Anything is Possible if You Have Enough NERVE...

But, apparently, some of us actually don't!

This morning, I finally got the answer to why I've been dizzy off and on since January of this year. :-)

After a series of testing - one test in particular showed that I have a degenerative Inferior Vestibular Nerve on the right side. Lovely. It is 54% gone, so I have 46% of my balancing ability on my right side. This would explain why everything I do with the right side of my body makes me dizzy! Turning over in bed to the right, raising my right arm, i fall to the right when I stand up, etc...

Crazy stuff.

The Good News? It's treatable. With simple-stupid exercises!

One exercise, for example, is to stand in a corner on a hard surface with my feet together, my arms crossed, and my eyes closed. Sounds easy, huh? Well, for you it may be. For those of us with balance issues? One of the hardest things to do. I would also fail a field sobriety test if I were to take one. I can't walk in a straight line. I can't put one foot in front of the other, and stand straight. I fall to the right. Even though I have a hard time with this, these are the exercises that will rehibilitate me. These simple exercises will teach the left side of my brain how to compensate for the right side not holding up it's end of the bargain. :-) I guess it just got lazy all of a sudden.

Did you know that you have "crystals" in your ears? When these crystals get out of place, this can cause some serious vertigo. One thing you can do is the "Epley Maneuver", and this will put those crystals back into place. I had a few out of place, so hopefully those are back where they belong. The person performing the manuever can tell when you get dizzy, since your eyes are bouncing back and forth. If they do that during this manuever, then you can almost guarantee there are some out of place!

Anyways - I'm so excited to find out what it was, because I'm normally the one that is going to have something that the doctors can't figure out. of course.

On another note - Some of you will know what it means, and some will have to look it up if they want to know, and others wont care...but John and I are about to start a new journey in our lives. We will soon be joining the TTC club. In the past, I have had problems TTC, so I want to start as soon as I can, so that I know what's in store for us. say a little prayer!

The Cheapest Grocery Trip

Well, last night, I had the cheapest grocery shopping trip ever...Let me tell you how I did it. :-)

Sunday night, I sat down, and planned out a menu for the week, and had the website I was using take those recipes and create a shopping list for me. I was so proud, and ready to go try out the new HEB Plus on 281 Monday night after work.

So last night we got in the car, and headed on over. The store is only about 2 1/2 miles from the apartment, so it's going to be very convenient. It just opened on October 27, and I've been waiting for a good night to check it out. This was a great night - surprisingly enough, it wasn't packed like I expected it to be.

Ok - we get to the grocery store, and let me tell you - this place is freakin' HUGE!! I've been to a couple of these HEB Plus stores, but this one tops them all. (For those of you not familiar with what an HEB Plus store is - think HEB on steriods. You can now go to HEB and buy many of the same items [and sometimes more] that you would find at your local Wal-Mart or Target. Clothes, furniture, and even a trailer hitch if ya like!) I get in the store, and I'm like a kid in a big ole' toy store...wow. Then i realize I forgot the list. grrr... Most of the time, I can remember what I've put on the list, but it's because I've actually written it out. I didn't write this one, and I was so overwhelmed by the store that i couldn't remember anything past bread.

I opted to leave John in the magazine section (he can read car mags forever!), and I ran home to get the list. I started not feeling so well. My stomach was a little queasy, but since my husband was carless at the store, I knew i had to press on, and get back. 15 minutes - I was back with the list in hand. :-)

We started down an aisle, and I was like, babe - I really don't feel that great- can we just get what we need, and get out of here? He told me his stomach was feeling really weird, too. Neither one of us felt like walking around. After all that...

we went home.

"He went to Jared!!!"

Wow...it's been almost a month, and SOOOOO much has happened since my last post.

