Spring, do you even remember what that was?  It's the start of Meteorological spring on Thursday and it's forecast to snow every single day this week, I mean, really?  What fresh level of Hell is this?  I thought I had prepared for winter, I had savings so that I could take most of January off and then I've worked on only a couple of occasions outdoors during February and now I can't even take on work for this weekend because I know that outdoor sunny photo shoots are more than unlikely.  I may yet offer snowy sessions but we'll see how it goes, I'm not sure prolonged exposure to temperatures which feel like -15c is a good idea

It's certainly a worrying time for business owners like me who need to be outdoors, I guess I'm lucky in that I can still do things from home and I have other areas of business I can work on, I can't imagine it's very much fun if your whole business eco system depends on decent weather though.

My life in general at the moment is pretty brilliant minus the irksome weather, my face is settling down after Friday's Facelift and I'm happier with no filters than I've been for a long time, it was even noticed on Saturday night , I guess it's easier for others to see it rather than me although I can definitely notice subtle differences, there are a couple of tiny areas I'm going to discuss with Dr Uzma and her team at my next appointment at the Queensway Skin Clinic but it was always the plan to be sensitive and then be topped up because it's much easier to have a little more than it is to start taking the fillers out again.  The swelling has completely gone now which is amazing and more than ever I'm trying to work on getting to the cause of Rosacea and although I know there's no cure I know there are products out there which can help massively.

This really was just a quick update, It's hard to write every day when life is going so well as it's not necessarily interesting for you to read articles which just say, life is good, life continues to be good, there's nothing groundbreaking and there are no huge plans, it's just nice though, steady and good and though there are some things I don't really talk about here, I will say that life is personally pretty perfect right now, I'm smiling a lot these days!

What's it really like to have dermal fillers?

If you've been following me on Instagram you may have already seen my stories sharing my progress on my non-surgical facelift journey, yesterday was the day of my appointment, I had Juvederm dermal fillers injected into my face at the Queensway Skin Clinic in Jesmond  and though it's too early to really reveal the final results I thought it might be handy to discuss how it really was, what happens at the appointment and how you're going to feel afterwards.

I don't think anyone should go ahead with this procedure without serious thought, you are after all about to have needles and catheters inserted in your face and whilst Dr Uzma Olbrich and her team are amazing, you should know that there are risks, I read through the consent forms three or four times so that I knew exactly the treatments I was about to undertake, let's just say, the decision to  alter with your face should never be taken lightly.  Thankfully Dr Uzma and her team made sure I was so well informed both at the first consultation and then again before any needles were inserted in my face.

So, I arrived at the practice and the first thing they did was take some photos with a macro ring flash, this helps the practitioner really see where the issues are and also it's a good record of your face before the treatment.  After the photos comes 15- 20 mins of sitting with a good cup of coffee whilst waiting for the numbing cream to work on your face.  This makes treatment much more comfortable although you should note that they are sticking cannulas and needles in your face so it's not completely pain free, I actually found it to be uncomfortable more than painful if that makes sense.

So after drawing on your face to mark out the treatment areas the first needles are inserted, you'll find they use a mix of needles and cannulas so they can direct the Juvederm gel into the right areas, I had a mix of Juvederm Voluma which is a non surgical cheek filler and I also had some Juvederm Volift which is lifting like the name suggests.

I would say the only really uncomfortable bit was on either side of my nose, V ouchie but it was the last bit and bearable, probably not quite as bad as an eyebrow wax really and I'm not hard as nails just in case you are wondering.  In fact I hate needles so I closed my eyes throughout.

The whole treatment probably lasted around 45 mins and the effects of dermal fillers can be immediate though I have to be honest, I couldn't tell any difference at all apart from the swelling and redness.

What Happens Next?

Afterwards you're advised to take it easy for the rest of the day and because there's local anaesthetic in the fillers you're face feels pretty weird, it feels tight and not quite your own and it's a challenge not to touch your skin for 6 hours.  You're also told to wear no makeup for the next 12 hours and it was a blessed relief to cover up my rosacea today.  You also can't lie down for 6 hours and I can't have a facial or massage for at least 2 weeks.  Today my face feels a little tender and a bit bumpy in places but that's just the swelling going down and the fillers settling.  The next 2-3 weeks is really going to be where the magic happens.  Firstly the fillers will settle and they'll also send signals to my own collagen to start producing again and my face should regain a fuller texture.  

