The Loading is Done...For This Week

No more loading for me this week...I'm done. I only had to move one table, four chairs and one swivel chair today and was grateful. I work again there on Saturday but  have a stock guy on weekends to move and load all the furniture. It's amazing what you can move with dollies!  I've moved entire sectionals by myself using them. I don't get paid commission until it's out the door so trust me, I can load some furniture.

A dear friend of mine from the Western Sizzler I got fired from came by to visit me today at work. Actually she is the one who told me to start a blog. Big shout out and  thanks to Lisa! While she was there I sold a table with four chairs and a leather swivel chair to a woman who wasn't in the store fifteen minutes...my kind of sale! She's having it delivered tomorrow so I only had to roll it all out to the pick up area. I was telling my friend how I only made commission once products left the store therefore try to make them take it with them if it will fit.

(I've told this story before but I'm  a repeater by nature so bear  with me.) I told my friend about a woman who came in when I first started working alone. Number one, who goes to buy a queen size mattress driving a Camry?  Well  this woman did. Massey happened to come by as I was finishing the sale. I asked the woman if she wanted to take it with her? In broken English she asked how and I  told her we'd just tie it to the roof of her car. Massey helped me load the mattress and roll it out, hoist it onto her tiny vehicle and I went back inside for some twine. We had the woman roll down her windows and that was the last time she helped us. She just stood off  to the side.  No problem. I wanted that commission and where there is a will there is a way. I didn't tell her I had never tied a mattress down before but with Massey on one side and me on the other we got all busy with the twine and had that sucker strapped down in no time.  Then Massey asked how the woman was going to get back in her car? We had wound the twine through the open windows and over the roof with the doors shut. I shushed Massey and we unwound it, opened the doors and rewound it.

"There you  go!" I proudly announced to my  customer. I told her to drive off kinda of fast to make sure the mattress didn't fly up from the front. She looked at me kind of funny but got in her car and took off. The mattress didn't move so I gave her  two thumbs up and yelled "Drive slow!"

Never heard back from her so  assume we did a pretty good job.

I managed to shove a writing desk and chair into the back of a Dodge Durango yesterday and once even loaded a king size bed, mattress and box springs into and on top of a Suburban.

I've goofed up a bit along the way, made some mistakes but have all in all done okay with this new job. (I think)  I like it, it's hard sometimes but I've never been one to shy  away from a challenge. Other times it's slow and have some "Me Time"  something I've missed greatly. I get  all my work caught up and when no one is in the store  pick out a comfy chair and read.

Tomorrow I pick up a serving tray again. It's like I'm living a double life...but at least I'm living!

On another note, Ziggy's "Birth mom" had pups again and my friend finally posted a video of the pups. OMG...if I had enough land I would take all of them! Ziggy is the best  worst dog we've ever had and  love the little guy. He's the happiest dog I've ever met and even when he does something wrong, he's awfully proud of his handiwork and with tail waging has a huge smile on his face that is simply hard to resist.

He was happy and proud when he took down our Christmas tree last year while we were out, pulling all the lights and ornaments off. He was extremely proud of the carpet he chewed up, down to the sub floor in Massey's old bedroom when we left him locked in while gone to Tim's parent's house for a few hours. He is simply the best worst dog!

He loves his Frisbee, even when it looks like this. Believe it or not, it will still sail through the air in this condition. I went to Wal Mart after work tonight and picked him up a new one when I got some groceries.

So here's a recap of my week. Got my dryer vent cleared.  Got my new/used dryer installed.  Sold furniture like a boss. Brought home eight loads of free sod and covered all bare spots in my front yard. Actually have the house pretty clean, cooked dinner twice and don't have to be at work til five on Friday.

Hopefully it won't rain tomorrow and can ride ole Johnny Boy up to the front of the subdivision  and cut it before work to make another sixty bucks.

I'm turning in early and waking up early. You never know how much time, how many minutes or even seconds you have left.

Strike while the iron is hot!

As a side note, if any one knows of a job in logistics, freight or trucking please let me know. My husband Tim is a great worker, been in the business for  over twenty years and  looking for  a job.
Just thought I'd throw it out there, they say it's all about networking and I have had over 72,000 hits on my blog. Never hurts to ask!

Til next time...COTTON

It's Bad When Hot Flashes Cool You Down

Went into work today knowing I had at least two customers coming to pick up merchandise. When I saw the first truck pull up I went to the back and switched on the A/C which I rarely use. First load out was a recliner. I've gotten all handy dandy with the system. You tilt the piece of furniture up and roll the dolly under it with your foot. Then after making sure it is in the center of the piece, set it down and away you  go!  Thankfully, two men came to pick up the recliner so all I had to do was go into  the back where it feels like Afghanistan and tilt, let down and roll. They were really nice guys and took over as soon as I came out of the stock room with their chair. I think my pit stains helped!

Second out  was a woman picking up her writing table and chair. Dangit...she was already on a walker so I immediately felt sorry  for her and told her to go into the now cooled  down showroom and kick back in a recliner while I wrestled her furniture in to the back of her SUV. Thirty minutes later I was covered with sweat but both pieces were wrapped and  loaded into her vehicle, so I went back inside and gently woke her up from her nap. She was a really sweet woman, I didn't mind doing it for her one bit and she was extremely grateful. Trust me, she'll come back and buy from me again. We're BFFL's now.

Had a break, no one was in the store so I took my shirt off and stood in front of three fans on high and cooled down to hot flash status. It felt wonderful.

I usually have a rush of peeps when I first open. They seem like people who are always first ones to a yard sale on Saturday morning. Tim makes me breakfast every morning before I go to work and take it with me. After the initial rush, things settle down.  I nuke my breakfast and have some time to read.

Then I have the lunch crowd who go through a drive through and still have twenty minutes to kill. Then we had  a major rain storm so I got to read for another thirty minutes. I'm hooked on the Game of Thrones series and eagerly reading, waiting on that bee-otch, Cersei to "Get Hers!"

The rain cooled things down a bit and then  had my late afternoon rush. A woman from  this morning came back to buy a  mattress and box springs. I went to the back while her hubby  pulled his truck around to the pick up door and loaded the mattress and box springs. I'm getting pretty good at  this! When I rolled them out he asked  if I had loaded them and replied, "I'm skinny but I'm strong."

Guess  they took my words to heart because the wife just stood by  while I helped the husband wrestle box springs and a mattress into the back of his truck.

Sold a set of bed rails later and chatted up a woman I think may come back and make a major purchase from me.

Came home sweating like a hog but feeling pretty good. Dinner was ready in the crock pot and all I have to do is wash a crock pot after putting leftovers in Tupperware.

I have more than three friends who right now are in dire need of prayers. Yes we're broke around here but broke doesn't kill you...some things can, do and have.

All you folks stay strong and know this Cotton Ball of energy is sending up prayers on your behalf. He's answered tons of my prayers and actually we're BFFL's too so no worries!

One more day at the furniture gig tomorrow and back to the restaurant gig  on Friday.

At least I HAVE gigs!

Feeling sweaty,  tired but blessed . My nails are filthy from loading furniture, my feet are stinking from having to run out in a rain storm to roll up the windows of Massey's car when I  left them cracked and had on my Danskos with  no socks but I'm  home...some people would feel blessed just to HAVE a home.

I'm putting up a yummy dinner that will feed us again tomorrow, we are all healthy and lucky for me hopefully I will wake up and do it all again tomorrow.

I love my life. It ain't easy but it sure is satisfying and lots of fun to write about!

Til next  time...COTTON

One of the Good Things about Geting Older

One of the good things about getting older is bed time comes earlier. I've worked six days a week since I was twenty so am used to it. Give me two days off in a row and I don't want to go back.

The bad  thing about getting older is putting  up with crap. I have little tolerance for it. I had an older battle axe of a woman come into  the furniture store today. She  was in last week, I remembered her because she had two black eyes. Now I know why...she's a biddy and somebody slugged her, twice.

