18th November 2014 - Happy Birthday Paul!!!

Yay! It's Paul's birthday! Today he turned...30! Yeah, let's go with 30!

We had a day of informative fun planned but first, PRESENTS!

This is my present to Paul!

Ok, not really. Maia just took up residence in the bag when Paul had opened the gift from my parents.

Barney was a bit jealous.

As well as getting Paul the rather offensive 'Cards Against Humanity' game, I also bought him a couple of plots of land in Scotland, which now officially make him 'Lord Kirkham'! The land stays conserved and Paul gets a title! Pretty awesome present, right?!

After a brew or two, we headed to town for our day of fun! We headed to The Museum of Liverpool to take in some local history!

This is The Lion - a Liverpool to Manchester locomotive which has been restored. It's very pretty!

We learnt a lot about Liverpool's connections with China, it's railway history and also Liverpool in the War.

Then, some cultural history!

Ah, Brookside! Where I first learnt how to do a Liverpool (Scouse) accent! The first tv show to air a pre-watershed lesbian kiss, starring Anna Friel. Great stuff!

There was also the Liverpool music scene, of course, which wasn't all about The Beatles, which may surprise you! Also a sports section, for the football teams, the racing and other sporting goodies.

I really recommend it, if you can get there! It's interesting stuff! I also learnt what Small Pox looks like. Which is useful...

We then headed to get some food as Paul was feeling peckish. Can't have the birthday boy going hungry now, can we?!

Totally should have got him a badge. My bad.

We thought we'd get a small selection of snacky bits to see us through a few hours...yeah...we may have misjudged that one...

Salt and pepper chicken wings, duck spring rolls, chicken pate, a Gruyère tart (which I was looking for more information on and it's not listed on the website menu as existing...which is a shame as I loved it!) and bacon, leek and potato gratin. It was all very delicious and all very filling. We wouldn't need to be eating for some time I don't think!

From there, we headed back towards the Docks and went to the Maritime Museum! Not necessarily my usual thing, but it was quite interesting, reading the tales of the child migrants to Canada and Australia back in the day. It's quite mad really to think that happened.

Plus there were lots of interesting bits of 'art' on display. The following boat art perplexed me a little...

I don't think legs bend that way...do they? Or am I the broken one?! That's got to hurt the hips a little. Although maybe they do yoga?

We looked around the exhibitions. Paul enjoyed the boat models and I liked the paintings. There is a large Titanic exhibition in there which ended our tour on a sad note. It was really quite sad. Much more moving than the movie...but anyway...

The museum closed at 5, so we were kicked out. We had a quick drink at the nearby pub while we decided what to do. The answer being we didn't know! We have kinda exhausted the many wonders of this city in which we live!

We wandered the streets for a little while and came upon a place that we have never been before so decided 'why not?!' It's called Kazimier and we sat in a little outdoor area which was actually very interesting! Not in a 'mum' way either!

It was quite quiet but then again, it is Tuesday evening!

It wasn't overly cold but not the warmest of evenings and my beer wasn't quite cutting it. So this place then became my favourite place ever...as it sells one of my favourite winter vittles!

Mulled wine! It was very delicious too...very hot, but very yum!

We sat here for a while but then decided that as we weren't hungry, we weren't going to go for a meal, so we picked up a couple of snacky bits and went home!

I had a really bad night's sleep so was pretty exhausted, especially from all the walking, but we sat up for a while then headed to bed.

I think Paul had a good birthday...

PREVIOUSLY...

2013

12th September 2014 - Rocking All Over the North West!

Had all good intentions of getting up and going to work early this morning. Then remembered that Mum and Dad were coming to stay, so needed to make sure everything would be ready for them! They would be coming over while I was at work, so I couldn't even rush home after I finished at 5 to make sure things were spick and span. Nope - all pre-8:15am!

I think I left it relatively acceptable. They didn't complain.

It was a bit of a mad day at work, getting things done, so really didn't have chance to think about everything, which is good! It was stressful though, but hey - what day isn't these days?!

When I got home, Mum and Dad were chilling. They couldn't work out how to switch the tv on though. Didn't think to text me or anything, just sat in silence! Random!

