Disneyland Paris 2018 // Photo Pass and Portraits

 

You did in fact read the title correct - 2018. 

Not my 2020 Halloween Honeymoon. Obviously...

But way back in 2018 I was lucky enough to visit with not just my Mam this time, but my Dad too (who hadn't been since 1996) and we met my friend Kerri there. Sadly, the holiday didn't turn out as I expected at all. The month previous I had left a 7-year relationship, my home and moved back in with my parents. If I hadn't already had this trip booked I probably would not have gone because my general frame of mind, coupled with worrying about Baker who was being looked after by a friend, meant it didn't feel like a usual Disney visit. 

We went from June 11th to 15th the and Kerri and I stayed at the Hotel New York because I 'collect' the hotels haha and wanted to stay here before it transformed fully into the new Marvel theme, while my parents chose to stay at the Cheyenne. 
I had planned to take just as many photos, if not more, than I do on all my other Disney holidays. I wanted to take video footage to put together a little film like I had in 2014 and what I had from 1996. I did neither of those things, and with it being the only opportunity I'll have to experience DLP with both my parents again, I will always regret that. 
I left my camera locked up in my room so the only hardcopy memories I have were taken on Photopass and my phone (I never take my phone into the parks so goodness knows why I did this time) on the odd days I decided to document anything at all. Anyway, here are some of those photos. 

As much as it wasn't what I expected, we still had some wonderful times! We rode Pirates of the Caribbean too many times to count, on one night we went on it at least 3 times in a row because there was practically no queue! On the same night, we also got the front seat on Big Thunder Mountain in the dark which was a cool experience! Apparently, we also went on Buzz Lightyear's Laser Blast a few times too...

Other things featured in the photos include 'listening in' on the conversation on the old phone in New Century Notions / Flora's Boutique, part of Frontierland was decked out all Coco-esc including a huge Dante and the three Eskdales all met Mickey together. 

I wish we could get a chance to do it all over again as a family of 4 but with 10 animals at home that would be impossible...even discounting the pandemic. I hope that one day Mr H and I will finally be able to visit Disneyland Paris for our Honeymoon we lost out on, though right now that seems a minimum of 5 years away.

Until next time...!

Collective Book Haul // January - March

It's already been 3 months since our last book haul, check it out here. If you did see that post we mentioned that 2021 would be different in terms of book buying, with a budget each month...yeah, that went out the window haha! With not leaving the house, going on maybe one walk a month and no end in sight for us why not find some joy in buying books?! Here is what we added to the collection from January to now.

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson  

The Crooked Mask by Rachel Burge

A Tangle of Spells by Michelle Harrison

The Forest of Moon and Sword by Amy Raphael

Nightmares! the Lost Lullaby by Jason Segel



The Wizard's Promise by Cliff McNish

The Desolations of Devil's Acre by Ransom Riggs

Flashforward by Robert J. Sawyer

The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge

The Hostile Hospital by Lemony Snicket

The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket

The Grim Grotto by Lemony Snicket

The Penultimate Peril - Lemony Snicket

Half a King by Joe Abercrombie

Bridge of Souls by Victoria Schwab

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. Illustrated by Minalima 
 
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll. Illustrated by Minalima 

17 new additions to the bookcases for these past 3 months. 4 of which were pre-orders, 8 of which were secondhand and 2 of which are signed copies! I'd say next quarter won't host such a tall stack, though with 3 pre-orders already in and more time at home who knows how many books will add themselves to the collection!

Until next time.

Unpopular Pet Opinions

Any old, super original readers who may still be out there might remember a series of posts entitled 'Things I Hate About...' or maybe even from further back than those the 'Opinions of a Housewife' posts. Many see me as overly pessimistic and most of my opinions against the majority, or 'unpopular' and something I evidently feel very passionately about is animals hence today's post.
Below you will find a list of just a few opinions I have about pets; mine and in general that may be unpopular...

Adopt Don't Shop

The biggest one and something I will always advocate for. People try to justify their breeder and puppy mill purchases by saying they wanted a specific breed or something that would be 'safe' around their kids. However, if you look into multiple shelters you are more than likely to find most breeds, ages and temperaments. Not all dogs up for adoption have behavioural problems, some are born in shelters when their mother is rescued pregnant etc. Don't be so quick to 'buy brand new' when so many innocents are waiting for a home.

