9 Things My Family Taught Me | #IrishBlogCollab

 

As part of the #IrishBlogCollab Series our next post is all about things our parents, grandparents and family have taught us. Like most of us my parents and family have taught me so much and it's because of them that I am here today. So here is my take on "Things Our Parents Thought Me".

Educate Yourself: this was a big one in our family and I'm not just talking about going to college and getting a degree or apprentice, yes this was hugely important but my parents always said that you need to educate yourself on life. Read books, travel, speak to and listen to your elders!

Respect Your Elders: I totally agree with this one. It's amazing the stories that elderly people have and love to have someone to share these stories. On my dads side my Nana passed away when she was just shy of her 90th birthday and, unfortunately, I never met my granddad. On my mothers side my grandfather passed away exactly 1 week before my wedding at 91 years old! My granny is still alive, she's 87, and has so many stories that would fascinate people. She has the most amazing memory for details. I only hope I can have a long and healthy life like my grandparents. Growing up we spend lots of time with our grandparents and loved every second of it. Each of them were and are so special to us and I think my parents were so right to raise us to respect them as much as we do.

Travel: see what you can of Ireland and of the world while you still can. It educates the mind and will give you invaluable life experience.

Never be Cruel to Animals: This was a no no. It hurts so much to see stories in the news each day about different animals being tortured for personal pleasure. Respect for animals was and is so important.

Work Hard: Nothing comes easy and it's important to work for all that you have or want. 

Appreciate Others: appreciate others around you and what they do to help you in life. I know that, like a lot of people, I have taken my parents and grandparents for granted at times but in getting older and having my own child I now see why it is so important to appreciate others and to say thank you or I'm sorry when required.

Enjoy Life: Yes it's important to work hard but it's just as important to enjoy life. My dad is still saying this to me. I tend to get very stressed and he will often remind me, not in a bad way, that I need to relax more and enjoy being healthy and happy.

Save for a Rainy Day: We opened our Post Office account when we were in Primary School and would put money in each month. Our parents always said that it's important to be able to save money so that it was there when we needed it! I am still a regular saver and that's not going to change any time soon.

Look After Your Health: If you feel that something isn't right then get it checked out. Keep yourself fit and healthy.

Honestly I could have went on and on and on because I have learned so much from my family. It's very hard to pick out just a few little bits. A lot of the points that I just mentioned interlink but yet I still think that each point was as important and I wanted to mention them all. I only hope that I can pass on some of that wisdom to my little boy (and hopefully, in the future, his sibling(s)!!!).

You can follow the other members of the #IrishBlogCollab by checking out their blogs (Listed Below) or by searching the hashtag on Twitter.

Catherine of Breathing Silver Linings
Eimear of Chirps From A Little Red Hen
Cat of Mentally Beautiful

Cathryn of What Kate Loves
Lara of The Love Song of Fashion
Maeve of Thrift O'Clock
Marie of The Beaut mum
Sharon of Behind Green Eyes
Zoe of I Believe In Romeo

Until the next time, always remember to be: 

Dee-Termined To Glam & Glow

Dee x

Twitter: @deeglamglow
Instagram: @deeglamglow
Facebook: www.facebook.com/deeterminedtoglamandglow

Sonny Murphy 10 Mile

Last Sunday saw Race 4 of the Run Clare Series, the Sonny Murphy Memorial 10 mile race in Kilnaboy Co Clare (to those of you who don't know where Kilnaboy is, it's the home of Fr Ted's house!).

Race Route





The morning of the race was very wet and generally miserable, but the day turned out to be a beautiful one. It was a sunny blue sky kind of day and so was perfect for the final event in such a brilliant series.


The pre-race atmosphere was electric. Everyone was so excited to be competing in the final race of the series. It was also bittersweet knowing that the series was over. None of that distracted from the craic though. The music was pumping and a local lady had the crowd fully warmed up with a brilliant routine.

The race started, and finished, at Kilnaboy church and took us down towards The Burren National Park. The views were fab and a bit distracting, which is a good thing as it stops you from thinking about actually getting over the finish line in one piece! I'm not too familiar with the roads that we took but we ended up running along some lovely quiet country roads into Corofin and then back to Kilnaboy. There were 4 water. Stations, which were needed because it ended up getting quite warm.


