#careergirlchallenge Day 19

I literally just finished attempting to complete a 20 minute cardio workout with no running. It sounded perfect because my crackly knees really dislike running on hard surfaces like the road or the treadmill. It was awful! I only lasted 12 minutes. The first 10 minute circuit was so horrendous, I didn't feel motivated to complete the second which was exactly the same.

I don't know about anybody else but I enjoy variety in my diet and exercise. If it's the same thing over and over, either in between workouts or within the one workout I lose interest and motivation. It's another reason I hate running. It's also why I think I'm a good teacher...my lessons are always different because I know my own concentration trends and patterns. 

Yesterday was a dumbell workout which lasted 15 minutes and tomorrow will be a rest day. It's now just 18 days til summer holiyays so I'm feeling the pressure to do something most days...

(Photo not my own) 

#careergirlchallenge Day 16 update

I can't believe it's Day 16. Summer holidays have started and my first week has been filled with friends and weddings and to-do lists and it's been exciting and relaxing all at the same time.

I'm still challenging myself to get fit but I have veered away from the original plan. My diet is all over the place because my summertime involves so many coffee dates and lunches with friends and dinner date nights but it's the fitness I bought in to. I found that the exercises on the career girl info-graphic didn't take very long so I looked for something more substantial and more sweaty. For instance, today I used my Popsugar Fitness app and I did a 10 minute cardio workout followed by a 10 minute leg workout. On Monday, I tried a 30 minute bikini body workout which incorporated 10 minutes core-work, 10 minutes cardio and 10 minutes working the arms and shoulders. Not everyone will have time for this, but if you do, I highly recommend it. I promise you'll break a sweat and that's how you know it's worthwhile.

I've also tried a new app, Dietbet, inspired by biggest loser contestants Olivia and Hannah from season 11. I loved watching their journey on YouTube last summer so I'm looking forward to trying this out. Basically I've bet £20 that I can lose 7 pounds in 4 weeks and so have 195 other people. That adds up to about £3900. At the end of 4 weeks, this total is split between everybody who achieves their goal. Sounds good to me! As I've said before, it's all about accountability so if you can spare £20, why not try it once?

It's only 3 weeks today before I fly away to Lanzarote so the countdown is on. What's your motivation this summer?

#careergirlchallenge Day 9

Few days away...and a day behind my challenge! Sunday was supposed to be a 20 minute run. I spent the day with 22 teenagers helping them to paddle 17 kilometres in a canoe up the River Bann so I thought that covered me for a run. 

And here's a question...what do you do on a day like yesterday where you're up at 6:30 and out of the house til 23:30? Do you really start planking and mountain climbing so late at night when you're so tired? Or get up 20 minutes earlier again when you know you don't function before 8am? I haven't worked this out yet, any reassurance or advice is welcome.

Tomorrow I will be cardio-ing and catching up on my strength exercises (planks, mountain climbers and tricep dips) and will be back on track with nothing but time to spare now that schools out for summer.

Did I mention that school's out for summer?

#careergirlchallenge Day 6

Who knew 50 high kicks (each leg!) would be so tough! But it did loosen up the hip joints and stretch the hammies which felt good. Then the Russian twists were a killer. I used a 2kg weight and after the first set of 25 I kept my feet on the ground. 

My advice for today...check on YouTube or Pinterest what each exercise actually is. My boyfriend and I had completely different ideas of what high kicks and Russian twists were!! 

#careergirlchallenge Day 5

Still going! The meal plan hasn't been working out so well for me with so many social events this week but I'm still finding time to follow the fitness plan which was my priority. And any week where I try 2 new recipes as part of an attempted meal plan is a good one.

Today I had to get my boyfriend involved to get me motivated. It's Friday, it's so close to the end of term and I'm running on empty. He knows I'm not very confident and we both know we eat too much rubbish when we're together so he's very supportive of the challenge. So after clarifying what a proper squat was (I'm slightly disadvantaged due to my very short legs!) we did 2 circuits of 10 squats, burpees and high knees. It didn't take very long but the heart rate was up and there was sweat on the brow.

Looking forward to a lie in tomorrow and getting my exercises done at the start of the day for a change. 

#careergirlchallenge Day 3

I'm going to be honest, today wasn't great. I considered not journaling because I was disappointed with myself for the tortilla chips I munched on at break time and the cheeky hot apple pie I had after dinner. But what's the use in that? Instead let's focus on a few positives...

After a bad case of the munchies during school I came home with a craving for a take out dinner. Normally I'd give in with little persuasion necessary but tonight I defrosted some chicken and cooked up a stir fry with some broccoli (I'm aiming for some superfood everyday). 

