~20 Fa la la la lovely things about Winter~

I’m sitting her with hot cocoa in hand, watching the snow fall softly outside my window. A voice on my answering machine rambles on about a snow emergency while a blast of heat whirs ‘round my feet, and I believe I can officially say, “Winter is here!” Blinding white and coming down like cotton balls, I honestly do find some beauty in the sticky white fluff that clings so gracefully to the trees, of course before it’s been touched and destroyed by muddy tires and dirty exhaust. It’ll be just a matter of time before I’m bitching about it and I contemplate why the hell I live here, but for now, while I’m still feeling the freshness of something new and seeing the silky white blankets lay so innocently across the rooftops, I have decided to look on the sunny side (after all, it will return in forms of blue skies and bright rays)...

OK, so 20 great things about Winter is what I titled this right? (This may take all day, but I’m feeling optimistic)Alright then, here goes:

1.) If it weren't for the icy cold blow of a Winter wind, we could never truly appreciate the warm sweetness of a Summer breeze.

2.) Fuzzy things feel good when it's cold out, such as furry socks and fluffy blankets, bathrobes, and things of that nature.

3.) Ho! Ho! Ho! Who doesn’t like Santa Claus?! Although, I get a little leery when the old guy still wants me to sit on his lap. Hmmm....

4.) Decorating the Christmas tree! Strings of popcorn, the smell of pine, and bright lights...can’t go wrong with that!

5.) Christmas Cookies. I love to bake and Holidays give me all the more reason to :)

6.) Hot chocolate = YUM, throw in some Bailey’s and a little whip cream and I get happy really quick.

7.) Hot bubble baths, simply because they feel much better when it’s cold outside and they turn my ice cubed toes into warm little piggies again.

8.) Shopping!! Christmas is the season for a bargain shopper. Sales galore. My heart just sped up a tad as this excited me deeply. The color red, decorated store windows, shiny shopping bags, holiday make-up lines, cinnamon spice candles, peppermint lotions, oh I just can't wait to get out there!

9.) Which brings me to: The AFTER CHRISTMAS SALES. Yahoo! My fingers danced across the keyboard on this one.

10.) Darkness. Um, let’s see, if I’m trying to look on the bright side of this, I’d say it’s good because we get more sleep? Because we get more use out of our headlights? Because we don’t have to use sunglasses? Whatever, I miss the sunshine and can’t lie.

11.) Paper snowflakes! A sheet of paper and a scissors can make for some mighty fine decorations.

12.) Soul Food. Every time it gets cold out I crave hot comfort food. There’s a certain excitement that comes along with the smell of a pot roast or a hot bowl of chili on a Winter’s night.

13.) The kids think Santa’s elves are watching them! The desire to get Christmas presents is so great for a child that everything they do from now ‘til Christmas is revolved around this one anticipation. They will do everything necessary to ensure they wake up to a bunch of gifts under the tree....“Better brush your teeth, Santa’s watching and he doesn’t give gifts to kids that don’t brush their teeth.” “Take a bath or Santa won’t bring you presents.” “I bet Santa saw you make that mess and now you’re on the naughty list. I bet if you pick up your toys he’ll still bring you those presents. “ White lies are as pure as the white snow right? Gotta love it.

14.) Holiday Parties! Put a bunch of friends and family together, add some food and wine, and no one cares about the ice cold weather outside! Alcohol makes everything better in general, people laugh more, dance more, and overall just seem brighter, so cheers to drinking during the cold shit.

15.) Fire. The smoke and crackle of a real fireplace will always be one of my favorite childhood memories of Winter. I miss this dearly!

16.) Hot apple cider with cinnamon sticks and warm apple pie. These two things are a MUST during the snowy season.

17.) Tall boots. OK so I don’t own a pair of boots actually fit for skiing down a slope, or even for shoveling (but why would I need that?) I’m talking about the sexy high heeled boots that I only allow out in Winter. They’re not “snowman building proof” but they get plenty of playtime on the dance floor.

18.) Wish lists and presents! The joy of giving warms my heart and the anticipation of ripping open a brightly colored package is always a happy thing. I love shopping for presents, wrapping presents, giving presents, and receiving presents.

19.) The smell of the air. I don’t know if anyone notices this like I do, but when the air gets cold, it smells different. Like a wisp of freshly chopped wood, smokey, but crisp. It makes me want to take a deep inhale through my nose and say “Aaaahhhh.” Anyone who knows me has seen me do this on more than one occasion.

20.) Gratefulness. The cold Wintry wind always makes me appreciate the things I have and awakens a fresh gratitude towards my life. While the cold snow blows, I am still warm inside. I have a cozy house with flickering candles and a warm bed to sleep in. I have warm socks on my feet and a steady fire in my heart, so the cold may come and go, but on the inside, it all stays the same.

** Stay tuned, for in a couple weeks I’ll probably write a blog titled “The 20 things I despise about Winter”

Oh look! A new skincare line! JUST what the world needs....

OMG every time I turn around, someone is coming up with the next best line of skincare and honey, I am oVer it! Cindy Crawford and Heidi Klum, you know I love you, but really? You had perfect skin before you came up with the skincare lines that are popping up on HSN and shining on the infomercials. Just admit that someone agreed to pay you massive amounts of $$ to say that “this” is the product that makes you gorgeous. And enough with the reality starts suddenly acting like they’ve come up with the perfect solution to erase wrinkles and fade age spots. I call BULLSHIT. And you Kardashian sisters? You claim to have lost weight with a certain “pill” suddenly and you know that your body image on the bottle is totally photo-shopped to perfection. Do you think I don’t see your badonka-donk in US weekly? (which, by the way Kim and Khloe, looks just fine in my opinion). Oh, and KIM? I watch your show; I saw that you had Botox, so this so called “perfect skin” line you are now selling? Um….does it come with needles? I love you girls, don’t get me wrong, but enough already! Yes, I heard that you now have a Kardashian pre-paid credit card as well, but honey, I am not buying’ it….

YES. I too want to look young and fabulous and I want the skin of a 20 year old, but let’s face the facts…it just isn’t going to happen. I am a fool. I have purchased multiple lines of skincare that claim they’re “better than Botox” and can give me glowing silky skin in a bottle. Guess what? They don’t work and I’m sick of being suckered! There is not a bottle in the world than can bring back your youth (even though it was called, youth in a bottle). I tried creams, lotions, serums, masks—you name it and it has been on my face. Hydroxatone was the new hype in magazines and TV, so I bought it of course. Save your $$. You’re welcome. Oh, and the whole dremu oil craze that comes from the flightless bird the emu? I bought that too, and it left my skin greasier than a pan of bacon. Of course I did ProActive…well duh all the stars use it so it MUST work. It doesn’t. Actually, it GAVE me acne. I went so far as getting laser treatments on my face and guess what? Nothing changed except the fact my face felt like it got sucked up by a vacuum of fire and I threw $2000 down the toilet. I am DONE. I am going to drink tons of water, which is free, and wear my damn sunscreen to savor the clear skin I have left and I am going to put all the money I spend on these stupid skincare lines into a big old jar that says “Botox Fund” and call it a day.