Breeding at Home

Continuing on from my point above is breeding. I don't agree with it on any level and especially not by average families getting together with their friend to breed their dogs and make quick money from a litter of puppies, kittens, bunnies or anything else. There are arguments from the 'for' side that breeding is necessary to preserve bloodlines and keep the species going, but with so many designer breeds and all of the accidental litters, I believe domestic pets won't go extinct any time soon.
Health defects from interbreeding/overbreeding is another point, but I could go on forever. 

Wild Caught

Contradictory to saying no to at home breeding I'm a no to wild-caught pets, specifically reptiles. Of course, this is much more common in other countries where they are sold on, shipped overseas or bred to have more to sell. This is inhumane and unnecessary. Then how come I have reptiles? Mr H actually had 4 of our 5 when we met, 1 of which was a rescue and the addition we welcomed together was also a rescue - are all captive-bred. As much as I adore many species of animal I do think there are those who should not be kept as pets, this applies to reptiles too. We have reptiles because they were already a part of the pet chain here in the UK and we are able to care for them better than so many others have or would.

Living Outside

Nope! Don't bother adding a dog to your family if they are going to be shoved outside in a kennel or not allowed indoors, what's the point? In the UK specifically, weather is too sporadic and ranges dramatically through the year to extreme temperatures etc so keeping small animals like rabbits and guinea pigs outdoors is more complicated than just sticking them in a hutch. Unless you have the means to house them suitably, regulate the temperature and keep them safe when you can't see them try to keep them indoors...or don't get them at all.

Being on the Sofa

Why do people not allow their pets on furniture but they let kids? Exactly.
If you have a fur baby there is going to be fur around, get used to it or again...don't get them!

Solo Small Animals
This doesn't apply to all small animals obviously, because the likes of Syrian Hamsters need to be kept separate.
But for those who do thrive in a pairing or group should be kept as so.

Extendable Leads

Extendable leads when used correctly are fine, not that many people do use them properly. They are a good tool to use when your dog has no recall or cannot be let off the lead, to allow them a little freedom at the park or beach. When on paths and near roads they are stupid! I wish people would have them shortened and secured or use a normal lead instead of letting the dog wind around peoples legs, trip people over, run into roads or be so far ahead that they cannot control them.

Cheap Treats

Not cheap inparticular, but many of the treats sold in budget stores fall into this category. Dogs may be dogs and eat whatever you give them but that doesn't mean they should. Things like rawhide goes through a terrible process to be made and contains a lot of bad stuff. Even some well known or more expensive brands are no good for your fur babies. Check the ingredients. Look into cleaner options!

Outdoor Cats

Maybe the most controversial item on this list is that I completely disagree with cats being allowed to be outside. Apart from the risk they pose to our wildlife, the dangers for them themselves are exponentially greater in this day and age. From attacks from other animals and even evil people to roads and cars, the risk is not worth it.

Spay/Neuter

It is not cruel, it does not 'take away their manhood'. It is necessary to stop adding more numbers to the growing shelter population as well as helping to prevent some illnesses.

Shock and Prong Collars
I was disgusted to hear some pet bloggers/vloggers preaching for these medieval, torturous practises. 
There is no excuse, no need, no anything to justify using any 'behaviour correcting' equipment. 
Be a good owner, do the research and take the time and effort to actually compassionately train your dog 

Pets for Kids
This one is short and sweet.

Living beings are not toys.

Designer Breeds/Morphs
These are getting out of hand! Be it the breathing problems caused by the short nose of the Pug or the neurological issues of the Spider Ball Python, making breeds is cruel. Scientifically breeding cats so they are 'hypoallergenic or lizards to be certain colours is all pointless in my opinion.
There are so many mixed breeds that have come to be known as designer breeds such as the Labradoodle or Cockapoo who are literally just mixed breeds buy are bred in excess and sold for thousands to meet the want of those craving anything that is 'in style'. Conversely, my dog Baker is a Border Collie Lurcher cross yet is classed as a mutt or mongrel. Why isn't he a Clurcher or a Lollie?! 
Exactly!