I have to admit that I can't really see a difference at all, it is sensitively done though and I'm going back in 3 weeks when we'll decide if I need a top up  but when the work is complete (I know, I sound like I'm having building work done) I'm promised I'll look rested, younger and like I've had a really good holiday.

I'm not sure what I really expected straight after, I have joked that I would wake up looking like Amanda Holden but sadly I'm still me.  If I can look in the mirror in 3 weeks though and see myself how my face looked in my late 30's when I didn't feel the need to use filters then they'll have done their job.

I think it's very hard when you are having stuff like this done, you check in the mirror every few hours to see if the magic has happened yet but really I think it's only going to be in a few weeks that I'll look at one of the photos I took just after and be able to see any big changes or big to me, not big, it's supposed to be subtle after all.

I am being given a non-surgical facelift in exchange for telling my story and I'm so grateful to Doctor Uzma and all of her team for helping me reach my true potential and helping me to look into the mirror and see the best version of myself which at 44 isn't a bad thing at all.

How not to behave at a Sage Gateshead concert

My beloved RNS, please note, I'm not breaking any rules here, this was before the performance hence empty seats

I'm very lucky to freelance for a couple of fabulous north east sites reviewing concerts and events, namely NE Recommends and Nights Out In Newcastle, mostly at grown up, fabulous venue Sage Gateshead and occasionally at the Theatre Royal or the Whitley Bay Playhouse.  Last year I saw more music performances than I'd seen in my whole entire life, The Bootleg Beatles playing Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club, The Beach Boys, Elaine Paige and it's pretty well known that I am the original Royal Northern Sinfonia fan girl, I love live music.  I love orchestra's performing live, for me, the RNS can do no wrong, they could play the alphabet and they would still make the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.  I'm quite alright to miss ASMR which irritates the life out of me, just give me an orchestra performing music I love and I'm in Heaven.

Sage Gateshead is in my opinion one of the most splendid music venues in the whole world, indeed it was Ben Folds who called it one of the four best symphony halls in the whole world, it attracts all kinds of performers from the world of classical music right through to pop, each concert is unique and brings it's own kind of audience, it's not a shouting, getting drunk and trying to crowd-surf type of venue although on certain occasions certain audience members have seemed to think that's exactly what it is.  Behaving badly at concerts is one of my absolute pet peeves and I've seen some pretty awful behaviour over the last year, let me take you on a journey through things you should never do at a concert.

1. Do not go out drinking all day and turn up with your "bessie mates" whilst wearing reindeer antlers.

2. Do not shout at a woman who's irritated by you and threaten her with a fight mid concert.

3. Do not try and have sexual relations in the row in front of me after having way too much to drink

4. Don't get told off by stewards for putting your handbag on the stage.

5. Don't be that drunk middle aged couple swinging each other around taking photos of the crowd.

6. Don't try and film the entire concert on your big screened phone, it's on every door that video and photography generally allowed during the performance.

7. Don't spread eagle yourself and settle down for a nap during a classical performance.

8. Don't have a big old chatter throughout an intimate performance when you are sitting just above the performer who's trying to play the piano and sing.

9. Don't have a chat with your workmates who are sitting at the opposite side of the concert hall

10. Don't try to high five the band or climb on the stage during the performance, this is a grown up venue not the back room of a pub.

Now, I realise, I'm a grumpy middle aged woman but really, doing any of the above things will only lead to you being told off or possibly ejected from the hall and you've probably paid quite a lot of money for the tickets to that performance.  If you want to get rowdy, go to a venue which has a mosh pit but don't for the love of all that is music, do it at a grown up venue featuring world class performances.  I've seen children at playgroups behave better than some of the adults I've seen getting ejected from concerts I've been at.

Sage Gateshead is the most wonderful building, the most unique concert venue and it's home to our beloved RNS, don't let your behaviour spoil my most beloved concert venue in the whole world.

A dog friendly day out to Howarth, West Yorkshire

Sometimes you just need a day out with your dog to make the world a better place and Howarth in West Yorkshire is one of the most dog friendly villages I've ever visited with Holly Bobbins.

Haworth has long been connected to the Bronte sisters, they wrote many of their books at what is now the Bronte parsonage museum and pretty much every area of Bronte country is smattered with the heritage of this famous family, you can even travel the 43 miles of the Bronte Way should you feel like putting your walking boots on, perhaps that's why it's such a dog friendly place, you often find that places which welcome walkers have also cottoned on to the fact that many walkers have dogs with them and we live in a country where the weather isn't always kind.  When you want to enjoy a place with your dog you don't always want to sit outdoors.

