40 by 40 Update

It's been 2 years since I first sat down to come up with this list of 'must-dos' before I turn 40 and as I did last year, I'm doing another update on that list today. With only 5 years left and some health changes, it's time for a big overhaul of the list in general. My priorities haven't changed, and in a perfect world, there are many of these things I'd still like to do, but it's better to be realistic and have more attainable goals. 

See my original list here > 40 Before 40 and last year's update here > 40 by 40 Update

Key
Previously Complete
Completed in the Past Year
In Progress
Removing from List 

Finally have our Honeymoon
Go Nessie Spotting at Loch Ness
Stay in a Hobbit Hole
Visit the Fairies in Cottingley Woods
Go on a Scandinavian Cruise
Do Disneyland Paris with Mr H
Ski Again
Travel on some Steam Trains
Take Baker Camping
Go to Monkey World again

 ---

See the Northern Lights
Go Bowling and Play Mini Golf with Mr H
See the Dolphins in Berwick
Do a big Zip Line (Over a river maybe)
Swim in the Sea During Winter
Do another Long Hike (min 10 miles)
Climb the 3 Peaks
Sleep at a Haunted Location
Go Ice Skating
Fully Wild Camp in a National Park



Buy a House
Get my Health, Weight etc Under Control
Renew our Vows at Gretna
Write a Children's Book
Put together my will
Start Paid Photography Work Again
Continue Studying BSL
Keep Getting Tattooed
Get Rescue Chickens
Volunteer as Much as Possible

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Be the Best Pet Mam I Can Be
Plant Lots of Trees
Knit Us Jumpers
Grow More Food
Be a Member of Nature Trusts Each Year
Do Regular Litter Picks
Sew More
Read 50 Books a Year
Photograph all the Birds on my List*
Just Make a Difference



* My Bird Photography Wishlist - to be updated!

So! At this point, I have completed 7 of the 40, 3 of which were in the past year, and there are 9 that are marked as 'In Progress', equalling 16 of 40 potentially ticked off. As you'll see from the key and list there are also 7 I am saying goodbye to, which leaves 17 I can hopefully work towards before October of 2030. That wouldn't be a proper 40 before 40, though, so I want to add some new, more practical things reachable with my mobility and health. 

The new additions are as follows...

- Visit our friends in Belgium

- Explore Dreamery Gardens Fairy Sanctuary

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- Go bowling with Mr H 

- Play mini golf with Mr H

(These were one point, but I am separating them as it is highly likely they will happen at separate times)

- Keep up with my monthly 10ks as long as my mobility allows.

- Climb a peak in the Cheviots.

(I may not ever be able to do any of the three peaks in my life, but I want to stand at the top of somewhere beautiful.)

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- Do some photos for other people.

(I've changed this from paid photography work, because really my dream has been to take senior pet portraits for people who do not have professional photos of their pet. It is a huge part of my own healing to take special photos of my pets near the end of their life, and I know many people cannot afford such services.)

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- At least try to learn knitting or crochet.

(I've tried multiple times before, but I do not have the patience and have so far failed to put in the time and effort. It was a special part of childhood having a Nana who knitted me beautiful things, and I at least want to give it a proper try again.)

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See you next year with the next update, I guess!

40 by 40 Update

About this time last year, I sat down and thought about all the things I had and hadn't done in my 32 years of life to put together my  40 Before 40 blog post.
40 is my next milestone birthday and frankly, it's terrifying, especially when I have important life events I still haven't been able to achieve. At 33 I do not have a career, though nor do I desire one. Success to me is not equal to money, a particular job or whatever, but rather just being safe and content in daily life. The main thing for us to feel successful is to buy our own home in a place where we feel comfortable. Not only that but I want to make sure to spend quality time with Mr H, do things that make me happy and just generally live life as well as I can. 

Below is the original list I compiled last year. In green are the things I've been lucky enough to tick off, in yellow the things that can't always be completed right away but are being constantly worked on. At the end, I also want to mention a few things that weren't exactly on the list but that I feel contribute to this goal of living life too. 

