This week we settle in for a post-Thanksgiving catch-up, sharing how wildly different our holidays looked — from Peter’s early family feast and multiple pie rounds to Aubrey’s first snowy Wisconsin Thanksgiving with a marathon dog show in the background. We recap Aubrey and Hayden’s dream honeymoon in Punta Cana (complete with a personal butler, swim-up suite, and unexpectedly eye-opening moments outside the resort), reflect on the realities of tourism, talk about the new food-pantry project Aubrey is helping with, and rant lovingly about overconsumption and skipped-over Thanksgiving vibes. It’s a cozy, thoughtful, everything-we’ve-been-up-to episode.

Thanksgiving Recap
We compare how our Thanksgivings looked this year:

• Peter had family in town, ate early because Alex worked, and enjoyed the luxury of being done with dinner by 1:30pm — which meant pie three separate times throughout the day.
• Aubrey and Hayden had their first Wisconsin Thanksgiving together: quiet, cozy, just the two of them… and a national dog show that somehow ran for nine hours.
• Hayden cooked the full spread — turkey, stuffing, rolls, mashed potatoes — while Aubrey happily avoided the kitchen.
• The Costco pumpkin pie reigned supreme.
• Wisconsin immediately greeted them with bitter cold and a looming winter storm warning.

Honeymoon in Punta Cana

• Aubrey and Hayden finally took their honeymoon: a full week in the Dominican Republic at an adults-only all-inclusive.
• Thanks to deep research and a weird price quirk, they booked a VIP swim-up suite that was:
• Perfect weather the whole trip: 85° highs, 78° lows, light rain only at night.
• The butler sent daily WhatsApp newsletters with weather, restaurant schedules, and events.
• Resort activities
  • Parasailing
  • Muddy ATV/buggy tour
  • Swimming in a water cave
  • Tasting Dominican hot chocolate, coffee, and tea
  • Exploring local beaches
• Aubrey would like to return and never come home again.

The Realities of Tourism

• They learned resort employees often earn around $450/month, even in high-demand roles.
• Staff often work 12 days on, 2 days off, with housing just across the street.
• Resort guests are encouraged to leave TripAdvisor reviews for staff because bonuses and days off depend on it.
• Aubrey and Hayden tipped generously and left detailed positive reviews.
• We talk about how tourism helps but also doesn’t necessarily feed the real local economy.

What’s New at Home

• Aubrey is settling back into Wisconsin winter and starting her new job.
• Peter’s work has been the usual year-end chaos: med students, residents, OR days, and holiday-season busyness.
• He looks forward to January even though January hasn’t really slowed down in recent years.

Aubrey’s New Unpaid Job

• Aubrey is now the social media manager for her best friend’s mobile food pantry in Salt Lake.
• The pantry serves communities that can’t easily get to traditional food banks.
• Winter increases needs dramatically.
• Aubrey’s been making Canva graphics, Reels/TikToks, and growing the project’s presence.
• Shameless plug: Instagram → freefoodtruck.slc

Rethinking Consumption & the Holidays

• Aubrey has been reflecting on:
  • Volunteering
  • Spending money intentionally
  • Avoiding overconsumption culture — especially around the holidays
  • Donating or supporting causes rather than buying random gifts
• She shares love for:
  • The Hank & John Green–run Good Store
  • Awesome Socks Club subscriptions that funnel profits into maternal health in Sierra Leone
  • Coffee/tea subscriptions funding TB research

Peter’s Mini-Rant on Thanksgiving

• We revisit the idea (from Middle of Culture) that Thanksgiving has meaning but gets ignored since it can’t be easily commercialized.
• Halloween and Christmas dominate because they’re more profitable.
• Black Friday is a shadow of itself — 30% off is now considered a “deal.”

Wrapping Up

• We’re both getting back into routines after travel.
• Aubrey is preparing for a long winter of hibernation.
• Peter encourages light exposure (even artificial) to survive seasonal darkness.