I think it might be one of the most dog friendly places I've ever visited with Holly Bobbins, there were less shops, tea rooms and pubs which didn't welcome dogs than those with signs saying that our four pawed friends were most welcome.  

There's nothing that I enjoy more than an afternoon ambling around pretty little gift shops so if I can do it with my furry best friend then I'm declaring it to be the best village I've ever been to.

It's not just the dog friendly aspect that makes Haworth so very special though, it's in the pennines and quite high up, actually, the village is on a steep hill but it's all pedestrianised so you and your dog are safe at all times, it's also completely cobbled and very much like the set of a movie.  Parts of it reminded me of Beamish like the shop above which is set out like an apothecary and sells all kinds of magical wonders including loose bath salts in many varieties, Holly and I loved our wander inside, it was part Beamish, part Harry Potter, I like a place which feels full of magic.

After a dilly and a dally around the enchanted store we wandered the village and even though it was freezing cold with snow still lying in many areas we had a lovely time exploring this picturesque village which looks like it's a movie set from the 1940's.  If it does look familiar it could be that you've seen it when it was used as a set in many movies but most famously, The Railway Children was shot there.

I'm determined to make it back to Howarth in the summer months when no doubt it's a completely different village bustling with tourists and with steam trains regularly running all year around you can bet it's a hugely busy tourist destination.  Haworth for me, has everything, it's dog friendly, it's gloriously pretty and it's full to the brim with history so if you've never visited, get in the car and get there before the peak season.

My Mini Photo Shoot Schedule for 2018

Monday morning and all is quiet, so quiet that I don't seem to have written anything for nearly a week!  I'll be honest, last week was a huge challenge, several business things caused headaches, I had arguments with both of my lovely teens, I had a man fitting Sky Q which lead to having absolutely no internet for over 24 hours, not because we were changing over (heaven forbid no, Sky broadband is awful).  I'm not really sure what he did but our super fast broadband became super non existent and then the Hive installation engineer turned up so I ended up sorting out lots of things via the phone which I hate but now our house is well on it's way to being fully automated, which depending on your point of view is either terrifying or quite exciting.  The smart lighting is next followed by individual smart thermostats but they're not cheap and I'm saving for a Canon 24-70mm f2.8L MkII, go click the link and have a look at the price, it's quite scary but I've had one on hire for the last couple of weeks and I know it's going to be the best lens for my business and I.

Yesterday for anyone who wants to get ahead with booking their 2018 mini photo shoot, I finally published my mini photo shoot schedule right up until the end of September 2018, if you click that link it will have all of the places and dates plus a link to book and tell me what time you would like, it's the most bodacious move I've ever made and when they're gone, they are gone, I'm booking no more until the Oct/Nov/Dec period but I really didn't want to publish those just yet as it feels like I'm wishing the year away already.

Speaking of which, I currently have no travel plans for this year, you might remember that I booked a cruise with Abigail but then she asked if I could cancel it as she'll be at a "really important" Youth Parliament thing and I know for her this is once in a lifetime where as you can go on a cruise any time you want now so I took one on the chin and cancelled but it does make me crave for travel on a daily basis currently.  I currently have a couple of trips I'd like to do with Looby, one of which we're going to be talking about this week, Looby has an interest in geography, rural studies and of course all things horse and countryside so I'm going to try and plan a week travelling Scotland and will hopefully make it on a couple of train journeys I've always wanted to take but haven't so far, those being the West Highland line and the Far North railway line.  I'm hoping we can take Holly Bobbins along too and stay in some lovely dog friendly places, if you have any recommendations please do let me know in the comments.

This week is the week everything should start to change, we are on the downhill slope into spring and I for one am so ready, spring is my favourite season and the one which makes me the bounciest happiest lady in the whole of the north, fancy skipping into the spring flowers with me?

Holly Bobbins Vs The Shark

Holly Bobbins, my most beautiful and beloved four pawed side kick, she's funny and cuddly, she makes more mess than the kids with her toy collection and she sheds so much that every week her hair could make an entirely new dog.

It makes me thankful that we have no carpets although we do have a rug in our lounge...

Every morning and evening in her daily ritual Holly likes to sit on the rug, then she rolls over onto her back and moves around the rug like she's doing some kind of synchronised rug dance and all the while making a sound that sounds a little like "omonomonomomnom" . I'm fairly sure it's a beagle thing and it means she's happy.

