1. On Thursday I started to have some heel/arch/foot pain so I was on injury watch all weekend (and into this week). I had asked my mom for some compression socks for Christmas so she thoughtfully gave them to me early so I could live in them while I was at home. I think they helped with things but I know that I looked cool rocking green socks all weekend!
2. On Saturday, after running a million errands and spending lots of money on shoe inserts and athletic tape (did I tell you how seriously I’m taking this minor foot pain?), my mom and I were finally able to go to Inn Season, a vegetarian/vegan restaurant near my mom’s house. Unfortunately, after a day lacking in veggies, all I wanted was a salad so instead of trying one of the cool, vegan entrees, I stuck with a basic spinach salad with golden beets, raisins, sprouts, avocado, and tahini dressing. It was good but I could have had a salad anywhere, what was I thinking?
3. For some reason I thought it would be fun to check out the mall while I was home. Somerset is always decorated for the holidays and after spending a lot of time there in middle school and high school, I like to go back when I’m in town. Well, the mall was an absolute mess of people and the decorations were a little lacking this year but I managed to do a little more shopping and even picked up a sweater on sale at J. Crew.
4. When I’m in Michigan, I almost always need to go to Siam Spicy, my absolute favorite thai restaurant ever. Their pad thai is THE BEST but on occasion I like to branch out and try something new. This time I tried a stir fry dish that came with ginger and a black bean sauce. It was good and really spicy!
5. On Sunday I squeezed in my last 20 miler for the Goofy Challenge. I ran 20 miles out from my mom’s over to where we used to live and met my mom and Ian for lunch at one of my favorite cafes. The sidewalks were icy and the route was really hilly but I loved the change of scenery and really enjoyed myself. My foot also didn’t really bother me while I was running which was a huge plus!
6. I made avocado pudding in a blender for the first time ever while I was home. I usually just mash all of the ingredients with a fork or a whisk and it works but I decided to take advantage of my mom’s blender (it’s better than ours) and her cleaning skills (love you 
) and tried it. Verdict? I loved it and it was super creamy.
7. On Christmas eve after running more errands, my mom, Ian, and I grabbed lunch at the only open place in the area a Mediterranean place and had quite the unplanned feast. I ordered vegetarian grape leaves and a juice (carrot, beet, apple) and was surprised to be served a huuge entree sized salad, grape leaves, fries, and tahini sauce. The fries were outstanding and I definitely ate a little bit too much.
8. On Christmas morning, I woke up early and headed out for a recovery 8 mile run. My foot didn’t’ really hurt but didn’t feel great either so I took my run nice and easy. When I got home, Ian got up, and I helped my mom make breakfast. Both Ian and my mom had apple cinnamon pancakes and I had a bowl of watery oatmeal (I could not get it to thicken) with a dark chocolate pb cup in the middle and Naturally Nutty butter toffee pb around the edges (hey it was Christmas 
).
After eating, we exchanged gifts and listened to Christmas music. It was a great way to start our Christmas morning.
9. Last year, instead of having a formal Christmas meal, my mom and I decided to have something more manageable for only a few people and made chili. We decided to keep the tradition this year and made vegan and gluten free cornbread muffins, a turkey chili, and then my favorite vegetarian chili. I definitely had my share of chili and cornbread, it’s one of my favorite meals.
For dessert, I had a piece of my favorite cake, pineapple dump cake. The “recipe” is incredibly simple and can be veganized and made gluten free and still tastes good. I ate entirely too much of this stuff while I was at home!
10. Unfortunately, shortly after Christmas lunch, Ian and I packed up and headed back to Chicago. We both have to work today so we wanted to get back, unpack, and relax a bit before going to bed.
How was your holiday weekend?
What’s one of your family’s holiday traditions? My mom always reads The Night Before Christmas to me and even though I’m older, I don’t want to break the tradition!
I’m glad you had a good long weekend at home!
Katie @ Peace Love & Oats recently posted..Molly’s Second Christmas
Thanks, Katie
I’m drooling over that avocado pudding and totally giggling at the socks. Love them!
Jess @ JessieBear What Will You Wear recently posted..WIAW- Christmas Edition
Hahaha, the socks are silly looking but super comfy!
Avocado pudding is amazing, if you’ve never tried it you should!
I went to Inn Season this past Saturday too!! It’s my favorite restaurant. I love trying their specials but their salads are really good!
I must have missed you!