She looked at  a marble table we had for $599 (formerly $699) and wanted it cheaper. It came with  four chairs and  is a pretty  good deal. Today she asked what else I could do and after calling my manager told her I could give her twenty dollars off. She told me that was ridiculous to just take twenty dollars off and I reminded her it used to be $699. She haughtily told me it was $599  last time she came in , not $699. I explained that last time she came in it had just been marked down $100 making it $599. With the extra twenty off she would be saving $120.00.

She put her hand up in my face and said not to insult her. Insult I did not...I simply walked away instead of telling her now I know how she got those two black eyes.

For Pete's sake, it's not like I go into  the parking lot and force them to come in. It's discount furniture, do peeps want us to give it to them for free? When you start with low prices, you can't go much lower.

Here's my thing. I know you want  a good deal but  there is absolutely no reason to be ugly about it and she was flat out ugly  with me. I held my tongue (not an easy thing) and  the most ironic thing is when she left , looked over her shoulder and said to me "Have a nice day."

Didn't sell a lot but Tuesday's are slow. I handed out a lot of my business cards and have four different people who I think will come back and buy this week. Fingers crossed and boxing gloves behind the counter for my rude, angry woman. (JK)

Left work tonight and went by  the bank to make the bank deposit. It's a huge steel door you have to open and it wouldn't budge. I even got out of the car and tried with two hands. Three attempts later I gave  up.

Now I have to get up twenty minutes earlier to go back by  the bank tomorrow. I need all the beauty sleep I can get, especially if I have to wrestle the ole biddy about the marble table again.

Here's the thing. Peeps  come in and say "I can get this same  thing for a lot less at *******."

That's total garbage. If they could ...they would have already done so.

These peeps don't realize I have my PHD in BS.

I'm heading to bed. It does suck getting older but always, ALWAYS beats the  alternative.

Any  day on this side of  the dirt is a good one!

Till next  time, COTTON

I Love Mondays!

The good thing about having only one day off a week is you  really learn to appreciate and make the most of it. Today was no exception. Zach took me to lunch at  Mother's Kitchen, which is  always a treat. I dropped him off to pick up his car that's been sitting at his friend's house since his birthday and ran a few errands. I came home and walked into  the house hearing  the vacuum running and thought either Tim had lost his mind or  a cleaning service had the wrong address. I stepped into the hall and discovered my next door husband in our tiny laundry room with crap flying out of our formerly clogged dryer vent smacking him in the face. He turned, saw me and immediately hollered, "Tell Tim to cut it off!" I ran out the back kitchen door where Tim crouched by  the outside dryer vent with our leaf blower stuck in the pipe.

Guess they solved  the dryer vent problem!

Poor Ron was covered with wet dirty lint crap but on  the  upside my dryer vent was free and clear! After trying two different snakes going from outside in and inside to out, they brought over Ron's air compressor and  tried blowing from inside out and outside in. Then they got a pool que and taped a  stick onto the end of the que , then taped a screw onto the end of the stick. Then while Ron  was on the inside peering into the clogged vent, Tim was on  the outside of the house with our leaf blower when crap literally hit the fan...or at  least the leaf blower, then my next door husband's face.

They moved my new dryer into the laundry room, hooked it up and my neighbor went home to most probably look for house listings far away  from  anyone with the last name Cotton. He has been so wonderful  to us. He's fixed every one of our cars at  least once, fixed our oven, fixed our dishwasher, our dryer twice before and helps out whenever I get the balls to call him again.

Feeling so blessed once again I had to pay something forward so I took one of my blog readers leftovers from last night's dinner. Sat and chatted with her a bit,  went by  the grocery store and bought groceries for the week and went back home.

The minute I walked in, Zach said "The new dryer works GREAT!" He also added maybe we should have started to worry  about the old dryer when it started taking three hours to dry one one load.

I got worried  about the last load of sod I put down yesterday. It hadn't rained yet today and was starting to brown so I dragged the hose from the back of the house to the front yard and was pleased to see dark angry clouds rolling in from the west. I dragged the hose back around just as the heavens opened up and watered my precious "Free Ninety Nine" sod.

Came inside and made an excellent dinner. Fried flounder, cole slaw, hush puppies and french fries. I need some fat food and it was truly yummy.

My new dryer just beeped behind me so I'm folding one more load and calling it a night.

I live the most fantastical, unbelievably  redunkulous life. Okay, so I made up one of the words  but  all really fit the description of my life. It's crazy,  it's complicated but somehow it always works out.

That's what happens when you  are an optimist and a believer. When chatting with my friend today while dropping off  a plate of food, she said I needed to contact the local paper to see if they wanted me to write a weekly column. You know what... how hard would it be to simply send them a link to my blog and let it sell itself? If  they like it, great for me. If they don't, no harm done.

Thanks, Connie for urging me on!

Another positive day...a girl could get used to this!

Til next  time...COTTON

First I Would Like to Thank the Academy...

First I would like to thank the academy...Academy Sports that is! This picture was taken on the fourth when I first started laying the sod scraps the landscaper gave me.

This is two days and five loads later. Already greening up with all the rain we've had and hopefully taking root.

I went back again today for load eight and nine and had enough to patch two more bare spots. I had to crawl into the dumpster this time but was well worth it. I had to move around a few boards and empty planter buckets but I dug out all I could. On the last load I noticed the security guy in back of Academy Sports standing by  the back door so I moseyed over and told him the landscaper said I could raid the dumpster for sod. I think his comment was "Knock yourself out" so I did!

I finished patching three more bare spots between our house and my next door husband's and my front yard is totally covered! The hill between the trees used to be red clay too but sodded them a few years back with scraps from another landscaper. Now my yard is completely covered with sod...well it will be as soon as it all spreads out.

The bartender at work was laughing at me when I told her my "Sod Story." She said she was at Home Depot the other day when they were laying the sod and noticed all the piles of scrap. She said "Only you  would think to ask for it."

Dang Skippy! You never know til you  ask. The worst  they can say is no and lucky for me they didn't.

I have new respect  for landscapers, my back and legs are killing me but it was so worth every bit of effort.

Making Zach his birthday dinner albeit a day late. Fresh collard greens, black eyed peas with bacon and jalapenos, rice, chow chow and corn muffins.

He's feeling poorly today. Turning twenty one  takes a toll on a boy, especially when you start your day at the Sweet Water brewery  and end up at Texas Roadhouse. At least he was smart and had designated drivers.  Needless to say he slept on the floor of his bathroom by the ceramic throne, surrounded by pups. He was home before midnight and I was grateful for that.

I made it through  another work week and am grateful as well.

Tim has a couple of interviews this week and some good prospects. He's really helped out around here and turns out he's a pretty good house husband.

Massey's still in Destin, which means I still have a car to use...that's another win/win. Getting her back up here is another story  but we'll cross  that bridge when we get to it.

My  tennis shoes  I bought used from a friend seven years ago were in pitiful  shape and killed my feet. After picking up my last load of sod I stopped by  Wal Mart and got a pair of Dr. Scholl's tennis shoes marked down to $13. They are the most comfortable tennis shoes I've ever put on! I swung by  the little boys dept and got a pair of boys size 12 black shorts for work too, under ten bucks! There's some good benefits about being skinny.

Dinner is ready and it's not even dark yet...another plus.

We're not poor, we're not rich.  We are quite simply blessed beyond belief. God always has our back and family, friends and even strangers have helped us along.

I took  a meal of left overs to a friend last week. First time I have ever been to her house. She lost her husband recently and suffers from physical disabilities. When I drove up she was out in her drive way on her walker waiting for me. You  would have thought I brought her  dinner from the Ritz Carlton.  Heck it was just left overs from the Cotton Compound but we sat and talked for a few minutes. Sometimes it only takes a few minutes to make someone's day. The hug she gave me when I left was long , tight and telling. I had made her day, which in turn made mine! It's all about being grateful  for what you have and taking time to share it with others.

