Tis The Season...

So as I sit here at my computer...time is ticking away. I have four days til Christmas Eve and  finally bought my first present today. Actually my second. (I bought a  friend a book I knew she wanted and gave it to her when she came in for a Christmas party with her work group at my restaurant. She brought me the same exact present when she came in...great minds think alike)

So I've bought two...Starting early this year! You know I used to get stressed out. I passed stressed out about a year back, moved on to freaking out , sat in a closet and cried for a day and then just moved on to face the rest of my life. You can hide from your problems but they won't go away...only YOU can make them go away. I was one of the lucky ones, I had tons of help...more than I deserved.

I am lucky that my kids are 25, 19 and 16. The Tooth Fairy , Easter Bunny and Santa years are behind them. For years they were all spoiled rotten, so was I.

The past two years have been eye opening yet heart warming. We have made it through, lost some perks but have  learned to truly appreciate.

My kid's are kids. They took everything for granted. Over the past two years they have learned (along with me) NOTHING is guaranteed. They have  learned how to make dinner out of whatever is in the kitchen cabinet and not one of them has whined about it. (well maybe, but just a little)

I think this may be our greatest Christmas ever...

I have tomorrow day off and plan to go buy a Christmas tree. Heck, shouldn't they be marked down by now? I may bring home a twenty foot tree for twenty bucks! Then I'll go into work and let Zach decorate it. Granted I may come home to a "Bob Marley"  Christmas tree but that's okay with me...maybe I'll drink some"Red, red wine" and help him.

I have been paying bills and just trying to stay ahead of my checks. I have been working like a demon while being sick for over a week. I am old, I am sprouting more gray than Betty White but bursting at the seams with the Christmas Spirit.

It's not about the gifts. It's about saying Merry Christmas to random people you pass on the street. It's about holding a door open for someone. It's about letting people cross in front of you when you are sitting in your car waiting for a parking spot while they are walking in the rain carrying packages.. It's about dropping a dollar into a Salvation Army bucket every time you see one. It's about going to Big Lots and buying baby dolls and dropping them off for "Toys for Tots." It's about telling people "God bless you" when you hear them sneeze.

It's about not judging people. It's about loving. It is about knowing however bad off  your life is, there are literally hundreds of millions that would feel lucky to walk in your shoes...Heck, they would be thrilled to just HAVE shoes.

I am not worried one bit. I have a houseful coming over on Christmas Day...but they are MY family and I could feed them all Spaghettios and they wouldn't complain. That's how lucky I am.

I am one of the luckiest women in the world. I have a husband that for some bizarre reason loves me. I have three kids that are healthy,  perhaps sometimes underfed to their glutton's desire but doing okay. I have a brother and sister who have come to my rescue more times than I can count. I am a lucky woman.

My Christmas will be amazing...it already is. Our furnace is fixed thanks to my brother, who is probably still looking for a transfer to Yemen to get away from me. I have a sister who is my touch stone.

Christmas will happen...I am sure of it. It may be a Christmas of home made gifts and excuses but it will be a Merry one.

I will be at the gas station on Christmas Eve. I will start on the motor oil aisle, work my way to the gift card stand and end up buying scratch off tickets and gas cards for my nephews.

We'll have a big ham and eat sandwiches all day and my brother will bring his rolling bar and provide us with Bloody Mary's.

Never take for granted what you have today, just be thankful for God, family and the chance to wake up tomorrow and make it a better day.

So what I'm not a big dog anymore...I have seen Chihuahua's that could chew your arm off, or at least act like they could.

It's not the size of your stature but the size of your heart. Tell a random person "Merry Christmas" and notice the surprised look on their face...That should tell you a lot about what is wrong with this world.

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Merry Christmas...God bless, and Pay It Forward!!

Til next time...COTTON

Advantages of a Family Owned Business

Needless to say this isn't a photo of the actual family I work for but you get the picture (small pun intended.)

It was my third night on my own. Thank the Lord is wasn't overly busy, I'm not ready to get blown away yet and the two table section I am running gives me enough time to try and learn the new system. I made a couple of goofs with the way I rang in orders but for the most part did okay. The problem is that I don't feel like a seasoned waitress starting in a new place, I feel like a new server starting in my FIRST restaurant.

Every one is tremendously helpful and nice. Tonight one of the specials was " Shrimp Madagascar" shrimp baked in a sauce of cream, green peppercorns, Pernod and green onions. Served with a side of risotto cakes.

