May Day, May Day - Plus a Short Rant On Drag Queens

HOW IS IT MAY ALREADY, YOU GUYS???

This year is just flying. Not that we aren't enjoying it, quite the opposite! We've done quite a few fun things over the last few weeks!

This last weekend we drove down to Sarah's parents' house for dinner and a catch up. We had a lovely Chinese, with even better company, and Bisbee loved being with her Nanny Nutley. As usual, Sarah's mum had a lovely new toy for our girl - well, they say grandparents spoil! We caught up on mutually loved TV shows until the wee hours of the morning.

The next day we met one of our very bestests, Kate (Bridesmaid Kate!) who has recently moved over to the UK to be closer to us. Or it may be to live with her boyfriend, Lee, in Poole. But I'm betting it's the first reason. Anyway, we met them, and Lee's little boy, in a gorgeous country pub in Basingstoke. We went on a stroll with Bisbee, accidentally went into a historical site without paying, had a delicious meal, and caught up. Lee's son wore a tie to meet us. It was just adorable. We are so glad we have her here for the next year or so, and plan on making the absolute most of it!

Last Thursday, we bombed the two hours down to London after work, to see the AAA Girls in Vauxhall. In case you're not familiar, they are comprised of Willam Belli, Courtney Act, and Alaska Thunderfuck, all of Ru Paul's Drag Race fame. Also and other things, but for ease of writing, Drag Race.

Here's us in the crowd!! (Photo credit for this and below to The Meth Lab's FB Page)

Before the show started we tubed into Covent Garden to visit The Diner - Instagram followers may remember this place from its rave review after my old work took me there as my leaving dinner, and ever since I've been dreaming of taking Sarah there. Actually dreaming. Most American themed places stick to the classics, but The Diner has all the awful foods an American doesn't realised she'll miss until they are gone - and they reinvent these dishes so they are maybe even more delicious. Maybe.

I had a Pina Colada milkshake, which was TO DIE FOR, and Sarah had a scrummy strawberry one.

Together we shared corn dogs, sweet potato pancakes, buttermilk chicken strips, and my fave - tater tot benedict. *drool* I was confused initally by the addition of a poached egg and hollandaise to tater tots, if it ain't broke and all that, but I was wrong. Incredible.

Anyway obviously we definitely recommend chowing down at one of their London locations. We can't wait to go back.

Right, back to the show. I am IN LOVE with Willam, so was so chuffed when S suggested we go. I just think she is stunning, and so funny, and I would be her if I could. Probably. As long as I could still be married to Sarah. Besides the point.

The show was hosted by the Meth Lab, did anyone else watch that show about Drag Queens in London? They were in that. The performers were so great - especially Ruby Wednesday, who did a fantastic piece. I was there in awe thinking how in another life I'd like to be one of the women in this performing crew, and then before my eyes I remembered that being a woman in a show like this means getting completely naked onstage, so I decided to not pursue that fleeting dream.

The AAA Girls each got on stage and sang a few of their songs, and they were even more stunning and wonderful in real life. It is just so impressive that they are much better at being a woman, and also a man, than me. Makeup, hair, clothes, and their BODIES - just amazing.

(Chose this photo of them from the meet and greet because I ADORE this fan's necklace!)

Gosh I didn't realise I felt so strongly on the subject! Apologies!

Ahh and we went to Wales for May bank holiday - it calls for a whole new post on its own, you should GO there! It's stunning!

In final news, my brother found his own flat today - he's such a boss - first job he applied for, he got, and first flat he looked at, he loved! He'll be in Moseley, which is a lovely town in Birmingham, with a lovely farmer's market (or, probably more interesting to him, decent nightlife!) We are helping him move in on Thursday. It'll be weird going back to just the two of us! Er, three of us!

And also, I'm off to Baltimore for the last week of May - my mum is having an operation there, and I'm very grateful that I'm able to go spend some time with her and my dad, and be there for it. If anyone has any suggestions of things to do in the areas, let me know!

I feel like I haven't spoken to anyone in ages, caught up on blogs, anything! Please let me know your news :)

Stratford-Upon-Avon

We love Stratford-Upon-Avon, known as Shakespeare's birth place it is quintessentially British, packed with history and a great place to spend the day.

With our friend Lisa in tow we decided to make the most of the lovely weather and head there on Saturday. It's a half an hour drive from home and as a tourist place it has plenty of parking - even if it is pricey!

Highlights (in our opinion) are:

• Taking a canal boat into the surrounding countryside - just beautiful
• Wandering the streets and admiring the old buildings - including Shakespeare house
• Hanging out by the canals admiring the view and the sculptures 
• Popping into the all year Christmas shop
• Making a pit-stop in the fudge store, or cheese store or any store allowing you samples
• Chilling out in a pub by the canals

You can check out what their tourist board recommends here: http://www.visitstratforduponavon.co.uk/

We did most of these on Saturday and were lucky enough to time it for Shakespeare's birthday celebrations so there were street performances, Morris dancers, Irish dancers (not sure of the link to Shakespeare but I love Irish music so it was fine with me), bands playing and a street market. It didn't leave much time for exploring the shops!

With Bisbee in tow we had also scoped out a dog friendly pub - the Dirty Duck - it had a great menu and views overlooking the canals, it was the perfect spot to chill out, catch up and enjoy a fruit cider. How very British :)

Bisbee would like the steak please!

There is something so relaxing about having the time to hang out with great people in great places - while it would have been nice to sit at home by heading out we had an unexpectedly fun day.

Outside Shakespeare House!

