Hooton Pagnell... A different time.

Here are some pictures that I have taken today at Hooton Pagnell, which is near Barnsley/Doncaster. This village is very small and has hung on to the world that once was in the 1950's. It is an aesthetically beautiful place that I drive through most weeks when visiting my sister. Today I decided to actually stop and take some pics instead of seeing it from behind my steering wheel. I am glad I did. Not only was it nice to have a wonder around and take pictures, it was so nice to sit down and relax for a few moments before walking again to create my next picture. Even though it was cold it was 'fresh'. I rally enjoyed myself and I hope you like the pictures I have to share with you!

Acne and it's best friend, pain!

Well, a little update on how the acne issue is going.... it isn't improving at all so far. I have been on my meds for over 3 weeks now. The doc promised that the pain would subside after a week. To be honest yes it did for a few days but the the ref lief did not last long. My skin is now, again, feeling so sore and painful. I honestly do not know what the next step will be. My skin shouldn't be causing me so much pain. Yes, I have acne, yes they last forever. The issue I have on top of all this is the pain. I am taking my meds and applying my Erynthromycin solution (spelling?) but no better. Any solutions from you out there would be amazing because this is so bad. I am feeling very sorry for myself. I know it is not a massive deal compared to what others have to deal with. Forgive me for moaning.

As a side note.. I can not believe that there is hardly any research going on to try and identify why hormones/sebaceous glands/cysts/acne/spots cause such problems for some people AND HOW to stop it!

I have now noticed that the make up I have (Mac Studio Fix and Estee Lauder Double wear) no longer sit nicely in my skin. They now seem the emphasise the blue/redness of my acne! Any help anyone please leave a comment.
Thanks for reading

On The Move

I have been gaffing about for ages saying that I wanted to take pictures on the bridge of my local motorway... You might think I might be crazy.....but it is to get the effect of using the shutter speed on my DSLR. I finally 'pulled my finger out' and did some photos... only simple ones and it was my first time so please be kind ;-)

Langsett Reservoir

here are some pictures I managed to take during my time at Langsett Reservoir! It was a lovely morning and it was FREEZING but as my other half says "It was 'Fresh'"ha. It was a shame there wasn't much happening in terms of the lighting, it was a very dull morning with only a small glimpse of the sun at the beginning of the walk, but I was happy when I found a toadstool!

Cat On A Hot Tin Roof

I went to the West Yorkshire Playhouse today (Leeds) to watch the play 'Cat On A Hot Tin Roof' by Tennessee Williams. I was always a fan of the film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman.

I really enjoyed the play for many reasons. The Southern American accent was executed brilliantly by the protagonists. Brick, Maggie, Big Daddy and Big Mamma are fantastic characters to play and the actors did a great job.

The sexually frustrated Maggie was exciting to watch. She oozes the need to be taken by Brick. I wont go into the details of the plot as you could research that at anytime. The production surprised me in terms of its staging. It was a thrust stage setting that worked really well. The audience became the fourth wall, although there were moments throughout the production, the characters would look directly to the audience. This allowed the audience to engage with the characters.

The set was very naturalistic, using appropriate furnishings of that time period. The use of suspended cotton from the ceiling was great for subtext. The gobos used for the lighting when Brick ventured out onto the veranda worked great to suggest to the audience how he was feeling 'trapped'. The use of lighting I felt was not as naturalistic as it could have been but the cues for marking the moment worked well, as did the sound effects.

The relationships between the characters were obviously an important part of the rehearsal process, as you really felt the tension and the climax to the play combined good use of characterisation, lighting and a fantastic dramatic pause at the end.

WY Playhouse

Really enjoyed it and it reminded me that I really do need to go to the theatre more often!

littlemissliza's photostream

littlemissliza's photostream on Flickr.

Sunday evening feeling.....

Couple of things to do with Sunday evenings and the feelings that occur during this time:

1: Lazy times. Nothing better than curling up on the sofa with my gorgeous dogs and my other half

2: The dark and cold evenings make you want to snuggle up with your quilt and warm yourself up with a hot chocolate

3: Feel slightly sad inside that you perhaps didn't do so much with your weekend and always ask the inevitable "where did the weekend go?"

