Getting Back My Groove...

Hello, World!

I have worked a straight 5 days at the restaurant. Tonight, I'll be the graveyard cook in training for that shift.

I really think this job is good for me. It is helping me to get back into shape. My legs feel so much better than they did when I first started.

I have always liked to have jobs that kept me moving constantly because it is good for my health. This job is, as my friend who visited the store yesterday said, "better than a gym membership". LOL

I'm REALLY looking forward to getting that first paycheck though. God actually came through "RIGHT ON TIME" once again!

Thank you, Jesus!

My Milo is having troubles jumping onto the couch and bed. His bones are starting to ache, I think. I guess he's about getting that age. He's 7 years old this month. Poor baby. Going to see if I can get him some arthritis formula that will help him next time I go get groceries.

He's still active, though. He and Otis chase each other around a lot and wrestle. He just can't seem to make that extra "push" it takes for him to jump onto higher places.

I am still selling Avon. So please make your order for Campaign 24 ASAP! Just click HERE to order online and have it delivered directly to YOU from Avon (I still get credit if you use THIS link!)

Have a blessed day!

Avon, Milo and Deer

Today, my Avon order came in early.

I spent two hours bagging all the products for delivery, complete with books and samples.

The trailer park owner sent some dude to pass out letters to all the people in the park. They raised the lot rent by $50. I told Gary (one of my housemates), "Do you know how much Avon I have to sell to make another $50?" They claimed it was because of the water rate increase. Gary started griping about President Trump, saying it was his fault. I wasn't sure what Trump had to do with the water rate increase, but I let him gripe. I didn't feel like debating today.

Then, I decided to deliver to my mom and sister.

My sister was in New Boston, about a mile away from me. She asked me to meet her at Wal-Mart. Her truck was hooked to a trailer so she didn't want to come to my house in the Trailer park. So, I gathered up her order, mom's order, and another customer's order to deliver along the way.

My mom was camping out at the lake, so after making the first two deliveries, me and my dog, Milo, went to the lake.

This morning, I had asked Milo, "You want to go with Mama to see MeeMaw?" He ran around in circles and jumped in my lap to try to lick my face. I told him, "Okay! OKay! Not right now! Later this evening!"

He waited by the door all day until it was time to go. I didn't have the heart not to take him with me. LOL

When we got to the camp site, Milo ran around peeing on every tree he came to. He was so excited to be there he was panting with thirst. So, I went into my mom's new camper and retrieved a bowl of water. Before I put it down, I made Milo bark "I love you!" Everyone got a kick out of that. Milo wanted water BAD!

Then, we saw 5 deer across the road. I took a picture (included in this post). I was afraid Milo would notice them and try to chase them, so I hooked him back on the leash until it was time for us to go home.

I am home now, fixing to label my new Avon books.

Have a blessed night!

Otis and Milo Take a Ride

Today I sat at home waiting for a customer to show up to pick up her Avon. She never showed up. She forgot and was on her way out of town when I contacted her.

Lesson learned. I could have been out getting phone numbers, but I didn't know what time she would show up. So, I told her when she got ready to receive her Avon and she knows she'll be at home, tell me where she lives and I'll bring it to her.

From now on, I get addresses to go with the orders. No more waiting for someone who doesn't show up.

But, it was not a non-productive day!

I took the time I had to make the rest of my call-backs. I also received several phone calls from customers who wanted to know where their order was. (It doesn't come in until next Thursday, unless they don't have the product available...)

I was able to bring my order up another $40. And, I made plans for a few more deliveries for tomorrow in Texarkana.

I had to go to the store today for an item, and I asked the baby-dogs, my chihuahas, Milo and Otis, "Do you want to go bye bye with Momma?"

They ran, excited to the front door. I opened the door and they immediately rant out the door ahead of me to go sniffing around the yard until I got the car door opened. Then, they both jumped in the car.

