I'll be home tonight

Inquiring minds want to know: is DC part of "The South"?

I mean, it is south of the Mason-Dixon Line, but a lot of people insist that I do not live in the South, so I'm wondering. It's definitely the furthest south that I've ever lived, and the lateness of autumn and winter has been confusing as all get out. Halloween, for instance, totally sneaked up on me, because there hadn't been even a hint of frost on the ground yet.

Call me crazy (really, do; everyone else does), but I love winter, and I love the cold. Going home to Wisconsin -- to a real, invigorating winter with brisk air and piles of snow -- for winter break was simply lovely.



Sure, my fingers and toes were cold, and my nose rivaled that of Rudolph when I came back inside from shoveling snow, but "truly to enjoy bodily warmth, some small part of you must be cold." * Besides, after you've been outside, a bowl of hot, spicy, Korean ramen tastes... unbelievable. :)

* A box of cookies for the first person who can identify the source of the quote without an Internet search!



At the same time, I love that on most days in Madison (and in New England, where I also spent a good number of years) I can get away with not wearing gloves or a hat, since it's not, say, the Arctic.



While I was home, I made like a champion and relaxed with all my might, feasting on my mom's cooking and catching up on sleep. Of course I baked and cooked a lot, too, mostly to enable my little brother in his foraging habits (he's twenty, he needs the calories), but I also spent a lot of my time reading.

Ten books in eight days. Oh yes, it was bliss.

I also had a chance to meet up with a few friends, some of whom I hadn't seen in years. ♥

Well, break is nearly over now, and I'm back in DC, with Internet access again. I am recharged and bracing myself to face another semester!



Borrowing from the brilliance of Christoph Niemann, I wish you all the best:



Happy 2011, everyone!

Bidding a sweet farewell to mouse wench-hood

Something I just remembered out of the blue: On the Fourth of July, Robby passed around my desserts amongst his sailing team friends because I didn't want to have to carry half-full glass pans for four miles after the fireworks. Apparently his friends were skeptical at first -- Robby is quite the trickster -- but then bit into the food and remarked, "This is really f***ing good!"

I think that was possibly the best compliment I ever got on anything I made. ♥

Anyway, enough narcissism. Ahem.

My last week at work started off by sucking royally, and by Tuesday I was so fed up with it all that I actually just came home early to indulge in some baking therapy. To be perfectly honest, I had already been planning to bring a lemon cake for the animal facility staff on Wednesday, since Tuesday was the IACUC inspection (my very last!) and I wanted to thank them for being so awesome to work with for the past two years. So no, this was not quite as spontaneous an act of rebellion(?) as I made it sound. Bite me.

But you know, I put the cake in the oven, and it still didn't feel like enough. Enough therapy, I mean. So I made coffee cake muffins!

Becca got home from class just as I was pulling the muffins out of the oven.



The best part was that these were for us.