Happy Wednesday! I can tell the holiday hustle has been getting to me, because I almost didn’t get around to writing today’s post at all! I wrote it in a bunch of little spurts in the Notes section on my phone—you do what you gotta do. Last weekend I went out to New Jersey to decorate the Christmas tree with my family. It’s a tradition that we’ve tried to honor, but of course, as the years have gone on and my sister and I have gotten older, it’s required more coordination. Then, what doesn’t?
Something I’ve been working on in my own life is making time for these types of family occasions and other important life events. Spending four years in grad school and getting my RD credentials and then working in hospitals, I lost sight of that for a while, and I let myself get caught up in feeling I HAD to work every weekend. I told myself this head-down, “too busy” thing was temporary. Suddenly, almost ten years of “temporary” had gone by and I was still missing almost every gathering. Very “Cat’s In The Cradle.”
Then this summer it became really important to start making space again. I’m not going to pretend it’s been even close to easy, especially during the holidays, a season I already have a complicated relationship with. Case in point: My December Spotify playlists are always a weird mix of Christmas, displaced romantic nostalgia, and Seasonal Affective Disorder.
A small sampling of this month’s weird playlist
Anyway, I’m rambling. I guess I’m just trying to explain why the hell I hauled ass to Port Authority in the middle of a snowstorm last weekend. Suffice it to say, it’s Christmastime, and I’m trying my best. It may not always be quite good enough, but it’s better than not trying at all. I went out on Saturday when it was snowing. Thankfully it was an easy trip with clear roads and no traffic.
Saturday night was mellow. Sunday morning I did yoga before my sister and her husband came over for lunch and tree trimming.
It was a really nice low-key day and a good way to celebrate the season. I also enjoyed lots of quality time with my fave bichon. He’s so gross but I love him anyway.
Even though I had it in my head I was going to do WIAW pictures for a whole day this weekend, I forgot a bunch, but here’s the “what I ate” part.
Saturday:
Breakfast: Roasted sweet potato, leftover veggies, and two eggs—one rogue yolk, and one normal one.
When one yolk is, like, “Yes!” and the other is all, “I can’t even.”
Lunch: salad with veggies & leftover chicken ; an apple for “lunch dessert”
Snack: 2% plain yogurt & chia seeds
Dinner : sashimi, salad & 2 spare ribs (one of my fave crappy-for-me-but-delicious “in moderation” foods) bourbon to drink
Bedtime snack: berries with a spoonful of ricotta
Sunday:
Leftover Chinese food veggies & an egg
Lunch: Salad, smoked salmon, egg, leftover veggies, half a glass of prosecco
Snack: yogurt with pumpkin & chia seeds
Dinner: clean-out-the-fridge-salad w/ zoodles & pea soup topped with leftover sautéed mushrooms & hemp hearts; square of chocolate for dessert
What’s one of your family’s holiday traditions?
To see more WIAW, check out founder Jenn’s blog Peas & Crayons or visit host Laura‘s blog.
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