"i thought maybe we could make ginger bread houses, and eat cookie dough, and go ice skating, and maybe even hold hands."

I know everyone was curious so I thought I'd stop all your wondering and inform you that I did actually make it home for Christmas. It wasn't easy. Crying almost occurred as well as quite a bit of running as well. I almost missed 2 out of the 3 flights I had to take. Needless to say, luck was on my side. Now you all want to hear the story. So here it is:

My friend and I got into a taxi from our residence at around 7 am to be there in plenty of time to check-in and make sure everything was okay for our 11:35 flight. By the time we get to the front of the line, the guy tells us we need to wait a half hour in order to check-in so he suggested I get out of line and get back in later. I told him that wasn't going to happen so he said I could just stand there and wait. Why would I get out of a line that I had been waiting in just to jump right back in...but at the end? That seems illogical to me, and I try to be a practical person from time to time. Silly Italians.

Once we got to our gate, we realized our flight was delayed. It ended up not taking off until almost two hours after it was supposed to. Some of my friends on this flight missed their connection and were told they would have to wait until the next day to get out of London. Some had to be shuttled directly to their plane because they were boarding as we were landing. I, on the other hand, got the luxury of having to run to catch my flight and barely made it on. Apparently, they were expecting me. I almost missed it. Oops.

Once I got to Chicago, I was so happy to finally be standing on American soil. It feels different. I think there is some red, white and blue mixed into it. Yet, I could be wrong. I went through security, got caught trying to smuggle in some illegal tulip bulbs (rebel? oh, yeah!), rechecked my bags back in, and made my way to the appropriate terminal. That is when I realized I was never given my boarding pass and I would have to go all the way to a different terminal to get it.



First you need to realize that I was flying this leg on United. For those of you that don't know, United is the devil. I end up needing to stand in line for almost an hour trying to get the attention of the workers. One super mean lady blatantly ignored me even after she said she would help me. How rude. Somehow, I managed to get to the front and started talking to one of the ticket agents. My flight left in 20 minutes. According to her, it was impossible to check me in because it was too late. I told her that she didn't need to check me in. All I needed was a boarding pass and fast. She kept saying she just couldn't do it. (Tears are welling up at this point.) So she calmly picks up the phone and (as I figured out later) called the gate to see if they were boarding, puts the phone down and says here is your boarding pass. I didn't even get a Merry Christmas. I mean, really? I gave her a "hard edged" Christmas cheer in return just out of spite of her rudeness. Then I started running to security. Yeah, I still had to go through security. Oh, somewhere in there I wiped out in the middle of the airport. I have what you call class. Even the security lady was rude. She made me go through the metal detector practically naked. Grr. After running what felt like a marathon with all my stuff, I got to the gate only to find out that the plane was delayed. I had like 15-20 minutes until we were even boarding. I just stood there feeling like a complete idiot. Thank you, mean United lady. I hope you got coal for Christmas. (Okay, that is mean and I really don't want that.)

So all in all, it was a long day. I was so glad to be home. I think I was scared I would wake up from the dream and still be in Milan. As much as I loved every part of my whole experience, I was ready to come home.

I just realized that I might have left my camera on the plane. What a great way to end the trip. Fan-freaking-tastic. I guess I'll have to be in the market for a new one (Any suggestions?) if I don't find it in the heap of crap that is scattered all over my room. There is just way too much stuff to clean. Who wants to do it for me?

Today is Christmas and we are snowed in. It is just a crazy blizzard outside. Secretly I am kind of happy because it has given me some time to relax and get my baking done. (Anybody want some Puppy Chow, Scotcheroos, Peanut Butter Blossoms, etc? We have an abundance of goodies in this house and are more than willing to share. I have a girlish figure to maintain.)

I hope everyone has a safe and very merry Christmas! I am going to eat some potatoes.


Buon Natale!