Temptation resisted. 

I also did my 50 burpees and 50 kick back crunches, split over 4 circuits and that felt good. Moral of the day...stay accountable and don't let a few munchies write off an entire day.

#careergirlchallenge Day 2

 

Day 2...trumped by brownies at break. I don't know about staff rooms in other work places but in schools, they are the worst for lovely baked goods and boxes of chocolates and biscuits. They're also full of women trying to be 'good' but that's another story.

My colleague and fellow Chemistry teacher is retiring this year, with only a few days left and she happens to make the best brownies I ever tasted. I might not have the chance for a while to enjoy them so I did today. Some of you might say it's an excuse? Others will agree with me that getting healthy can't mean cutting out the things you love. It's keeping these things you love a treat, so you enjoy them even more. With the end of the academic year looming, there's lots of parties and cakes at break. What's a girl to do? 

The rest of my day 2 has been good. 2 litres of water and a much more substantial meal plan...fruit and Greek yoghurt for brekkie, leftover steak and parsnip chips for lunch and nuts to munch on. I substituted a 20 minute run for a 20 minute HIIT workout because running on tarmac hurts my knees. The workouts on the Popsugar Active app are great.

And after I've showered the sweat of the day away, I'm going to cook up a sweet potato and spinach frittata and curl up on the sofa with my boyfriend. Not a bad Day 2. Bring on Day 3. 

#careergirlchallenge Day 1

I know all about healthy lifestyles; the key points, the benefits, the struggles. I follow so many instagram and twitter accounts that post 'motivational' quotes and pictures throughout the day. I enjoy planning and pinning a healthy lifestyle, but I haven't gotten around to seeing it through. Lately, I've been feeling very lethargic, un-motivated and so so tired. At the same time I started to follow a great blog, www.careergirldaily.com and I've decided to have a go at their 30 day fitness challenge. My objective? To feel good. Happy. Confident. Motivated.

Today was Day 1. Everybody loves Day 1. I started with hot lemon water instead of my morning coffee. I've actually been doing this one for a while, ever since Lauren Conrad posted about the benefits on her blog. I blended up some raspberry and chia seed jam for the week and brought some gluten-free bread for lunch. I snacked on fruit and nuts and carried my water, infused with blackberries, all day. I cooked up some steak with parsnip chips for dinner and followed the workout plan with my 2 60 sec planks (which I hated) and my 50 crunches. And for a wee sweet treat to finish a good day, I tried a square of dark chocolate which was actually really good.

How do I feel after Day 1? I feel good but I did feel hungry, like I didn't eat enough. So I've planned ahead for tomorrow to see if I can eat at more regular intervals. I continue to feel slightly concerned at how costly these plans can be, keeping cupboards stocked with fresh (and perishable) produce but we'll see if that's something that irons itself out as the month goes on.

Anybody reading? It's not too late to sign up. Anybody else participating? Journal and share about it and let me know.

New Year Resolutions

A good resolutions is a realistic one. For example, I'm not going to resolve to going to the gym everyday, because that will never happen and I'll feel like a failure. What I can maybe do is drink more water (and just go the gym when I can). It won't give me the same abs of steel, but it will make me healthier. So here are my small, achievable resolutions for 2015:

A habit I want to break....eating when I'm bored.

A destination I want to visit....London.

I want to work harder at....taking photo's more often.

A project I want to finish...the 2 large, empty photo frames in my living room!

I want to spend more time...blogging.

And I want to cook more foods!

Small, achievable goals. Happy New Year folks!

#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!

Back with a Quiet Bang

It's been a year since I last blogged and it's been a game-changing one. Very soon after writing my #nurture1314 post, I found out something that was going to change my life forever. I realise this is a sweeping statement, but it's true. As a result of the events in the beginning of 2014, my character, my faith and my relationships have been challenged and strengthened. I have worked very hard to make sure some very personal issues haven't affected my job, my relationships or my mentality. This took more energy than it ever has before and things like blogging and taking photo's took a backseat.

My interests have also changed. My blog has always been very general with a small readership of mostly friends and family. It didn't have a theme or a focus but I worked hard on it and I was proud of it. I considered setting up a new blog for 2015, to accommodate some new ideas and aspirations, but have now decided to stick it out here and see what happens.

Over the next few weeks I hope to revamp and update many components of this blog and will make better use of labels so that you can read the posts that interest you. If you do stumble across this blog, please don't hesitate to get in touch via twitter (@MissDebLowry) or leave a comment below.

#nurture1314

For the past 2 weeks or so, the #nurture1314 hashtag has been popping up in my twitter feed; designed to encourage teachers to share more and better collaborate through the use of online blogs and teaching communities. Although my blog is not a teaching blog, I thought it was a wonderful concept and a better way to resolve and aspire into 2014.

