this time they had this pattern which I really liked. This is a size 8 and it cost £5.

And the last thing I picked up (just before the tills) they had a £1 rack and I found this. It is an XS kimono/summer cardigan/beach cover-up type thingie. I really loved them when they were all in fashion last year but never managed to pick one up. So I thought why not nab this one at £1! Its a really sheer fabric but I think it'll be perfect for beach side strolls in the summer.

So that was all from that first Primark trip. A few weeks after that I went on a little day out with my boyfriend and his little brother to spend some of our savings. It was the first free Saturday he had had since he started work so it was great to be able to spend the day wandering around all the geeky shops. I ended up just buying a couple of things as well as some Mothers Day presents (as it was that weekend we went). 

The first place we went was the Disney Store. Now we are all massive fans of Disney and so I couldn't wait to see what the store had. I had actually been in the day before as me and a friend went to the All Time Low & You Me At Six gig the night before. We had got into Glasgow early in the day so had a little wander around and popped into the Disney Store. And that was when my heart fell for this adorable Dumbo. So the next day when I was in with my boyfriend I had decided that I did really want him. He was originally £18 which I don't think I would have ever spent on him considering he is just a plain grey elephant but they had a special deal on where if you spent over £8 you could get him for £8 which seemed far more reasonable.

So I ended up picking this Stitch mug which was £9. And because that was £1 under the limit I just picked up a Disney bag for life to carry my Dumbo in. After that we wandered around and ended up visiting both Geekaboo and Forbidden Planet, where I saw these little vinyl Nightmare Before Christmas figures. They were in secret boxes so you wouldn't know what one you were getting before you opened it which was cool. In Geekaboo they were £9.99 which I wasn't willing to spend but in Forbidden Planet they were only £6.99 which, even then I was reluctant to spend, but I thought "well it is my birthday money and it'll be fun and whatever I get they are all cute". I have to admit though I was kinda hoping to get the Zero one but I love this little Snowman Jack Skellington. :)

A week or so later a friend and I were in town after school. She had brought a sheer top to change into but hadn't brought an undertop so we were in town searching for a suitable replacement top for the time being. I had never actually gone into this shop but we popped into West Coast for a look as it had a massive sale due to it closing down. Everything in the shop was £5 which was a bargain. She didn't actually find anything but I ended up buying 3 pairs of jeans and a pair of shoes...

So the first pair of jeans were these lemon yellow jeans. I actually wanted a pair of yellow skinny jeans last year but didn't end up buying them because I didn't think I would actually wear them so I didn't want to spend a lot on them. However since I bought these I have worn them quite a few times. The only thing is, unless I'm wearing tights underneath them they are a bit baggy around the top half. That may be due to my lack of hips and bum though. These are a size 8 and obviously cost me £5.

The next pair of jeans was a light teal or pale blue skinny jeans. The thing I loved most about these jeans was that around the stitched areas there was a darker wash of blue which I really liked. I have worn these the most often out of the three pairs. These are also a size 8 and cost me £5. I don't actually have a photo of them yet as they are currently getting washed. I was on a walk with my dogs and Moss (who loves puddles) jumped into the nearby pond and came out covered in mud, and then decided to shake right next to me. In hindsight, I shouldn't have worn pale jeans when walking :P

 The last pair of jeans I bought was an extremely similar coloured pair of blue teal jeans. These are a slightly less pastel shade than the others. I'm not sure if you can see properly but dotted all over the jeans is an adorable tiny white polka dot pattern which I just thought was so cute for Spring and Summer. I haven't actually worn these yet but hopefully when it gets a bit brighter I will have some excuse to merit my purchase. These cost me £5 and are also a size 8.

 And the last thing I bought from West Coast were these amazingly turquoise blue hi-top shoes. As they were the last pair in the shop when I first saw them I doubted they would be my size but when I picked them off the shelf and had a look, they actually were my size! Now the camera does not do the colour of these shoes justice and they are so bright its unbelievable. I love the tartan lining on the inside but I'm not a huge fan of the studs on the back. But for £5, I love them. These are a size 7.

And a week after that I accidentally spent more money in Primark. I originally went in with the full intention of not spending any money at all. I went in with my boyfriend for him to buy some jeans. But when he was trying them on I had a little wander around the shop (which is dangerous for me) and I ending up finding this sale rack with all these knitted jumpers for £3. So I couldn't help but pick a couple up because they are just so useful. I got them all in a size 10 to let them be a bit more baggy on the sleeves which I really like. I got three different colours. One black and white, one lime green, white and black and the last a pastel green.