Hope my friend likes collard greens, black eyed peas,  rice , chow chow and corn bread because she's having another plate delivered tomorrow! (Shout out to Connie)

Life is described by Webster's in many ways. My favorite is: "The physical, mental, and spiritual experiences that constitute existence. Human relationships or activity in general: real life."

We're living a real life around these parts. We've been knocked down and we've also been held up. The thing a lot of (most) people don't understand is that when you have been helped it is instantly time to help others. God is my King but Karma is His sidekick.

Live your life  and help others. It may be something as small as a phone call. It may be something as tiny as a smile or hug. It may even be a huge gesture (Thanks Tom)  Just make that gesture, just make that difference, just make someone's day. If you do I  guarantee you will be blessed beyond your wildest dreams. What goes  around comes around . I'm almost dizzy  from  it!

Til next  time...COTTON








 

At Least My New Sod Loves the Weather!

The rain has been insane these past few days. At least the dogs water bowls have stayed full out back! Today was much of the same;  hot and muggy or pouring from the heavens. I had to work at the furniture store today and it was pretty decent considering the weather. During a lull I walked next door to Academy Sports and checked out the dumpster. BINGO! Plenty more sod scraps right on top and it was one of those build out dumpsters that has really low sides. Looks like after working at the restaurant tomorrow I will go dumpster diving for the last few pieces I need to finish my yard. I was going to get  them today but it started pouring ten minutes before I got off and even I'm not THAT crazy.

Sold furniture like a boss  this week . Best week I've had so far and look forward to payday on Friday. I'm a lot more comfortable with the computer and financing system. I used to almost feel like persuading people not to finance because I was scared of  the details and process it involved. I've got the process down now and the minute peeps say they don't have enough money I heartily encourage them to finance finance finance!! It's a great tool to use  if you  can pay it off in ninety days. For ninety days it's interest free. After ninety days they start taking your children and charge you double. Well, they don't take your children but they do charge you  a hefty interest rate.

I had a sad week last week and it's gonna be tight til Friday but I got  a free pallet of sod and come Friday I'll be able to catch up  my bills and may even have enough to get  my dryer vent fixed!

I am determined in my belief that our glass is always half full!

After work I went and got Zach a Great American Cookie Company cake for his birthday. The dude I work with on Saturdays (who has no kids) said  just go to Walmart and get one. If Zach was turning twenty I may have but TWENTY ONE is a big milestone and he's really turned his life around, works forty plus hours a week and never asks for anything...well almost.

The guy at  the cookie place is a friend of Massey's and  originally told him to just write Happy Birthday on it but he said I should make it unique so we did.

One of Zach's best buddies is Latino not to mention a lot of the guys in the kitchen where he cooks and  has been dubbed "Flaco" meaning "Skinny" in Spanish.

Tim  drove  them all into Atlanta today  to tour  the Sweet Water brewery and  then Zach went to have a big  steak at Texas Roadhouse with his buddy who's girlfriend was the DD. (designated driver)

After picking up  the cookie cake I had to swing by Dollar General for another universal remote. Yes Ziggy chewed up another one and better be glad they only cost five bucks. Then a co worker was having a baby shower today and had promised to stop by. I picked her up a gift card for Target at Kroger. I'm skating on  thin ice til Friday so bought her a fifteen dollar gift card and ran by to give it to her.

She's  a big black beautiful woman and love her dearly but that's all I could afford. I walked in and looked like a tiny speck of salt in a big ole pepper party. About six months ago she asked me to buy a raffle ticket from her church. They were five bucks a piece and bought two. About three weeks later I asked her about it and she seemed shocked but  admitted she forgot  to get my  tickets.

I felt a lot better today  dropping off my paltry gift and told her it was only for fifteen dollars but add in the ten she owed me from the church  raffle and  it was a twenty five dollar present.

Came home, vacuumed the house and still have Flaco's  cookie cake waiting. I'm not a male but have raised two. At least he's being safe and the cookie cake will most probs  still be here. Don't expect him home tonight but know he's in good hands.

One more day of work and then have my wonderful, wonderful Monday off to look forward to.

Pizza rolls, here I come.  Watching some boob tube and peacing out for the night. I'm all into the Treyvon Martin case.

Here's my take on it.Treyvon Martin may not have been  the greatest kid on earth but did he deserve to be profiled , stalked and shot by a man who was told by not only the  homeowners association but repeatedly by police, Do NOT confront, do not approach when all the kid had on him was a hoodie, a bag of skittles and a can of iced tea?

If somebody pulled a gun on me you  damn straight I'd fight back.

Just saying...my kids have done wrong things but lucky  for me no one put a gun to their chest.

Til next time...COTTON

Happy Birthday Zachary!

This is a picture of Uncle Chris babysitting Zach when he was little...notice  the fly swatter (and it wasn't for swatting flies) Click on the pic and it will enlarge.

Tomorrow is Zach's 21st birthday, not sure how twenty one years went by but I guess they did.

Zach's buddy took  this pic last year and had a mouse pad made for our computer with this photo on it. He called it "Three Jack asses just hanging around."

Click on this photo...it's my all time favorite of Zach.  You  can just tell by  the look on his face he is going to be a really neat person to know...and is. He's hands down one of the smartest people I've ever met and biggest downfall is not putting it to it's best use sometimes, but he's learning.

 I'm not quite sure how my three kids went from looking like this

to looking like this without me noticing but when you are a working mom you still picture that little boy or girl in your mind when talking to or about them and seem to forget they are growing up and away way too quickly.

It's amazing how you can have three kids and all turn out totally different from each other. It certainly spices things up and makes for never a dull moment. In hindsight, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Zach stepped in some deep dodo a couple of years back and it not only broke my heart but taught me a lesson. Never turn a blind eye when you are the mother of a teen. He stepped up, paid for his bad decisions and has turned his life around. He can still be a little Snot,  but what kid isn't from  time to time?

He's a hard worker and has a sense of humor  that not only matches but goes way beyond mine. (And I think I'm pretty stinking funny)

He knows more about history, politics, the environment and random facts that it boggles my mind. We are also so alike (except for the smart part) that we often butt heads...but he's my kid and couldn't be prouder.  Even with the mistakes he's made, the joy far surpasses all the trials.

I love him and he loves me. What a great feeling for a mother. I had to include a picture of Mama, from Mother's Kitchen. This was taken the first  time we visited her restaurant. Zach eats there now at least twice a week and not only Mama but her entire family adores my skinny white boy. That what's she says every  time Zach leaves. She comes out from her kitchen , hugs his neck and says "I love my  skinny white boy." They give him free pie sometimes, and every once in a while give him another slice to take with him. They always say to me when I'm in line behind him ordering "Zach's mom, what you want to eat today?"

So tomorrow he's twenty one. How did THAT happen? Do kids use a different calendar or have I just not been paying attention?

Zach has been so good to Ham, our blind boxer. He goes with me to all Ham's appointments, be it the local mobile vet or the eye specialist. Charlie loves him too,  sleeps in his room every night and if  Zach goes to bed and shuts his door before Charlie gets in, he sleeps by Zach's door.

That's kind of the way I feel as a mother of a now grown man. I want to be there every step of the way but you simply can't. Sometimes you  just have to sleep outside their door, just in case  they want or need you.

Happy Birthday, Zachary Tyler Cotton!

I'll always be here for you, I'll always love you and I'll always be proud of you. Be careful and safe on your 21st birthday and don't forget the designated driver!

 You know what? Mama from Mother's Kitchen is right...I love my skinny white boy!

Til next  time...COTTON

Happy Soggy Fourth!

Here in the south it's been a soggy  few days and today  was no exception. Rain off and on all  day long. Yesterday was a total wash out with heavy rain and storms the entire day.

