Remember Flo on "Alice" telling Mel (and assorted other characters) "Kiss My Grits!".   LOL   Since we were having a breakfast pot luck at the Smith's I figured I had to bring grits...because if you didn't want grits, why did you order breakfast??  Personally, I'm a grits fan.  I like plain grits.  I like fancy grits too.  Tonight I made fancy grits---with cheddar cheese and Rotel.   Got an update on injured basketball player...BAD sprain.  It's hard to call that good news, but it could be worse. 

Less drama at work today.  Still having sick kids, but fewer whiners.  Washing my hands constantly.  My cuticles are so dry they are cracking & sore.  Antibiotic ointment and hand cream help but my hands are losing the battle.

At lunch I started Cat & Mouse.  Patterson jumps right into the action & inside crazy criminal minds. I have to be careful or I'll read beyond my 30 minute lunch break.

Before the Super Bowl, I never heard of the Duluth Trading Co.  They had an interesting underwear commercial.  I checked out their site and they have what looks like a wonderful robe--made of sweatshirt fleece.  I would love to make one, only longer.  Zips up the front and has great patch pockets.  Now I just need to find the fabric and pattern to make one for myself.  Only longer.  I'm all about the couch potato look in the evening.

and according to Johnny Mercer, Eliminate the Negative and don't mess around with Mr. in-between.   It's been one of those days and I'm trying to not let it get me down.  All I can hope is that "kids" don't realize what harm lies can cause, not only to themselves, but to all those around them.  Drama is not good.  And a certain person really didn't mean to throw me under the bus... Hopefully tomorrow the truth will come out and balance will once again be restored.  

Went to the boys basketball game.  They beat Hermann but it was an ugly game with to much malice and roughness.  In the first 20 seconds, one of our players was injured enough to be taken to the ER...no news on how serious or if it was the ankle or knee or what exactly.  Just that he was on the floor in an incredible amount of pain.  

I finished Around the World in 80 Days at lunch today.  It turned out to be a romance novel.  Who knew?   LOL    Next I will read James Patterson's Cat & Mouse which is sort of a sequel to Along Came A Spider.  At least the same bad guy is also in this book. I downloaded it on my Kindle after supper.

Tonight we had a change from our many variations on soup.  I made a pot roast with potatoes, carrots & onions in the crockpot. It was tender and tasty.  Beef Stew is on the menu for Thursday evening. Tomorrow night we'll be doing "pot luck breakfast" at the Smith's house.  I'm planning to make breakfast burritos unless I can think of something easier and more original. 

My morning was was busy sending sick students home...the afternoon was spent sending repeat whiners back to class.  Had to get some "supplies" after work.  Dog food, cat food, cereal, air filters for the furnace, water filter replacement cartridge...   Fortunately I had left-over chili to heat up for supper.  Went to the girls basketball game...they lost to Hermann.  It was a physical game. Hopefully the boys will beat Hermann  tomorrow night.

I'm getting quite a 19th century history & geography education from Around the World in 80 Days.  They are taking a train across the United States. They had a history lesson from a Mormon preacher on the train.  Then the train was attacked by Indians.  Never a dull moment for Mr. Fogg and his entourage.  They've fallen a bit behind schedule, but somehow I feel he will meet the deadline and win the bet.

Another great game party at the Kearbey's.  Women upstairs, men in the basement.  I think we (women) all decided to root for the Ravens because we LOVED "The Blind Side" and Michael Oher is #74 for the Ravens.  Obviously we take the whole Super Bowl experience seriously...NOT.  We try to watch the commercials and definitely the half-time show.  We managed to do that fairly well, but then totally missed the big power outage until the men came upstairs to refill their plates.  We obviously have far more important issues to discuss to notice such minor details.  LOL  We did settle down and watch the 4th quarter, when the 49-ers made their big come-back and it looked like they might win.  

Tomorrow is Monday...

 Not sure if the ground hog saw his shadow here. It was sunny mid-morning, but then clouded up.   It got up to 42 and tomorrow is supposed to similar.  Not sure when the next Artic Blast is due to arrive.  Snow in St. Louis tonight, but not this far west.  

I spent the morning cleaning and doing laundry.  I watched the 2nd episode of season 11 Project Runway.  If the Dream Team loses again, they are going to have to do something to shake things up. Then I made some Valentine's Day cards.  Made some soup for supper...sauteed celery, carrots and leeks. Added chicken broth and 3 diced potatoes.  Simmered for a while, then added a can of diced tomatoes & some sliced Polish Kielbasa.  Good stuff.  

I forgot the humorous event at work on Friday.  A student came in..."I bumped my nose".  Me: What did you hit it on?   Student: I think my hand.   He thought it was bleeding but of course it wasn't.

It was 8 degrees this morning.  I bundled up and made it to school just fine.  Today may have been a first...I didn't see anyone wearing flip flops.  There were some kids wearing shorts, but with tennis shoes & socks.  

Tonight was Court Warming.  The boys beat Pacific.  They had a lot of fans, considering they are about an hours drive away.  There was a lot of purple clashing with the Tiger Red in the gym. It was a rough and close game.  Some bad calls by the refs...mostly against us.  Hopefully everyone "left it on the floor" when they headed home.

I finished Atomic Summer.  I enjoyed the book and recommend it.  It wasn't as humorous as I expected, based on the first 50 or so pages.  There were serious subjects, as in all "coming of age" novels, but they were not turned into depressing moral issues.  Now I'm back to reading Around the World in 80 Days.  I like the characters, even if they are stereo-typed.  I enjoy the description and detail of the various locations Mr. Fogg travels to...and the misadventures his "servant" manages to get into. After Jules Verne, I might be ready for another Patterson novel. 

Kroger had their "mix & match" 10 selected items and get $5 off (or 50c a can) sale this week. So I replenished our Progresso soup supply.  Not all the Progresso soups were "selected" but the ones that were, ended up being 99c a can.  

The Almanac:  February 1-7 Flurries, turning very cold.    Reality--warmer (40's day/20's night) Saturday & Sunday.  Not sure what will happen after that.   The Farmer's part suggests perusing the seed catalogs; planning what varieties and how many seeds you need to order.