Robbie Cox's Blog, page 14

Rein in Your Thinking

Sometimes, I even listen to myselfWhen someone calls you into their office or says they need to talk to you, do you get feelings of being back in school and called to the dean’s office or do you get excited about what may be coming next?  When the girls are in a bad mood, my mind races over everything that has happened in our home lately trying to figure out where I dropped some ball I was supposed to be carrying.  If your first question is “What did I do now?” and you find yourself...

It’s All about Attitude

It's easy to go with the flow when you're in a pool“The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude.” - William James.  I love that quote.  It speaks to the problem with so many in our society today.  Attitude.  You hear it about coworkers.  “He is such a hard worker, but his attitude sucks.”  Students.  “Her attitude is so negative; it’s amazing she has any friends.”  Sometimes, she doesn’t. ...

The Messy Truth

This change is good, as wellChange is good.  It keeps us from growing stagnant and pushes us forward.  It keeps things alive and fresh.  In a world of stale ideas we need alive and fresh.  It is with the thought of change in my mind that my musings of late have centered.  I was ready to change things up a bit, shake the tree some and see what fell out.  The Mess is doing great and the readership has more than doubled over the past year.  I thank all of you w...

Looking Back

2013 is almost over.  Everyone is making resolutions that they will break before January and planning out the coming year.  The girls and I have already planned our five big trips and filled in the dates of 2014 with as much information as we had on hand.  Dates are reserved and some goals have been set.
However, I prefer to use these final days as a time to look back on the past year and see where I was at the beginning and how far I’ve traveled since that first sip of champagn...

The Use of the Like Button

LIKE!To be honest, when people press the LIKE button on Facebook, it sometimes confuses me.  I’m not talking about pages for authors, movies, musicians, or inappropriate jokes.  Those I can comprehend.  However, sometimes, I have to sit back and wonder what people were really thinking when they placed their cursor over that little blue LIKE word and clicked..  I’ll give you an example.
Facebook status update from someone on my newsfeed: “Not feeling well today.  Couldn...

Hey, I’m Eating Here!

Seat for oneOn our way back from Miami, we decided to pop into Boynton Beach and visit some friends we don’t get to see very often.  It wasn’t going to be a long visit as we were on a time schedule in order to get back for the 9 year-old, but we figured lunch would be a perfect time to get together.  We don’t have a Sweet Tomatoes in our town and I enjoy eating there when we can so I picked the lunch spot.  I don’t know if you’re familiar with Sweet Tomatoes, but it’s an all yo...

Tales from an Autistic Childhood: School was a Minefield

While we were in Miami, I had the great privilege of meeting author Jeannie Davide-Rivera.  You might remember me talking about her in my post Reader's Favorite Awards.  She is the lady Teri just had to hug and a talented writer, as well.  She is also an award-winning author ( Twirling Naked in the Streets and No One Noticed; Growing Up with Undiagnosed Autism ), the autism categoryexpert writer for answers.com, a writer for Autism Parenting Magazine, The Thinking...

The Christmas List

It’s that time of year again.  You know the one; where people are asking you what you want for Christmas and then telling you what they want “just in case you need some ideas.”  The 9 year-old has already written her letter to Santa, even though she refuses to sit on his lap.  I’d be leery as well, I guess, if I knew that in a few weeks that chubby old man was going to be sneaking into my house to leave gifts.  I mean, our parents do warn us about strangers offering gifts,...

Reader’s Favorite Awards

If you’ve been paying attention to the Mess over the past couple of weeks - and shame on you if you haven’t - then you know a couple of weeks ago the girls and I ventured to the chaotic city of Miami to celebrate with author Taylor Fulks as she accepted her Reader’s Favorite Gold Award. Reader’s Favorite is “the fastest growing book review and award contest site on the internet,” and now thanks to Taylor, I now know about them. To be honest I didn’t before, but that’s because I haven’t done m...

Paying to Park

We were in the planning stages of our trip to Miami and searching out hotels. The one where the Reader’s Favorite Awards was to be held was full, so we were doing our best to find one close by and within our budget. There were a few and we had a couple of choices that appealed to us. Having traveled a little bit, we’ve become trained to search the reviews for comments and the listing for the amenities offered. I mean, hey, I require certain luxuries even on the road. I want a coffee pot in my...