Are my eyes deceiving me?

Could that really be frost covering my neighbor's roof? What a perfect thing to see first thing this morning! I'm going to keep holding on to the hope that the prediction of snow for tomorrow comes true. :)

Today is Report Card Pick Up Day at the Hell-Hole (and all other CPS Track E schools) So, I don't have to work until noon. Despite promising myself that I would sleep in this morning, I was up at my usual time, mostly because I had to make Stud's lunch. I also have a huge mountain of dishes that needs to be dealt with, but I'm giving myself a little "me" time first. Since I woke up early, I decided I would sit here, in bed, under my warm, comfy (penguin!) flannel sheets and read blogs, check emails, etc., until the time I would normally walk out the door for work.

The reason for the mountain of dishes is that I had a few girls from work over for dinner last night. I prepared a 'soup bar.' I had three crockpots lined up on my counter with Potato Corn Chowder, Chicken Tortilla Soup, and Vegetable Soup. I also had lots of crusty bread with butter, perfect for dipping into hot soup. Before we got to the soup, we munched on veggies and dip for a while. We finished with some fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. It was a lovely evening, if I do say so myself. I don't usually prepare such a simple spread, but I'm thinking I need to do this more often.

Too bad I have to face the clean up today. As much as a LOVE to cook and bake, I'm not so big on the clean up part. I wish I had a crew that would come in every night to clean up my kitchen for me. I would do LOTS more cooking if that were the case.

I would have done the clean up last night (just so I didn't have to wake up to the mess!) but Stud decided I needed to meet his new 'friend''s mother last night. WTF?! He's been 'talking' to a new girl recently, and is completely smitten. He made plans to go to her house after school yesterday to hang out and help her with some math and science. And, yes, her mother was there, I made sure. Then, later they went to Youth Group at the church she attends. Her mother drove them there and then picked them up, and agreed to drive Stud home. Stud had asked me if he could bring them back to the house for dessert (because he knew I was having company and assumed there'd be some good desserts) but then never got back to me about it. I assumed that meant they weren't coming.

Well, imagine my surprise when he gets home, and The Friend and her mom walk in behind him! My house was a mess! And, because there weren't as many of my friends here as I had planned, I didn't go crazy with dessert. There were just the cookies. Stud was mortified. (He's used to me going overboard and having cookies, brownies, cake AND pie!) We (me, The Friend and her mom) had cookies and tea while we watched Stud devour a bowl of each of the three soups and about a half a loaf of bread. (Sheesh! Teenage boys!) The Friend seems to be just as smitten with Stud as he is with her, which truthfully, worries me a bit. Her mom seems to find him amusing, and to hear Stud tell it, "She LOVES me!" I'm trying not to think about it too much, as I really don't want to deal with another 'girlfriend' situation. My heart can't take it. :(

Holy moly!! Maybe I should have split this (long and boring!) post up and used it for a couple days! What the heck will I write about tomorrow? Oh, who am I kidding?! I'll have stories from tonight to share! Anytime the parents come to the Hell-Hole, there are always some good stories.