I remember, as a kid, dreading Friday evenings – they meant bath-time, which obviously cut into my TV-watching-time! After Corrie, or whatever we watched back then, my mum would scrub me clean, wash my hair and then blow dry it into a poofy ball of fluff. It must have been like grooming a poodle.
But now I find it hard to just sit still and watch TV, without doing something else at the same time, (cough, blogging/reading blogs). Often, the only way for me to relax is to escape everything electrical with an internet connection
So, tonight, in an effort to wind down after a busy week at work, I ditched the Late Late for a relaxing bath, candles and silence.
Some Friday nights should be spent with friends, having drinks in the pub.
Some Friday nights should be spent at the movies or lazing on the couch watching the Late Late.
But there is nothing better than spending some quality, quiet, alone-time with yourself (and a few magazines if you must!).
What’s your favourite bathtime regime – bubbles or salts? candles or lights?
After hearing rave reviews about Zumba, from my sister living in London, to bloggers all around the world, I decided that today was the day to get my butt in gear and go to a class. So I searched on Facebook, located my nearest class and turned up on my own. Hey, I’m new in town! At the start I felt like a kid on her first day at school, standing to one side of the room, talking to no-one, but after about ten minutes I had chatted to a good few people. It’s amazing how soon you click with people when you’re all sweating like Lance Armstrong at a drugs test.
The instructor was friendly and had no problem with me arriving unexpectedly, which was great. I told her I’d never done a class before and secretly prayed that she wouldn’t make an eejit of me by drawing attention to my poorly co-ordinated routines. Just so no one else could see my moves, I took a place in the back row, along with a lady about 40 years my senior, and I prepared to dance my bloody socks off.
Ok, so i knew that Zumba was a fun workout, but holy moly, after 5 minutes my lungs were burning. Although not all of the songs were at an intense tempo, they were all pretty fast and dance-y. I was dripping sweat by the end (nice) and quite out of breath. The music was great, a lot of it was music that I’d have had on my i-pod (RIP) and I smiled as lot as I danced because it was so much fun. Don’t even get me started on dancing to Grease Lightning – I knew half of those moves already!
I generally love to dance, especially after a few drinks and will happily spend the majority of a night out on the dancefloor rather than at the bar. I’m also one of those people who loves to dance like a maniac in my bedroom/kitchen – hairbrush optional – even at the ripe old age of 29. So if you’re like me, then you will LOVE this class.
Fair enough, some of the moves were hard,and took a good while to get, and yes I did feel like a bit of a fool sometimes when I was completely out of sync with the instructor and my class – due to some premature hops in the wrong direction – but it was still fun. The room was nice and dark too, so I think that helped me feel less self conscious.
Handy tip for beginners (yes, after one class I’m giving out advice): I actually think that I danced better when I focused on the beat of the music rather than the instructor’s moves. Sometimes when you hop to the beat the move just happens naturally!
I consider my blog to be part of the “healthy living” category, I call myself “The Healthy Living Cailín” and I personally consider myself to live a fairly healthy and active life, but what does healthy living mean to me?
On a basic level it means regularly eating fresh fruit and vegetables, minimising my intake of processed and calorific foods, and exercising regularly.
But am I really living healthily?
Do I really make the best food choices?
What counts as living healthily to one person, might not count as healthy to another.
Say, for instance, if you take a recent post from the weekend into account. It included a few snaps from my trip to Eddie Rockets for a burger and fries. Or let’s consider the multitude of undocumented croissants that have passed my lips in the last week. These calorie laden, fat saturated bites aren’t healthy and are highly processed but yet they manage to fit their way into my diet.
How?
I cave easily!
Everyone needs a treat once in a while. I’m all for it. Even once a day. A bit of Green and Blacks in the evening will do nicely, thank you. Secondly, if I’m hungry and food isn’t forthcoming anytime soon, i will eat what is on hand – enter last week’s croissants. I was hungry and they were there. No biggie. I don’t eat them every day. I’d be lucky to have one in a month. Thirdly, boys like calorie laden food too and sometimes it’s fun to go have a McDonald’s date with your significant other, best mate or whoever you can drag along for support. Most importantly, for me, balance is key. If I eat badly for one day or even one week (hello holidays), I genuinely try to counteract it the next. Sometimes, if I eat poorly for one meal, it can be really hard to refocus and clean up my act for the next meal of the day. Sometimes I try to, as they say, “Get back on track”, other times I just accept that my willpower has been numbed by the power of sugar and I make a deal with myself to start afresh in the morning.