We had a chat then started to get ready to go out. Plans for the evening and all that. I introduced Mum to Fizz Friday, but she didn't seem that taken with it. Plus with 4 of us, the fizz didn't stretch very far. At least there was some fizz, which makes a change from usual.

Tonight was two of my cousins' birthday party! One turned 30 and the other 40 within a few weeks of each other, so they held a joint do...at a golf club in the middle of nowhere!

We caught up with the extended family and got a drink...then discovered that they had a live band doing karaoke! Normally I would have been in line with no problems but my voice hasn't been right since I had a cold a few weeks ago and can barely talk, let along sing.

Which makes me really unhappy. I'd have totally done it!

I just had to drink and take pictures/video instead!

My cousin Daniel (30th birthday boy) was up first with his girlfriend Kristina. They sang the Amy Winehouse version of Valarie.

Fun fun fun. Then it was my lovely cousin Adam's turn!

He sang at our wedding. We know he can do this!

In fact, instead of all the pictures I took, how about a gif that google made for me?

He sang "Rockin' All Over the World" by Status Quo. He was ace!

The funniest part of that gif is this still image...

Their faces crack me UP!

You rock, Ads!

Then, my cousin Nicola (40th birthday girl!) took to the stage with my cousin Karen, singing "Torn" by Natalie Imbgruglia.

More gifs, google? Well, go on then!

My favourite sill from the set...this one!

Of course, the family were all on the sidelines, cheering them on!

After all the singing fun, it was time for cake! For course!

Icing effigies of the birthday peeps! Complete with flags of the places that they have been! Great idea!

Yep - full of chocolate-y goodness!

It was lush as well!

My cousins were trying to get me to go up and sing with them but it was getting a bit late and unless it was the next song, I couldn't do it. It wasn't, so we left. My Dad was getting a bit antsy to get home as he was sober and we couldn't necessarily be classified as the same!

We got home and Paul was in the house before we even registered the same. We walked into the house and Paul presented my Dad with a well-earned glass of red!

We stayed up and shared the bottle but then headed to bed as it was going on for 1am! Dirty stop outs!

Fun though! :)

PREVIOUSLY...

2013

26th July 2014 - More Surprises!

Despite waking up at silly o'clock, both Paul and I were able to get back to sleep. We did sleep quite late though. Oops. Lots to do today and the time needed for it to get done is slowly creeping away!

Once we had come to, we had a brew then headed into town as I had an urgent birthday present to buy! I knew exactly what I wanted, so off we went.

People were literally lining the streets to see us go past!

No joke!

Ok, slight joke! There was an event going on in Liverpool today, which ordinarily we would have gone to see (maybe) but as we already had plans, it didn't happen.

We headed home after I got what we were after, then Paul went to get a new tyre put on his car while I showered and beautified myself.

I learnt how to do a new hair style, which is nice. I didn't take any pictures of it though. It lasted all evening, which I'm impressed by!

After doing my hair I pretty much needed another shower immediately afterwards as it's really warm again!

Paul also got ready and we got in the car and headed over to a Golf Club just outside of Stockport for a little party!

It's my friend Sue (and her idential twin sister Becky)'s 30th birthday on Tuesday and so their husbands decided to organise a surprise party for them both! It was a bit of a feat, especially with Sue living in Switzerland now, but they pulled it off and in a very lovely location as well!

These pictures really don't do how beautiful the view was justice! Just trust me on that one, ok?!

Well, all the planning paid off as neither of them had any idea! I have never seen such shocked faces in every surprise do we have been to!

It was good surprise!

We had a few drinks (me maybe more than a few) and said our hellos! We had some food and generally chilled out!

We spoke with a few people but we don't really know anyone so just sat and waited for the cake to be cut before we made a move home!

Becky is on the left, Sue is on the right. Rick, Sue's husband is the chap in the last picture.

We stayed to finish our drinks and got talking to some elderly relatives of Sue's (not sure who they are, sadly) who were lovely, then once they left, we pretty much stole their seats! Rick's sister, husband and friend came and joined us, followed by Rick and one of Sue's friends from her old job, followed by Sue a little later...we started the party, folks!