There were a few inclines but nothing too bad, that was until the last 600M when we had to run up the hill and take a right into Kilnaboy. That hill was tough and for me it's the only one that I remember!


At every house and crossroads,and just randomly along the road, there were supporters cheering us on. One little girl in Corofin had even made little banners to cheer the race participants. It was a hugely supported race by locals, tourists and passers by.


My 10 Miles





If you have been reading my blog posts you will know that I was quite sick the week leading up to the race. I was actually off work so needless to say I didnt get any training runs done prior to the race. Following my disastrous attempt at The Abbey Run in Quin the Saturday prior I was on bed rest for a week. By Friday I felt somewhat good again and by Saturday I had made up my mind to participate in the 10 mile (plus me being so stubborn I couldn't not do it, especially after training so hard and building myself up for it!). I decided that I would run as much as possible and when I felt weak I would walk and that's exactly what I did!

Orla said that she would stay with me for the whole race, as she was worried that I might get weak and faint or collapse but I made a deal with her that when I started to walk that she was to keep running. In fairness to her she pushed me without upsetting me or my rhythm.


I ran slow and steady until just after the 4 mile marker and I then began to walk for 1/2 mile before running again for 1 mile. I repeated this pattern until the 9 mile marker, where I ran steadily until the finish line. I crossed the line in 2hours 0 mins 59secs. I can't but be happy, even though I didn't run the full race, I did damn well considering how sick I was all week!










I did feel that I could've ran on to the 5 mile mark but I was so worried that I would get a weakness. Orla had warned me to ring if I got into any trouble but luckily I was fine. My energy levels were very low, due to being on bed rest and not having eaten as normal all week so Orla's concern was well warranted.


As normal we met the lovely Mary and Christina before and after the race. Both ladies completed all 4 races with us and it was so nice meeting them at each race.










Well done to all involved in the organization of another great, successful race. Thank you to John O'Neill, Ennis Injury Clinic and Kilnaboy AC for the photographs.


Until the next time, always remember to be:

 

Dee-Termined To Glam & Glow


Dee x

#3LittleWords

Another week of words to break my week. The #3LittleWords that made my broke my week were: 

"A week out"

So I'm sure if you read my blog you will know that I have been off sick all week. Following last weeks Abbey Run 10K I was miserable. With last week being a bank holiday it was Tuesday when I got to the doctors. My doctor is the best! She really is an amazing health professional and I trust her judgement 100%. She told me that I needed to take a week off work, I'm not going to go into the reasons why but there was no other option only to listen to what she said. It was extremely hard because I couldn't even pick up Colin to change his nappy or to give him a cuddle. I was confined to a seperate room and this was so difficult. Physically I felt fine but I know that internally my body needed the rest. I did rest all week long and began to suffer from "cabin fever" because I couldn't even leave the house!

Today I felt fine and decided I would walk the final race in the Run Clare Series, the Sonny Murphy 10 mile race in Kilnaboy. It probably wasn't my wisest decision but stubbornness wouldn't allow me to stay in bed! My husband didn't want me to participate because he knew that I wasn't 100% but I knew that even if I walked the 10 mile circuit, I'd be happy and that's exactly what I did!

So that's it, I'm off to bed to complete my recovery and hopefully I'll be back to full health as soon as possible!

Until the next time, always remember to be: 

Dee-Termined To Glam & Glow

Dee x

Bringing The Glow Back To My Skin

Week 1 of my Skincare Challenge is now down and as luck would have it I am off work for the next week, due to illness. Needless to say it's frustrating being sick and it definitely does not help with my skin but I want to look at the positives and one such positive is that I have not worn any makeup on my skin for 6 days. My skin has really had a good chance to breathe.


Even though I've been ill I have still managed to keep up my daily routine. It's important to have consistency when it comes to your skin, no matter how lazy you feel. Regardless of whether you have to take your makeup off or not, your skin still needs to be cleaned twice daily. The skin produces natural oils every day and even more during the night. If these oils are not properly cleaned off the skin they can clog pores causing blockages and leading to blemishes.