 I also picked up four new camisoles. The only colours I have are black and white and one dark brown so I figured I should pick up a couple more colourful ones for the summer and to help me match with my skirts. I ended up choosing a royal blue, a khaki green and a bright red in size 6. Unfortunately they didn't have the magenta purple in my size so I got a size 8 which still fits perfectly fine. They were all £2 each. I totally forgot that they were a part of this haul so no photos of them just yet but I will update ASAP.


So this is a mountain of stuff that I bought but it was over about a month which makes it slightly more acceptable. If you have any questions about the clothes feel free to ask. I hope you are having a fantastic day,

Hev xx

https://youtu.be/76gsC42_8nI

VEDA Day 13 - Crazy About Mini Golf

Why hello there my happy little peoples,

A big hobby of my Dad and I is playing mini golf. Whenever we go on holiday we always scout around for the best, most interesting mini golf places we can find. Our favourite courses are outdoor courses. However, you can only really get them in Florida and Bermuda (they will do them other places we have just been to these places already aha). But thankfully, a couple of years ago Dad found this amazing outdoor mini golf course up in Fife. You can only really go on a good day though which means it gets super busy. We had to wait ages to get around the course. But, it was great fun. 

Mini golf courses began to appear in the USA around the early 20th century and the earliest a mini golf course had been documented was in 1912 on the 8th of June in an edition of The Illustrated London News in which it introduced a mini golf course called Gofstacle. By the end of the 1920's mini golf courses could be found everywhere and there was over 150 rooftop courses just in New York alone! However it wasn't all good news. In the 1930's the economic depression hit and almost all of the mini golf courses were closed and/or demolished.

In Europe the first documented course was built in the 1926 by a German called Fr. Schröder. He had been inspired by his recent visit to the USA to recreate the "mini-golf boom" in Europe. By 1930 a Swedish pair returned from the USA after stayed over there for a couple of years. Edwin O. Norrman and Eskil Norman had seen just how popular these miniature golf courses were in America and decided to found the company, "Norman och Norrmans Miniatyrgolf". They began to manufacture standardised mini golf courses and within the following years the golf courses spread into parks, leisure areas and anywhere else that was appropriate for their mini golf courses. 

We have played on quite a few mini golf courses so I thought I would list them below incase anyone was looking around for some :)

Scotland

• http://www.adventure-golf-island.com/
• http://www.paradiseislandgolf.com/Livingston
• http://www.paradiseislandgolf.com/Glasgow
• https://www.facebook.com/pages/Funtastic-fantasy-Golf-Limited/164058443657744

England

• https://www.visitsealife.com/blackpool/plan-your-visit/default/pirate-adventure-golf/
• https://www.altontowers.com/things-to-do/extraordinary-golf/

Florida 

• http://www.piratescove.net/orlando
• http://www.hollywooddriveingolf.com/
• http://www.lostcavernsgolf.com/

We have also done Mini golf courses in Bermuda but they shut down and change every year so I can't actually link them in this. 

I hope you enjoyed a very brief history to mini golf and if you have never tried it, I would strongly recommend it. Unless you and your family is highly competitive because then it can get messy. Anyhoo I hope you're having a fantastic day,

Hev xx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76gsC42_8nI

VEDA Day 12 - Sibling Tag

Hello little happy people,

Today I bring you, the Sibling Tag!

Now I couldn't find an official set of questions so I found two different ones and mooshed the questions into one tag. 

1. Who is the oldest?

I am the oldest at my grand age of 17 years young where as Keir will be 13 this year.

2. What do you like/dislike about each other?

Apparently I am unsociable because I don't talk to him much, but he lies when I am happy and being friendly. Keir is quite messy and lazy but he often buys me food which is always a good thing :) 

3. What do you and your sibling have in common?

I would say that we are equally as geeky. We love Doctor Who, Sherlock, LOTR, GOT, Disney and Studio Ghibli. We also both have quite a big passion for art and animals. 

4. Funniest memory?

My funniest memory is when we were younger and Keir thought that Ferrets could fly. I had mentioned that one day I would like a ferret and Keir was very confused at where I would keep my pet ferret as surely it would be able to fly off. Keir couldn't think of any particularly funny story about me but said I have a lot of funny moments.

