Virtual Hen Party

Wow!  I have some amazing friends and family in my life.

Yesterday, I was set to jet off to Tenerife for my hen party (dubbed Henerife by my hens) but the Corona Virus had other ideas so we were unable to go (as I'm sure you're all aware and understand!).

So, last night, my hens set up a virtual hen party for me that took place on Zoom.  It was flipping amazing and so unexpected!

I'd spent the morning grumbling to the H2B because I hadn't heard from anyone about it being my original hen do date.  Then, in the afternoon, three of my bridesmaids turned up for a social distanced get together which was absolutely lovely. I had a couple of drinks and it really lifted my flat mood.  I even got a little emosh!

I thought that was it and I was contented with how the date had been acknowledged but then the zoom get-together happened and I was able to see my other hens too.  It was just so lovely and such a surprise.

My MOH had delivered a bag of tricks to my H2B which he presented me with once he gave me the laptop.  This bag was then used throughout the evening as my hens set up games including Personal Bingo, a scavenger hunt and Mr & Mrs.  I ended up having an entire bottle of Apple Sourz to myself (good grief!) and finished the Zoom Virtual Hen Party at midnight.  It was just so wonderfully creative and I was genuinely touched by the gesture from everyone during such a rubbish time when so many plans are being postponed/cancelled.

Have you had something similar happen?  Perhaps a nice surprise from friends or even your own virtual hen party?  I'd love to know about them!

Loulabella xoxo

Big Life Changes in 2020

Let's get married in 2020, they said.
Let's get a new job in 2020, she said.
Let's move house in 2020, they said.
Mwahahahaha, said Corona Virus.

That's pretty much how my life has been playing out in 2020.

The H2B and I are due to get married 31st July 2020 in the UK.  We've been offered a postponement date for 23rd July 2021 but, to be honest, as our date for this year is still in that grey are of 'will it?  won't it?' we've decided to stick with it and hope for the best.

We have ten weeks to go... 68 days...

Please wish us luck and keep everything crossed that it does go ahead!!

Additionally, I was due to start a new job teaching at a new school on 20th April 2020.  So far, I've met my team via Microsoft Teams, phoned children from my new class and had awkward conversations because they don't have a scooby who I am, and attempted to set home learning activities on a programme I've never used before.

Then, if I didn't think the wedding and new job were stressful enough during the pandemic, the H2B and I have decided to look for a new house and are due to view two houses in about an hour's time... with social distancing in place and safety measures adhered to (mask and gloves).

On top of all of these things, we are also due to go on our honeymoon in August.

Life is exciting right now!

What big life changes are you making during the pandemic?  Let me know!!

Loulabella xoxo

Puppy Farms and Dishonest Dog Breeders

I never really knew anything about puppy farming until about a month ago when a lady at work was asking me about Bruce and when I said that the breeder had met us on a pub car park (because his “yard was difficult to get to”) her reaction was “Oh, you didnt get him from a puppy farm, did you?"

As you can imagine, I looked at her quizzically but also felt somewhat guilty and embarrassed so denied it, even though I didn’t know what she was talking about. It just sounded awful!

Since then, we have found out that our poor little Brucie Bonus had not been micro-chipped, as stated in the ad listing for him, which probably meant that he also hadn’t been flead or given his injections. The vet was very good and non-judgmental, stating that this sort of thing happens often and that we did the right thing taking him to her. So, we have started from scratch and Bruce has now been micro-chipped, flead, wormed and given his injections for a mere £60. She also stated that he was healthy and looked very happy! :)

As for the breeder, who we really do hope is not a puppy farmer (due to the horror stories we have since heard and feel so lucky that Bruce has not been unwell), we tried to contact him but his phone had been disconnected. Hmm!

What’s most frustrating with all this is that we really would not have minded if he had said that he hadn’t had anything done, rather than lying and avoiding sending the (non-existent) documents, because we would have just taken Bruce to the vet’s sooner.

Our issue was that we value human decency and expect people to be trustworthy.

So, was this dog breeder from Banbury a puppy farmer? We will never know. But what we do know is that puppy farming exists and, not only is it illegal, it can be fatal for puppies if they are not given the right treatment. It is also illegal for puppies not to be micro-chipped.

My advice to anyone getting a puppy in the future is to insist on seeing where the puppies are from and report any dodgy behaviour if you suspect someone may be a puppy farmer.

Luckily, Bruce is very much loved by myself and Lee, and we are so happy to have him in our lives, whether he is from a puppy farm or not!

Loulabella xxx

Welcome, welcome!

Hi all,

I thought I should post an obligatory welcome post so that you know what to expect from me on this blog and you get a bit of an idea about who I am.

I should warn you… I’m probably not going to have just one focus at all. I am a whirlwind of interests and passions so one day you may see something related to fashion and beauty but the next day you may see a post related to the latest PS4 game or what’s going on with my new Beagle puppy.

Yes, I have a Beagle puppy who is 3 months old. His name is Bruce.

In addition to my interests, I am a Primary School Teacher. And yes, it’s as tough as teachers make out. And yes, I am on half term this week which I know frustrates many people with regards to how much time we have off during the year but, seriously, we need the break!

So, welcome, and thank you for entering my world!

Loulabella xxx