Quick Friday catchup!

I've just had breakfast and now waiting for it to settle before heading out for a run.  I have been working on the blog this weekend, not abandoning it, but by installing Wordpress on my domain and getting it looking gooood!  So just quickly catching up with Friday and Saturday eats.  Will post properly later after my run.

Friday breakfast was my becoming regular bagel topped with Philadelphia and two ham slices.  This is a little more crisp than I tend to like normally.  I like them really lightly done!

 For treats at breaktime at school I had a hunk of crusty loaf dipped in red pepper houmous, two cheese straws, a glass of orange juice, a mini chocolate roll and a small shortbread biscuit.  There wasn't anything healthy to choose from!  It's my turn for treats next week so I've already started thinking about what healthy items I could take with me...

 I went for my run as soon as I got back from work.  Dan had gone out for dinner with work so I would be eating on my own and when I quickly nipped to Co-op to buy some eggs before tea, this WeightWatchers roasted vegetable arrabiata was in the reduced bin for 60p so I picked it up.  I never buy frozen ready meals but I was looking forward to eating this with my bread roll to mop up the tomato sauce.  Unfortunately it was actually really disappointing and didn't have a whole lot of flavour to it.  :(

I needed the eggs to make these beauties...some cake balls ready for my friend Vick's birthday party on the Saturday.  Each guest was supposed to take a dish and Dan decided he wanted me to make these as his dish!

There and back or circular...

Just back from another great post-work run.  6.41 miles at a 9m 59s average pace.   839 calories.
I got changed as soon as I was back from school.  I drove in today as Dan was going out for food with friends from work.  This meant I was back home by 5:15 and that it was light enough for me to run out of town still and somewhere different!  There is a route which runs down into the next village (all street lit) and then alongside the A45 for a mile (not street lit and with a horrific path that has tree roots coming up everywhere!)  I decided a few months back that when it was dark and lots of cars are heading towards you and you are blinded by their lights this route is impossible.  However, tonight it was just dusk and I fancied a change so gave it a go.  I had an easy 6 pencilled into my running diary so planned to head out for three miles, turn around and head back again.
My body felt great from the start.  My mind was still mega busy working through the past week of events and I was finding the run fun and easy.  Heading out my mind was thinking, "You're only going out for three miles before turning back" and it was much easier to focus on than heading out for six miles.
A friend posted in a blog last month that he always prefers out and back routes rather than circular ones (which I have tended to favour) because he always manages to find shortcuts home with the circular routes and not go as far as intended.  At the time I disagreed, thinking that surely it would be much easier to wimp out and not go as far out before turning back on an out and back route.  Psychologically though, tonight, thinking I only had to run three miles helped push me along and helped me play mind games with myself on the way back to not give up!

A there and back route, or circular?  Pros and cons for each.  Which is best?!

The busiest day of 2013!

Yesterday was literally the busiest day I have had in an extremely long while!  I was up by 5am to finish writing my lesson plan as I had an observation Period 1 with a year 9 class.  Grabbed a bagel with philadelphia and ham and a Muller light yoghurt for breakfast, showered and Dan drove me to work whilst I scribbled down on the back of a cookie wrapper details of the resource I still needed to finish creating and practiced my assembly speech.
At work I printed off the seating plan, lesson plan, resources and began cutting up the starter exercise.  Rushed down for a year 10 meeting at 8:25, left that early at 8:40 and rushed over to year 7 assembly where the Head of Year was panicking because the kids were due in any second and I hadn't showed up yet!  Gave my assembly (which actually went great!) and rushed back over to my form room ready for my observation.  Ian, my line manager came to tell me that it would no longer be a full lesson observation, but instead a drop in of 15 minutes in about 15 minutes time.  This could go either way...I could have lost the kids interest by then, or work extremely hard to have them thoroughly on task by the time the Assistant Head arrived.  Luckily, it was the second one and my lesson went without hitch!  :)  Taught Period 3 and was looking forward to a well deserved break Period 4 but I got put onto cover for year 7 music!  All of the students recognised me from assembly that morning, two came to talk about SAMLearning and one came over to talk about running as he runs cross-country for his local club!  Lunchtime should have been a meet regarding a revamp of the English website but the teacher was off sick.  And then my year 11 class in the afternoon were lovely and calm and I really enjoyed teaching them!

