Last years Thanksgiving

Do you remember the cold front that blew through on Thanksgiving day last year and left a dusting of snow?

Here are a few pictures from last years Thanksgiving Day at Cottondust's parents house, in the snow.

Cottondust, Cottonboll and Dakota running down the sidewalk to burn energy

Cottonboll and Dakota. Dakota needs to be groomed

Happy Thanksgiving from Cottondust, Treesa , Cottonboll and Dakota.

(sorry it is very hard to get a family picture of a all 3 or 4 (Dakota) of us. one snaps and one in the picture)

Sea Lions at El Paso Zoo

Back in September we made a quick trip to ElPaso to see Cottondust's grandparents. (more on that later). On the way home we stop at the ElPaso Zoo. ElPaso Zoo is just big enough to enjoy with small children. Below is picture of the Sea Lions underground aquarium. One sea lion kept circling around the aquarium, right in front of the window. Cottonboll loved every minute of it. She asked if we could take the sea lion home. She said" he can swim in my pool" (she has a Kiddy pool)

Papa and cousin Zeke move in to get a closer look

around and around the sea lion went, to the children's delight


around and around

and around
Cottonboll says "he was swimming a round so silly"

I wonder what the sea lion thoughts were.

Papa and Nana when can we go back?

8 Things about me

I' ve beem tagged by Denise. Thanks

8 TV shows I watch ( I watch a lot of reruns late at night)
1. Friends
2. Reba
3. Seinfeld
4. Scrubs
5. If Walls Could Talk
6. Hidden Potential
7. Dancing with the Stars
8. House Hunters

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Harrigan's
2. Gardskies
3. Chedders
4. Abuelo's
5. Picantes
6. Chick-fil-a
7. Subway
8. Sonic (love happy hour 1/2 price drinks)

8 Things that happened today
1. made breakfast and cleaned up after breakfast
2. lost and found my phone twice
3. talk to my Dad
4. Played and lost a game of Candyland
5. played baby dolls
6. Cottonboll and I worked on her Christmas wish list
7. answered a million questions
8. read the blogs I follow and blogged

8 things I look forward to
1. Cottonboll's smile and laugh
2. Cottondust coming home after work
3. Dakota's loyalty
4. Daily morning chats with my dad and my afternoon chats with my mom
5. A Good book, soft rain and thunder
6. Family time
7. rest time
8. Play dates with friends (for the kids and moms)

8 thing I wish for
1. Cottonboll to live a long happy life in Christ
2. Cottondust safety
3. continuing a long happy marriage
4. more children
5. to sleep late
6. a hot date with Cottondust
7. a clean house
8. right now a Starbucks peppermint mocha twist grande please

8 people I tagged
I have only one person who blogs and was not tagged by Denise
1. Camie

Thanksgiving

My parents Thanksgiving is all ways the weekend before Thanksgiving Day. My mom will say it is because she didn't want her children to have to choose who to spend Thanksgiving with, them or in laws, but the truth is after we (me, my sister and brother) married and moved out, they want thanksgiving weekend to themselves. Once again Happy Anniversary Dad and Mom have a great thanksgiving weekend. Saturday was great.

So Saturday we had thanksgiving at my parent house. I didn't take many pictures (i know bad daughter bad bad), but we had a great time. When Cottondust, Cottonboll and I pulled up to my parents house, my dad was on the far side of the house, just out of eye shot from the front door, drinking a Diet Dr. pepper. I looked at Cottondust and said "he is hiding from my mom". Dad strolls over to us and I ask "hiding from mom?" dad replies "no just standing in the sun". (I didn't believe him either). We go in and mom is running around with a bottle of Windex and a roll of paper towels still cleaning and says " i don't know where your father went off to". Cottonboll says "he outside drinking a Diet Dr Pepper" uh oh busted...

The food was great and spending time with my family was wonderful. Cottonboll ran around like a wild child playing with her cousins. The men (Cottondust, Dad, my brother, Uncle and cousin in law) stood in the front yard talking and watching the kids run wild. The women (me, Mom, my sister, sister in law, cousin and aunt) stood in kitchen finished up the cooking ,talking and scooting kiddos back outside to play.

Saturday was a great day Happy Thanksgiving.

Happy 35th Anniversary

My parents have a great marriage. I grew up in loving home with loving parents who, love each other very much and have a great marriage. I remember my parents fighting like couples do and I remember them making up also. Most all I remember the love and care they have and still do for each other. November 24th is there 35th wedding anniversary's and We wish you a very happy Anniversary.



