Tips for getting back on track

1. List anything you feel went out of control. 
Seeing it on paper will help, and will allow you to look at this and take each hurdle individually, giving your mind clear space to start making solutions. List beside each 'problem' what actions you can take to make that 'problem' disappear.

2. Take 30 minutes to meal plan your next week.
This step is crucial if your diet is what's been let go. Take a look, with your planner, at any social commitments you have coming up in the next week and how this will affect your meals, and plan accordingly. This might mean batch cooking and timing things to be taken out of the freezer, or it might mean having to rejig your cooking time to make sure you have dinner ready earlier than you usually would. Whatever system you use, make sure you face the next week with a meal plan for each day (including snacks) and a grocery shop done to make sure you have what you need to get back on track.

3. Plan, plan, plan. 
Make your to-do list for the week, and slot these tasks into your planner, so you know what needs to be done each day. You will feel much better when you are on top of your to-do list.

4. Get back into a routine.
Your body works best when it's in a routine, so try to keep to the same bedtime and same getting up time as far as possible. It takes 21 days to make a habit, so let this be the month you get your body clock regulated.

5. Schedule in me-time.
This is so, so important. It is easy to get overwhelmed and to burn the candle at both ends. It is so important to schedule in time to look after yourself, mentally and physically. Take a look at your planner for the next week and make sure to schedule in physical and mental me-time. On a weekly basis, I block out certain time spots when I turn my phone on to airplane mode and make sure I cannot be disturbed. I will block off time to read, to have a bath, to do a face mask and a bit of meditation, to take my dog for a walk. Anything that relaxes you, keeps your interests up, and gives you time to reset. Also important is to schedule exercise, at which I am getting better. Block off an appointment with yourself, and show up.

6. Inspire yourself.
Google inspirational quotes. Pinterest some pictures of your goals, create a vision board. Every day, remember where you want to be and remember what you need to do to get there. Nothing is more important than making yourself happy and proud. Grow continually. Time is something you cannot save and cannot get back, so use it wisely to be the best you can be.

January's resolution review

So can you believe the first month of 2016 is hurtling towards the finish line? The end of January is the longest awaited end of any month in the year! Dark days, cold weather, with no twinkling Christmas lights to brighten the place up - let alone the fact that the last pay day was a thousand years ago. Alas, rejoice! For we are nearly *nearly* into spring. If you squint your eyes enough... you can nearly see it!

So I want to take one new resolution each month and build up each one, seeing how I am faring. I promise - even if it's not good - to give you an honest review of how I'm doing.

The first resolution I had in 2016 was to use my planner, that I had set up on google docs for myself. I have split this up into four tabs per week. First - an overview of my goals for the week, split into time management, financial goals, work goals, personal goals, weight loss goals, and rewards for meeting all of these. This is a really helpful page that keeps me accountable through the week about what I want to achieve and how I am going to get there. I do an overall page at the start of the month with three goals in the month that I really want to achieve, so these will all feed into these overall monthly goals in some way.

Second tab contains a breakdown of each day Fri-Thursday. I start my week on a Friday as this is my weigh in day. Each day starts with my meal plan, then my to do list for that day, followed by my main goal for this day. After this I have a checklist, loosely based on Keri Glassman's eight pillars, except I have nine. My pillars are: drink up, eat empowered, love more, nurture yourself, feed your brain, sleep deep, stress less, sweat often and daily time goals. By reviewing each of these for 5 minutes at the end of each day, it helps me feel accountable and reflect on a daily basis how I am managing all of these. There is also a space at the bottom to reflect on what was good and what I wasn't so keen on in the day.

The third tab is my daily time goals. Here I record roughly how much time I have spent doing all the things I want to make space for in my life. Things like reading my books, my magazine, walking my dog, exercising, sleeping, etc. This helps me on a weekly basis work out where I want to spend more time the following week, or what might not have got enough attention on the previous week.

The fourth tab for any given week is a reflection on the week gone past. Here I review (and give a score out of 5) whether I was bored - excited, unhappy - happy, tired - energetic, stressed - calm, unhealthy - healthy. Then there is text space with the following headers, where I make more journal-like notes: 'Good things about this week', 'Negative things about this week', 'Positive things about the negatives' and 'Things I will improve next week'.

So overall I think I have been doing a pretty good job. I am finding it hardest remembering to complete this before I go to sleep, so that is something I want to try to make more of a habit in February. So far, 2016, so good.