I grabbed a snack - Chocolate covered popcorn) from the staff room as a treat to myself for a successful days work as I had forgotten to take anything for lunch in my rush in the morning.  Unfortunately, at our school you can only buy food by putting cash onto your finger to pay for it and only at lunchtimes, which I was busy at.  But there is a charity sweet box in the staff room to raid (for a £1) in emergencies!

Was sooooooooooooo looking forward to getting to club when I got home from work.  Dan had picked me up in plenty of time, so I was back to ours by 5:45 (club doesn't start until 6:30) and I grabbed a snack (mmmmmmmm, cookies and cream Graze box!) before heading upstairs to get changed.  Couldn't find my running bra anywhere.  I was getting really cross.  Dan had taken two loads of washing upstairs on Tuesday night to help me out - normally I take it up and sort it straight away, and I was convinced he'd lost it between clothes horse and bedroom, however, at 6:20 I found my bra hanging from the curtain hooks in the bedroom - where I'd left it to dry the other night.  :(

Went out for a run anyway.  Was in two minds about going for a tempo run (which is what I should have been completing at club) or an easy run.  Did a mix of the two!  Am quite glad actually that I didn't get to club as I have had such a busy week and no time to catch up on my thinking.  I wouldn't have been able to do that at club.  Made another deal with myself that I wouldn't check my watch whilst I was running, but instead, run on feel and wait until I got back home to look at my stats.  I had a great run!
Mile 1: 10:57 (Included my warmup)
Mile 2: 9:23
Mile 3: 9:53  (Including a brief walk to take off my jacket and wrap it around my waist)
Mile 4: 9:35
Mile 5: 9:56
Mile 6: 9:12
When I got home, Dan had cooked us a curry - Chicken Tikka with rice and a large garlic naan bread.  I had never had a curry until I was 21.  My mates think that is really weird!  Was delicious and I felt satisfied but not overly full afterwards.  Just the way it should be!

Year 7 assembly.

I'm supposed to give an assembly to 310 year 7s this morning on the benefits of using SAMLearning.  I've already given the assembly to years 11 and 8 and had spent 4-5 hours making a Powerpoint and video and perfecting my presentation.  Yesterday I was told that there would be nobody to open up the projector box room for the year 7 assembly and I would have to do it without any visual backup aids!  Panic!  Stress!
On my way to bed last night I came up with the idea of using my running medals as a prop.  I'm planning on commenting that I had decided to want to run a marathon.  There was no way I was going to be able to run 26.2 miles straight away with no training, so each day I did a little bit of running, (they should be doing a little bit of revision each day) collecting a few medals along the way (SAMLearning gives you virtual medals for the revision you do) and eventually, last April I was all ready and prepared to take my big challenge - the marathon and gained the award I was after (ultimately their GCSEs in four years time!)  Fingers crossed it goes down well and doesn't just come across as me shouting out about my running achievements!

A l...o...n...g day!

Left for work at 7am (a little later than usual) and got home tonight at 7:45pm (a lot later than usual!) and still slogging away on my laptop!  Just taking a short blogging break now!

Tomorrow will also be manic...I have a year 10 meeting first thing, before taking the year 7 assembly and then I have a lesson observation Period 1 with a mixed group of year 9 students and I'm meeting with an English teacher at lunch to discuss my redesign of the English department website!  I will VERY much be looking forward to a run tomorrow night at club.  I have not run for three days in a row now.  I think this is the first week of 2013 I haven't run at least five days of the week and I'm missing it lots!

Breakfast was extremely boring and I had two bread rolls with Utterly Butterly light on!  I just remembered when I woke up how much I had liked the roll I had last night!

 As per usual now, I had two tangerines for lunch!  Although I want to start phasing these out over the next couple of days...I fear I might actually turn orange soon!  I'm sure I heard once that somebody that drank too much Sunny D did begin to get orange skin!  They're also making me need the toilet more!

