It's Raining...It's Pouring...the old man is...what? It's Flooding!!

I got home today, and it was absolutely coming a down pour. The water was within an inch from coming into the apartment. My neighbor heard John and I talking and he poked his head out, and said that the water fortunately has never come into the apartments. There was a pretty good flow. I suppose you could say we had the Abbey River flowing through here. I took a couple of videos, but they didn't turn out great. I'll post them, and see what happens. I took some pictures too. Oh, did I mention Niagra Falls came to visit too? See for yourself: (click picture for larger view)

1. "Niagra Falls"
2. You can see the water quickly rising to the threshold.
3. Standing outside my front door.
4. My patio. The water is rising nicely here, too. You can tell by the leg of the bench.

This first one is a tad bit hard to see, but wait till it gets towards the end. You'll see when I get the camera to focus the water coming up at the bottom of the video. The roar is the rain and Niagra Falls at the end of the sidewalk.

This second video is shorter. At one point, i show my feet completely submerged, but it'll be hard to see on this small shot. You'll hear my neighbor (One of the TWO nice ones here) talking about how it flows and disappears as soon as the rain is over. He's right. It's already gone.

S.P.A.S.I.C.

S ome
P eople
A re
S o
I n-
C onsiderate


*UPDATE* I added a picture at the bottom of the post showing what happens outside my door when it rains...

So only a few of my oldest friends would remember the days of screaming SPASIC!!!! when someone was rude to them, or just had no concerns about anyone but themselves.


Today, I went over to some friends' house to see their new baby, and help out with a few things around the house. When I got home, I followed my normal "come home" routine.

Daisee had been locked in the crate for several hours, and when this is the case, I leave the front door open, go to the crate let her out, and she runs straight for the door. If I don't do this, she'll pee on the floor, cause she's so excited. usually, on the way out the door, i grab a poop bag and her leash. Today, I couldn't find her leash quickly, so I went on outside with just the poop bag. I normally don't put her on the leash anyways, because she stays right with me most of the time.

Well, I have these semi-new neighbors who seem like the unhappiest people ever. I've said hi to them, smiled at them, John's said hi, and both of us get the same response: "Go to hell" looks, and they turn and walk away. At first, I thought maybe they didn't speak english, because in this lovely town, you never know. BUT - Hello, Hi, and a smile are universal - everybody knows that! These are the kind of people I dread running into when I'm outside, and it seems like they come and go so much that i ALWAYS see them. grrr... This was the case today-

As they are getting out of their car, Daisee is minding her own business, and sniffing out a poop place. She then spots him, barks one time, and then goes on about her sniffing. Well...Mr. Nice Guy turns around, raises at her the shoes he has in his hands, and says "Shut the F*ck Up." Yeah. I was kinda mad. I'm non-confrontational (especially with a stranger), so I didn't say anything. UNTIL...he started to walk off, and Daisee started walking the same direction. He turns around, and stomps at her to scare her, and mouths something else to her.

HECK NO. So I said something, and this is how the conversation went:

ME: Look, you don't have to talk to my dog that way and threaten her.

MR. NICE GUY: I didn't threaten your dog. besides, you need to have her on a leash.

ME: She's not bothering you or anyone else. She's fine. Leave her a lone

Mr NICE GUY: I'm gonna turn you in for that. You also need to have a doggie bag.

ME: What do you think this is in my hand?

--
The whole time, he won't even give me the respect to talk to my face - he's walking off the whole time. JERK.