Well, that's it for now. I don't think there is anything written up there that is too offensive but I guess...apologies if you are offended? These are unpopular opinions after all! 
To sign off I'll just say - Let your dog on the sofa, bring your guinea pigs inside when it's cold, spay and neuter your cats and most importantly ADOPT DON'T SHOP!
Thanks!

Until next time...

March TBR Lists

 

Sticking with the theme and posting our TBR lists for the month, when the next month is almost due haha! It's insane that it is already March, I literally don't know where the time goes...it especially doesn't go towards reading because 10 weeks into the year I've only finished 7 books (3 behind my goal so far) and Mr H has already gotten through 6 despite working all the time!
You'll see that reflected in our TBR lists below.

Mr H's TBR List
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo [308 pages]
The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J K Rowling [105 pages]
The Crooked Mask by Rachel Burge [278 pages]

Page Total - 691

Mrs H's TBR List
Bridge of Souls by Victoria Schwab [300 pages]
The Desolations of Devil's Acre by Ransom Riggs [522 pages]

Page Total - 822

Life Lately - February

 

As I said at the start of last month, this year I've decided to put together a 'Life Lately' post for each month, rather than quarterly or even less often. That way I can share each of our monthly couples portraits (February's as seen above) and my other regular projects I do. Because apparently there are a lot now!

To start, here are all the blog posts I've published in February over my 3 blogs -

Underland to Wonderland - Right here!

Life Lately - January

Our Full Funko Pop Collection 2020

Snow at Home

Snow Walks

Pages of the Hallows - Our Couple's Book Blog!

What Mr Hallow Read This Quarter [October - December]

February TBR Lists

Adventures of the Hallows - My Photo Diary Blog!

I have taken daily photos since 2013 (2014 were weekly photos) and I share them each week in blog posts.

Check out the past month's worth of posts below!

2021 Project 365 // Days 29 -35

2021 Project 365 // Days 36 - 42

2021 Project 365 // Days 43 - 49

2021 Project 365 // Days 50 - 56

And below is February's daily photo overview in calendar form. Many days have more than one photo so make sure to visit the posts above to see all the photos!

---

Our daily photos are usually a pretty good representation of what goes on in our life throughout the month, but for the things they don't show see below...

Loving
Donating the money I raised during my 90 mile run to Vucjak Shelter and it going toward spay/neutering 4 dogs! See this blog post for more.
Fundraising During a Pandemic

Hating
How rushed lifting of the supposed 'restrictions' and 'getting back to normal' is. 
It doesn't affect me directly because I don't go anywhere anyway, but it does mean that we are going to be in this pandemic for even longer and I still won't be able to go for a walk when even more people are filing out into the world.

Feeling
Physically, exercising and the slightly warmer weather we had toward the end of February meant my pains were not as bad as they had been. 
Mentally up and down. I don't have the opportunity to get bored or lonely when I have a house to run and 10 animals to care for, plus I have a husband who I like being around. However, I have had moments where I get selfish and pissed off that people who can still go to shops, are seeing family or friends and have a job but moan that their freedom has been taken from them...shuuut uuuppp!

Thinking
That it is ironic how the people who only a few short months ago branded me a bad person for not once faltering in my support for Johnny Depp, are now all hashtagging their way across the internet shouting 'Justice for Johnny!'. Innocent until proven guilty is the key and there was very little evidence from day one. I'm not saying that many women don't have terrible times living with these things, nor struggle to get the help and justice they deserve (from age 16 to 21 I was in a physically and mentally abusive relationship myself) but what I am saying is that people need to realize it goes both ways. Men are not always automatically guilty and women are not always automatically to be believed. 

Reading 
 Disney's Wonderful World of Knowledge #1 - Animals by Sergio Frugis
Through The Looking Glass And What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll, Harlan Ellison (Narrator) [Audio Book]
The Ickabog by J.K. Rowling
A Tangle of Spells by Michelle Harrison

Watching
Lost S2 
The Big Bang Theory S1 - S5
Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel
 Sister Sister S4
Ru Paul's Drag Race S13
Ru Paul's Drag Race UK S2
The Ripper: Limited Series

Doing More
Even more exercise! On the 19th of February, I hit my first one stone weight loss and as a well done/motivation to keep going Dad got me the Ring Fit for the Nintendo Switch and entry into another virtual distance challenge. So this time I am doing 828 miles around the Ring Road of Iceland and have done 15 days straight of the Ring Fit.
Annoyingly I seem to have hit a wall, despite the 2 hour work outs, and am struggling to drop any more pounds which sucks when I have another three stone to go.

