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CREATIVELY AND INDEPENDENTLY PRODUCED BY THE RESIDENTS OF LAKE NONA

DECEMBER 2019 Volume 4 | Issue 12

The ArArtist:tist: Brilliant CColors,olors, Bright Future On ppageage 9

ONE MAN’S HEART ATTACK LED HIM ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIR- LAKE NONA’S 40+ TENNIS TEAM DOCUMENTARY HONORING LOCAL IN THIS ISSUE TO HIKE THE APPALACHIAN TRAILS PORT BRINGS OUT THE BIG DOGS AS SEMIFINALISTS IN THE USTA 9/11 HEROES TAKES HOME GOLD 4 11 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP E11 E15 LOCAL LEADERS, 4 BUSINESS & REAL ESTATE, 6 FEATURES, 9 HEALTH & WELLNESS, 12 EDUCATION, 14 FOOD & DRINKS, E2 LAKE NONA LIVING, E2 LIFESTYLE, E6 SPORTS & FITNESS, E11 ARTS & CULTURE, E13

EVENTS & ACTIVITIES E14

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CREATIVELY AND INDEPENDENTLY PRODUCED BY THE RESIDENTS OF LAKE NONA of any of our Volume 4 issues to see all of the accomplish- ments the citizens of Lake Nona have made over the past Publishers/Owners Reflection year. The list can go on and on. Rhys & Jenny Lynn And while our resolutions may be heavy on our mind right Editor-in-Chief BY DEMI TAVERAS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF now as we bring in a big year, 2020, whether we make it the Demi Taveras whole year holding strong to our resolution or only make it to mid-January, something to keep in mind is just that: Director of Content Well, Lake Nona, we’ve reached reflection. Especially in times where you think you haven’t Nicole LaBosco the final stretch of 2019. I think made much progress. Progress isn’t linear. Think about it’s safe to say it’s been quite an where you were two years ago, one year ago, six months ago Proofreading eventful year in our community compared with where you are now. Even if you hit a few Joe Henry and in the current state of our bumps in the road to get where you are, you’re at the very world. For some of us, we’ll say least more knowledgeable than where you started. So, while Layout Design it’s been an amazing and reward- I hope we all want to dream big for 2020, it’s also okay to Marnie Brophy ing year. For others, we’ll sugar- pause or hit the restart button. We say the little things add Production Manager coat a rough year by just men- up when it comes to money, but it applies here, too. Reflect tioning a lot of “ups and downs.” on all the small wins you’ve had over the year, and maybe Kyle Hamm And hey, maybe for you, you’ll you’ll realize 2019 wasn’t just another regular year after all. Writers & Reporters say it was just another regular See you in the new year, Lake Nona! Amber Harmon, Andrew Gordon, Camille Ruiz year. No matter how your 2019 Mangual, Christian Casale, Daniel Pyser, Debra went, though, where each of us began in January surely isn’t Lowe, Demi Taveras, Dennis Delehanty, Don where we are right now in December. Even if it seems like Long, Felicity M. Gomer, Hannah Marshall, Ishu it’s only the little things that changed, each year we evolve Martinez, Jennifer Tribble, Jenny Lynn, Jessica into something greater, whether we recognize it or not. Scully, Katie Jasiewicz, Kristina Grabnickas, Na- talia Foote, Natalia Jaramillo, Nicole LaBosco, Personally, in 2019, I felt like Nir Bashan, Philip Long, Rodney Gage, Sharon I had the most self-growth Fuentes, Stephanie Osmond, Suzanne Workum, I’ve ever had. This month, I Usman Hashmi will graduate from the Univer- sity of Central Florida with my Creative Director/Producer B.A. and will be able to com- James Rayner mit to Nonahood News full Promotional Manager time. In my last year of college, I learned the most about what Melanie Miller I’m truly passionate about in life – creative writing. I cre- Submissions ated opportunities for myself to gain real-world knowledge If you have news you would like to share with and had amazing mentors to your community, visit nonahood.to/stories or help guide me to where I am email [email protected]. now. Throughout the course of Advertising this year, I’ve grown more inde- For rates, deadlines, and specifications, visit pendent, more open-minded, nonahood.to/ads or email [email protected]. and have gone out of my com- fort zone many times in order Nonahood News, LLC is an independent, privately owned company. All submissions become the property of Nonahood to grow as a person. I don’t News, LLC. All rights reserved. No portion of this paper may be doubt that you, too, can make reprinted without permission of publisher. All advertisements, announcements, and articles submitted are subject to refusal a reflective list, like this one, or editing at publisher’s discretion. © 2019. of things you’ve achieved per- sonally or professionally this year because we as a commu- Nonahood News is a nona.media publication nity have so much to be proud of! Just flip through the pages

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had gone to his yearly check-up and car- diologist appointment only three months One Man’s Heart earlier. On the morning of an average day on a Attack Led Him business trip in 2017 in Asheville, North Carolina, Fernandez had woken up to do To Hike the some exercise but felt overly fatigued. “There was no pain,” Fernandez said. “It Appalachian was to the point that every time I saw a bench, I felt I had to sit down, and once I Trails sat down, I felt fine.” As the day went on, Fernandez ignored the extreme fatigue and blamed it on a higher ARTICLE BY NATALIA JARAMILLO altitude until things took a turn for the PHOTOS COURTESY OF worse. RHONDA FERNANDEZ “We pulled off to a gas station, and my It was 2:30 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 18, 2019, wife was able to get some water and aspi- otaped me as I made my way up the trail. didn’t see why he couldn’t do it. and Halo Fernandez couldn’t sleep. It had rin in me then called 911, and I was very, It was a controlled emotional time as deep been 38 degrees the day before, and in a very fortunate to be in Asheville because “It gave me additional motivation to get inside I was wondering what in the world few hours, he would begin his dream of that’s one of the top 10 heart facilities in well with the goal of hiking the trail,” Fer- am I doing? Of course, I kept the brave face climbing the 2,192 mile Appalachian Trail. the United States.” nandez said. and hiding smile as I waved and walked off “The morning was chilly but clear and not into the clouds.” While still in the hospital, he asked his car- Fernandez has a theory that a fishing trip raining,” Fernandez wrote in his 2019 Ap- diologist if his lifelong dream of hiking the two weeks prior may have caused his heart This excerpt from Fernandez’s trail jour- palachian Trail Journal. “My lovely wife Appalachian Trail was still possible after attack. He caught a 180-pound tarpon nal has over 300,000 reads, and his entire and father-in-law took pictures and vide- his heart attack. With regular exercise and fish; by the time he brought it in, he knew trail journal has an average of 300,000 a healthy diet, Fernandez said his doctor he had overdone it and possibly loosened reads per journal entry on the trailjour- a plaque in his arteries that could have nals.com website. The website is used by caused the massive blockage. He went into the hiking fanatic community and their his hike two years later still cautious of families to share hiking tips, journal their overexerting himself. days hiking, and share their hike mileage status. “If you are feeling tired for apparently no good reason, get yourself checked out,” “It was interesting to have people that Fernandez said. “Don’t wait until you are didn’t even know me respond and offer in pain, and be aware of the symptoms of prayers and offer good thoughts and just heart attacks.” follow along with me, so I would try to journal every night,” Fernandez said. Fernandez, whose father passed away from a heart attack, suggests that if there’s In the same month, he retired after spend- a family history of heart attacks, it’s a good ing 30 years at Sherwin Williams as a na- idea to visit a cardiologist. tional account executive and began his journey of hiking the Appalachian Trail. “Yes, it would have been safer staying at home [than hiking the trail], but I’m not Two years prior to hiking the Appalachian going to hinder myself,” Fernandez said. trails, Fernandez had a massive heart at- tack with over 99% blockage of his artery, known as the widowmaker heart attack be- cause it can cause rapid heart failure. He

of Grande, who plans out the yearly per- Nona Heroes: formances for her classes and her before- school Chorus Club during the summer. Darlene Grande Grande has been teaching music for 17 years, each of the schools in Orange Coun- ty. It was her high school choral director ARTICLE BY CHRISTIAN CASALE who encouraged her to be an educator. PHOTOS COURTESY OF DARLENE GRANDE “He had a belief in me and my talent, and he’s still a mentor of mine and one of the reasons why I continue to be a musician,” Grande said. She started her education at Syracuse Uni- versity and then Long Island Uni- versity. She moved to Florida and began her career in 2003 at Fran- gus Elementary. “Frangus was interesting,” Grande says. “It was a Title I school, so when I first started out, there were a limited number of instruments, and I had to start the program from the bottom up.” In the music room of Eagle Creek Elemen- A Title I school is one that receives tary School, 16 kindergarteners in a semi- federal funds for a high number of circle try their best to sing and dance along low-income students. At Frangus, to the Jackson 5 classic “ABC.” The school’s Grande had a Chorus Club that she teacher of the year, Darlene Grande, is at took to perform at places like Dis- the piano as she guides them through the ney and Orlando Magic games. spite that, she says she’d never lyrics. As any student of American music move to teach higher grades. would know, the lyrics to “ABC” aren’t In 2012, she moved to Three Points Ele- complicated – and the kids seem to have a mentary – where she re-opened their mu- “Always kids, K through 5,” Grande handle on the song. sic department. She stayed there for three says. “My heart is with the elemen- years until Eagle Creek brought her on. tary, especially in 4th and 5th. It’s with The Supremes that problems Through my experience, the talent can. Grande also tries to stay caught up in start to arise. All the lyrics after “Stop! In Grande feels that she has a lot more sup- the Orlando musical scene, attending per- port now to build a music program than is there. They’re ready to perform; they’re the Name of Love” seem to confound the ready to be molded into that performer.” formances at venues like Orlando Shakes. kids. Mrs. Grande’s co-teacher, Murphy when she first started out. Sullivan, stands in the middle of the kin- In the past, her students have performed Grande was also this year’s recipient of “It’s easier now, especially with the help the annual OCPS and Kessler Grand Bo- dergarteners, trying to keep them engaged from the community,” Grande says. “The The Lion King, a springtime musical called by guiding them through the dance. Bugs, an underwater-themed performance hemian Hotel Scholarship for excellence community has been great at Eagle Creek. in elementary music. She received a two- PTA has been wonderful with assisting me based on The Little Mermaid, and a show As one can expect, complete synchroniza- for Hispanic Heritage Month. night stay at the Grand Bohemian Hotel, a tion isn’t quite there yet for the five- and as well as the administrator, Mr. McCloe.” $1,500 scholarship, and a trip to Europe. six-year-olds; one or two look so lost Robert McCloe, Eagle Creek’s principal, “We have a high Venezuelan popula- that they just stand in place, frozen, their is this year’s recipient of the county’s Fine tion and a high [English-language learn- mouths agape as they stare into space. Arts Principal of the Year. er] population, so the parents loved it,” If you would like to nominate someone Grande says. Grande grins from across the room. “They for our next Nona Heroes feature, please “Without his support, I wouldn’t be able to complete the form here: have a few more months to get the hang do the things that I’m doing,” Grande says. Grande’s dream is to teach her students of it.” to perform Hamilton, but she admits that nonahood.to/nonaheroes. According to Grande, the already lauded it’s a little far fetched for those in primary The kids’ performance in January, a cele- music programs at Lake Nona Middle school. She loves Lin-Manuel Miranda’s bration of Motown Music to coincide with School and Lake Nona High School play a work, and she tries to make it up to New Black History Month, was the brain-child huge role in the support she receives. De- York to catch Broadway shows when she

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© 2019. The Nemours Foundation. ® Nemours is a registered trademark of The Nemours Foundation. Your child. Our promise. moniker to three particles in his draft ta- cist. In grad school, Maskawa, needing a ble, assumed to be constituents of heavier topic for an academic paper, came across Nobel Notable known particles, a table later to evolve into an article about a phenomenon that puz- the “Standard Model of Particle Physics.” zled physicists: the breakdown of symme- A fourth quark was discovered soon after. try in both the charge of particles and the Of Laureate parity of their spatial coordinates in the We don’t often think about quarks. But formation of antimatter. This breakdown we should since we are made up of them of symmetry is known as “CP Violation” – Park: Toshihide completely from head to toe. And, as far as the C standing for “charge” and the P for we know, so is just about everything every- “parity.” (Antimatter particles, including Maskawa, Diviner where throughout the universe. Molecules and atoms, yes, we can more or less under- antiquarks, are not science fiction but quite real, and a slight surplus of matter over an- stand. Each atom, as we know, contains an Of Quarks timatter following the Big Bang, a result of infinitesimally tiny nucleus, ten thousand CP Violation, left us with a universe con- times smaller than the cloud of electrons taining matter – including ourselves.) The BY DENNIS DELEHANTY overhead, making 99.9999999% of every problem confronting Maskawa was that atom empty space. That fact is already the four-quark model and CP violation This is the ninth in a series of articles that counterintuitive, but when we drill down were mathematically incompatible. Work- celebrate the lives of the Nobel Prize lau- further, say, into the nucleus of the atom, ing with his colleague, Makoto Kobayashi, reates whose names grace the 125 streets we enter the realm of elementary particles, Maskawa attacked the problem, which of Laureate Park. Dr. Costas Efthimiou, where things get really bizarre. According seemed insolvable until one evening, step- professor of physics at the University of to the Standard Model, elementary parti- ping out of his bath, he hit upon the an- Central Florida, contributed to this article. cles are of two types: bosons and fermions. of which even English speakers strug- swer: The universe contained six quarks, Fermions make up the matter around us. gle mightily to decipher? We now know, not four! Unlike the ancient Greek philos- The important fermion is the electron with though, that nonsense words sometimes “Three quarks for opher Archimedes, Maskawa did not leap which we are already familiar. Quarks are acquire concrete meanings, and what Muster Mark!” out of the tub to run through the streets fermions, too. Among other duties, bosons noun could be more meaningful than that of town shouting “Eureka” to announce his In the mid-1960s, carry the forces that hold together quarks which refers to the basic building blocks of breakthrough to the world, but his discov- as American inside protons and neutrons, from which all matter in the universe? A new genera- ery was no less momentous for science. To physicist Mur- quarks the building blocks of nuclei can tion of Japanese physicists, building upon the already known and named up, down, ray Gell-Mann never escape and never detach from one the legacy of Toshihide Maskawa and his strange, and charm quarks, Maskawa and set out to devise another. (Three quarks in every proton and contemporaries, may one day need to coin Kobayashi in 1978 postulated the exist- the equivalent of neutron, as James Joyce accidentally pre- new terms for their future discoveries, for ence of two more quarks to be discovered a periodic table dicted.) But how else to describe quarks? example, for the vibrations of the strings for elementary years later at Fermilab near Chicago and in string theory that form fermions and Quarks have an electrical charge, ex- particles, he cast dubbed the top and bottom quarks. For bosons – if those vibrations are ever ob- about for an ap- pressed by a fraction, as well as a specificthis achievement, the duo won the 2008 served. For that purpose, they will surely “spin” (also a fraction), which is not the ro- propriate name Nobel Prize in physics, shared with their need look no further than to that univer- tational motion that we experience in our for those parti- compatriot Yoichiro Nambu. In December sally acclaimed masterpiece, Fineganzuu world, but rather a fundamental property cles with the most mass. For this purpose, of that year, Maskawa traveled to Stock- eiku, by that famed Hibernian author, that cannot really be explained. Quarks Gell-Mann had discarded ancient Greek, holm to accept his award, thus making, at Jēmuzu Joisu. also have something called color charge, - age 68, his first trip outside of Japan. the usual go-to source for scientific neolo which – unfortunately for those of us try- Next month: Gabriela Mistral, A Peripa- gisms, as some terms invented from that Twelve years earlier, while spending two ing to grasp the concept – has nothing to tetic Poetess, or Una Poetisa Itinerante weeks in Dublin on a business trip, I con- language concealed unfortunate flaws. do with color. Every quark has a twin, an Atoms, from the Greek word for “indivis- vinced an Irish cousin of mine to make a antiquark, just like in the Bizarro world in ible,” were later found to be composed visit one Saturday to the James Joyce Mu- Superman comics. And through the weak Dennis Delehanty moved to Laureate of smaller components and in fact were seum in a small row house in that city. As Park with his wife, Elizabeth, from the force, one “flavor” of quark (yes, physicists quite divisible, explosively so in some we ascended to the second floor of the resi- Washington, D.C., area in mid-2018. adopted the designation “flavor” rather cases. These smaller components, a set dence, an elderly gentleman poked a book than “type” to further confuse us) can turn Dennis completed a long career in of particles that physicists had just begun into our faces and announced, “This is the into another flavor of quark. international affairs at the U.S. Postal to discover, required a name. A nonsense Japanese translation of Finnegans Wake.” Service, the United Nations and the U.S. word, Gell-Mann thought, would be best, It was into this weird world of quarks that Our man, it turned out, was Joyce’s neph- Department of State, jobs that required a term not later to be revealed as inapt. So young Toshihide Maskawa was drawn as ew. In the ensuing conversation, one extensive global travel and the acquisi- he turned to that singularly bountiful col- a student at Nagoya University, west of common thought baffled the three oftion us: of foreign languages. You can con- lection of nonsense vocabulary – James Tokyo. Maskawa’s first name, Toshihide, how could a 625-page novel of purposely tact Dennis at [email protected]. Joyce’s Finnegans Wake – discovered which roughly means “clever hero,” pres- invented nonsense words ever be trans- Muster Mark’s quarks, and assigned that aged his brilliance as a theoretical physi- lated into any other language, a paragraph BUSINESS & REAL ESTATE

tioned that stuck with me was the conversa- And that got me thinking. One of the key tion we had about language. tenets of The Creator Mindset is the lan- guage of positivity. It’s what I talk about in Creator Mindset: It turns out that, in the English language, the book, which comes out in April 2020 there are far more ways to describe un- in detail. The language of positivity is like a pleasant things than pleasant ones. In Bad Words rich soil ready for whatever creative seeds other words, we have far more ways to de- you decide to harvest. It’s the fertile soil of scribe negative things than positive ones. future potential. BY NIR BASHAN More words to describe displeasure than pleasure. More words to describe hurt than And there can be no creativity where there I was headed back joy. More words to describe bad than good. is negativity. to Orlando re- cently on a flight.So, I dug a little deeper. Maybe it’s a con- Negativity is the stuff of nightmare. It’s the I happened to struct of our English language only. Surely, soil that tarnishes all potential and stunts sit next to a col- there were other languages on Earth that all growth. Yet, why as people – not just in is important. We spend far too much lege professor had more happy words than sad. Right? the United States but internationally – are time looking at failures rather than who taught Eng- I looked at happiness assessments across we so inclined to use negativity far more celebrating success. Let’s stop for a lish. We struck a bunch of different countries. Countries than positivity? It’s almost like we are minute when negativity creeps up and up a conversation like Iceland and Bhutan and Holland al- inclined to gloom. To sorrow. Dejection. instead recall a success. about teaching, ways score high on the happiness index Misery. Desolation. Despair. Woe. Agony. The language of negativity is stuck in an- students, learning, (whatever that is). Surely, they are onto Distress. Sadness. I think I’ve made my tiquity – unable to cope adequately with and how universi- something that we Americans don’t know! point: It seems no one is immune from the the demands of the 21st century’s creative ties are preparing shambolic power of negativity. But it turns out that language for pessi- economy that promotes positive, hopeful, for the future. Or mism instead of optimism is not an Eng- But fortunately, The Creator Mindset has and optimistic solutions to modern prob- not preparing for lish-only construct. It’s found in every lan- three easy tools that can help avoid the lems. Using the three steps above will help the future. But one thing the professor men- guage on earth. dark and everlasting pull of cynicism: you uncover more creative solutions to 1. Nothing lasts forever. Even in the problems that plague us. darkest times and the most challenging of circumstances, things can and will I have good news for my loyal read- always change. They might not be pre- ers! The Creator Mindset book is now dictable – or even consistent – but they on pre-release through my website: will change. This change gives us the www.thecreatormindset.com. You creative ability to weather the storm. get some neat freebies by preordering the book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your 2. . If everyone is Choose Differently favorite bookstore today! predisposed to negativity, choose posi- Home Auto tivity instead. And how we choose to use positivity creatively over negativity Nir Bashan is an executive creative is entirely up to us. Being aware that director/managing director with over 19 CONTACT US TODAY negativity is far more prevalent than years of advertising, entertainment, and business development experience. He positivity will help us achieve more FOR A FREE QUOTE helps teach folks in non-creative fields balance in our day-to-day lives. Just how to think creatively to solve problems. knowing that we tend to think on the He leads workshops and lectures on 407.675.3880 dark side of life will help us choose not topics relating to The Creator Mindset. Business Boat to go there. McGraw/Hill is publishing a book on The 3. Remember Success. Everyone at Creator Mindset that will be released in 2020. www.nirbashan.com some point in life has had something LaureateInsurance.com | ¡Hablamos Español! go well. So, thinking creatively, re- membering how things turn out right

