Thanksgiving Recap and oh hey, I got a tattoo!

Oh heyyyy, happy Wednesday! I am knee-deep in project, papers, and exams but I took a nice break to write my recap post and I am sure glad I did. Blogging = instant stress relief. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving (if you are in the U.S.!) and enjoyed some quality time with your loved ones. And I hope you ate GOOD food! I know I sure did.

Thanksgiving morning started with my favorite lately: a pumpkin pie protein smoothie!

My family and I traveled to Louisville for the day to spend time with my Aunt, Uncle, and cousins. Here are the some scenes from our Thanksgiving day:

We like to keep a wide variety of color at my family’s Thanksgiving 🙂 Fall vegetables are my favorite vegetables! I made the bacon & apple brussels sprouts, maple roasted carrots, mashed sweet potatoes, and a simple arugula salad.

I also ate a big ol’ slice of my homemade pumpkin pie! <3

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday but this year was an extra special one for me personally. This year I didn’t stress about the calories or the amount of butter, I didn’t avoid the green bean casserole made with Campbell’s, I didn’t exercise in the morning or take a walk after eating, I didn’t make sure I was drinking enough water, & I didn’t have just a few bites of pumpkin pie. No, this year I was just, well, me. I drank wine all day, I drank 20 cups of mulling spices, I ate too many cheese & crackers, I ate both white potatoes & sweet potatoes, I ate two different desserts, I laid on the couch holding my stomach, I didn’t exercise at all, I laughed so hard I might have peed my pants a little, & I got to fully embrace what it means to be ME.

I started off Black Friday with another pumpkin pie smoothie…

My family and I arranged a few Christmas decorations before my mom, sister, and I decided to brave some of the shopping crowds. I really hate large groups of people…and the mall, so this experience was semi-stressful for me, haha! But I survived!

Saturday was spent working on homework, finishing decorating for Christmas, and getting a tattoo…

I wanted a reminder of where I want to be and where I have been. It’s simple, small, and exactly what I wanted! If you are in the Kentucky, Tennessee area you should check out Carter’s Tattoo Company and ask for Wesley!! He was amazing!

I ended the night with a little birthday party for the cutest little boy at my church! I enjoyed homemade pizza and salad and a homemade chocolate cake that was to die for!!!

Sunday morning started with a long dog walk with my mom and this cutie:

I was not a very good Orthodox Christian on Sunday and broke the fast by drinking a cup of coffee on my way to church…

After church I made my sister take pictures of me… lol

And then my mom and I got to work on baking A TON of cookies for our Church’s cookie drive.

I was so exhausted on Sunday night that I went to bed early!

I woke up Monday morning to drink another pumpkin pie smoothie and get ready for work. I worked most of the day and didn’t get home until 6:30. I read my book for a little while and then headed to Starbucks to work on a huge project with a girl in my group until 10:30. I was SO TIRED when I finally got home and got in bed.

Luckily I got to sleep in Tuesday morning! Owen and I woke up at 6:30 and I immediately made some coffee. After doing my quiet time I got to work on finalizing a few projects and working on some internship stuff.

I took a break to do a quick 3 miles around my neighborhood:

Running in the 27 degree weather was not ideal so I heated back up with some bone broth and rice cauliflower for lunch.

I got ready for class, presented a huge project over a proposed grant, and then met my sister so we could walk to my house together.

I ended the evening at my parents house because FREE FOOD. My cutest mom made a black bean quinoa salad that was heavenly!

Alright, this post has gone on long enough. Back to my regularly scheduled homework 🙂  Thanks for stopping by the blog today! Maybe one day I will actually have time to post a recipe on this blog, haha.