5. Most memorable argument?

Keir was once being a pain so I told him to go to his room. When he refused he locked himself in the bathroom instead. When I tried to reason with him through the door he had a tantrum and flung a brush at the window above the door, smashing the glass right next to my face. I then had scratches over my face and everyone thought I had been attacked by a cat.

6. What do you and your siblings do for fun?

We don't spend that much time together but when we do were probably playing a video game or are in town eating McDonalds.

7. Describe each other in one word?

Keir says I am hilarious, which I guess is a good thing. I said lazy in the video but the word I thought of now which suits better is sedentary. 

8. Do you like their friends?

Keir has alright friends. His two best friends are really funny and well behaved so we all get on quite well if they are over. Keir said he likes all of my friends too which is good.

9. Favourite inside joke?

We don't really have any main inside jokes but we frequently make jokes surrounding Game of Thrones or just making fun of each other in general, that's what siblings are for right?

10. Post the earliest photo you have of you and your sibling?

This is a photo of myself and Keir in Cardiff when we went on holiday to the Doctor Who exhibition. Keir would have been turning 5 and I would have been 9. My mum probably has older photos of us but this is the earliest one on my computer. 

11. Any nicknames?

When Keir was little he used to call me Heddy and we would call him Keekeepoo. Now my nickname has evolved in Hev but his has stuck :P

12. Most cherished moment?

A couple of years ago we had a fantastic start to the summer when our Granny took us on a surprise holiday with her around Scotland and we visited loads of beaches and sea towns and the Falkirk Wheel and little petting farms. The best thing was that Keir and I stayed friends for the majority of the holiday 

13. Are you close?

Even though we don't talk that often I would say in general we are quite close. Although I would never tell Keir any kind of secret as he is the type of person who thinks after he talks and would just blurt out stuff.

14. One thing you can do that your sibling can't?

I can sit still. I don't get as bored so quickly. I can sew. I can make a fantastic raspberry and white chocolate sponge cake. 

He can eat lots and lots and lots of food and still be hungry. He can make a good banana bread. 

15. who is the best looking?

I will let you guys decide but clearly it is my beautiful face ;)

16. Who is the most creative?

This was quite a difficult question as we are both quite creative. We both draw and do art alot although he does more sketching where as I take ages to make everything perfect in my drawings. We both love singing and writing stories in school. Keir actually used to go to drama classes so he is more confident in that respect. However, this year I built up the confidence to audition for our school show and now have 3 parts and am Head of Scenery Development which is pretty awesome. 

Anyways this was just a fun little tag video to introduce you all to my crazy little brother. I hope you enjoyed and please do check out my videos and check out my other blog posts. I hope you are having a wonderful day,

Hev xx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhYKesttWnQ

VEDA Day 11 - Happy Ratties

Hello there happy little people,

So todays video was quite a short video just as I haven't had much time to film anything more exciting today. It is a video of me cleaning my ratties. Whiiiiccch I know could be very boring to some people but like I said, it was all I had time to film.

Because I haven't got very much to say I'm just gonna talk about my ratties :)

The first rattie I'm gonna talk about is Luna. Luna means moon in Latin. I chose that name because of her white fur which is like the moon, because you can always see her exploring her cage and the fact that rats are (generally) nocturnal so come out at night. Also, I'm a fan of Harry Potter and Luna is one of my favourite characters. She is an albino fancy rat which mean shes has pale white/grey markings and red eyes. Which most people would be afraid of but I actually find albino animals super adorable. I have in the past also had an albino gerbil and an albino guinea pig. Anyway, she will be around 3ish this year and we have had her around 2 years which seems literally like yesterday. Unfortunately, she is a Pets at Home rattie so she has no rescue sorry but I would always advise rescuing your pets rather than buying them. She is quite a character to say the least. She is not afraid of anything and will defend her territory like no other. I guess she is the more courageous of the two.  She has given me a number of not so nice bites over the years but she is still the most adorable rattie. She loves to explore and jump around the cage checking everything out. And she is most definitely the boss rat.

