Venturing About

I guess this picture is from about six or seven years ago, when I still had my convertible Lil Beemer. Boy, Massey and I put some miles on that little car, taking road trips every day we could. I think this one was on our way home from The Little White House in Warm Springs.

I've been very fortunate as a mother. I have three pretty wonderful kids who are so different from each other, which makes for quite the eclectic and enjoyable mix.

We're a mixed bag of nuts, that's for sure.

I had my two sons first, then as luck would have it got a daughter the third time around.

Boys will go anywhere with you when they are still too little to argue with you or be left at home alone. Once they hit middle school, just buy them a new gaming system and cell phone, so you can reach them when you need to.

Then gas up your car and take off for any where with your daughter and go exploring.

I can honestly say Massey and I have always been pretty close over the years and feel fortunate that she will still hang out with her ole crazy momma.

Since moving to Orlando, we've gotten even closer. We love going to Cocoa Beach together or hanging around my brothers' lake house. We ventured to Mt. Dora after a co worker of mine told me about it and found the place to be absolutely enchanting.

Massey quickly made her first BFF (Ashley) after meeting our next door neighbor, a young woman in her mid twenties just embarking on her own teaching career after recently graduating from UCF. She's from New York but has been living here for several years now and has taken Massey to a lot of cool places.


Massey introduced me to one of them just the other day, and treated me to lunch.

I immediately got that feel good vibe like you get when visiting L5P in Atlanta.

You park in the back and are greeted by the coolest VW bus wedged into the fence of their garden outdoor seating area.

You order from the counter and your food is ready within the matter of less than five minutes. We ate in the garden area. This is a pic of the front of the order counter.

We carried our food out back and began to sink our teeth into the best BBQ sandwiches we've ever had.

Luckily it was the middle of the afternoon and during  the slow period so I took a quick video as we were finishing up.

The food was amazing and the vibe was even better.

 Actually Massey and I went to eat there again today. There was another woman there  for the first time and she was wowing and going on and on  about the place just as I had on my first visit.

Massey and I spent quite a bit of time tooling around all the eclectic pockets of Atlanta like L5P, Virginia Highland, Inman Park and Edgewood.

After a year here, are finally venturing out  in Orlando to discover what secrets this city holds for us.

Sometimes it's not enough to just put yourself out there. Sometimes you have to venture and discover what's out there.


I'm going to continue and enjoy my venturing about with Massey;  it will be over within a few short months.

She graduates from college in early December and will be leaving us to mark her own mark in this world. She has several different options, one of them being moving to England for a year. I think that is an excellent idea. I want her to venture even more than we have together and explore every option
open to her. She'll always be welcome here in Orlando and when we buy our house in April will be one big enough to accommodate visits from all three of our kids.

Massey never wanted to live in Orlando but came along for the ride. Thank God she did, I would have never survived without her.

One year later, think I'm okay now to survive on my own with Tim and the pups. Having a brother ten minutes down the road helps too and have made a few close friends who I can count on.

It's going to be a hard adjustment for me. For twenty two years I've had her by and on my side.


I've let both my sons go and worried for them both, still do...but are making it on their own, each in their own different way.

Massey is all I have left to let go of.

How did she get this old this soon? It seems like last week I was holding her on my hip.

The times, they are changing.

Raising kids is really hard but thoroughly fulfilling when you step back and take notice of what amazing people you are adding to society.

We've added three.

What boggles my tiny mind even more is that I am almost fifty eight years old.

How did that happen?

I've earned every wrinkle and gray hair, sometimes the easy way and sometimes the hard way.

You have to take a jump on life, even if it's from the cliff of depression or the edge of despair.

You have to move in life.

Life, defined by Webster's:

"The physical, mental, and spiritual experiences that constitute existence."


Lucky for me, can say with conviction...

Been there done that.

Kudos to my kids for surviving having the craziest momma on the planet.

I may be losing Massey for her to pursue future endeavors but will always have my sister as a back up ride or die.