Had to work today...bummer but at least I have a job to be bummed about working on a holiday and it's not like it was a clear and sunny day and  missing all the cookouts. Home Depot next  door to us grilled out under a huge tent and gave away free hot dogs and soft drinks, so at least I DID get to go to a cookout!

Around three I noticed  they were finishing the landscaping at  the new Academy Sports opening up next  to us. They had huge piles of sod scraps piled up all around and that got me a thinking! I have one big spot in my front yard by the street  that is bare and nothing but red Georgia clay. I've tried grass seed but it never  takes hold. I also have a few bare spots in my back yard where the dogs graze by  the back door and plow up all the grass.

No one was in the store so I took  the cordless phone and sauntered out to the three amigos  nearest me trimming out the sod.  I asked what they were doing with all the scraps and the one guy who understood me replied "Basura." I work in a restaurant so I knew that meant "Trash."

What a waste!

A few years back when they were building a subdivision  around the corner from me I noticed when  the landscapers got through sodding yards  they piled all the scraps into a heap and dumped them by the lots they were building out. I stopped by one day and asked if I could have  the scraps and the guy in charge said to help myself...so I did.

There was a small hill between my house and my next door husband's where no  grass would grow so I loaded up the trunk of my car at LEAST twenty times and pieced it all together on  the hill. It took off and spread and is now covered in nice thick grass.

I asked my new amigo who I needed to talk to and he pointed to a man across  the parking lot and said "De Boss."

I wandered over to where he pointed and there were two guys talking with blue prints spread out on the ground. I asked if he was the boss and he replied "Maybe." I asked him what  they were doing with all the scrap sod and he said they had been putting it in the dumpster. I told him I would love to have it and wouldn't mind picking it up myself. He asked if I worked at  the furniture store and I told him I did and got off at  six. He said "How about I get them to put all the scraps over there by  the side of your building?"

I was thrilled! I was thinking I was gonna have to go  load each separate pile in the huge parking lot. I told him that would be great, thanked him three times and told him he had made my day! The guy standing next  to him said it was perfect weather to put down sod and with all the rain we were having would  take off and spread like crazy.

I was so excited! Then not fifteen minutes later I saw "De Boss" pointing at  the scraps and talking to the amigos.  They scooped up every pile of scraps , probably ten total with  a Bobcat and dumped them right by  our building.

I called Tim and he came up with his car when I got off at six. We pulled out some huge plastic sheets out of the back room that couches had been delivered in and started loading!

He loaded  the back of his station wagon and I loaded the trunk of Massey's car. That didn't even make a dent in the huge pile. We got home and unloaded both  cars.  It was still raining but you  gotta strike when the iron's hot and the first  two loads covered at  least ten square feet. I was all worried somebody was  gonna take my pile of sod and told Tim I was going back for more. He said he would go back with me in the morning but I was pumped and worried someone else would take it.

I went back twice, loaded and unloaded in the rain.

This entire area was nothing but red clay but now have sod and a week's worth of rain to make it take root.

There are at least two more, maybe three loads left and am  getting up first  thing tomorrow and going to get them. The last two loads will cover all  the bare spots in my back yard and then I will have grass growing everywhere!

I told Tim we probably got at least three hundred dollars worth of sod for free and he agreed. It's amazing what you  can get when you  simply ask.

I was soaked to the bone by  the  time I finally got through but felt a tremendous feeling of satisfaction.

It was a soggy Fourth but now it is a "Sodded" Fourth!

It's the little things that make me happy. Running a really hot bath and soaking in it. Reading my book and heading to bed.

Lesson learned...all you have to do is ask!

Til next time...COTTON

Added Another Crazy Member to Our Family

This is my sister's newest addition to our dog loving crazy family. Her husband surprised her with  the pup for her birthday. Over the past few years they lost both their boxers and Harvey felt like it was time for another. My sister said she didn't want another dog but when you bring home a sweet faced pup , no one in our family can ever resist. It didn't hurt she looked almost exactly like a female version of the sweet boy they tearfully had to let go last year.

Looks are where all similarities end. Harvey drove to Augusta the day of my sister's birthday to pick the pup up and was four hours late getting back.  My sister kept saying "I don't know WHERE Harvey is" but since we all knew just convinced her to go ahead and eat without him. He came rolling in around eight thirty with the sweet little pup and Cin fell in love. She was shaking from head to short bobbed tail and the most nervous little thing I had ever seen. We all decided it was just all the excitement and attention.

NOT the case! I called my sister the next day to check in and Cindy said the pup wouldn't get off the love seat where she sat with her back facing out and her tiny head stuffed behind the cushion. They had to pick her up to take her outside...then pick her up to bring her back in. My sister and I decided they must have kept her crated constantly and didn't give her any attention.

Cin took a family vote and we all decided on the name, Zola.  I love the name, although my grandmother may had gotten her feelings hurt if still alive. (Zola was my grandmother's name)

Massey and I went by to visit a few days later. We walked into the kitchen and Zola took off like a rocket scrambling on the hard wood floors trying to get away. You would have thought we were dog catchers toting a big net or Cruella DeVille and a sidekick. It took us ten minutes to catch her just so  we could pet the little nut. I told my sister they should have named her Zoloft. I'd call my sister every day  to check on the patient and there was always a new story:

(My sister) "Well, today I got out a box of dog treats to give her one which made her instantly nervous...guess she's never seen a box before. Then I opened the box to get one out and dropped the box on the floor. When the box hit the floor treats went everywhere and you would have thought I shot off a M-80 in the kitchen.  She took off running lickity split, leaving a nice trail of urine behind her."

They were  still having to pick her up to take her outside, then after having to catch her again, pick her up to bring her back in.

A week or so went by and finally my sister decided they needed to practice tough love. They were sitting with her on the sofa in the living room (another couch where she likes to burrow her head behind the cushions) and Cindy clipped on a 20 ft retractable dog leash to lead her outside. Cindy said the minute that hook clicked onto her collar she shot off like a bullet and  you  could actually hear  the line zipping out like a fishing line, "Zzuuuuurrrrr!" Cin said Zola got as far as the kitchen before the line gave which scared her even more, eliciting not only urine this time but a nice squirty trail of dog poop then broke a kitchen chair of our great grandmother's that is over seventy five years old trying to get away. Yep , she's special needs.


Time to call in the big gun.

I told her we should bring Ziggy over for a play date. Now my Ziggy's a bad dog, but he's a GOOD bad dog. He has a great temperament and is still at that playful age. We got to Cin's house and she already had Zoloft out in the fenced in side yard waiting to meet her cousin. Ziggy is always happy and really excited once we got him in the house and he smelled Zola. We took him outside on his leash and Zola took off like a brindle missile. Massey was fretting over me letting Ziggy off  the leash while Ziggy  was trying to pull my bony arm out of the socket while winding the leash around both my legs. Massey had both hands over her ears and a terrified look on her face (she's witnessed too many  dog fights at our house) and I've never been too sure how putting hands over your ears helps but she held the pose as I simply leaned down and un leashed the Zigster. Zola is pretty quick but Ziggy is a freaking hyena and caught up with her in under three seconds.

 She went submissive, belly up and looked terrified. We  waited, and so did Ziggy. The minute she got the courage to get up and scramble away he was after her like white on rice. He never tried to hurt her,  but boy was he ready to play! He chased her non stop for literally ten minutes. Then while he stopped to take a leak on a tree , Zola actually ran up to HIM! Of course she shot off just as fast but now we knew she liked my good bad dog. They played and played and played, both frothing at  the mouth. It didn't occur to Ziggy she was  female for a good half hour. By  then the play date was over so we clipped Zig back on his leash and took him out of the yard.

SUCCESS!  Sometimes you just gotta let a dog be a dog. (or force it to)

When I call my sister and she says hello I will ask in a tiny voice "Can I speak to Zola?" She always replies "She's in therapy right now."

