I was at my Saturday morning spin class recently, my favorite way to start the weekend. This is the teacher that highlights a different state each week, and over the course of the 55 minute class we learn all about that state. This week it was North Dakota, but the teacher couldn't find enough information on North Dakota, so he moved on to Ohio. I'm sure there must be lots to see and do there, and lots of interesting facts, but Tom could not find them. Anyway, being the holiday season, he started giving us tips on how NOT to gain the 7 pounds that the average American gains between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.
His suggestions included the following. 1. Eat a snack before going to a cocktail party. 2. Drink a glass of tomato juice before a dinner party. 3. Remember why you came to the party. Hopefully it was to see friends and be social, not to pig out. 4. Take just one plate of food. 5. Have one drink, then switch to club soda.
No matter how low key you try to make the holidays, there is still stress. We decided to get gifts for the kids, and just a little trinket for everyone else. It still adds up to stress. I think I'll end up with Starbucks gift cards or I Tune cards for most of the adults.
Our family is getting together for a Hanukkah dinner in Los Angeles, so the next issue is deciding on a menu that everyone is happy with. After lots of discussion, we're ordering food from Feast From The East, our favorite Chinese chicken salad place. Lots of extras like chicken wings, spring rolls, baos, and shu mai, plus a delicious dessert made by David will complete the meal. After all, it's about getting together. The food is secondary.
So that's our holiday plan. I'm looking forward to a wonderful day with our California family. we'll miss Phil, Deborah and Lennon, and hope that we can all be together soon. (BTW, our Hanukkah dinner table won't look anything like the one in this picture, but hey, would you really expect me to do anything conventional?)
Your holiday meal sounds wonderful! So Ron can travel now? Another milestone, happy for you guys!
ReplyDeleteRe North Dakota, did she touch on how it's become, in the last four years, the 4th largest oil producing State in the nation? The Bakken and Three Forks). They had like a 1 Billion dollar budget surplus! Unemployment around 3%. Towns like small sleepy Stanley now are deluged with constant traffic of big oil rigs, population tripled in the last few years, rents have skyrocketed, prices escalated on everything, but the mayor believes it better to have these problems than to be shrinking under the current state of the economy. Wonder how the locals feel?
We've also been hearing about the boom in neighboring S Dakota, it crazy up there, they can't fill the jobs fast enough! People coming from all over the country, living out of cars as theres no available housing.