Pretty Great Day!

My day started off with trying to clock in this morning but the computer was down. Took a couple of phone calls with our IT guy at  corporate and twenty minutes of me squatting on  the floor reading off numbers and verifying which lights were and were NOT on the router and modem. No fifty three year old woman likes to squat, I don't know how hot flashing Ethiopian women do it? Most of them don't even have a house much less a chair, it's brutally hot and they seem to always be squatting...not to mention all  those pesky flies.God bless 'em and Thank You Lord for letting me be an American.

Computer issues were finally fixed and I waited to hear from a friend of mine who was in town to call.

It's a crazy story (as most all of my stories are) so I'll back track a little for you.

Last year around this same time I did a blog about our dog Ham following my other two idiot dogs out of a hole in the fence at  the back of the yard one night. One of the idiots ran around and into  the garage to wait by  the kitchen door. The other one ran around to the front of the house and waited by  the front door. Ham simply got lost. Ham is blind and once out of the comfort zone of his back yard  wandered off. It took me a good bit of time to find him but finally did, a half mile from our house wandering down the middle of a busy road. I had to get out of my car and physically help him into the car because he couldn't see it but at least I found him. This was at  a time when we were barely scraping by. Tim had been out of work for well over a year and was working again but we were playing a tough game of "Catch up."

A guy who  reads my blog, who I have never met and lives in Miami contacted me and said my blog about Ham touched him and his wife as well.  His birthday was coming up and told his family all he wanted was money for his present. He sent me his birthday  money, kicking in some of his own to take Ham for an evaluation with a veterinary ophthalmologist. How nice was that?

Long story short (kinda) we got Ham up there to be seen, with several other people helping us with money  for dog food and gas to get us up to  the north side of Atlanta to see the vet.

Zach went with me and  the vet even had a picture of Ham's daddy in her office...she had done lens implants for Ham's dad a few years back.

All systems were go and had a foundation who would back us because we had been actively fund raising for Ham. The bad news is I  took Ham to our local low cost mobile vet to get his shots updated for surgery and he tested positive for heart worms. Not good.

Once again my (and Ham's) friends rallied around us and paid for the quick kill method of treatment which isn't cheap but Ham could live being blind but wouldn't survive with heart worms.

Three months and tons of love and help later he tested negative for heart  worms! We called  the vet back but they told us at this point considered eye surgery elective because they were worried he may not be able to survive the anesthesia required.

I called Auburn and we were on the board again when they suddenly lost their ophthalmologist.  I waited a month, no change. Then a friend of mine (another I've never met) told me about an ophthalmologist not twenty minutes away.  So  we are back in business. They may not be able to totally restore his vision but give him limited, blurry sight.  I am sure Ham would be as thrilled as me for that blessing.

I got an email the other day from my friend in Miami, he was coming to Atlanta for work and wanted to meet with me if he could. "Hell Yes" is what I should have written back. He and his wife had these awesome Thank You notes made up for me to mail to all the many people who have helped Ham on his journey. It had this picture on the front of them...

 This guy and his wife who I have never met have been so sweet to us and our pup. When I blogged about my feet freezing in the furniture store during the winter (we don't run heat) they mailed me a package of "Toasty Toes" for my shoes.  At Christmas they mailed us an adorable boxer ornament for our tree.( the one Ziggy tore down but the ornament survived!) You know...us dog lovers are pretty cray-cray about our pups. The out pouring of love for Ham has blown me away.  I sent out over twenty  Thank You notes to peeps who helped my pup and had to buy more. We truly wanted to help Ham and did what we could but sometimes you have to draw the line when it's the mortgage payment or vet bills. We  were threatened with foreclosure and only had five years and our house would be paid off.

These friends, some from high school, some from college, some from the church where I grew up, some from my blog and some who I didn't know at all, pulled my Ham through this and will always be eternally grateful for each and every one of them.

Back to today...Massey  thought it was creepy (she thinks a lot of things I do are creepy) I was meeting up with someone I had never met but knew he had helped Ham so she agreed to bring Ham up  to the furniture store for the meet and greet. My friend called to say he was on the way around elevenish this morning. It was a good day to come, Tuesday is the slowest retail day of the week. Let me also say this  guy  drove almost thirty minutes just to meet my dog!

Massey  arrived with Ham, took him out of the car  and he promptly took a dump on the wood chip covered island in front of the store. Good dog! I wish he could teach Ziggy  that trick.

