It's frustrating that even during the lulls, the so-called breaks, I feel compelled to fill my days. Between treatment, running errands and volunteering for my org, the past weeks have been busy. Then when I actually have nothing planned--literally planning to have no plans and take a day to just relax--I feel restless and absolutely can't "just relax." Amidst the jam packed days, there leaves a lot of room for even the teeny tiniest accomplishments. Once again, thank you Meghan for hosting!

• Survived a really capricious week of Dallas weather. Headed to warm Florida on Tuesday to spend a few days with my grandparents and family friends! 

• Baked a bunch of pumpkin snickerdoodles for my professors and co-workers. Then went around playing Santa to deliver them.
• Bought all my Christmas presents! Except for one more I am waiting to arrive, wrapped all of the others! Can't believe my favorite holiday is less than a week away! 

Me on the screen and my woke-up-like-this face

• Video called with my bestest best friends back in the Philippines as they revealed and exchanged Secret Santa gifts. 
• With my final final on Tuesday, I officially closed my second to last semester of my undergrad career. AAAAAHHHHH!!!! 
• Returned my rented textbooks before they were due

• Ate out (!) with friends (!!) twice on the same day (!!!): a hugemongous slice of anchovy and zucchini pizza for lunch and then a seared tuna taco for dinner. This may seem like such a small thing but for me this was challenging and am proud of myself for overcoming hence all the !!!s  🙌
• Made it through one week of my IOP program. Strangely, the meals themselves aren't as challenging as I expected them to be (A good or bad thing?). Probably more on this later.... 
• Attended a vegan pop-up market downtown on Thursday evening. Munched on cheese, chocolate croissants and hot chocolate with whipped cream and sprinkles--all vegan!! Plus, I got this free kombucha that I'm excited to try!  

• Attended two therapist and two dietician meetings all within 48 hours of one another. 
• As the coordinator of the fundraising events for one of the orgs I'm a part of,  we sold bouquets upon bouquets of roses at graduation ceremonies. I was literally there for 12 hours on Friday and 8 on Saturday. Lots of standing. Lots of talking. Much tiring. 
• Following the craziness of the weekend, I planned to make Sunday a full day of self-care: Baked scones, made a warm bowl of soup for dinner, attempted to soak in with this lovely bubble bar from LUSH, rubbed in some festive lotion, watched shows and read.

• Cut, buffed and painted my nails earlier in the week & then took it off last night! 
• Finished the first season of Gilmore Girls without even noticing it... Oh, the beauty and horror that is Netflix. 
• Wrote this post!  

Questions:
Have you tried kombucha before? Vegan hot chocolate? 
How do you get into the holiday spirit? 
What shows are you watching? 

Merry Christmas Eve Eve!!! I apologize for disappearing for the past couple of weeks. I got caught up in the storm that is finals. Then, of course, in an ironic twist of fate, my laptop's mouse stopped working and I had to bring it to be repaired. So here I am, computer-less during Winter Break 2015 when I can actually bum around without feeling guilty for avoiding my "responsibilities." Thankfully, I've been keeping busy. My friend from the Philippines visited me for the weekend so we showed her what Dallasites do--shop, eat, and shop more. I have caught up on Modern Family & Downton Abbey and been channeling my inner grandma (again) by getting back into crocheting. I've also been trying to make a dent in my never-ending list of things to bake. This is quite difficult considering I've saved the majority of the recipes on my computer; here is the first of hopefully more to come!


When I came across this recipe a few weeks ago, I linked it to my mother right away because it was basically made for her. Mocha + prunes + nuts = my mom in a loaf. I veganized (yes, it's a word) it by using coconut oil instead of butter and mixing up a flax egg. I also subbed whole wheat flour just because. It's like a giant amped up brownie. Bask in its nutty, chocolatey gloriousness! **insert angels singing here**

Let's be honest, as much as I say I'll have a post up tomorrow, I probably won't be blogging until after Friday. So have a wonderful holiday y'all, or if you don't celebrate Christmas, have a great couple of days!!! I'm off to make almond butter, double check my gift list, and continue crocheting!