Yesterday was a busy day at work.  I was glad to make my lunch escape & read some more of Atomic Summer.  Not quite as humorous I first expected it to be, but still good.  

Today was just a crazy day.  Middle school kids doing stupid things...several boys were suspended as a result.  It snowed off and on most of the afternoon...and was cold enough that it started accumulating. Tonight is supposed to get down to 8 degrees.  BRRRR.   Streets are good but I'll have to remember to be careful on the stairs here at home and in the parking lot at school tomorrow.  

I braved the cold and wind to watch Pacific beat our girls basketball team.  The Lady Tigers just did not play up to their potential.  Some people grumbled about the refs, but the Indians were hot and we were not.

Tomorrow is February.  It will be a busy month. Groundhog Day.  Superbowl.  Kiwanis Trivia Night. Valentines Day. President's Day.  

It was 50's and cloudy until time for school to be over...then torrents of rain came down from the skies.  On the way to work the  Low Fuel alarm beeped...so I had to put gas in the VW in the rain after work.  Go to the grocery store and get milk.  After supper I decided it was too stormy (thunder and wind as well as rain) to go to the girls basketball game.  I guess I'm a fair weather fan. 

At lunch I started a new book, Atomic Summer by Elaine Walsh.  3 girlfriends, age 16, in 1953.  Bernadette's family has a bomb shelter where they hang out...enjoying the cool.  Faith's mom died when she was young...and she tries to be a good Catholic. Faith is the only one with a boyfriend.  Octavia has to help her mom take care of her brother--not clear what happened/what disease (polio?) but he is bed-ridden, can still hear, barely chew & swallow, communicates only yes/no by blinking his eyes.  The Rosenberg trial & execution.  Fear of the Atomic Bomb.  Fear of Communists.  All taking place in a small town in the NE.  Has all the makings of a southern dysfunctional family novel, except for the location.  Nice touches of humor.  

Still above freezing...rain in the morning, turning to snow flurries.  No accumulation predicted.  Temperatures drop all day tomorrow and winter cold the next 2 days.  

I slept well last night and woke up feeling fine...for a Monday morning.  Lots of Monday-itis.  

After work, dash home for the UMW book club--discussed The Traveler's Gift.  Seven decisions that determine personal success.  They all kind of overlap...basically you are responsible for your decisions/life so make wise decisions.  Chose to be happy.  Hang out with people better than you (inspire you to be a better person).   I can't control the fact that my office is cold...but I can dress warmly.   I'd complain but I declared my office a "no whine zone" long ago.  LOL

In the state of the state address, Gov. Nixon proposed a 2% pay increase for state employees.  It's been YEARS since state employees have any kind of raise, even cost of living.  But underpaid is better than unpaid...

We had wild rice & chicken soup for supper.  Then I did the engraving I should have done over the weekend.  Oops.  Tuesday delivery instead of Monday.  Dennis added some kind of "magic cure" to the van's transmission fluid.  It was shifting "funny"---downshifting too soon, and then not upshifting soon enough.  Hopefully that will fix it.  I'm happy to report that the VW is up and running like a champ again.

Tomorrow night the girls have a home game, & I plan to attend.  

Today was very warm--up to 70 something with a few scattered showers.  Tomorrow in the 60's then crashing to the 30's...with possibly some snow Tuesday night.  Then 20's for highs the next several days.  Talk about roller coaster weather...

After Sunday school we headed for Springfield.  The freezing rain stayed about 50 miles NE of us, so we just had rain.  The temperature is in the 40's with 50's and continued scattered showers tomorrow & Tuesday. 

Picked up Jimmy Johns and had lunch with Jax (he had his own food, prepared by "mom"), Matt & Sara.  Jax entertained us with his antics.  In spite of Jax's encouragement, Lucy did NOT get in the basket.

She also did NOT jump into the box.

Dad was more cooperative and played some ball with him.

We checked out Anne Taylor's "Loft" store at Battlefield Mall.  Hannah told me to check out their sale, and made suggestions about what I "needed". I got an orange cable stitch sweater for early Spring and a deep pink cardigan to go with the burgundy dress w/ hot pink cats. Amazing that she can "dress" me from 2 time zones away.  LOL  Both sweaters were on the clearance rack, and were $15 each. It was fun to see the set up of this store and know that the one where Hannah works is similar.  It's a nice layout...open, light, and airy.  

We got back to STJ in time to have  dinner and Mexican Train courtesy of the Delano's.  The Edwards were also guests.  It was a great way to end the weekend.  

I didn't set the alarm.  I woke up after 8 AM which meant I got almost 10 hours of sleep. I felt much better.  Since my only goal this weekend was to sleep, I certainly got off to a good start. 

I took my generic "boniva" and remained upright for 30 minutes before eating anything. I must rebuild and keep those bones strong.Once a week...I can do that.  Yogurt for breakfast.  Did some laundry.  The sun was shining and it was above freezing.  Too pretty to stay inside.  Roadtrip!

We went to Rosebud (about 45 minutes NE of us on curvy 2 lane roads) to check out some antique stores.  Dennis found 2 more oil lamps to add to the collection.  I need to find some odorless, high quality lamp oil to burn...we should be using these lamps; in addition to electric lights of course.  I didn't see anything I couldn't live without, but had fun looking.   On the way home we drove around the old downtown Owensville and found another interesting antique store.  It also had some new "Americana" decoration/nic-nac stuff that was fun. If I wasn't hopeful about retiring eventually, and possibly downsizing, I would have been more tempted by some of the Easter decorations.