Finally have our Honeymoon

Go Nessie Spotting at Loch Ness

Stay in a Hobbit Hole

Visit the Fairies in Cottingley Woods

Go on a Scandinavian Cruise

Do Disneyland Paris with Mr H

Ski Again

Travel on some Steam Trains

Take Baker Camping

Go to Monkey World again

Staying in a Hobbit Hole and Taking Baker Camping had been checked off already in last year's post, but we managed to take Baker away again last year and plan to do it again this year. He loved being away on his own little holiday and it was great getting to spend that one one-on-one time with just him, especially as he ages (he will turn 12 this August!).

I'm over the moon to say that in October we finally got to have our Honeymoon, in Disneyland Paris which also coincided with my 33rd Birthday and our 4th wedding anniversary, ticking off two more of the above list! 

I still haven't posted the photos from our Hobbit adventure and I am yet to even look through our photos from Disneyland, but I need to carve out the time and make an effort to do so as soon as possible. Maybe next year's update will feature links to those blog posts...



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See the Northern Lights

Go Bowling and Play Mini Golf with Mr H

See the Dolphins in Berwick

Do a big Zip Line (Over a river maybe)

Swim in the Sea During Winter

Do another Long Hike (min 10 miles)

Climb the 3 Peaks

Sleep at a Haunted Location

Go Ice Skating

Fully Wild Camp in a National Park


Ah, this little section makes me sad! I have not ticked off even one of the above points. I had the opportunity to wild camp last year but my anxiety stopped that and we instead stayed in the same quiet campsite as the year before. I also truly had planned on a good winter swim, but with everything going on, including my health, Mr H's work and other events, it wasn't able to be squeezed into the schedule and before I knew it Spring was upon us. There are only 4 more days until Spring and it is sadly impossible to swim before then. I may have no been able to swim, but I have at least paddled multiple times which is a very special thing to me.
I am prioritising getting some of these done in 2024!

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Buy a House

Get my Health, Weight etc Under Control

Renew our Vows at Gretna

Write a Children's Book

Put together my will

Start Paid Photography Work Again

Continue Studying BSL

Keep Getting Tattooed

Get Rescue Chickens

Volunteer as Much as Possible

Volunteering is something that I place high importance on, especially as I don't work a paid job. At the time I wrote my original post I was doing two volunteer jobs however due to my health, with a heavy heart, I had to leave my position at Cats Protection. I have however now been a Pet Loss Support volunteer for Blue Cross for 1 and a half years and I adore it. 

I'm still getting tattooed semi-regularly to get caught up before my body can't take the pain anymore and can't thank my artist Alex enough. She is an absolute legend and I'm so lucky to have such beautiful artwork of the things I love decorating my body and making me feel more me.

When it comes to my photography I feel at a standstill. It's unlikely I'll ever make money from my hobby ever again, especially as I am not interested in doing people portraiture/weddings anymore. 
I've tried and failed to garner any interest in pet portraiture a few times over the past year or two but I understand it's difficult when I have my autism and anxiety to contend with and I can't just approach or advertise to complete strangers in the place we currently live.
Something I would love to be able to do is provide free pet photoshoots for people with elderly or poorly pets of any species so that the family can have professional images of their loved family members to cherish forever no matter their financial situation. Hopefully one day someone will take me up on my offer.



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Be the Best Pet Mam I Can Be

Plant Lots of Trees

Knit Us Jumpers

Grow More Food

Be a Member of Nature Trusts Each Year

Do Regular Litter Picks

Sew More

Read 50 Books a Year

Photograph all the Birds on my List

Just Make a Difference

54 books were read in 2023, and I'm ahead of schedule for this year however of course it's an ongoing goal and can't be fully ticked off. The same goes for litter picks which I have been doing every few weeks and will continue to do as long as I am able. 

I will do a separate update on My Bird Photography Wishlist but I'm over the moon at how well that one is going...it should be said though that at least two of the birds on the list are incredibly unlikely to happen for me but it wouldn't be a wishlist if there wasn't something super difficult on it!

Planting trees, growing more food and other things of that nature are all things that need to wait until we move house and hopefully then, I'll be able to tick a whole load off at once!

There were also a couple of things not on the original list but have been important, pivotal or exciting moments that I think contribute to the ultimate goal of living life. They include:
Getting my Autism diagnosis 
Mr H and I's first music gig together - Bowling for Soup
...and probably something else I'm forgetting.

One year down and as I turn 34 in October, I have another 6 years to really give this list a good go. As an eternal pessimist, I actually feel quite good about what I can try and achieve in that time.