Once again, I am a lucky, lucky person.

Till next time...COTTON

Old Man Winter Keeps Coming Back Like a Bad Zit

For Pete's sake, it's March 6 and cold as the leader of North Korea outside. Even my dogs think it's too cold. They go straight out, do their "Do" and come right back to the kitchen door to be let back inside, and THEY'RE wearing head to tail fur coats!

Ran my errands early and got back to the house by eleven this morning. It's been so crazy here this winter. Mid seventies one day and snow and ice the next. It's like I needed to wear flip flops on my feet inside of my snow boots. Suffering from hot flashes doesn't help much either. My little body is confused as to what season it really is, and so am I!

Unless they have large parties scheduled at work I've been getting two days off a week and has done wonders for my housekeeping skills. Heck, we can even let people in through the front door now! My sister has redone my entire kitchen from the baseboards to the ceiling and has really gotten me motivated to clean the rest of the Cotton compound. I'm sure all the Lost Boys noticed the kitchen (it would be hard not to) but none of them notice things like clean baseboards, clean ceiling fan blades, cob webs down from every corner and wall and light fixtures taken apart and cleaned, not to mention sparkling showers and more often than not, missed urination targets (better known as toilets to women.)

No worries, I point out every little thing I've done every time one of them comes home. Like good semi freeloaders, they act really impressed but would be just as content with dirty baseboards, fans, ceilings and urination targets. At least it makes ME  feel better and can now open our front door when somebody unexpectedly drops by. Before, I'd hide as if it were Hari Krishna's ringing our broken doorbell that only "Clonks" when you push it and just let my three barking mutts scare them away .

Tim has been telling me for two weeks all I needed to do to fix my ailing back was to stretch every morning and every night. I'm not used to him being right (in MY mind) but after a week of twenty four / seven constant pain finally listened.

When Jane Fonda's workout first came out in the eighties I borrowed the album (yes an actual vinyl record) from a friend.
She had lost the booklet with pictures but  faked what I didn't understand. I finally bought the VHS tape ( an antique cousin of the even more antique eight track tape) and discovered the step I thought was "pulling knees" was actually "pulling weeds" and made much more sense. The first twenty minutes are all stretching exercises and still remember them...in order. (just ask my sister, I have an excellent memory.) That's why she sits next to me at funerals, so I can tell her who is walking up to say hello to us after forty years.

I've been stretching at least four times a day the past few and it's like my body has experienced nothing short of a miracle.

It clears my sinuses,  makes my neck pain crack, crackle and disappear, loosens my always stiff lower back and simply makes me feel pain free.

Talk about a cheap fix!

I now call Tim , Dr. Cotton and bonus is I'm sleeping with my doctor so there's not even a co-pay required!

After work out number two today, my older son had a meeting at work. My younger son works there too but was off and offered to take me to lunch while TJ had his meeting. Neither currently has a vehicle but who am I to talk? I don't own one either. I'd much rather them save their money to move on and out so took them up there in MY borrowed car. I'm hoping we've kept it so long my sister and her husband will forget they own it.

Zach treated me to an awesome lunch while TJ attended his meeting. Had an awesome Angus burger with homemade pimento cheese, bacon jam, lettuce, tomato and onion. The home made fries tasted just like The Varsity's and anyone from Atlanta will know what I'm talking about.

 He even bought us dessert, homemade
pecan bar (kinda like pie) with vanilla ice cream.

We got home around four and made a vow not to walk outside again until I work tomorrow at three. I washed sheets and comforters, played on Facebook, did some more vacuuming, stretched again and even took a nap during the evening news. (It's always just bad news anyway)

I roused myself around seven and threw a pork loin in the oven. Made my pretty yummy baked beans with brown sugar, molasses, mustard, Worcestershire and bacon and even peeled a ton of taters for creamed potatoes. I HATE peeling potatoes and don't know why, it's not like it's hard to do. Maybe it's just because I grew up watching Gomer Pyle always being assigned to KP duty and peeling taters.


