The week before Christmas & the best Christmas Day!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I hope you all are enjoying this season with your loved ones. I had the best day with my family eating cinnamon rolls and laying on the couch in my pjs – but more on that later! Before I dive into my Christmas day, lettuce back up to last week so I can fill you in on my life.

Let’s start with a quick protein oats recipe I made last Wednesday: 1/2 C oats, 1 1/2 C water – cooked on the stove until liquid was absorbed, then stir in 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder, cinnamon, and peanut butter. I also topped mine with dried cranberries and mini chocolate chips.

I spent all day at work before nannying for a few hours. I came home to find my kindness book had come in. I was so excited about this! I love Candace Cameron Bure and what a radiant light she is. Kindness is my favorite word and the word I try to live by each day so this book was fitting!

Thursday morning I went to work and then met my friend Holly to film a video on healthy living during the holidays and finding balance with food. I also stopped by the local coffee shop in town and picked up this AMAZING kale salad. I mean…I could eat this everyday.

I spent the rest of the evening going on a run, working on my internship work, and then feasting on chickpea pasta mac n cheese, broccoli, and salmon – so good!

I woke up early the next morning to have some quiet time, drink coffee, and eat my unsweetened coconut milk yogurt mixed with chocolate plant protein powder. My favorite breakfast lately!

I went to work for a little while and then came home to go on a quick run. It was FREEZING outside yet I still felt like I needed a smoothie. This was a quick smoothie snack with 1/2 frozen banana, 1 scoop vanilla protein plant powder, cinnamon, and 1 C of almond milk.

I also made the biggest bowl of puppy chow for my brother 🙂

Even though Owen gets lots of love and I went on a run with him, he still acts like no one pays attention to him…haha so pitiful!

Saturday morning I was up bright and early at 4 am to help my mom make a casserole to bring over to our church to feed the homeless population. I down my fruit and vegetable capsules to get the day started off right.

Once we got back I fell asleep for a little while before getting ready to meet a friend for coffee. When I got back home I went on a quick walk with Owen and then got to work on homemade gingerbread cookies!

Followed by my mom’s homemade chicken noodle soup 🙂

The next morning my family and I went to church from 9 – 12 and then we headed to Bob Evans. Every year my family and I eat at Bob Evans on Christmas Eve as a little tradition. 

My mom and I had a lot of baking / cooking to do for the midnight Christmas service. Lots of coffee was involved <3

We went to church that night from 9:30 unit 2 a.m. My church always has a big feast after the service. I was so exhausted when I got home – I didn’t end up waking up again until around 8. I made coffee and my mom and I baked the cinnamon rolls she had prepped the night before. SOOOOO HEAVENLY!!!

We spent all morning opening presents and then I went on a quick run with Owen around the neighborhood. I sipped on a smoothie afterwards to cool down.

Santa brought my a tripod for Christmas and I am obsessed!! This will make taking pictures so much easier.

P.S. how beautiful are these rainbow carrots?!?!

I took a long shower, put my Christmas PJs back on and sipped on some coffee while watching Justified with my mom and sister.

Around 6 we all set the table and feasted on my mom’s homemade lasagna, homemade bread, and the BEST wine EVER!!! It was so nice to be able to sit around the table with my family and talk about this past year and what we hoped for 2019.

My mom also made this raspberry cool whip dessert on a graham cracker crust that was super tasty!

We spent the rest of the evening watching Justified. I am off to bed with a full tummy and a full heart.

I hope you all had the best day ever!