Number one I had to ask what Pernod was (a French Anise flavored Liqueur) never heard of green peppercorns and I have never had risotto in my life. The owner went to the back and cooked me a dish of risotto that was AMAZING! Whereas rice is usually cooked with a lid on top, risotto... similar to rice is cooked with the lid off and absorbs all the liquid. With this special it was formed into cakes, fried and was delicious.

Number two another special was "Herb Encrusted Corvina." Fresh hand cut Corvina topped with a herb crust and baked in a brown butter sauce served with grilled Spring vegetables tossed in a basil garlic olive oil. My first question was "What the heck is Corvina?" Now I know it is a mild white fish from the Pacific caught off the coast of Mexico and the grilled vegetables were asparagus, yellow bell pepper, red bell pepper, zucchini, squash and red onion.

It's learning a different menu every night of the week. Like I don't have enough to learn...every server has to learn specials every night of the week, but that is part of what makes this an amazing restaurant.

I know I am worrying too much...it shows on my face. Tonight the bartender came in the kitchen and asked who I was mad at. Gotta keep that "Mom is mad" look off my face!

The support the owners give the employees is a whole new world to this former "Corporate" girl. Once I get used to everything and feel more comfortable I know that I will be so glad to have this new job. The tips I have made are far above the average I made at the old place and if we can hang in there til I start making some dough...we should be okay.

Happy Easter to every one and please continue to pray for me and my family.

Til next time... COTTON

My Wonderful Hometown

I grew up in a small town on the outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia. We went to the Varsity to eat every Friday night... and if you haven't heard of the Varsity... I highly recommend it for not only great food, but a Lube job as well. On Friday nights, after leaving the Varsity, my Dad would drive over to the Planter's Peanut shop to pick up a bag of warm, fresh roasted peanuts. They were absolutely the best . If we were good, he would turn around and drive down Fourteenth Street to let us look at the "hippies." God, Atlanta was as big as New York to me in my youth. The town I grew up in was ABSOLUTE "Americana." Kids were free to walk everywhere by themselves, go to the 'East Point' Theater , or the swimming pool alone, with no worries that ANYTHING would ever go wrong. It was a time that one of the mothers in the neighborhood would load up her Ford station wagon with ten kids from our block, and drop us off at Six Flags Over Georgia at ten in the morning, and another Mother would pick us all up at the gate at closing... never with any worry other than we might run out of money and just have to drink out of the water fountain, instead of buying "cherry berries". People were simpler then, times were almost "Leave it To Beaverish." It saddens me to be such a worry wart about my kids... and it certainly bugs the Crap out of them. But the times that I grew up in were times of hard work, Christian values, and morals that still applied to every waking person. Me and my friends would walk the two miles to the swimming pool every day of the summer... get there at ten, and swim until six, when the pool closed... never any calls home, or texts from the folks.. they just knew we would be okay. I cannot imagine letting my twelve year old daughter go ANYWHERE for that many hours , without being in contact with her, and knowing what was going on. I do not ever see that point in time returning, nor can I see never worrying about my kids constantly. That , to me is a very sad statement of the society that we live in today. I truly wish that I could just let my kids go and BE kids, but I cannot. I wish that I could drop my younger children off at Six Flags in the morning, and not have to worry about them until I picked them up at eleven. But I can't. And THAT is what bothers me most about today's times and lack of values. When did people completely lose their sense of what is right and wrong... and how did SO many weirdos come to walk around among us ? Granted, I know many, many wonderful people ; but what disillusions me is the growing number of unstable, totally 'Whacked" out people that walk among us. My kids say that I am paranoid ... and they are completely right. It makes me start to think about what life will be like for my future grandchildren.. Will they be able to walk to the community pool, and spend the day, or will I have to go and watch them every second? I was truly blessed to have grown up in a more secure, loving, knowing environment; and I am grateful for that fact all of the time. Our kids are under tremendous amounts of pressure and situations that I would have never in my wildest dreams thought would come to light. I try not to dwell on it too much, but it is a constant in my mind. Can our future EVER turn for the better, or will all of us live in a state of worry and paranoia? I have begun to believe that... you know what? WE are the ONLY things that can start a change... WE are the only ones that can turn things around. We need to quit living in a scared shell, and start boasting to the world... that we are "MAD AS HELL' AND WE AREN'T GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!!" How else can we change the world, if not step by step, person by person, voice by voice? Maybe I am crazy, maybe I am a visionary; but I am a MOTHER, and this is a top priority on my list.. Anyone want to join me?