this is what I plann ed to cook last night. Chicken pot pie.  It was what we had for supper tonight.  It was good.  Dennis and I ate half of it.  No after photos because the middle ran out a bit and made a mess.   Tomorrow night. the left over potato-apple soup and Thursday the rest of the pot pie.  If we I can resist taking it to work for lunch. 

Work was back to "normal" today.  thank goodness.  Besides cooking and cleaning up the kitchen, all I did (after work) was sit on the couch and watch NCIS, NCIS:LA and Vegas.  Tuesday & Thursday are my favorite TV nights. 

tonight was the first night of the St. James Invitational Basketball Tournament.  Rolla beat Blair Oaks in the 6 PM game and St. James beat Union in the 7:30 game.  It was an aggressive and hard fought game. 

It was sunny but didn't get above freezing (high was 26).  My office was busy.  Lots of coughs and sore throats are now joining the ranks of stomach aches.  Tomorrow is going to be cold again...but maybe things will slow down a bit at work. I ate my soup at my desk, but didn't actually get to go to lunch today.  Being busy made the day go by quickly, however. 

Dennis tried to donate blood after work, but couldn't because he is on antibiotics.  The Red Cross volunteers still fed him...he puts up the blood drive posters for them and is their "pet".  So I didn't have to cook.  I ate a peanut butter & Jelly sandwich with a glass of juice for supper.  Tomorrow I will fix the chicken pot pie I planned to fix tonight.  

We dodged a bullet last night.  The rain was almost gone before the temperatures dropped below freezing. The warm ground also helped.  Unfortunately it was only 25 when I got up, and at noon it had dropped to 23.  About an hour ago I decided it was not going above 23 and bundled up to scrape the VW from its icy cocoon.  Fortunately Dennis helped me, or I might still be out there.  BRRRR.  

Since we "played" yesterday (and Dennis worked last night/slept til noon-ish), I've been trying to straighten up the house and get things organized for next week.  Just 5 more days and then, a 3 day weekend!  WooHoo!   Tonight we are having a brand new recipe...apple & sweet potato soup.  I'll make biscuits.  I've got a bit of left-over sausage to fry and I can take "sausage biscuit" to work for breakfast.  Not a healthy every day breakfast, but a nice treat for a cold Monday morning. 

We got up and headed for Springfield this morning.  Jax was "sleeping in".  He's been a bit under the weather with a cough, a fever (a few days ago) and he's also teething.  He still was charming and fun to be with. He walks...and his walk is almost a run. He likes playing ball and taking things apart.  Let's hope his skills eventually include putting things back together. 

He likes the Duplo blocks.  He especially likes taking the Duplo blocks apart.  Fortunately Matt & Sara like building things out of the Duplo blocks. He also likes being silly with Dad.

We had to keep an eye on the weather.  While we were there Dennis got a call from work, telling him he was on "stand by" for plowing or spreading salt tonight.  We headed home about 2:30.  It was raining and about 35.  We got ahead of the rain between Rolla & St. James, but it soon caught up with us. I heated up the potato soup, and we'd just finished eating when Dennis got the call to be at work at 7 PM.  

This kind of weather makes me restless.  So far there is just a glaze of ice in the trees and on the power lines.  Losing electricity is always my biggest fear.  I have candles lit and scattered around the house.  Kind of like carrying an umbrella to chase off the rain. 

Snow tomorrow.  Seriously.  Missouri weather. 

In spite of the forecast, we are headed to Springfield tomorrow morning, for some Jax time...including his parents of course.  We will get up & around a bit earlier, to arrive 10-ish.  We will have to keep an eye on the weather.  We will probably head home between 2 & 3 PM.  We need to be home before dark.  The down side is that Dennis may get called in to plow or spread salt at 7 PM.  There is no hysteria, but with a cold/snow front coming from the NW and more moisture arriving from the SW, it could amount to something. Most of the heavy snow is predicted to fall to the north.

Work was a calmer today.  It was sunny and nice out until about 3 PM. Then it started clouding up. It was windy and very cloudy by the time I got home. Lucas and I still had some frolic time before dark.  We both frolicked today. TGIF.

Today a student asked me "Were you around during WWII?"  I said no.  And smiled.  "Viet Nam?"  Yes.  Then he gave me a hug and left.  Not sure what was up with that, but I take my hugs where I get them.