God Love them, but they use to embarrass me so with their PDA (public display of affection). One time I was in the 6th grade and we where at my sister basketball game. My Dad had his arm around my mom and would occasionally gently rub her back I was sitting with my friends and they said " look at your parents your dad is rubbing you moms back ooooooooooo". More than once I would go to school and some kid would come up to me and say "I saw your parents kissing on the front porch". Yes those times did embarrassed me but, I am and have always been thankful that my parents love each other and do show their love. So maybe that is the secrete to a happy marriage PDA.

Happy Anniversary

Here's to many more years

Love you Dad and Mom

Happy Anniversary

My House smells sooo yummy

Cottonboll and I made pumpkin pies to take to my parents house for their Thanksgiving on Saturday. We had a great time and Cottondust got home just in time to take pictures for us.

Adding brown sugar

mixing the pumpkin in the mixture

pouring the mixture in the pie shell.




The finished pie

Thanks Mom, Cottonboll and I had fun and I hope they are good. See you tommorrow

We made a total of 8 pumpkin pies. They smelled soooo good and tasted very good. Cottonboll help me with the first 3 and gave up waiting on them to finish baking and went off to play. After I snap the picture above, she had her bedtime snack and went to bed.

Cottondust was a great help also, he did take some pictures and kept me awake by playing Guess this Song. He was in the 80's mood. I have to admit I love late 80's and early 90's music. I am way cooler then he is. For years any time Cottondust doesn't understand something I am saying; I have stated in a southern draw "What we have here, is a failure to communicate" he looks at me like I'm nuts and I would say you know Guns-n-Roses.

Can you guess what song?

Its is the beginning of the monologue before the song Civil War.

We had way to much and I felt young and old all at the sametime.

Don't you just love Guns-n-Roses "Sweet Child of Mine", Def Leopard "Love Bits", "Hysteria"and don't forget "November Rain"

Bon Jovi "You Give Love a Bad Name", "Living on a Prayer" "Wanted Dead or Alive"

Just to name a few; we also listened to Micheal Jackson and Madonna

Any way, we had a fun Friday night of pie making and music history. And I am way cool!!!!

Blogging is so much FUN

This blogging thing is so much fun. Thank you Amy-Rose and Jessica for introducing me to blogging. Since I have started blogging I spend more time on our personal computer then I use too. I was working on another post this morning while Cottonboll was playing. Cottonboll is always singing or talking to someone or something so if she gets quiet, time to check on her. I got up to look for her and this is what I found. Cottonboll working on her own version of her blog. She received the pink laptop last year for Christmas and when we upgraded to a new computer, gave her the old keyboard and mouse to play with. She put them together to look like a desk top computer like the one I am using.

(She hasn't noticed me taking pictures of her yet)

Working so hard typing

using the mouse (still hasn't noticed me yet)



typing again

uh-oh busted

Mommyyyyyyyyyy!

me "What are you doing?"

Cottonboll "blogging"

me "why do you have your laptop and a keyboard"
Cottonboll "it looks like yours"

smart girl

This is what Dakota was doing while I was blogging.

He is laying right behind me

(he doesn't know I'm taking his picture either)

busted again

The other post I was working on I will verify some facts with Cottondust and post soon.

Mom thanks for the recipe Cottonboll and I have big plans today after rest time to make pumpkin pies. I need a volunteer to photograph our pie making.

I have verify facts with Cottondust and posted CottonDust?????? below this post

Cotton Dust????

What exactly is cotton dust?? Meet the cotton dust culprit who has brought cotton dust into my house nightly for the past two weeks. My loving husband Cottondust him self. Many of you and your allergy's know it is cotton harvest time in West Texas. Cottondust works in cotton research and has been harvesting cotton in or behind a cotton harvester or "stripper" . He has a modified cotton stripper were he is able to ride on the back and collect samples. I wish I had a picture to show you. I will try to send the camera with Cottondust to get a picture. any way back to what is cotton dust.

Do you see the white specks on his jacket? cotton dust and lots of it. Not only is it on the front of his jacket but on the back as well and his cap.

and his jeans
(Do you see Dakota's tail?)

front and back
(Dakota says "hi")

entry side walk to front door

more on the side walk

I Love this time of year

I would love to see a true Autumn day to see all the beautiful reds, yellows, oranges and browns

My favorite time of the year is Fall. I love to watch the leaves change and crisp cool mornings with bright warm afternoons. Well not today windy windy and cold, but there has been a couple of beautiful mornings and afternoons

West Texas leaves go from green to brown but they are still beautiful and fun to jump in.

and round up and jump again and again.

Have a Happy Autumn Day

Mom I need the pumkin pie recipe.....Love you

Thanksgiving Feast

Today at Cottonboll's parents day out program was their thanksgiving feast. Cottonboll made a Indian headband, pumpkin place mat and center piece for the occasion.