A personal highlight was poor Bisbee being passed around a hen party for pictures - well she was modelling her baby grow and looked super cute (even if we say so)! Although L did feel the need to inform anyone who looked over that the only reason she was wearing a baby grow was because she had just had an operation.

It is so nice having our old Bisbee back, after 3 days of moping around and being diagnosed as a 'drama queen' by the vet it was great to see her back to her energetic self - she even resumed the position of guard dog protecting L from the sun of all things! This is what our Sunday looked like:

We hope you had a fun weekend!

I am about to blow your mind!

Well okay I won't blow your mind I might just change the way you think about certain things and if you are anything like me when someone tells you something that changes what you once knew *mind blown*!

Here's an example: Mount Everest is the tallest mountain - I have always been told this is true or had I always thought this was true? All I know is if I had ever been asked the question I would have answered Mount Everest. However the tallest mountain is in fact Mauna Kea, Mount Everest just has the highest peak!

See *mind blown*

How about this one: The forbidden fruit mentioned in Genesis is an apple - right? Wrong! Well maybe right but in actual fact the bible doesn't actually name the forbidden fruit it's just been passed through the history books that it was referring to an apple! Makes you wonder what else in the bible has been interpreted the wrong way or in a way that suits the person reading it- sorry I won't go there - but seriously I have only ever seen pictures depicting an apple!

I was reading a list of misconceptions that people believe to be true in the paper this morning, the article is here, and it is fascinating. The study was conducted by Ripleys Believe it or Not in London. I love history and I love knowing how things started or how phrases originated - I did a fun fact Friday on it way back when: here and here (this was the original)- so these kinds of articles always get my attention.

Source

It never fails to amaze me how much we take as fact without ever doubting it, whether it be an old wives tale, a superstition or just out of habit or because our parents did it yet how much has the world changed? How much more do we know now compared to ever 20 years ago? How much do we now turn to Google for instead of our parents? However old beliefs die hard and I for one know first hand that changing someone's mind can take years even if you are armed with all the facts.

I always love to drop in that homosexuality is present in every species yet homophobia is only present in one because that tends to end any debate on 'being gay is a new thing' or 'why are there so many more gay people now - it must be because more people are reading about it'!

Now a few of the misconceptions I did know about or had figured out but vitamin c is not an effective treatment for a cold - what! That's right it builds up an immune system helping prevent cold and flu but once you have it scientists say there is little or no evidence that vitamin c will help you fight it!

That goldfish only have a 3 second memory - I always thought this wasn't the case and now it has been proven - goldfish actually react to light and music and other sensory cues! I knew Nigel and John (my goldfish of 12 years) were listening to me although my family convinced me I was imaging it.

And that shaving doesn't make hair grow back quicker - I have been told that it does by Laura on a regular basis and now I feel like I finally have the proof! It does appear that shaving encourages hair growth but in reality it's just stubble - hair grows at the same rate and thickness whether you shave frequently or not.

Another one I will have to drop into conversation at some point is the fact that we don't just have 5 senses - did you know we actually have at least nine and research says it's actually more like 21!

Finally and because I have one bothering me now - houseflies only live for 24 hours - not true! They can live for a month in the wild - right let me find that fly swat I can't work with the incessant buzzing!

The buzzing by the way is the beating of it's two wings #notsofunfact.

So there you have it - did I blow your mind? Have you got any misconceptions that you always thought were true until one day some article or some person challenged your very beliefs?

Oh and a quick dog fact - the 1 human year = 7 dog years is just a myth, it can vary depending on the size and breed of dog quite significantly.

Our little girl!

Well not so little girl had her op today to save the world from lots of other Bisbee's - which while they would have been super cute - is a good thing. We ummed and ahhed and googled and asked friends and fellow pet owners before making the decision. We knew we would get her spayed we just didn't know if we should let her have her first season or not and it seemed that the world was divided.

Our vet was pro getting it done as soon as she was 6 months while others seemed to believe there were health benefits to waiting till her first season - including confirmation that she would be fully grown. We debated until she got to 6 months and still hadn't made a decision then after reading a few more stories about how other dogs had been through weeks of discomfort and some had 3 week seasons we made our decision. We would get her booked in at almost 7 months - not 100% fully grown but also not exactly 6 months old either.

I guess we will never know if we made the right decision on timing but we made the right decision for us and therefore her. 3 weeks of discomfort in the heat would be no fun for anyone and at least doing it now she will be back to her usual self just in time to enjoy the weather.

However watching her walk out of the vets was the saddest moment we have had to date. Her initial reaction was to raise her head and the cone of shame and wag her tail but after than brief exertion she has barely acknowledged us. She cried when she banged the cone on the door frame and when L was gently cuddling her in the car home. She stood still for a good five minutes when we arrived home, not wanting to move and wanting more than anything to get out of the cone of shame.

Had we mentioned that Bisbee has always been a drama queen?

If we hadn't she is. She always has been. We love her for it because in the main it's hilarious. She sneaks up on you in the kitchen - ninja style - then when you have the audacity to move to cook she screams as if you stood on her when in reality you stood by her! You moved your foot by her!

In fact we have told our neighbours that if you hear a puppy scream it is most likely that we moved near her head and she didn't expect it.

Modelling the cone-of-shame

But anyway our little drama Queen is now out of the cone of shame - we didn't have the heart to make her sleep in it - and into baby grows. I know, I promised i'd never be that 'puppy mummy' but I am, I somehow fell so in love with this puppy that I would do anything and everything just to make her life a little easier. So they you have it we have our puppy sleeping in baby grows hoping that it's more comfortable than the cone of shame and hoping she can get her rest and be back to being our Bisbee soon.

Guess which end s the head :)