With the weather being so nice, at the moment, it's a great excuse to get out into the sunshine and boost our levels of Vitamin D. Vitamin D is produced by the skin under direct sunlight and is beneficial for healthy bones and teeth.


My Skin

So as I mentioned I have been off work due to illness. As a result my skin has not seen any huge changes. I am looking after it and I am drinking my 2L water each day but I do expect that it will take another week or so to see improvements. Below is a close up of the same area last week and this week!

Although there have been no major changes and I look a little pale (due to being sick), the one change is that the redness has toned down. This may be because haven't been wearing makeup so my skin has had a chance to breathe! Who knows what next weeks photo will be like but I'm hoping that there will be more improvements, now that I'm finally on the mend!


Just to let you know I will now be posting this feature on Thursdays on future!


Until the next time, always remember to be:


Dee-Termined To Glam & Glow


Dee x

Spring Essentials | #IrishBlogCollab

So I am delighted to let you all know that I am part of the #IrishBlogCollab which is a collaboration between a great group of Irish Bloggers. Over the course of 9 weeks we will be posting our take on different topics. Each post in the series will be live on Wednesday. I'm so excited about this because I'm relatively new to the blogging world so this is a fantastic new challenge me.

In the first post of the #IrishBlogCollab series we will talk about out Spring Essentials. 

Here is a list of my Spring Essentials (it's a mixed bag really!):

Walking/running shoes - now that the clocks have gone forward and the evenings are getting longer it's great to get out into the fresh air. Having good shoes are essential,in my opinion, to prevent injury. I go between 2 pairs of runners at any one time. At the moment it's my Asics, which look a bit worse for wear, and my Skechers! I run 3 days a week so I need good runners that will support my feet and I think that both pairs of runners do that for me!

Bobble Water Bottle - I have made myself a promise that I would drink at least 2L of water each day and I have been good so far but that's because I am never without my bottle of water. I love the refillable Bobble Water Bottles. The idea of the bottle is that it filters the water as your drink it, using a replaceable carbon filter. Mine is the 1L size but they also come in a smaller size and also a water jug. I bought mine for approx. €5 in Tesco but you can get them in a number of stores or indeed online. Each refill lasts approx. 2 months and costs €5, which isn't bad considering I use mine e very day! 

 


Portable iPhone Charger - the battery on my phone is so bad. It is constantly going dead so I always like to have my portable charger with me at all times! Its just so compact and handy.

Essence Longlasting Lipstick in 05 Cool Nude - I just love love love this lipstick. It's not a concealer type nude it's more of a natural shade. It just finishes off my daily look so perfectly! It's not a drying lipstick which is perfect for me as I constantly feel like my lips are dry. I like to wear it with Essence Lipliner 06 Satin Mauve. The Essence range is great for anyone on a tight budget, most products are well under €10. Considering the price I think that the quality is fantastic! (I'm not posting a photo of myself wearing the lipstick as I am currently off sick from work and let's just say that my face isn't a pretty sight at the moment!!!!)

"Me-Time" - this is a bit of a strange one but for me I love to have some "me-time". Whether it's getting outside for a walk or run or sitting in the garden with the dogs or just spending an hour to myself reading or painting my nails, I love some time to myself (When little Colin goes to bed is usually the best time). I think it's also great for my own peace of mind too, it allows me to unwind and relax after a long day! I'm off work due to illness so my "me-time" consists of staring out the window, but I'll take what I can because it's not a bad view to look at!!!!

(The view from my bedroom window today!)

Below are links to the other members of the #IrishBlogCollab:

Catherine of Breathing Silver Linings
Eimear of Chirps From A Little Red Hen
Cat of Mentally Beautiful
Lara of The Love Song of Fashion
Maeve of Thrift O'Clock
Marie of The Beaut mum
Sharon of Behind Green Eyes
Zoe of I Believe In Romeo



I hope you enjoyed my take on Spring Essentials, I know I enjoyed putting it together!

Until the next time, always remember to be: 

Dee-Termined To Glam & Glow

Dee x

#3LittleWords

Firstly I need to apologise for being a day late with this post. I have been quite unwell all weekend (typical that it would happen at the long weekend!!). This weeks #3LittleWords are a reflection of that.

The #3LittleWords that broke my week were:

"You look terrible"

I'm actually not too sure who said those words to me but they mirrored how I felt! 