Paul was getting bored though, as he couldn't really drink, so I gave Sue her present (a mini Superlambanana!) then we headed home.

We had a cheeky gin and tonic, which Paul deserved, then went to bed as we were both shattered!

A (unexpectedly) fun evening was had! Yay for surprise parties! Although I'm glad we have no plans for the next few weeks now!

PREVIOUSLY...

2013

7th June 2014 - Celebrations!

Yay for Saturday! I like Saturdays! Except when they're busy, like today, but I suppose as today was a good day I can't be too cranky!

We had a small lie in but couldn't linger as long as I would have liked as we had stuff to do and there was no putting it off.

The weather was GROSS outside with torrential rain, but we had to go out in it. First to the cheese shop to get a nice selection of lovely goodness for a little party tomorrow and then to a baby shop to get a birthday present for a special little lady.

We were attending a first birthday party for Paul's friend Ryan's daughter Phoebe!

A nice big gift for the birthday girl, chosen by Uncle Dino!

We had tried to visit Ryan and his wife Vicky after they had Phoebe but sadly the baby was having a bad day so we didn't go. This was the first time we had been to the house. It was very blah...but only from the outside. From the inside, it was lovely! Big and bright! Today, it was full of children!

Phoebe is the one in the tutu at the front. She's waiting with her friends to play pass the parcel. Yes, 1 year olds totally love pass the parcel!

Isn't she cute?!

Mummy and Daddy had put on a good spread for us so we munched and had a few drinks as until that point we were the only people there without kids!

A couple more of Paul's friends arrived so we were able to talk to them as the parents and kids slowly left!

Mummy Vicky made Phoebe's birthday cake! It's pretty impressive!

Isn't it fab?! She wasn't so proud of it but we were all telling her she should be, as it's really impressive while still looks homemade! If it had been too perfect, people wouldn't have believed that she had made it!

We got in the car and my phone finally got signal. There, I discovered some more exciting news! Paul's best woman Katie and her partner Matt had got engaged! YAY!

From Reaction Gifs. 

This is much cause of happiness! Seriously, I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day!

We had to head back via the shops as I needed to find some stuff for tomorrow and then we settled in for the night, watching Thor 2. Which was fun! We also celebrated the wonderful news!

Cheers, Katie and Matt! :) Congratulations on your engagement! SQUEE!

PREVIOUSLY...

2013

29th April 2014 - 29 again!

So...today...

Taken from Tumblr

Yep - today I turn eleventy one. Ok, maybe more like thirty one. But I feel a little more like eleventy one right now!

Can't believe it's 10 years since my 21st birthday and this happened...

Feather boa, tiara, giant 21st badge and family! The difference 10 years makes!

Bad sleep was had by me. Woke up around 3am and that was it. I didn't get back to sleep until around 5. So any plans for an early gym session went out the window!

After a brew in bed, I opened my cards and gift - new Converse! Thank you, Paul! We then got ready to leave and started our nice train trek across country!

Yep, the Kirkhams had a day trip to York! Something a little different for my birthday!

Rail trip Paul has some book time!

 I discover a giant Vimto bottle in Manchester!

The train journey was about 2 1/2 hours and in that time I was able to finish reading The Hobbit (looking forward to seeing how they do the last film now, considering Bilbo is unconscious for most of the big battle and therefore only hears about the significant...deaths...*spoiler*

We were also joined for a short while by the scariest man I have ever seen in my life. He was watching the new 300 movie (without headphones) and enjoying the violence. He then put on some very hard metal music (could I sound any more posh?) and had no awareness of the people around him really not liking the noise! He also sat counting a wad of £20 notes unafraid of the fact that people could see. He probably was very aware of the fact that he is the scariest man ever.

Anyway, we journeyed and we got to York around lunch time! It was good weather and so the first thing we decided to do, after getting a map was a lovely cream tea! It's my birthday and I WANT SCONES!

I polished that off without a challenge! It was yummy!

Such a pretty view in the sunshine!

We decided that we were going to visit the York Dungeons but not until later that afternoon. So we had a good 5 hours or so to whatever we so wished! So we took a stroll around the city and came upon Clifford's Tower. So naturally, we decided to take a look!