As I drove out of the drive, I saw one of my neighbors walking down the drive with his Burger King uniform on. I stopped and said, "Are you going to work?" He confirmed. I told him to hop in the back seat, and I drove him to work.

Otis and Milo greeted the stranger who was a friend they hadn't met yet, in their eyes. I commanded them to "Leave the guy alone! Sit down and be still! He has to go to work!"

When I got to Burger King, the guy said thank you and added, "You sound like us when we are talking to our kids." I said, "They are my babies!"

Then, Otis started talking to me as I drove on to my original destination. "Yes, Otis. We are going bye-bye!" "Yes, Otis, we will be there in a minute. Sit down and be quiet!"

Milo, on the other hand, was happy looking out the window, watching us pass by everything. Both of them were smiling.

I can tell when they are smiling. Their mouths are wide, and they pant with their toungues hanging slightly from their mouths.

When we got back home, I told them, "Go in the house!" They ran to the door and waited for me to come open it for them.

I don't get to take them out very often, so they consider it a special treat when they get to go bye-bye with Momma!

Skin So Soft and Fleas

Hello, World!

I'm getting ready to go out and sell some Avon here in New Boston. I have to wait until After 5 PM to let it cool down.

But, let me tell you, if your dog (or cat) has fleas, the BEST stuff to use is Skin-so-Soft Original Bath Oil Spray. And, I'm not just saying that because I sell the stuff. LOL

Two days ago I gave my fur-babies a bath in Dawn dish soap. Then, I sprayed them with the Skin-So-Soft. I have not seen one flea on them. The only scratching they've done is the normal stuff.

Today, I sprayed them again, because I could tell that it's wearing off -- just like any bug spray would do after awhile. But, this is day three, and they are still bug-free, even before I sprayed it.

I will never go back to buying flea and tick stuff at Wal-Mart again! THIS STUFF WORKS!

And, to top it off, they SMELL good!

(Of course, if you need some, Click HERE!)

Have a blessed day!
(I know the baby-dogs are feeling blessed!)

Taking it easy...

My outside experience on Friday has left my arms red and burning, my neck and my v-line in my chest area, and my nose and forehead burning, as well as the back of my neck where my hair was lifted in a pony-tail. I can't wrinkle my forehead without it hurting. LOL

I stayed inside all day to rest on Saturday. Updated my sites, surfed some TEs, and washed clothes and bathed the dogs.

That was an experience. Milo was good. He didn't want to be in the bath tub, but he tolerated it until I wrapped him in a towel and took him out to dry him.

Otis, on the other hand, was like a whiny kid. "Mom, do I gotta? Here, let me just get out and you can spray me with some of that stuff..."

"No, Otis. Sit down. I'm not finished with you yet."

Whimper.

"Maybe it's time to eat now. Can I get out NOW?"

"No, Otis. You got fleas. I'm not finished yet."

Whimper. (sits down in the water for a moment).
"Mom, I am clean enough. I'm getting out..."

"SIT DOWN, OTIS..."

Sigh...

Finally, I wrap him in a towel and pat him dry and put him down...

"YAAAYYYY. I took a bath!" running around in a happy circle and shaking his fur). "Hey, Milo-dad! She washed me up and I ain't gotta be in there no more!" attacking Milo...

Sigh...

I spent the rest of the day watching Pureflix.

Fun day...

Applications, Dogs and Left-Overs

Hello, World!

I spent all day updating my sites and filling out applications and completing assessment exams. Wow, I didn't know you had to be educated in calculus to work at a pizza joint! LOL

Anywho...

I'm still not feeling well. Awful. Just Awful. I just have to endure...(which, I'm so good at doing now).

The dogs have spent most of the day outside. I gave them chew sticks once when they came in. Otis ran with his. Milo dropped his and walked off like I hurt his feelings or something, so I had to take his back and give him a bacon treat, instead.

Later, Otis had his stick over halfway chewed up, and when I sat down, he dropped his stick long enough to come love on me for a minute. Milo grabbed his stick when he wasn't looking and ate the rest of it. Mean dog. LOL

Fred is making friends with some stray cats we have hanging around. After months of feeding them, two of them are finally letting him pet them. Oh boy. A cat. Sigh...