My aim to eat and live healthily is not just in order to help me stay relatively slim, which is important to me – call me vain and shallow if you like – but it’s also because I’ve seen my parents live healthily for many years and they look and feel great for it too. i like to exercise, when I can make the time. If I can’t make the time i won’t panic. I’ve been there before – when the thought of missing a workout would break me out into a cold sweat – and it’s not nice. I once went to the gym after 3 glasses of wine! Not wanting to miss socialising with my work colleagues and not wanting to miss out on my workout. That was when I realised I was becoming a little bit obsessed and needed to take a step back – a giant lunge back – from the gym.
So what got me thinking such deep thoughts?
This evening I got in from work, and opened the fridge to see what I could prepare as quickly and easily as possible. In 5 minutes I had whipped up a chicken wrap, with a low calorie Weight Watchers wrap, light mature Kilmeaden cheddar and a giant dollop of Ballymaloe jalapeño relish. Not unhealthy, but not great either. While my wrap toasted on my George Foreman, I watched my flatmate whip up a stir fry of fresh veg, noodles and chicken, and I felt a tad guilty for my laziness. Must do better Geraldine.
My breakfast – either porridge or granola with yogurt and berries – is good, and doesn’t need work.
Lunch of soup or maybe a salad bowl with chickpeas and prawns is pretty healthy too.
It’s the evening time that can be my “healthy living” downfall.
I go to the shops after work, feeling like Beyonce on the 5th day of a maple juice cleanse. I buy things that appeal to my sweet tooth and my love for rapidly cooked meals. I end up eating half of my groceries on the walk home and before I know it, I’m not quite hungry for dinner but still cooking something to eat.
I think preparation and meal planning is key. But what I put in my meal plan list on Sunday might not be what i want to eat come Thursday.
I’m not giving up carbs, gluten or sugar. I need bread and chocolate.
I try not to have too many sweet things in my cupboard, but i share a house with another girl and don’t want to go raiding her supply, so I have a mini sweet stash just incase.
I hope that by next week I’ll have settled into a routine workwise and healthwise and will be able to get some kind of order in my diet and more veg in my tummy.
I try to live by the 80:20 rule but sometimes it slips to 70:30 or 60:40. I will never be the healthy living blogger who eats 1200 calories a day and exercises like a maniac too. I’ll be somewhere in the middle. And if my diet excludes me from the healthy living club, then so be it. I’ll re-label myself a lifestyle blogger. Much less pressure associated with that name tag!
Are there any other busy bees out there who struggle to balance how you want to eat with how you actually eat in real life?
How you do fit healthy eating in around schedules that involve social drinks, croissant filled meetings and those tempting chocolate bars at the tills?
I really wish the weather would just sort itself out. Either rain or be sunny. Do not be dry and sunny before I go to bed and then lashing from the heavens when I wake up!
This morning I really wanted to walk to work, so I resisted calling a colleague for a lift, even though it was raining. BIG MISTAKE. Thanks to a delightful driver who sped through a giant puddle, as I walked on a narrow footpath, I was absolutely soaked from head to toe. My tights were soggy up to my knees, my shoes (flat back pumps) were so wet I could have wrung them out and the whole left side of my face got a glorious splash of muddy puddle juice.
I was annoyed to say the least, and considered shaking my fists and letting some choice words fly from my mouth…
But I figure that karma will get him/her in the end.
It’s 11.22pm and I have been watching the Masters since 7pm today, without complaint. I think I deserve some kind of ace girlfriend medal. Actually I’ve kind of enjoyed watching it. I did a bit of bitching about Tiger Woods, a bit of tutting about the glass- like fast course (yeh, I know what I’m talking about!) and I’ve perved on Adan Scotts lovely arms a few times too.
Today was an enjoyable lazy Sunday, with a bit of exercise and shopping thrown in.
I started the day with a delicious granola bowl, with some kiwi fruit thrown into the mix. It was so friggin tasty I cursed myself for not using kiwis in every granola bowl I’ve eaten since time began.
Then myself and the boyf jumped in the car to go for a walk and we prayed to the gods that it would stop raining. Himself actually roared that all he wanted was, “to go for a walk and get some fresh air without it raining”, and sure enough the rain stopped. So I started shouting about how I wanted a million euro. Nothing happened. Obviously I need to learn what kind of karma he’s channelling.
We went on a 30 minute walk in Renville, through a lovely wooded area and passed so many people out running and walking.
Really inspiring stuff for a Sunday morning! I feel like people are getting so much healthier. Is it just me, or is running becoming uber popular? I feel like everyone is running. They make me feel inferior when I’m walking
After our walk and a quick change we headed to town. Himself settled into a pub for a drink while I trotted off to Penneys. I picked up a fabulous bargain – a black boucle jackte – that was reduced from 27euro to 9euro. I love that moment at the till when you think you’re going to pay full whack and then BOOOM! the price is reduced!