This brings me to the next part of my story, we'd been for our break at Cross House cottages and returned early afternoon to a delivery of a "Shark DuoClean Powered Lift-Away Upright Vacuum Cleaner with True Pet NV801UKT" try saying that when you've had a couple of drinks.  from what I'd read, this Vacuum cleaner was about to revolutionise my life, never had I been quite so excited to hoover.  Now I should add that my lovely lady who helps with the housekeeping had just hoovered the rug the day before we returned from our soiree so you would expect it wouldn't be all that bad.

What actually happened was that after 1 hoovering run over our rug,  and lounge and kitchen floors where we have no carpets the entire compartment was full, to the brim, I wasn't even sure where it had all come from but it seems like we were living in the dust bunnies favourite holiday spot.  As you know, I also have 2 cats, Poppy and Pyracantha so they add to the dust but never did I imagine that the issue was as bad as it clearly was.

look, I'm sure I could tell you all kinds of technical things but from my point of view, it hoovers like it's an industrial power house without actually making very much noise at all, it's all completely collapsible so you can easily hoover stairs, under chairs, in your car, in the world of hoovers, this thing is at the very top of it's game.  Now far be it from me to tell you to ditch your Dyson but seriously, who wouldn't want a shark around the house and if you have a beagle, this thing is a necessary part of your life.

Go, go now, go get one and you can thank me later...

This is the Year Everything Changes...

Last year, around this time, I had a night out with Harriet, it was the last night out I would have until New Years Eve that wasn't work related, I worked every single weekend apart from one in July when I was in France with Abigail and I was working Saturdays and Sundays with up to 20 sessions every week, I loved it and it was all fine until I crashed and burned in October.  Now thanks to the brutal weather conditions we've had this winter, I've only shot 4 sessions since before Christmas but it hasn't mattered as I've been growing my businesses in other directions and also generally recovering.  I've also enjoyed some fabulous Saturday nights out that I wouldn't have had if I'd been working on the Sunday such is my commitment to my business.

This year, I'm making some big changes so that I can find the balance between still running the businesses that I adore and also having a quality of personal life which should in unison make me the happiest I've ever been.

Last year mini photo shoots, small 30 minute sessions costing £100 including the digital images which save around £200ish off the list price were the success of my business and I believe that there is a need for these in the North East of England and so starting this spring I will be offering them on selected dates only.  I'll shoot either 2 or 3 dates a month leaving the other days for writing, blogging and commercial photography.  I've found a love for lifestyle product photography and I think I can bring something different in my own style to the market.  I used to run a design team many years ago for a scrapbooking supply company and I've found that the way I style products is much the same, it's been the biggest revelation to me but Looby particularly loves it because although I'm still working hard, it's from my home.

I used to photograph products many years ago when I had a studio but it was a boring and thankless task, thankfully lifestyle product photography is a whole lot more fun and with companies catching onto the concept that a simple pack shot isn't good enough anymore, I believe there's a rising need for creative photography.  That brings me to my other point, I love food, we all know this but I want to grow that side of my blog because writing about it, eating it, doing creative things with it, this is the life I want.

I also want to make sure my blog is more focused than ever so I'm currently trying to work on which niches I fit into, I know I want to make it Food, Travel and something else, I'm not sure if Food, Travel and Lifestyle work though because isn't lifestyle a big bunch of everything anyway?  if you have any thoughts do let me know in the comments below.

Last year was really the year I got my stuff together and this year is an extension of that plan.  I'm not offering weekday portrait sessions at all this year as I want to concentrate on not only working from home but also on Looby's education.  After 12 years I've realised I cannot be everything to everybody and it's time to take a few calculated risks even if it means taking a cut in income.  Income though, whilst a necessary evil which pays the bills and allows us to do nice stuff, well it isn't the be all and end all.  I learnt many years ago that there are more important things and whilst I have that second chance, I'm never letting work crush the essence of living again.

I'm also taking on more small weddings, again I've found a need in the wedding market for high quality photography in smaller timescales, so my 2, 3 and 4 hour shorter wedding photography packages cater exactly for that.

So much good stuff is happening in my life right now, I smile every day and even my anxiety has completely subsided, it's like a miracle and there were times when I didn't ever see that happening again.  It's just the start though and there's still much to do, and so much to achieve, hang onto your hat though, as the best, is most definitely yet to come.