Fed the one Lost Boy left here (Zach dipped with a friend) and the other is in the process of moving out.  Put the food up for the others and started laundry again. I am now the proud owner of a house pretty stinking clean with four empty laundry baskets, three urine free toilet rims, and only Two Lost Boys.

Dr. Cotton will be home soon  and the cycle will begin again. Late night dinner while we talk about our day. Go to bed grateful for what we have not for what we want.

Hopefully waking up tomorrow with  3 kids,  3 pups, work, stretching, loving, sometimes arguing but always fighting the good fight.

If what doesn't kill you makes you stronger...somebody needs to buy me a cape.

Til next time, a pretty confident COTTON (Backed up by a posse of men)

PS May have typos but lap top was acting funky.

The More You Do, The More You Want To Do.

I came home from work last night and my sweet sister had been over and at it again. She painted my kitchen table, microwave stand and brought back two of my kitchen chairs newly painted. She also sanded the walls in my garage and even brought the paint for the walls. I'm not sure what I've ever done to deserve such a good sister but wish I did so I could do it more often!

Opened the restaurant today. I love my Sunday shifts. I open with another server I really like and usually off by five at the latest and three at the earliest. A girl I used to work with at the Western Sizzler I was fired from had a baby shower at our restaurant today and waited on them. I knew all the girls but two and was fun chatting with them. Bonus points they tipped me outrageously.

I went by Tractor Supply after work and got the hounds some food. Came home and changed clothes, it was in the mid seventies and beautiful today. I threw some drumsticks in the oven to bake and headed off for my seemingly daily trip to the grocery store.

All three of the Lost Boys were at work so it was just Tim, me and the pups. You'd think at the age of fifty four it'd be just Tim and me all the time. Our kids don't work that way.

Now that my house is clean it's so much fun to putter around and get even more things done. The more I do, the more I want to do.

Things may not being great for us but could easily change with an email, phone call or voice-mail. I have complete faith in my husband and know something wonderful for him is right around the corner.

It's crazy, when I finally do succumb to depression or despair something happens to lift us up and get us through.

I have to constantly remind myself to look for silver linings but when I do, see many. My sister has helped me see what a little effort on my part can do to make my house a wonderful place to be. My kids are healthy, happy and making me proud. My husband hasn't killed me in my sleep yet and  have a job that appreciates me. A lot of rich people can't even say that. Alanis Morrissette said it best:


I'm broke but I'm happy
I'm poor but I'm kind
I'm short but I'm healthy, yeah
I'm high but I'm grounded
I'm sane but I'm overwhelmed
I'm lost but I'm hopeful baby
What it all comes down to
Is that everything's gonna be fine fine fine
'cause I've got one hand in my pocket
And the other one is giving a high five


You know what? Everything IS gonna be fine fine fine. I sometimes...no often wonder what I have done to be so blessed?

 Never dwell on the negative, it doesn't help and gives you more wrinkles. Always look forward, the past is unchangeable.

I can say without doubt I'm blessed to have a faithful unwavering husband, two sib's who have taken excellent care of me, a brother in law who always comes to our rescue and so many good friends it would take a calculator to count them all.

My "Pay it Forward" list is so long I will be busy for a long, long time.

I look forward to it.

Dr Seuss said "Only you can control your future." He was pretty smart.

Til next time...COTTON

Well They Finally Got It Right

This picture is from about fourteen years ago and the last time it snowed this much around these parts.

Last night all the weather guessers were predicting significant snow today. By "Significant" in the south means at least three inches. That's a lot when you rarely have it and are ill prepared for it.

Well they finally got it right. It started around eleven this morning, hasn't slowed yet and's almost dark outside. We've got well over three inches in our backyard and the pups are amazed by it. Ziggy can't get enough of it. He roots around with his snout deep in the snow and jumps across the yard like a gazelle. Charlie tries to keep up with him but a Bulldog's best qualities aren't running OR jumping.