Life Lately - November

To start, here are all the blog posts I've published in November over my 2* blogs -

Underland to Wonderland - Right here!

Marriage Lvl.2 Complete

Life Lately - October

Photo An Hour - A Day in My Life [October 2021]

Down By The River

Our Samhain & Halloween [Bucket List Update]

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 302 - 308

2021 Project 365 // Days 309 - 315

2021 Project 365 // Days 316 - 322
2021 Project 365 // Days 323 - 329

*Yes, this was 3 blogs. However, our couples book blog is taking a hiatus.

And below is November'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!

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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

That I have completed my 828-mile virtual run around the Ring Road of Iceland!
Please, please, please consider sponsoring my efforts in support of a wonderful animal rescue. https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/daniellehallow828

Hating
This time of year in general. Once October is over it's all downhill until Spring haha!
I hate the adverse weather, I hate the 'C' word, I hate that it's always dark. I just hate winter.

Feeling
Cold. And extra scared of this pandemic seeing as most people don't care anymore.
The only place I go these days is my parent's house or to the Cats Protection centre,
so I am not around others much at all and I am thankful that mask-wearing is being encouraged more again,
however it is extremely concerning especially considering the constantly appearing new variants etc.

Thinking
About how self-centred so many of the British public are. It breaks my heart to think anyone has to deal with homelessness ever, but especially in winter and I can't even imagine what people had to cope with during storm Arwen. That being said, some people have so much expendable money yet would rather spend it frivolously, on tat and in a way that also is hazardous to our environment, than do anything at all to help charities. 
Yesterday was officially 'Giving Tuesday' and I urge you to go now and donate the money you'd waste on a Starbucks, a takeaway or that new top you don't actually need but just want because you don't want to wear something you already have, to a cause that resonates with you. 
Some I suggest are:
https://www.shelter.org.uk/
https://www.crisis.org.uk/
https://centrepoint.org.uk/
https://northeasthomeless.org.uk/
and 
https://www.cats.org.uk/tyneside
https://www.farplace.org.uk/
http://www.swan-trust.org/
https://www.vucjakshelter.org/

Reading
Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
The Grim Grotto by Lemony Snicket
Mary Poppins by P L Travers 

Watching
RPDR UK S3
The Worst Witch S1
Dinner Date S1
Boy Meets World S5-6
The Wheel of Time S1
Rich Kids Go Skint
Rich Kids Skint Holiday
Black Widow
Magic Camp
Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Jungle Cruise
Home Sweet Home Alone
Pokémon Detective Pikachu

Doing More

Leaving the house? But also not. 
I've been to Berwick multiple times this month to take my Dad to hospital appointments, for my own doctor's appointments and to try and help where I could with my parent's house after storm Arwen.
I am also obviously now visiting Cats Protection every Saturday where I'm a desensitisation volunteer.
That is a lot more than what has been during the past two years, though obviously I am still not seeing other people, going into shops or public places and such.

Doing Less
Coursework...because I completed my Zoology diploma with a distinction!

Stand Out Moments
- 11k for Animals in War remembrance.
- Two wildlife walks at Berwick.
- Giant book haul/therapy after doctors visits.
- A walk with Baker to the river.
-Completing my Zoology Diploma with distinction.
-Storm Arwen.
- Saturdays Volunteering at Cats Protection.
- Finishing my 828-mile run!

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

Life Lately - October

To start, here are all the blog posts I've published in October over my 2* blogs -

Underland to Wonderland - Right here!

Life Lately - September

Wildlife Day at Beamish Woods

Our October Bucket List

31 Movies for Halloween Month

Baker's 2021 Photo Set

What to Read in October + My TBR

Exploring the Abandoned Twizel Castle

Exploring the Abandoned Twizel Castle part 2

My Paranormal Life - The Teen Years

Duddo Stone Circle

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 267 -273

2021 Project 365 // Days 274 - 280

2021 Project 365 // Days 281 - 287

2021 Project 365 // Days 288 - 294
2021 Project 365 // Days 295 - 301

*Yes, this was 3 blogs. However, our couples book blog is taking a hiatus.

And below is October'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!

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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 
Finally, officially, becoming a cat de-sensitization volunteer for Cats Protection!

