Home For Christmas

Hello friends!! How I found the time to blog while I am home...I don't quite know, but here I am! :)

In my last blog post I wrote about my Christmas goals. So far, I have been pretty successful in following all of them...except for one. Exercising. But, I'm honestly 120% okay with that because I have gotten in some of the best family time and I'm the happiest girl in the world right now! Family time>>>>exercising.


The first night I got in I got to go see The Hobbit with my cousins and good friends. I was an avid LOTR fan when those movies came out, sooo it was only right to go see The Hobbit...and be that Nerd that goes at Midnight to see the premier.

This is my cousin Maureen. She is pretty much amazing. She also was the first person in line for The Hobbit Premiere. 7:55pm, thats amazing.(oh and did I mention she's single;) ;) )

Reunited at last!!!A whole year is way too long to be away from any person you love.  (Btw, thats my cousin Molly in the middle :) )

The Hobbit was really good and by some miracle I stayed awake during the whole entire 3 hour movie! Honestly, I was more excited about being with my cousins than the movie itself. So, I kept talking to them during the movie...yeah, I was THAT person ;)

Friday I got to spend the morning with Maureen and the evening with my Grammy (My mom's mom). Maureen and I hit up Panera for breakfast, a tradition of ours. However, we dilly dallied, got a late start, and missed breakfast....but it was all good because I got some pretty delicious kick awesome coffee ;)

Oh! and did I mention how THRILLED I am to finally be able to wear my winter clothes! Nothing says Christmas like a cozy scarf and sweater!! ;)

Yesterday has been one of my fav days so far! I went over to my Nanny's house (My dad's mom) and baked Christmas cookies and chocolates with the whole Grierson family. My dad is from a close knit family of nine, so you can imagine the crowd we had. Oh, and did I mention we dont believe in indoor voices ;) We literally baked, decorated, and dipped delicious things in chocolate ALL DAY. The result was magical.

 I wish I got more pics of everyone!...but I was too busy eating Chocolate. And making some serious messes. Literally. When I stepped away from the table there was chocolate on the walls, the floor, myself, and if there was chocolate on other people it was probably somehow from me. But being clean and tidy is boring anyway, right? ;)

So, like I mentioned at the top I haven't really worked out since I was home. Before I came home I had mentioned I was planning on working out in the mornings. Just a real quick one hour session. I'm hoping to possibly do another competition and I want to try to stay in shape! However, this hasn't happened. Instead, I've dedicated 100% of my time to family and its been amazing. Last night I tried to do a leg workout with my mom. That lasted about 30 minutes and I was exhauuuusted. (I don't think I ate enough cookies to help me power through it! I mean hey, food is fuel!;) )So instead, mom and I popped a bottle of wine, snuggled up together and watched some TV and decorated the Christmas tree (thats cardio, right?!) It was literally a perfect day.:) I really don't think there is anything better in life than spending time with the people you love. 

BUT! Tomorrow morning I think I'm going to go for a run...anyone want to join ? ;)

I hope you all are having a wonderful Holiday so far. Don't forget to slow down and just ENJOY. I believe it's in those moments that you will really find true joy ;) Alright! I'm off to go cause some trouble!

Tis the Season!!!

Hello friends!
     Once again I have failed keeping up with my blog on a weekly basis... This blog may just be a monthly thing. I get all these great ideas and I'm like "oh hey, I'm going to blog about this great idea today!!!"...and then, it never happens (I blame this on my ADHD. The struggle is real!). but! here I am! today! blogging! woo!

   So, the hustle and bustle of Christmas has officially begun! I absolutely LOVE this time of year! I love it so much that Caleb and I actually started decorating a week and a half before Thanksgiving! (yea, we're those people. no shame) But hey! it only comes once a year so, you got to enjoy it while its here!