My dog has been at the Abbey MUCH longer than he has. This is why I hate this stupid apartment complex. Rude people, and holy cow- just in the year I've been there- it's so trashy now. Daisee has quit peeing outside because they don't mow the dang grass. It's so tall, she doesn't like to walk in it. She poops, but she will not pee outside. yeah- you guessed it. She pees inside. AARRRRGGGHHH!!!! My creepy upstairs neighbor has started a new trend with several people - Hey! Let's all just drop our trash out the side of the car instead of taking it inside or 25 yards over to the trash dumpster. There was a hypodermic needle on the ground last week, surrounded by about 30-40 cigarette butts. Hmmm...wonder was going on there. This weekend, someone dumped HUNDREDS of strip club ads all over the place. They are everywhere. My neighbors all smoke, and they love throwing their butts down at my front door. What have I done? Maybe it's because we all got the notice NOT to throw butts on the ground, and they don't want people to know it's them. hmmm..let's see- what else? oh yeah - the flooding. Now there's mud all up to my front door, and it's covering my door mat, so mud is getting tracked into the carpet. I found a bottle of KY Jelly at the end of my sidewalk. huh??? How does that happen? It's nothing to walk out to the grassy area where I take Daisee and it be covered in beer bottles from the party the night before. Of course, she likes to lick them. yuck. I'm amazed the poor thing is still alive.



<-- This is what happens outside my door when it rains. My door is to your right. The water is about 2 1/2 inches deep, and is about 1 1/2 inches from getting into my door.

ok- well, I've vented about this place long enough. Thanks for listening. :-)

oh yeah - i got my hair cut off yesterday. It's cute, but i'm not sure how I feel about it yet. I had grown my hair out for a long time, and I'm now wishing I had just gotten it trimmed. I was enjoying it. most of the time. I convinced myself otherwise when I was sitting in that chair yesterday. Oh well. Lesson learned.

Prayer Requests

Ok - So there aren't any rules about posting two times in one day, are there?

I have some prayer requests I'd like for you to pray for. Little to no details. God knows who I'm talking about, and knows their needs.

*Mom - Needs a new job, and to get meds lined out
*Dad - getting over flu
*John - job is extremely stressful
*Katie
*Troy - Cancer Treatment
*Ray - Parent Matters - wants to return to church
*Karen - Parent Matters - Wants to return to church
*Kevin - Had a very scary event happen in his life.
*Marcelle - has been feeling bad lately. no explanation for it
*Bruce - juggling many tasks at once.
*Scott - on the search for a house. deals keep falling through. adjusting to new life up north.
*Jim - Needs to slow down a bit.
*Jason and Karina - new baby - Mary Katherine
*Daron and Sarah - new baby - Katherine (Katie)
*Justin and Shannon - almost new baby! -Hudson
*Oak Hills Church - about to launch a HUGE series, following the book, The Story
*Nathan - was in emergency room this week with heart issues
*Bill - getting married Labor Day weekend
*Dawn - leaving Oak Hills for a new position elsewhere

These are just some for the people closest to me...there are plenty more. Join me in prayer...

God is Working overtime in my life...

Wow. that's all I have to say about the past couple of days.

What normally would be an ordinary weekend, turned out to be EXTRAordinary.

It started with leading worship this weekend. I absolutely LOVE to sing, and I think God has blessed me with a natural gift, and I love to just give it back to Him. Well, not only was this just an awesome weekend music-wise, but in so many other ways. We have so many talented people on the worship team, and this weekend, I felt like it just meshed. I had a blast. I clapped my leg so hard, it was bruised when I got home. oops. I guess I got a little into it.

Well, Sunday morning was extra special. John's mom, stepdad, and little brother came to church. THey had said several times they were going to come, but this time, they really did. There have been some life-changing events for them lately, and they felt they really needed Gods help. God totally brough them there this weekend. Randy's message? "Do the Right Thing". It was the story of David and Bathsheba, and then he went into the part where Nathan confronts David, and tells him that because of the wrong he had done (adultery, trying to cover up the resulting pregnancy, and then sending Uriah [Bathsheba's husband]out in the battlefield to die), his baby with Bathsheba would die. Randy is a phenominal speaker, and it really hit home with a lot of people (including myself), but John's parents...oh my goodness. They were so excited. They LOVED Oak Hills. They want to come back. Kevin, John's little brother has been reading his bible faithfully, and has set time aside each night for his time with the Lord. Let me just say - this is HUGE...I even glanced up to see John walking back to his seat, after praying with Max Lucado. This is another blessing. Not that Max can pray better than others, but it's a big deal for John. I really can't put it in to words how exciting that part of the weekend. Thank you Lord for bringing them to Oak Hills. I pray they come back. Would you pray for them, too?