Hating
Fireworks.
There is no need at all for anyone to play with explosives. Not only are there the dogs, cats and other domestic pets terrified at home and in rescue centres, but there are also the elderly and ex-service people or others with PTSD etc struggling behind closed doors, as well livestock animals in fields or barns with no escape from their fear and wildlife who have panic attacks, become disoriented and lost, abandon their homes and young and can die from ingesting the debris. 
Please do not use or support the use of fireworks.

Feeling
Old! I have to check the 31-35 box now!

Thinking
How close I am to completing both my Zoology Diploma and my 828-mile run. Woohoo!

Reading 
Ghost Squad by Claribel A. Ortega
The House in the Woods by Yvette Fielding
The Company of Ghosts by Berlie Doherty
Ghostly Tales: Spine-Chilling Stories of the Victorian Age

Watching
Edward Scissorhands
R.L. Stine's Monsterville: Cabinet of Souls
Hocus Pocus
9
The Reaping
Twitches
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters 2016
Twitches Too
The Others
The Witches
The Witches 2020
The Woman in Black
Behind the Attraction: Haunted Mansion
Toy Story of Terror
The Haunting
Disney's Lonesome Ghosts
Disney's Trick or Treat
Mom's Got a Date with a Vampire
The Haunted Mansion
The Ghosts of Buxley Hall
The Addams Family
Blackbeard's Ghost
Crimson Peak
The Watcher in the Woods
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Casper
Coco
--
Sabrina the Teenage Witch Halloween Episodes x7
The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror  Episodes x7
Most Haunted Misc Episodes x 4
Goosebumps S1
The Worst Witch S1
Broadmoor: A History of the Criminally Insane
Behind Bars: Rookie Year S1
Boy Meets World S5
Modern Family S9
Dinner Date S1

Doing More
Watching movies I guess? haha! 
A few years ago I published monthly posts listing everything I'd watched that month and often saw upwards of 40 movies each month. Lately, it seems we watch more TV series as time-wise it's easier to fit in an episode or two here and there, so it was good to fit in a chunk of movies this October.
Check out my 'What I Watched in 2017' post to see how much I managed to see in 1 year!

Doing Less
Healthy eating. Oops! It's been a month full of pizzas, crisps and sweets that's for sure.
But seeing as October is to us what December is to everyone else, it's allowed!

Stand Out Moments
- Decorating for Halloween
- Receiving my art commission from https://www.instagram.com/littlebear.andus/
- Getting to take Baker for a rare beach visit
- A day of board games with my parents for my 31st birthday
- Our wonderful wildlife walk to Duddo Stone Circle
- Camping inside
- Carving our Jack O Lanterns
- Samhain Dinner

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

Life Lately - September

  

To start, here are all the blog posts I've published in September over my 2* blogs -

Underland to Wonderland - Right here!
Life Lately - August
Baker is 9
The Last Day Out at Beamish pt.1
The Last Day Out at Beamish pt.2
The Birds of 2020 // October - December

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 239 - 245
2021 Project 365 // Days 246 - 252
2021 Project 365 // Days 253 - 259
2021 Project 365 // Days 260 - 266

*Yes, this was 3 blogs. However, our couples book blog is taking a hiatus.


And below is September'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!

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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
1000 calorie-burning workouts and new medals!

Hating
Hearing about all the animals being declared extinct. Please do your part to help our environment.

Feeling
Equally anxious and excited for a prospective volunteer opportunity.

Thinking
About our Hallow-Ween (the whole month of October. Dubbed Hallow-Ween because our surname is Hallow and it's our celebratory month) plans and that in 30 days we'll have been married 2 years already!

Reading

The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket
Poison for Breakfast by Lemony Snicket
The Witch of Lagg by Ann Pilling

Hoodoo by Ronald L Smith

Watching
RPDR All Stars S6
Modern Family S7-9
A Series of Unfortunate Events S1
AGT S16
Family Reunion Part 1 - 4
Boy Meets World S3
Lizzie McGuire S1
RPDR UK S3
Jailbirds New Orleans S1
Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone
Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
Three Men and a Baby
The Circle
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Honey, I Blew Up the Kid

Three Men and a Little Lady
A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting

Doing More

Running! I managed to total 100 miles in September including 2 half marathons (1 in one go and one over 2 sessions). Although I have been exercising from home for many months now, I did have a few weeks where I slacked off a bit due to pains. It means that I now have less than 200 miles of my 828 mile challenge left and I aim to complete it by the end of November! If you'd like to sponsor my efforts it'd be very much appreciated and you can find my donation page here > 828 Miles for Vucjak Shelter

Doing Less
I'm not too sure if there is anything I've been doing less of this month.