I called today to check on the patient and my sister told me Zoloft was all in a tizzy because they bought a new black rug for the home office which leads to the door out to the side yard. She was terrified of the rug and they have to pick her up and carry her across it to the door. She also added insult to injury by bringing home the mammoth carpet cleaner from her church. Zoloft seems convinced she is a Jew and the carpet cleaner is either Mel Gibson or Hitler.

Little bad dog finally earned his worth. (kinda) I took him back over to play again the other day when  returning some dishes to my sister.  They romped for a bit and it made me happy to see little Zola smiling. (boxers DO smile)

On another note, worked today. I should have taken a boat to work instead of Massey's car. It rained like crazy for two hours and only one woman dared to park, get out of her car and come inside. Then the rained stopped and  had a guy pick up his $2,200 plus layaway. Added bonus!  He brought help to load the sofa, love seat, recliner, counter top kitchen table and four chairs. BAM! Commission.

After that I sat and watch  the torrent of  rain for three hours while eating microwave popcorn and reading my Game of Thrones book. I moved from chaise lounge to recliner to comfy sofa and back to the chaise before the rain let up.

Then a random guy came in with his wife saying they were just browsing but left thirty minutes later after buying a king size mahogany bed and mattress. I helped him squeeze  the boxes with the headboard, footboard and side rails into his SUV with the back seats down , then helped hoist  the king size mattress onto the roof and helped him tie it down. I'm skinny but I'm strong...especially when working on commission.

Read for another hour when a woman and her daughter came in interested in a couch, love seat and sofa table. Another $800. She needed to finance which used to scare the wits out of me but through trial and error have learned the system and pushed her through in under thirty minutes.

Who's a boss? "I'M A BOSS!"

I called my sister to check on Zoloft and told her about my day. She said it sounded like I knew what I was doing to which I replied "You'd think so, wouldn't ya!"

Life is good. Life is tough but when you  tough it out the results can be amazing.

I lived a golden life for seventeen years  then watched in horror with my sister while my momma died in under thirty seconds while out shopping for school clothes. Plodded aimlessly through my twenties wasting a decade of my life  then met Tim.

We started poor but after fourteen years broke through the six figure window with three kids and a comfortable home. Vacations every year, big savings account and a hefty 401K.

Within a year my husband lost his job and then I was fired from mine. We went through savings, we went through  the 401 and we simply relied on family, friends and even strangers.

We made it. We survived and we were moving forward. My husband has once again been downsized out of a job but  am not worried. I refer to the chart above  and realize life and success isn't a straight shot but  a goal to reach.

The road to success can twist and  turn as much as it wants but we are determined to follow it and will.

I'm getting better at sales, peeps seem to love me at the restaurant AND the furniture store. I'm feeling more confident every day and sleep better every night.

Pray for Zoloft, she's a special needs dog but we love her.

 Pray for us because I am a firm believer in the power of prayer and  will continue to pray for the world...it's pretty  sad out there. Too much hate and  too little love.

 It's a messed  up world but broke as we are, we're some of  the lucky ones. At least I  can still laugh  about life...what else can you do?

Waking up tomorrow and going into work selling like a machine!

Happy Fourth to you all and please remember, no matter which party you are affiliated with ...this is still hands down the greatest nation on earth.

God Bless America!

PS   I am sure there are typos but will correct them tomorrow...but  you  still get the gist.

Not a Good Day to Forget to Put on Deodorant

I went into work yesterday and around five  was on the showroom floor wrapping two chairs I had sold for pick up. I heard a tiny beeping noise, kinda like a notification on a cell or a home security alarm system. Then minutes later I knew what the beeping was when fire trucks pulled in out front.

The fire alarm system had detected something hot and alerted the county fire dept. At first I thought my hot flashes had done it.  But when wrapping the two chairs for delivery while alone in the store,  had un tucked my shirt and rolled it up underneath my size A bra. I tucked my shirt back into my shorts as three firemen came in the front door.

We walked the building together and nothing was amiss or on fire. They left and I rolled my shirt back up and tucked it under my bra again.

Went into work today and around noon heard not one little beep  but several. I immediately called the 911 number and said "Do NOT dispatch a truck, it's a faulty signal."

Five minutes later a fire truck rolled up in front of the building. CRAP!

They are finishing Academy Sports next  to us and had three different back hoes digging up the ground right next  to our building. The fire dude said it was probably them either changing the water pressure or slinging up so much dust that our system detected the change and sent out an alert.

Dang...how many times am I have to un tuck my shirt from my bra? It's already almost eighty  five degrees in the store and I'm trying to move some furniture!

With that problem solved I worked my way through  the lunch rush... peeps on lunch break looking at furniture.

I had a lull around three and pointed a fan on my chair and finished my book three in the  Game of Thrones series. Unfortunately I had forgotten to put on my deodorant after my shower this morning and that CERTAINLY didn't help. It's not like I'm a big sweaty pig but sure missed that dry feeling under my tiny yet strong arms.

We actually DO have air conditioning in the building but I only turn it on when I know I am about to have to load a bunch of furniture. It only takes about five minutes to cool the building off enough for me to finish the job without passing out. It amazes me how many grown men will stand idly by and watch me wrestle a recliner sofa onto a dolly , roll it off the showroom floor and out to the loading dock before  they ever offer to help. Sometimes I feel like saying, "You  look awfully familiar, is your name Dick?"

I sold a two piece leather sectional to  a soldier in fatigues yesterday and when I rang him up asked who was going to load it? I told him he was looking at her. (It's amazing what you can lift and load when you work on commission.)

He chuckled, shook his head and went to move his truck  to the loading area. I wrapped and moved both pieces to the loading area while he took a call on his cell but helped me load them in his truck and even took  the heavy end. What the heck, he's serving our  country. The least I can do is load a sofa for him!

I actually really like this furniture gig and think I am getting pretty good at  it. I've made some friends and made even more sales. I've also learned it's a "Dog eat dog" world in  the sales business and finally learned that if I sell peeps on something they  want to come back and buy  on a day that I am off to work them up a quote with my name on it so I get the commission. I bet I lost  a thousand  dollars before I caught on but that's  MY bad and a lesson learned.

So I am now at the furniture gig 36 hours a week and the restaurant twelve. I still have a day off  and  that's all I have ever needed...one day  for me.

My

My youngest  just graduated high school  and  balls to the wall  ready for  college. I will make it happen, somehow some way. Yes we are broke but where there is a  will  there is a way.


Five years  ago we were sitting pretty. Now we  are living hand to mouth.


We're still here and hanging on by threads but are Cotton's /Leach's and determined to succeed.

I'm skinny but I am strong! Don't count me out.

My Resume is Growing

It may not be my prettiest work but at least my precious newly air conditioned house remains cool with this nice patch job I did on the window shattered while cutting the back yard.

Not only am I a home window repairman, I can do auto repair as well. Zach's back window began with a small tear and within a month  the entire back window collapsed.  One of the cooks at work suggested sewing it up with a certain type fishing line he had that was really heavy duty. I went to Wal Mart and bought a pack of upholstery needles and borrowed the fishing line from my buddy at work. Three days, two buckets of sweat and six needles later I had the back window tight as a drum and didn't even leak when it rained like crazy. I was pretty proud of this job, especially when my neighbor Mr. Slow Lee watched me the entire time from his driveway saying it would never work. HA... Showed him!

I was on a roll and decided to add landscaper to my growing resume. Years ago before our fall from grace my yard was perfect every summer. I pulled weeds and had one of the nicest yards in the subdivision. Lately we've been lucky to just keep our house and paying work took precedence over yard work. The bushes had taken over our front yard and you couldn't even see our windows on the first floor.