Christmas in Toronto - trip report

In the air

PRESENTS

It seems but a distant memory now, but only a few weeks ago I was preparing (with my bronchitis in tow) to head off to the cool and snowy climes of Toronto, Canada. My parents live there, as I have mentioned before, and I have visited a good few times before. Notably, once at Christmas in 2012 when the love of my life asked me to be his wife. Toronto is like a second home to me and I love going there so much.

It's such an energetic city, with a lot of heart and kindness, which sounds odd for a city. But, trust me. Go there and you will see. The people make it, and it helps that it's so pretty.

We flew direct with Air Canada Rouge from Dublin, which is great on one hand as we don't have to faff about in London, Amsterdam or Montreal (as we have in the past) and the flight is only 7 hours long. On the other hand, Air Canada Rouge is not the best airline to travel with, somewhere between Ryanair and Aer Lingus, but it is cheap. In all I think our flights cost £690 return (for the both of us). So I can't complain!

We landed to unseasonably warm weather on the 23rd December, the day before Christmas Eve. My parents live downtown, and we got there around mid-afternoon. My brother and his fiancée arrived the evening before us, and were there to greet us as well. It was a lovely day spent catching up, laughing, settling in, going for a swim in the building's pool and a dip in the hot tub, before a lovely wine and dine and an early night ready for Christmas Eve - only my favourite day of the year.

Brookfield Place

We started the day, as is now tradition in our family when we are in TO, with breakfast at Marché in Brookfield Place on Bay Street. We love this place, not purely for the novelty either! The set up inside is amazing - each station is like its own separate market stall, selling its wares. Each diner in the party gets a card, which is swiped when they add an item from that stall. The food is also really good - and particularly the breakfast offerings, though I would definitely advise trying to get there before 10.30am. Christmas Eve was the most magical day. We went to the city Christmas carol service which is held annually at City Hall, before wandering around the shops, visiting the infamous Bay Window and stocking up on mince pies and mulled wine to bring home for the evening. When we got home, we chilled out all afternoon, I had a bath and a read, and headed up for our traditional Christmas Eve supper of Spaghetti Bolognese. (What else?) Dad has a little vegetable patch in the city, and he made his own sauce with tomatoes he had grown there, and Christmas pasta I had brought over for the occasion. We played party games, ate gorgeous food and drank gorgeous wine, before we all changed into our PJs, made mulled wine, laid out all our Christmas snacks and stuck on Elf. It really was the perfect Christmas Eve.

Happy Christmas

Christmas day was a marathon present opening session, and a marathon eating and drinking day. We had all the traditional bits: turkey, ham, three types of stuffing... the dinner of champions, and the one you look forward to all year! We napped, took a nice walk, and did all the traditional Christmas Day things with the family. It was a lovely day.

The rest of the week we spent relaxing, visiting some nice restaurants and bars. We had a great meal at Wurst, which is a German restaurant in the city. They specialise in sausages and beer - so it's obviously amazing. But the star of the show was definitely the duck fat fries on offer, DO NOT PASS THESE UP. Far.too.good.

I love this city, and will definitely be back. We have lovely memories of Christmas 2015.

Toronto on Christmas evening

Toronto on Christmas evening

New Year's Resolutions

Well, hello! It's been a while and I feel like we have some catching up to do. Christmas break was wonderful, I enjoyed some real time out with my loved ones and even though I had bronchitis again over Christmas, I tried not to let it spoil anything too much. My hubby and I spent a lovely week in Toronto with my mum and dad, brother and his fiancée. I will have a trip report for you in the coming couple of weeks with all the things we got up to. Coming back to Ireland was nice, as we got a few days before we were back to work to spend with my in-laws, and of course with our beloved puppy who was staying with family when we were gone, and was well and truly spoiled.

I love New Year. I feel the need here to separate New Year's Eve and New Year as a concept. I hate going out on NYE - much preferring to relax at home and take stock of the past year and the year to come. This year we were invited to a family party, so I didn't get my evening in that I love! But the party was lovely and the craic was good, Sin-é. On the run up to a new year, (concept, not party) I always start reflecting on where I am and where I want to be, like approximately 95% of the rest of the world's population. This year, I have come up with 12 new year's resolutions which I will try to uphold each month, and each month I plan to check in with you and tell you HONESTLY how I am doing with each one.