Stand Out Moments
- Getting the chip in my windscreen fixed
- Disney Halloween haul
- Doing two half marathons
- Making the Guinea Pigs new fleece cage pads
- As always, wonderful wildlife garden visitors

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

Life Lately // May

[The photo above is our monthly couple portrait for May. We have been taking these since January 2019!]

A monthly round-up post? ''What do I have to round up'' you say? 'You only post once a week here and don't leave your house'. Well although I only recently started to post on this blog again, I actually also have 2 other blogs I post on equating to another 3 posts a week on top of the one on a Monday here! I'm still taking my daily photos and with having 10 animals there's always something to share.

This Life Lately post will be in a different format to my previous monthly round-ups etc and will probably develop over time but for now, this has been my life lately.

Talking about my other two blogs, let's start off with those and what was posted on them throughout May.

Adventures of the Hallows - My Photo Diary Blog!

Back Through the Lens - Week 18

Daily Photos 120 - 126

Back Through the Lens - Week 19

Daily Photos 127 - 133

Back Through the Lens - Week 20

Daily Photos 134 - 140

Back Through the Lens - Week 21

Daily Photos 141 - 147

Back Through the Lens - Week 22

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

May TBR Lists

Pages Per Day // April

April Book Haul

Top 10 Quick Reads

Cats Protection Tyneside Adoption Centre Blog!
(I contribute to this blog as a guest writer)
Easy Up-cycled Cat Pillow
How to Take the Purrfect Cat Photos

The calendar below shows my May daily photos in one big overview! A lot of days have more than one photo per day, some up to 10(!) so to see them all and see the images in a larger size make sure to follow the links listed above.

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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 

The fact we have a garden. It's a luxury not everyone is lucky enough to have but to me, an outdoor space is a necessity. For my animals, for my mental health - I need somewhere safe to go outside.
We've done quite a bit of work in both our front and back garden over the past few months and it's nice to be able to sit outside with a book and enjoy it while Baker does his sunbathing and the husband potters in his greenhouse.

Hating
Okay, hear me out. Yes, I am an environmentalist and I do as much as I can in way of being eco-conscious / eco friendly ( I have some blog posts coming up about this as well) but my goodness cyclists are causing me no end of stress. By all means, it is a great thing for the environment and fantastic more people are doing it, but why do they insist on putting themselves and other people in danger by cycling on main roads when there is a specific cycle path. According to my fitness tracker, it fully spikes my heart rate because it gets to me so much!

Thinking

How insane it is that we are meant to be one of the most powerful countries in the world, but our government is so bad that they cannot react to a global pandemic in an efficient fashion. Compared to the rest of Europe we have done very poorly and the people of our country are either extremely ignorant and just downright don't care or they are uninformed, dim-witted and other words that mean 'stupid' but aren't nasty (haha).

Feeling
A multitude of things. I'm worried about my parents, one of which is rather poorly currently - I feel so far away, just helpless. I'm struggling with my weight/body image and my arthritis/chronic pain. I'm stressed about the upcoming Honeymoon.
That all being said, I am also feeling extremely thankful that I am safe at home and don't have to go to a job. I'm thankful for my husband and how incredibly hard he works and for my parents' constant help and support too.

Reading

I read 7 books through May. Of those 5 were physical copies from our collection, 1 was an ebook read on the Kindle app and 1 was an audiobook listened to through Audible Stories, the free audiobooks they have listed for children while the schools have been closed.

Check out the posts we've put up on our couples book blog above.

Watching

We've watched more in the past couple of months than we probably did all last year. We aren't really TV people and don't have 'TV' just Netflix and our DVD collection. So we've been working our way through the Disney Classic collection to get ready for our Honeymoon and some other classics like The Secret Garden and Jack which Mr H had never seen!!
As for shows, we've gone through a few..! That 70s Show, Fawlty Towers, Dinnerladies, Making A Murderer 2, Drag Race, Time: The Kalief Browder Story, The Big Bang Theory, Magic for Humans, Secrets of British Castle and more haha.

