i am in iowa now. it smells familiar. nice, like topsoil. quiet except for the congress of birds.

and hey, free internet at home. what a relief.

i'm still jet-lagged, but i'll be in bed soon. i really need to sleep and detox from all the caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol i usually pump myself full of. not to mention i've been eating everything slathered in butter.....ooof.

mulled wine somehow makes me hardly drunk, which is very nice when i want to appear sociable and not get rat-assed. i've been drinking lots of it at the pub...i get so tired of drinking coke or hot tea.

i am going to make a fruitcake. never done it before. lots of dried fruit, not that glaceed shit, and lots of alcohol. and no disgusting brazil nuts, just nice toasted sliced almonds. so far i'm soaking the dried fruits in a combination of dark rum, grand marnier, crown royal whiskey, fig liqueur, and this apple brandy-type thing emily got me from france. can you tell i'm cleaning out the cupboards here at home? i love that mom hasn't gotten groceries in a couple weeks and i can still make two delicious meals out of almost nothing. but tomorrow it's to the store, and to lunch with my friend sonyl.