www.NONAHOODNEWS.com | 6 | DECEMBER 2019 [we have] high-quality nutrition foods, including traditional kibble-based, raw and freeze-dried Business Spotlight: diets,” Wesner described. “We also carry natural chews and treats for every shape and size of pup. Not to mention our cookie table of fun and tasty Pawsitively Purrfect iced cookies! We offer services as simple as cut- ting or grinding nail[s] to full grooms – includ- Care for Your Furry ing special conditioners, seasonal packages such as pumpkin spice baths, deshedding treatments, Loved Ones at Woof facials, tooth brushing, as well as full cleanings by a dental professional.” Gang Bakery Lake Nona One thing you may not be aware of is that Woof Gang Bakery Lake Nona is a family-owned business. The business offers free delivery for ARTICLE BY NICOLE LABOSCO any purchase over $49 in the area. Wesner ex- PHOTOS COURTESY OF ALEXA CUNAT FROM plained that Woof Gang Bakery Lake Nona is the WOOF GANG BAKERY LAKE NONA only pet supply small business in the Lake Nona market with a brick-and-mortar store. So, what sets them apart from other pet businesses? Look at your family. You may see your spouse, your par- ents, your children … and even your pet. According to “We are a locally owned and operated company prnewswire.com and the Harris Poll back in 2015, near- that strives for great customer service. The own- ly all pet owners (95%) consider their pets to be members er and manager both live here in the area within of the family. It’s something we can get on board with, and a few miles of the store and are always available the trend of fewer children and more pets in a household to help. We also try to stay as active as possible in is on the rise. our community, which is admittedly a growing task [as] the area grows. We welcome it, though, Treat your pet as you would your family and loved ones with and look forward to welcoming and serving new nothing but the best. Lake Nona’s Woof Gang Bakery makes dog owners to the area,” stated Wesner. “It has your pet a top paw-ority. Nonahood News spoke with Ryan always been our policy to stay competitive even Wesner, owner of the Lake Nona Woof Gang Bakery loca- when we were the only game in town. That said, tion that opened its doors in January 2013, to see why this we can’t compete with Amazon and Chewy on local small business puts their best paws forward! sticker price. … But what people don’t realize is “Our mission is basically to provide excellent service to that if you add in the free bag program we offer pet owners that are working to have happy and healthy fur [that] they do not, they really aren’t saving mon- babies through proper grooming and nutrition. This is the ey in the long run, along with getting no service company blurb … ‘Woof Gang Bakery is the leading spe- and no expertise in the products.” cialty retailer of pet food, pet supplies, and professional pet For a local small business that is family-owned grooming in North America with more than 130 locations right in your neck of the woods and cares about open or under development across the U.S.,’” said Wesner. your four-legged family member just as much as “‘Woof Gang Bakery offers the very best in pet care by pro- you do, consider Woof Gang Bakery Lake Nona. viding quality products and grooming with a service-orient- They even have a “buy 12 bags of dog food and ed approach. Each location is a neighborhood store com- get one free” promo for most of the brands they mitted to the well-being, health, and happiness of pets.’” carry, as well as monthly specials! Woof Gang Bakery was founded in 2007, and the story of The specials for December are: how the company ended up in Lake Nona is one that will open your heart and make you hug your furry loved ones • Buy three Primal Treats, get one FREE even tighter. • $5 off Holistic Hound Full Spectrum Healing “I opened the Woof Gang in this area before the population Balm (one ounce) really began to grow. At that time, I had spent over 15 years • Purchase any 16 oz. or larger Grizzly Prod- in commercial real estate and wanted to add something to uct, get a 16 oz. Joint Hemp Enhanced Liquid my life that offered a little more food for the soul. I am a Bottle FREE ‘crazy dog person’ and always have thought of my boys as • Buy two Vital Essentials Freeze Dried Treats, my children. Before I made this decision, one of my boys get one FREE had been injured at another groomer, and my other dog became gravely ill due to his food,” explained Wesner. “I • And more! began to research more about the industry and the needs of pets. There was a need not being met for myself and many others. From there, it just seemed like the obvious Don’t forget to submit your dog to our Dog solution for myself and hopefully for those that feel the of the Month contest with Woof Gang Bakery same way for their pets.” Lake Nona by visiting nona.link/dog. For more information, please visit: Woof Gang has something for everyone and every pup’s www.facebook.com/WoofGangLakeNona/ (and cat’s) needs, and the numbers show. “We typically groom between 550 and 800 dogs per month depending on the time of year. We probably feed about the same number but not all the same people (some groom but not feed with us, some feed but not groom). [For] products,

can be overwhelming for some kids, and we’re here to help and turn them into smiles and giggles before the haircut Pigtails & Crewcuts Is ease the fears, wipe away tears, and make haircuts a mem- is over. orable experience for kids and parents. And we can’t wait Pigtails & Crewcuts offers a range of haircutting and hair- to meet families in Lake Nona! Coming to Lake Nona care services for the entire family. Our first haircut pack- Pigtails & Crewcuts was created to be a place that kids can age includes a certificate, picture, and lock of your child’s call their own and just be kids. That’s why we don’t worry hair to mark this special milestone. Other services include Books, toys, movies, a train table, video games, and chairs if your child cries during their haircut or doesn’t want to sit braids, up-dos, swimmer’s treatments, comb-out and de- shaped like airplanes and police cars are just a few of the in a styling chair. We hire stylists who love kids and take tangling, plus haircuts for moms and dads as well. We also tricks Pigtails & Crewcuts salons across America use to pride in making haircuts a positive experience. They will know that parents like helping their kids look their best, so make haircuts fun for kids of all ages. We know haircuts work their magic and take any case of the wiggles or tears we offer private braiding lessons to help you achieve that picture-perfect look. The fun doesn’t stop there! Pigtails & Crewcuts also offers several other services, including ear piercings, nail and toe polishes, and specials like a Spa Day Package. Find every- thing you need to recreate the look at home with our wide range of kid-centric hair products and accessories. Plus, you can find tons of great gift items like toys, lip gloss, nail polish, and more. Owner Jennifer Tribble is excited to bring the Pigtails & Crewcuts experience to Lake Nona families. She has been We a part of the community since 2009 and owns two other Pigtails & Crewcuts salons in Doctor Phillips and Winter Springs. Jennifer has built a staff of stylists who are ready to welcome kids just as they are and help put everyone at Lake Nona! ease as they settle in for a haircut. Styles that get attention Smiles that put everyone at ease Pigtails & Crewcuts Lake Nona will be located at 13006 An atmosphere that encourages play Narcoossee Rd. and will be open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 Pigtails & Crewcuts: Haircuts for Kids - Lake Nona p.m. The salon will be closed on Sundays. Follow the salon on Facebook or Instagram @pigtailslakenona @pigtailslakenona to learn more and stay up-to-date for the latest salon 13006 Narcoossee Place • Orlando, FL 32832 • 407.955.0505 happenings, or visit pigtailsandcrewcuts.com/lakenona www.pigtailsandcrewcuts.com/lakenona/.

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www.NONAHOODNEWS.com | 7 | DECEMBER 2019 EVENT GALLERY FROM THE CEO: Oct. 16, Groundbreaking WHAT YOUR CHAMBER DOES, PART II Ceremony at Lach Orthodontic Specialists Last month, I promised to tell you more about our OPS Plan – Members and for your Opportunity, Progress and Support. Here are the visitors celebrated the components of the Chamber OPS Plan: future space of Lach Orthodontic Specialists. Opportunity NEW MEMBERS Congratulations on this new chapter! (Photo by Innovation and economic development Madelyn Long) UCF counseling programs Collaboration with local chambers and civic groups Oct. 24, Ribbon Cutting Central Florida Building Corporation, Inc. & Grand Opening Educational and government seminars Ceremony at A Ruff Day Community updates Bark Club – Welcome, Cultivation of large corporate connections Coldwell Banker Ackley Realty - Rhonda Smith all humans and dogs to Cultivation of a vendor supply base and information system the classiest dog club Chamber marketing and networking around! It’s the closest Creative Printing Services thing to Disney World Progress for your pups. Thanks to A Ruff Day Bark Club Infrastructure and growth leadership for throwing such a fun Talent supply and education Cruise Planners/Micdan Travel grand opening ceremony. Continuation of seminars (Photo by Felicity Gomer) Informational updates via media Dumpster Medic Nov. 5, First Tuesdays Chamber marketing and networking After-Hours at Nona Support Adventure Park – Nona Adventure Park hosted Building of a business climate and competitiveness Gatherings Lake Nona by Beazer Homes our Chamber members Maintenance of civic and government systems relations and invited guests for a beautiful, breezy evening Pursuing of quality of life and quality places initiatives ILingo Academy on the water. Thanks to Collaboration with local charities everyone for coming out Chamber marketing and networking to eat, drink and make connections. (Photo by Your Board of Directors and Chamber Staff constantly work Proliant Settlement Systems Felicity Gomer) to bring members and the entire community these benefits. Find out how you can benefit and participate in this process by Nov. 11, Ribbon Cutting calling us at (407) 796-2230. V3 Capital Group & Grand Opening Celebration at Island Next month, how your Chamber is a Catalyst of business Fin Poke – Welcome, growth, Convener of leaders and influencers, and Cham- Wooten CPA PLLC Island Fin Poke, to pion for a thriving community. Lake Nona and LNRCC! Don Long, President/CEO Guests had a great time Worth Real Estate Company sampling signature poke and enjoying live entertainment. (Photo by Felicity Gomer)

Nov. 14, Breakfast Connections with AdventHealth – Thank you to Dr. Desai and Dr. Nathoo of AdventHealth UPCOMING for sharing their medical expertise regarding men’s health topics like CHAMBER EVENTS GERD, prostate health, testosterone, and more. A big thanks to USTA for December 5 making our first event at WHY YOU SHOULD your gorgeous venue a Ribbon Cutting at Centennial Bank JOIN & RENEW success. (Photo by Felicity 13901 Narcoossee Rd Gomer) 3:00 p.m. THE LAKE NONA CHAMBER OF Nov. 15, Ribbon Cutting COMMERCE, PART FIVE for Ronald McDonald December 12 House’s Third-Floor

Expansion – Bronze Breakfast Connections - "Tackling Your Partner Ronald McDonald House recently cut the Marketing" - Melanie Miller Consulting Chamber events and programs - Chamber ribbon to their brand new Eagle Creek Golf Club & third-floor expansion events and programs provide members project. They added nine The Belfry Restaurant with great opportunities to get to know new bedrooms to their house 8:00 - 9:30 a.m. to service additional people and expand their prospect base. families in Central Florida. Congratulations! (Photo January 9 Chamber events are innovative and fun by Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Breakfast Connections with Rick Singh, ways to help members meet potential Florida) Orange County Property Appraiser and customers, clients and vendors— and Nov. 15, Ribbon Cutting Cliff Long, Orlando Regional generate new business leads. at Pediatric Dental Group – Welcome, Realtor Association Pediatric Dental Group’s 8:00 - 9:30 a.m. newest location to the Nonahood! Thank you for REGISTER AT LAKENONACC.ORG a fun and lively ribbon RENEWED cutting. (Photo by Ashley MERRY CHRISTMAS! Brown) MEMBERS

3rdArm, Inc.

Baker Barrios Architects, Inc.

Commercial Air Conditioning & Electric, Inc

Digital Memory

Gemilang Solutions

Inspired Performance Institute

Markowitz Communications

Pollo Tropical

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TMW Insurance Agency, LLC FEATURES

JH: My top three projects are the following: 1. (Angels of the sea). This is a piece I did The Artist: on a four feet by two feet canvas. The vibrant colors of the fish and the UV Brilliant Colors, glow of the piece make it come to life. For those Bright Future 2. (Neon Butterfly). I enjoyed the entire process of this piece from start to fin- looking forward ish. The piece makes me think of the ARTICLE BY DEMI TAVERAS inner beauty of women. PHOTOS COURTESY OF JE-WAN HERBERT 3. (Big Wave). This piece I love because it was one of my first paintings! I remem- Je-Wan Herbert’s ber the feeling I got from creating it. journey as an art- ist was inspiring to read about as we came to the close of 2019. It definite- ly got us thinking here at Nonahood News. Get to know Herbert as both a person and an art- ist in the following interview he had with us. His crea- ROCKLEDGE tive energy and luminous art will not dis- appoint. NHN: Which of your projects was 4583 Milost Drive the most time-consuming/challeng- $2,295,000 ing and why? Peter Luu & Jennifer Courson | 321.917.7864 JH: “Angels of the sea” was my most chal- lenging piece for a variety of reasons. The canvas was huge, and the material of the canvas had a hard time holding acrylic paint. I had to apply paint very softly to the canvas with as little water as possi- ble so that the paint would not run. The next challenging aspect was in applying the neon paint upon the dried acrylic in order to get the glow effect I had in my mind. The final challenge was finishing the painting [well] enough for a live event that I did in my area. I finished 80% of the piece at home then finished the rest of the piece at the event. It turned out amazing.

NHN: What are some of your dream Nonahood News: What drove you to projects? ORLANDO become an artist? JH: My dream projects are the following: 8987 Bevington Lane Je-Wan Herbert: I have done art since I $1,650,000 was a child. I’ve always found an interest 1. Working with the artist Ten-Hundred. Miranda Cady & John Lynaugh | 407.340.7016 in creating and working with vivid colors. He has been a big inspiration to me on My biggest inspirations are my aunt, who my artistic journey. put up one of my first finished drawing[s] on her fridge. The second is my uncle, who 2. Taking part in a gallery opening where is an amazing artist. He encouraged me to I can discuss art with a multitude of continue feeding my creativity. different creative people or lovers of art. I’ve always dreamed of my art be- ing in a gallery. A trendy gallery at that. 3. Traveling to do murals in other states or countries!

NHN: What serves as your inspira- tion on a day-to-day basis? JH: Experiencing life and not focusing every aspect of my life around art. It may sound counterproductive to some. For my- self, however, living and soaking in some of life’s day-to-day energy allows me to PORT CHARLOTTE come back to the drawing board with new 4490 Grassy Point Boulevard $1,299,000 Miranda Cady | 407.340.7016 NHN: When did you realize cre- ating art was your passion? JH: I realized cre- ating art was my passion toward the end of high school during my senior year. Everything I did fresh and creative ideas. was focused on creating art in any way, shape or form. NHN: Future goals/plans? JH: Excel in my art career through festi- NHN: How often do you find your- vals and murals within my local area. Build self creating art? a website to showcase my work and com- JH: I create art when I either have the free municate with people who are interested time or feel inspired to create. I don’t like to in my work or working with me on bigger force my creative flow when it comes to art. projects. Never stop creating or practic- ing, even when I am feeling discouraged LAKE WALES NHN: How long did it take you to or afraid of taking on a bigger project or discover yourself as an artist? learning something new. 92 Mountain Lake $1,200,000 JH: I have observed that even in my low- Tatiane Aponte & Brittany Brosnac | 305.804.4366 est points in life, I have continued to cre- NOMINATE AN ARTIST ate even when I did not feel up to the task. We are looking for interesting artists However, I believe that discovery of one’s who live in the Nonahood to be featured. SOUTHEAST ORLANDO self as an artist is a never-ending jour- If you or someone you know should be Over 40 locations throughout 407.480.5014 ney! As you grow and learn, your art and nominated to be a Nonahood News Fea- Florida and North Carolina creativity will continue to shape and mold tured Artist, send your nomination to PremierSothebysRealty.com itself based upon your perspective of the http://nonahood.to/artist. world and your environment. Sotheby’s International Realty® and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered service marks NHN: Which of your projects would used with permission. Each office is independently owned and operated. Equal Housing Opportunity. Property information herein is derived from various sources including, but not limited to, county records you consider to be your favorites? and multiple listing services, and may include approximations. All information is deemed accurate. (Pick a top three). www.NONAHOODNEWS.com | 9 | DECEMBER 2019 Jacksonville will receive an additional $20 million, and Miami will receive $22 million to enhance a 10-mile mass Transportation transit corridor. Florida will receive $62 million overall in this round of BUILD grants. Innovation Coming to “Today’s announcement will highlight innovative projects that will support Florida’s growing infrastructure needs and help lay the groundwork for the future of transporta- Lake Nona tion systems,” DeSantis continued. “Today’s announce- ment also speaks to our efforts to modernize this- infra BY NICOLE LABOSCO structure system to keep up with Florida’s rapid growth. We need a stable and efficient transportation network here in Florida, but particularly in Central Florida, which is a Reimagining Mobility Within Lake Nona very fast-growing area, and those needs are going to con- On Nov. 12 in the early afternoon, the United States De- tinue to be [important] in the future. When you have a lack partment of Transportation (USDOT) announced the re- of mobility, when you have congestion plaguing metropoli- cipients of the BUILD grant at the UCF College of Medicine tan areas, that costs money because it costs productivity, it in Lake Nona. The BUILD grant stands for Better Utiliz- costs time, and it costs effort.” ing Investments to Leverage Development. Elaine L. Chao, Nearly 70% of the nation’s LAMN miles are in rural areas. USDOT Secretary, was joined by Florida Gov. Ron DeSan- Officials pose with checks totaling $903.5 million for advancing the One-fifth of Americans live in rural areas, and nearly half tis for the formal announcement. nation's infrastructure; Courtesy of Nicole LaBosco. of deaths occur on rural roads, according to Chao. This is a “The Administration is targeting BUILD Transportation safety issue, and these grants aim to build on the safety of grants to repair, rebuild and revitalize significant -infra residents as it’s a top priority. structure projects across the country,” said Chao. tion, the AV system and its users will have access to “With this ambitious project, we strive to create better mo- the same services for the shared bicycle and electric A check was displayed on podiums to be paid to the order bility options,” said Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Dem- assist programs to be offered in Lake Nona. ings. “This is about looking ahead to new technologies and of America’s Infrastructure for $883.5 million as part of - the BUILD Grant Program. Another check was made out NOTE: BUILD grant funds will not be used to pur- innovative transportation solutions to ensure the future to the Orange County Government of Florida for $20 mil- chase vehicles, only to support the infrastructure. mobility of our residents and visitors. Tavistock has con- lion for the Reimagining Mobility Project. This $20 million • Bicycle Transportation Network (BTN), which tinued to be a great partner in our community espousing grant will go straight to the development of infrastructure consists of three facility types to accommodate smart growth and innovation in community-building. We within the community we call home – Lake Nona. various users: are pleased that they have stepped up to be the sponsor for this exciting project.” “I think it’s great today to have Florida chosen as the back- - Multi-use trail network (MUT) provides commuter Jessi Blakley, vice president of communications for Tavis- drop for today’s announcement given the tremendous im- and recreational corridors for bicycle and pedestrian pact that bill grants have had in creating a modern, robust users alike. transportation system. … In fact, the state of Florida is first - Dedicated commuter way provides destination-ori- in the number of bill grants received as well as first in the dollar amount,” exclaimed Gov. DeSantis. ented commuter paths for higher-speed travel. - Enhanced and expanded on-street dedicated lanes Over 666 applications for the BUILD grant were submit- support the travel of bicycle users throughout the ted, and a total of 55 projects in 35 states were chosen. community. Those projects that were selected needed to provide poten- - The BTN is complemented by strategically located tial to improve safety, rebuild and refurbish the nation’s critical infrastructure, improve quality of life, and be ready support facilities, called “Recovery Zones,” that allow for the future without hampering innovation. users to rehydrate, repair and recover while biking. “This is an incredible win for the region and yet another • Linear Park: example of how the right public-private partnerships can - A linear park connecting a dense, mixed-use envi- distinguish themselves and win big when we collaborate ronment within Lake Nona Town Center, displacing together,” said Rasesh Thakkar, senior managing direc- a conventional automobile street with a dedicated bi- tor of Tavistock. “The Local Alternative Mobility Network Specs for Linear Park; Courtesy of Tavistock Development Company. cycle commuter way, dedicated AV right of way, and (LAMN) is a forward-thinking project within the Lake Nona living lab environment that will better position Or- pedestrian paths organized around an exposed storm tock Development Company, mentioned that Mayor Dem- ange County and Orlando for a new wave of multi-modal water conveyance waterway. ings and Orange County have a huge focus on transporta- transportation solutions, all with a view toward scaling the • Linear Park Bridge: tion and how one of their biggest priorities is safety and reducing traffic congestion. learnings from this innovation to the rest of the region, the - state, and the country.” A dedicated bridge over the highly traveled, six-lane Lake Nona Boulevard, providing bicycle and pedes- “The focus of our grant really surrounded on automobile dependency. How do you reduce automobile dependency The $20 million BUILD grant for Orange County will sup- trian access to the Lake Nona Town Center and Mo- port the investment in multi-modal transportation by add- in a large-scale community? And so, we focused on that bility Network Hub. ing several key elements: first mile and last mile. And so, by expanding people’s opportunities in the multi-modes in which they can get • A full-service mobility networking hub connect- There will also be green link multi-modal routes to reduce around the community – you’ve got the bike lanes, you’ve ing multiple forms of transportation: stormwater runoff. These infrastructure advancements got also things like the scooters and mopeds, trail-ways - Full-service hub facility for recreational and com- will reduce congestion and improve air quality. for pedestrian paths as well as dedicated lanes for autono- muter users located in Lake Nona Town Center that mous. So, it’s really just going to give people more options will connect all modes of transportation and include to get around the community.” restrooms with shower facilities, digital kiosks, seat- Tavistock has its boots to the ground ready to jump on this ing, bike racks, storage, and access to dedicated project as soon as possible. Permits have already been sent parking. off, and expected project completion is anywhere from three to five years. • Infrastructure that supports a fleet of autono- mous vehicles (AV): - Infrastructure required for the safe and efficient -op eration of an AV fleet consisting of approximately 20 multi-passenger shuttles on the route network. Infrastructure includes dedicated AV stops, shared ROW lanes, dedicated AV lanes, and AV storage, maintenance, and vehicle charging stations. In addi- Linear Park Rendering; Courtesy of Tavistock Development Company.