4: You start to remember that tomorrow is actually Monday..the first day of the working week and that there are 5 of these working days to get through before the next day off Ummmph!!!!

5: You start to make a pact with yourself "I will do more with my days off that don't just involve doing the sodding housework".

6: You start to experience the feeling of doom that will consume you fully as soon as that alarm goes off in the morning (but to be honest that feeling has already started as you are now thinking about it...the feeling started before you even turned on the alarm before going to sleep)

7: You start to think that if you won the lottery you would never moan about a Monday morning again!

8: You realise that there are worse things that could be happening to you, so you just try and accept the feeling of doom and try to cheer yourself up with a hot chocolate

9: You decide that there is no point being miserable so you start to look forward to the restful sleep you will hopefully have when you retire to bed....

10: You go to bed!

Chuff me.....what A sunday evening I have planned ;-)

Skin problems a Go Go

Well..... to say I have had enough of my problem skin is an understatement. I have now gone back to my doctors to ask for help. My poor face is suffering terribly with my acne spots. I have been in so much pain again it is ridiculous. So after managing to beg for an appointment with the receptionist at the doctors I have been seen! The result of this appointment..."let's put you back on antibiotics". Oh yes fabulous..let's! I can then be on them for 4 months again and still have spots and scares! I am so fed up with it. The doc asks due if I suffered from acne is a teenager... yes I did... I was put on the devil drug Roaccutane for a year. His reply was"oh because most people suffer from acne either as a teenager or as an adult, but not both"...oh really? Well that is lovely..so I get to suffer from it during both stages of my life. "It's just your hormones, there's nothing you can do about it". Fab. "Cheers doc! May I just compliment you on how smooth and scar free your face is...what a lovely complexion you have" So while I go and pay for my prescription of drugs that will only help with the pain of the inflammation.. I will go and sit in a dark room and feel sorry for myself!

Mac Studio Fix Foundation

Well.....I have decided I have a love hate relationship with foundation. I did some research and lots of women who seem to suffer the same kind of skin issues as me recommended Mac Studio Fix foundation. So I decided to invest my money in this product. I had to travel to Sheffield for this product as my local town, Doncaster does not sell it.
So on Sunday, off i went excited about buying the foundation that promised to march my skin tone and cover up my depressing acne problem. When I went to the Mac counter it was very busy. This must be a good sign I thought! I thought that it must be good if so busy. I was served by a very pretty young lady (who had perfect skin and coverage, even though a little orange) and I told her the problems I was having and so she recommended this product. She also recommended the concealer product. She tested the product on my skin. I said to her that I had a cool undertone to my skin. Anyone with eyes can see this is true as I am very pale (and mostly look like death). Anyway...in the shop 'lighting' which is always poor..she applied the foundation and it seemed a good match. So I got my debit card and paid for my products!..I was so excited to go home and wash all my previous (non-matching) foundation and apply my new products. I was devastated by the results!!!!! I looked in the mirror and I looked like I was wearing a pale orange mask! I didn't understand..I told her I had cool skin/blue undertones...what has she given me. I looked at the product code...it said NW15...hmmmm... so I went online and as it is NW15 is the WARM tone NOT the cold. That's why I looked like a fool! So after spending over £20 on this one product (never mind the matching colour concealer I also bought) I am no better off. I am so disappointed and frustrated. I now feel like the woman who served me really wasn't listening to me at all. So now I intend to drive to Sheffield AGAIN to ask for an exchange and ask for the NC15...which is the COLD tone. I had better get an exchange because if I do not, I will not be a happy Mac customer..well I am not happy with them already, but perhaps they can redeem themselves! Very disappointed! Will Mac sort this out?...........