A brief reflection on 2013
Work: I'm nearly halfway through my third year of teaching yet this is my first working in the same school for an entire academic year (and getting paid for it, but that's another post). Up until now it's been maternity covers and sick leaves. Mostly positive experiences but always temporary. Despite this, 2013 has been an affirming year career wise and left me feeling quite content going into the Christmas break. I absolutely love teaching and every nature of the job. The incubation period is over, I feel more confident with every passing term and its comforting to feel established in a career you've worked hard for and chosen for yourself.

Health: No diet fads or crazy boot camp style exercising for me, just everything in moderation. I don't enjoy exercise or healthy eating, but this year I started to appreciate how important it is for my health, mood, skin, hair etc. I find it all very time consuming and expensive considering the work that comes home with me, the fact that I live and eat alone most days and my lack of will power. You'll not catch me running or hitting up the gym unless something's really pissed me off. I like the comfort of a gym class or friends to work out with to make the experience less annoying. I did, however, start a Pilates class just for me this year and I love it. It's beneficial and relaxing and one of my favorite hours in the week some weeks.

Church: 2013 has felt more positive with regards to 'church'. When I say 'church', I'm referring to my attendance, involvement, quality of quiet times etc. Before this year, I found myself feeling frustrated with church life. With the introduction of a cafe-style church and a young adults small group continuing to meet regularly, I feel good about where we're going and I feel good that there are still a small group of people that care about sustaining our demographic here.

Travel: 2013 was another great year for plane rides and photo's of faraway places. I started the year in Paris (at Disneyland!) and flew to New York City for a wedding in the Poconos. With my parents living in Poland, I've visited Warsaw twice this year. And a sun holiday to Tunisia turned out to be one of the best girls holidays I've ever been on. Very different places, equally special memories.

Looking forward to 2014:
Work: I love the days when I drive home from school thinking how much I like my job. I just want to keep enjoying it. I do hope that my current contract is extended because I particularly love the school I'm in right now so I guess I'm going to work so hard to make sure I have no regrets whatever happens. I think there's a little wiggle room in terms of the number of hours I put into things like teaching resources and out-of-the-box activities. I'm good at my job but a huge part of that, I suspect, is the great rapport I have with most of my pupils but I don't want to solely depend on that. I want to start implementing new strategies, perfecting what I'm already doing and thinking up brand new ideas. Even if it means sacrificing another hour in the evening.

Health: My body is excited to get back to it's routine and normal food intake. I used to be able to eat crap, stay up late, wake up late and spend my days doing nothing but watching DVD boxsets and feel great about it. Not anymore. This year I have a little motivational wall with pictures of salads and toned bodies and quotes about hard work and perseverance and I'm ready to go. One specific goal? I want to walk more great walks. Beautiful walks, interesting walks, walks in new places, walks with friends and walks alone.

Church: I've become so focused on 'adult' things and the future that my relationship with God has become a little boring. I have a fairly solid foundation with God and numerous experiences, happy and sad, to build on but I think I've been taking him for granted. I think that when you know somebody is in your life forever, it's very easy to become complacent and prioritize things that are far less certain. It's the control freak in all of us. But this year, I must try to dig a little deeper. It's all become a little stale. Like popcorn left overnight; still sweet but no crunch. .

Travel: I'm very excited about this one! This summer, I'm taking a team of teens to India. I don't know how much traveling I'll be able to do outside of this trip but my goal, for quite a few years now, has been one new adventure each year and trekking in the Himalayas and working in schools there alongside a group of irish kids from cross communities seems like a fairly epic adventure to me.

A wee update

"Any craic?". I've been asked this question 5 times in the last 12 hours! Sometimes it makes me feel bad because the answer is usually "nope" or "not really" or "well, I changed my shampoo and I like it"! Maybe if I was living a big city, corporate lifesyle, things would be different and my blog would be more of an interesting read. But I don't live big city life. In fact, I live in a pretty regular suburban town and teach chemistry in a country school. I go to church on a Sunday. I try to eat right and exercise regularly. I try to be thankful everyday and only complain in the company of my very closest friends. It's not an exciting life but it's a happy one most of the time.

But I do have some news! After just 2 months in my new job, which I utterly love, I have been asked to lead a student team to India next summer. It started in September with an email and its all snowballed very quickly from there. But going into half term, I've said yes, I've picked my team, consent forms are signed and deposits are down. And I have a really great feeling about it.

When I traveled home from Vancouver nearly 5 years ago, the one thing I told myself was 'no matter what, don't lose what you found'. My experiences living and working in Canada molded my personality, my identity, my confidence and much of how my life has turned out since then.