station and benches. The projected com- will begin on the new, added lanes and Since the work will begin on the roadway Narcoossee Road pletion of the trail itself is 10 months, ac- improvements on utilities. A left-turn shoulders, we can expect little disruption cording to the City of Orlando press re- and right-turn lane will be added at Moss to everyday traffic. The construction crew Widening Update lease. Shoulder closures will be necessary Park Road and Dowden Road, and a new will work behind the barrier wall during for the completion of the trail. directional median opening will be added the weekdays while any construction at at Falcon Parc Boulevard. Following the the major intersections will occur during After the trail has been completed, work ARTICLE BY DEMI TAVERAS completion of these, Narcoossee will be the night, 10 p.m.-5 a.m., Sunday through PHOTOS COURTESY OF milled and replaced with fresh layers of as- Thursday. ORLANDO.GOV phalt. A low-profile barrier will be placed We’re looking forward to eventually seeing in the median, and the installation of the our new and improved Narcoossee Road! As our community gets bigger, so will our wastewater pipe will commence. Lastly, beloved Lake Nona. The Narcoossee Road the final layer of asphalt will be placed Widening and Improvements Project is on all six lanes. The project also includes a City of Orlando roadway improvement decorative landscaping with native shrubs project that has an anticipated start date and trees like live oaks, pines and cedars. of fall 2019. Narcoossee Road will be wid- ening to six lanes between state roads 528 and 417 with an anticipated comple- tion date of fall 2022. Over the next three years, the city of Orlando will construct a 1.6-mile trail alongside the road with added turn lanes and bike lanes; the pro- ject also includes upgrades for things like lighting and signalization, as well as up- grades to the City of Orlando water sys- tems between Lake Nona Boulevard and Moss Park Road. Construction will begin with the trail, which will be eight to 13 feet wide. Some features of the trail will be a bike repair

www.NONAHOODNEWS.com | 10 | DECEMBER 2019 Orlando International Airport Brings Out the Big Dogs

ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY NICOLE LABOSCO

When’s the next time you’re traveling? Imagine strolling through the airport with your bags in tow and you hear, “Who’s a good boy/girl?!” No, you’re not hallucinat- ing. You turn around and discover a furry friend who’s receiving a bunch of love from passing travelers. You can’t resist the Tori cuteness, and you make your way toward ing an invite to join the MCO Paw Pilots. the four-legged pup as if you’re in a trance. (We can’t blame you.) The MCO Paw Pilot program is currently in trial mode and will be evaluated next year You meet Annabel, a golden retriever, and to determine if it will officially be added as learn that she’s part of Orlando Interna- a long-term customer service program, ac- tional Airport’s newest program, the MCO cording to the press release. Paw Pilots. MCO Paw Pilots puts their best paws forward to offer comfort to those Here’s a list of the good boys and girls that who are traveling. Annabel is a certified are making a difference: therapy dog and is just one of 10 teams • Annabel – Golden Retriever that are part of the initiative. • Annie – Golden Retriever The traveling public can decompress with • cuddles and kisses from their favorite Fifi – Miniature Schnauzer pups, and if you have a fear of flying,• Daisy-Maibe – Pomeranian sure to pet before you jet for a few mo- • Jora – Golden and Labrador Retriever ments to destress. According to psychcen- Mix tral.com, “As many as 20 to 30% of people • Essie – Rescue (potentially Corgi and are apprehensive about flying, and be- Border Collie mix) tween two and 10% of people at any point in time have a phobia about flying.” • Tori – German Shepherd Allow the MCO Paw Pilots to help you • Farley – Bearded and Border Collie mix overcome the hustle and bustle of one of • Woody – Basset Hound the busiest airports. MCO has more than We’re pretty paws-itive that the good boys 49 million annual passengers and is the and girls will be making an impact for busiest airport in Florida. MCO is also the travelers and can’t wait to meet even more 10th busiest airport in the United States. teams because it’s a dog-gone good time! “We understand that travel can be stress- ful, and the Greater Orlando Aviation Au- thority (GOAA) wants to try something Please note that therapy dogs are dif- new to enhance the customer experience,” ferent from service dogs and emotional said Brian Engle, GOAA’s director of cus- support dogs. Whereas both therapy and tomer experience. “Our Paw Pilots will of- service dogs require training, emotional fer the right balance of comfort and cud- support dogs do not. Therapy dogs are dles with our team of vetted therapy dogs meant to be pet and receive attention and their handlers.” and affection from the public, which is opposite when discussing service dogs The 10 teams can be found in the main as they should be ignored since they are terminal building (not at the gates) and a working animal to help with whatever will appear at various times throughout reason(s) their owner has them. Therapy the week for two hours each. Each of the dogs can typically be found at sites after a therapy dog teams have been screened and tragic event, helping victims and first re - certified as a therapy dog for at least two sponders cope, or at airports or hospitals. years by the Alliance of Therapy Dogs to Service dogs can go anywhere as long as ensure the safety of the MCO guests. All they are working and behaving. Emo- dogs also had to pass an in-person screen- tional support dogs are allowed on planes ing and an in-terminal test before receiv- (and even those laws are changing).

Jora shows off how to be a good therapy dog with a bunch of kisses!

Jora

Woody

Annabel Farley www.NONAHOODNEWS.com | 11 | DECEMBER 2019 rebellious because they believe tion they need to have or you want to have to get closer to it’s an important question that them. Maybe through this conversation, you will be help- should be asked or maybe sim- ing them instead of the other way around. ply out of anger. If one or both The other holiday stress comes from the effort to get of these are the case, redirect presents for everyone. Amazon has a lot of stuff and gift the question to why they are cards from the superstore that often take care of anything asking you this question. For a teen, new parents, or grandparents could need. If you example, let’s say your cousin, want to get more personal in your gift-giving, start early. who always gets shut down If you have a cousin who has two kids and a dog, the en- from asking about political be- tire family could benefit from an at-home movie projec- STEAM IS ESSENTIAL liefs because she is known to tor. If you have a grandparent you want to personalize instigate arguments, decides a gift for, think about getting a jewelry item with their to ask who you will vote for name, zodiac sign, or a describing word on it. FOR A 21ST CENTURY in the next election. Your re- sponse can be something like Now, if you are in the middle of opening presents and you EDUCATION a light-hearted laugh and a re- hate the gift, don’t show it. Thank them and try to think ply like, “Why do you want to about what you could use it for while thinking about your know?” This will catch her off happy place. It may be hard to pretend you love it, so try (407) 495-2325 | aexplorers.com guard and prompt her to think not to pretend but instead just think about how you could about why she wants to know actually use it in order to seem a little more upbeat about and possibly rethink her ques- it. Also, there’s no rule that you can’t regift it to a friend tion. If she says “just ’cause,” or sell it without them knowing! light-heartedly say something When it comes to the overall stress of the holidays, take a along the lines of how you deep breath. Focus on the positives: You get to see people think she may want to get into an argument and just you may not see often, you get presents, and you get time Tough Things to Talk walk away. off from work or school. Managing the holiday stress is The last two reasons they ask you these annoying ques- all about redirecting your thinking, which will shift your About: How to Handle tions is because they are trying to connect with you or mood to be more positive. Do the things you love to do they really just want to help. In these cases, they are during the holidays and shift your focus away from the The Holiday Stress coming from a positive place, and they really mean well. things you don’t really love. Thank them for caring and decide if it would actually be in your best interest to answer. Maybe this is a conversa- BY NATALIA JARAMILLO

The holidays are upon us and so are the endless fam- ily gatherings, present giving and receiving, and general stress that it encompasses. When it comes to the holiday season, many people have a love-hate relationship with it. This tough relationship comes from attempting to nav- igate the stress without a game plan. So, here is your key guide to making your own successful game plan to handle the holidays. Family gatherings that are bound to happen mean one thing that most people dread – nosy relatives you haven’t seen in a while. Whether they are asking about why you are single, why you aren’t the president of the USA yet, or why you look the way you do, here is how you should approach awkward family questions. First off, you need to quickly identify why the person may be asking you an awkward question. There are typically six reasons some- one may ask you an awkward question, according to Di- ane Barth’s article “Why People Ask You Awkward and Annoying Questions” in Psychology Today. First, they may not understand what they are asking; your family member may not get that what they are ask- ing isn’t okay to ask or shouldn’t be asked. If this is the case, you need to approach it as if they mean the best. Tell them you appreciate their concern and redirect their question to something a little more acceptable. The second, third, and fourth reasons your family mem- bers may want to ask awkward questions are just to be

HEALTH & WELLNESS

tension, irregular heart rhythm, heart attack and coronary Have a Heart-Healthy artery disease. DON’T IGNORE SYMPTOMS. Holiday If you feel unwell, don’t delay seeking medical attention. Men and women should look out for changes in their nor- mal health. Symptoms include chest pain or discomfort, BY USMAN HASHMI, MD, FACC shortness of breath, dizziness or passing out, nausea or vomiting, extreme fatigue, lightheadedness, pain in the jaw, neck, or back, or pain in the shoulder or arm. Though we love this time of year, it can be pretty stressful. Crazy schedules. Financial strain. Traffic. Less time for -ex SAY NO. ercise. Complicated family dynamics. Studies have shown It sounds simple, but it’s so easy to forget when you’re that cardiac events such as heart attacks and strokes peak looking at that plate full of cheesy mashed potatoes with during the holiday season. a side of chocolate cake. Or you've received another invita- A number of factors are thought to be responsible, but a tion for which you really don't have the capacity; you can major one is that normal routines are disrupted during the say no. You don’t have to go to every party, eat every treat, holidays, leading to a significant increase in stress. Since or buy every gift. Overindulging, no matter how you do it, we know that’s not on your wishlist, here are a few things is a fast track to stress, and it’s bad for your heart. Protect to think about: your schedule, your budget, and your heart by pacing your- self and staying in control. GET SOME REST AND UNPLUG. Quality sleep helps to protect your heart and keep your stress levels down. Practice good sleep hygiene; that means About Dr. Hashmi no smart phones in bed. In fact, charge your devices away Usman Hashmi, MD, FACC, is For more information and to make an appointment, from your bed. If your phone has a blue light filter, turn board certified in cardiology, both visit YourCentralFloridaDoctor.com/Cardiac interventional and nuclear, and it on because this type of light generated from the screen or call 407-303-6588. internal medicine. He grew up in can negatively affect your melatonin levels, an important sleep hormone. Anyone might be tired from all the hustle Buffalo, New York. Dr. Hashmi's and bustle of holiday prep, but if you're waking up feeling primary focus is on comprehensive like you never went to bed in the first place, there may be a and compassionate patient-centered bigger problem. Ask yourself how long it’s been going on, care emphasizing a unified team ap- and talk to your doctor about the possibility of sleep apnea. proach with the patient, their family, This very common, treatable disorder is linked to hyper- and all healthcare providers.

www.NONAHOODNEWS.com | 12 | DECEMBER 2019 USTA: The American Tennis Showcase

BY DANIEL PYSER

December is the one month of the year that profession- al tennis goes on hiatus as the 2019 season comes to a close in November, and players across the world gear up for the 2020 campaign, which starts in early January in Australia. While stadiums and arenas across the world sit empty, the adidas Performance Center at the USTA National each reached career-high rankings in November. Campus will be bustling with activity as a number of the top American professionals will be hard at work with the Two former Top-50 players – CiCi Bellis and Mackenzie USTA Player Development staff. December is crunch time McDonald – are also training in Lake Nona to prepare for for the players’ off-season training regimen as they work their return to the pro tour after prolonged injury absenc- on their fitness and fine-tune their games heading into the es. 20-year-old Bellis, once ranked a career-high No. 35 in next season. the WTA Rankings, has not competed consistently since a wrist injury and multiple surgeries sidelined her start- While the number of players training in Lake Nona rises ing in March 2018. McDonald, 24, broke into the ATP’s during this time of year, the core group of Orlando resi- Top 50 in the spring before a hamstring injury ended his dents who train at the USTA National Campus year-round season. will be working to build on their 2019 success. The December training block will culminate with the That group is led by Madison Keys, a perennial Top-20 American Tennis Showcase on Dec. 13-14, which will not player on the WTA Tour, who added two more titles to her only serve as a training opportunity for the players to ex- resume in 2019, including the biggest of her career at the perience a match-like atmosphere, but it will also give the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati this summer. She Lake Nona community the chance to watch the nation’s ended the year ranked No. 13 in the world after reaching best young players in person for free. the Round of 16 or better in three of the year’s four Grand Slam tournaments. This year’s event has been expanded to two days with a special Skills Challenge headlining Friday’s action, in She is joined by Alison Riske, who ended the season which players will compete head-to-head in a number of ranked a career-best world No. 18 after a breakout 2019 on-court games and contests. Saturday will feature match campaign, as well as Caroline Dolehide and Ann Li, who play, with players being divided into two teams competing in both singles and doubles. In addition to the world-class tennis talent, the event will feature free kids’ activities, live music, specialty food and drinks, as well as an autograph session with the partici- pating athletes. Friday night begins at 7 p.m., while Saturday action gets underway at 5 p.m. Each day, the Fan Fest begins an hour-and-a-half before the start of the event. Saturday’s matches will be broadcast live on Tennis Channel.

For more information, including how to reserve your free tickets, please visit www.ustanationalcampus.com.