As most of you know, I married Mr. JP, Jr. on October 12. John proposed on Ocotber 2, and of course, I said YES! I have known for a long time I wanted to marry this man, and I can't believe it's actually for real now. It's not really sunk in completely yet since I didn't go through all the hu-bub of a big wedding. He just decided to do it - not even the way he had planned. The proposal went a little something like:

(We were already just sitting on the couch, talking about getting married to each other some day)

Melissa: Look at this face (au naturale - no makeup. Hair in a very messy ponytail). Is THIS the face you want to wake up to for the rest of your life?

John: Well, yes it is. Now. Let me ask YOU a question.

John pulls the ring out of his pocket -

"Will you marry me?"

it was absolutely so sweet, and how funny that I just happened to ask him that question, and opened the door right up for the proposal!!

I knew he had been up to something all day, but I had no idea what. He called my dad to ask his permission to marry me, he had been across the street from the church at Jared for several hours, knowing that I ALWAYS go to the shopping center where Jared's is. :-)

It was so sweet and tender. A moment I'll never forget.

The wedding was very simple. My boss, Jim, married us in the amphitheater located on the grounds of the church. Only John's family was able to make it. It was such short notice, it was hard for my parents to make it. My dad tried to fly in from Midland, but the weather was too bad in west Texas. He was pretty hurt that he couldn't make it. I would have loved to have had someone from my family there, but I know things don't always work out, and I still had a good day. I married the man of my dreams!! Doesn't get much better than that! After the wedding, we went with his family to Alamo Cafe' and they surprised us with a couple of gifts and a wedding cake!! Yummy! I had gotten a gift certificate to a brand new hotel here in town, and when we got there, our room wasn't ready, so we were upgraded to a 2 bedroom 2 bath suite. It was SUPER nice. :-)

The week after the wedding - we moved into a new apartment. We absolutely love it. I was so excited to get in and get it set up, that I had it done within 4 days of moving in. John's a go-getter too, so that helps. We installed shop lights in the garage last night, so that should help John be able to see well enough to work on cars and stuff.

I just want to thank everyone who's been praying for John and I lately. I'm so glad that we have gotten off to such a great start. I especially love the fact that not only did I marry the man of my dreams, but that man became a Christian on October 5!!! YAY!

hmmm...maybe a baby in the future? We'll see how my body does. It was pretty uncooperative in the past. Hopefully this time will be a success...

Of to straighten up the apartment, and do my wifely duties! Yay!

Pictures Worth a Thousand Words...

Thank you Lord for answering prayers...

Mojo Superhero

I know many of you have seen this in my writings, in my usernames, and some website addresses, so I thought I'd take some time to explain. It's simple, really.

Last fall, we had some sidewalks and other concrete areas repoured at the church. I've always been the one that wanted to make a lasting imprint in wet concrete. (My Reebok High Top pumps shoeprints still remain at First Baptist, Buna!) Well, I did it. and then it rained, so they had to repour the sidewalk I had so carefully put my initials in. Drats. So thought maybe that was God's way of saying I shouldn't have done that in a place that was so prominent. one day, one ofthe maintenance workers came and told me of a spot they had poured hours before that was starting to set. perfect!!! I found an old pen, and to the "chiller yard" I went. :-) Well, the concrete was already set enough that it just crumbled. This is how it turned out...



yes, it says "MO". It was supposed to be M.D. Just a little ironic now, seeing as how my last initial is no longer D. John was still working as a security guard at the church, and he was walking past there one day, and thought it was so funny that my "criminal act" had gone sour. That's kinda when he started calling me Mo. We didn't talk that often, but that's what he would call me when we did talk. When we started talking more, we kinda came up with the whole "MoJo" thing - as a combination of our names. :-) You can imagine the looks on his friends' and families' faces when they would hear me call him Jo. :-) One day, I happened to call him my mojo superhero, and that has stuck every since. He even had shirts made for us...