Tim actually helped yesterday and trimmed back the bushes in front of the garage while I was at  the furniture store. The kids were amazed at his handiwork, he's not much of a yard guy. Years ago when I asked him to trim the bushes with the electric trimmer he cut through all three drop cords while trimming and so never asked him to do it again. This time he successfully made it without sawing through the drop  cord and I was very impressed with his work.

I got up this morning all pumped to finish the job. The bushes in front of our living room window were so tall you couldn't even tell we HAD windows. We had trees sprouting up behind the bushes,  poison ivy, weeds and unknown sticker plants (for lack of a better word) sprouting out in all different directions.

I got out the little aluminum ladder my Diddy  had given me for Christmas years ago and went to town. I cut as much  as I could from  the ground, then put the ladder in front of the bushes while Massey held it and leaned back against the ladder while reaching as high up as I could with the trimmer. The aluminum rungs were killing the back of my calf's but just kept on  cutting. Once I got to the higher parts, I had to hold on to the ladder behind me with one hand while swinging the trimmer as high up as I could with my other arm. I am sure at  least two of the neighbors across the street were laughing at me through their window or making a video tape of the crazy determined mighty might slinging away with one arm waving an electric trimmer around above her head.  Massey was a nervous wreck and thought I was going to fall off the ladder at least ten times.

Dang... I got through, and guess what? There was a HOUSE behind all the bushes! You used to not even be able to walk to my front door without catching yourself on the briars and bushes shooting out in all different directions. I had forgotten we had steps leading to the front door.

Four hours later, I weighed fives pounds less but hacked off at least a hundred pounds of  shrubbery and weeds and could actually see what my house looks like.

My sweet sister came over a couple of weeks ago and painted my front door for me. Next  she is going to paint my shutters the same color and my house will begin to resemble a house again.

I'm tackling my front island on Monday. I have gladiolas, irises , day lilies,  and brown eyed susans screaming for help from the weeds overtaking them as well.

My house may not look like a mansion, but is a mansion to me...just a neglected one.

I call our home "The house of hard knocks" but at least I have a house to name.

I went into work tonight after finishing yard work at four and clocked in by five. A co worker who I absolutely adore who reads my blog said to me  "You got a crazy life and nothing comes easy, always gets effed up but you always seem  make it happen."

You know, she is exactly correct. Life's NOT easy... but if you are a good person and try your best, good  things happen. Sometimes you have to be patient and and a lot of times you  have to pray.

As Zach once said to me when he was only about six years old "Momma, my prayer's came right."

My prayer's have "come right."

With so much help it's not even funny and determination, it's amazing what you can do.

I never get tired of saying it because it's so fantastically true...I am  blessed.

Til next  time...one tired COTTON.


PS  I will upload a picture tomorrow of the bruises on the back of my legs from leaning against the ladder. I call them victory marks!

Yep I'm a Dummy

So I was off on Monday. It's my only day off so absolutely love Mondays! My air was fixed all was right with my world so I hopped on my boyfriend Johnny Dear and cut the back yard. I always spend at  least fifteen minutes picking up rocks and debris the pups have strewn about the yard nearest the house. Once done I revved ole Johnny up and took off.

Number one I should have known better. I also cut my elderly neighbor's yard for them and ALWAYS cut with the mower blowing away  from the house so I don't damage their house with anything which might be flung from the mower.

With my own yard I'm not so careful...obviously.

I was on turn three around the yard when Massey came out the back door of the house shouting at me "Momma, you just shattered the dining room window"!

Unfortunately I didn't misunderstand her and looked behind me to see our double paned dining room window with a gaping hole and glass covering  the ground. I cut the mower off and went inside. The dining room window is right in front of our computer desk which is twenty feet in front of Massey's bedroom. There was glass every where. On the computer desk, on the dining room table, on the carpet and even in Massey's bedroom. I immediately threw up a little bit in my mouth and asked Massey to go get the vacuum cleaner. The pups were inside...standing well back with a definite "What the heck"? look on their faces.

Yep, I'm a dummy!

It took us a good thirty minutes to get up enough glass so the dogs wouldn't get cut walking around the dining room. We spent another thirty minutes getting the shards off the furniture.

I went out back and cut the rest of the yard, with the blade blowing away from the house like I should  have and always WILL do from now on.

Next I was concerned about losing my precious just newly fixed air conditioning flowing throughout my  house. I went out back and duct  taped saran wrap over the hole and went inside to finish cleaning up the shards of glass.

I went to Home Depot the next  day and bought two pieces of plexiglass to duct tape to the outside and inside of our shattered window and just grateful it was MY house I damaged and not my neighbor's.

It's on the back side of my house. No one can see it but us and serves as a reminder to always cut AWAY from the house.

My air is fixed, the temp in our house feels great and only have one shattered window.  As a bonus the back yard is cut!

I am probably the most blessed woman on the planet.

Tim has a great prospect for a new job, we're chilling again and once again am grateful for our many blessings.

My life has been full of knocks and challenges as of late but also makes me realize how much Karma comes into play.

I better live to be a hundred because I have a whole lot of Karma to pay back...and intend to do just that!

It's never dull around our house,  sometimes it's a battle but is a battle worth  fighting .

Thanks to too many to name ...we're making it!

Til next time...COTTON

Good Will Hunting

I don't know about other cities but we have the most awesome Goodwill store in ours. Seems hard to believe but in a few short weeks Massey will be flapping her way out of our nest and leaving for college. In true Cotton style, we have been hitting the Goodwill Emporium for some really incredible finds. All name brands, some even still have the Banana Republic, Kohl's , Old Navy and American Eagle tag still  attached.

My  budget is tight but the things we find there are amazing.  The people who work there are wonderful, helpful and friendly. It's my favorite department store! The thing I love the most is when you  check out, they say "Thanks for changing a life". I dropped off a huge bag of clothes to donate and they seemed thrilled to receive them. I was thrilled to get  them out of my garage. Their proceeds go to help people get back on  their feet and even have a career center to help peeps find work

We left the donation door and went into the "Emporium" to shop for college clothes. Zach was in  desperate need of work jeans as well so I got him three pair for $3.99 each. One pair had the colored tag of the day, which means half price and even picked up a pair of Levis with the $39.00 price tag still on them from Kohl's for eight bucks.

All in all we got four pair of new jeans, four dresses, four  pair of shorts and four shirts for sixty bucks. Considering the jeans were marked for almost forty bucks from Kohl's we did pretty  good.

That's one thing I love about Massey, she doesn't turn her nose up at shopping at Goodwill.

We came home and I jumped on my boyfriend Johnny Dear to cut my elderly neighbor's yards for him. We didn't tell Zach where the jeans came from and he actually seemed satisfied with them when I got through cutting grass and he was getting ready for work. He had on his new jeans and once again thought to myself, "Life is good".

My sister regularly brings us clothes from the thrift shop where she volunteers and are all great quality items.

I don't think I have been in a Macy's or even a mall in over twenty years. If I did go it would just to see the Christmas decorations.

I don't mind one bit the life we are living. It almost makes me feel like I am living life right for the very first time.

My dryer broke over four weeks ago and once a week  go to the laundry mat to dry all the clothes at  the same time. I have met fascinating people there, learned their stories, made new friends and picked up a lot more Spanish than I did in school. In between runs to  the laundry mat I just hang my clothes on hangers in the garage.

Here's my thing... it's the small things  that make your life huge.

When we are in desperate need, it somehow happens. When we have something to offer, be it cutting a neighbor's yard or driving someone somewhere, we do it. When you  take care of other people, other people take care of  you.

I'm a doofus, I'm a goofball and yes I fumble my way through life but if you don't keep trying,  I think that's called giving up. I'll never give up until I give out completely.

Don't feel sorry  for me, that's not my intention with this post. My point's that life is what you make it. Follow your dream no matter how many side roads you have to take or how much pride you may have to swallow. Be a good person and good things will happen to you.