Namaste With Natalia: Extended Side Angle Utthita Parsvakonasana

Your Monthly Yoga Pose

ARTICLE BY NATALIA FOOTE PHOTOS BY TARA SPROC deeply while in it. The final month of the year is here! December is fullof 7. While maintaining emotions and giving everything the final push to finish the strength in the legs, year strong. Perhaps you look forward to the end of Q4, do- reach the left arm over- nating to an organization to get the last tax break, or maybe head. If you have the you look forward to taking some much-needed time off. Ei - range of motion in your ther way, December is the last reach, the last stretch before neck, gaze at the left a fresh new year begins. fingertips. Extended side angle, or Utthita Parsvakonasana, is exactly that. This pose is the ultimate reach. The pose is grounding 8. Breathe for five full and strengthening in the legs, lightness in the arms, and a breaths and switch sides. complete body stretch. In addition to the side body receiv- According to the Yoga Anat- ing a stretch, the hamstrings and groin muscles receive a omy Book, Utthita Parsva- deep stretch as well. The pose looks deceptively simple, but konasana asks the spine to a number of stabilizing muscles work together to keep you maintain neutrality as you aligned. And it is easy to sag in the pelvic floor, which de- stretch the side body. In ad- creases the effectiveness of the pose. dition, breath action in this 1. Begin in mountain pose and step your left leg back posture provides very useful asymmetrical stimulation to the diaphragm and all the organs attached to it. about 3-4 feet. Extended side angle pose feels like the ultimate reach. In 2. Allow your hips to open to the side but keep the right my personal practice, I have pulled away from practicing toes pointed toward the top of the mat. the full expression as I find strength and ease in using a 3. The left foot should slightly angle in. block, enabling me to breath more effectively. I hope you are able to find strength and ease during the month of - De 4. Bend the right leg and try to get the right thigh parallel cember. And I hope you are able to breathe deep. to the ground. (It requires some flexibility to do this, so Namaste. try and bend as much as you safely can.) 5. Keep the left leg straight and lean the upper body to- ward the right side. Natalia Foote is the owner of threeR, a company bring- 6. Place the full palm of the right hand on the ground next ing mindfulness, meditation and yoga practices to the to the outer edge of the right foot. (This also requires a workplace. Her mission in life is spreading love and light great deal of flexibility.) A few variations are possible for in the world. When not spending time with her family, the right arm and hand placement. You may bend the you can find Natalia taking and teaching yoga all right arm and gently place the elbow on the right thigh. around Lake Nona. The right arm may reach toward the front or side of the mat. A block may be used to bring the ground closer to the right hand. The right hand may come on the inside of the right foot. The right arm may come under the thigh and bind with the left. Lots of options are available for the right arm, but please find a placement that main - tains the integrity of the pose and allows you to breathe www.NONAHOODNEWS.com | 13 | DECEMBER 2019 disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, Sleep helps maintain a healthy balance and stroke. of the hormones that make you feel hungry (ghrelin) or full (leptin). When Good Sleep, Sleep helps your brain work properly. you don't get enough sleep, your level of While you're sleeping, your brain is ghrelin goes up and your level of leptin preparing for the next day. It's forming Good Health, goes down. This makes you feel hungrier new pathways to help you learn and re- than when you're well-rested. Good Life member information. Studies also show that sleep deficiency alters activity in Sleep also affects how your body reacts some parts of the brain. If you're sleep to insulin, the hormone that controls BY KRISTINA GRABNICKAS, deficient, you may have trouble making your blood glucose (sugar) level. Sleep Sleep insufficiency may be caused by ARNP - NURSE PRACTITIONER decisions, solving problems, controlling deficiency results in a higher-than- broadscale societal factors such as your emotions and behavior, and coping normal blood sugar level, which may round-the-clock access to technology and with change. Sleep deficiency also has increase your risk for diabetes. While work schedules, but sleep disorders such been linked to depression, suicide, and sleeping well is no guarantee of good as insomnia or obstructive sleep apnea Sleep is often one of the first things to go risk-taking behavior. health, it does help to maintain many also play an important role. An estimated when people feel pressed for time. Many vital functions. Sleep provides cells and 50-70 million U.S. adults have sleep or view sleep as a luxury and think that the Fatigue and sleepiness can reduce pro- tissues with the opportunity to recover wakefulness disorder. Not surprisingly, ductivity and increase the chance for benefits of limiting the hours they spend from the wear and tear of daily life. Ma- these potential adverse health effects can asleep outweigh the costs. People often mishaps, such as errors and motor vehi- jor restorative functions, such as tissue add up to increased healthcare costs and overlook the potential long-term health cle or industrial accidents. repair, muscle growth, and protein and decreased productivity. More important- consequences of insufficient sleep and the hormonal synthesis, occur during sleep: ly, insufficient sleep can ultimately affect impact that health problems can ultimate- “Washington, D.C. (November 4, life expectancy and day-to-day well-be- ly have on one's time and productivity. 2016) – The National Sleep Founda- • Fight off infection ing. An analysis of data from three sepa- Many of the costs of poor sleep go un- tion (NSF) recent fielding of the • Support the metabolism of sugar to rate studies suggests that sleeping five or noticed. Sleep Health Index® (SHI) reports prevent diabetes fewer hours per night may increase mor- staggering drowsy driving statis- tality risk by as much as 15%. Sleep plays a vital role in good health and • Solidify and consolidate memory tics: Three percent of Americans, wellbeing throughout your life. Getting Sleep experts say there is ample evidence representing more than seven mil- • Work effectively and safely enough quality sleep at the right time can which shows that when people get the lion drivers, reported falling asleep - help protect your mental health, physi- Persons experiencing sleep insufficien sleep they need, they will not only feel behind the wheel within the past two cal health, quality of life, and safety. For cy are also more likely to suffer from better but will also increase their odds of weeks. Equally alarming, results of chronic diseases such as hypertension, example, sleep is involved in healing and living healthier, more productive lives. the SHI also indicate that people only diabetes, depression, and obesity as well the repair of your heart and blood ves- felt well-rested about as from cancer, increased mortality, and sels. Ongoing sleep deficiency is linked to reduced quality of life and productivity. an increased risk of heart disease, kidney four days per week.”

our disputes are just silly.” Robo game seems to be a favorite for all of EDUCATION Cosmic Wonders the kids since they all love to code and pro- gram the robot. Aarish informs me that the Of Lake Nona robo game is about the robot that they have built, coded and programmed to solve dif- ferent missions on the game mat. ARTICLE BY ISHU MARTINEZ PHOTOS BY ISHU MARTINEZ AND Sidney, Olive, Aarush, Maya, Aarish, and KOSHA SHAH Juhi have known each other for years and Ringing in the decided to work together and try out some- thing new by creating their own FLL team. Last year was the first time they competed New Year With together against several other teams. Al- though they were nervous, they were also The Sound of excited to meet other teams and to learn from each other. When asked, “What was The Lions their favorite part of the competition?” they all answered, “When we found out that we won and that we would be competing in the ARTICLE BY JENNY LYNN regionals.” PHOTOS COURTESY OF PAUL Left to right: Aarish Reddy, Juhi Shah, Olive Each of them not only meet once a week to THIERRY Martinez, Maya Prasad, Sidney Guy, Aarush Palmurkar, and Abdus-Samad Shaik. work on coding, researching, and building the robot, but all of them have extracur- To bring in the New Year of 2020, our When you hear the words “Cosmic Won- ricular activities. Sidney is learning tennis, very own Lake Nona High School band, ders,” one cannot help but think of some- capoeira, and is also part of math club. I Sound of the Lions, is preparing to travel thing related to space or about our galaxy. was amazed that he has time for not just abroad to London’s New Year’s Day Pa- But Cosmic Wonders is actually a group of the weekly Lego meeting, but also for the rade and provide one of their greatest kids who are a part of FIRST Lego League, many after-school activities, and he contin- performances yet. This year’s Parade or FLL. I recently had the chance to meet ues to excel in middle school. He lets me theme is a celebration of life called “Lon- this group of kids and got to know more know that by scheduling and managing his don Loves Life.” about FLL and their team. time wisely, there is no reason as to why he London’s New Year’s Day Parade is a There are seven members on this team, cannot do all the extracurricular activities spectacular event, and the band members and they are from the ages of 10-13. Sidney that he enjoys. I definitely need his help in at Lake Nona High School are prepared Guy, Olive Martinez, Aarush Palmurkar, scheduling my calendar. to perform alongside 21 other marching Maya Prasad, Aarish Reddy, Abdus-Sam- Abdus-Samad is the youngest and the newest bands from across the United States. See ad Shaik, and Juhi Shah are the Cosmic member of the team. Although he was nerv- Wonders, and they have known each other a complete list of bands below: ous at first to be part of Cosmic Wonders, he since elementary school. Aside from Ab- now enjoys and loves to research and learn to • Colton Joint Unified School District dus-Samad, who is in 5th grade, the rest of All-Star Band code together with his new friends. Maya is the children are in middle school. Most of the oldest and wanted to be a part of the team • The Brunswick High School Marching them have been competing for three years not just to learn something new, but also to Band and are currently working on this year’s help her decide if she wanted a career in en- FLL theme, “City Shapers.” • Campo Verde High School Marching gineering or computers. Band So what is FLL? According to the FLL, Their competition is coming up in a few FIRST stands for “For Inspiration & Rec- months, and these kids have been work- • Edward C Reed High School Raider ognition of Science & Technology.” It is Band ing hard in researching, improving their an alliance between FIRST and the LEGO coding skills, and learning from their mis- • Glenbrook North High School Band group. There are 40,000 teams, 320,000+ takes when building their robot. It amazes • Hempfield Area Spartan Band participants, and can be found in 98 coun- me that these kids are able to balance their tries. 40,000 teams! • Hendersonville High School Band school life, extracurricular activities, and Aarush informs me that FLL consists of also have the time for their Lego robotic • Lake Nona High School Sound of the three parts – Project, Core Values, and meetings. These kids hope to inspire oth- Lions Robo game. Project is where you choose er children to not just learn to code and • Lake Zurich High School Marching and research about the problem based on program a robot made out of Legos but Band the yearly topic that is given to the teams. also remind other kids not to give up and Each team works together in not just cod- keep trying to get better. These kids have • Marshall University Marching Thun- ing and building a robot made out of Legos encountered many problems and mistakes der during their mock mission robo game, but The marching bands will be joined by but also coming up with a new solution to • The Murrieta Valley All Star Marching they continue to keep working hard, per- hundreds of other performers while walk- an existing problem. This might seem chal- Band lenging, but not to this group of kids, aka fect their coding, learn, and improve from ing down a 2.2-mile parade route. Mil- • Newport High School Band Cosmic Wonders. their mistakes. The girls in this team espe- lions of spectators will be lined up along cially hope to inspire other girls to learn • The Nogales High School Noble Regi- the road to watch, and millions more will Olive, who has been part of FLL for three years, enjoys working on the project part. something new in the STEM field and hope ment be watching on their televisions. to see more girls participate in the FLL She likes to research about the given topic The parade starts at noon on Jan. 1 (7 competition. • Parkview Marching Band because she likes to learn and find different a.m. EST). You can tune into chan- • Putnam School Marching Band and new ideas/methods to solve problems. To any kid out there reading this article, nels like RFD-TV to watch from home. I leave you these parting words from Aar- The next part of the FLL is the Core Val- • The Saints Brigade Drum & Bugle The Lake Nona High School band will ish, “FLL is not just building a robot out ues, which teach the kids about teamwork, Corps be the 46th performance in the parade. of Legos or coding. It is more than that. It inclusion, discovery, innovation, impact, • Southmoore High School Band You can see a complete list of perform- where the kids explore new skills, and, is about inspiring each other, finding new ers here. The publishers of Nonahood ways and ideas to solve problems, build- • The St. Clair County High School News, Rhys and Jenny Lynn, will be most importantly, fun. I asked Juhi if it is Marching Band hard to follow core values while working ing confidence, and learning not to give up our Lake Nona media team onsite with even after many failed attempts to solve a on this type of project with friends. She re- • The Tri-City Band Corps updates and video to share back home. mission/problem.” plied, “No, because we have learned to lis- • West Boca Raton High School Band Make sure to follow Nonahood News : @nonahoodnews. ten and respect each other, even though we • West Orange Warrior Band all have different ideas and opinions. We

• Dulaney High School learn to resolve our differences by listening to each other and realizing that, in the end,

www.NONAHOODNEWS.com | 14 | DECEMBER 2019 SCHOOL UPDATES

MOSS PARK ELEMENTARY LAKE NONA HIGH SCHOOL

BY DR. STEPHANIE OSMOND, PRINCIPAL FOOTBALL There are a lot of exciting things going on at Moss Park BY ANDREW GORDON Elementary! Most recently, we announced and cast our an- nual Moss Park Players production. This year, our students Since the last issue of Nonahood News, our Lions football will perform Frozen JR. We can’t wait to see the talent Ms. team took on their rivals, East River, in the Battle of the Jacobacci will bring out in our young performers. In ad- Beachline. After traveling to Osceola High the previous dition to this, we have a variety of other after-school ac- week, the Lions traveled home on Nov. 1 to take on the East River Falcons on the Lions’ senior night. The Lions beat tivities that have kicked off. We are so excited to be able to the Falcons in a hard-fought game, 13-10, and retained the offer our students activities that will instill a love of learn- ing beyond the classroom, and we cannot do it without the surfboard another year. After the last game of the regular dedication of our wonderful teachers! These activities are season, the Lions football team found out that they had focused on increasing STEAM in our school and include made it into the FHSAA 8A playoffs. The Lions took on visual arts as well as science and math. the No. 1 seeded Riverview (Sarasota) on Nov. 8. Unfor- tunately, after traveling to Sarasota to take on Riverview, We recently completed our Boosterthon Fun Run. This is the Lions lost, and their season ended. It was a great first always a highlight for our students as they enjoy the char- season in the 8A bracket this year, and overall, our varsity acter lessons and the atmosphere that the event provides. football team had a great season. We finished 7-4 overall, However, it is only successful because of our continued and we are looking to improve for next year. We would like community support. Thank you to the families for support- to thank the Lake Nona community for their continued ing our school. support throughout the season and hope to see everyone As we focus on character and team building this year, we out there again next year. have implemented a house structure for our students. The Also, since the last publication, the JV football team played houses focus on different character traits. Each of our in their last game of the season. In the JV team’s last game students and staff members have been sorted in our first- against Freedom High School, they beat the Patriots and ever sorting ceremony. They selected an Eagle Egg from finished 5-1 on the season. We are proud of how well both our mascot Goldies’ nest. The egg contained their house the freshman and JV teams played during the season and bracelet. This was an exciting event, and we are looking how they became better as teams throughout the season. forward to embedding the teamwork, mentorship and pos- We also want to thank the Lake Nona community again for itive character into our culture. coming out and supporting our freshman and JV teams. Our vocabulary parade was a wonderful success; we had We hope to see everyone out there again next season. so many wonderful new words to learn. The conversations students were having about their own words were amaz- ing! Thank you all for your support!

LAUREATE PARK ELEMENTARY

BY SUZANNE WORKUM EAGLE CREEK ELEMENTARY Laureate Park Elementary wrapped up the second quarter in typical Longhorn style: celebrating our successes! All BY JESSICA SCULLY of our students who met their Accelerated Reading (AR) goal for the second quarter were celebrated with a snow Hello, Panther Community! cone party. Hispanic Heritage Night. We had an amazing time at Our Longhorns participated in Multicultural Night, a cel- our Hispanic Heritage Celebration! Our first-grade students ebration of all of our many cultures represented at Laure- accompanied by our grade-level STEAM groups did a fan- ate Park Elementary. Families brought food and dressed tastic job with their performances! Thank you, Ms. Grande in the traditional clothing of their home countries. It was and Ms. Zimmerman, for leading our student performances! a delicious and informative celebration of our families. In We also want to thank School Board Member Ms. Johanna November, we shared our love of books by presenting Lit- Lopez for her support. eracy Night. Everyone was excited when a special guest, Boosterthon. Last month, we ended our Boosterthon Clifford, greeted our families. fundraiser with an awesome Fun Run. Parents, thank you Our parents joined our classrooms during Teach In and all so much for supporting this year’s Eagle Creek Fun Run. shared with our students their careers and passions. From I would like to congratulate all of our students for complet- firefighters to doctors to dentists to sports professionals, ing the Boosterthon Fun Run. I would like to thank our our students really loved all the creative presentations. PTA, our parent volunteers, and Eagle Creek families who came out to support our runners, as well as those who do- Our Longhorns celebrated World Kindness Day, dedicated nated to help support our school. to Fred Rogers, by wearing a cardigan. Kindness fills our hallways every day, so our students were excited to cele- Relay for Life. We are so proud and thankful for a very brate it. Our Storybook Character Parade brought out some successful Relay for Life Event, raising $7,000 at Eagle amazing costumes inspired by favorite books and authors. Creek for the American Cancer Society. Kudos to everyone at ECE who participated throughout our fundraising ef- Congratulations to Sofia Hernandez, 1st Place, and Char- forts, especially to the following for all of their hard work lie Muniz, 2nd Place, in the K-2 division for Week of the and assistance with Relay for Life: our organizers Ms. An- Family essay contest. They wrote essays for the prompt: “I draski and Ms. Rydell, Chess Club, K Kids, NEHS, SGA should be present with my family because ...” Their win- kids, Chorus, Art Club, Ms. Roller, PTA, Ms. Hodgkins, Ms. ning essays will be on display at the school. Fisher, and Ms. Giblin. Laureate Park PTA continues to bring fantastic resources Maitland Art Show. We are pleased to announce that to our students. Celebrated author Kate Messner was in- last month during the 43rd Maitland Rotary Art Festival, vited to speak to our students about her writing process. our students represented our school, and we were thrilled Our Longhorns agreed this was one of the most entertain- to showcase their work. The Maitland Art Festival has been ing presentations. One student said, "I can't wait to read around since 1976 and has always been a great venue for her books!" In addition, Laureate Park PTA supplied our exploring what our community has to offer through the clinic, attained field trip t-shirts for kindergarten and fifth arts. The Maitland Art Festival is surrounding Lake Lily in grade, and supplied our teachers with books and other in- Maitland, Florida. structional tools.

SUN BLAZE ELEMENTARY

We want to congratulate Ms. Carra, our OCPS HERO teacher! Ms. Carra is one of our fourth-grade ELA teachers, who chal- lenges her students to strive for their best. She models this each day as she challenges herself to learn the new content while keeping it engaging for her students. Congratulations, Ms. Carra! We are so proud of our Sun Blaze Dance Team for a very successful experience at Dance Performance Assessment (DPA) at the Linda Chapin Theater in the Orange County Convention Center. They were adjudicated in front of a panel of judges on their jazz piece, “Good to Be Bad” from Disney’s Descendants 3, and had an outstanding evening performance. We want to thank Ms. LaPuz and Ms. Towle for their time, talents and instruction they give to our amazing group of students! In November, Sun Blaze took part in the Lake Nona Relay for Life. It was a wonderful community gathering to help bring awareness and raise financial support for the American Cancer Society in the fight against cancer. We had many staff and families attend the event and pledge their support! We would like to invite the Lake Nona community to follow our social media links to stay connected with all that is hap- pening at Sun Blaze Elementary. The website address is [email protected], and you can follow us on Facebook at SunBlazeElementary. Have a safe, relaxing, and fun winter break. Go, Stingrays!

www.NONAHOODNEWS.com | 15 | DECEMBER 2019 See Life ClearlyClearly

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DECEMBER 2019 Volume 4 | Issue 12 FOOD & DRINKS

Katie’s Cucina: Grinch Buttermilk GRINCH BUTTERMILK PANCAKES Pancakes Servings: 3 | Prep time: 20 min. | Cook time: 10 min. | Total time: 30 min.

BY KATIE JASIEWICZ, KATIESCUCINA.COM Directions: Ingredients: 1. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking For the pancakes: Last holiday season, my son was enamored by powder, baking soda, and salt. Then add in the but- • 1 cup of all-purpose flour the nonstop commercials from IHOP advertising termilk, milk, eggs, and melted butter. Mix for 30 • 1 tbsp white sugar the limited edition Grinch pancakes! Of course, seconds until all ingredients are blended. • 1 tsp baking powder naturally, we surprised him with a breakfast trip • 1/2 tsp baking soda 2. Spray cooking spray on a griddle or frying pan. • 1/4 tsp salt to IHOP so he could get his Grinch fix. As soon Heat at medium heat. Using a small ladle or ice as I tasted the pancakes, I knew I could recreate • 1 cup buttermilk cream scoop (using about 1/4 cup batter for each these at home year round if I needed to! The fol- • 3 tbsp milk pancake or less if you want silver dollar pancakes), • 1 egg lowing weekend, I got to testing. Needless to say, pour the batter onto the griddle. my son was delighted to enjoy Grinch pancakes • 2 tbsp butter, melted and all December long thanks to a little bit of recipe 3. Let cook until you begin to start bubbles form on slightly cooled testing on my part. I used the base of mybutter- the top of the batter (about 1-2 minutes). Then flip For the cream cheese milk pancake recipe and transformed them into and cook an additional 30 seconds to one minute. frosting: Grinch pancakes! Remove from griddle and repeat until all the batter • 8 oz. cream cheese, is used. softened When I first tasted the pancakes while dining at IHOP, they seemed to have a canned “cream 4. For the cream cheese frosting: Mix together using • 1/2 cup powdered sugar cheese” glaze taste to them as well as green-color- a hand mixer or stand mixer the softened cream • 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract ed Cool Whip that was just placed in a piping bag. cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and water So, you can go the easy route and use the canned (start with 2 tablespoons and add additional water • 2-3 tablespoons water frosting and just add some green dye to the Cool as needed to thin frosting). Mix until smooth and For the green whipped cream: Whip. Or you can go the extra step and make set to the side. • 1 cup heavy whipping fresh, homemade cream cheese frosting and homemade green whipped cream. Once 5. For the green whipped cream: Using a hand mixer cream the whipped cream is done, you’ll then place it into a piping bag to give that professional or stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, mix • 3/4 cups powdered sugar polished look. Heart-shaped sprinkles can be ordered on the Internet. I’m also starting the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and green food • 1 teaspoon Adams extract to see a wide variety of sprinkles at your local arts-and-crafts store, so you can check coloring until stiff peaks form (about 3-5 minutes green food coloring there, too. Or use what you have on hand. I had some leftover Valentine’s Day sprinkles, on medium high speed). Place in a so I just picked the hearts out of those and used the remaining sprinkles I had. piping bag fitted with a star You might be wondering if I like to recreate restaurant recipes often? It all depends on (no. 1) tip. the dish, and with something so “limited edition,” this was high on my list. 6. To assemble the pancakes, stack If you are looking for a fun holiday tradition, host a Grinch-themed breakfast for your pancakes, then drizzle on the kids (or family and friends) this holiday season. I hope everyone enjoys the holiday cream cheese frosting. Top pan- season and may add a new tradition to your month of festivities! cake with green whipped cream. Add heart-shaped sprinkles on top. Repeat until all the pancakes are Katie Jasiewicz is a full-time food blogger and recipe developer at done and enjoy. KatiesCucina.com, a recipe blog that provides family-friendly, easy-to-make recipes that anyone can make. Join her on her culinary adventure, where life always tastes good.