I went by the grocery store after work last night just in case the "Weather Guessers" were right. Not one gallon of milk was left. I bought two quarts (should have bought four) and the usual...toilet paper and bread. I had a roast in my freezer, a pound of ground beef, canned goods, frozen goods and a bag of potatoes.

It's a good thing I went. Zach and his buddy left the house around one today to go somewhere in his buddy's 4X4 truck but were back home in fifteen minutes after spinning out twice. Downtown Atlanta was gridlocked by 2PM.

I sat warm and comfy at my kitchen table on the lap top watching all the posts about peeps stuck in traffic, at work or even worse, kids stuck at school after BOE members refused to cancel school. I cleaned out the kitchen cabinets, fridge and freezer and cooked up everything I could find. I have gas appliances but don't care much for cooking by candle light. Scared the power might go out or water pipes burst so I had plenty of food made up or cooked.

My  problem was currently am living with three grown men and they were eating it up as fast as it got ready. Finally got smart and quit announcing when I had something ready. I sneaked a batch of tuna salad into the refrigerator and secretly cooked a pork roast while they were eating the Hamburger Helper I threw together for lunch. I even cooked a huge pot of green beans. Then they finished off the Salsiccia Napolentana I brought home from work last and polished off everything else left over in the refrigerator from the past couple of days. I hid me a half gallon of chocolate ice cream in the freezer buried under a bag frozen okra. I made a nice Chipotle pasta salad and still have fixings for grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Made a gallon of tea and a pitcher of raspberry lemonade, washed up all the dishes then announced I was clocking out.

Bonus was, I was still wearing my PJ pants, favorite T shirt and bedroom shoes I put on this morning. The guys WERE good about taking the pups out back and letting them romp off and on all afternoon and taking the trash out for me every time it got full during my "Cook-a-Rama."

A friend of mine just posted on Facebook that she was on hour six of trying to get home from work. Lucky for me I was scheduled off today although the restaurant ended up closing anyway. We shut things down here in the south. I got lucky today, didn't have anywhere I had to go or be except the kitchen. Stayed home with the family, my pups, the neighbor's kid off and on and our "Renter".

Here's a video of Zach's buddy who is staying with us for a while playing with Ziggy and Charlie out back today. I'm not sure who had more fun.

As long as the power doesn't go off we'll be just fine. If it does, we're screwed. My father in law gave us about ten cases of those Kroger fire logs a couple of years ago and I had them all stacked in the garage. Last year my sister's furnace went out and gave them about half the stack, still with plenty for us. Zach and his buddy cleaned out my garage a few days ago and although they did a great job, when I went out looking for one of the fire log cases the other night when it got pretty cold I couldn't find any. I asked Zach where they all were and he said " I gave them to Mr. Lee, next door."

My neighbor, Mr. "Slow"Lee burns a fire about nine months out of the year and has more firewood in his garage than the Redwood Forest. I asked Zach why he gave it away and Zach said "Well, it's been out there for over a year and you haven't used it. He builds fires all the time."

For Pete's sake...so I haven't used it yet. Maybe...just maybe I was saving it for a really important time, like NOW!

If the power goes out, I'll be over knocking on Mr. Slow Lee's door asking for firewood, don't think I won't.

The kitchen is clean again, laundry is washing and I'm headed upstairs to watch Game of Thrones with the boys thanks to my FB besties, Shirley and Wick.

The temp isn't going to be over freezing til Thursday but have to work tomorrow night. I'll probably get TJ to drop me off, bring Bertha Benz back home and park her in the garage to stay warm then come get me when I'm done. That's the least he can do for the head cook and I'm sure he won't mind.