From the time we spiraled and became broke almost four years ago I have finally realized the true meaning of life..."You get what you give ".

I simply wasn't giving enough.

Til next  time... A contented COTTON.

Chillin' Again, Finally

So our A/C unit on the house went out on  June 3. Being a fifty three year old woman with major hot flash issues, I can tell when the temp rises one degree in  the house. I woke up and knew something was amiss. I checked the thermostat. It was set on 75 and the temp in the house  was 77 on  the first floor. Not a good sign when you live in a tri level home. I went outside to see if the unit was frozen up but it wasn't. My cousin's hub had come over the week before and juiced up our unit with freon, like he does for us every year. No ice on  the pipe coming out of the unit, which was humming away but  noticed the fan wasn't turning. I'm not an air technician but knew it wasn't a good sign. My cousin's hubs called that night and said he'd come by and check out the unit the next day. Not a big deal, it was in the mid to upper eighties so we just opened all windows and closed all the blinds.

I work at a furniture store three days a week with no air, move and load furniture all day so it was kinda like being at  work all the time.  It would get up to around 82  on the first floor  and as you climbed to the next  floor in our house the temps climbed with you. Massey's bedroom is on the first floor and I had a box fan in her room so she was better off than the rest of us. I camped out in the living room on  the second floor but had three windows open and a decent ceiling fan. Zach and Tim remained in their rooms on the third floor where it felt like a sauna by five in the afternoon. Zach was okay...he works at  night, gets off around ten or eleven and usually sits at  the computer on  the first floor for a couple of hours. By the time he goes to bed it would only be around 86 degrees in his room once he stuck his box fan in his window to draw out the hot air.

Tim simply made do. He'd been working days AND nights, covering for employees on vacation and by  the time he got home was so tired, just sweated himself to sleep.

We found out we needed a new fan so I used my networking skills and contacted a customer from the restaurant who can get parts for A/C units. By  this time we were over a week without air but making do.

Then this past Tuesday hit. High of ninety degrees with a heat index of a billion degrees. If that wasn't enough poop hitting the fan, through absolutely no fault of his own, Tim lost his job.

My  guy called and left a message for me to send him our address so he could have the fan shipped to us. Geez, how am I gonna pay for a fan, pay to have it installed and still pay bills? I was embarrassed to ask the guy but did anyway... via text. "How much does the fan cost"? I never got a reply.

The next  day was even hotter and  lugged home two fans from work when I left. When I got home at eight thirty it was 87 degrees on  the first floor and remained  there until after midnight. When I woke up at  six thirty the next morning it had cooled to a balmy 85 on the first floor and Tim came down from  the third floor wearing a thirty two waist size for the first time since we married over twenty  three years ago.

Even my dogs didn't want to be in the house. They said "We're good out back with bowls of water and a  breeze".

The next day was even hotter and  I brought home three fans from work. By  the time I get home all the fans do is blow the hot air around but at least it was moving hot air. I went upstairs to take Tim  a fan as he sat on  the bed in his underwear watching sports on the TV in our bedroom. He looked like someone had opened a bottle of baby oil and poured it over his head. In true Tim fashion, he thanked me for the extra fan... before passing out from heat stroke. (not really, but  don't know how he stayed up there)

My  friend left me a voice mail  wanting to know if someone would be at my house the next day for a guy to come by  and trouble shoot the problem and measure the fan for an exact fit?

Here we sat, broke as a joke and sweating like Mel Gibson at  the Apollo Theatre. I simply swallowed my pride and called my friend  saying Tim had lost his job and not sure if we had the funds to get the A/C part. He said not to worry , we'd work it out later.

A guy showed up around early afternoon the next  day, the kids called me at  work. Tim walked out back and told him about the  fan, and the guy started to work. He took the unit apart, and two hours later knocked on our kitchen door. Zach opened it and the guy simply said "You  can shut your windows now."

I got home from work around eight thirty and it was already down to eighty four degrees in house. It hadn't been below that in almost a week. By the time I went to bed it was 76 degrees and felt like heaven.

Happy as I was about the fix I was fretting about the cost.

Here's the kicker.

We made it. We survived and once again were blessed. I asked my friend what we owed when I got home from work and called him. He said he had called in a couple of favors and knew some people. In other words, we were blessed beyond belief with kindness, generosity and friendship. I tried to give him some money the next  night when I saw him but all he took was a hug and a kiss. He told me he was surprised we made it almost two weeks without air and acted as if it was no big deal. It was a HUGE deal to me and my family and made me stop and think of what a lucky person I am.

There is no shame in asking for help when you do your best, or accepting help when sincerely offered. If you live your life right and try your best, karma comes back around. It did when Tim and I both lost our jobs over three years ago and came around again recently on a hot sultry southern afternoon.

This friend, this person who is so unassuming,  quiet and someone  I rarely speak to because he is so private, took my own family's problem and solved it without hesitation with no need for thanks, recognition or acknowledgement.

That is  the true definition of a friend .

My bucket list is full of nothing other than pay backs.

When we were sweating like crazy in our house I kept reminding myself at least we still HAD a house. I kept thinking about children squatting in squalor,  flies in their eyes and no food in their swollen bellies in third world countries. I thought about people who would feel lucky to just have a room to lay down in with a roof over their head.

I thought about how lucky we used to be and how much we took for granted. After over twenty years together we finally made over six figures and everything seemed to come easily.

Just as quickly it was all taken away.

By the Grace of God and help from many, too numerous to name  we are not only surviving but thriving .

You can look at the glass as half full or half empty. Negative is negativity and never helps, only takes away.

Stay positive, stay strong and never be ashamed to ask for help. Just be sure to pay it forward.

One lucky girl...one lucky family, living one lucky life!

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

Til next  time...COTTON

On the Mend...Finally

I hung in there for four days trying to mentally will myself well. Seems I don't have magical powers after all. I worked in the yards all day Monday and had a terrible headache all day . I thought it must just be the heat. On top of that our A/C unit fan locked up so it wasn't much cooler in the house. Actually it was 86 degrees on the first floor so can only imagine what the top two floors were scorching around. I chose to crash in  the living room on the couch under our huge ceiling fan with all the windows open and sweated myself to sleep. I woke up Tuesday morning for work and it was a balmy 78 degrees downstairs. My cousin's sweet hubby had  called and said he wanted to come over and check out our unit and I didn't decline his offer. He shoots up our  unit every summer with freon and did just that a couple of weeks ago. I headed into work and it finally felt okay walking into the furniture store which doesn't have A/C either. I felt good til about noon and suddenly had all kinda cold chills and felt achy. For a fifty three year old, hot flashing woman to have cold chills in a building with no air while loading up and moving couches and beds is a sure sign something's dead wrong. My snot locker was draining down my throat, my ears were hurting and my body was killing me. Every time someone came in and looked interested in a piece of furniture, I plopped down on it to tell them about it. By four I was in agony and called Massey to bring a couple of her 800MG Ibuprofen she had left from when she went to the Doc N The Box last week.

We hit a lull at the store and she sat by  the window while I crashed on a sofa to let them kick in. Twenty minutes later she said "Momma, here comes somebody". I felt a bit better and by  the time I closed at  eight my aches were were only  twangs. Since I am the only person  working Tuesday through Thursday, we loaded up two of the industrial size fans we use at work to circulate air and took them home with us. They worked great and Wednesday morning the house was at 70 degrees when I got up. Massey took me work and hauled the fans back in for me. I felt okay as long as I was pumped with the ibuprofen but found myself watching the clock like a junkie waiting for their next  fix until it was time to pop two more. My cousin's hub came over and informed us we needed a new fan for our unit and that's all it seemed to be. That was a relief to me as I sweated myself to sleep again on the sofa, hoping for a hot flash to cool me down.