More sickness at RMS.  Real sickness. Puking.  Fevers.  Scary reports of influenza all around but not exactly here in MO.  

It drizzled most of the day. Temperature in the lower 40's.  I think more of the same tomorrow.

Saturday...heading for Springfield to hang with Jax and his parents.  No agenda, just hanging out and enjoying good company.  Perhaps a few games, if Jax allows.

We are down to patches of snow on the north side of the house. Warming trend continues.    

Work is the same...separating the whiners from the truly sick kids.  

Frugal living continues.  Smoked salmon from Christmas (thank you Delano's) with some pickled beets, pickled okra and some of the potatoes I boiled Sunday (the worst sprouting ones from the garden) chopped and mixed with plain greek yogurt--mock potato salad I suppose.  Not bad, all things considered.  

Tomorrow night First Wednesday Club (moved to 2nd Wednesday due to proximity with New Year's Eve).  Soup is the theme.  I have the turkey broth and "meat) from boiling down the carcass after Christmas thawing in the fridge.  I have some homemade noodles to toss into the pot tomorrow after work.  I might "toast" the left-over cornbread and take it along to go with the soups. I'm sure it will be lots of fun.  It's been a while since I've had a chance to catch up with all my "peeps".  

Tomorrow is a big day.  My oldest son Paul turns 29.  Wow.  How did that happen??  

I'm making 2 New Year's Resolutions.   I will have more fun.  I will say "no" less often.

I procrastinated Saturday.  Dennis watched (I was in & out) "The Scarlet Letter" last night.  It was NOT the book I remember from high school. LOL  It was still a good movie and the photography was incredible.  Great costumes too.  We made it to 5 PM church Saturday.  I like the informal service...and I feel more a part of the smaller group.  I made a quick supper of grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.

Today was a bit busier and more productive.  After Sunday school I engraved the signs for Triad and got busy in the kitchen.  I boiled and peeled and diced the "sproutiest" potatoes in the basement.  We grew them; I need to be sure they don't go to waste.  I didn't have time to do anything else, so they are now in the refrigerator.  I also boiled the 4 chicken leg quarters and they are in the fridge, along with the chicken broth.  Perhaps some sort of chicken shepherds pie tomorrow night. 

We went to see "Parental Guidance" with Fred & Vicki, followed by supper at Cracker Barrel.  It wasn't quite as much a splurge (dinner and a movie) because we saw the matinee and ordered from the "children's menu"...which is for children of all ages, and about half the price of the regular meals.  I was plenty full with the children's portion.  

I can't believe the weekend is over.

Our house has cold floors.  It doesn't have great insulation and the windows are single pane but most have storm windows over them--in other words, we live in a drafty old house.  I can dress in layers and cover up with a comforter on the couch.  But when my feet aren't warm, I'm miserable.  So I bought a pair of down booties. Many years ago I had a pair of down booties, when I was a poor nursing student in IL, living in an even older, draftier house than this one.  They were wonderful.  I loved coming in from the cold and slipping my feet into them.  I don't know what happened to those down booties, but now I have a new pair. They are just as wonderful as I remembered.  Life is good when your feet are warm.

I think everyone at RMS was happy when school was out today.  I'm glad there were only 2 days of work this week.  All 5 days will make for a long week ahead.  

It was sunny and above freezing this afternoon.  Most of the snow has melted but will be icy tonight when the remaining snow and water refreeze.  Dennis got the outside Christmas lights down this afternoon.  Which means I really MUST get the ornaments off the tree tomorrow.  

I'm not even sure what this means, but a student came in complaining that while she was sitting on the gym floor (during PE) someone "stepped on my ankle with both feet, FULL FLEDGED."  A bit of sympathy and ice packed fixed it.  I also overheard another student lose the argument (with a principal) that he was power walking and not running in the hall.   Middle school students are not known for their good sense.

It was hard to get back into the work routine this morning.  I can get out of the work routine a lot faster. LOL  Tomorrow is Friday, and that's a good thing.

Had a few deliveries to make and a few errands to run after work.  Thank goodness I just had to heat up the left-over pork loin (thank you again, Christa) and make some mashed potatoes & Gravy (from a package).  Still had some salad from Christa also. Tomorrow night I'll use the last of the pork loin in stir fry.  I have some frozen stir-fry veggies in the freezer and plenty of rice. Saturday will be an experiment...a new recipe for sweet potato & apple soup.