So, quick life update!
   The past few weeks have been pretty hectic in the Stevens household with Caleb's work. He flies helicopters all day and studies all night.  He is so determined and I couldn't be more proud of him! However, this past week he had a short class on Thurs, then Friday-Sunday off! It was AMAZING! Thursday evening his squadron had a Christmas party which was a blast AND I got to dress up for it! (I'm a little girl at heart, I seize any opportunity I can to go out, buy a dress, and get glitzy for the evening ;) ) Then Friday we Christmas shopped, saw the Hunger Games (SO GOOD), and spent the evening drinking wine, telling ridiculous stories, and laughing with our great friends Dan and Kim! Yesterday (Saturday) we got to spend the whole day finishing up Christmas shopping and eating at Tijuana Flats (They have amazing Burritos and Taco Salads!!!) So, needless to say I have gotten in some much needed husband time! And its been wonderful! One thing Navy life has taught me is take full advantage of the time you get with your significant other.

Getting ready to head to the Christmas partyyy. But, first I insisted on taking some sappy pics ;)

Tijuana Flats! We devoured our food before I could get a proper pic...it was THAT good! 

Our little christmas tree! I believe the more ornaments...the better!!! Oh, and did I mention that Caleb's dad sent it all the way from their family owned Christmas tree farm in West Virginia to Florida! Coolest Father in law EVER!

DECEMBER GOALS! 
    So, in 4 days I'll be heading home for Christmas!!! I actually haven't been home for an entire YEAR! This year was a little different for Caleb and I and a bit hectic, so between randomly cancelled flights (yes the airlines cancelled my ticket...or something crazy like that) and life happenings going home just didn't happen. But that's okay because sticking by my husband's side through tough times is SO important AND what a better time to be reunited with family and friends than Christmas! (Insert confetti emoji here!) I'll be going home for 2 and a half WEEKS! YAY! So I set some goals:
                     1. Going home can always get so hectic. I over-plan my week and promise too many people that I'll do too many things. Sometimes, I think I'm super woman and I can do everything! However, this causes me to get stressed out and I end up either disappointing people or not giving people my full time and attention. This leaves me feeling drained... SO! this year I plan on slowing down, spending as much time with loved ones, and truly enjoying every little moment!
                 
                   2. Keeping up with my fitness goals. MMM yea. This is always a tough one for me!  Every year when I go home I say I'm going to work out 5 times a week, eat healthy, and not lose any of my gainzzz. However, this never happens. haha! So this year I am going to make some reasonable goals. Going home this year my main focus is spending time with family and friends. Yes, I am a fitness addict and working out and eating healthy is high on my priority list, but, my family is higher. Therefore, I am still aiming to work out 5 times a week. This year I have no excuses! My dad recently set up a workout area in our basement so all I have to do is wake up and get my little toosh downstairs and knock out a good hard one hour workout! I know I can do this and I encourage any readers to try to do this too! The hardest part is just getting to the gym...and for me the first 10 minutes. But! Once you conquer this and are nice and warmed up, just stay focused and determined! Don't let the workout beat you, beat the workout! ;)

                  3.  FOOD FOOD FOOD. There is OH so much wonderful food involved with Christmas! These past few months I have been sticking to a fairly strict clean eating plan that my trainer gave me and quite honestly I enjoy following! (I'm a weirdo like that) However, I am a firm believer that anything is okay to eat in moderation and not being a complete psycho about dieting.  So, will I be eating ice cream, YES! Cake, oh, I'm sure! Going out to eat , DEFINITELY! However, do I think its a good idea to go ahead, go crazy and eat 20 cookies...errrmm probably not, but hey, if it happens, it happens. But, seriously, my goal for myself is to relax, make good food choices (Eat about 80% clean...and if that doesn't happen, no worries!), and just enjoy and take in the time with friends and family! Anyways, I never can turn down a good frozen yogurt date!! The last thing I or anyone else, wants to stress about when I go home is what they are eating. A little splurging never hurt anyone!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!!!
                                     <3    Mandy

P.S. I have had multiple people ask me about my meal plan. The main reason I don't really share it is because my trainer made it specifically for me and my needs. Every body is different and needs different amounts of protein, carbs, ect. depending on how much you are exercising and whether you're trying to loose weight, bulk up, or just keep your weight! However, I will be doing a post about clean eating, hopefully this month!! :)