This is Daisy, our new puppy (previously referred to as Evie). She is the sweetest ball of fluff in the world, and she's just tiny. She fits, in her entirety, in one of my palms. Szilveszter's hands absolutely engulf her! This picture doesn't really do her justice; it was difficult to get her to sit still long enough for me to take the photo, but this is the one that came out best. We decided to name her Daisy, instead of Evie, because it's far more fitting, not in the least because when she characteristically stumbles, we all chant, "oopsy daisy!". Her feet are roughly the size of five cent coins, and they never seem to go in the way she wants them to, so she does tend to fall over quite a bit. She's also very young, only just six weeks. Bella was about two months old when we first got her, but her feet were about egg size! The other animals in this house, Rosie and Murray, have had mixed emotions, it seems, about Daisy's presence. Spoilt-rotten Rosie was green-eyed for the first day or two, and then she realised that she wants to mother her. Murray, our Russian Blue cat, wasn't so excited. He's harder to read, being the first cat we've ever had, but he definitely needs some extra care while he's getting used to Daisy.

Last night Szilveszter and I joined a new gym; it's Jetts, in the Village near my house. It's within walking distance to me, and has a great atmosphere, silly as it sounds. I'm really excited about it, because its proximity to me means I'll hopefully have the motivation to make use of it. I instantly liked the place, so I'm hoping to spend a bit of time there this week.

Still getting back into the swings of things at uni; today I can't go in, I have a dastardly cold, and I'm a little worried about falling behind. But I have the whole day to catch up. :)

As you could probably guess if you've been reading my blog lately, I've been fairly stressed recently. A few things have been weighing on me, and with so much going on, sometimes just the smallest obstacles can affect the balance in your life drastically. This week, though, things have definitely picked up, and I've found positivity in the most unlikely of places. For example, an article in a magazine which was lying around my house, of all things, made me feel really lucky to have a stable job and a secure amount of savings, be debt free, and working toward a degree, as well as to have several close friends, and the most wonderful boyfriend, whose influence helps to overcome anything.

I thought I'd share with you one of the infinite life lessons that Harry Potter has taught me (really, you must expect that I'm this attached to these books, I've been constantly reading one of them at all times since I was ten). Yes, it is a bit sad, though. But anyway!
Do you remember what the class was taught by the insightful Professor Remus J. Lupin in relation to dealing with the Boggart, the shape-shifter which is guaranteed to take on the shape of your greatest fear?
Laugh at it. (Riddikulus!).

Thanks for reading!
claire.x.