High on my latest bargain, I bought a couple of statement necklaces in New Look (it was buy one get one free!) and then met the boyf for a wee glass of Guinness before lunch. That’s my iron intake for the week sorted.
We were both starving by mid-afternoon, the granola long burned off, and debated for a while over where to eat. We had a moment where we both realised that we were starving and felt like we HAD to eat immediately….
So…we went to Eddie Rockets. Quick, convenient and tasty. Not so healthy. I’m sorry my blog title might have mislead you. I still like to indulge every so often.
I ordered fries, a Smokestack burger and some water. I was so close to orderinga chocolate malt. So close. But that would have been piggish
I ate the whole burger and half the chips and made a right mess. That Eddie Rockets special sauce was everywhere by the time I finished up. In my hair, on my clothes, table. I’m a real treat.
Now we’re on the 18th hole. I gotta go watch some golf!
This morning, I enjoyed a sleep-in until about half ten, soooo nice compared to the 6am starts I’d been having earlier in the week.
Having watched my flatmate book herself a last minute spot on an 8km (Saturday morning) road race, at 10 o’clock last night, I vowed to get a run in before breakfast. I too could be spontaneously healthy on a Saturday morning! Look at that sleepy face! And pineapple hair.
About ten minutes after rolling out of bed, I threw on my trackies, runners and some SPF15 moisturiser and was ready to go. I had a 5k loop planned, but unfortunately about 3k into my runI had to stop. The cold win,d whistling through my teeth, had given me a serious tooth/jaw ache, so I had to cut the run short. I used the next 15 minutes to do some lunges, squats and planks, so I didn’t feel too guilty about flaking on my run.
I was so busy getting ready to meet my boyfriend (we hadn’t seen each other in 2wks) that I skipped breakfast! That must be the first time in history that I forgot to eat. By the time he arrived, to pick me up for a walk and lunch, I was yammering on about being starving and not having eaten, so he wisely said we could go for lunch first. Poor petal.
My starter a.k.a breakfast was Seafood Chowder and main was an Open Salmon Salad Sandwich.
Both delicious. Both plates were cleared.
I’m currently having a love affair with smoked salmon on brown bread. There is just nothing better than this combination – as long as the salmon is high quality. Ok so maybe chocolate is better, and cookie dough ice cream and toast with butter, but you know what I mean!
We attempted a walk on the prom in Salthill but got absolutely soaked after walking about 100metres, and he has been sick the past few days, so we decided to call it quits.
Instead we engaged in his favourite activity – super-chilling. And watching the Masters. While he lay there mute, apart from the odd supportive clap for Tiger Woods, I caught up on all the blog posts I’d missed this week on Bloglovin’! So relaxing!
This week, my third week in my new job, was an interesting one! I was working in Dublin and Limerick at events for a pretty big client and to say it was hectic would be an understatement. But it was also fun and a massive learning curve for me, which can only be a good thing. Riiiiight?
Unfortunately, even though I packed enough clothes for a fortnight, 5 chargers, 2 coats, 4 pairs of shoes, and a partridge in a pear tree, I forgot the SD card for my camera. I only realised this when I arrived at the hotel – Radisson Royal Blu in Dublin - and went to take a photo of the amazing glass stairs, with what looked like the Irish proclamation on it. Doh. No card, no pics. No likey.
Over the two days, there were countless times when I wished I could reach for my camera…
When I ate their delicious Gourmet Burger and Chips (ditto their crispy Gourmet Fish and Chips) and when I first laid my eyes on their glorious breakfast display. What can I say, I like my food and I like to take pictures of it too
Oh and when we spotted Bressie in the lobby and tried to walk past him casually while also having a gawk at his handsome-ness.
Although the days were long and my feet were throbbing at the end of every eve, the staff at the Radisson were amazing and I would love to visit again on a weekend trip. Thanks to Jana in particular for being Wonder Woman. She made our work a lot easier!
On Wednesday night we hopped in our transit van, yes we’re classy ladies , and headed wesht to Limerick. We stayed in the Marriot Savoy Hotel and I must say the beds were dreamily soft. I was quite tired though so I’d probably have slept on a bed of nails if it had come with a duvet.
Now I’m back in Galway and resting up before work in the morning. I’m so glad that it’s nearly Friday!
Unfortunately for me, thanks to long days and nights fuelled by pastries, cookies and gourmet fast food, I feel like a fluffy pudding. I cannot wait to feast on fruit and veg over the weekend – who knew that could ever happen?
P.S Happy Birthday to my Mammy!!
I hope I get your good skin genes! Unfortunately her whippet like metabolism escaped me.
Sometimes you just need to give in to your food cravings, even if they’re not the healthiest (and even if you claim to be a “Healthy Living Cailin/Buachaill”)
After a Saturday night spent watching food programmes featuring sandwiches that weighed 2lbs and burgers the size of babies, i was seriously hankering for a greasy, salty bacon sandwich.