Estee Lauder foundation

Hello there fellow beauty followers. I am writing this post as I am a little stuck on what to do next in terms of my foundation use. I have troubled skin. I suffer from acne (not majorly compared to others). It is a problem I have endured since my early teens. It was at one point very severe and I had tried many different drugs that were prescribed by my doctor. I remember being very upset. Unfortunately I am still very upset ha. My skin was so bad i ended up on a drug treatment call roaccutane. It was the devil. It basically shut down all of my sebaceous glands as my skin was producing too much oil. I remember a period of time when my skin had the acne spots but was also painfully dry. It was a very harsh treatment but after many months it was amazing. I had spot free skin for the first time in a long time. I had to beg the consultant at the hospital to prescribe me it but she did and I will always be thankful. Unfortunately my skin has become a problem again for the past 5 years (10 years after the roccutane). They are not normal spots. The are deep and sore and hang around for months. Again, I have gone to my doctors for treatment but nothing has worked. I am now using tea tree again to help create the pain and I am going to book ANOTHER appointment with my doctor to get referred.
Now the situation I face is as follows...how can I hide the unsightly areas of my face that has the problem scene. Well I asked my friends and many suggested Estee Lauder double wear. So I did. The coverage is totally amazing. I really like this product. my skin doesn't react badly to it...probs because it is lanolin free which is always helpful! The coverage does seem to last a really long while. It is expensive but well worth the money. I have tried many foundations as I am sure many people have, and they often 'fall off' or 'slide off the face', but this one stays put! Well worth it! Th sonly problem  have with it is that I do not seem to find the right colour to match my skin. I have pale skin...at first I bought the 'Shell' one....it was too light..so then I tried 'Fresco'..it looks great on my face but once you look at my jaw line it is too obvious I am wearing it and that it doesn't match on this area of my face...weird...so i went back and asked for testers...i had spent so much money already and not getting the right colour. The ladies at ester lauder were very helpful and allowed me to take away a few testers...i tried the 'Ecru' which was too light just like the 'Shell' I also tried the normal wear 'ivory beige' I think it was...but again too dark...... I have tried mixing my 'Shell' with my 'Fresco' but that doesn't work haha i really want to find a colour with ester lauder as i really love their product and the coverage it gives me. I have been told that they will be bringing out some more colours soon...I sure hope so!!!!! I want to get the right colour so i don't end up looking like a ghost or a humpa lumpa!!!! Because that would just look wrong hahaha!!!!!! Any advice for me..please let me know
Cheers

Shooting day!

Well..on my bucket list is to go shooting...with a pistol. So I had a look around my area and couldn't find anywhere that offered the experience. But then I found somewhere near Halifax called Adventure Centre. So I roped in my best friend Sarah to come along with me. £20 each but we thought it would be well worth the money. To be fair, it was really good. The whole day was really enjoyable. Sarah and I did something we had never really done before! So anyway, we were giving an American instructor. I was thinking "why is he living in Halifax?"HIs reply to this question was "too many late nights in Miami". Who knows what that means! The air rifle was incredibly heavy. It gave my arms a good work out having to 'cock' it to load it. I was good but we didn't use real bullets! We then moved onto the air pistols. Again we didn't use real bullets and to be honest this is what I wanted. I wanted to know what it is like to fire a real gun with real bullets. Not for any morbid reason but I find it strangely scary. I have the utmost respect for anything like that. They are not toys they are serious stuff. I wanted to see how good I would be! When I was much younger I wanted to be a Police Officer just like my uncle and I suppose my desire to do this sort of experience stems from that idea. But it was not to be...we just used little pellets. So, next time I want to do it with the real deal! I just don't know if you can actually do it anywhere....... Here are some photos of myself trying my best at some target shooting. It has to be said, I was scared because I had to use the rifle that did not have a safety switch ....big responsibility , but I stepped up to the mark! My favourite was the air gun. It felt more like the experience I was really wanting!

VW Camper Van

I took this photo about a year ago. Every time I see this pic I wish I had one! Not only are they ultra cool but they are a classic through and through! This picture was taken at a car show that I happened to see when I was at a gala. The care and attention that has been given to this gorgeous vehicle is amazing. Everything was perfect. The original paint job was fantastic! The contrast of green and white made it look even more awesome! The inside was also amazing! Every little detail was perfect. The interior was psychedelic and each area of space was utilised to maximum effect. I would love to have one just like this. The dream would be....to take my dogs and my camera on an adventure. Travel around the beauty that is GB. It would be awesome. I imagine and dream about having the freedom to wake up one day and say "I want to go to......" and just being able to do it! Totally awesome! Even my Mat might enjoy it. Cozy sleeps in the VW camper! Yes please! x

Portraits