AMAZING MAIL AND DUCT TAPE BOY

I got something in the mail this week. Something not uncommon for some people yet something new for me, something shocking, something needed , something that has been a long time in coming, something I have wanted for a long long time. So what could that something be in this small flat envelope?...........................My first EVER child support check! Yep, that is right. I have been divorced for 12 years and have never gotten one of these. The first few years he paid some money directly to me and then soon that stopped. Several times I tried to get help in this matter but each attorney was wanting so much money up front. I did not have that kind of money and sometimes I also thought that I didn't need or want his money or the hassle that would come with it. Sometimes it is better to leave him alone. I finally ended up going to SC Child Support Enforcement and filed a case. The paper work was lost and the case got dismissed! So last year I filed again. This time they filed the wrong paper work and my case got pushed back. Any how, now it is legal and my child support will come through the court system. I had a large sum of back owed money but he tried to argue that figure so we agreed on a lesser amount. Maybe I shouldn't have left him off easy again, but I am just so happy that I am getting something. I mean, Sandy and I have been married for 10 years and he has supported the kids 100% even covering them with his health insurance. Sometimes it is a strain for him, so this will greatly help.

Now on to other stuff. Here you see Austin and me working on something. See the duct tape?

Today was "Duct Tape" day at his school. You could put the tape any where on your clothes or body. Austin wanted to cover his whole body.
Then we ran an orange stripe down the sides.
And put a random dot in the center of his chest. We started this at 7am and barely made it to school in time. We are last minute people around here!
Can you see the girl in the distance with green tape on her pants. It is so cool how many colors of duct tape that they have now.
Here he is heading into school.
When I picked him up this afternoon I saw his friend with a piece of Austin's orange tape around his head.
They made headbands and then Austin made a green bow tie with some of his friends tape.
A bunch of girls wrote messages on his back for his brother, Aaron. He had a good time and came in 2nd place. He said that next year he was going to cover his body with blue tape and make red 'underwear' and a cape and put a superman emblem on his chest. Pretty cool idea to me!

Have a great, fun weekend!!

OOPS!!

Bad news!!! Aaron was in a car accident today. Thank God that he and Austin were unharmed. My car however was not. It looks like it will be a total loss. The damage is much worse than it appears in the pictures.
The air bags deployed and caused the dash to come up and break the windshield. The front end is all beat up and the radiator busted.
Aaron was stopped at a red light. He had been dealing with a migraine all day. He said that he felt like he dozed off or blacked out. He must have hit the gas and when Austin screamed he became alert but had already hit the car in front of him, which in turn hit the car in front of it. It is hard to believe that this much damage occurred from a dead stop. The one car that he hit had some rear bumper damage and the front car had none.
Aaron has had migraines since he was 2 years old. He did pass out with them a few times. After CT and MRI we were told that he had a cyst on his brain. We try to stay in control of his headaches but it looks like we may need to go back to the doctor for some better treatment.
Emotions are running high here tonight. I myself, am just thankful that the boys are ok. We will deal with the rest later. What a way to start the week.

SATURDAY LAUGH

In the last few weeks I have replaced my chocolate stash at work with nuts. Do you think this applies to me! LOL!

SUCCESSFULL SURGERY

Whew!!! It's been a long day. We started out very early this morning. I had to take Wes to his first day at his new job at 6:30 and then we headed to the surgery center. Here is Austin and his dad looking for Hidden Pictures in the Highlights magazine.
Here he is waiting to get his IV tube. He asked me before we got there if they were going to give him a feeding tube. I was like- huh? Then I realized he meant IV. Silly boy!
He was scheduled to go in at 9 am but did not get to go until 10:30. He was so hungry and thirsty.
The ear surgery took all of 10 minutes and the removal of the "growth" in his throat took about 5, so it was over very quickly. However, it took him a long time to wake up. He was very nauseated and his throat was hurting very bad. He came home and sleep for several more hours. Here he actually got up to go to the bathroom but still looks very sleeping. He hasn't spoken a word all day and is in great pain. My poor sweet little guy :(
Psalms 103:2-3 Bless the lord,O my soul and forget not all his benefits:Who forgiveth all thine iniquities: who healeth all thy diseases
Jeremiah 30: 17 For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds saith the Lord.
Mom came over to keep an eye on him while I picked the other boys up. While he was sleeping she helped me to organize all of my earrings. Years ago before Sandy and I were married he gave me this pretty velvet heart box with candy in it. I have kept it all these years and decided to try to put it to good use.
I had these little plastic cups left over from when I used to do caterings. We had the idea to use them inside the box but they were too tall. Mom sat down and cut them all shorter.
Here she is working hard at it. Those little scissors hurt her fingers and I told her to quit, but she is one determined woman! Trust me- she is!
Look how nice the cups fit in the box and the earrings are nestled inside.
I put all of my antique and special pins on this mirrored tray. Some of these pins were mom's when she was younger and some where mine when I was little. (like the orange Avon cat). The old Charlie Brown pin is my favorite. So jewelry is all organized. Yeah!
Wes really enjoyed his first day at work. He said he stayed busy all day and time flew. Can you tell by the picture below where he might work...........hmmm..........

