I've decided I'm long overdue to stop my "Oh no, winter is coming" whine. Yes, the snow and cold makes it hard to golf and a bit harder to hike and ride my horses. There is less daylight. And, no, I do not enjoy being cold. BUT! There are a multitude of wonderful things about winter that I tend to forget and maybe you do, too?

The upcoming holiday season can be full of joy, friends and family. Instead of being a scrooge and complaining about the commercialism, I'm going to have a small get together with a few dear friends and enjoy old-fashioned Christmas cheer. Snow in Evergreen is incredibly beautiful – both at TallGrass and at our small ranch. For me, there are few more breathtaking sights than watching our two horses run in deep, powdery snow! Not to mention our dogs who absolutely love frolicking and lying in the white stuff. And, deer, elk and fox are always near the spa, easy to see and enjoy this time of year. The sound of squeaking boots on cold snow during a hike, with billows of steam coming from my breath, under a Colorado cold blue sky, is pretty cool. And, while the days offer less sun to enjoy, they give us time to stay inside, slow down and catch up on introspective activities.

I'm much less inclined to jump out of bed at 5:00 a.m. like I do when the summer sun comes up and instead like to snuggle down in the covers with my heater-hot husband, Chuck. I will catch up on books I've been trying to get to, clean my saddle, take time to cook new meals, watch old and new movies and, yes, get more massages, facials and pedicures. I know a great place to go!

We are getting ready for your visit to TallGrass during these colder months. The fireplace is lit, we have lots of wonderful goodies in our boutique and we'll warm your body and spirit with a variety of awe-inspiring services. Yeehaw! Here comes winter!

On Thursday, November 15, we're decking the halls for our annual holiday event and you're invited. This year's theme is "Soldier Boxes," our care package project for troops in Afghanistan. When you attend the party and bring personal care items for the holiday shipment, we'll enter you into a drawing to win a basket loaded with spa gifts. Personal care items can include full or travel size toiletries (hint: you can buy travel size Aveda products at our cost for donation to the project), sanitary supplies, playing cards, paperback books and seasonal items such as desert-colored socks and gloves. You're invited to write holiday messages on Christmas cards that you'll find in the Great Room and we'll include them in the shipment, too.

The Open House takes place from 11 to 4, then the Party gets started and continues until 8. All day long, we'll be offering 15% savings on Aveda Holiday Gift Packs, TallGrass Gift Certificates and everything in the Boutique. At the party, look for something special from every TallGrass department, like demonstrations of the NuFACE non-invasive lifting and toning devise, chair massages and holiday hairstyles.

A conversation with Melissa Rackliff – even if it's just a short 'how're you today, I'm fine thank you and what's up' – is a magical experience. That's because Melissa has an aura of love, grace and gratitude about her. It's what keeps her together. She maintains her joy for life by doing everything she can to focus on gratitude. "The uncanny connections I find with people, the world and the universe and my gratitude for having them in my life brings me an amazing amount of joy," she explains. Talking about gratitude, Melissa always puts her two beautiful baby boys and making art at the top of her list.

Melissa coordinates the Catering Department, serves as administrative assistant to the spa owner and director and can often be found in the Guest Relations Department. She makes it clear that wearing so many hats "keeps all the little avenues always running in my brain occupied."

In announcing Melissa's selection as Spa Babe, the top TallGrass honor, owner Gail Ridings described her as the go-to person, a resource for almost every question and every need. She reminisced about how Melissa came to the spa a long time ago as a Birkenstock hippie extraordinaire who was put in charge of group events in the Sage Room and sent out into the community, dreadlocks and all, to address business groups like the Denver Women's Chamber of Commerce. "What a fun time that was and how lucky we are to have her here!" Gail proclaimed.

Melissa and Gail are pictured here.