A Post In Which I Feel Better That Break Is Over By Eating Twelve Pounds of Dessert

As soon as I started to do a bit of the work on Friday afternoon--work I'd put off doing all week long--I realized that my break was finally over. But right before I did that first bit of work (grading, of course), I had my ladies' lunch: Julie and Max, Mary and Sophia and Lydia, Caren and Lindy (Lilette was home with Tim), and me and Rebecca (both of us childless).

Pretty ladies!

Maxie Five Cents, looking cool as usual

One nice picture just after sitting down, before the toddler hijinks began

Maxie Five Cents, staring me down. He's a tough cookie.

And then I knew that my fun was over and I had to do a bit of work (and a bit more knitting and a bit of straightening up before my amazing V-Write mentee, Angelica, and her friend Chantal came over for some hang-time on Saturday.) But I swear that I did a little work.

On Saturday the girls suggested that we make an Oreo pie, and I thought it was a fine idea. Better than fine, actually, so we got our ingredients and the girls got to it. Although they first had to see what all the fuss was about baker's chocolate. Was it really as gross as I told them it was?

Yes. It really was.

They quickly got over that, though, and went to work.

Cooking up some pie filling

Chantal, scraping the cookie crumbs for the crust

Angelica, pouring out some crumbs

A layer of ice cream? Don't mind if we do!

The almost finished product

Once the pie was at this stage (and covered in more crumbs, obviously), we stuck it in the freezer and I started dinner while the girls did some work. Angelica did her science homework and ACT prep, and Chantal worked on a cover letter for a job she's applying for at the Anti Cruelty Society. Obviously, they will both be successful because they are both fantastic.

But to be really successful, they needed to eat a balanced meal. So we sat down to eat some vegetable soup with pasta and sandwiches,

Dinner

and, of course, pie.

Dessert--also part of the formula for success

The mostly eaten product

The girls went home with leftovers (a half pie in my house would not have lasted the night) and set our next date to go check out the Mitsuwa Marketplace in Arlington Heights.

And today, Sunday, was Easter; and there was a lot more dessert. I mean, a lot.

There was lamb cake:

The most suspicious looking lamb in Chicago

And since that lamb was so suspicious, we took care of him, and quick.

Oh, sorry lamb. Did you need that head? TOO BAD. Lamb jerk.

There was also marzipan cake (nearly as fun to say as it is to eat!):

There was another cake (caramel) and good four pounds of cookies. Bo was responsible for eating 2/3 of them. I might have been responsible for eating the other third. That's what aunts are for.

We burned off a few calories by playing catch.

And then T. and I retired home to watch the season finale of The Walking Dead (o.m.g. how am I supposed to wait until October for the next season? October!?) and the season premiere of Game of Thrones (o.m.d. [d for dragons, of course]). And I have more work to do before tomorrow, but instead, I worked on this post and am now watching Superman on t.v. And I might eat a cookie before I go to bed. Yes. I think I'll do that right now.

My finished vanitas picture. T. suggested the inscription.