3 things I couldn’t live without

There are some things in life that just make life worth living and when I reflect upon the 3 things that I couldn’t live without there are a few clear things that beat out the competition. As someone who has recently given up a bunch of diet-related things that other people might say they can’t live without (flour, sugar, all animal products), I wanted to share with you today the things that I just simply couldn’t give up!

Animals

I am a HUGE animal person. In fact, my first word was ‘duck’! For as long as I remember I have needed the company of animals in order to be happy and I have pretty much never been without a pet in my life. I was lucky to have grown up in a house where pets were welcome and I have had all manner of animals to care for (and to care for me) including cats, dogs, hamsters, rats, fish, gerbils, chinchillas, degus, rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets and chickens.

The only pet my mum wasn’t really keen on were snakes which seems ironic because now both she and I have reptiles in our houses! Right now my husband and I share our home with 2 Labradors, 3 black cats, some fish, 4 corn snakes, 1 boa, 2 ferrets, 3 tarantulas and 1 axolotl. I simply couldn’t imagine my life without animals in it. My first ever tattoo was of a black cat which I believe is my spirit animal.

Technology

As well as having a life-long love of animals I have been a computer person from a young age. I was lucky that my parents were into computers and I spent many hours playing educational games as I grew up from Amy’s First Primer to Where In Time is Carmen Sandiego? Of course, I decided to study Computing and have had a 10-year long career in digital marketing. I would find it very hard to live without some form of technology be it my phone, my beloved kindle or my main desktop computer which I use for my freelance work and my blog!

Over the last few months, I have been converting our home into a smart home and still get a buzz out of being able to turn all the lights on or off from my phone or by voice via one of the many Amazon Alexas which live in the house. I would definitely not be comfortable if I were picked up out of time and deposited in the Victorian Era!

Creativity

This might seem like an odd one but I love to be creative in different ways: I love photography, crafting such as crochet and knitting and music. I play the flute and have done so for more than 20 years. When I was younger I was very good and managed to get to grade 7 before I had a falling out with my music teacher and we went our separate ways. I lost the passion for playing after that and didn’t pick up the flute until a few years ago and I joined a local woodwind band which meets every weekend and it’s certainly made me fall in love with the flute once more.

I have enjoyed crafting since I was small too and these days find myself reaching for the wool and crochet hook whenever I am chilling out in front of the TV. I have been contributing towards some worthy causes with my crafting recently including blankets for the elderly and a bereavement charity as well as making blue and yellow flowers which will be used at a local Dementia awareness event in May.

What 3 things could you not live without?