LAKE NONA LIVING

AC: Menchie’s came to our lives when I NHN: What brought you to Lake was sick. It was discovered that I was aller- Nona, and when did you move here? Nona Your gic to soy, and soy was affecting my bones. AC: We moved to Lake Nona as a family 15 After visiting various places with my fam- years ago, going on 16. Neighbor: ily to eat, the only place that I found that had a binder with information for me to be NHN: Where are you from originally? able to read and know if I can eat it or not AC: I am from Puerto Rico. I left Puerto Alicia Colón was actually at Menchie’s. That was the only franchise or restaurant at the time, Rico when I was 16 years old, but I’ve been seven years ago, that actually had that in the Orlando area for the last 31 years. ARTICLE BY CAMILLE RUIZ college or high school to make sure that they’re available, and work doesn’t inter- binder in place. Any other restaurant, any NHN: What would you say is your fa- MANGUAL pizza place, any burger joint that I went PHOTOS COURTESY OF ALICIA fere with their schoolwork; for us, it’s very vorite part about Lake Nona? to with my family, I was not able to eat. I COLÓN important. Besides that, the machines. AC: How the area has grown and that we Making sure that they’re working right just had to sit and drink water with them. That’s how we got interested in Menchie’s don’t need to travel away from the area to Alicia is the owner and they’re producing the product, mak- be able to have quality time with our own ing sure the output is correct, like, is it at as a franchise. It was very interesting, and and manager of families and friends. Menchie’s in Lake the right temperature and everything. You it still is. It’s part of my life. check that on a daily basis. Nona, a wife, and a NHN: Do you have any interesting NHN: What would you say to anyone mom of three. She who is considering a move to Lake NHN: What would you say is the hobbies, collections or interests? is also a Nonahood Nona? most rewarding aspect of your job? AC: I love sewing or anything that is man- resident. Check out AC: The first thing, visit the schools if our interview with ual, like crocheting. I love to crochet. Col- AC: I have seen a lot of kids grow up in you’re moving here for the schools. The her below! lections? I collect all the Menchie’s spoons the area. I have seen people that were schools have a lot to offer, but every indi- pregnant that now, their kids are seven or that we have had. For the past seven years, NHN: What is Menchie’s has come out with different vidual is different. You should visit schools eight years old. I’ve seen kids that were in because not all the schools have the same your job? elementary and now they’re high school- spoons, and I’ve been able to grab them. Sometimes I forget about it, but I think I facilities for specific children. Lake Nona is AC: I’m the owner of Menchie’s. I’m consid- ers, and middle schoolers who are now have almost all of them. a great community, it has a lot of places to ered not only the owner but the manager. in college. I think the most rewarding- as go, and the schools are a great fundamen- pect of my job goes back to seeing every- NHN: Where do you see yourself in tal. And visit. Be here during the day, dur- NHN: What does your day-to-day one here, the people that come, and to see ing the night, be part of the community, schedule look like? the next five years? them grow. With my team members, what look at it. Lake Nona is great. I wouldn’t is rewarding for me is when I see them AC: Well, we’ve been here for seven years AC: It depends on what needs to be done. change it. I moved here, and I’m staying leave the store, and they’re reaching their with Menchie’s, and we’re looking to be 90% of the time, I’m here at the store. A lot here for a long time. of people don’t see me most of the time be- future; they’re reaching what they studied able to find another location, but it’s hard. When we started Menchie’s here in Lake cause I’m behind the scenes, but I’m easy for. And that, I think, is the most reward- Nona, it was first because it was near my to reach. ing. Knowing that we were their first jobs, and from here, they moved on to college kids’ schools, and I was able to attend the NHN: What would you say are the or university, away or nearby, or they still store at the same time that I was not ne- most challenging aspects of your job? work during the summer. I think it’s re- glecting my kids and was able to be at their warding seeing my team members grow performances or any other activity after AC: I think the most challenging part and seeing the community enjoy coming school. But, in the next five years, time will would be making sure that all my team to the store. tell. It’s hard. I’m not getting any younger members are available and that I’ll be able [laughs] so, maybe one of my kids takes to schedule them according to their school NHN: What got you interested in do- over? I don’t know. I really don’t know schedule. We take a lot of consideration ing your current job in this area? where we’ll be standing. when it comes to what they’re doing in

www.NONAHOODNEWS.com | 2 | DECEMBER 2019 www.NONAHOODNEWS.com | 3 | DECEMBER 2019 DDogog ooff thethe MMonthonth

JJaxax & OOliverliver Owner: Chelsea Byard

Breed: Miniature Golden Doodles

Age: 4 years, 2 months; 8 months (at time of submission)

Dog's Quirk/Story: Our pups are two peas in a pod! Jax thrives in the presence of other dogs, so for Christmas, we got him a puppy. Welcome, Oliver! They are brilliantly smart and know how to manipu- late their owners into playing their games. Jax loves to cuddle. Oliver is aloof and very clumsy!

www.NONAHOODNEWS.com | 4 | DECEMBER 2019 that means fun, quick and in- expensive times that allow us One Date at a Time: to escape the craziness, recon- nect, relax, and enjoy being in the moment with one another. Dating During the Busy Here are a few of our favorite holiday season quick date Holiday Season night-ins. 1 - NETFLIX AND CHILL BY SHARON FUENTES

Let’s be honest, the most wonderful time of the year can sometimes not feel so wonderful. There are presents to buy, holiday office- par ties to attend, baking, decorating, school choir concerts, travel plans and in-laws … the list can go on and on. If I am not careful, it is easy for me to slip into what – (No, not what you are think- some experts have clev- ing; although if things go that erly named … the Clark way, good for you!) On the Griswold Syndrome: occasional cool Florida even- The feeling that you must be ing, there is nothing better the merriest person on the than sitting in our backyard block so that your family can by a nice fire, mugs filled with have a spectacular Christmas coffee, sharing a blanket, and (and in our case, Hanukkah, watching an episode of a show too). There is certainly noth- we enjoy together on our lap- ing wrong with trying to cre- top. We could easily watch ate magical moments, but from the comfort of our warm, when they come at the- ex cozy living room couch. But pense of the very same people being outside takes a bit more you are trying to create them effort and usually ends up for … that is a problem. with us both sitting closer to- gether, not falling asleep, and Spending countless hours just truly enjoying each other’s planning and hoping that a holiday event or a date with company. my husband will be as special as one of those cheesy Christ- 2 - TAKE A LONG WALK mas Hallmark movies can quickly turn into me feeling that – and then stop to enjoy the [email protected] I can never be happy unless it is perfect, which can then view together! Sure, we walk lead to sadness and disappointment when reality doesn’t the dogs often together, but it www.GolsonDesigns.com live up. But not carving out special time can often result in is often because we feel like we even more hurt feelings, which along with the general high “HAVE TO” do it. But what if stress of the holiday season can easily result in spousal ar- you changed that to … I “GET guments. Which is why we as a couple over the years have TO” TAKE A WALK WITH 4 - PLAY A BOARD GAME TOGETHER – A study learned to ditch our expectations and appreciate the little MY PARTNER. That simple change in attitude can make a performed by Baylor University found that playing board moments that we can squeeze in together during this busy huge difference and often leads to a wonderful simple date. games together for just half an hour releases oxytocin – time of year. 3 - SPEED DATE EACH OTHER – Yes, you read cor- also known as the “love hormone.” Need I say more? Date nights from November until rectly … speed date your partner! Remember the fun and 5 - CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTS AND MEMORIES after the New Year often look very excitement you had when you first met and were taking – Okay, this one may be a bit cheesy Christmas Hallmark different for us. With so many time to get to know one another? Remember how you commitments and family obliga- really listened to each other? What would happen if you movie-ish, but turn off all the lights except the ones on the tree or the menorah and sit together with your partner, and tions, an entire night out can feel tried to recreate that time? Set a timer and just sit down for a few minutes, just admire it. If there are ornaments more like a chore than a privilege. face to face and ask each other a few questions. I had no with special memories, share the stories together. Basi - Even if time was available, we are idea that my hubby’s dream vacation is Tahiti. How can often just too tired or just plain we have been together so long and I didn’t know that? cally, for a few minutes just appreciate each other, YOUR done being around other people If you are at a loss of what to ask each other or how it STORY TOGETHER, and share dreams for your future. to enjoy that. This is where - re works, here is an adorable website that offers FREE alistic expectations and a bit of printable versions and even name tags to make it fun: creativity come into play. For us, www.thedatingdivas.com/spouse-speed-dating/.

Coming Soon to Lake Nona

Dale Carnegie® Courses: The Dale Carnegie Leadership Training Winning with Relationship High Impact Course For Managers Selling Presentation Skills

™ For courses starting in August, Please contact: Ken Roberts Tweet Coleman 386-235-9590 cell 407-361-4552 cell ® [email protected] [email protected] DaleCFL.com

www.NONAHOODNEWS.com | 5 | DECEMBER 2019 LIFESTYLE

is too short, and two weeks will give you a taste of how living life for yourself really To Generation feels. I went cold turkey off of social me- Local help for your Medicare questions. dia for two weeks after I missed an assign- ment due to endless scrolling and ended Take advantage of it. Z: Healthy New up continuing it for a month. During that As a local licensed sales representative, I can answer your questions and help you take advantage of a month, I found out that I was posting for plan that fits your needs and your budget. You can get more for your Medicare dollar when you choose Year Goals other people’s likes and not for the sake of an AARP® Medicare Advantage plan from UnitedHealthcare® with benefits hatt may include: my own memories. I found out that I had more time to do things that didn’t make BY NATALIA JARAMILLO $0 copay for primary care visits One-on-one help choosing and me feel kind of empty. Write in a journal using your Medicare plan — how your mood and life feel before doing in person, online or over the phone. From entering high school to graduat- a social media detox for two weeks, and at the end, take note of how your mood ing college, it’s one of the most important See any dentist for dental services times in your life. Everyone goes through changed. Also, try including a list of what you actually like and don’t like about social it, but only the people who have lived through it can give the best advice. That’s media in your pre- and post-detox journal. If the cons outweigh the pros, rethink your Free gym membership where I come in, a 20-year-old college student who’s been through high school social media usage entirely. and living the college experience to give Losing weight is always a popular goal, Serving Medicare members for 40+ you all the tips for survival. but most people go about setting the goal years in the wrong way. They end up fail- ing and blaming themselves. They promise that next year will be their year. Well, if you are really trying to lose weight and really want to do it, Go ahead, take advantage. then losing weight in a healthy way If you’re new to Medicare, I can help. Call me today. is the only way. If you set a goal to Brandon Mockus lose 10 pounds in two months when Licensed Sales Representative according to Mayo Clinic’s advice, 407-519-0780, TTY 711 it’s reasonable losing only one to two pounds per week, it’s not mo- MyUHCagent.com/brandon.mockus tivating enough in the long term to keep going. If you set a goal to only eat fast food once a week or trade candy bars to a square of dark

chocolate anytime you get a sweet Benefits, features and/or devices vary by plan/area.Benefit limitations and exclusions apply. Plans are insured through craving, you are more likely to keep UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company or one of its affiliated companies, a Medicare Advantage organization with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in the plan depends on the plan’s contract renewal with Medicare. UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company the goal long term. If you keep a goal long pays royalty fees to AARP for the use of its intellectual property. These fees are used for the general purposes of AARP. AARP Every New Year, all the commercials and term, that’s the key to success. Allowing and its affiliates are not insurers. You do not need to be an AARP member to enroll. AARP encourages you to consider your social media posts are about everyone’s needs when selecting products and does not make specific product recommendations for individuals. AARP does not employ or yourself some form of reward often, but endorse agents, producers or brokers. You can see any dentist who accepts Medicare. However, you’ll get greater savings from a - New Year goals. One year, even Kylie Jen not too often, is also key to not relying network dentist. You can see any doctor who accepts Medicare. However, costs may be lower with an in-network doctor. ner posted on Instagram that she was go- on motivation but consistent ease in liv- © 2019 UnitedHealthcare Services, Inc. All rights reserved. ing to try to be more present and post less page Y0066_190809_103630_M_on Instagram and0020EFF1 make a website to SPRJ48684 ing healthier. Allow yourself one episode on social media. I’m not here to tell you of your favorite show after you work out, what to set and what not to set as a goal, or treat yourself to window shopping after but if you’re going to set them, they might a healthy eating week. The best goals for as well be healthy, worthwhile, and rea- - losing weight are not number-based but charge for photoshoots. If you love cook Of course, I’m still going through the sonably easy to stick to. ing, sell your recipes or ideas on how to based on consistency. whole college situation and you should - If you are like Kylie Jenner and are a- lit meal prep. If you love running, start a run always listen to your parents’ advice Another New Year goal is to find a new ning guide or running club. Get creative tle too addicted to social media, then take first, but I hope this helps. And don’t hobby or skill. Many people decide pho- and find a creative way to make money so your time away from it. Social media is forget that you have so much to offer the tography, running, cooking, or reading are you can keep this hobby going in the long great and not so great at the same time. world! Have some advice or the best and most productive skills to pick run. If it helps you make money, you will If you find yourself too hung up on your want advice on a specific topic? up. I say, whatever makes you happy and be more inclined to keep the hobby and friend’s new boyfriend rather than doing Email [email protected] can make you money will let you kill two - your homework, then you should definite- have extra cash to do other things you re with your inquiries. ly consider taking a step back from social birds with one stone. Find something you ally love, too. In the end, setting goals and love to do and get good at it, then figure keeping them is all about making it a habit media for a little bit. I suggest going cold out a way to make money off of it. If your and making it into something you love. turkey for at least two weeks. One week thing is photography, start a photography

www.NONAHOODNEWS.com | 6 | DECEMBER 2019 focused on the holidays, we may notice our be uncomfortable. Our old ways creep joy in giving and also notice our tendency in and tell the story we’ve been tell- Work Well: Truth toward anxiety and worry. Perhaps you ing ourselves for years. Because we become aware of what overwhelms you, are used to believing it, we will easily And Change or you recognize that you indeed have a fall in the trap of living the same life healthy relationship with food. and consequences. Maintaining a re- December becomes a month of opportu- minder of our truth and the story we BY NATALIA FOOTE enjoy telling ourselves helps us stay nity to find your truths. Before January 1, connected to the behavioral change before you create a New Year’s resolution, before you set any goal: Find your truths. we’ve chosen to make. “If you do what you did, you get When making a change using a 12-step Below you’ll find four areas where you can answer your truth and your what you got.” - Anonymous program, the first step is to admit. Admit your truth. In yoga, satya, or truthful- relationship to each. Do this prior to ness, comes as the second “rule” for right creating any goal or New Year’s reso- lution and come back to it as you see living. (It is second after ahimsa, or non- violence.) According to the yoga sutras, your old ways creeping in. “With establishment in honesty, the waste Sleep: How well do you sleep? How of fearlessness comes. One need not be long do you sleep for? Do you feel afraid of anybody and can always lead an rested when you wake up? open book.” Once you admit your truth, Mindset: Do you consider yourself DMI Insurance you can be free to create positive change. open-minded? How do you naturally Oftentimes, we see our truth but tell our- respond to stimulus, negatively or ORLANDO selves a story to make our truth seem bear- positively? In what areas of your life (407) 573-6100 able. Becoming aware of the stories we tell can you create a calm response? ourselves uncovers how we’ve been hiding PHONE Nutrition: Do you have a healthy re- from our truth. The stories may be truths Lake Nona Town Center lationship with food? Are you aware as well, and they may even be positive as- 6900 Tavistock Lakes Blvd., Suite 400 of the food you eat? Can you identify pects of your life as we compensate our Orlando, FL 32827 foods that produce a negative out- flaws with our strengths. It’s in becoming come in your body? www.dmiinsuranceorlando.com aware and creating behavioral change that true change occurs. Fitness: How often do you move your body for 20 minutes or more? Can I will share one of my personal truths, and you do routine, everyday movement tasks? the story I tell myself. As the year draws to a close, we can reflect Do you have a person who keeps you ac- Natalia Foote is the owner of threeR, a on 2019 and our life up to this point. We Truth: I procrastinate at work. Story I tell countable for your fitness goals? company bringing mindfulness, medita- can acknowledge the areas in our lives tion and yoga practices to the workplace. myself: I live in the moment. There are many areas and several ques- that are working well and take stock of the Her mission in life is spreading love and My truth comes along with a host of other tions you can ask yourself. Feel free to light in the world. When not spending areas that are falling through the cracks. truths. I procrastinate at work because I use these as a starting point. I hope you We anticipate creating positive as the new time with her family, you can find enjoy focusing on other aspects of my life can identify some of your personal truths Natalia taking and teaching yoga all year dawns. Many of us wait for Jan. 1 to as opposed to those I see as tedious but and create a path for your positive change. around Lake Nona. make changes and allow the flurry of the will gain the most professionally. And -al Every story is different, and each one of holidays to be our main focus during the though I do tend to “live in the moment,” us has a different path. Practice doing the last month of the year. which is a positive, I need to work on plan- work of figuring your truths and follow up However, it is during this last month ning and where I spend my attention. Do I the intention to change with action. that our strengths and weaknesses come want to increase my productivity to begin Happy end of 2019! to light. We somehow show the best and with? (I do.) If so, I need to see my truth, worst of ourselves, and it is an excellent stop hiding from it with my story, and ac- What is your truth? moment to pause and catch the areas that tively make some changes. need gentle tweaking. While our mind is Creating positive behavioral change can