Til next time...COLD COTTON

Rain Rain Go Away

This is what we deal with when it rains...times six. We have three big dogs and have to wipe twelve paws every time they come back inside the house. We leave a beach towel by the back door for them to stand on while we wipe their paws with another one. We use beach towels more in the winter months than we do in the summer. That's just the way it is when you're dog lovers and hope to keep at least a semi clean kitchen floor.

I had to be at work by three thirty so sent Zach out to crank up the older car my sister and bro in law are loaning us. It runs great but have to let it warm up for about ten minutes on the first crank of the day. It's a small price to pay for someone loaning you a free car for months when you asked to borrow it for two weeks. It has a small radiator leak but  always carry a gallon jug of water in the back seat. Today I came out and water was pouring out of the front of the car. No Bueno!

I cut the car off and popped the hood like I knew what I was doing. (NOT) I immediately did what you aren't supposed to do and opened the radiator cap. Thank goodness I'm a quick "Jump Backer." The radiator spewed all contents left and pretty rapidly. It was like a vehicular Tsunami. Zach was off in Massey's car going to a job interview and luckily answered my call. He came back and carted me to work, fifteen minutes late. Luckily they love me and know what horrible luck we have with vehicles and besides that it happened to be slow at the restaurant. (Finally some good luck)

It was a rainy chilly night, therefore all peeps hunkered down in their houses like it was a big deal. I've said it before and will say it again, JawJun's are scared of ANY inclement weather.

I got lucky and walked with over eighty bucks before eight thirty.

One of the other servers gave me a ride home. She's my buddy, a sweet girl who I call Lou Anne Poovy. (Remember her from the Gomer Pyle show?)  She's been wanting to meet our Bull Dog, Charlie and  can't much blame her, he's one ugly but cute pup!

I'm off tomorrow so at least have twenty four hours to figure out more car arrangements. When I walked into work really late I told the owner, "Us Cotton's got a lot of luck, it's just all bad." His reply was "Welcome to the real world."

I'm not sweating it, why should I?  It doesn't help anything but more gray hair and I have PLENTY of that.

It may sound crazy but I still consider us lucky. It gives me plenty to think about and plenty to be grateful for.

We're a dysfunctional down on our luck family unit who never give up and never will. I may be skinny, I may be broke but got so much positive MoJo going on around me that it inspires me to keep on keeping on. Wealth is over rated and love is underestimated.

I got more love than all the hippies at Woodstock thought they were experiencing. The difference is MINE is the real deal.

We are THIS close!

Til next time...COTTON

Sheesh What A Day

Had to open at work today, I'm not a morning person unless you count how late into the morning I stay up at night. I blogged til after one then started watching a CNN special on The Uni-Bomber and other serial criminals. Then I watched the last half of Psycho with Anthony Perkins. I fell asleep around four (had some crazy dreams about bombs and "Mother") and actually woke up thirty minutes before my alarm went off for work. Guess the less you weigh the less sleep you need.

Today was TJ's last day here so treated him and Zach to brunch (Barb always gives me a nice discount) where I work. The boys know how to eat. Let's put it this way...they each had three eggs scrambled with cheese, a heaping of home fries, three strips of bacon and two gigantic fresh blueberry pancakes. It was busy but they stayed a while and we all got to chat.

 I didn't get off until after four thirty and had promised Massey I would drive up and see her at school to drop off a few things she left here. Made great time on the highway but it makes me a nervous wreck driving into downtown Atlanta...the drivers are insane to say the very least. No one uses blinkers they simply swerve, zig and zag in front of vehicles or semis when ever they think they can get wherever they are going just a bit quicker. They'll cut you off, they'll ride your bumper or get so close next to your car you could reach out and knock on their window...all while texting or talking on their cell. It's downright frightening. I got all flustered as two cars shot in front of me to make the International Blvd exit and missed my own exit at Edgewood. I had to double back to get to Massey's dorm but at least I was safe and sound (and shaking.)

