Week #2 & #3

Whilst being completely stuffed up with the worst cold I have ever experienced these past two weeks all my focus went on just getting up to go to work, not a blog post was to be seen. I think I've even consumed a whole Boots load of cold and flu remedies. But rather than show a photo of some paracetamol I thought I would start with Basil and Rocky.

Yesterday Matt and I got given a fancy coffee pot and today I have been enjoying the best tasting home brewed coffee I have ever drank. But who knew that you had to store the coffee in the freezer?

My cactus garden is coming along nicely. One of them almost needed to be binned but I *think* I have managed to revive it. One day I am going to research into each type that I own and find some types that I really want to get.

We picked up some new fish for our aquarium because I had decided there wasn't enough colour. We have plenty of silver, black and even white fish, we needed some orange. The breed we went for were Swordtails and above shows the really clear difference between male and females. The males have the longer tail. They are known to breed well too, a couple of the females are even showing signs of being pregnant.

Meet Mouse.
He's been mine for a couple of months now and I thought it was time to introduce you to him. He's from a rescue and is a long haired black syrian. A hamster type that has been my "dream hamster" since I started keeping them. I was far too excited to see him on the rescues facebook page! Hopefully I can get some good photos of him because his fur is just adorable. He has a really long grey skirt and is a general fluff ball. Mouse is just so hard to photograph. 

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Week #1

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and all that jazz. I really hope you had a good one, mine was fairly busy and I didn't get as many lie ins as I would have liked. However I was spoilt again and I spoilt the ones that I love, which I am ever grateful for. 

I bought a selfie stick months ago before everyone, I think they actually serve a purpose despite the only selfie I've taken with it is in front of my Christmas Tree and wearing my Christmas jumper. I'm hoping that when I start going to safari parks this year I can get some really good photos. Saying that, my iphone seems to be loosing memory space without me even downloading apps or taking photos -can anyone help?!

My cactus garden is growing and I am loving having green in the flat that doesn't die. I picked this one up at a local garden centre and he (yes, I've named him a he) looks like he's having a bad hair day. 

This week marked Basil and Rocky's first "Gotcha day!" and I honestly can't believe I have had them for a year already. Time has flown by. They get on my nerves, they are stupidly messy but I love them and wouldn't be without them. Ever. Sadly just before Christmas 4 of my hamsters died and now I am left with 3. Maybe I should do an update post on my animals? 

You can still find me at Cardiff Dogs Home on weekends where I am usually covered in dog hair and have a massive grin on my face. I have so much fun down there and have learnt loads. Of course there is the heart breaking side of things and I am less naive about the workings of a council pound now. However, I've met some great people, one of which owns this awesome Gecko. 

On Saturday I went to visit a dog who has a special place in my heart, Harry. Harry was a dog at Cardiff Dogs Home and if I could have adopted him (didn't live in a flat, work and he wouldn't give Matt an asthma attack everytime he walked in the room) he would be mine. Anyway, he's now got a family all of his own and they are awesome, the three of them fit perfectly together and I was invited over to see how he was getting on. Walking in Harry greeted me like an old friend and I almost cried. His owners said they hadn't seen him greet anyone like that before, his paws were up in my shoulders when I bent down and he nuzzled into my face. We played with some toys I'd bought him for Christmas and it really made every time I've cried at the dogs home worth it. 

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Upgrading my Tangle Teaser...

  Since getting my first tangle teaser years ago I rarely use any other brush. Especially as my hair is so damaged from being bleach blonde and then dyed twice brown in two days. My previous tangle teaser is the original pro one, with the cover attachment and I've recently been sent the Tangle Teaser Aqua Splash which has been specifically designed for use in water. 

I've never been one to brush my hair in the shower because I'm lazy. Since my hair needs lots of tlc at the moment and I'm trying so hard to get it back into some sort of condition I've been taking the time to really work hair masks into my hair and this is where the tangle teaser aqua splash comes into play. I can sit there for a good few minutes brushing my hair and making sure that all the treatment is evenly distributed. 

The aqua splash is easier to hold in the water and the hollow design means that water can flow straight through and not be left with a soggy hair brush after the shower. The teeth seem to be slightly easier to get through my hair, I'm not sure if that's because it's new and my old one is a little destroyed now or a change in the design.

I'm really glad I've been sent the aqua splash version and I would recommend this over the original, the only downside is that it's not really travel friendly - although you could roll up socks and store them inside ha. 

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Tesco Hudl 2 Tablet Review...

A little while back I was contacted to see if I wanted to give a Hudl2 a home and write about my thoughts on owning one. It won't come as any surprise to readers that I've always wanted an iPad but never had the funds to fulfil that desire. Last year I bought a Samsung tablet to see if that would suffice, but very quickly it turned slow - despite numerous resets and it's been sat in a draw for months. A work colleague has a Hudl for her son and when talking about the opportunity in the office one day she convinced me to say yes as she spoke very highly of the Hudl2.

At 8.3" the Hudl2 is a fair amount smaller than my Samsung tablet which made me wonder would I think it worth it. I have an iphone 5 so using that for internet browsing, social media and shopping is easy enough. However, I actually have ended up preferring the slightly smaller screen of the Hudl2, which makes it that perfect hand held size, but large enough for the Hudl2 to be worth using over my phone. I like that I can hold the Hudl2 comfortably in one hand, especially as it's not too heavy but then not too light that it feels fragile. It doesn't hurt that much when you drop it on your face half asleep either!

The display on this tablet is impressive, everything is crisp and clear - unlike my Samsung. This makes watching youtube, bbc iplayer and all those types of things a really great experience. Coupled with the cover that turns into a stand, the Hudl is the perfect "mini tv". The sound is really clear too, this is down to the Dolby Stereo Sound functionality. You really don't have to turn the volume up to the highest setting either, it's surprising just how loud this little device goes to. 

The first apps I installed were the usual social media ones, blogger to edit posts on the go and my secret favourite - candy crush. As mentioned in my video, reading on the tablet is so clear that browsing the internet and reading bloglovin is just a joy. The Tesco app, as expected, is already included on the tablet but it's not "in your face", they have done it right by allowing you to hide it. 

This is a great tablet and I am pretty much glued to it since getting it. If you've been given some Christmas money and are in the market for a new tablet I would 100% recommend, it's only £129! 

Hope you have had a lovely Christmas. 

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