She was so excited! I join the feast and had lunch with Cottonboll, her classmates and their parents. She had her favorite cube ham and cheese with crackers and fruit. I had a really good chicken potato cheese soup. (I need the recipe)



Thank you Miss Lisa and Parents Dayout program for a great lunch and all that you do.

Happy Birthday

When you become an adult with responsibilities life changes, one of those changes, is I have found it difficult to make new friends and maintain friendships. I am quiet and shy until I feel comfortable around someone. Then my thoughts, opinions and friendship poor out of me. I work a weird scheduled for most and I prefer to spend my free time with my family with that said I do have a few dear friends who share the same weird scheduled and thoughts. Yesterday was one of my best friends birthday. Our friendship started about a year and a half ago as a play date for our girls. We discovered we had a lot in common and have been able to work around our schedule and families to maintains a friendship.

She has stuck with me through a very rough year and has let me cry on her shoulder, put up with my anger and has been there for me when I needed a friend or sitter. I just wanted to say thank you and I love and appreciate you and our friendship.

Her birthday was yesterday and I wish you a very happy birthday and we will go get manicures and pedicures when our schedules matches up again.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESSICA.

I have a messy habit

Good habit: I love to read, I prefer to cuddle up and read a book than watch TV any day.






Bad messy habit: Monday afternoon while I was picking up by my self I noticed something, I have a messy habit as well. (shocked? I was) I was leaving books right were I had finished reading them, next to my bed, next to the fireplace, on the fire place mantel, on the end table and on the coffee table.








I do have a small defence thou, Cottonboll and I had just been to the library and 2 of those books are new and 2 books are the ones she got from the library. So maybe my messy habit isn't as bad after all? Ok ok it is. I will round up the books, the books that I have read i will take to work to share with the book club and put the rest up.

I am passing my love of reading to my daughter. She loves to read.

Oh no I think I am passing my messy habit to her also. I will have to nip this one in the bud.

More Messy habits

Meet Dakota our old man. He was 12 years in October. He has messy habits also.




He can't keep his dog food in his bowl. I'm not sure why but he insist on scooting the bowl around till there is no food left in the bowl.

Empty food bowl = Very messy utility room.

Drives me crazy, but he will clean it up. I pick up his bowl and don't feed him until he has eaten all the food off the floor.

Works like a charm

Messy Habits

I work most weekends, Friday and Saturday night from 7pm to 7am. Therefore I sleep all day Saturday and half a day on Sunday. Cottondust and Cottonboll are on their own for the weekend and have been since Cottonboll was three months old . It works out great for our family. Cottonboll and Cottondust survive their weekends together very well. They are both happy, full and clean for the most part when I get up, but my house is not. Normally Sunday evening after dinner I turn into the wicked witch and every body has to help clean up and I stand and direct. (that goes there, this here, put your shoes in your closet)

Yesterday we had something special to do. (more on that later). So after our special after noon we went out to eat and had great time. Cottonboll was tired and was a sleep by 8. Cottondust and I enjoyed some time to our selves which leaves Cottonboll and me to pick today. Cottonboll and I had a busy Monday morning , had lunch with uncle Neil and aunt Camie and went to the library. Now is Monday afternoon Cottonboll is down for rest time and (surprise surprise) asleep. So my house is still a wreck ( i cant stand to have a messy house drives me nuts) i began to clean and discover new and old bad habits.

Cottonboll has a major problem keeping shoes on her feet. Guess how many pairs of her shoes were scattered through out the house (for now they are in front of her bedroom door until she gets up from nap time)

How many did you count. remind you that she only 4. (why does my 4 year old have all of these shoes?) I really don't know why.

9 pairs of shoes: 3 pairs of house shoes, 2 pairs of crocks, 1 pair of boots, tennis shoes, dress shoes and sandals.


9 pairs of shoes that she took out of her closet, wore, took off and left them scattered through out the house. 9 pairs of shoes. oh wait there is more she did not wear any of them to day.






Here are today's shoes by her bed. while the little shoe scattering monsters naps.

More family messy habits to come soon.

Welcome Warning

Oh help me now! I have enter the new world of blogging. Please bear with me while I enter this new world. For those who know me are well aware of my many faults (and love me anyway) and for those who don't will soon learn 2 of my many faults include the fact that, I can NOT spell and I cant not proof read, so please excuse all my miss spelled words and grammar errors.



With that warning,Welcome to my blog, Cotton Dust and Cotton Bolls.



I have title our blog Cotton Dust and Cotton Bolls because I think it fits my family, our life as we age, change and enjoy life and I am the blogger so its is about my family Cottondust and Cottonboll. Also during this time of year my husband aka Cottondust comes home covered in cotton dust and my front foyer is currently covered in fine cotton dust (ahchoo sniff sniff. bless me).