ander Springs and Silver Springs. some time, but it is worth it in Fun Family Our friend and camping the end. enthusiast, Chris Ad- Fridays: Camping ams, set up the rental of the campsite. I am not In the Ocala familiar with the pro- cess of booking in the National Forest Ocala National Forest, so my first recommen- dation is to find a friend ARTICLE BY NATALIA FOOTE who does. Delegate that PHOTOS BY NATALIA FOOTE AND task! (Although a quick MATT DUERR Google search will give you results on booking a Ahhh! The weather is finally getting cool- campsite.) In all hones- er, and it is time to enjoy the outdoor ac- ty, booking a campsite, tivities Central Florida has to offer. whether on the national, state or local level, is Our family moved to the Lake Nona area not difficult; it simply of the day and cooked s’mores. One parent 10 years ago, and within those 10 years, brought glow lights for the kids, and the requires flexibility in we’ve created some beautiful friendships. We arrived at the campsite early, and the adults watched as the kids played in the your dates and location. Certain campsites As the kids have gotten older, they also kids left the car and headed straight for the dark a stone’s throw away. have created friends that have become like book 11 months in advance; others arelake and the woods. Our specific campsite - - only available two months in advance. Do has a lake and a trail around it. My kids are Nightfall happens earlier, and out in the our extended family. Families create tradi ing some research on where you want to - excited to make forts with their friends, woods, there is little light pollution. The tions. One of the traditions we are estab stay and their booking processes may take stars on this particular evening were lishing is a yearly camping trip to catch fish, go kayaking, make swords out bright, and the night was clear. Around the Ocala National Forest. of branches, and make s’mores. We don’t bring devices, and my cell phone gets no 8:30, my youngest son Charlie asked to go Just over an hour’s drive north and, reception (other carriers do), so we are ful- to bed. I contemplated staying up -but de all of a sudden, the trees are taller, ly disconnected from our “virtual world” cided to go to bed with him. The rest of the the streets are clearer, and cell re- and fully connected with the humans in family quickly joined, and we all snuggled ception is spotty at best. According front of us. on our air mattresses. to the United States Department of On the drive back, the boys told us how - My kids are old enough now that they can Agriculture’s website, the Ocala Na much fun they had and how much they en- tional Forest encompasses approxi- explore the woods on their own. My hus- mately 387,000 acres and is the band and I planned for this and decided to joy camping with their friends. Their faces southernmost forest in the conti- take 45 minutes out of our camping time were muddy, their shoes were filthy, and their nails were full of dirt. Their smiles nental United States. It is rich with to have a “wine and cheese” date. We set up our chairs to face the lake and created a were from ear to ear. My husband and I water resources with more than 600 looked at each other, and I knew this was a lakes, rivers and springs with four mini charcuterie board. I made a playlist, tradition I wanted to be a part of. major springs of crystal clear water: and we enjoyed some quiet time together. Juniper Springs, Salt Springs, Alex- Cooking while camping can be simple or elaborate. We had a group of 23. One family, the Swansons, made the most amazing pork butt! They brought a smoker and let it sit for hours. We thought we were going to make eggs and bacon for lunch, but we forgot our skillet and in- stead had yogurt and granola. Peanut butter sandwiches or mac and cheese are also easy options to bring. I saw my boys briefly at -meal times and around the campfire at the end of the evening, when we all shared our adventures

www.NONAHOODNEWS.com | 7 | DECEMBER 2019 Mama’s Turn: The Not-So- Newlywed Game

BY SHARON FUENTES

My daughter, always The other day, my husband surprised one up for a good scientific- ex me with a gift … an upright vacuum that periment and for a way to avoid doing her promised to pick up all the hair our four- homework, decided to help us out. And so, legged fur babies leave behind. My daugh- the beginning of our Not-So-Newlywed ter could not help but laugh at the excite- Game began. ment both my husband and I had over the lightweight design and swivel steering for For those too young to remember, The easy maneuverability that the thing had. Newlywed Game was a television game “You two have been married way too long show on which newly married couples if a vacuum cleaner gives you that much would attempt to win exciting prizes and joy,” she joked. I ignored her and encour- trips while letting an international TV- au aged my hubby to rip the box open so we dience know the precise location they last could take this baby for a spin. But as my made “whoopee.” The game show was kind hubby began to “ooh” and “ahh” over how of a joke, though, because the contest- much hair was being sucked up into the ants had only recently been married, and bagless filter, I began to wonder if perhaps most didn’t have children, so they were my daughter was right. Have we really lost fully rested and blissfully naive. They were our spark and excitement? at the stage where they spent all of their time together, which greatly increased When one spouse the chances of them matching answers to gives another a gripping questions such as: “Who replac- vacuum cleaner, es the toilet paper roll the most?” But, in it’s easy to jump the Not-So-Newlywed Game my daughter to the conclusion created for us, we would find out just how that the romance well Hubby and I still knew one another is gone from the after all these years. Her version would relationship. Yet, help us figure out if we had truly become if one spouse was a vacuum-cleaner-giving boring couple or to give the other if we still were connected. I am not quite a fancy diamond sure how answering questions like, “How bracelet or some does your spouse like her steak cooked?” other type of - ex would show that, but my daughter was so pensive jewelry, excited that we played along. we might assume that all is well, that they must really be in love. But is it fair to jump Our much-cuter-than-Bob-Eubanks to conclusions that the giver of the vacuum host started off by asking us questions separately, and then she brought Hubby cleaner values their spouse any less than other playing her game. Perhaps, the fact the giver of the jewelry or that there may and I back into the same room. With the that we still don’t know everything about homemade name tags on (I told you she Sharon Fuentes is an award-winning be trouble in paradise? one another is what has kept our marriage was avoiding her homework), Hubby and freelance writer, special needs parenting Sorry, as a writer, I tend to overthink I sat there, smiling, but perhaps both a fresh all these years. He doesn’t know advisor and the author of the book, The what craziness to expect from me, and I things; it’s a professional hazard. That bit nervous that instead of laughter, this Don’t Freak Out Guide to Parenting Kids certainly cannot predict what appliance he said, the whole vacuum-as-a-gift thing game could end up with someone sleeping with Asperger’s. You can reach her at may randomly bring home. But it’s okay made me begin to wonder just how well with the dog hair on the couch. [email protected]. Hubby and I really know each other after because that just means we still have a lot 20 years of marriage. The vacuum was a So, what did we find out … we don’t know more years ahead to surprise one another. very nice “just because” gift, but if he would each other very well at all! We didn’t get have given it to me for Christmas, I would the answer right to any of her questions! be the first to admit my reaction would be Not one! She left discouraged, but Hubby much more Grinch than jolly St. Nick-like. and I were okay. You see, we did learn Certainly, my man knows me better, right? something very important about each

www.NONAHOODNEWS.com | 8 | DECEMBER 2019 I have changed their names here for pri- vacy purposes. Shannon, with an extensive Felicity Mae background in banking and Wall Street, says to be realistic with your budget. Know that things come up and that you won’t Know always comply with your allowance. To maintain your budget, Shannon insists BY FELICITY MAE GOMER that there are no “ifs, ands, or buts,” stick to it. Bridgette, hotelier and event extraor- In this monthly column, dinaire, suggests making a spreadsheet of Felicity gives advice of all all income and expenses and only using a kinds to readers. Send your credit card when you have the money to questions to FelicityMae- pay it off. She also mentioned that reduc- [email protected] for a ing your beer budget may or may not help. chance to have your ques- Placing your bills in a visible location can tions answered! motivate you to keep working until you’ve earned enough to pay x number of bills. Charlie, an architect with Baker-Barrios, recommends decreasing square footage Q: How do I tell my spouse I need (Thanks, Charlie) - some me-time? - Joel G. . Juan, operations direc tor and jack of all trades, says not to think A: Communicate! Couples should be able of things as “only costing ten dollars” be- to survive if they don’t spend a day or cause, at the end of the day, it’s ten dollars. two together. Many times, getting away How many “only ten dollars” items or sub- for a while can help you get the “refresh” scriptions will you succumb to? Eventual- you desperately need! You should always ly, those things really add up, and one day feel like you can talk to your partner and (if you’re like me), you may be wishing you engage in honest, understanding conver- had those ten dollars back. Lastly, Ulysses, sation. If you need a bit of alone time to CEO and outstanding Marine, shared an recharge, you shouldn’t feel bad about that unconventional yet effective strategy to and neither should your partner. If they manage and maintain your budget: use are the type to worry, reassure them that only cash for a month. Grab one envelope you love them but just need an hour or an for each category of your budget (i.e., one evening to rejuvenate. As I’ve mentioned envelope for gas, one envelope for rent, in previous articles, try not to ever leave etc.), and put the cash you think you’ll things on a bad note. Perhaps you can -en need into each category’s envelope. If you courage them to go catch up with a friend, run out, you run out! Do your best to make go for a run, or take a long bath so that each allotment last until it’s time to draft they see the merits in “me-time” as well. your next budget, where you can adjust the Plus, this would be the perfect opportunity amounts as necessary. for them to watch that movie you really didn’t want to sit through. Moral of the Q: How do you decide whose side story: communicate! of the family to spend the holidays with? - Anonymous A: While relationships do sometimes in- volve sacrifice, it’s important to be fair when deciding to spend the holidays with either side of the family. Try alternat- ing every year, or if you’re truly torn, see about celebrating the day before or after or even on the same day but at a differ- ent time. Two Thanksgiving meals can be one’s greatest holiday dream, but splitting beautiful. Maybe, at some point, you can all walks of life. If you are in a position to your time can be a huge source of stress. combine both families for the festivities. give, please find it in your heart to do so When the food coma hits, the last thing Keep in mind that there is a multitude of – and make it a bonding activity for both some people want to do is get up and do Q: What tips do you have for making people out there without family nearby or your family and your partner’s family. it all over again somewhere else. Stay fair and maintaining a budget? - Anonymous even without family at all; consider ask- in choosing where to celebrate. If you ing both sides of your family to join you A: Handling money is by no means an easy dread spending that coveted time with the at a soup kitchen or volunteering at a toy task, so I’ve enlisted the help of a few in- in-laws, remind yourself that getting to drive. The most wonderful time of the year credible and talented colleagues to give know your partner’s family and strength- should bring people together and celebrate you a variety of financial tips and tricks. ening those bonds can be rewarding and

fine and not to worry. Does Mom look a bit ble, housekeeping, and laundry included,” Business thinner? Has she been eating properly? Is according to their website. - she hydrating? A quick check of the pill or Whether you’re considering an assisted liv- ganizer tells you that your parent has not Spotlight: The ing option for your mother, father, grand- been taking medications properly. There is ma or grandpa, highly consider Somerby mail with unpaid bills from a few months Senior Living in Lake Nona to be your Holiday Season ago. The list goes on.” loved one’s new home. Family can visit as At Somerby Lake The challenge in accepting that your loved often as they’d like and are highly encour- one needs additional help can be a tough aged to visit. There are even reasonably pill to swallow, but it’s not one you need priced guest-suite accommodations avail- Nona to do alone. That’s where Somerby Lake able in all Somerby communities! Nona steps in. “People often think the holiday season is with all the trimmings. The entire commu - So, if you discover this holiday season a slow time for folks transitioning to sen- nity has the aroma of turkey, making us re- that your loved one may need assisted liv- ior living, but it is one of our busiest times member those great holidays of years past. ing care, check out Somerby Lake Nona. of the year. It’s the time of year that many No Christmas would be complete without Somerby offers living and care options for of our future residents’ children discover a visit from Santa, our residents enjoying a assisted living, memory care and respite Mom or Dad is no longer safe at home,” cup of eggnog and a picture with St. Nick. care, and offers a wide range of amenities explained Harwood. “Most people think It is all amazingly heartwarming and re- to its residents, including: the transition to senior living is a crisis- minds us of how blessed we are.” • 24-hour licensed staff and personal as- based move. Mom or Dad fell, and they just are not safe at home anymore. Many It can be difficult to think about, but as sistance we age, simple tasks we do regularly may times, that is exactly what happens, but • Medication management - become nearly impossible to do on our just as many times, it is not. It is the pro active children that are keeping an eye out own. The holidays are meant to show how • Personalized memory care ARTICLE BY NICOLE LABOSCO for changes in their parents, so they can much you love and care about others, and PHOTOS COURTESY OF SOMERBY • Wellness programs help them move to a safer environment LAKE NONA although that might not be the ideal time for moving and transitioning into a new • On site full-service salon and spa before the unthinkable happens.” Spend the holidays doing what’s right The holidays are quickly approaching, and lifestyle, it might be best. • Fresh meals prepared by a chef and best for your loved ones. Formerly that means families and friends are gath- “No one is thinking that this would be a • And more! known as Watercrest, Somerby is lo- ering to celebrate the festivities and create great time to move to senior living, but out- cated at 9682 Lake Nona Village Place, more memories. But what about your loved side our community, it is a different story Orlando, FL 32827. For more informa- ones who aren’t able to travel and are in as- for our future residents and their families. tion, visit somerbyspark.com or call sisted living? Don’t worry … if they’re stay- For many of them, they haven’t seen their 1-800-892-3753 to schedule a tour or trial ing at Somerby Lake Nona, they’re in some parent or parents in a few months or all stay to experience Somerby Lake Nona of the greatest care. Off of Narcoossee year. They arrive to pick up Mom or Dad for yourself. Road, area residents will discover Somerby and discover a very different picture than Lake Nona, a licensed assisted living facil- they expected,” Harwood detailed. “The ity for those family members who require a house doesn’t look the same. It may be a little extra help as they age. bit dirtier or cluttered than they remember. They discover a few half-eaten frozen din- “Most folks think that holiday season in ners on the kitchen counter, and mail is pil- senior living is pretty quiet,” Robert “Bob” Harwood, director of sales and marketing ing up. The house is pretty cool. When they ask Mom why she doesn’t have the heat on, at Somerby Lake Nona, stated. “Of course, she replies she is afraid of getting a huge The facility offers many options for as- we have the usual staff and resident par- sisted living floor plans, varying between ties, family nights, and those amazing hol- electric bill. The car has a few new dents and dings that were not there on the last visit. studio suites and apartments. Apartments iday dinners. There is nothing like a tra- Things just don’t seem right, but when their start at $3,995, which is all-inclusive “with ditional Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner parent is questioned, they say everything is care and medication assistance, local ca-

www.NONAHOODNEWS.com | 9 | DECEMBER 2019 honest with ourselves, most relation-slips will you do to serve that person this week? Let’s shift your relationships away from are a result of self-centeredness. Rodney Gage is a family coach, author, Family Shift: The definition of self-centeredness is: “en- slipping to equipping those around us. speaker and the founding pastor of grossed in oneself and one’s own affairs; ReThink Life Church that meets at Lake Relation-slips selfish.” Webster’s defines self-centered- Nona High School. His passion is to help ness as one who is concerned solely with families stop drifting and start living his or her own desires, needs, or interests. with greater intention. To learn more, BY RODNEY GAGE, LEAD PASTOR When it comes to healthy relationships, check out familyshift.com and there is one thing we know for sure; you rethinklife.com. Years ago, my wife, can’t be selfish and loving at the same time. Michelle, and I went to Stetson University to How to Avoid the Relation-Slip of visit our kids while they Self-Centeredness were attending a sum- mer camp. During the 1. Change Your Attitude. afternoons, the kids got Whether we realize it or not, our attitude is to enjoy recreation. One of the more popular ac- a choice. We choose to be others-centered - tivities during recrea- or self-centered. For some of us, our at tion was a long slip ‘n’ slide they had set up titude STINKS! You may not smell it, but everyone else around you does. There is that was covered with soap and water. As you can imagine, the kids had a blast running very little difference in people. The little and sliding onto the slide that allowed them difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative. The to stay cool on a hot summer day. For some crazy reason, my wife decided she wanted to truth is we get to choose. give it a try. She not only ended up embar- 2. Practice Self-Denial. rassing the kids, but she also became the center of attention when she took off- run There have been countless times where I ning toward the slide. Consequently, she have been guilty of cutting my wife, Mi- didn't know you were supposed to dive onto chelle, off while she is talking, so I can get the slide. Instead, she kept running onto the in my “two cents” or have the last word. I slide. As soon as her feet hit the slippery slide wasn’t listening to what she was trying to glazed with soap and water, they slipped out say because I was so preoccupied trying to from under her, and she fell straight back build my case and prove my point. and landed on her booty and the back of her Why do we need to practice self-denial? head. All the kids (including ours) made a Because life is not about YOU! Back in the big gasp as they witnessed this horrific fall. day, there was a national campaign called Fortunately, she was alright. It was not only “Just Say No!” It was an anti-drug cam- a scary moment but an embarrassing one as paign challenging young people to “Just well for our kids. For the rest of the week, all Say No” to drugs. Imagine what our homes the kids kept talking about the epic fall of and marriages would be like if we learned Mrs. Gage. It was a moment we would never to “Just Say No” to self. forget. It’s hard to beat the golden rule, “Do unto Have you ever had a relation-slip? Wheth- others as you would have them do unto er it is with your spouse, your kids, your you.” Or “treat others as you would have parents, your co-workers, or with “those them treat you.” neighbors” next door? The truth is, we've all experienced relation-slips. 3. Give Yourself Away. We say things we shouldn’t have said, do The greatest way to avoid the relation- things we shouldn’t have done, or maybe slip of self-centeredness is to give yourself it is the opposite. It’s what we didn’t say or away. didn’t do that tripped us up. Imagine what it would look like if we be- After 28 years of marriage, raising three came givers instead of takers? kids of our own, and working with couples and parents every day, if there is one thing Let me give you a challenge this week. It’s that trips relationships up more than any- what I call the “One Person Assignment.” thing else, it is what I call good old-fash- Reflect on the relationship that is slipping ioned self-centeredness. If we were to be the most in your life. The question is, what

by several other frosts and a hard freeze. It all tomatoes and peppers that are of size My first choice to protect plants and trees In the Garden: was the coldest winter in the last decade. before the freeze or frost, even if they are from the cold is agriculture fabric. It’s sold The production for vegetable plants like not fully ripe. The green tomatoes will in rolls and is designed to cover plants for To Cover or Not eggplant, tomatoes and peppers slowed ripen on the countertop within two weeks. extended periods of time. The fabric al- near the beginning of the season and never When tomatoes are exposed to the cold lows sunlight and air to flow to the plants. picked back up due to all of the cold weath- temperatures, like when we put them in This way, they are protected and can con- To Cover, That Is er that year. It’s just the risk that we take at the refrigerator, they can get mushy and tinue to grow and thrive during the diffi- the beginning of each season. grainy. The peppers can be harvested early cult conditions. My second choice is to use The Question! as green peppers to avoid the freezer burn - For edible fruit trees like citrus, they can a fitted sheet with clamps and posts to cov withstand some cold snaps or frosts with that can occur. er and protect plants and trees. The fitted sheet seems to form better; then I secure BY AMBER HARMON minimal damage. It can just cause them to go through a period of dormancy. If the it with plastic clamps. Before covering, be tree started out healthy, it will typically be sure to water It’s a little tricky in Central Florida to able to bounce back and continue to thrive the garden. It’s know what to do in order to protect edible a bit counter- trees and plants when it comes to a frost in the spring. It is important to harvest as much of the mature fruit as possible before intuitive, but or freeze. We can get away with planting it actually can some heat-loving plants like tomatoes and the freeze to prevent fruit damage. It also helps the tree to bounce back more quick- create a protec- peppers in the fall, when we have a warm- tive layer that ly. Any fruit not harvested can drop early er season. When the rest of the country acts as a buffer is packing up their gardens in September or late due to damage as well. After the frost or freeze, be sure to resist the urge to from the cold. and October, we are just getting going prune the fruit tree right away. It can take As we watch the weather ping-pong around for the fall and winter grow season. 2018 a couple of weeks for the tree to show the Cold-loving fall vegetable plants like car- this month, be sure to be prepared to pro- was a warm winter, and we got away with - tect your trees and plants from whatever growing tomatoes and peppers with a full extent of the freeze damage. Thus, ear rots actually get sweeter with a frost. The ly pruning can actually cause more dam- cold weather enhances the growth and decent production rate nearly all season cold weather conditions may arise. Happy age and stress to the tree. flavor of broccoli and cauliflower as well.Gardening! long. In 2017, we got our first frost at the Greens and herbs really thrive in the cool- end of November. Then, that was followed For vegetable plants, be sure to harvest er weather. Amber Harmon is the Owner of My Nona’s Garden, where they sell and service low-maintenance, elevated, organic vegeta- ble gardens. Our mission is to bring health, promote growth, and provide vegetable gardening education to local communities, one garden at a time. Visit www.MyNonasGarden.com for more information.

