the week ahead...

well i am officially in the homestretch for this semester. over the next couple of weeks, i will be spending more time in murfreesboro than knoxville. my goal this weekend was to finish up all my homework and assignments so that i don't have any to do over thanksgiving, clean and organize my room/the apartment and to pack my stuff up for home. i got all my clothes together and its safe to say that i am taking an obscene amount home but since i will be home all but five days in all in december, i am taking most all of my winter clothes home. loading and unloading the car is sure to be fun. i also finished up all my christmas shopping for gifts for just me and picked up a few other gifts to help mom out some.

the week ahead is definitely a busy one even though i only have one day of class. we have thanksgiving at our house which i love helping host and the current headcount is 22 people i think. luckily, the four of us make a good team and we get everything done that needs to be done. with so many things to do, one may wonder how i stay organized. i write everything down in my planner and of course, make lists. i have a meal plan, workout plan, and to-do list for this upcoming busy week that officially kicks off the holiday season. 

the meal plan: thanksgiving is meant for overeating and i'm not going to try to change that. i don't allow myself to splurge often and thanksgiving is certainly a day i should allow myself to do so. nonetheless, i am going to watch what i eat (and what my family eats because their health is just as important to me as mine own) very carefully in the days leading up to turkey day and a healthy breakfast on thursday. here's the menu i have in mind for this week.

• monday: Peanut Butter and Pepper's chicken pot pie with a fruit salad
• tuesday: Freutcake's enchiladas with pumpkin sauce, black bean salad and pumpkin salsa 
• wednesday: spaghetti squash with crockpot pasta meat sauce, salad (no carbs!) 
• thursday morning: banana and berries steel cut oats made with almond milk 

the workout plan: 

• tuesday: spin class
• wednesday: cardio and body pump
• thursday: treadmill 

the to-do list:

• tuesday: cleaning, last minute grocery run for any forgotten things
• wednesday: going to get the christmas tree (but not decorating until AFTER thanksgiving!), some pre-thanksgiving cooking and setting up the house and decorating for thursday 
• thursday: watch the macy's thanksgiving day parade of course and enjoy the holiday! 
• friday: decorate for christmas! 

y'all probably think i am an OCD freak who has to plan everything out and if that's true, so be it. i think i would go crazy if i didn't carry my Lilly planner with me 24/7 and that's okay with me. i may be a 45 year old in a 21 year old body and that's alright. planning everything out reduces my stress level which i need all the help doing. 

with such a busy week ahead, today i am planning to relax some. i can't start checking things off my to-do list until i get to murfreesboro so today i am packing up my car, painting my nails in essie's "penny talk" (a fabulous rose gold that is perfect for this time of year), studying for a test i have tomorrow and trying to stay warm! i will be murfreesboro bound mid-afternoon tomorrow so i want to make sure that i have everything packed and that the little red rocket is ready to roll out after my exam! i can't wait to spend time with my family this week for thanksgiving and the traditions we have are things i cherish. from thanksgiving to decorating for christmas, this coming week is one of my very favorites. blog posts may be few and far between but i will try not to desert y'all! happy early turkey day!

xoxo, 

clp