 That hill doesn't look that high. It is. We climbed the many steps to get up there, paid the admissions fee, had a wander around the ground floor then climbed the wonky steps to go to the top and get amazing views over the city!

And yes, the views were amazing. However we both got a little bit queasy from being so high! Turns out that the older we get, the less confident with heights we are! So we went back down again!

Didn't half feel stupid though, as there were kids running around with no fear whatsoever! The joys of being young!

When we came back down again we were greeted by some local wildlife!

Yep - the lovely creature did a nice big dump as I was taking the picture. The other one does not look impressed!

As we turned the corner, we found more!

This picture doesn't do the chicklets justice. Those little babies were neon yellowy-green! Like mini high-vis jackets! So cute!

From Clifford's Tower, we took a stroll up to York Minster. It's massive! I couldn't get anywhere near all of it in a picture! I really need a decent camera!

We live in a city with two Cathedrals. I grew up in a Cathedral city with a pretty amazing Cathedral. This one kinda trumps them all!

After we had a good look around, we decided to go for a drink. We found a little pretentious looking bar and stopped for a really expensive pint!

Can't remember what Paul's was called so I'll have to ask him when he gets in. Paul had a pint of Odells 'Cut Throat Porter'. Mine, on the right hand side, was called Black Cat. I think you can probably guess why I ordered it! It wasn't what I was after, to be honest, but it was inoffensive. I see a drink called 'Black Cat', I have to try it, right?

After our drink, we then decided to have another look around! We found a shop called 'The Cat Gallery' and had a look around in there! It was like a haven for people like me! Somehow - and I don't know how - I managed to leave without spending a single penny! As we left, a Chinese lady clearly didn't have the same luck, when her bill came to £160!

From there, we decided to walk some of the city walls! Because if there's a wall around the city, you gotta walk 'em!

Paul and the wall!

Selfie!

We walked a fair way. The views were fabulous. York is very pretty indeed! Noticing that my ankle was a little swollen (it's still ouchy) we headed to a local bar for a quick drink.

The Golden Fleece in York is apparently haunted. If you look behind Paul, you may see a skeleton at the bar enjoying a local ale.

I was looking to see if I could find any information about the pub being haunted. Instead I found this:

Yeah. Sorry.

We had a drink there then headed to York Dungeon where about 8 of us learnt the local history and were shamed in the process. I nearly had my tongue cut and Paul was locked in a cage for being from Lancashire. Good times!

It lasted about 70 minutes and was ok. I think there was any excuse to squirt us with water pretending that it's blood. Fun, but meant I had to keep cleaning my glasses.

We went for a walk to try to decide where to have dinner and came passed this.

A proper war plane! I took this for my Dad as he's into that sort of thing. I think it's a Hurricane, but I don't know my planes so can't say for sure!

We then visited a pub, which had a great name. The House of Trembling Madness. We stayed for a drink and could have eaten there but nothing was really catching our eye. Except all the taxidermy on the walls. That's weird.

Coming down the stairs to leave, we noticed this little sign.

York really is haunted. Apparently. Maybe I should get one of those for my house.

We headed to a little bistro called 'Concerto' for dinner, which served proper grub. Very nice too.

I had chicken ham and leek pie with mash, cheese sauce and veg. There was a LOT of it! I couldn't eat it all. I did eat all my greens though and left mostly white carbs, so I was fairly well behaved!

Paul had Dauphinoise potatoes with a chicken and chorizo filling. He polished off the lot. Naturally!

It soon came time to head back to the station to catch our train. We walked some more of the walls to get there and stopped at the shop for a cheeky treat to add to our journey.

The kind people in the shop also had plastic cups for us to drink it from so we didn't have to be chavvy and swig from the bottle! Go York!

Selfie with my fizz!

The journey home didn't seem to take anywhere near as long as the one there! Which was probably because I fell asleep in Manchester and didn't really wake up til we were back in Liverpool!

When we got back, we had a quick peppermint tea and I headed to bed. Best place for me I think!

It was a good day! I enjoyed it very much!

PREVIOUSLY...

2012
2013