“We make organic vegetable gardening easy!”

I like to be safe rather than sorry, so I cover my plants that are not frost-tolerant when temperatures are predicted to be in the mid-low 30s. The forecast can vary sig- nificantly, so it’s safer to just cover when there’s any chance of hitting 32 degrees.

www.NONAHOODNEWS.com | 10 | DECEMBER 2019 volt, we need to look at some facts. “Baby Boomers” are those classified as Zen and the Art being born between 1946 and 1964, with the oldest now in their late 70s – there are Of Being Online: more than 70 million people in the Unit- ed States of that age. They also make up Why We Say ‘OK, a reliable voting bloc – with nearly 69% of eligible voters hitting the booths in 2016, compared with 63% among GenX- Boomer’ ers (1961-1981) and 51% among Millenials (1981-1996). BY CHRISTIAN CASALE Meanwhile, Generation Z was born after 1997 – the oldest is around my age, 21. Many have never been old enough to cast a Zen and the Art of Being Online is a vote in their life – I was 18 and a few days monthly column where I try to explain old when I voted in 2016 – and they only The center of your financial life is internet culture and news that has a real make up 27% of the population. They’re impact on the way people absorb infor- ethnically diverse, on track to be the best- all in the family mation and media through a series of 1’s educated generation, and much of their and 0’s. understanding of the world and moral val- ues come from the internet. Let us help you take care of what matters most But, like any new generation, they’re small Getting to know you and what you care most about — planning for Sometimes, teens may have had enough. and underrepresented. Like any young college, taking care of an elder family member, passing a legacy to It may come when bickering with their generation, they are more progressive future generations, buying a second home — is so important. Once we elders because of generational divides than their parents – 62% believe that- in understand your priorities, together, we can help you pursue the goals – people wearing torn jeans, or that not creasing diversity is good for the U.S. And you’ve set for yourself and your family. Call to learn more today. tipping that tax isn’t a nice thing to do, or like any group of young people, they like to that climate change is, in fact, real and will rebel and curse their elders. Dunnavant, Baird & Associates be a problem for my generation. And both But today’s teens aren’t merely protesting parties, regardless of the century in which their curfew or their homework, they have C.R. Dunnavant, Merrill Lynch they’re born, are usually so sure of their real questions. CFP® 700 Celebration Ave rightness that they refuse to listen to any Senior Vice President 3rd Floor counterargument. “What are you doing about climate Wealth Management Advisor Celebration, FL 34747 change?” “How am I going to escape [email protected] And two little words may come to crushing student loan debt?” “How can 321.559.5001 321.559.5005 my mind. I pay rent when I move out if wages are www.fa.ml.com/dunnavant_baird The “OK, Boomer” meme has been popu- so low?” lar on social media apps like Twitter and And when some are met with sneering TikTok amongst teens and young adults condescension and an attitude of superi- for the better part of a year, but only after ority, the teens eventually resort to what a New York Times article in October did journalist Taylor Lorenz calls “the digital it reach the blogs and cable news talking eye roll.” heads. It did the usual half-week outrage cycle and then fizzled out. “OK, Boomer.” Merrill Lynch Wealth Management makes available products and services offered by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith But that doesn’t mean the meme is gone, It’s worth noting that, to teens, “Boomer” Incorporated, a registered broker-dealer and Member SIPC, and other subsidiaries of Bank of America Corporation. nor the ongoing resentment between Gen- is a mindset. If anyone from their age to Banking products are provided by Bank of America, N.A., and affiliated banks, Members FDIC and wholly owned eration Z and the Baby Boomers. To un- 100 fits their stereotypes of an old person subsidiaries of Bank of America Corporation. – someone who doesn’t tip well or is rude derstand where it comes from, and why Investment products: Are Not FDIC Insured Are Not Bank Guaranteed May Lose Value young people have chosen this form of re- to customer service, is culturally conserva- tive, and is constantly affirmed by their The Bull Symbol and Merrill Lynch are trademarks of Bank of America Corporation. Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL media diet that their opinions and PLANNER™ in the U.S. fears are not only justified but cor- © 2019 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved. rect – they can be, “OK, Boomer”-d. AR76MH5H Vault-BA12GJ | MLWM-129-AD | 471089PM-0119 | 01/2019 This obviously doesn’t apply to all people of a certain age, which is why some researchers believe that clas- sifying people by generations is a construct. their mind. What’s the point of arguing actually being sympathetic and listening Nevertheless, the stereotype per- then? “OK, Boomer.” to those younger than you with an open sists. mind. The world is a scary place, and the What’s the solution? Well, the first is to one that Generation Z will inherit won’t be The phrase itself can be a last-resort not take it so seriously – after all, it’s an in- sunshine and rainbows. tactic, for when young people feel ternet joke. But behind every joke, there’s like they aren’t being listened to a kernel of truth. If you don’t want to be by someone who will never change “OK, boomer”-d, then I would suggest SPORTS & FITNESS

“No matter if we win or lose, we stick Lake Nona’s together because this is a lifelong 40-and-Over thing,” Colon said. Out of the 20 team Tennis Team members, only 13 could make it to the championship Places As to play. Each team member had to pay Semifinalists for their own flights and hotel stay, In the USTA in Lake Nona, battled against tennis teams gery was successful, and he will be fine. and on top of this, all the members from all over the country. Prior to making “It was tough for me because I like to be - have jobs. National it to the semifinals in the National Cham there, but by the phone, everyone was pionship, the Village Walk team won their texting me,” Colon said. “If we had more guys, we definitely would men’s age group for all of Florida in July. have won,” Colon said. Championship The recreational tennis league is made up “We had to play two matches per day for of over 300,000 players every year across In December, the team will find out if their three days; then we got into semifinals and all age ranges and different rankings with- status of playing at the 4.0 category will be BY NATALIA JARAMILLO lost to Texas,” Gandhi said about the Na- in the ages. The adult 40-and-over league moved up to the 4.5 category. The team’s in- tional Championship. dividual players’ rankings throughout their With four wins and zero losses as a team, for men and women was created in 2013 While the tennis team was dominating the due to the high volume of players in this time playing the whole year will be taken the men’s 40-and-over Florida team won courts in Arizona, tennis team captain Fer- category. This category is the largest de- into account to decide where the team goes second place overall at the USTA National nando Colon had to get surgery to remove mographic for the USTA, according to the from here for next year’s matches. Championship in Surprise, Arizona, on cancerous skin cells from around his eyes. official USTA website. Oct. 13, according to TennisLink League “Some will be around, and some will move championship reports. “I decided not to tell anyone on the team, The team takes their practices very seri- on, so it will be closing time for some of so I flew there on Wednesday to - organ ously. Mondays and Thursdays for two us,” Gandhi said. “It was exhausting in a sense because ize as a captain, and I practiced Thursday all the matches were so close, and they hours at 7 p.m. at the Village Walk courts, The entire team is awaiting the confirma- then flew back that night and went in for then they have games on Saturdays from are the battle of your mental capacity,” tion text from their captain to see when the surgery on Friday morning,” said Colon, a said Gaurang Gandhi, tennis team mem- February to July, playing against local big celebration of their win will happen. strategic customer development manager ber and pharmacist by trade at Magellan teams to make it to the top. at United States Pharmacopeia. “We always organize parties in my home Health. “For us, winning was unbeliev- “If you play a tennis match, you need to en- whether we win or lose, but for this one, able; now, we didn’t win finals, which was He maintained his responsibilities as cap- joy yourself; if not, don’t play,” Colon said. we will rent the clubhouse in Village Walk disappointing, but getting up to number tain through it all by texting who was play- “If you are going to get mad, don’t play.” to party in December,” Colon said. two was so special.” ing whom at the next game. He had the Colon’s philosophy on the team’s dynamic team texting him live updates on all the In the final, the team of 13 players, who and on coaching is to always stick together matches. In the end, Colon said the sur- mainly practice on the Village Walk courts and have fun.

www.NONAHOODNEWS.com | 11 | DECEMBER 2019 the American Diabetes Association is com- mitted to helping those living with this dis- Nona Cycle: The ease thrive. Tour de Cure is the premiere fundraising event for the organization, and Nona Cycle is proud to support their Season of Giving efforts. – Cycling to Help Nona Cycle is the top non-corporate- fun draising team, both in number of partici- pants and dollars raised; in three years of Others participation, members have raised and contributed $119,600 with our highest ARTICLE BY DEBRA LOWE, NONA amount, $46,500, raised this past March. CYCLE MEMBER Our goal for the March 29, 2020, Tour de PHOTOS BY MEMBERS OF NONA Cure is $50,000. It should be noted that CYCLE the funds we raise are contributed by friends, family members, co-workers, and ourselves – Nona Cycle is not an organ- ized dues-paying group, so each member pays a registration fee to ride and is re- sponsible for their own fundraising. We care about our neighbors and want to make our com- munity a better place to live; through cycling, we are able to make a differ- ence. Everyone knows someone who has been affected by The holiday season is in full swing, and diabetes. I’m sure you can while it is a time for family, friends, shop- say the same – perhaps you ping, merriment, and a bit of excess in all or a loved one live with this areas of our lives, the holiday season is also disease. the time when many people count their blessings by remembering those less for- During this season of giv- ing, when our hearts are tunate. This is the time of year when chari- ties receive the highest volume of gifts, be grateful for all we have it cash or tangible items, so it’s no wonder – good health, adequate many organizations plan their galas and food, safe shelter, and online or direct mail appeals for this time more – the members of - of year; it’s truly the season of giving. We Nona Cycle ask you to sup want to show the universe we are grateful Ronald. In three years, Nona Cycle mem- his wife, Carla, turned their passion for port our efforts to raise for all we have. bers have raised nearly $36,000 in sup- helping those in need into an annual holi- $50,000 between now and March 29. Your port of the organization’s cornerstone pro- day event benefiting hundreds of children gift will support diabetes advancements in - While Nona Cycle is known for our week gram Ronald McDonald House, providing and families. research, programs and education, and end rides in the Lake Nona area, most no- a home away from home for families with advocacy efforts in your community and Nona Cycle’s main focus for fundrais- tably our Sunday Signature Ride, we have children receiving treatment at hospitals beyond. an enduring history of supporting our ing as a team is Tour de Cure, held each and medical facilities in Orlando. community and beyond throughout the March beginning and ending at Lake Nona If you are a cyclist and want to join our year through participation in local char- Members also support the October Think Town Center. Tour de Cure rides are held Tour de Cure team or wish to make your donation to an individual mem- ity rides. In the three years since a few Pink! Ride organized by Winter Garden throughout the country, and last year, the guys who shared a love of cycling came Wheel Works and, last year, had the larg- Lake Nona ride raised more than $1 mil- ber, you can find Team Nona Cycle at: main.diabetes.org/goto/NonaCycle together to form Nona Brew Crew (our est team participation in the St. Cloud- lion in support of diabetes awareness, re- . original name), we’ve grown to more than based JHOP race/ride. search and prevention. All of us in Nona Cycle wish you a wonder- 1,000 members from all throughout the On Dec. 8, Nona Cycle supported the sec- Here are some startling facts: More than ful holiday season and all the best in the Central Florida area and have raised more ond annual Ride With a Santa holiday toy 30 million Americans are living with dia- coming year! than $155,000 in support of local and drive and ride benefitting local families betes, 84 million people are living with national charities. who otherwise would not have presents for prediabetes and 90% don’t even know it, Each October, Nona Cycle members sup- their children. Nona Cycle member Angel and every 21 seconds someone in the U.S. port Ronald McDonald House Charities by Ledesma was profiled in a previous issue is diagnosed with diabetes. raising funds and participating in Ride for of Nonahood News, sharing how he and This isn’t a problem, it’s an epidemic, and

concession stand runs smoothly at home Mike Dunham Christine Emanuel games. The announcers, team moms, high Sarah Hammerschmidt Byron Miller school volunteers, and photographers all play a significant role in helping - the or Betsy Meckstroth Wadzaire Blanc ganization as well. Hailey Jackson Charles Emanuel The Lake Nona Youth Sports Organization Howard Harrison Anns Marceus would like to thank the following volun- teers personally for all their hard work and Jason Kleiner Emmanuel Claimon dedication: Steven Kleiner Derek Tyson Lake Nona Youth Jennifer Young Andrew Tucker Jessica Thompson Jessica Felicipano Andrew Samson Jeffery Rogers Sports Sends a Bailey Smiley MC Lombardi Maria Lopez Laila Harris Jamie Sardo C.R. Dunnavant Massive Thank Carly O’Toole Rob Findlay Dan Riodan You to Their Amy Kleiner Vince Meckstroth BJ Jackson Lauren Hewins Dan Riordan John Chin Volunteers Xandra DeJesus Josh Fletcher Brandon Marshall Alyssa Jiminez Bruce Grimes Tim Mullins BY HANNAH MARSHALL, Carolina Misle-Olivier BJ Jackson Lauren Foertsch CO-DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS Brindesi Sanders Josh Parkin Brandy Sellers Julia Louiero Christie Mullins John Saia Lake Nona Youth Sports is a community Andrea Misle-Olivier Scott Gillum full of dedicated volunteers, whose goal is Sophia Rogers to provide a fun and safe environment for Judy Sellers Rovard Micher Josh Fletcher the children of Lake Nona to participate, Haleigh Vaughn Jason Kleiner Hannah Marshall learn and excel in various sports. This fall season, young athletes are having a blast Jeremy McKean Gil Goncalves participating in football, cheer, wrestling Rick Blodgett Frank Martin The Lake Nona Youth Sports organiza- and lacrosse. Behind every sport is a long tion deeply appreciates the community Fabiola Guevara Eric Reyes list of volunteers who put in the hard work of volunteers involved in all of the sport to make the season successful. Tracy Barton Natalie Abedelal programs. To learn more or get involved, Every single volunteer is important and Mindy Overby Justin Starnes visit LakeNonaYouthSports.org. plays a part in helping Lake Nona Youth Kendrick Ellison Sports thrive as a nonprofit organization. Lindsey Freshour The board of directors for Lake Nona Luis DeJesus Mike Besney Youth Sports has an underlying passion Colleen Keeley to help improve the livelihood of kids in Kris Scoggins their community by putting in many hours Brett Coufal Chris Rullan of work to help the organization grow. The Kevin Keeley Tyler Letson committed coaching staff does all it can to ensure the kids progress as athletes and Aiden Earnst Matt McKay have a fun time, while learning new tech- John Gay Abby Jackson niques. Devoted parents make sure the

www.NONAHOODNEWS.com | 12 | DECEMBER 2019 ARTS & CULTURE

I remembered it as a thought-provoking, cohol, prohibited to the rest of society. shapeless red dress and a white, deep bon- net that limits her view and the view of her dystopian novel. Dystopia, the opposite of In Gilead, many rules are based on certain utopia, generally means “bad place” – a face by others. Offred chafes at the limita - The Lake Nona passages from the Bible, yet tions of her current position yet occasion- fictional setting that is, at some common phrases that ally sees some freedom in the anonymity Book Maven least, undesirable, often to- sound biblical are taken talitarian, unjust, and even from places like The Com- and strict definition of her role because - she has few personal obligations. Yet, she frightening. And that is cer munist Manifesto. Women Review has one enormous societal obligation – to tainly the case in this novel. are no longer allowed to bear a child for the husband (commander) Often, the point of a dys- read (that might encour- topian story is that it is far BY LINDA CARVIN age them to question their of the family where she is assigned. enough from what we would society and even to rebel) Offred struggles with thoughts of escape, anticipate happening in our and must stay at home car- but she knows eyes are always watching, The Handmaid’s Tale future but close enough to ing for their husbands and and she never knows who she can trust. our own lives to be recogniz- Author: Margaret Atwood households or hold other She must suspect even the other hand- able, so it can be a caution- limited, acceptable jobs that maids she is partnered with for her walks ary tale. support the social order. to get groceries. Her situation at times Margaret Atwood wrote The Handmaid’s Gilead, the location for the Former liberals, educators, seems desperate. Tale over 30 years ago, and it has been a and any convicted of acts story, is in what is now New Because Offred’s ultimate fate is not com- number one worldwide bestseller. It is a against Gilead are routinely England. The U.S. no longer pletely clear, I was excited to hear that At- bestseller at Barnes and Noble with four exists, there is war being put to death, and their bod- wood had written a sequel, which was re- stars and is rated four stars on Goodreads. raged (why or with whom is ies are put on public display So, just the fact that it has remained popu- cently released. For those of you who have not clear), and environmen- on a wall. not read The Handmaid’s Tale, I recom- lar all this time (popular enough to have tal degradation, along with Sounds pretty grim, doesn’t mend it. For those who have not read it but been made into a recent miniseries on other factors, is so severe that birthrates it? But Atwood’s main character, Offred, have seen the Hulu drama, I recommend Hulu) says something. I had read the book have declined and many men and women is the “us” in the story – a young, middle some years ago, but since I didn’t see the the book as well – they are not exactly are even infertile. Resources are scarce, class mom who lived through the “old” or- alike. Happy reading! Hulu miniseries and I knew Atwood had and those that are available are allocated just released a sequel, The Testaments, I der and is now captive in Gilead. She has first to leaders (commanders) and their been deemed fertile and is trained as a wanted to re-read the book. families who can often get things, like al- handmaid. As such, she must wear a long,