She needed a half gallon of milk, creamer for coffee, sugar and fruit cups. She had left her hair dryer and mirror behind so I had everything packed in the car. I took the top off a small cooler and filled it with ice and stuck the milk and creamer down in it. When you go visit Massey, it has to be a drive by pick up, parking next door to her dorm costs $7 sometimes $8. I know she'd like for me to come up and visit, and I have on several occasions but number one that's a lot to pay to carry up groceries and say hello to her friends and checking in to see her is like getting into the Pentagon...not that I am complaining, I like the fact that security is so tight. I called her when I was one block away and told her to step outside the lobby when she saw me at the light. Lucky for us the light was red and no one was behind me.

We went cheap for dinner, The Varsity. I'm surprised I'm still alive. Here's what I had eaten so far. I clocked in at ten thirty and started a pot of Kona blend coffee. We have awesome coffee. I had four cups and a hot peanut butter cookie the owner baked for me. Then I had another two cups of coffee and opened my jumbo roll of Sweet Tarts. They were gone in under an hour, but DID give away all the blue ones if that counts. Then we opened our BIG bag of candy.

 One of the cooks asked me last night to stop at Kroger and get us a bag of candy for work today. He's a hard working dude and it's not like the price of a bag of candy would pay off all my debt and keeps me a favorite of the cooks (and owner) who like candy. We were well supplied during the holidays, everybody was dropping by to bring us candy, cookies and treats. We're all in withdrawal and next Christmas is a long way away.

I started with the Baby Ruths  then switched to the Butterfingers. By three o'clock I was buzzing like a chain saw! Left work, went home and changed clothes, loaded up the car and headed to the ATL, still buzzing like a bee.

I picked Massey up and we headed to The Varsity for a quick Lube job... I needed some real food and if you grew up on the outskirts of south Atlanta like I did, The Varsity is as real as it gets!

We walked in and the mag pies were all squawking. I swear when they are all screaming "What'll Ya Have?" at the same time it sounds like an audio clip from the Hitchcock movie, "The Birds."

We sat and watched TV for a few minutes and chatted while we ate. I had two chili steaks with mustard ketchup and raw onions, a large Co-Cola (as my momma always called them) and split an order of fries and onion rings with Massey. What a dietary nightmare of a day!

We wound our way slowly back through downtown Atlanta, a truly beautiful city especially at night. I pulled into the Greek housing parking lot right next to her dorm, which you aren't supposed to pull into but can see her walk into the front door of her dorm from there, faking a back out like I had made a wrong turn. I had all her stuff in a grocery bag and she grabbed her milk and creamer out of the cooler in the back seat. We hugged, kissed and just like that she was out of the car and gone again.

I miss my girl, she's my bestie but what's best for her is to get an excellent education and go as far in life as she wants; and if I know Massey,  will be far and beyond!

So I jump back on the highway to hell one block away, merging as cars zoom all around me and head back to the country. The Grady curve is the worst (if you're from Atlanta you know what I mean) and once you pass I-20 it's easy sailing. I was bopping along with my greasy innards and made it to the airport in under
six minutes. Twenty more minutes to the house!

Hit the Coweta County line and ignored an overhead digital highway sign which read
"Accident at Collinsworth Road exit, delays expected."

You know I actually thought about getting off before then but thought, how long could the delay be?

Guess what...

I sat with my car in park for over forty minutes on the highway before traffic even began to crawl again. It  moved ten feet and people started putting blinkers on to change lanes, like THAT would help. An eighteen wheeler was backing up the exit ramp next to us and peeps were pulling over into the emergency lane for a quicker escape.(I hope they all got ticketed) Here's my thing, if we're all stopped because of an accident up ahead , changing lanes isn't gonna help anything unless you're a magician and obviously no one was because it just caused more chaos and delay. IDIOTS!

Two hours later I pulled into my driveway from what should have been a forty minute trip, tops.

At least my kid was happy and I was happy to have made her happy...the things a parent will do!

TJ is headed up to his mom's house but we had a great three day visit. Got to see my girl and spend some quality time with her as well.