Cotton factory! They told him if he wore warm fuzzy clothes that the cotton will stick all over him. It was in his hair and eyebrows too. He said that they sample the cotton and then sort it. The good cotton gets sent to the name brand factories and the not so good cotton goes to low end factories. I guess that is why the name brand T shirts feel and wear so much better than the cheaper ones. I learned something new today! Poor guy- look how dirty his hands got today.
I Thessalonians 4:11 And that you study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you.

SURGERY DAY

I am headed off early this morning to take Austin for his surgery. I will let everyone know how it goes when we get done.

FORBIDDEN FOOD

For me, most food is "forbidden". Some days I am so tired of living a gluten free life, but I know that I have to. Well, this food might be called forbidden but I can eat this. This is organic Forbidden Rice. It was originally grown and made for only the emperors of China. It is a purple rice.See it in the pot? Looks pretty huh?
I also made some grilled chicken and pineapples along with mixed veggies. Most people think this rice look gross, but I love it. It has a good nutty taste to it. I only cooked for Austin and myself, so later I went to the kitchen to find this......................
Wes chopping up chicken and cooking chicken alfredo. ATTENTION SINGLE LADIES......HE CAN COOK!!!! (And he does the dishes!) (and he has a job!!!) LOL!

NO MORE LAZY DAYS!!!

Looks like Wes won't be laying around sleeping all the time any more......................
He got a job!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (shaved his head too- you silly monkey, Wes) Can't you see how happy he is??? I think mom is even happier.I wanted to get a picture of him so I could do a post about his job. I walked in and snapped and caught him off guard. I love his serious/surprised look here.
Thank God a job has finally opened for him. Jobs are so scarce here and our unemployment office even ran out of money in this state. I am so thankful that he got something, even if it is thru a temp agency. Also, thankfully the job is very near my work so we can help transport him. He will also be making good money. Maybe he can help mom with grocery money :)

Oh, and here is one more of my new outfits. Jacket looks good with my new hair color,huh? LOL! I'm off to bed......very tired........good night..........

FUN AT THE AUCTION AND BASKETBALL

First I will show you one of my new outfits. Betty Jo bought me this great necklace and earrings a few months ago so I thought they would go great with my new outfit.I pulled out my cute black heals and put it all together with my new French Dressing jean outfit.

How does it look?
Saturday morning we went to Aaron's basketball game.


We were so close for most of the game but ended up losing in the end. Many adults in the stands were upset by many of the refs calls but we always have that problem when we play this certain team. Oh, well as long as the boys have fun!
At around 4 pm my sister, Sara and I took of for the auction. Sara has never been and I forewarned her that it would last a long time. I got home around 11:30!
I got this great vintage stool for Aaron for $7.50.
I got me a cool looking vanity chair for $5.00.
I got Aaron this vintage framed Nike poster for $5.00.
They have this one room that has tons and tons of $5.00 boxes. They have all assorted stuff in them. You put your bidder number in the box and if no one else bids you get it for $5.00. I got this box with glass ware and was so excited to find an unopened pack of vintage McDonalds playing cards! Lucky for Austin! (Read a few post back to see about his card collection)
The main reason I got that box was for this Montgomery Wards pitcher. I already had the Sears one so now I have the other one.
They also had a HUGE amount of stuff that came from a floral shop that closed down. I bought 4 huge boxes of Christmas greenery for $5.00!
There was lots of garland and swags and wreaths. There is also picks with berries and pinecones and a few mini Christmas trees.
And way in the bottom of one box was this cute little velvet deer family. I still have to pick up the other boxes later today so I will see what other treasures I might find. I could never have bought even one length of green garland for $5.00. What a bargain.
I got this mirror for $3.00. I think I might put it in Austin's room.


I really did not have much money to spend. The main reason I went was because they had this Hoosier cabinet that I was really in love with. It looked a lot like this one but it was older and beat up a bit. It even had the old flour sifter built in. It had an enamel top. It would have went so well in my kitchen. It sold for $105. That was a steal and I surely would have bought it had I had the extra money. Oh, well maybe next time.
If you have never been to an estate auction you should go. It is a blast. The auctions that we go to are Absolute which means everything sells even if it is for $5.00. There were so many large pieces of antique furniture that went for $80- $100. Great bargains. So much fun.