Doing Less
Jigsaw haha. We love jigsaws and after completing our latest 'Escape Puzzle' I ordered a Disney Thomas Kinkade one on National Puzzle Day (January 29th) and started it this month. I don't seem to ever get a second to sit down and do any of it though so the furthest I've gotten is the edges and Snow White.

Stand Out Moments:
Completing my Sign Language course (finally!)
Finishing my 90 mile virtual Hadrians Wall Challenge.
Seeing a Hare!
That Jorvik Viking Thing.
We camped in the living room.
Mr H turned 30!
Getting washing out on the line for the first time this year!
An early morning, flying visit to Marsden.

This year I also started yet another new project, alongside my daily photos, 1 second of video each day. See below for our February video!

What Mrs Hallow Read This Quarter [October - December]

 

 It is indeed March and I am just getting around to posting my own Quarterly Reading Round-Up for the final part of 2020. This blog has well and truly been left behind this year. 

October

The Green Ember by S.D. Smith

⭐️⭐️
I don't know if it was more so the narrator of this, or the story itself, but I just didn't enjoy listening to this audiobook. I had this and others from the same series in my book buying wishlist as I liked the sound of the description, so I'm hoping it was just the strange way the American narrator chose to bring the story to life and that I can give reading it a go in the future. 

The Whitby Witches by Robin Jarvis

⭐️⭐️⭐️
Not starting out October brilliantly, this one fell slightly short for me. It was a good idea and I enjoyed it overall but I think my expectations were too high with it being based in a place I am familiar with. 

The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
We're steadily increasing the star ratings haha! I happened upon this book while looking for things to read for Halloween and bought it from eBay. It wasn't exactly what I thought it was going to be from the synopsis but the 'moral' of it and stuff was pretty cool - I enjoyed it!

Nightmares! The Sleepwalker Tonic by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I loved the first one and loved the second one just as much. I look forward to reading the next also.

The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I first came across this book in my recommended section on Amazon and stuck it on my wishlist. This is another I bought specifically to read in October and I'm so glad I did - a wonderful story and so uplifting to read something from another culture. Another I am eager to read the sequel. 

Disneyland Paris Phantom Manor: Decrypted by Jérémie Noyer and Mathias Dugouyon

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It's not often I pick up a non-fiction book, but when I do you can almost always guarantee it's Disney related. 

Pirates of the Caribbean - Un trésor d'attraction by Jérémie Noyer and Mathias Dugoujon

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
As above!

November

The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell

⭐️⭐️⭐️
Anything with 'Magic', 'Witch' or 'Wizard in the title automatically has my interest. 
It was good, I enjoyed it but purely comparing to some of the other things I've read lately it didn't quite make it to the 4-star mark.

The Ghost Tree by Christina Henry

⭐️⭐️
Not what I expected and I guess another thing that was a little 'too adult' for me. It's no new news that I am not a fan of adult themes and the portrayal of the friend of the lead character was something I didn't find necessary or enjoyable. If all that teenage, hormonal, adult-y stuff was left out I'd have given the storyline a much higher rating. 

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I bought this book eons ago when doing a blog post about Disney movies that were based on books, however it has sat on my shelf until now. I'd seen the movie previous and I'm glad I got around to this because I enjoyed it much more than the movie. 

December

The Ersatz Elevator by Lemony Snicket
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I'm still just sticking in with these because I want to finish the series. As I've said in previous talks about The Series of Unfortunate Events, I like the main plot etc. The writing style on the other hand is a little annoying. 

The Umbrella Mouse by Anna Fargher
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
One of the best books I've read in a long time! I loved this so much. SO much in fact I immediately went online to order the sequel upon finishing this. 

Frostheart by Jamie Littler
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This had already been at home in our collection for a little while when I saw a couple of people I know raving about it. I picked it up and the next availability and can see why others loved it. I look forward to reading the sequel.

Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
So considering I hate and don't celebrate Christmas, I have a huge interest in Father Christmas and his origins story. I read The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum back in 2017 and adored it so when Mr H got Letters from Father Christmas as part of his ever-growing Tolkien collection I had to give it a read. Beautiful book, beautiful images by a beautiful person. Super special!

The Tale Of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Being such Disney and animal fans in this house, we of course love stories about little mice. This was nice, but knowing it has been made into a movie, it was not as amazing as I'd built it up to be.

Umbrella Mouse To The Rescue by Anna Fargher
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
See above. The sequel was equally as wonderful. I cried a lot and fell in love with the story behind the story.

Treasured Tales from Beatrix Potter by Beatrix Potter
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My childhood!! I still have my copies of these books at my parents house from when I was tiny and picked up this mini anthology from a charity shop a while ago. I was lovely to end the year with such nostalgia. 

A nice stack of reads to finish up last year and with some great star ratings too. I would even go as far as to say that a couple of the books mentioned in this post are favourites of 2020, if not all-time favourite reads.

17 in total took my annual total to 62, 26 more than my goal - woohoo!

Hopefully, I'll be able to get around to writing up my Year in Books. Until then you could always check out my Goodreads Year in Books 2019! 

Until next time...

Fundraising During A Pandemic

 

For more info and context, please make sure to read part one of this post here! 

One of my favourite things is to support my favourite charities. However, being not the most well off myself, but still wanting to help out has lead me to organize or take part in many fundraising events over the years. I have skydived, organized a sponsored dog walk and taken part in more 5/10/20ks than I can count on my hands. 
Not that I've mentioned it at all on this blog (that is sarcasm, I obviously have moaned about it very often), but we can't get out on our normal walks, hikes and exploring days and haven't been able to for over a year now so when trying to do something to fundraise during this pandemic I had to get a little creative.

My previous four charity events have been 20k hikes, virtual events that you complete on your own rather than with a crowd of others like a traditional distance challenge like The Great North Run or the Race for Life and so a virtual challenge was the way to proceed.
As I mentioned in the part one of this post, I chose The Conqueror Events Series and their Hadrian's Wall 90 mile distance in particular. You get to see where you are using Google Street view and get postcards during your journey which is great to spur you on. How was I going to travel 90 miles without leaving my home though?

With The Conqueror app, they actually have a whole exercise converter where you can take whatever exercise you've done and find how the equivalent distance in miles or km. Aside from completing my final couple of miles of the challenge outside, the rest I did on a mini trampoline! [FYI, I highly recommend a rebounder as a fun way to get exercise from home, especially for others like myself with arthritis or other chronic pain as it is low impact on your joints. It actually helped to improve my pains rather than make them worse considering the milage.]
Yes, I jogged, jumped, sprinted, rocked, walked and everything in between to complete the 90 miles worth of steps/distance within 24 days - an average of 3.75 miles per day. 

A completely digital way of raising money I also collected my sponsors fully online. I used Just Giving's Crowdfunder website where 18 wonderfully kind supporters raised £240 for my chosen recipient Vucjak Shelter. Make sure to read this post to learn more about them or visit their website https://www.vucjakshelter.org/ to see just how awesome they are. 

With the Crowdfunder website, you do have to pay a small percentage in fees so what was donated wasn't all received, however I made up the small extra amount and donated a straight £250 / €276 to the shelter on the 22nd of February.

I was so over the moon to hear that those funds went towards spaying and neutering two male and two female dogs (as you can see in the image below)! Such an incredibly important procedure. 

Obviously, as always, I wish I could have done more but I am so incredibly grateful to every single person who donated, shared and sent kind words. You will never understand what things like this mean to me and I need to make it clear that I do not want thanks or praise. I do these things because my dream is to have an animal sanctuary and while my dream may not be a reality, I want to show my intense appreciation and awe of all the extremely hard work people like Dejan put in to help those who have been let down by other humans. 

I urge you to follow Vucjak Shelter on their social media to see how life is at the shelter on a daily basis. Such difficult circumstances, but so much love. Please take the opportunity to donate to small organizations like this and other rescues, rehabs and sanctuaries as often as you can. A pound or two that you would spend on a drink or a chocolate bar can do wonders for smaller charities if we all just try and help.
Thank you.

Until next time...