Because I didn't leave work until gone 7pm, Dan had already had tea, so I picked up a panini at the petrol station on my way home.  I really fancied something hot and my belly had been rumbling for a few hours by then.  I've had this panini before...mozzarella, tomato and basil and didn't think very much of it last time, but quite enjoyed it tonight...maybe I was just mega hungry by this point!

By the time I got home I fancied something a little sweet, so finished off the rest of the white chocolate spread on two digestive biscuits.

This has been an extremely manic week but this weekend I'm looking forward to planning my meals a little better for next week and starting to get a little more creative in the kitchen!  I think I might pull out my slow cooker for the first time since Dan's Mum bought it for me three years ago!  (At that point I was leaving for work at 3:45am and not back until gone 8pm so figured anything I left inside during the day would be black, stiff and completely inedible!)

Just hanging on...

Breakfast was a toasted bagel - one side with white chocolate spread, one side with peanut butter...

I ate three tangerines throughout my day...one at break, one at lunch and one after school...

The Graze Pear Tatin box was also part of my break...

Made us meatballs on mash with peas and gravy for tea...

Tasty  bread roll with butter mopped up my gravy!  Yum!  :)

Dan put some white chocolate spread onto a Digestive biscuit for me for dessert...

I was supposed to be doing speed work at club but I really did not fancy going...the house was a tip, I felt like I hadn't seen Dan properly for ages.  I know I saw him on Monday night for dinner, but we talked pretty much the entire time about my job situation.  Feeling pretty stretched at the moment!  Must become a better girlfriend/daughter/house-owner/pet-owner/employee!...

Not enjoying Mondays...

I'm really not enjoying school at the moment and every Monday just lately it has been a real struggle for me to get motivated and into work.  Obviously I still go in but I am desperately job hunting right now!

I thought I would have a bowl of porridge for breakfast - guaranteed to fill me up.  Made with semi-skimmed milk and a spoonful of sugar on top.

Unfortunately I fell into old habits - I do it because in my head if I eat more it delays going into work.  I really need a new job soon!

At breaktime I had a Graze festival fruits box and a tangerine.  I forgot to photograph my Graze box until it was too late so here's a picture of what's inside below....yum!...

My stomach really hurt after school so I had a tangerine whilst waiting for Dan to pick me up.  I think my stomach only hurt because I'd been crunched over my desk since 7am though...11 hours.  Definitely on the new job wish list is movement in my job!

When Dan first moved in in August 2011 and it became clear that both our schedules were so busy with work and it meant that we barely saw each other in the week we decided on keeping one evening free from work each week to do something together, no laptops/phones allowed!  It has worked well so far and we had decided to head to The Brampton Mill.  I love it here - it's very quaint and the water wheel is a feature inside the restaurant.  Dan had never been but really enjoyed it.

Felt I needed a pint for getting through my Monday!

They do the BEST pizzas.  This is a goats cheese and roasted vegetable pizza, which had mushrooms, courgettes, peppers and tomatoes on top.

I was feeling reasonably full by this point but Dan persuaded me to have the Chocolate Brownie as he wanted dessert.  Dan NEVER wants dessert!

Definitely had my five a day today although feeling horribly full this evening.  I could have stopped at half of the pizza I think and definitely should have done without the pint.

Mum went into hospital this evening to find out more about her chemo.  I gave her a call on the way home and she should be starting the trial soon now they just need to book her in for the operation so that they can count back and see when she needs the chemo.  Over dinner Dan and I discussed what we would do if we won £70,000 on a scratchcard and when we stopped in at the Co-op on the way home there were two £70,000 scratch cards!  We decided this was fate and we would become winners so bought them up!  Dan also bought me a Kinderegg.  For the last six years we have been together if one of us has been having a rough time the other buys them a Kinderegg...the perfect amount of chocolate and a toy inside!  Genius!
My running mag had also arrived when I got home to complete the day.  :)  We cuddled up and watched The Perks of Being a Wallflower which I really liked, and suprisingly so did Dan.
Just found a job to encourage active lifestyles in young people...will definitely look at applying tomorrow.  Hopefully things are looking up!  :)