This morning, I was in prayer time and made a prayer request that I have been making for 3 weeks now. it went something like this: "I know I sound like a broken record, but please continue to pray for my mom. She's STILL without airconditioning, and it's getting very frustrating. It's only a WINDOW UNIT..." Without going into all the details...my mom now has a brand new air conditioning unit being delivered to her house tomorrow. Dorothy Bagley at Oak Hills Church is an absolute angel to me and my mom. She is one of the dearest, sweetest, ladies you could ever meet. and I mean that. I never mentioned that my mom only had a window unit, so everyone had been picturing a big central air unit. When they heard window unit - they were shocked. Several people stepped in and wanted to go get her one, and install it TODAY...until they found out she's 6 hours away.

This was an email from one of those dear people...

Melissa,
It’s just so simple... There are many prayers that are sought in our Prayer
Time that only God can answer... But getting a window air conditioner is
something God can do through US...

What sweet words. I never thought of it that way.

I have really been so moved by people the past couple of days. These are the days that are worth living.

Thank you, Lord, for taking care of my family and friends the way you have. You have not only answered one prayer, but several in just a matter of 24 hours. All glory to YOU!!!

--

I started my 10 hour work days today. It was still dark when I got to work this morning. yuck. 5:30 am?? I didn't know such a time existed! HA! I enjoyed it. I was extremely busy all day, and I didn't even leave until 5:15!! Normally I'm beatin' the doors down and OUT...let's see how long it takes me to get used to this one!

Bedknobs and Broomsticks...

She's driving me nuts...Daisee that is. It's been almost a month, and I still have all this coke stuff in my apartment. I can't keep Daisee from eating the corners of the boxes, and well, to be blunt, it's making her constipated. Poor dog can't push it all out. I feel sorry for her, but she just won't stop. She's always got something in her mouth. It just never seems to be something she's allowed to have.

I did manage, though, to get all of the coke stuff back in boxes - 11 boxes to be exact. They are in a neat stack in my dining room now. This is not great, but it's better than my living room. I had to even put my ottoman out on the porch. Ok, so I did that because Daisee peed on it, and it stunk really really bad. Hopefully it's aired out.

I've got some more changes to talk about! First of all - by just changing my diet - I've lost 5 pounds. I finally saw something below 140 on the scale. yay! Maybe it's because I've been incredibly stressed out, and haven't had much of an appetite. I'm still eating, just not as much. not a bad thing.

Yesterday - I found a new apartment!!! I'm so excited. I don't move until October, but I had to get my hands on this one, because they say they rent out very quickly, and this is the ONLY one they had open for now. I got an incredible deal on this really nice apartment. visit http://www.estatesatcanyonridge.com/ to see the new place. :-) Here's my floorplan.

Of course, i'm not paying the price listed. I'm paying a LOT less. :-)

Another change is going to be my working hours. I'm starting four 10s next week. It's on a trial run basis. With high gas prices, they are providing people with the opportunity to use less gas on trips to and from work. I thought it was a nice gesture - however, I don't think it's going to save anyone on gas. People are using those days to run all over town! So, as opposed to my 18 miles a day to and from work, I'll probably put more on than that some days. :-) Thank goodness for Hondas. My odd thing is I will have Wednesdays off. I think it will break the monontany (do doo do do do...manamana...do do do do...manamana. <-- sorry...a little muppets humor). I will work two days, be off one day, work two days, and be off two days.

Jim (my boss) and I sat and had a really long talk this morning about how we can help each other be more productive, since I'm going to be there for 10 hours. See - as I mentioned in one of my very first posts, i generally don't have too much to do, so I'm bored. Adding two more hours to nothing could be a killer. I'm trying to avoid that. Since I'm feeling better, though, I'm much more productive, and can generally stay pretty busy. We'll see how that goes.

oh...as far as the title of my blog today - it has absolutely nothing to do with the contents. :-)

thanks for dropping by...