So, in no particular order:

1. Planner - I have devised a planner on Google Docs which week-by-week will help me sort out everything I need to be doing, what I am planning to eat, etc. There is also space for little gratitudes each day. I intend to spend 5 minutes before getting up and 5 minutes before I fall asleep going over this and making sure I am on track for the next day or day ahead.

2. Time goals - I want to spend more time doing the things I love. I love the movies, and walking my dog, and I love listening to and practising my French and German (which I studied at university and which completely lapse if you don't maintain them - like I have been allowing to happen). I love my magazines and my books, as you know, and I love blogging and want to make more time for it. I have a target of minutes or hours I want to spend doing the things I love and I am going to try to keep up with that each week.

3. Make lunches the night before - In an effort to remain more organised, I plan to have my lunch packed and in the fridge the night before work, instead of scrambling to sort it in the morning.

4. Blogging - within my planner (see 1) I have a dedicated blogging calendar, which I see more as an archive of my life and I really want to keep up with.

5. Exercise routine - I have been extremely lazy in the last year with getting into a routine and practice of exercise. I plan to really address this in 2016, and have completed the first week of a couch-to-5k app from the NHS. It is a really useful tool for complete beginners like me. We are planning to have a gym room in our new house that we will hopefully be building this year, so we may start buying some equipment to fill it this year, so I have no excuses and no places to hide.

6. French and German - As I mentioned, I really have let these lapse. So I intend to spend more time listening to podcasts and reading German and French magazine articles to help me pick them up again.

7. Game of Thrones - I have never really been one for fantasy fiction (with the exception of Harry Potter of course), and I have tried and failed LOTR three times already. Enough, I said at the tender age of 25. Now I'm a little older, I think it's time I gave it another shot. I got my husband the boxset of books for Christmas as he wanted to read them before we joined the 21st century and started watching the series. So GOT is officially on my Spring reading list.

8. Wednesday morning routine - Working at home one day a week throws things in the air a little. I don't have to listen to that alarm telling me to get up so early. I can hit the snooze button and roll over for another 20 minutes. Enough. I want to spend Wednesday mornings getting a run in, doing my blogging and planning the following week in my planner, showering, dressing, breakfasting - all before I start work at 9.

9. Minimise eating lunch out during the week - I got into a lazy and bad habit last year of eating out at work during the week, which can hurt the wallet and the waistline. No more. It comes down to one thing - planning! If I am well organised and plan my meals, this won't happen.

10. Never start a week without a meal plan and groceries - Each Thursday, without fail, I intend to plan the following week's meals and have a shopping list completed and ordered online (to collect free from the store on Friday after work - genius invention). No excuses for eating out, eating poorly or anything of the sort.

11. Swimming - I really love this sport, and used to be good at it when I was younger. I want to take up swimming again, at least once every fortnight, if not weekly.

12. Weight loss - the old demon is still here. I feel a lot more focused this year than trying to lose weight in the craziness of 2015. Time to really focus on hitting target, maybe not hitting target by December, as I have a lot to lose, but I want to be well on my way there.

What are your resolutions? Do you make them? (Do you break them?) I'd love to know.

October Favourites 2015

So October is upon us, it has visited, frozen us, scared us, entertained us, thrown us back in time by one hour and departed. Here's all the things I was loving in October:

Primed and ready

Favourite beauty product: 
I recently purchased this primer from Max Factor and I have really been loving it. It gives a really smooth finish to the skin before foundation. I tend to do my makeup on the train on weekday mornings, and this has firmly come as part of my morning routine. I put this on first thing as soon as I get on the train, then take 5 mins to scroll through Instagram and let it all settle in.

Favourite music:
I found a band I could really fall in love with this month. Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats released their self-titled album back in August, but it didn't come on my radar til this month. It is phenomenal. Nathaniel (I'm guessing that is the lead singer's name) has an amazing, husky, rusky voice with so much soul. The album is a perfect blend of new and old styles, and has a couple of great, catchy tunes. S.O.B is the first single to be released from the album, while my favourite is the first track I Need Never Get Old.

Favourite TV show:
This month we have been getting back into The Americans, watching the second season. We watched the first season a few months back, and really loved it. It is fast-paced and gripping, and I love me some historical fiction. I would recommend a lot!

Favourite movie:
The Martian, for sure. Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, space. Has it all. See my review posted earlier in the month.

