Happy Monday! Can you believe this is the last week in 2014!? Where did the year go? Time has flown by! Last week we were busy with activities leading up to Christmas, traveling (10 hours) to visit family, and so much more!
We were unsure of our Christmas plans last week, and we decided last minute to drive up to visit my husband’s family in Coos Bay, OR. It could possibly be the last time we visit there (they are wanting to relocate) and wanted to hike around and play one last time.
We spent all day Christmas Day driving. Thankfully the boys were good sports and super excited. The drive up was relatively uneventful and pretty easy.
We had one day of sunshine and nice weather. It was still cool… but not rainy or windy. We enjoyed playing with new toys, playing outside, and hiking.
We hiked along the coast for a few miles to Shore Acres. The boys enjoyed stomping in mud puddles, exploring tide pools, and climbing big rocks and fallen trees. I enjoyed the fresh air and the sounds of the ocean crashing on the rocks below.
My husband enjoyed a little bit of relaxation and rest on the trip too. He had to do a bit of work from the computer, but was able to escape and enjoy the trails and sights with us. He is going to miss the ocean the most out of all of us, I think.
While visiting, we ate really really well. My mother-in-love is an excellent cook and our taste buds were always happy. We ate whole and real foods … that were really calorie filled and delicious. Casseroles, Pies, Snacks, Sweets, Family Recipe Dressing, Fixing’s, Flavored Coffee… and more! Oh how my taste buds wish I were still there. Yet, my expanded waist line isn’t so happy. Ha!
As you can tell by the spread above (for 4 adults and 3 kids) we were well fed and taken care of. Yummy. The mashed potatoes are always my favorite side dish of any (and most) family occasions. My boys LOVE mashed potatoes too! We made this dish with a bit of a twist to add some more healthy protein to the dish.
Refrigerated Mashed Potatoes
Cook 5 lb (9 large) potatoes in salt water. Drain and mash.
Add 6 oz cream cheese, 1 cup Plain Greek Stonyfield Yogurt, 2 teaspoons onion salt, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 2 tablespoons oleo.
Beat until fluffy. Cover. Can be refrigerated for 10 days.
Place in greased casserole. Dot with oleo and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until heated.
Makes 12 Servings
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On Sunday we ventured back south 10 hours home. We were in rain and snow all of Oregon. The boys saw snow falling from the sky for the first time. They were so excited. Too bad we were on a time crunch to make it home, or we would have stopped to play in it. They will have a lot of experience playing (and shoveling) snow when we move. 
Once we were over the Siskou Pass (photo above) and heading down into California, we had blue skies and temperatures in the mid 50s. Oh what a stark difference the weather was back on the California side. We were able to see and enjoy the snow capped mountain of Mount Shasta and Mount Lassen as we drove through Redding.
Now back at home, I am ready to tackle my week and finish out 2014 strong. I am officially beginning Boston 2015 Marathon Training (Yikes!) and am focusing a lot on strength, proper nutrition, and listening to my body.
This Week’s Fitness Plan (What I plan to do):
Monday: PureForm PFT strength
Tuesday: Cardio & Core + Run 6 miles at temp
Wednesday: PureForm PFT strength
Thursday: Cardio & Core
Friday: PureForm PFT strength
Saturday: PureForm PFT (with husband and kiddos?)
Sunday: Run 10-12 miles
My nutrition and meal plan this week is to try to stay within in my calorie range. My goals are to remember to eat, choose healthy food choices, and to stay on top of my hydration. Seems simple enough, right? I plan on using the 21 Day Fix meal plan as a guideline again this week. If I am hungry I will eat more. A girls gotta eat!
I hope you and your family had an amazingly blessed holiday season! I pray that the end of 2014 will be healthy, happy, and full of motivation to start 2015 strong with your health and fitness goals!
Lovely pictures. That potatoes recipe is very intriguing… 10 days! And I want to wish you well with your Boston 2015 training. Can’t wait to read all about it. Happy New Year to you.
Super pretty although the driving part always sucks. Good luck with Boston Training! Unfortunately I don’t think I’ll be finishing 2014 very strong. Been sick for days but as soon as I get better I’ll be tackling some goals.
Sounds like you had an amazing time visiting family. I love the excitement of your boys seeing snow! It’s such a regular thing here. My kids would LOVE to see mountains 😉
Cheers to 2015!!
It sounds like you had a good Christmas. I was just not in the Christmas spirit this year. I didn’t decorate or anything but we went to my parents house and they did all the decorating.
Sounds like a lovely trip. Those mashed potatoes sound amazing – I don’t eat mashed potatoes often, but every once in a while I crave them. I hear you on the too much food thing though…
Seriously, where did the year go?! Loving the pics of Oregon and Redding 😉
I just returned from a fairly easy and flat 3+ mile run. It felt good and I was running with some of my favorite people. Happy New Year and have an amazing 2015!
It’s kind of surreal that Christmas 2014 is over. Lots and lots of family time and much to my surprise a lot of that time was board games with no phones, TV or computer! FTW!
GORGEOUS photos. Especially the mashed potatoes, haha! Those are my weakness at the holidays. This final week (well, day) of 2014 has been spent digging myself out of the holiday chaos! But it was so worth it. Cheers to 2015!