Vitamins, Schmitamins

ok. so my life story is ever so changing. day to day to day.

as mentioned in the previous post - i went to the doctor last week. I got the call on Saturday. "Melissa, Dr. Anson wants to see you. It's about your bloodwork." WHAT? ummm..ok. "It's not urgent, she just wants to see you." *whew* not urgent. I feel a little better. But i'm still nervous. What are they going to tell me? What's wrong? Thank goodness I was leading worship this weekend. That meant I was out of the house, and didn't have to sit here and think about it. Anyone who knows me at all knows I don't like the unknown. I dont like surprises, and I'm impatient. :-)

So I go this morning at 9:30. Here's what I find out. My thyroid levels are still low, so more than likely, i'll have to increase my dosage when I have this tested again. That explains a little.

Here's what explained a lot. - I'm extremely B12 deficient. did I mention extremely?? She said she's been seeing a lot of Vitamin B deficient women lately, but mine was the lowest she's seen. On a scale of 200-1100 - I'm at 204. She was like - "Look Melissa, your B12 is in the toilet." Also, though- due to my age, she thinks I could respond well to B12 vitamin pills, rather than having to get the shot. I'll have that checked again in a month. If this super b complex vitamin doesn't do it, then bring on the needles!!

It's so funny, because I never even thought about B12. I know so many people who are B12 deficient, but I never thought about that for myself. I've never read up on it, so I didn't know it could cause this whole list of symptoms, which I happen to have. You would know, I'd be in the 10% of people who show neuropsychiatric symptoms, too. That would be the memory loss, and the depression. Other things that are also the cause of this: my hair falling out by the handfuls, sleep problems, numbness and tingling, and falling asleep at my desk.

Other than that - all my levels are perfect. yay!

All this being said - I don't think I'm going to be doing the Alli. It works in a way that keeps vitamins from being processed naturally in your body, so I think since I'm deficient here, I shouldn't do anything to make that any worse. Now - I hope I can get my money back!

My Friend, my ALLI

Ally: al·ly –noun , a person who associates or cooperates with another; supporter.

Well, I have an ally now. my supporter. It's called "alli". Some of you may have heard of it. It's a weight loss aid that came out a while back. If you've heard of it, then you know some of the nasty "treatment effects" that can come along with it if you don't follow the diet very well. Maybe you've heard of the drug "xenical" (zeenuhcal) - this is the same thing, in an OTC form. It's also FDA approved. Not many of those out there! Perhaps your familiar with the little blue alien looking thing in the packages.

Don't worry, I'm not counting on the alli to do all the work for me. It's not that kind of medicine. It doesn't claim to be some miracle drug. You have to work for it. You have to eat so much healthier, or else. If you want to know the side effects, just look it up. Warning: Not for those with a weak stomach. If nothing else, it scares the crap out of you (literally?) enough to make you eat healthier. For me it means no more fast food all the time. I need to suck it up, and learn to cook for one on the nights I'm by myself. I've never had to do it, so It's a learning thing for me.

I'm not really in the mood for a whole lot of details, but here's what my plans are to make this one successful: (this is straight from the "myalli plan" website, customized for me).

my goals
I am concerned about my health and want to improve it.
Target Calories/Day: 1400
Target Fat/Meal: 15g
Activity/Week: 60 minutes
My Check-In: Monday
Next Check-In: Aug 18

If I don't stick to this - I could have a really bad day. a REALLY bad day.

My plan is to go with the 60 pills (which will be about a month for me, since I generally don't eat breakfast), and by then if I'm in the habit of a much healthier diet, I'll discontinue the alli.

I did go to the doctor the other day - I asked her to run a "blanket" blood test on me. Cover everything. My upper lip has started tingling the last week, to go along with the dizziness that's still there a bit, and some strange headaches. I pray it's stress.

In about 6 weeks, I'll have my cholesterol and thyroid checked. Isn't that for old people? I guess not. :-)

On a side note- Saw Dark Knight last night. Loved it. The only thing was, even though John and I got there way before the movie started, and we were in the huge IMAX theater - it was already packed. We had to sit on the end of the 3rd row. Kinda made me nautious at first, sitting that close, but I got used to it. If you haven't seen it - go.