My friend pulled in not ten minutes later. I told him I almost didn't recognize  him without his floral print shirt on and said he could go back to the car and get it if I wanted!  I knew immediately I loved this guy! We shared a long tight hug, the kind that means something.

He met Massey and he met Ham. We sat outside for a good thirty minutes. Massey was smart enough to bring Ham a water bowl and he loved all the attention. We chatted for a while, I left a couple of times to make a sale, had one customer comment on how handsome my boy was. While I was inside working the peeps, Massey and Jerry sat outside with Ham talking. When Massey went to take Ham home she turned  to Jerry and said "I'm going home and adding you  to my friends list!"

We took a couple of pics, this first one I took of the two new BFFL'S

Then I had Massey take a pic of me and him with  the Hammer...

After Massey and Ham left we went inside and talked for over a hour.  I told him a lot of stories about my struggling  debut as a furniture store manager and we had a few laughs. (I do  lot of things to laugh about) The time flew by and felt as if I was talking with a life long friend...which he is now!

He started to leave and we walked out front of the store. He told me he admired me for all we had been through and all we had accomplished. I told him it was because of people like him, friends and family. If he hadn't started the ball rolling, I wouldn't even know Ham had heart worms and by  now Ham would most probably be dead. Thanks to Jerry and his wife Dee Dee I have a huge network of people who love my pup and have given him his life back.

I got kinda emotional when Jerry  went to leave and just wanted him to know how much their kindness and generosity has meant. We hugged , I grabbed his bearded face and kissed him on the lips! He cracked up when I said "Don't tell your wife I kissed you on the lips but if you do tell her I will kiss her on her lips too when I finally meet her!"

We took a "Selfie" as Massey calls it when he left and the rest of my flew by.

I produced some numbers, sold and loaded out a lot of product but the thing I was most proud of was being able to thank someone in person for loving not only me but my family...which always includes my pups!

Look forward to someday getting down to Miami and meeting his sweet wife too.  Shout out to Dee Dee...Your husband made my day, and Ham's too!

Life is a journey. There's no map, simply guidelines. Live right, help others, love others and it will all be okay.

Today was the perfect example of how  true that last sentence was.

Til next time...COTTON

Love Me Some Monday!

Of course I would wake up at six AM my only day off and be unable to go back to sleep. I refused to get up so just watched the news and  weather shows til noon. Feeling finally rested I got up and hopped on my honey, Johnny Dear to cut the back yard which was in dire need of cutting. It takes so long for it to dry out enough to ride my my big heavy Johnny back there but my next  day off is Monday and by  then the dogs wouldn't be able to see over the grass and I wouldn't be able to see them out there either! Since shattering my dining room  window a few weeks back , I'm scared to even cut anywhere close to the house so it takes me thirty minutes to weed eat around the kitchen door and remaining dining room windows. Then I get back on Johnny raising the blade up one level starting in the center of the yard around the fire pit and cut going the opposite way to blow all the clippings out until I reach the fence so the yard is free of grass clippings the dogs would love to tramp into the house with covering   all twelve paws. Cutting the yard is a science to me. I feel like I have my degree in Yardology. Then I rake up all  the clippings from around the back door and windows and dump them in the fire pit which isn't really a fire pit when it rains for a week...it's a small  pond surrounded by huge rocks I toted home one by one from building sites when nearby neighborhoods were being built.

Yes I am a scrounger, but has brought me many great results. Case in point:

This was my front yard on the fourth of July...

And this is my front yard nine days later!

This was my side yard nine days ago

And  this is my side yard today

Bam! There you have it folks, all for Free Ninety Nine and all it took was eight trips to and from the sod pile and a couple to and from  the dumpster. I know all my neighbors were looking out their windows at me nine days ago telling each other "Look at that insane skinny old woman who lives across the street putting down dead scraps of sod." Today they looked out their windows and wish they knew where I got it!

After finishing the back yard today I jumped in  the shower and Massey and I headed up to Little Five Points in Atlanta. I usually always drive but Massey has never really driven on the interstate and it's high time she learns, especially since she starts at Georgia State University next month  smack dab in  the middle of downtown Atlanta. She asked if I felt safe with her driving and told her there was only one way  to find out. Off we went!

She did great. It gets a little crowded when you  get to Hartsfield  Airport but by  then you only have fifteen minutes to go. I snapped this picture when we rounded the curve in East Point, the town I grew up in. It's the first glimpse you have of downtown Atlanta and is always a sight to see. Today it suddenly became hard to see because the rain started.

