home is where...

this morning, all that was exposed to the cold winter air of my bedroom was my little nose. the rest of me, underneath a heap of down and cotton comforters, sheets, sweatshirt, flannel pjs and socks (yes, socks my dear), was cozy warm in my bed, sound asleep. but all at once, the sweet smell of holiday baking (specifically chocolate fudge) swept through my frosty bedroom and was so strong, i could have been licking it out of the pot in the kitchen downstairs. it was as if i had drank a whole pot of coffee (though you know i don't drink coffee). i sprang out of bed, but in my nightly apparel, the winter cold didn't phase me. perhaps the smell was just too overpowering for me to notice the immediate frostbite setting in. (i kid, of course)

and then i realized, it was just a dream. no, not really. sorry for the confusion, i was just joking. it was no dream. i'm at home, typing away next to to the familiar canadian hemlock outside the window and am only up right now because of the smell of rocky road fudge penetrating my bedroom. ah, its christmas break. i've been dreaming of this morning for so many months now, its hard to believe its actually here. but i never would have thought of waking up to deliciousness, so that was a rather nice touch.

i'm sure you realize what christmas break means. it means the semester is over, and what a crazy semester it was. the storm of finals has come and gone, though mine was more like a sun shower compared to everyone else. i took two finals before thanksgiving break. i had my critique for my project wednesday before finals, my final monday was 15 minutes long, and i studied so long for my art history final that it was a breeze yesterday. i even got out a day early.

yesterday, everyone had to make their way to their finals in the driving rain. sometimes, you just wish winter existed in georgia. i swear, it must have been about 34 degrees outside and we had blizzard worthy rain. anyway, the tree branches were laced in ice and it was raining so hard that, if you didn't look to hard for it, it simply looked like a beautiful frosty morning. icicles dangled from the eves and street signs...all that was missing were two degrees of coldness, or we would have had a winter wonderland for me to walk in.

i packed my car by myself, which was quite a feat because the rolley cart with five heavy bags on it kept rolling downhill toward the trashcans rather than toward my car. it had a mind of its own. either that or the laws of physics just take over sometimes. i actually got to load the car when the rain had paused momentarily...thank God. traffic was terrible (or terrific, as the christmas songs kept trying to tell me), but the drive was beautiful with the ice on all the trees.

i stopped by tech for a few hours to visit becca. we shopped around for a bit and met up with some girls at the california pizza kitchen. christina made friends with the waiter by speaking to him in spanish. on the way out of the parking deck, becca rolled the window down to put the ticket in the machine...turns out that the window was permanently stuck halfway down. let me remind you. yes, its december. yes, it was icy out. yes, i had to drive for 45 minutes with the windows down going 80 miles an hour on the way home. i fluffed my scarf around my neck, zipped up my coat, popped up the collar, cranked up the heat, and braced myself for the drive home (of course, the heat didn't stay in the car, but it helped warm my bare hands a little). i made it home on the verge of becoming a popsicle.

my good friend from camp, amy, called later in the evening, which was so wonderful because i hadn't talked to her since the beginning of august. but now i'm home...one of the best parts being that jonathan is back home in georgia and is only about an hours drive from me. i'm going to enjoy this three week break.