My second rattie is called Nox. Nox means night in Latin. I chose that name as she is the darker of the two, she hides a lot more often and the fact that, again, rats are nocturnal. And again, there is a spell in Harry Potter called Nox. She is quite a shy rattie but will come out if treats are nearby. She is a brown fancy rat with little white paws and a white belly. She is so much more gentle compared to Luna and has only ever nipped me once. She takes treats so carefully and cautiously compared to Luna who just grabs them, hides them and then comes back for more. I have always loved the more natural looking pets so when I was planning on getting rats I knew my perfect rats would be one albino and one natural "brown rat". And one day when I went into Pets at Home they had these two lovely little ladies and it wasn't just a spur of the moment decision because I had been thinking about it for quite some time but when I saw these two I couldn't help but fall for them and have to take them home :)

They actually had a series of names for a while before finally deciding on Nox and Luna. Lunas original names were Elmo, Magenta and Mischief. Nox was originally Cookie, Columbia and Rascal. Elmo and Cookie were because me and my best friend call each other those names as insipred by Elmo and the Cookie monster. I was the cookie monster and she was Elmo. Magenta and Columbia was because at the time of getting my ratties I had just discovered the wonder that is The Rocky Horror Picture Show and was (and still am) obsessed with it. However, I didn't quite feel that the names fitted my dainty little ratties so looked around for ideas when one night I was watching Harry Potter and the names fitted my ratties perfectly so that was that. 

I love my rats and I know a lot of people hate their tails or are afraid of them but I think they are the cutest little things and I could honestly watch them explore their cage for hours. I would love to know if any of you guys have pets so feel free to comment below.

I hope you are all having a fabulous day,

Hev xx 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRsSHv-yKsg

VEDA Day 10 - Alpaca Avenue

Hello little happy people,

Today I bring you a little video of my trip to an Alpaca farm today! 

Well it wasn't really an alpaca farm rather than a countryside place with lots of alpaca. And donkeys. And chickens. And loooooaaaads of doggies. And so naturally I filmed and took a load of pretty photos which of course I will share with you all :)

Basically my Uncle was up with his partner to visit the family and his partner likes to knit. My gran had bought her some alpaca wool from the lady who owned all these alpaca but it wasn't enough for my uncles partner to complete her jumper. So when they came up to visit, my gran decided to take us all a trip to the place where the lady keeps the alpaca. And whilst we were there we found out quite alot.

Most of the animals she has are more rare breeds. The first animals we were introduced to (apart from all the doggies who couldn't wait to meet new people) were these two mahoosive but gorgeous Poitou Donkeys. They are the only two of this breed in Scotland which was really cool to see. In 1977 there were only 44 registered pure bred Poitou Donkeys left in the world but conservation efforts managed to boost their numbers up to 450 pure bred donkeys by 2005. 

We then moved onto see the ordinary donkeys but along the way we saw a couple of Falabella horses. And the really interesting thing is that they can't actually be classed as Falabella horses unless they are directly related to the original horses from Falabella Farm in Argentina. I remember being obsessed with these miniature cuties when I was younger :3

We finally managed to prise ourselves away from the pinsized ponies and met the super friendly donkeys. They were honestly THE most friendly donkeys I have ever met. When we walked into their paddock they instantly came trotting over to say hello. This one lovely grey mare decided that I was exactly the kind of friend she had always wanted and kept giving me donkey eskimo kisses and booping her muzzle to me :3

And after getting the nicest of donkey kisses we moved on to see the main event. The alpaca. They were all so adorable and fluffy and cute and had silly little pouty faces. An interesting fact that I learnt about alpaca is that alpaca hum to each other and if an alpaca doesn't hum back, they can die from stress. So it is always advised that you keep a minimum of three alpaca so that they can all keep each other company. Another weird thing that the lady had found out is that the alpaca (or at least the ones she keeps) will never, ever give birth in the rain. Which must be difficult for them living in Scotland since it rains most days.

Following around the whole day was this lovely pack of various variations of sheepdogs who constantly wanted to have a game of fetch with us. What was really interesting though was that not all the dogs wanted to catch the ball. Some of the dogs watched other dogs to chase them, some chased after & caught the ball and then there was one who would always return the ball and start the game all over again. The lady who owned them all actually takes them to Kennel Club agility shows and so in her garden she had all the agility apparatus out. I have always thought that my dog, Moss, would be great at agility. But maybe he would be too interested in the food you use to train/encourage them round the course and would never leave my side which is a great possibility. However, the dogs here were gorgeous collies and Australian sheepdogs who were very advanced in their level of agility.

So all in all I had a wonderful day out in the sun taking pretty photos of pretty animals and being cuddled by a donkey has to have been one of the best experiences ever. That and being hugged by a baby kangaroo. But that is a story for another day perhaps. :)

I hope you are having a wonderful day,

Hev xx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUVe8RtZHX4