#nurture1415

When I wrote my #nurture1314 post last year, it was a matter of days before my 2014 was turned upside down. 2014 has easily been the most difficult year of my life so far. It tested my character, my faith, my mentality and relationships with friends and family. But there were many moments of joy also and, in the long run, it could be a year that I needed.

A brief reflection on 2014
Life: Let's focus on the most positive aspects of this past year. One of my best friends gave birth to 2 beautiful baby girls who will brighten up anybodies dark days. I got to go to Paris and Disneyland with more best friends over Halloween which was just as much fun to countdown to as it was actually going. I met the most wonderful guy in the middle of everything who is a gentleman and who makes me smile all the time.

Work/School: I continue to love my job. My contract was extended last year, just like I hoped it would be. It felt great knowing that the hard work paid off and that my skills and enthusiasm were noticed and valued. My results were relatively good and my lessons are improving. I have gotten used to taking the extra half hour after school to plan a lesson in a little more detail and I made purposeful use of resources I had bookmarked and ideas I found on networking sites like Pinterest or twitter.

Health: Still fluctuating in this area, but there are improvements. I have a gym membership which I make good use of, except in December! I still eat too much take out food but I buy less processed foods. I walk more like I said I would, probably because it is the only Sunday afternoon activity we could ever think of! My interest in beauty blogs peaked also, most of which incorporate healthy lifestyles with skincare and haircare as well as current trends in make-up and style. I have enjoyed learning about the art of make up and skincare and finding great products for my own skin and, most importantly, the confidence that the right approach and mindset towards beauty can give a woman.

Looking forward to 2015
#5minjournal challenge: My cousin (@cathrynlavery); entrepreneur, founder of calmtheham.com and author over at littlemight.com bought me the five minute journal for Christmas. It encourages you to take a few minutes at the beginning and end of your day to think about what would make your day great and what would have made that day better. It's very like keeping a gratitude journal, an exercise I know some my friends have made use of and appreciate greatly. I'm committing to using the journal for 6 months in the hope that I can adopt a slightly more positive mentality towards all things.

Work/School: The government has recently announced a cut in education budgets of 7% per pupil. What does this mean for me? It means my job is not secure, regardless of dedication, results, consistency or performance. Going into 2015, I must remain confident in my skill set and career choice and make sure, if I do end up with an un-renewed contract, that I have done everything in my power to ensure otherwise. No regrets. This aside, I would like to be better at sharing resources or ideas with my colleagues. I'm very lucky to work in a collaborative, open-minded post-primary department and I have no issues sharing my work but I'm not good at thinking to do it at the time. With an exam specification change on the cards, it's the perfect time to better share my ideas and creativity within my department and the online teaching community. I'm also helping with ICT development within my department this year and, in the new year, I would like to dedicate alot more time to this aspect of the job, just researching what other teachers and schools are doing and finding really effective ways to use ICT purposefully to enhance teaching and learning in Chemistry specifically.

#noexcuses: Apparently willpower is a limited resource similar to a muscle that tires with use. Stress and busy everydays make it difficult for me to resist temptation and usually results in me signing onto nifty nosh or asos for a cheeky online shopping spree. Last year, I had so much going on personally that the health and fitness kicks were fleeting and often set on the back burner. My job and relationships came first and I don't regret that. This year, I have the spare head space and accountability with friends to make it stick a little more.

And before I go, there are a few other things worth mentioning that I am super excited for! My birthday next week should soften the blow heading back to school. A little trip to Poland to visit my parents with that wonderful guy I mentioned. Bridesmaid duties for another best friend in April; it's going to be such a fun hen weekend and wedding. And that's only between now and April!