Binge-Watching The Nona Film In the Nonahood: Review: BoJack Horseman Fred Claus

ARTICLE BY DEMI TAVERAS ARTICLE BY DEMI TAVERAS PHOTOS COURTESY OF PHOTOS COURTESY OF NETFLIX.COM As the seasons go on, we see how he picks WWW.WARNERBROS.COM/ himself up with the help of his go-getter MOVIES/FRED-CLAUS/ agent Princess Carolyn, his new writer RATED TV-MA friend Diane and her husband Mr. Peanut- RATED PG butter, and his “roommate” Todd Chavez, *Spoiler alert* who really just happened to crash on his *Spoiler alert* couch one day and stayed for good. He eventually lands roles again, attempts To a majority of us (side-eying the Scroog- to have some great romantic relation- es here), it’s the most wonderful time ships, and gets up to all kinds of she- of the year! And to those who celebrate nanigans as he continues to party his Christmas, I’m sure you, just like me, have way around Hollywood. While his ca- that one favorite Christmas movie that reer starts to soar, his mental health you have to watch every year. Maybe you still takes a backseat, and even though even have more than one or have a long he hasn’t yet gotten to the point of no list of movies that get you in the Christmas return, he continues to make terrible spirit (it’s not just me, right?). My all-time ally decide if the whole operation has to mistakes. By the fifth season, he has a favorite Christmas movie has to be Fred ton of demons he still hasn’t worked Claus. Released in 2007, Fred Claus stars, shut down. through, concerning the death of one to name a few, the always funny Vince Things obviously go awry as the tension of his sitcom costars, the daughter of Vaughn, Elizabeth Banks, Kathy Bates, - Do not be fooled by the cartoons in the pic- builds between Fred and Nick, includ one of his old friends, and trauma inherit- and Rachel Weisz. No matter how many ing an actual snowball fight between the tures or the cutesy title of this Netflix TV ed from his parents. At the end of the fifth classic Christmas movies I see like Home two, and Clyde happily shuts down Santa’s series. BoJack Horseman is rated TV-MA Alone or The Grinch, Fred Claus always and probably one of the heaviest shows season, he finally reaches the point of no workshop. After going home and getting a return, not being able to distinguish real- takes the cake because of the humor, how pick-me-up during a Siblings Anonymous you’ll find on the streaming app. You might ity from fiction, and he is sent to a rehab relatable Fred is as a character, and, of meeting, Fred decides to go back to the see all of the animals and be endeared, but course, who can resist the beautiful setting this series is not the easy, breezy, piece- center. North Pole to save the day. Nick is in bed of the North Pole? after getting injured during their snowball of-cake television you might think it is. The sixth season ofBoJack Horseman was fight, and Fred takes up the challenge of It’s got some pretty dark themes. But it released in October, and we get to see how Fred Claus cent- also has amazing writing, incredibly real- BoJack has transformed into a sober man ers around Fred, delivering the presents. Next comes my favorite sequence of scenes in the movie, istic characters (even if some of them are (well, horse-man). Life isn’t sunshine and the older broth- - animals), and quite a story to relate about daisies, but he really demonstrates how a er of Saint Nich- where we see Fred messily delivering pre the crazy entertainment industry in Hol- person can change if they keep at it, even olas Claus (who sents to all the kids around the world. He eventually succeeds, and everyone gets after hitting rock bottom so many times. goes by Nick in lywood. This show is near and dear to my to wake up to presents from “Santa” on heart; I started watching this show out of That message sticks out over everything the movie). In sheer boredom during my freshman year and makes it impossible not to love this the beginning Christmas! By the next Christmas, things damaged character and the world around of the movie, we’re told that whenare much, Nick much better between the broth- of college. Little did I know how attached ers, and the whole family celebrates the I would get to this show and how sad I’ll him. I’m sad to see this show come to an became a saint, his whole family was fro- be now, four years later, as it comes to a end, but I’m sure I’ll be binge-watching zen in time, never to age. So we jump to holiday together in Fred’s house. And the spirit of Santa Claus and Christmas gets to the seasons over and over again until I find the present day, in Chicago, where Nick is grand finale with its sixth season. Since live on and on and on… I’m a fan of shows like The Simpsons and another show to warm my heart like this the Santa Claus we all know and love, and Family Guy, I was excited to watch - an one does. Fred...well, Fred is a very spiteful man who I can never get enough of this movie, and other adult cartoon, but I had no idea just actually hates all things Christmas because I love how Fred starts off as such a Christ- how profound it would be. Let’s dive into of how he constantly gets overshadowed mas-hater to become the hero of Christ- my favorite Netflix show of all time,Bo - Demi is currently a senior at UCF, study- by his brother’s good deeds. And you can’t mas. It’s such a feel-good story! Vince Jack Horseman! ing creative writing. She is a lover of the help but empathize with him and how dif- Vaughn’s characteristic quick wit and jokes arts and always eager to discuss films, ferently he gets treated, even with his own also make the movie incredibly entertain- From the title, you can guess who the main TV and music. Send in shows to be binge- parents, because his brother is the Santa ing, and it’s just the most perfect Christ- character is – it’s BoJack Horseman, a watched at [email protected]! Claus. After getting into a rut because of washed-out celebrity who used to star in mas movie for me. If you haven’t seen it, I money issues, Nick convinces Fred to come recommend watching it this December and a successful sitcom during the ’90s. He’s visit him in the North Pole and help work falling in love with it for yourself! gone downhill since the success of the sit- in Santa’s workshop to pay off his debt. com and is now an alcoholic with awful Fred works in the “naughty-nice depart- Merry Christmas and a very happy personal habits like pushing away the peo- ment,” where he looks over each record of holidays to all! ple who care about him, self-destructing every kid in the world and decides if they’re his relationships, exhibiting plain mean- naughty or nice. What Fred doesn’t know ness, and victimizing himself without first is that a Demi is currently a senior at UCF, working on how he can make himself a man named studying creative writing. She is a lover better person. You can just see the poten- Clyde North- of the arts and always eager to discuss tial his character arc has from the begin- cut is in the films, TV and music. Have any movies to ning, though, because he has a lot of other North Pole recommend? Shoot her an email at redeeming qualities, like any other person. to evaluate [email protected]. He’s hilarious, unique and doesn’t follow Nick and his the ridiculous trends of Hollywood, and workshop he’s actually a very talented actor. and eventu-

www.NONAHOODNEWS.com | 13 | DECEMBER 2019 it turns into a very short I’m a naughty lad, aren’t I? Finally, he summed up all of his and wide hedge. Not to Shakespearean one-line-worders with “99 times out of ten, Sunny Side Up: Grass mention that if you walk I’d let you play here. But since you didn’t Shakespeare-ing on it, St. Augustine feels ask me, I’m not going to Shakespeare-ing let you.” like stepping on mil- BY PHILIP LONG I thought, Crikey. You obviously didn’t spend much Shake- lions of soft daggers. speare-ing time on maths. Cor’ blimey, you’re saying I get Why mow at all? Other On the lighter side of the Nonahood, this is a column to play here, AND I don’t get to play here? What we have than the threat of flying here is a conundrum, one in which I better hoof it, or I’ll about the humorous realities of life in Central Florida. rocks, why keep up the be Shakespeare-ing sorry. Shakespeare-ing jobsworth, I We must choose to laugh and sweat rather than cry pretense? Because being thought as hopped off. and sweat. shunned can be worse than getting hit by rocks, depending So today I find myself a whole lot older, still keen on- play on the size of the rocks. ing footy, and still wondering why I should bother spend- Mowing grass. I really don’t get the point. Well, I get a lot of I’m dangerously close to becoming Fred because my lawn ing so much time and money keeping what’s left of my St. little green ones, ha. But I really hate cutting them. looks like nuclear fallout compared with Bob’s neat hedge Augustine grass alive. If I ever venture to attempt soccer across the street. Bob (He’s totally made up. Please don’t again in my yard, I’ll inevitably stand on one of those spiky My hunch is that lawn servitude evolved over time. A cave- look up where I live.) spends every waking moment deli- weed things, which appeared in lawns during the Spanish woman thought, Oh, clearings are so lovely. What if I gath- cately weeding, edging with a laser-site, and clipping with Inquisition. I obviously can’t keep up with Bob over there. ered a swath of these delectable little plants and rooted Mr. Miyagi-like exactitude. And heck, I prefer the rugged and healthy thigh-high stuff I them in front of my cave? Maybe I just don’t like St. Augustine. see around abandoned homes. She tell husband, “Grunt, grunt, yowl.” I grew up surrounded by soft immaculate greens in Cam- “Honey, are you going to mow the lawn today or just stand there?” Husband respond, “Argh. Grunt, grunt, sigh.” bridge, England. Mind you, the greenskeeper at Trinity Col- Then, once one woman had done it, the whole village saw lege had no sense of fun: “Oy, who’s been removing the ‘No I tell her that I’ll mow the front today and get the back to- how charming her clearing looked as it lay there adorning Walking on the Grass’ signs agin’, eh? You. Yeah, you, the morrow. But secretly, I plan on keeping what I call a mullet the mouth of her cave. Can we have a village of caves? In cheeky one with the football. You done it, didn’t ya? You -lit lawn for another week. Who looks at the back anyway? this article, we can. We can have whatever I write. How tle blighter. Come ‘ere, and I’ll cop ya one.” about a city of caves?! You’re welcome. Once, I found a green with football (soccer) goals, so I felt “Are you planning on cutting the party as well?” So, true to cultural growth, which one could call commu- welcome to play. Looking fit in my new footy kit, I laced up nal stupidity, the whole village transplanted clearings to my boots and ran out onto the pitch for a kick-about. I was Argh. their caves. Then, of course, no one wanted to be that guyhaving a jolly good time at it, too, until I saw, silhouetted who didn’t take care of his patch. He’d probably have rocks against the expanse of luxurious fields, the unmistakable Philip is a father and husband who coaches soccer with thrown at him. So, societal pressure bid humankind to bite, form of the groundskeeper. My stomach sank as he ap- Coerver Coaching and freelances as a writer, illustra- cut, and then mow their lawns. proached, waving his arms. It sank further as I deciphered soundbites of the words he was yelling. They weren’t very tor, and carver. He's constantly sniggering to himself And today, if we don’t do our part in this neighborhood- so English words. Now that I think about it, his wordswere whilst whittling spoons and toys in the kitchen (hey, it's ciopathic idiocy by mowing our lawns, we’ll remember. Our very English, used by Shakespeare, and comprised of one way too hot outside). To his wife's chagrin, the kids track ancestral consciousness will reach back through the mists word, on repeat. wood chips around the house. He would love to hear from of time to Fred, The-Village-Moron-Who-Didn’t-Trim-His- you at plong3510.com, either to giggle with him about Clearing-and-Got-Hit-By-Rocks. As he yelled, he drew close enough to give me a very good something silly he wrote or for any carving, illustration look at the state of English dental hygiene. Not good. Not or writing needs. Oh, and please remind him to sweep up. So today as I look at my St. Augustine grass, I scratch my only did I surmise he must struggle with “Voice Immodula- head and wish it’d all just die because is it even a grass? It tion Syndrome” (True syndrome. Look it up on SNL.), but acts more like a vine, dying in patches, and if it’s kept up, his face was turning the color of the Queen’s knickers. Oh, EVENTS & ACTIVITIES

ments like art therapy and yoga,” Luu said. Potential patients are screened beforehand for their chron- Nemours Pediatric ic pain, and the staff looks for those with “functional im - pairments of the pain in their life.” Pain Program to “Have they been withdrawn from school? Withdrawn from sports? How has their life been impaired by the pain? And Host Celebration and are they motivated to get better and, committed through this type of treatment, to realize their goals?” Fundraising Event Luu said that the program has so far not received any fund- ing from contributions in the local community. All of the ARTICLE BY CHRISTIAN CASALE funding comes from coverage by the patient’s medical in- PHOTOS COURTESY OF ROBYN LEBEAU surance Alyssa Raghu, a Lake Nona native and American Idol star, will perform at the event. There will also be a silent auc- Nicole was 16 years old when her amplified musculoskel- tion for items like Lunch for a Year at Panera Bread, eight etal pain syndrome (AMPS) required her to seek treat- weeks of classes at My Gym in Waterford Lakes, a getaway ment at the only program created specifically for pediatric for two at Saddlebrook Resort, passes to Universal Studios, patients suffering from chronic pain in the southeastern and many more. United States, located at Nemours Children’s Hospital in The celebration will feature booths from vendors such as Lake Nona. Color Street, Nona Oils, and Vaco Orlando, and activities In April 2017, Nicole started to feel joint and muscle pain like face painting and photos with Santa Claus. There will “everywhere.” also be food trucks from Avofuel, Tacos Mazatlan, and Ba- “We tried everything; I did rounds of physical thera- hama Buck – among others. py, massage, and even acupuncture. But nothing really The venue, Nona Adventure Park, will hold a fundraiser worked,” Nicole said. “It was really hard to be a normal kid where, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., 50% of the proceeds of all and see people doing activities that I couldn’t do because activity passes and regular priced rental fees will go to Ne- it hurt me.” mours. Each park guest who visits during the promotion Her family found the program at Nemours, and for four hours will also receive a voucher for another visit. weeks, Nicole and her mother stayed at the Ronald Mc- The program’s celebration will take place at the park from Donald House. She spent her waking hours either going ties, [to create] opportunities for financial contribution, 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. through treatment at the hospital, under the supervision of and to ensure our continued growth and expansion.” a physical therapist, a behavioral specialist, and an occupa- Graduates of the program will also be attending the cel- tional therapist, or doing her prescribed lifestyle routines ebration, which Luu is particularly excited about. and workouts out of the hospital. “The program itself is a four-week, intensive outpatient In the end, Nicole saw the results she was looking for. program,” Luu said. “The pain is almost gone,” she grinned. “And I’m not afraid “So, it’s a big accom- to try new things.” plishment for [the pa- tients] to get through The Nemours Pediatric Pain Rehabilitation Program com- that.” monly sees patients with Nicole’s affliction as well as kids suffering from cancer pain, chronic headaches, nerve inju- Because of the pro- ries, and complex regional pain syndrome. gram’s detailed and intensive approach to Lisgelia Santana, M.D., is an anesthesiologist at the hospital their treatment of kids who helped create the pediatric pain program. with chronic pain as “I told the hospital that in order for me and for us to be well as a limited staff successful, we needed to create a program that will involve of people, they can multiple disciplines that will make for better function for only see two patients the patient,” Santana said. “Not only physically but also at a time. Part of the mentally.” celebration will be an attempt for the pro- Kaylin Luu is a clinical therapist at Nemours; she helps gram to expand its- re oversee the program as well as the program’s sixth anni- sources. versary celebration on Dec. 14. “If we had more staff, “We want to not only celebrate the graduates of the pro- we could treat more gram over the last six years,” Luu said, “but it’s also to patients. We could also bring community awareness to the program and to facili- add additional treat- Event flyer

www.NONAHOODNEWS.com | 14 | DECEMBER 2019 These six individuals shared their memories of some of the worst days of their careers and DECEMBER EVENTS Documentary lives. Rayner immediately knew this docu- mentary needed to be shared to film festivals, Visit www.nonahoodnews.com/events for updated events and detailed information. Honoring Local and with the support of LaBosco and those 5 TEDxBoggyCreek Women Watch Party who starred in the film, they never looked 5 Latin Night with Orlando’s Best Latin Band, Lati-2 Ground Zero was accepted, screened, back. 6 Sip and Shop with Kendra Scott Jewelry 9/11 Heroes Takes - and took home first place (gold) in the doc 6 Sock It to Cancer - Tree Decorating and Sock Drive umentary-short category at the Hollywood 7 Cars & Coffee Central Florida Independent Filmmaker Awards and Festi- Home Gold 7 Meet the Builder: Craft Homes val. The festival took place in the backlot of Paramount Studios in Hollywood, California, 7 Wild Winter Wonderland - Back to Nature Wildlife Refuge BY NICOLE LABOSCO on Nov. 2. 7 Saturday Night Holiday Dance Party with the Legendary JC’s 8 Riding with Santa 2nd Edition 8 Holiday Sunday Fundays with Kids Snow Globe Making Activities 8 Hank Lebioda Golf Challenge 10 Empowering Women Through Mental Wellness Workshops 13 Nona Leadership Network 13 Naughty or Nice Boxi Park Holiday Party 14 Santa Brunch 14 Nemours Pediatric Pain Rehabilitation Anniversary Celebration 14 Doggy Ugly Sweater Day at Boxi Park 15 Holiday Sunday Funday w/ Gingerbread Decorating & Face Painting 19 Nona Connect - Building Communities Through Connections 21 Ugly Sweater Holiday Party at Boxi Park 22 Holiday Sunday Funday w/ Snowflake Making & A Visit from Santa 25 Christmas Day

Save the dates Dec. 5-Dec.31: OH WHAT FUN! Lake Nona Holiday Festival Dec. 23-Jan. 3: OCPS Winter Break

Weekly Events LAKE NONA FARMERS MARKET Saturdays 11 a.m.-3 p.m. | Lake Nona Town Center www.facebook.com/LakeNonaFM Eighteen years ago, the United States of THE SATURDAY MARKET at Valencia Community College Lake Nona America experienced one of the worst ter- Saturdays 9 a.m. | Valencia College, Lake Nona Campus rorist attacks the country had ever seen. 12350 Narcoossee Rd. | www.facebook.com/LakeNonaFarmersFreshMarket/ September 11, 2001 – it’s a date America will LP YOGA never forget. Thousands of lives were lost, Mondays & Wednesdays 6 p.m. & 7 p.m. | LP Fit in Laureate Park www.facebook.com/learnlakenona/ and every American life was forever changed. Two years ago on Sept. 11, Lake Nona resi- MORNING MEDITATION Wednesday 6 a.m. | Lakehouse in Laureate Park dents Nicole LaBosco and James Rayner of www.facebook.com/learnlakenona/ nona.media released a documentary short sharing six stories of firsthand experiences at CYCLE & CORE Ground Zero Tuesdays & Thursdays 6 a.m. | LP Fit in Laureate Park and the White House. www.facebook.com/learnlakenona/ LIVE + LOCAL Thursdays 6-8 p.m. | Crescent Park in Laureate Park www.facebook.com/learnlakenona/ ART AFTER DARK Fridays 6-9 p.m. | Lake Nona Town Center Food trucks on first Friday of each month www.facebook.com/artafterdarklakenona/ Both LaBosco and Rayner flew out to expe - YOGA NONA Sponsored by rience the festival and to accept the award. Lake Nona Life Project Around 100 people attended, filling nearly Saturdays 10-11 a.m. | Crescent Park in Laureate Park every seat, and when the film concluded, a www.facebook.com/learnlakenona/ round of applause erupted and sniffles were heard throughout. Please check our online calendar for event details like locations, any costs or “It was a surreal feeling … kind of like things registration requirements, etc. You can also submit your organization’s www.nonahoodnews.com/events were beginning to come full circle. It was my events online. first documentary, and it won first place in the first film festival I’ve ever been a part of! I knew it was a great film, but it was never about receiving recognition for it. James and I really just wanted to focus on those who sacrificed so much on that day and were - will We met: ing to sit with us and go back to that moment. They were the stars, the heroes that deserve • Adam Fallon, an FDNY firefighter the recognition,” LaBosco described. “I’m • Angie Fallon, a nurse just so grateful to have met Adam, Angie, Ed, and Renee, and I’m glad to have recon- • Ed Juarbe, an NYPD officer nected with Michael (I’ve been friends with Combining the best of a boutique store and

• Anthony LaBosco, a United States Secret his daughters since middle or high school), community café, Canvas Market has everything FIRST SUNDAYS Service Agent and Anthony is my father. I never would’ve you need for the holiday season. And through thought that I’d be having IMDb credits for ARTISAN • Renee Palma, a survivor director, producer, and writer of an award- December, Canvas Market is partnering with • Michael Troisi, an NYPD Sergeant winning documentary, and the film was even Indie Flea to create monthly artisan outdoor MARKET laureled!” markets, featuring handmade gifts, plants, 10/6 • 11/3 • 12/1 12-4PM The documentary took just three days home goods, vintage items & more. to come to life from concept to real- Come visit us in Lake Nona! ity … and coffee, lots and lots of cof- fee. LaBosco still keeps in touch with those she interviewed for the film, and those connections will never be forgotten. “The attacks on 9/11 are events most of us experienced from different parts of the country, but what really made this film special to us is that these six individuals were all there for differ- ent reasons and didn’t know the oth- ers, but 17 years later, they discovered they had brethren, and they were all neighbors … they were all OUR neigh- bors. It made me love our community even more,” declared LaBosco. Ground Zero has also been accepted into and is screening at the Culver City Film Festival in Culver City, Cali- fornia, from Dec. 6-12 and has been submitted to several other film festi- vals spanning California, New York, New Jersey and Florida. The deter- mination dates of festival accept- ance range from February 2020 to August 2020. Follow us to learn more @CANVASMARKETGOODS

www.NONAHOODNEWS.com | 15 | DECEMBER 2019