Thursday was busy at the store (Murphy's Law) and it almost "kilt" me as we say in the south. I had to help load a sectional, a full size bed , a sofa table and a  full size mattress and box springs. Some peeps were working my nerves coming in on their cell phones and not even acknowledging me when I threw up my hand and welcomed them with albeit fake friendliness. They would ignore me and continue walking. I'd give them a minute or two then would say "Can I help you with anything?" Once they would hold their hand up like I was bothering them, simply crashed onto my stool and waited for them to end their obviously extremely urgent phone call. People can be so rude when they are on their cell and to be honest, I felt so horrible it was a real effort to not tell them I had a 102 fever and felt like choking them out.  When Massey picked me up from work I went straight home and immediately resumed my position on the couch in a tank top and undies.

 Friday I was off and stayed on the couch til it got too hot. (around three PM) Massey said I needed to go to the Doc, which I did but hated wasting forty bucks on myself. We went by  the restaurant to pick up my paycheck which is usually only fifteen or sixteen dollars but was floored when the check was for over eighty bucks. I told Massey I would wait til Saturday and if wasn't better by then would go by the doc before going into the store on Saturday. We swung by  the Doc to see what time he opened on Saturday. They had a note taped to the door saying they would be closed Saturday and reopen on Monday. I asked Massey for a pen to jot down the hours and make a shopping list when she said she didn't have one. I said "What person doesn't have a pen in their car"? to which she replied "This one". I told her to pull over and drop me off at the door and went inside to check in while she parked. The way I felt, I'd be going to the emergency  room or morgue before Monday.

I signed in and the woman behind the desk asked for my forty dollars. When I went to sign my debit card receipt, noticed a cup of pens with their logo on them and asked if I could take one? She said "Sure" and when Massey walked through the door after parking her car, turned and said to her "I got you  pens for your car, they're having a sale...two pens for forty bucks"!

I just felt better being there, doing what I should have done on Tuesday. The Doc N The Box wasn't busy so the woman took me straight back to a room. She took my vitals, told me my blood pressure was a bit elevated ...to which I responded "I wait on the public for a living." She smiled and asked how much I weighed and when I said a hundred pounds she said "I bet you do."

The doc came in , took a look at me, wrote four prescriptions, phoned them into Kroger and told me not to wait so long next time I got sick.

I knew from experience the scripts wouldn't be ready in the hour he had promised so we swung back by the house to take care of the pups and give them fresh water.

Massey took me back to Kroger a hour and a half later. If my blood pressure was elevated at the doctor's it was boiling by  the time we got into Kroger. The SUV in front of us spied a suddenly open space but was past it. He jammed his car into reverse and tried to pull in forward. He had traffic so backed up he couldn't pull in forward so he decided to try and back into the seemingly only (NOT) vacant spot in the lot. It took him three tries and on his third try when his wife looked at me through the passenger window I flung up my arms in an obviously "WTH" gesture. My nerves were shot, I was sick and tired and simply wanted to go home and melt on my couch again.

We bought our groceries and swung back by  the pharmacy. The pharmacist was typing on his cell phone and the girl told me it would be a bit longer..."DUH" !!!

I told Massey to go load the groceries and would call her to pick me up by the door. Ten minutes later the young girl said my prescriptions were ready and I stepped up to the counter. She asked if I had insurance and told her no, but my Doc N the Box calls in $2 generics so I wasn't worried. She started ringing me up and paused, saying that one of them could only be picked up by someone over eighteen and believe it or not asked me if I was over eighteen? I wanted to jump the counter and throttle her but replied, "No, I'm not eighteen I am fifty three". Then she asked for my driver's license. She put on her glasses and began typing the info off my license. Hunt and peck she went, typing slower than slime. She had to record ALL the info off my license and after almost five minutes I said as sweetly as I could. "Baby, why don't you turn around and simply put my license in that printer behind you and just make a copy of it"?

She said  she would just have to enter it all into the computer anyway when I reached my final breaking point. I told her I wasn't going home to make crack or cook meth out of it but was sick as a dog and by the time she got through typing could be at home finally getting better.

Massey commented on the way home  she had never seen this side of me and  told her, I hope she never has to again.

I felt better today, not much but certainly not worse. I struggled through a shift at  the furniture store, took off a hour early and came home for thirty minutes before heading into the restaurant. I was sweaty and worn out but went in anyway. Thank the Lord it was slow, they cut me first and was out by  eight.

I know I will feel better tomorrow, it always takes a day or two before you  begin to rebound, especially when you are a doofus like me and wait too long to go see the Doc N the Box.

Lesson learned. Working again in the morning and look forward to waking up and feeling human again.

Til next  time....COTTON

Another Week Behind Me

Just finished a nice skype with TJ in Australia. All three pups were behind me so he got to even skype with  the dogs. Charlie didn't want to be bothered, only seen sleeping on the couch behind me but the other two came over to the camera for a little face time.

It was good to see TJ's face and hear his voice. He seems to be doing well and has a nice little room which I had a video tour of. I'm not a big fan of all this modern technology, it seems to dehumanize us but when you have a kid living halfway around the world comes in really handy. As I was getting through talking with him, Zach hooked up on skype from his friend's house and I  left the conversation for my two boys to continue.

Things are settling back down around here with Massey finally graduating. A few more short weeks and she will be gone too. Zach's doing great as well and I have no complaints...other than my aching back, night sweats, daily hot flashes, chigger bites from working in the yard and really gross hairs that sporadically appear on my chin. How do you not notice a hair sprouting out of  your chin til it is a half inch long? For Pete's sake, I can't keep my reading glasses on 24/7.

Yes, I have somehow wandered, and or stumbled into "Old Lady Years." My eyes are terrible, I can't read a book without my cheap dollar store glasses. I can't read a credit card number or name at work without them and certainly can't type up a work order at  the furniture store without them.

On the up side,  I can load a king size mattress onto a truck , move a sofa and loveseat by  myself and still work circles around most all the young kids I work with at  the restaurant. I'm calling myself a winner.

I have one kid living halfway around the world doing what I should have done when his age, live life to the fullest when you can. I have another headed to college in a few short weeks and yet another who bottomed out, paid the price and  is making not only me but himself proud. Yep...I'm a winner!

Tomorrow is my day off. I only need one. Give me two days and I don't want to go back to work. I have a date with my Johnny Dear. That's my therapy, being in the yard riding my lawn mower. When I'm riding I think about things and figure out solutions. I think about where we've been, where we are going and how to get there...and all  the while make my yard look inviting and a nice place to see every  time I back out of the driveway  to go to work. The chigger bites simply remind me how much I itch to do better.

Massey and I took Ziggy over to my sister's house today after work to try and socialize her new boxer pup. She's named Zola (after our grandmother) but seems more aptly named Zoloft. She's the most nervous pup I have ever met. Let me put it this way, she's terrified when my sister gets out a broom to sweep the kitchen. We took Ziggy out into their side yard where Zola was nervously waiting. I had to let Ziggy off the leash because he was about to tear my arm out of the socket. Massey  said not to, Cin was kind of with Massey  but I thought it best  to let dogs be dogs.  Ziggy  took off like a speeding bullet but Zola had at least a twenty foot lead on him. Ziggy  caught her in under five seconds and she immediately turned over in the submissive position. She got up and took off and they  chased each other around the yard for thirty minutes non stop. After thirty minutes they were both frothing at the mouth and panting like they had run a marathon. Zola warmed  right up  to my "Good Bad Dog" and was smiling with that boxer smile before we left.

Massey  took a video of  them and I will upload it onto  this blog tomorrow.

We may be moving soon, but not counting the chickens before they hatch. Been there, done that.

All I "Do" know is we are making strides here, got three kids making their marks on the world and making me feel really old.

Stumbling through a new job, cruising through my old one with the cut in hours and pretty much enjoying life for the first  time in almost five years. Got three kids on track for success and one  day off to boot!

Life could be a whole lot worse.

Til next  time...COTTON