Massey commented "So I guess this is God's idea of a funny joke. Let's make it rain the first time Massey  drives into downtown Atlanta."

No worries, five minutes later the rain stopped and we were now just ten minutes away.

It gets hairy once you  hit the city and people drive like idiots but my girl did great!

I even felt safe enough to multitask and take pictures. When you  hit the Grady curve even a seasoned driver sometimes thinks "Yikes" so I concentrated on telling her which lane she needed to be in to get off at  The Carter Center/ Freedom Parkway exit. When she pulled to the first stop light on the Freedom Parkway we high fived.

When I was a teen we drove into Atlanta at least once a week when just sixteen but it was a lot smaller city then.

I'm not sure who was prouder, me or her when we pulled into The Junkman's Daughter parking lot. We walked around our favorite part of Atlanta simply window shopping and people watching. We finished up at our favorite store,  Rag O Rama and I bought a cute print top for $6.50. Massey bought a beautiful black linen top for $8.00.

This isn't the black top she bought but is the girl who drove her momma smack into the middle of the busiest city in the south east. I have exactly thirty nine days left with her then she'll be gone. If she loves the college life like I did, I won't be seeing much of her. Of course I loved college life for different and totally wrong reasons...that's what going to Georgia Southern College did back then in the late seventies. My Diddy drove me and my room mate who I never met until the morning we picked her up to ride down with us to Statesboro early in August. We didn't go home until Thanksgiving.

The good thing is I am still dear friends with my college room mate. As you can tell from  the photo she is still a doll and Massey loves her to death, just as I do!  The peeps you meet in college are usually friends for life.

I hope Massey makes life long friends too. It's a bittersweet feeling I have about this. I'm losing my "Bestie" and she's off to make new ones. She's always chosen friends wisely so there are no worries there. I just hope I don't lose my spot in line.

I actually teared up when I wrote that last sentence.

Guess I better get used to it. It's hard to send the last one off. It's hard to think that the day you  thought about for years and years is less than forty days away.

She's always been a princess. She almost killed me and herself just coming into this world but we both survived.

 She's given me more good times than bad and being a momma who raised two boys first knew that would happen but was thrilled about how few bad times happened with her!

So she's off to make her mark in the world next month! At least now she knows how to get there.

I love my boys and I love my girl. All three are different but all three are equally loved. All three have chosen different paths and directions but at least they are branching , reaching and moving in the right direction.

Looks like soon the neighbors will be looking out their windows saying "Look at that crazy old skinny woman wandering  around  aimlessly."

I still have over a month, just preparing myself!

Til next  time...COTTON

Almost Done...For This Week!

Woke  up  this morning  sore literally from head to toe. Did yard work from one to four yesterday and clocked in at the restaurant by five. Got off right before midnight, blogged and hit the hay. Woke up stiff as a board. Tim made me pancakes for breakfast and rubbed my shoulders and legs for me. My calves were killing me from toting Mr. Weed Eater around the front of the subdivision and toting plates of food all night.

I clocked in at  the furniture store before noon and believe it or not was selling like a boss again. I sold and moved out a bunk bed, full size mattress, a nice accent chair, three piece sectional and ottoman and a queen size bed in under three hours. Had a lady come back today  who was in on Thursday. She is interested in buying a bedroom suit selling for $1,100. She brought her mom back with her today and I sat and chatted with them for over thirty minutes.  I now know where they all grew up, where they landed, how many kids they had and what the parents did for a living. You  "Gotsa" get to know your customers and that is one thing I'm good at...talking! I am pretty  sure they will come back and buy the suit.

The lady I sold the bunk bed to was another chat session.  Once we started talking found out we had friends and problems in common.  Her husband had also been out of work. She had recently been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I have a relative and a dear friend suffering from the same. She mentioned she worked in veterinary medicine and I immediately brought up my blind pup, Ham. I told her his story and she recommended a specialist near us. I told her one of my FB friends mentioned the same one. Come to find out she works with my FB friend! I'm calling them Monday to get another ball rolling for my boy!

Came home from work and had to drive myself to the front of the subdivision (a five house walk) with the weed eater in the trunk to finish the front. Got through in about twenty minutes and drove  the five hundred feet back to our house. Yes I am getting old!