Ok bagelwich.
So I went to Tesco – like a woman on a mission – and bought a bagel and some maple cured bacon. Toast, grill, and add some Ballymaloe Jalapeño Relish and you have just answered the call of the craving. Boom.
Going…
Going…
Gone!
Now I’ve got to go pack for the next 4 days away and I’m having a fashion wardrobe dilemma. Nothing looks right at all.
What I’m Curently Reading: Sheryl Sandberg – Lean in.
What I’m Currently Listening To: Regina Spektor and Kate Nash – I love their old stuff.
What I’m Gonna Watch In Bed Tonight: Michael Clayton (have fallen asleep the past two nights while watching it!)
What are you currently reading/watching/listening to?
I woke up gloriously hangover free this morning – for the first Sunday in ages!
So I thought I’d better do something productive with my sprightliness – this time last week I was sleeping off a night of dancing and vodka.
I put some suitable sportswear on and headed out for a walk/run, which was more a powerwalk with a few bursts of jogging in the mix. [Note the full length mirror at the top of the stairs in the above pic – I’m always afraid I’ll step backwards one too many times and fall down the stairs]
I was only out for about 30 minutes in total. I had no music, was getting a little bored and it was cold. Plus cars were speeding by me all morning (must have been in a hurry for mass!) and I didn’t feel very safe on this wee footpath!
My post-walk breakfast was a very-quick-to-make granola and fruit bowl. My porridge obsession has subsided for the moment.
Yesterday I woke up to yet another gloriously sunny day in Galway and decided to make the most of it by heading into the city bright and early! I had no plans, i was just going to go with the flow.
I saw that Lisa Fitzpatrick had tweeted about the Bastyan fashion show that was happening in BT’s that afternoon, so I headed in for a look-see. Some of the Bastyan dresses were gorgeous. I was also taken by the DVF dresses. Dang I wish I had money!
Of course I had no patience to wait for the actual fashion show to start, even with Prosecco on offer, but I left BT with my fashion fill. Sometimes just having a look is enough. It gives me ideas for when I’m in the less fancy shops!
Speaking of less fancy shops…
I popped into Penneys to see what I could find and ended picking up a pretty white shirt with black polka dots.
It’ll go perfectly with my electric blue cropped pants. Or just with a pair of skinnies, ankle boots and my leather jacket. Once upon a time I wore so many polka dots I was given the moniker – Dots. I still love ‘em. I’m still Dotty.
While in Penneys I noticed that Cocoa Brown was at the bargain price of 7euro, so I picked up a bottle. I had just put some on that morning before heading out to the shops.
Estimating that shopping should take no more than the allotted 3 hours (It took 4. Oops!
I also got some nail glue to go with my bargain nails from Cara Pharmacy (two euro fifty per set!).
Then I went to New Look, my old stomping ground, where I once worked and enjoyed a very generous 50% staff discount.
I tried on some more polka dots and a Kelly Brook dress (I love her range) which just didn’t look nice on me.
I feel like I’m having some kind of style crisis. I don’t know if it’s my age or my figure or current fashions or clothing manufacturing issues (LOLS!!! Blame anything but me) but my old style of 50’s shaped dresses that hugged close up tight, then flared out at the bottom, just don’t seem to suit me anymore. Is my style evolving? Gasp. That means I’m getting older doesn’t it! I quite like the 90’s body con crop top and high waisted trends but I also find that so many things are made for young, lithe skinnymalinks. Lyrca bodycons are everywhere. Sometimes when I go shopping, and am feeling extremely willing to spend money, I end up coming home empty handed. Am I having a style crisis? #FIRSTWORLDPROBLEMS
But seriously. Am I the only person out there feeling this way?
(A few years ago I would have been quite happy to dress like Betty Draper all my life)
Now I wanna dress like Rihanna…
Anyway my day ended with a glass of red wine, some Green and Blacks 70% chocolate (on special offer in Tesco) and a few episodes of Man Vs Food and Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. I don’t know why, but I’ve gotten really into these shows! They’re so repetitive but I just love seeing how good food is made, and hearing how people set up their own restaurants. I already have a long list of places I want to eat in should I ever go to the USA
It’s the burgers and sandwiches that get me drooling the most – YUM! Not very Healthy Living Cailín of me – but we’ve all got to indulge once in a while – enjoy food and enjoy life that’s what i say!
while also having a gawk at his handsome-ness. 
, and headed wesht to Limerick. We stayed in the Marriot Savoy Hotel and I must say the beds were dreamily soft. I was quite tired though so I’d probably have slept on a bed of nails if it had come with a duvet. 
(It took 4. Oops!