Favourite book:
Shock of the Fall - I enjoyed this unsettling book quite a lot, review to follow - stay tuned.

Favourite article:
I read a great article in National Geographic this month, which talked about the recent discovery of a new species of human ancestor - which has been named Homo naledi. I found it fascinating that the discovery of these bones in South Africa has changed the face of human evolution once again, reminding us how far we have come and how small we are.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/150910-human-evolution-change/

Favourite new recipe:
The rugby world cup featured heavily in our house this month. Poor Ireland. But during one of their Sunday games, I had family over and made this epic Guinness stew. We won that day. I am not saying we won because I made the stew, but when I didn't make it we lost, so...

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/beef-and-ale-stew/#xmYX5E80dDViFwBV.97

Favourite moment:
Getting unexpected praise for a good job on an article at work. When you work hard and it's noticed, there is no better feeling.

Favourite random thing:
Autumn walks have delivered this month, keeping me and my pup very happy, in nice scenery, wrapped up and dry. Plenty of colourful changes. Love this month.

Learned this month:
Losing your way, giving up on any goal nomatter how small, makes you feel pretty shitty.

Most proud of this month:
The start of the month, I was very very focused on everything.

Looking forward to most next month:
Visiting Oxford and seeing my brother :)

September Favourites 2015

The month of September flew past in a blur. I cannot BELIEVE we are now coming into October 2015. Time is going faster, right?! This month went at a rate that definitely wasn't normal.

September is a favourite all on its own for me - my birthday falls in this month and we start to come into autumn, hands down my favourite season. So here are a list of little bite and pieces that got me through this month with a smile on my face.

Favourite beauty product: 

This month I was really into this amazing hair mask product I found - of all places - in our hotel gift shop on holiday in Portaventura. I freaking love this hair mask. It makes your hair incredibly soft and manageable. I have never really tried hair masks before, so it has opened that door and I may be on the hunt for more through October.

Favourite music:

It's no secret that my music taste is pretty eclectic. I would pretty much listen to anything, with the exception of hardcore dance and drum and bass! This month I have really been into a new artist for me, Kacey Musgraves and her album Pageant Material. There are some songs that are a little too cheesy-country for me, but I have really been loving the tracks Pageant Material, Fine, This Town, Late to the Party and Are You Sure (a duet with Willie Nelson).

Favourite TV show:

My hubby and I try to make time for a 'boxset' night once a week and we watch a few episodes with a glass of wine. It's become a little ritual that we both really look forward to, and it means that we actually make sure we take time to spend relax together. This month we have been really enjoying season 4 of Parks and Recreation (late to the party). It is definitely my favourite comedy of all time. I don't say that lightly, and depending on when I watch Father Ted again, it might be relegated to a (very close) second. For now though, Leslie Knope, you win.

Favourite movie:

An old favourite

Hubby was gone for the weekend, watching Ireland v Canada play rugby. So I had a very nice Sunday to myself. After a lonely lunch of SW meatballs, I put the heating on, lit my new Yankee Candle (Sweet Apple), cuddled with my pup under a soft throw and put on Meet Me in St. Louis, one of my all-time favourite films. I love old Hollywood, old musicals and Judy Garland. A heavenly way to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday.

Favourite book:

Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Hands down. Review posted on the blog earlier in the month.

Favourite article:

I read quite the number of articles in the month, what with all my commuting. I read a particularly interesting one in Rolling Stone with Donald Trump (Trump Seriously: On the Trail With the GOP's Tough Guy). I have a distant and inquisitive interest in American politics and boy, Trump does not disappoint. An absolutely deluded man, this article perfectly sums up ever reason why he should never be allowed to run any race, let alone a presidential one.

Favourite new recipe:

Really enjoyed making the Pesto Chicken Roast recipe I posted earlier in the month. A really good addition was the Parmesan cheese at the end!

Favourite moment:

A toss up between getting on the plane for Barcelona at the start of our holiday and watching my dear friend appear at the bottom of the aisle with her father.

Blackberries

Favourite random thing:

Finding blackberries on a Sunday morning walk recently, which means autumn is here :)

Learned this month:

I have the ability to take control of my weight loss, I just need the determination to go with it, and I'm slowly getting there.

Most proud of this month:

Organising a MacMillan coffee morning (and managing to stay away from all the lovely buns) and in the process raising over £585 for the charity.

Looking forward to most next month:

A quiet month with no plans, and a chance to give Slimming World a really good run!