Elephantitis of the Silver Bells

"Man, you get a couple poinsettas in the house, and BANG! Your table is SLAMMIN!"

As I strained and sweated in the gym yesterday morning, my trainer and oh-so-valued confidante Bill was waxing lyrical about the holidays. I shared his views, but was finding new inspiration in his particularly fervent diatribe about the old Saint Nickarific holiday. There was something perking my ears up as he was discussing his love of poinsettias, table settings, and The Pottery Barn. It took me two sets of lat pull-backs to figure out what it was that I was responding to in his voice.

It was testosterone.

I've never heard a man talk about the holidays with excitement, style knowledge, AND masculinity in his voice. Usually it's one or a combination of two. But not all three. And I loved it! Women's enthusiasm for the usually-stressful holiday might be renewed if they heard more men talk like this! Stir our estrogen, and we're getting out the egg nog, your slippers, and our diaphragm!

"I managed to find a wicker placemat that perfectly matched this candle I had made with tan stones. And WHAM (fist strike in the air)! The place setting was complete!"

"I'm telling you, you can't BEAT red Christmas tree ornaments! They are HOT! Like my biceps!"

"I can't wait to have a DINNER PARTY to celebrate! Come on, you can do more weight than that!"

Yes, it's obvious that women get excited over housewares, and when men actually mirror that, they get all hopeful that the world isn't a dark and horrible place to exist. But more than that, hearing a man express his love for something he usually stays far away from is really exciting. It made me want to run home, grab my man, and decorate the Treehouse for Christmas and get naked and tangled in icicle lights.

Alas, the workout was not over and my man was hard at work in the Shoaks...so look the fuck out in a couple weekends, is all I'm saying. The Christmas Spirit is pumping through my veins, because as Bill said, "Right here and right now, we are making a VOW to get FIRED UP for the holidays! And to swear less. Who wants to do some crunches?!"

ooh, me me! g