Nothing is simple when you are a COTTON,  learned that years ago and I'm just fine with it. Things could always be worse and remind myself of that on a daily basis.  I wouldn't change my crazy life if I could...well maybe I would but I know I can't so why sweat it?

I have the most patient husband on earth, the best family a girl could ever hope for and more friends than I can count. I have three great kids who for some bizarre reason think I'm pretty okay. What more could a person ask for?

Til next time...a Contented COTTON

Another Day Older and Deeper in Sweat

Another day in the ole literal sweat shop! Started out my day by loading up two king size box springs and rolling them to the loading area for afternoon pick up. I was drenched in sweat by  the time it was done and only took five  minutes. Not a good sign when it's ten fifteen in the morning and  you work til eight at night. I could feel the trickle running down between my A cups and down from my arm pits. I had to cut on the A/C for fifteen minutes just to dry out. The rest of my day was easier, pushing through paper work and working up quotes. I had a guy come back from yesterday and bring his wife with him (always a good sign) to pick out a sofa, loveseat, side chair and two pub stools.  It's over a grand and said they would be back later on in the day to decide between two different couches.  I have them a quote all written up and although they didn't come back today feel pretty certain they are serious...I know I am!

Right before noon I got a break and sat down in front of my three fans. I checked my messages and had one from the foundation who previously offered to help with Ham's eye surgery. I sent them a message last night when I got home from work telling them I had found a vet willing to operate on my pup's eyes and wanted to see  if they were stilling willing to help. She said she was forwarding my message to the director and they would be contacting me!

Looks like we are one step closer to Ham seeing again. Even if it's blurry sight, at least it's some sight. Hopefully after reading Ham's Facebook page I told them about will maybe even kick in for the Full Monty, lens implants!

So many people have donated to get Ham to this point and that is the one requirement, you  are actively fundraising for your dog's treatment. I feel pretty confident this wonderful organization will be the answer to our prayers.

Tim had an interview yesterday...another good thing. As just like our luck , his car broke down on the way home from it. He at least got back to Newnan and less than five miles from  the house. Just like Ziggy being a good bad dog, us Cotton's have good bad luck. It could have happened on the interstate or as a good friend pointed out, could have happened on the way TO the interview. Tim said the place where he interviewed at didn't even have a driveway and had to bump up on the curb to get into the parking lot. I love Tim dearly but for Pete's sake,  then leave  the car BY the curb. He must have either knocked something loose or busted the oil pan because as he got off the highway his oil light came on and he limped his way into the Auto Parts store parking lot where he bought two quarts of oil that immediately began to drip out from the bottom of the car. Our mechanic who is literally across  the intersection is picking the car up and seeing what's wrong. I don't care what it is as long as it's a cheap fix.

Massey and I were in her car one day when she was driving me to work (since I don't have a car either) and I started singing the old song from the TV show,  Hee Haw.

"Gloom, despair and agony for me. Deep dark depression, excessive misery. If it weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all...gloom despair and agony for me."

Massey being seventeen had no idea where the song came from but said matter of factually, "Please never sing that song again, it's a total downer."

Here's the real deal. Yes we've had lots of bad luck but have had some really good luck too. There were days a couple of years ago when I didn't know if we would keep our house. There were days when I didn't know if we'd have electricity, water or even groceries. We've come a long way, thanks to the Grace of God, family, friends and even strangers.

We made it through to the other side. Granted we're starting over but so many people never get that chance and so many people don't have the network of support  we do.

I wake up every morning tired and go to bed every  night exhausted but at least I do it knowing  we still have our house and a multitude of peeps who have helped make it happen.

Add to the mix I have three kids who mean the world to me and three pups who run a close second. I'm a Momma and Momma's take care of  their own.

When I take into consideration all the bad things that have happened and all the good things that have happened, I realize what a wonderfully lucky person I am.

Heading to bed and know I will sweat throughout the night, wake up tomorrow and sweat throughout another day.