The baby dogs will love that. LOL

It's left-over beans and cornbread today. I don't feel like cooking, and the guys aren't complaining.

Have a blessed day!

Butch: My Hero

I was about two-years-old when my dad brought home a tiny puppy, not more than five weeks old. He was black, with brown markings on his nose and around his feet. He wasn’t a pedigree, or specially bred dog. He was just a mutt. My dad told me his name was Butch. After that, Butch became my hero.

My mother didn’t like animals in the house, so we made him a bed of old shirts and rags and placed him in the garage. Every day I would play with Butch, pulling him by the ears, or picking him up by the legs. I was just a baby, myself, so Butch didn’t really mind.

As he grew, he would follow me around the yard. When I would slide down the slide, Butch wanted to slide, too. It wasn’t long before he learned to climb the ladder behind me, and slide down near my back.

When my mom re-married, we moved to the country. There were woods all around us, with a beautiful pond, and a large garden during the summer -- with all kinds of vegetables growing in it. Butch would follow us down the trail to the garden, and bark at all the bugs and grasshoppers that he would stir up, on the way.

During the spring, we would go camping at the lake, and Butch would welcome the invitation my step-dad would give him to jump in the back of the pick-up and go with us. He liked to follow us into the water, and splash the water on us, when he would shake his black fur at the shoreline. At home, he could be found on the porch most of the time, basking in the warm heat, as his tongue hung out of his mouth.

On fall mornings, he would bark to warn me that the school bus was on the way. Later in the afternoon, he would be there to greet me when I got off of the same bus. He would walk in front of me, to warn me of holes in the road, or snakes I might not see.

During the winter, it would sleet and snow. We would go outside and skate on the ice, in our front yard. One year, Butch re-discovered the slide. My neighbors and I would laugh at him, when he would climb the ladder and slide halfway across the yard, then turn around and do it again.He thought it was fun.

One spring, when my baby sister was only three, I was left to care for her while my mother went to work. I sent my sister outside to play while I fixed lunch. I knew Butch would take care of her.

It wasn’t long after she went outside, that I heard her scream, and Butch was barking madly. I opened the door to see what the problem was and heard her scream, “SNAKE!” She was doing as she had been taught to do when she saw a snake, she was standing still and screaming for help.

I ran out there to see the snake better; then I knew I had to get her out of striking distance of the snake. I didn’t have any idea how I was going to do that. Finally, I said, “Butch, I need you to get his attention so I can kill him.” I didn’t expect Butch to respond, but he did.

Miraculously, Butch picked up a stick in his mouth; then ran to the other side of the snake, away from my sister. He tossed the stick in the air and barked. The snake turned around and struck toward him, missing him, and giving my sister time to run away. I went into the shed and brought back a hoe, and with Butch’s help, I killed the snake.

A few years later, I spent the summer with my real dad. When I came back home, Butch could hardly walk. I was informed that he had heart worms, and that the doctor said there was nothing he could do for him. I spent the next few weeks feeding him and petting him. Finally, one day, I cried as I told him I loved him.

“You’re the best dog anybody could have ever had,” I told him, “And, I’m gonna miss you something awful. But, I don’t know what to do to make you better.”

The next day, he was gone. I guess he knew that I was saying goodbye. A few months later, we found him in an old bathtub full of water at the edge of the woods. It was his way of sparing me anymore pain.

In this life, you are likely to cross paths with many heroes. If a hero’s qualifications aren’t limited to human beings, then I would have to say that my dog, Butch, was definitely one of mine.

Milo My Love

I told my abusive, drug addicted ex that I was with for nearly 3 years at the time, that I wanted a chihuaha. So, on one of his trips out of town, he procured me a baby girl. He was unable to bring her home because she was still too young, and he would have to work for her. I knew that he often lied to me to get something he wanted, and I wondered what his angle was this time...