You should know that I wish that John and I had met under different circumstances. My life had been totally turned upside down last fall. John has kept me from going under. He's allowed me to greive the loss of my 7 year marriage, and he's been there for me - even when I had friends that wouldn't be there for me. I'm having to deal with my past, but it's just that now - the past. There are no plans to revive the marriage, as we have both moved on. THe fact of the matter is - I love this guy. He has made leaps and bounds in many many ways over the last 8 months. Sometimes, I just stare at him and wonder how someone so amazing could be a part of my life after all the wrong I did in the past??? There's never a time he's not there for me. He knows my thoughts, and can finish my sentences. He always makes sure I have everything I need, even if he has to make big sacrifices. He stands up for me against people who talk down to me, or treat me wrong (He actually confronted the neighbor that yelled at me about Daisee). His family even sticks up for me against him!!! HA! He will tell me thank you 100 times for fixing a pot of ramen noodles. I love that he appreciates the small things. Nothing goes unnoticed with him. I'm not in it for the praise - but it sure makes me want to do a lot more!

Life's not all peachy-keen, and smellin' like roses. We can aggravate the crap out of each other, but that's normal, right? the most important part - he loves me. and I love him.

Jo,
You truly are my Mojo Superhero!

Thank you for being you. Thank you for everything you've done for me. Thank you for all of your hard work to make sure I have what I need. Thank you for making me happy at one of the toughest times in my life. Thank you. I love you baby...

-Mo

Russell who? I don't think so...

Ok. I watched the MTv VMAs last night, cause i like to watch the live performances sometimes. I mostly do it to see who can really perform live, and actually sound good, and who's lip syncing, and who just flat out can't sing. well, I didn't last night, and I don't know that I will again.

I only watched the first 10 minutes, and I was so angry, I turned the tv completely off. I was absolutely horrified that some idiot such as Russell Brand would come to the US from another country, and bash our government the way he did. If you didn't see it,and you dont know what I'm talking about - you didn't miss anything. First, he assured everyone that he is very famous in the UK. Of course - no one here knows who the heck he is???? Then, he "begged" America, for the world's sake, to vote for Barack Obama. Then he began name calling, and called Bush a "retarted cowboy fellow." Excuse me? Who do you think you are? You can't tell people who to vote for! You can't even vote in this country! I'll admit, I voted for Bush, and I know he hasn't been the greatest president ever, but he didn't deserve that. He proceeded to go on bashing Sarah Palin, and republicans in general. I couldn't take it anymore, and not just because I'm a Republican - which, really, I'm an American - isn't that all that matters? His remarks were just crude and very ugly. Of course, they're in Hollywood, so there were cheers, but when they showed the audience- there faces told a different story. It was apparent that some of them were not impressed.

When I read the news this morning, I found out he had poked fun at those who wear "Promise Rings", as a promise to God and their future mates to stay abstinent until marriage. Jordin Sparks - wow. She got up and said "I just wanna say, it's not bad to wear a promise ring because not every guy and a girl wants to be a slut, OK?" I'm proud of her for that. The Jonas Brothers were poked fun at too, because they all three wear promise rings as well. Their faces had sheer horror on them as Russell "apologized", and then ended his "apology" with "a little occasional sex never hurt anyone."

Who does this guy think he is? I hope he got on a plane last night and went back to the UK. That was ridiculous.

Now, let me end by saying this - I'm not saying that people shouldn't get to pick who they vote for. I know who I'm voting for, and although it's probably obvious who I'm voting for, that's between me and God, and the machine counting my vote. If you choose to advertise who you're voting for - that's fine. I know, I know - Freedom of Speech. That's why I get to post these opinions on my blog! But just as a lot of places are not allowed to "sway" people to one side or the other - they should have been a little more careful with that. Especially since he was from another country. *sigh*

What's happening in this world? If you didn't see the awards show, you can do a search. he made every news site there is out there.

The Things We do for Love...:-)

Ok, so I had started a post with all the hurricane happenings, but there really weren't any, so maybe when I get home, I'll add some pictures of the weekend activities. I do, however, think the most exciting part was....

I bought a car.

yes. My very first one. all on my own. I felt like a big girl.

Then I handed John the keys.