Sounds like you had a good Christmas! Holiday weekend at home was excellent here too! The family liked Kelsey’s special salad!! Woooo. Take care of that foot!!!! Ice, ice, ice.
Emily recently posted..Yoga Loft
Mmm special salad, how could they not like it??
Thanks, Em! I’m glad you had fun at home!
I hope you foot starts cooperating soon! Injuries are stupid. A+ to you, though, for taking it seriously. My method tends to be, “Well, maybe I’ll just sleep it off,” day after day after day until I’m too injured to pretend I’m not injured anymore, which possibly is not the wisest approach to things. At least you get to wear some pretty schnazzy socks in the mean time! Haha.
On the bright side of leaving early, at least you didn’t have to drive back in all the snow the east side is supposed to get today! My family (minus me) is all going to Detroit this afternoon for Central’s bowl game tonight, and my mom is freaking out over the forecast. Not that I blame her, since the current radar is kind of terrifying haha.
Bethany @ Accidental Intentions recently posted..A Christmas Wordless(ish) Wednesday
I hope you have fun at the bowl game and travel to Detroit safely!
Thanks, I hope my foot cooperates soon too!
everything looks delicious and sounds fun!!! yes, I completely avoid the malls during the holiday season, but I did pick up some giftcards, so now I need to do some shopping!! I had thai food recently too! YUM, it is always a fav.!
i also still need to make avocado pudding!
sounds like a wonderful xmas!
hugs,
gc
Thanks gc, looks like you had a wonderful Christmas too!
My Christmas weekend was a blur! I spent part in Michigan as well! One of my favorite new traditions is lounging with my husband on Christmas Day. We watched White Christmas and Holiday Inn back to back. It was a nice break!
Katie @ Livehalffull recently posted..What I Ate Wednesday #2
That sounds wonderful, I love White Christmas!
The avocado pudding looks amazing! Have you had plantar fasciitis before? I wear a brace thingy at night, and it DEFINITELY helps me. It keeps my pf stable ….it’s usually a little sore after my runs, but it no longer affects my runs and is no longer sore in the morning. You can buy them at a local drug store.
Julia recently posted..Running Recap 12/17-12/23
I haven’t had it before and I guess I’m still not 100% sure I have it. My pain is in the right area and my arch is a little sore but I don’t have pain in the morning or after sitting for a long time. Maybe I noticed it early on or it’s something else?
Thanks for the advice! I read about the braces online but wasn’t sure how helpful one would be. If I’m still having pain in a day or two I may pick one up. It’s a relief to hear that you’re still able to run with it!
Oh man you were at somerset!!! I work there at Lululemon!
I stopped in the store but it was so busy that I didn’t stay too long!
Looks like you had a great time at home! It’s always nice to relax at home for a few days. And I think you need to share the recipe for that pineapple cake, I’m craving some “summery” dishes!
Irina @ Chocolatea Time recently posted..Let’s Play Catch Up!
I can definitely share it although it’s way too simple to even call a recipe!
Hope your foot starts feeling better soon!
My coworker brought avocado pudding to work once and I tried it. It was delicious!
I drove to Iowa Friday night after work and it seemed to take forever. The roads were still pretty crappy. Thankfully they were better when I drove back yesterday.
Alyssa @ Don’t Look Down recently posted..Illinois Marathon Training Recap Week 5
I’m glad the roads were better!
Yay another avocado pudding fan! Some people are so afraid of it but it’s delicious and barely avocado-y at all!
What a great trip! So happy to hear that your foot cooperated for the 20 and was only a bit achey on the 8. How is it now?
Man. Now I am really hungry for Thai. At 8:00 am. That is ok… right?
Our holiday weekend was nice! Just lots of relaxing and food
kilax recently posted..Random Thoughts Thursday XXVII [15]
My foot’s much better today (I took 3 days off of running to be safe) and I’m itching to run tomorrow!
Thai is good at any hour, in high school I used to eat leftover pad thai for breakfast when I was running late. Yum.
Glad to hear you had a nice Christmas
Glad you had a good Christmas at home Lindsay!
I was working, but got to skype with my family in the afternoon which was nice.
The past few years we watch Family Stone on Christmas or Christmas Eve, it is one of our favorites. Even though I couldn’t be with my family I kept the tradition alive and watched it by myself Christmas night
Cate recently posted..Highlights of 2012 and Moving Forward in 2013
I’m glad you still got to skype with your family!
That’s a great movie too!