I have been feeling miserable ever since Saturday. It's a long weekend this weekend and instead of enjoying the extra day at home I am spending it in bed! The worst part about being sick, apart from feeling sorry for myself, is that I have to stay away from little Colin. I know it's for his own good and it's only for a short space of time but it's still a pain!

Anyway that's this weeks #3LittleWords. I'm off to bed to try to get over this sickness! Let me know your #3LittleWords, I'd love to hear them!

Until the next time, always remember to be: 

Dee-Termined To Glam & Glow

Dee x

Abbey Run - 3rd 10K in 3 Weeks

Yesterday I headed up to Quin in Co Clare for The Abbey Run 10K. Orla, Caroline and I were joined by 173 other 10K runners and 7K walkers.


Abbey Run 10K

The run itself was extremely well signposted and stewarded. There was never a question which direction the route would take us. The route was quite tough. There was a lot of slow steady inclines, which I found extremely hard. I did know the route but I had forgotten how many hills that I would have to deal with!

There were 2 water stations and it was such a treat that the lovely people handing out the water had the bottles already opened for us! The 7K walkers joined the 10K runners, at the second water station and we all ran/walked to the finish line outside Quin Post Office.

My 10K

Yesterday was my 3rd 10K in 3 weeks and I have to be honest I found it very very tough. I had went for a training run on Thursday (I only managed 3K) but when I got home I said to Aiden that I felt really sluggish. I just shrugged it off because I knew that I would need to keep my focus for yesterday's run. 

As it turned out I woke up yesterday morning feeling like I had a 10 stone weight on top of my head. I didn't sleep great and I just felt like I was coming down with a flu or something so I rang Orla to check if she had us registered or if she was waiting until before the race. I had decided that I felt so unwell that I wouldn't run if she hadn't registered us but if she had then I would run. Unfortunately for me Orla is super organised so she had us registered since the night before so I had to run!

I was delighted to be cheered on my Aiden and Colin and my sisters fiancé, Darren. When I passed them, at only 1/2K I felt so lazy and by 1K I knew I was in trouble. When I say trouble I don't mean that I was going to collapse or anything, I just knew that the run wouldn't go as well as last week.

As I mentioned above there were a lot of inclines and I found them so tough. At one point, just before the 4K marker, we had to run up over the railway bridge, this was a short steep incline and the downhill was lovely at the other side but even at that stage I was shattered!

I ran slow and steady until the 4K marker and by then I just felt like I had to walk. I ran and walked until the 7k and I then ran slow and steady, again, until the finish line. Again I had my supporters to cheer me to the finish but it was a bit upsetting that I finished in 1 hour and 10mins (the time on the clock, when I crossed the finish line was 1 hour and 10mins but my "official time" was 1 hour and 13 mins! Go figure!!!!). By that time the majority of runners had finished and were either walking back to their cars or were already in their cars on their way home. As a result the cheer at the finish had died down and for me I really needed it to push me on. There is nothing better than some random stranger clapping and cheering and telling you to keep running because you are almost there! Don't get me wrong there were people there to cheer me to the finish, all I'm saying is that the crowd had started to go home! (I think that's my hint to up my training and finish in a much better time!)

It was a hard run, for me, and I was so delighted to see the finish line but I did have some comfort in knowing that Orla and Caroline (both more seasoned runners than me) had to walk and found the run difficult too! We were all so exhausted after it but at the same time we were delighted to have finished in one piece!

Even last night sitting in my parents house, all showered and warm, in front of a glowing fire, I still felt wrecked! Did I do too much in the past 3 weeks (considering that the Run Clare Series 10mile is next weekend and my fitness level is not yet where it needs to be)? I can honestly say that: YES I did. It's a huge lesson learned and I'm going to have to be more careful before the Great Limerick Run Half Marathon.

Pulling out the Positives 

At the end of the day if I can take away anything from yesterday it's that I finished the 10K. Regardless of how it I did and how I felt I still got out there and walked/ran and finished! And I managed to get another medal, to add to my ever growing collection! Roll on the 10 mile next week in Kilnaboy!

Until the next time, always remember to be: 

Dee-Termined To Glam & Glow

Dee x