Well there’s no more denying it: Christmas is almost here.

Two weeks from today we’ll all be congregating with family, eating honey ham and Pillsbury rolls and exchanging presents under the Christmas tree.  The funny thing about me is that this is my favorite time of the year.  Christmas day isn’t what does it for me.  It’s these weeks leading up to the day that I love the most. It’s when I crave hot chocolate, sitting by a fireplace, and ice skating (getting me to voluntarily spend time outside during sub-zero temps won’t happen any other time of the year). I love shopping for friends and family, turning on Christmas carols, and most of all, baking! And since I’m in the process of changing jobs (more on that later), I have the next three weeks completely free during the day that will undoubtedly all be taken up with Christmas baking!

I already have my sights set on reindeer cookies, German chocolate cake, saltine cracker toffee, Nutella-filled chocolate cookies, and brownies with peppermint frosting. It’s gonna be a sugar-filled, chocolate-infused few weeks, and I love it.

I’m doing my best during the holidays to keep my meals at home normal, so today’s WIAW is nothing extravagant. I save that for my weekends in the city 🙂 I’ll tell ya, the minute I live in the city I’m going to spend all my money on food. It’s a problem.

I started out the day with some exercise: 30 minutes alternating speeds on the stairmaster followed by an upper body workout.

Pics or it didn’t happen right?

Luckily the only other guy in there was directly behind me so I could do this selfie stealthily (say THAT five times fast!)

Breakfast

Today’s breakfast was plain Greek yogurt with truvia and pomegranate seeds. I ate this directly after having a protein shake so needless to say I got my day started with a heavy dose of protein. I’m usually not a big fan of eating breakfasts without some form of bread or oats, but this meal had so much protein that it kept me full for hours and hours.

Protein shakes excite me. It’s basically chocolate milk with a kick.

I did a little grocery shopping later in the morning for some healthy items.

Kiddinggggg. It’s December 11th. Healthy treats aren’t on my brain. Please forgive the picture quality…the lady obviously didn’t understand that I have a blog to take pictures for.

Lunch

Lunch was one of my favorite things lately: butternut squash and carrot soup. It sounds kind of funky, but it tastes like cheese. If something can make vegetables taste like cheese, it’s got my vote.  Thank you to my local grocery store for featuring this soup during these cold winter months! Sometimes soup is exactly what you want. I ate two pieces of bread with hummus on the side.

Dinner

When I got off work at the restaurant I scoured through our leftovers and came up with a chicken fajita.  It’s my Mom’s recipe full of bell peppers, onions, cayenne pepper, and red pepper flakes.  After I snapped a picture this was topped with copious amounts of guacamole to make it even better. Usually I have two fajitas but the protein-heavy day plus a few handfuls of popcorn while I was making it filled me up.

Finally, I can’t end this post without acknowledging a very special person: today is my Dad’s birthday!

Happy birthday to the most important man in my life. My biggest fan, the popcorn guy, my Dad. I love you so much!

Question:

• What is your favorite sweet holiday treat to make this time of year?