New Year's Resolution: Live and Let Live

A few years back, a talk show host said that during the holiday season, we basically reverse New Year's resolutions that we might have worked hard to achieve the rest of the year.  He suggested ditching the holidays and all those fun gatherings with family and friends.  

I don't think so.

What about weight loss resolutions?

Normally, Julie and I have a pretty healthy eating regimen made possible by preparing most of our meals at home using ingredients specifically selected to satisfy our appetites in what we consider a healthy manner, including low-carb bread, Atkins candy, lean meats, bananas, fresh and frozen vegetables and, most importantly, not buying much that we know would create unhealthy habits, such as stocking up on frozen pizzas (though we  usually have at least one pizza in the freezer for that occasional evening when we're lazy and crave tasty carbs and fat).

We certainly enjoyed many great meals between our Thanksgiving feast and today, often breaking bread with family members, which tends to result in some level of overeating.  After ingesting lots of fast food and potato chips in a Cannonball Run across the country, we joined my brother-in-law John's family for two big sit down meals in Colorado.

My sister Darlene's huge Christmas dinner centered by three Chateaubriands served with Béarnaise sauce started with Caprese Salad and sourdough bread --- a delicious meal by itself, in the quantities I ate them! --- and included potatoes and asparagus with more Béarnaise sauce, and then assorted desserts, including a delicious homemade spice cake decorated with skiers.

A couple of days later, Darlene made Arrabbiata Spaghetti, plus a modified Caprese Salad that included fresh spinach and sourdough bread, followed by dessert.  She made other great meals, too, and put out some incredible apres-ski platters of cheeses, meats and crackers. 

With Jay and Sasha coming to visit, and then Gina, Laszlo and Emma arriving a few days later on Christmas Eve  --- in times for Darlene's gourmet meals mentioned above --- Julie and I ate more rice and potatoes than  usual as we tried to find mutual ground with the diets of our guests.

A lot of food of assorted varieties was prepared in our kitchen.  Of particular note was a potato bar Julie put together when we had a full house, with toppings including taco meat and grated cheese for the Keto-friendly and spicy vegan substitutes as well as broccoli.

After Jay and Sasha had returned home --- and in fact it was the evening of the scheduled flight for Gina's family that had been cancelled, keeping them with us two more days --- we dined at Riverhouse Grill, where Julie and I ordered our  usual fried chicken dinners.   Emma had Homemade Mac & Cheese, Gina ate barbecued brisket, and Laszlo had salmon.  There were no leftovers.

The next evening, we ate Totchos (Tator Tots with bacon and other toppings) and wings along with bargain happy hour drinks at Tips Up.

Speaking of drinking, many people overindulge on alcohol during the holidays.  I don't think any of us went down that road, although I haven't heard reports about New Year's Eve celebrations.  At Tips Up, motivated by a fast, friendly waitress serving the whole place by herself, happy hour well drinks for only $3 and eating spicy wings after my glass was empty, I ordered an extra Gin and Tonic, but I was not staggering as we walked home on the snow-covered sidewalks.

We did manage to exercise away some of our excess calories, hiking Ousel Falls or around the neighborhood most days while the kids were visiting.  We also enjoyed some fantastic skiing.

On the last day that Jay and Sasha were in town, it snowed quite a bit.  With what seemed to be poor lighting and well-below freezing temperatures, we were having second thoughts about leaving the warm breakfast table to hit the slopes, but we did.  Was it okay?

All I can say is, "Wow!"

Okay, I can say more.

What a great day it turned out to be, with several inches of fresh powder creating challenges we hadn't had on our previous days on the slopes this year.  I had spent a few runs the prior day helping Laszlo with some basic ski techniques for turning, and he put them to good use in the powder.  It was his first time powder skiing, and he did fine.

Sure, he took a couple of falls, but he was doing better overall through that powder, skiing faster and more in control, than he had on groomed runs when he started out the day before.  Still, he was ready to head in about lunch time.

In the afternoon, Jay and Sasha took time away from their usual tree runs to ski with the old dude who prefers to race down the fairway, and with sunnier weather and some hot chili at the Panini Palace, it was a fun way to spend what we thought would be our last afternoon together.

We stopped about 1:30, so Jay and Sasha could begin the long drive home and Emma could go ice skating in the afternoon.  To my surprise, Jay and Sasha decided to delay their departure long enough for Sasha to ice skate with Emma at the park.  They had planned to skate on Christmas night, but the skate rental store was closed by the time we finished Christmas dinner and opening presents.

The snow that had made skiing so fun was still on the skating rink except a strip that some hockey players had cleared for practice.  To be clear, they could skate through the powdery snow, but it looked rather strange.  Emma and Sasha looked like they had fun together before they got too chilled to continue, although Julie and I only lasted about five minutes as sunset approached.

Swirling snow created what looked like potentially challenging driving conditions, so Jay and Sasha joined a few games of Bridge inside.  When the flurry subsided and we learned it would be a 90 minute wait for Lotus Pad to prepare a takeout meal, Jay and Sasha decided to hit the road.

Unfortunately, after driving an hour and a half through West Yellowstone, they were turned around by a closed road, so they arrived back a few hours later, obviously frustrated.  They left the next day after Sasha's virtual work day ended, and after stopping at a couple of hotels to work online and phones during the day and then driving in the evenings, they made it home safely a few days later.

With all of our outdoor exercise, we didn't come out the other side of the holiday season any less healthy than we went into it.  Julie has lost over ten pounds since her last pre-Covid doctor visit, and that was after Thanksgiving and Colorado.

Another area in New Year's resolutions often involves money.  I don't think any of us got too carried away with spending, though eating take-out or in restaurants certainly costs more than making food at home, at least for the ingredients Julie and I use in our usual Quick-Clean Cuisine.

On the plus side financially, Sasha was working virtually at least half-days, as was Jay, who was closing deals and writing reports despite the fact that Universal Music, where he is VP of Advertising, was shutdown for the holidays.

When Gina's family arrived at the airport on the morning of New Year's Eve morning, they learned their replacement flight was overbooked.  Laszlo continued home on the non-stop flight as had been re-scheduled from their original cancelled flights, but Gina and Emma accepted hefty air vouchers to fly later that day with a stop in Chicago. 

  

Unfortunately, weather delays caused Gina and Emma to miss their connecting flight in Chicago, so the saga continued another day.  They did receive a hotel voucher and made it home the next afternoon.  

Overall, I'd say we came through the holiday season intact.

We enjoyed spending holiday time with family, which is an important factor ignored by that aforementioned talk show host, Greg Gutfeld.

However, I must admit that like many a parent with grown children, at times I wanted to be that dad who simply tells the kids what we're doing and when.

  

All of our children are happy, successful adults capable of deciding for themselves what they want out of life.  They have all built great relationships.  

I am just happy to be able to spend time with them and appreciate what a wonderful job their parents must have done to turn out such awesome human beings.

Bear Pillow made by Sasha for Darlene & Brooks

The most epic game of Life ever!

Ice climbers (not us) scale the falls

Lovely Emma opted out of another photo op

Emma inadvertently left her matching PJs in the ski locker.