This next part would totally gross Massey out but is just a fact of life when you work on your feet for a living. The dreaded corns have come back on each of my pinkie toes and are bigger  than the nails they surround. If you've never had a corn on your pinkie toe, pray you never do. All it takes is a slight touch to make you double over in pain. I always mean to pick up a pack of corn removers when I am at the store but never remember. I took matters in my own hand today. I got out my big toe nail clippers and hacked  away at them. I cut them out and sanded my little foot digits. It was like heaven when I put my shoes back on. How sad is it when getting rid of corns on pinkie toes makes you happy?

It's tough getting older as a woman. Your body starts falling apart, hair starts sprouting from places  it never grew before and sometimes you wet your pants when you sneeze.  It's hell to bend over and crouch, and more excruciating to stand back up...especially when having to stand back up lifting one end of a couch.

I'm still twenty in my mind though and that's the most important thing to me. I'm too skinny but strong as a bull. I am determined and extremely strong willed. Most important of all I am loved by my family and friends. I am surrounded by love and in my mind is a wonderful place to be.

Took thirty minutes out of my night and watched the Tripp Halstead video of his new home. That made my night. This family has been nothing but positive from the beginning. Good things happen  to good people and pray this new home helps ease the huge battle they are destined but determined to fight.

So as I sit here typing I hear from Massey that George Zimmerman was found innocent. I have a son who wasn't an angel. He made some bad decisions and hung with the wrong crowd. Granted he made wrong decisions but so did George. The police told him to stay in his car and not confront. He took it upon himself (armed)  and ended up killing a seventeen year old (unarmed) kid just walking to his Dad's house. So he's innocent? How did George know this kid had made mistakes in the past? He didn't. Yet he most certainly has taken away any chance of this kid doing just what my son has done, turn his life around and make a momma proud.

Shout out to Georgie...you best be on patrol looking out for Karma now because it's a bitch and  always comes back around. Even my right wing husband agrees with me on this one!

Til next time...COTTON

Yowza! What a Day

I worked in the yards from one until four today. It was a hot one. Took forever to cut my front yard having to strategically maneuver around the patches of sod I recently put down but dang they are taking root like crazy with all this recent rain.

Massey called and said she was on her way home from the beach.

I was beginning to think she had moved down there permanently and from  the looks of this picture she took, couldn't much blame her.

I couldn't cut my back yard because it takes forever  to dry out so I rode ole Johnny Dear up to the front of the subdivision to cut. (at least I get paid for THAT cut) Dressed in my usual cutting apparel... shorts, flip flops and bathing suit top; toting  two garbage bags for trash, my handy little picker upper tool and Mr. Weed Eater across my lap and a large Co-Cola Icee between my knees  looked like a landscaping version of the Beverly Hillbillies in their junky old truck.. I'm not big on worrying about my appearance, especially when cutting grass in eighty seven degree heat. The humidity made it brutally hot but cars whizzing past me doing fifty MPH almost felt like a breeze. I even got a few honks from passersby. I chose to think of it as flirtation when in all actuality was probably them  being irritated I was taking up six inches of their lane while I was cutting by  the street. Some peeps are nice and swing wide around me, some are a**holes and come close to hitting me and a few are just complete Richard Noggins and scare the crap out of me by honking when they come up behind me.   One hour later it was cut and I parked Johnny in the shade to start the weed eating, which takes twice as long. I love weed eating, it makes things look so nice and neat but  wears my bony arms out and still feel like I am running it three hours after I have cut it off and put it down.

Got through at  four and had to clock into work by  five. Of course I hadn't eaten so I hurried to have time to swing through a drive through with my free coupon for a Chic Fil A.  Go figure...it was "Cow Appreciation Day" and the place was swamped. I just went into work and asked my boss if I could have a cup of Pasta Fagioli soup and a salad? He said sure so I grabbed a salad  and scarfed it down before having my soup . I scored a side of roasted red potatoes from  the owner's son and he actually gave me part his smoothie when I told him I had been cutting grass all day and didn't eat, like a dummy. Then Barb had a nice filet later on  she let me have part of and before you knew it I felt normal, well as normal as goof balls like me ever feel.

Walked out a little before midnight but with a full belly and my buddy Franklin in my pocket.

Back to the furniture store in the morning but I get off at six. I have about twenty minutes of weed eating left at  the front of the subdivision and then I am done for this month.

My body is aching like it's breaking but all in all has been a tremendously successful week for me. As I finish this post,  have Ziggy  under the computer desk snuggling on top of my feet with  Charlie and Ham laying two feet behind me. They love their momma and their momma loves them for loving her!

Got a great story for tomorrow night's blog...stay tuned.

Til next  time...COTTON

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!