John has been driving a 1992 VW Corrado for the past several years, and lately, it's been giving him MAJOR problems. Just since I've known him, he's made so many repairs, it's not even funny. He's replaced, axles, wheel bearings, wheel hubs, batteries, hoses, and I can't even remember what else. not to mention, in Texas - he has no A/C. He's also been having to push start it every single morning before he goes to work. It won't even jump start sometimes. This made for very frustrating starts to what have been VERY long, hard, hot, annoying late days at work.

A few weeks ago, he casually started looking, because he didn't know if he could get financed or not. Well, last week, he got financed through one company, but they were going to charge him 18% interest!! yikes! It was also a smaller amount, so he had a hard time finding anything he liked in that price range. He did find a Mazda rx-8 that we test drove, but both of us were extremely disappointed. I offered to apply, and see if I could get financed, but no success. They said I have an excellent credit score (almost 700!), but I'm on a Debt Management Plan, so they wouldn't touch me. ok. so we'll wait another 8 months, and try again. John's very picky about his cars, too. Not only does he like them fast with turbo, and boost, and blow-off valves, but he likes what we call "rice boy" cars - loud exhaust (not the fart can kind, tho), and big spoilers. ew. Cars are just something we never seem to agree on.

Until Tuesday.

On our way back from Buna to San Antonio, we stopped in Houston to check out a couple of cars that his friend Jason had told him about. Two Dodge SRT-4s. One Red, One Yellow. One with 19,000 miles. One with 70,000. One 2005, one 2003. One $17,000, and one $12,000. *sigh* decisions. We thought it there would be no decision to make, because neither one of us could get financed for the larger amount. Of course, though, when we get there, we can't test drive the cheaper one, because they are making repairs to a worn seat in the cheaper one. John took the keys to the red one, and off he went. 95 mph in a 35 mph zone. The salesman and I got a good laugh off of that one. I just said 'Well, he's gonna test it to it's limits." :-) John doesn't always drive like that - but he LOVES fast cars, and this one is fast. It's got a turbo, and it's a good turbo. Of course, we know what happens next. He falls in love. he fell hard. He wanted that car so bad. Neither one of us liked the yellow one, so basically here's what happened.

John filled out the financial paperwork, and then we jetted, because we didn't think he'd get the financing. The sales guy called about 35 minutes later, and asked if I would co-sign. Sure...I love this guy, and he deserves this new car. I'll help him out. While I'm giving him the information (we had made it to the Love's in Katy by this point, and stopped to get gas), John realizes his wallet's missing. I asked the sales guy, and he went and checked the SRT-4. Sure nuff. It was in there. GRRRRR....ok. Do we drive back in Houston's 5:00 traffic? Do we have the guy mail it to us? Are we gonna get the car, and have to come back to Houston tomorrow anyways? We opted to go on back to San Antonio, and leave the wallet in Houston. We had already been on the road 6 hours, and had 3 more to go.

Anthony (the sales guy) called about 2 hours later, and said he was 99% sure that they could get me financed for the car, but by myself, without John. WHAT?? Are you kidding? He said he would call back the next morning, and let us know. We waited...and waited...and waited... Finally. the call came. 3 hours later than he said....WE GOT THE CAR!! WOO HOO!!

I was so excited. John had his friend, Carlos, ride with us to Houston, and we got there about 3. It was quite an ordeal to actually get the car, but we finally drove it away at 5:45 that evening.

I now own a car that at this point, I had never even sat in. hehe. Oh, and I have to learn to drive it. I haven't driven a stick in about 15 years.

I prayed long and hard about this, and asked God to somehow get us the financing if it was meant to be. I never dreamed it would actually happen. I just told John that if anything happens, I have a new car! :-) Oh, and I begged him to please not get a ticket in it.

oh, Did I mention I'm not the one making payments? :-) That's the best part!

Anyways- He's so proud of it, and I am too. He needed this. I finally got to ride in it for a 20 minutes yesterday. :-) I like. I'm hoping to take it to Buna when I go back in a few weeks. Meet the "Mojo Mobile" :-)