Is this not the cutest thing you've ever seen? It's the mascot for Winter Park's "Winter in the Park" ice skating rink on the west side of Central Park. Kudos to whomever came up with it! There are now four places (that I know of) where we can ice skate in Central Florida this December: Park Avenue in Winter Park, Lake Eola in Downtown Orlando, UCF and, of course, The RDV Sportsplex in Maitland. I'll be lacing up my skates in Winter Park. Should be fun!
I am so excited that it’s December. This has been a very challenging year, not only for me, but for a lot of people I love. Turning the calendar page today indicates that 2009 is drawing to a close. Let’s think about it like this - if 2009 was a dinner, we’ve finished the liver and the brussel sprouts and we’re about to enjoy a luscious Crème Brule with a piping hot cup of coffee. I can’t wait!
I have always adored the month of December. For starters, December is when some of my very favorite people on the planet made their grand entrances. Happy Birthday Betsy, Carissa, Bev, Dad, Ericka, Cindy F, Kathy & Cindy R and I still miss you, Grandma! (Happy first Birthday to baby Cross, too, and I can't wait to meet you little Miss Marzolf! I think you've picked a splendid time to be born!)
Can I mention Christmas in this blog? I think I will.
I LOVE Christmas and everything it represents. Of course I love all of the fun and frivolity, the great tastes and smells and all the decorations. I love white twinkle lights…iced cookies…the Reindeer Run 5K in Maitland…real Christmas trees…homemade ornaments…cute pajamas with polar bears on them…kids Christmas pageants…living nativity scenes...gingerbread houses… coordinated neighborhood light shows…boat parades…the smell of cinnamon and evergreen… handwritten cards…eggnog…open houses….toy drives…gift wrapping for charity…The Rockettes (BTW, they performed for FREE outside of the downtown Orlando Public Library today)…Secret Santas…caroling…shiny glass ornaments…The First Baptist Church of Longwood’s annual Walk Through Bethlehem…poinsettias and red amaryllis plants…The First Baptist Church of Orlando’s Singing Christmas Trees…getting dressed up for parties…egg & sausage strata…the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at my church and pictures of my friends’ little girls in their velvet dresses, satin hair bows, leggings and patent leather shoes and of their boys sporting new haircuts, pressed pants, untucked dress shirts and little bow ties.
I love watching all of the classics on TV. I never get tired of that cute little dog, Max, with the weighty antlers on his head or of Cindy Loo Who getting up to get a drink of water. I love it when the Whos sing together on Christmas morning and when Jimmy Stewart’s George offers to lasso the moon for Mary. Every year, I look forward to seeing Rudolph blush when he’s around Clarice, to watching Charlie and the gang decorate their sad little tree and to witnessing Scrooge's epiphany as he finally discovers what life and love are really all about.
I love my Christmas music, especially Please Celebrate Me Home by Kenny Loggins. The minute I put my last Thanksgiving plate in the dishwasher, I change my car radio dial to Magic 107.7 and I leave it there until December 25th so I can enjoy the nonstop carols.
Call me crazy, but I even love Christmas shopping. I’m a last minute girl, so I often find myself on Christmas Eve morning in a sea of shell shocked husbands running OJ (1970s Hertz commercial) style through the mall in a last ditch effort to keep themselves out of the dog house. I love gift wrapping at 12:01 Christmas morning while I watch the Pope deliver the Christmas Mass in Italian. (You don’t have to be Catholic to be humbled and mesmerized by the beauty and the pageantry of that service.) None of this begins to capture what I really love best about Christmas though. What I really love about Christmas has much more to do with the true meaning of the holiday. It goes so much deeper than anything I can put into words.
I celebrate Christmas, but I love that some or all of Hanukah takes place in December as well. I think the Festival of the Lights is such a beautiful commemoration of the holy temple’s flame burning for eight days on one day’s worth of olive oil. Isn't that a beautiful image? Imagine thinking that darkness is looming and that there is no way you're going to make it through the crisis. Then imagine the joy and comfort you would feel when you realized that you did because God provided for you in a way you couldn't have envisioned. I love that! I really appreciate the fact that Hanukah has remained largely uncommercialized too. It seems like such a tradition rich and intimate holiday. I always feel so privileged when I’m invited into the home of a Jewish friend during this sacred time of year.
Anyway, I’m happy today and I hope you don’t mind that I chose to share that. As you know, I usually use this forum to write about more superficial topics. I make no apologies for that. I do believe life is about much more than what this year's hot color is, as I shared in this post. At the same time, I don't think there is anything wrong with focusing on style and beauty. Quite the contrary.
In my mind, fashion and design are forms of art. I also believe there is something very cool about embracing one’s gifts and talents and passions. In my mind, it is a great thing to do what you’re called to do and to do whatever that is well.
There’s also nothing wrong with wanting to look good. That’s my opinion anyway. The human body is exquisite. Showcasing it in a great new outfit or tastefully drawing attention to it with a wonderful haircut or sparkly jewelry is no different than framing a fabulous piece of art.
If someone’s ONLY focus is on how amazing she looks, that’s a problem. If, however, a woman smiles every now and then when catching a glimpse of herself in a reflective store window and thinks, “Good job, God!”; I, for one, don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I’m of the school of thought that we were given brains and bodies and talent and the ability to appreciate beauty and to see humor in things for a reason. I also think relationships matter - a lot! If we can have some fun together discussing hobo bags and great printed scarves, I say bring it on!
Anyway, like I said, I don’t often get so reflective or so personal about what I believe when writing this blog, but because it’s December 1st and because I do so love this month, I thought I’d color outside of the lines a bit today.
I guess I should say this though: These are my thoughts…. the thoughts and opinions of someone who happens to adore Hot Heads. They are not necessarily the thoughts of the Hot Heads staff. If you think they’re all hooey and if you think this post is nothing but sentimental drivel, which has no place on a style focused blog, I trust that you will just ignore it and jump back in later tonight when I revert to writing about fashion trends and fabulous hair.
In any event, Happy December! Hope it’s a joy filled, amazing month for you!
**Five more days to Sunday’s special event, which is scheduled to take place at Hot Heads from 1:45 to 5:00 pm. Is it on your calendar yet? Hope so! Aside from being wonderful for all of the reasons I noted above, December is also a month to get your glam on. Make sure you know how to do that the right way! Call your friends to clue them in about this event and remember to RSVP by this Friday, the 4th (407-671-0480). Did I mention that there will be door prizes too and that you get an extra shot at them if you bring a friend? :)
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