It most certainly beats  the alternative, not waking up at all.

Turning in for the night and turning the covers back. I'm here to tell you, I thought financial ruin was bad until I started menopause.

Holy Crap...It's a killer. Somebody come up with a cure for this and they will be the next Bill Gates!

Til next  time... A Sweatin' COTTON

Mostly Thankful and My "Hates" Are Few

Call me crazy...you certainly won't be the first but I am thankful we got this little demon. I am thankful that he dooky's in hard little balls that are easy to pick up off the floor with toilet paper.

 I am thankful that my three kids, ten other ones from the neighborhood and three previous dogs broke my house in...carpets, walls and furnishings. I never even painted our walls til about four years ago. I just left them standard builder's white until my sister came over and painted the house for me as a present a few years back.

She is an amazing painter and now I get to wipe dog slobber off  beautifully painted walls instead of using white out to cover crayon and marker scribblings.

I am thankful that I still have my humble little home. It's not a mansion but it is full of life and love and is almost  paid for.

I am thankful that my youngest child is a senior in high school and college bound with vigor and determination to change the world.

I am thankful I have survived raising three kids.

Things I hate:

Losing both my parents way too early. That about sums up what I hate.

Back to what I am thankful for.

I am thankful for having an excellent childhood. It was joyous and  filled with love and memories that will last until my mind begins to falter.

Now it's just me, my brother and sister left to carry on  the family name. My parents couldn't have left me in better hands. I was the baby in the family and have continued to be. Both my older Sib's still take care of me and I keep worrying they will finally block my number and sneak out of state...or country.

My only other hate is that kids are too spoiled these days...and guilty of doing that as well. I haven't had a lot of money  to spoil them with, but they are spoiled just the same. I guess I should feel lucky that I didn't have money  to spoil them with or else I would have a lot longer hate list.

I go to pick Massey up from school every day and kids are screaming out of the parking lot in brand new Mustangs, Chargers, BMW's and I've even seen a kid driving a Jag. None of them are driving safely and all trying to pass each other or pull around each other when they know it is a high school of 3,000 kids all released at once... For Pete's sake"Some body's gonna have to wait."

I was on the phone with my sister the other day when pulling into the parking lot to pick Massey up and told her I needed to get off the phone because a boy in  a big ole red neck truck with rebel flags flying from the back behind me was revving his engine and chomping at the bit to simply get around me only to wait in front of ten more cars. My sister said "What are you  thinking? Get out of his way, he has the rest of his life in front of him  and you're holding him  up."

 I guess my kids aren't as spoiled as most, but they are still spoiled. They missed having grandparents do it so I filled in.

 They also have an uncle (my brother) who is an excellent spoiler and makes me look like the bad guy which helps me reign them in and keep my sanity... what's left of it.

The photo above is Ziggy and Ham snoozing behind me as I type. Click on it...are these dogs sweet or what?

So I've raised three kids...and I'm still raising three dogs. My kids never pooped on  the floor (maybe once) but the dogs simply love me for being me and never complain or ask for anything. I wish  my kids would silently wait to be fed but they don't.

So I've had the best of both worlds. I had terrific parents and tried to be a good parent. I could never be as awesome as them but I gave it a shot with pretty good results.

 I have a husband who loves me, three kids who still tell me they love me on a regular basis and three pups who remind me how hard but  how easy it is to show and feel love.

I've had some hard knocks but I have also had more love than I deserve.

Be the best person you can be. Love all you can, even when it hurts.

"When you walk through a storm
Keep your chin up high
And don't be afraid of the dark.
At the end of the storm
Is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark.

Walk on through the wind,
Walk on through the rain,
Tho' your dreams be tossed and blown.Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone,
You'll never walk alone."

We sang this at my high school graduation in 1978.  Thirty four years later I realize what the song meant.
My dreams have been tossed and blown but I have always held my head up high and I have never walked alone!

Til next  time...COTTON