I found out that I love to travel, that I love not for profit work and that I'm good at it. I found out how much I loved God and how much He loves me. I discovered how hard I can work, the importance of resilience and that there are options outside of getting married and settling down after university. I discovered who my truest friends were and made new friends who, although I don't get to see them very often at all, I will forever share some very funny, very special memories with.

But when I came home, things didn't work themselves out very quickly. I found it really difficult to settle. It was slow and boring and uncomfortable and there didn't seem to be any opportunities. I tried to go back to Vancouver, only to be devastated when it fell through last minute. I waitress-ed for a bit and the coffee was good but I was hardly changing the world. I tried similar after school programs here at home and it was fun but it wasn't quite hitting the spot. So I got myself back on track with teacher training and things began to shift slowly but to succeed in teaching here in NI, I had to stay focused, keep my feet on the ground literally and it all felt like lots of perseverance and slow results.

But finally, I have reached a point in my early career where I can combine my teaching with my love of travel and non-profit project. As I get ready to embark on fundraising and team building and all those things, it feels like there might have been a framework in place. I just couldn't always see it on a day to day basis. My job still isn't permanent, and there are still many aspects of life I'm working on but I wanted 2013 to be a game changing year and it just might be. Not an epic game, but a winning game all the same.

Writer's block

I've tried to blog so many times this summer but every time I start, I can't think of anything to say. Now it's the beginning of the end of summer and life is about to get crazy busy once again. But I have realised something in the last wee while. When you take work away for 2 months, there are 2 very different sides to me and as I get older, they appear to be getting more extreme. Not in an evil Jekyll and Hyde way, or a creepy schizophrenic way, just in a more normal way. It seems that I'm either a superly motivated, hardworking, busy busy bee or I'm the laziest son of a bitch you ever did see (ha...I'm rhyming).

Exhibit A: week beginning 12th August 2013, entitled my most laziest of weeks. This week, I have spent most of my time in bed or on the sofa watching 'How I met your mother', browsing Pinterest (where I've practically planned my entire wedding twice over, what my kids bedrooms will look like, what I will be eating for dinner til Christmas and a virtual wardrobe much cooler than my own), eating bagels because it's the only food source in my flat right now and explaining to my cat why this is perfectly acceptable behaviour because it's summer. He wasn't convinced.

Exhibit B: week beginning 22nd July, 2013. Just a few weeks prior to my most laziest week, I was abnormally productive. I was like a Duracell bunny with too many batteries. I had been on holiday for a week with the girls (whole other story) and to get over the post holiday blues, I gutted out every single inch of my apartment. There is not one drawer, cupboard or shelf that isn't immaculately clean and organised. I donated, recycled and dumped half of everything I own and now life feels a little less cluttered. Forget therapy my friends...just clean yo house.

So you see, if you had met me in July you might of thought I was an intensely organised freak of nature who needed to rethink their definition of 'summer holiday'. And if you met me this week, you might of thought I was in need of some tough love...get up, put some clothes on, run a mile, you look like shit, that kind of love.

But all I can say is that I'm sorry to those who had to meet the more extreme parts of my personality and that I'm actually looking forward to getting back to school. I'm a much more balanced person when I'm working and I'm optimistic that this year will be a good one. Fingers crossed I'm not blogging next month about how optimism sucks (spoof).

A Pocono Wedding

I spent last weekend in New York; my cousin asked me to be her Maid of Honor and it was a lovely experience, well worth the calender count down. She put together a very beautiful day and the pictures I took of the venue and her dress and my dress don't do any of it justice.

New York City isn't my favorite place in the world but I always look forward to a few days there. There are some awesome things to see and this busy electric atmosphere that's so different from Belfast but I always feel quite uncomfortable there. Like I don't belong. Compared to Vancouver...I wanted to move their after a week. But I had to ask myself, sitting in my classroom this week, is life a little too comfortable here sometimes?

Over the wedding weekend, I met musicians, costume designers, comedians, PR agents and lots of architects working in big cities all over the world. Teacher didn't seem to quite measure up. Don't get me wrong; I love my job and will never be ashamed to be a teacher, but it's not glamorous. Most people I met were older than me, busier than me and definitely able to party harder than me.

Five years ago, if I'd gone on this trip I would have come home feeling bored, restless and full of regret. This week I came home and looked forward to my summer at home with the friends I have here, having spent a lovely, happy few days with my whole extended family. It's too easy to let everyday problems detract from how you feel about your life overall. Remove yourself for a few days and you'll know whether you're on the right track or if you need a small detour.

For now, I think I'm on the right track.