New Years

To celebrate the New Year Marc and I took a trip through the Highlands. We staying in Fort Williams, and had planned to ski. However the Scottish winds were to strong, so we ended up just hiking and visiting a small zoo we came across. But that turned out to be a highlight as we got to feed a baby coo :)

2014

2014 has been an amazing, crazy year. Marc and I have been able to continue to travel and visit amazing new places, spend time with family and friends, and make strides to where we want to get in our careers.

This year Marc graduated, and he is now working as a veterinarian.  He also had his first paper accepted (to be published right at the start of the new year).  I also had my first peer-reviewed papers accepted this year, with another set to come out in the spring.  One of the papers was particularly well accepted by the public; we had a ton of unexpected media interest in our work. It was a great learning experience, and was really positive as we had so much support from everyone.

 I am particularly excited today as I just finished the first full draft of my thesis; a 329 page beast of a paper. Although it will still need some cleaning up, it is a great way to start the new year having the thesis written and ready to go, with plans to defend the viva and graduate this spring *fingers crossed*.

I am so thankful for all the love and support I have had this year.  Can't wait to see what 2015 brings!

Happy Holidays

Happy holidays! To celebrate, we made a kitty advent calendar, full of tasty treats (don't worry, even though the calendar originally came with chocolate, Marc and I took care of that and only left kitty friendly treats for them). The cats had to figure out how to open up the little doors.

Seal Training Student Blog

One of the students involved in my seal training course posted a wonderful blog entry on the course that I wanted to share ^_^

http://kirstyemmagraham.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/a-pause-from-watching-apes-to-train.html

AND the same student shared a wonderful video made by the psychology and neuroscience PhD students for this year's christmas party...I wasn't apart of making this, but enjoy it quite alot :).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Yc4ypiEB4o&feature=player_embedded&list=UUJjgemIv1diYZtZ6T556LQQ

Thank you!

Thank you! For the holidays my parents sent a bread and waffle maker. Marc and I are greatly enjoying tasty homemade treats :)

California: San Diego

For the last portion of our trip, we stayed with Marc's cousin in San Clemente. Such a nice area, and great to visit them. And they were so close to San Diego, we had to take a trip to visit :)

It's been a crazy month, and we had a great time seeing everyone. And now we are very ready to head back home and crash!

California! Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz was beautiful, we had a great time! The city is a blast from the past, with a 70's hippie vibe. Marc had fun playing on the pier carnival, and I had a fantastic time seeing the california sea lions and harbor seals. A visit to Long Marine lab was also astounding, they have done amazing work with their animals.