But, I made plans anyway. Expect the worst, hope for the best. That was my motto.

The year was 2012. The Mayans said the world would end that year. So, I decided that in order to remember when I got her, I would name her "Maya."

It was in January that he finally brought my baby-dog home. He was tiny. He could barely fill my hand. He was only nine weeks old. And, he had a broken tail that made him look special. My ex said the little girl died, so he got him instead.

It didn't take me long to figure out a name for him. Something close to "Maya". I decided to call him "Milo".

Milo. My love.

As he grew used to his new surroundings, as all puppies do, he became extremely playful. He loved to attack our feet as we walked across the floor. He loved wrestling my hands, and jumping on my face when I would play peek-a-boo.

Milo came to accept me as "momma", and he also knew I would do anything to protect him.

We never knew what mood my ex would come home in. And, my ex had bad feet. So, one day, when Milo innocently attacked his feet as he came in the door, My ex went into a rage.

Milo ran as fast as his little feet could carry him across the slick floor. I was sitting in a chair. He literally climbed up my legs as if he were a cat and immediately buried his face in my chest. I immediately covered him with my hands as he whimpered.

My ex was yelling, "I'm gonna KILL that d*** dog!" and was chasing him. As I covered Milo with my hands and held him close to me, I immediately rose up and got in my ex's face and said, "No, you will NOT. You aren't going to do ANYTHING to hurt this baby."

I guess he didn't know what to think of the look on my face, so he backed down.

I guess, from that moment on, Milo got the message that I was his guardian angel. We became closer than ever.

At night, Milo would snuggle up to me and look at me with those adoring eyes and fall asleep. In the morning, Milo would lick my face until I was awake to take him outside.

When my ex got violent with me, I know Milo felt helpless. He would sadly stare at us and whimper quietly as he sat as far away from us as possible. I was HIS guardian angel, and he was too little to protect me. I was so afraid that if he ever tried, my ex would kill him in a fit of rage.

When I finally got rid of my ex, It was the last time he got violent with me. I was working at a hotel that allowed me to have a room for a couple of nights for free. on the second night, I called my ex and told him that I wanted him to leave.

My ex balked. He said I couldn't ask him to leave. He was on the lease. I told him, "Okay, have it your way. I'll be there with the police tomorrow. I will be pressing charges on you." At that point, he agreed to leave.

"Oh, and by the way, when you leave, you will leave my dog there. And, if I find that ONE hair on his furry little body is hurt, I will put you UNDER the jail."

When I got home the next day, my ex was gone. Milo was SOOO happy to see me.

When I finally threw my ex out for the last time, Milo seemed to take on a more confident personna when he realizes that that mean guy wasn't coming back. I had packed all my ex's stuff in boxes and contacted him to come pick it up.

It was about 2 months before my ex finally came to get his stuff.

We were outside. Milo was on a leash. My ex was in a truck with another guy as they drove up, Milo started growling. Somehow, he KNEW that that mean guy was in that truck. It was as if he could smell him. Milo never did that with any other vehicles that drove up.

When my ex got out of the truck, Milo went into attack mode. He barked harder and louder than ever. He was growling and gnashing his teeth. He was ANGRY.

It was as if he was saying, "NO. YOU ARE NOT COMING BACK IN THIS HOME!"

I have never seen Milo like that. Milo had found his courage. Milo was backing up his Momma. He was a pitt bull in a chihuaha's body.

All the neighbors knew and loved Milo when he came outside. Milo would always give them a Happy Bark to say hello. I immediately took Milo into my arms as he gnashed and growled, and my ex got his stuff and left with tears running down his face. I guess he realized how much of an ass he really had been at that point.

The neighbors said, "Yeah, Milo knows one when he sees one."

Milo and I lived happily ever after. We had been through so much together. We have a special history that Otis will never know.

I don't know the exact date he was born. I know it was in November of 2012. So, I'll choose this day to say Happy Birthday, Milo, My Love.