For supper I tried a new soup recipe...butternut squash & pear.  It was not nearly as good as the sweet potato & apple soup. It was ok...but not a "keeper".  Fortunately it was not one of those soup recipes that feed an army.

Freezing rain predicted early morning (like 2 AM) but temperatures will be above freezing by 9 AM.  Then 3 days of gray skies, 40 degrees and scattered showers.  Followed by 20's but sunny.  Is it Spring yet? 

It's been a long week...especially considering there were only 4 days.  My goal this weekend...to sleep.  I need to catch up on things around the house, maybe do some scrapping and photo organizing/ordering.  I have some fabric calling my name...it wants to be a skirt.  We'll see how the hours go by.  

It got up into the 40's today. A little cooler tomorrow.  Possible freezing rain Sunday morning, then warming up with scattered showers Monday and Tuesday.  Then back to the deep freeze.  

If we don't miss any school, we will get our President's Day weekend.  Dennis and I are discussing 2 possible "get aways" for that weekend...Memphis or Kansas City.  I think Memphis is a bit closer and Graceland is on my "bucket list" of places to visit. Both places have great BBQ.  Dennis has been to KC a couple times and leans more towards it.  I'd rather go to Memphis.  I'm sure we'll eventually make it to both places. 

I'm reading Atlas Drugged.  It's an interesting satire on Ayn Rand and her "selfish" philosophy, mixed with some current economic/social trends (the 99%).  Kind of scary.  What would happen if we had "free for all" capitalism and everything (even roads and bridges) were privatized...   which is the way MODoT is going...let the contractors do the work and be liable...which  has already had some negative results here in Phelps County.  Do shoddy work, get the $$,  go out of business, and tax payers are left to fix the mess.  On paper it seems cheaper, but in the long run, facts prove otherwise.  Enough on the down side of life.

Dennis replaced the starter in the VW...and it's running again.  I'm happy.  I really like that car.  Driving the van the past 2 days has made me appreciate it even more.  It's cute and little and zips around...which is just the opposite of the van.  It's kind of like the song about Bluto (from the movie "Popeye")...."And he's (it's) LARGE"...

Work has been busy and hard.  Sick kids.  Sick staff.  Needy kids.  Needy staff.  On the plus side, I have had some postiive recognition and thank you's from staff and parents and kids.  Dennis had 2nd half of mouth/gums scraped & lasered today. Very creamy (thank you Sara & Matt for the immersion blender stick from Christmas past) potato soup tonight.  Grateful to Progresso for cans of soup Dennis can eat for lunch.  

What we originally thought was just a dead battery in the VW seems more serious.  Time to call our local repair hero who works on foreign cars.  Today was a wonderful day (for winter) with sunshine and temperatures above freezing.  We go back into the deep freeze again tonight and tomorrow.

In the words of Madeline Kahn in Blazing Saddles...."I'm TIRED" 

Saturday was Jax's First Birthday Party!  It had a jungle theme, and he had lots of guests wishing him a Happy Birthday!  Sara baked him a banana cake. He did a good job eating part of it.  He used his index finger to scoop off some icing before really digging to eat it. 

He knew just what to do with the presents. 

He as gracious about posing with ALL the relatives and friends.Here he is with my parents and his dad, Matt.  

Sunday we went to the outlet mall at Osage Beach with my parents.  Found a few good deals on some winter clothing and got a peak at the Spring clothing, which is already arriving.  Lots of scarves.  Orange and bright teal blue seem to be the predominant colors at this point.

 while enjoying my day off, I'm remembering the contributions & sacrifice that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made to our country, as well as the significance of the Inauguration of a President.  I try not to take the blessings of living in this country for granted. 

St. James Tigers beat Rolla 58-45 in the semi-final game of the St. James Tournament.  It was an intense game & very close, but the deliberate fouls at the end (by Rolla) actually padded the STJ score.  I was not the only person who works at RMS cheering for the Tigers.  Hope there are no repercussions on Tuesday.  St. James colors are red & white but black has slowly crept into the fans' shirts. Things looked pretty Goth in the student section tonight. I'll have to get a better photo at the next game.  Some were wearing black make-up.

It was a busy day.  The stomach virus decided to revisit RMS. Weather is warmer.  Saturday near 60, then back into winter temperatures.  Monday will be miserable with single digit highs and negative wind chills.  Almanac missed it Jan 16-20, predicting snow flurries then mild.  

I finished Along Came A Spider during lunch today.  I'm hooked on Patterson...but will have to read something less intense before reading another of his books.  I think I'd also like to see this movie. 

Jax is enjoying some pre-birthday celebrating...including some professional photos of him.I suspect this is a prop and not a real birthday cake. 

It got above freezing this afternoon...first time since late Saturday night.  More warm weather (right not 40 would be a heat wave) Friday & Saturday...cold again Sunday.  Chance of snow or wintery mix on Monday.  I'm looking forward to my 3 day weekend, no matter what the weather.

I had my usual "shampoo & trim" after school.  It was nice to just heat up the left over sweet potato & apple soup for supper.  Today was a good day at work.  Is it Friday yet??