Doing More

Making! Crafts and gardening and DIY, oh my! We made an actual castle for the cats out of cardboard boxes and some upcycled cushions for them too (see above for the blog post I wrote for the Tyneside Cats Protection blog about them). We got our Greenhouse at the end of April so Mr H has put it a lot of work growing food for us and there has been plenty of other garden work going on transforming them into 'ours'.
I've also been finally doing something I've wanted to do for years - learn sign language or BSL in particular. I'm just over halfway through the full course and have passed all my assessments so far with flying colours, though I am taking my time with it and repeating sections so that I can get it to really sink in.

Doing Less

Walks, hikes, adventures and explorations! We've had 2 walks in the past 3+ months.
Baking and making. I'd often make homemade pizza (bases and all), bread, cakes etc but with the lack of ingredients that's been a bit difficult.

I can't let this monthly summary go without expressing my constant hate for the human race. That statement isn't the best choice of words obviously, but I really do. I hate the divides between classes, races, sexual orientations, species even. My heart absolutely aches for the injustice and downright abuse people are subjected to suffer all because of the things that make us different and we can't sit down and turn a blind eye until things change. It is 2020 for goodness sake!!

Black Lives Matter - 

https://blacklivesmatter.com/

LGBTQIA+ Organizations - 

https://www.stonewall.org.uk/about-us/news/lgbt-inclusive-organisations-you-should-know-about

End Homelessness - 

https://www.bigissue.com/latest/which-charities-are-helping-fight-homelessness-in-the-uk/

Stop Animal Use, Abuse and neglect -

 https://sentientmedia.org/animal-abuse/

There are no words I can use to coherently get my point across so I just urge you to do what you can. Read as much as you can. Inform yourself on the important subjects. Share links. Sign petitions. Join peaceful protests when it is safe to do so. Donate where you can. Be an ally.

The world is a very scary place. Please be kind.

Return to Wonderland

I don't even know how to start this. It has been over 8 years since this blog began and almost 2 years exactly since I gave it up. Like most people who have been blogging as long as I (12 years in total over previous sites), you never imagine the day you will be done; always thinking you will do it forever. This was never a career path for me, as it seems to be for so many, but a genuine hobby, outlet, therapy and way to connect. My very first blogs were started to share my life with family and friends and that they have primarily remained, however, when you do share so much sometimes that can backfire.

In 2011 I deleted my first main blog when my life went through a big change.

In 2012 I opened Blogger again and created what was at that time called 'Once Upon A Time They Lived Happily Ever After'.

In 2018 I deleted the aforementioned (then known as Underland to Wonderland) when my life went through another big change.

And now in 2020 rather than let so many years worth of work go to waste, I have resurrected that blog, in the aim of continuing sharing my life journey from 'Underland' to 'Wonderland'. 

Sadly, out of pure determination that I would never blog again, I didn't just revert all my posts to drafts and set the blog to private, but I deleted the Google+ account that was linked to it which in turn wiped every single image ever uploaded here; if you were a reader, you know that was many hundred - if not many thousand - photos.
That being said it wasn't as easy as to just re-publish posts and turn the permission back to 'public'.
As I write this I have re-posted 90 posts, deleted many others and still have over 800 to go through. Not all of those will survive but this time I didn't want to begin with a blank slate, I wanted to remember some of the good memories I have documented over the years.

For this post, I feel a little update is in order! A lot has happened in the past two years indeed!!

I moved house another 3 times. 

I met my best friend and married him on Halloween 2019.

We chose a new name together and officially changed it.

I gained 6 pets from our union and we rescued another 3 together.

We both became fully vegan.

I changed jobs and then had to leave it, so now have none.

We started a 3rd blog, Pages of the Hallows.

I started again and completed another year of daily photos.

We've had many adventures together.

We booked our Honeymoon for October 2020.

and we have faced many hard times over a short space of time too.

It feels like so much longer than only two years, but then again it feels like it has been no time at all. 10 pets, a husband, a new home gained is insane compared to where I was when we left off...but I guess we have plenty time to catch up. There will be lots more to come about all of them and the next new post uploaded will be all about our upcoming Honeymoon, well, you know, if it actually gets to go ahead.

If you are a returning friend from years past - thank you for stopping by. I hope you are all doing well.
If you are new here - My name is Danielle and I'm glad you stopped by.
Thanks from reading See ya real soon!