I think I am cured of a-fib

Well after 3 years and 3 ablations I think I am cured of a-fib! 

I have probably had a-fib my entire life but it got really bad when I was pregnant with Tommy.  I will never forget the morning I heart was beating out of control, the cardiologist asked me to come in right away and when they hooked me up to the EKG the nurse freaked out and said you are in a-fib.  This is not a nice thing to do to an expecting mommy!

I got on some medications that were safe for baby but they sure did not keep me out of a-fib.  The day I had Tommy I was in a-fib and they decided a c-section would be best.  My heart rate was over 200 and I thought I was going to faint but I just kept telling myself to be strong so I could see my baby!  I made it through without fainting.  Tommy spent the first 36 hours in the nursery because of a slow heart rate thanks to the meds and I spent the first 36 hours in the cardiology unit with no baby! 

Fast forward to September 2009 when I had my first ablation.  It was my first night without Tommy and I just was not ready for that!  They procedure took about 10 hours and when the nurse went to take the stints out she let me know this was her first time... it hurt like HELL and I never felt that pain again thank GOD! 

Fast forward to June 2011.  They told me I might have to do this twice and after a couple attempts at some diets and quick weight loss, I was in a-fib.  So in June 2011 I had my second ablation unfortunately with no success.

So we went through all the fun testing again and when I went in to see my doc he said I want you to go see Dr. Su for a cryo balloon ablation and that there may be one of the best gifts I was ever given!  I really respect a doc who can turn their patient over to another doc of the same kind.

My mom and I went and met with Dr. Su on April 11th.  He explained this new technology to us and even asked us on several occasions if we had questions.  He was AMAZING... he worked with so much passion and showed through all his interactions.  He asked how I wanted to move forward and I said lets schedule this thing ASAP.  So April 26th was the date!

Mike and I got to Banner Sams at 5:00 am and the procedure started at 7:00 am.  The doctor said my heart was going into a-fib by itself.  I mentioned I had not had an episode since February and he said I was probably going in and out of sinuous rhythm and I had no idea... that is not good!  While he was working on the left side of the heart (this is where most a-fib shoots from) they noticed a spot on the right side.  Strange... he had only seen 4 other patients with the same situation.  And even stranger yet this spot was beating at 1000 beats per minute.  It was so strange he took a photo of the heart rate and he was so kind to share it with us.  It looked like fireworks and he explained my heart was angry.  After that got that spot all taken care of they pumped adrenalin into my heart for 2 yours to induce a-fib and there was none!

I spent the night in the hospital with all the other senior citizens and I was free to go the next day! 

A-fib has brought me plenty of stress and anxiety.  What if I can never have another baby?  What if I can never give Tommy a sibling?  What if I have a stroke?  Who will take care of my baby like I would?  What if I get pregnant?  My doctors would be so mad (they were always telling me to get on birth control but I never did).  What would it do to the baby?  What would it do to me?  What about Tommy?  These questions would race through my mind all the time.  But now I hope I can leave them behind me and turn over a new leaf in life. 

And if for any reason the a-fib does come back I will be in Dr. Su's office and I am confident he will be the one to "fix" me.

I had a decorating revolation...

People say you should live in a space a while before you decorate and I could not agree more! I love to decorate and I thought I would put decorating on hold in this new place until I finish my doctorate degree but I am becoming board and uninspired in my boring residence.

Our last home was very Tuscan inspired. Dark colors on the walls and Italian lithographs. Some wood in the floors and blinds (fake wood at that). Lots of candles and personal touches. And wine of course! I love the style because it is romantic and comfortable.

But Tuscan is not right for this house and I knew it as soon as we moved in. My first strong feelings were shabby chic. Light walls, lots of pinks and greens and antique rustic furniture. While I love the look, it’s just not for me but I know in my heart it would look amazing in this home. This home and neighborhood were built for shabby chic.

So the ideas continued. One of my favorite places in the world (the only place I have been outside the US) is Mexico. I love the culture and the laid back style of life. I love that you can drive 25 mph down the road and its okay. I love that when you are in a restaurant and you finish a cocktail, they just bring you another one. I love lying on the beach and listening to the magical sounds of the ocean. We do a ton of outdoor living in this home and since the first day we moved in I have always said I feel like I am on vacation in this home. But Mexico beach house is not so much what I had in mind for the home we would raise Tommy in.

So Thursday after work I had to stop at the store to get a bottle of rum (it was date night) and my second favorite part of the grocery store is the magazines. I am a magazine junky! I ran into this magazine titles Ocean Home The Magic of Mexico and I was instantly intrigued. I started flipping the through magazine and you cannot even imagine what happened to my creative mind when I ran into the photo below!

Ocean Home from The Luxury Costal Lifestyle Magazine

MEXICO BEACH HOUSE CHIC!

This is my inspiration. Let me share some initial thoughts that ran through my head at warp speed. Knock out the 2 windows and sliding glass door in the back of the house and add 3 French doors so the whole back of the house can open to the backyard. Find indoor outdoor flooring so the flooring can extend from the inside of the house to the backyard and even the pool decking. Magical sheer drapes! Lanterns! Lanterns! Lanterns! Pops of red! I love red! Big, I mean HUGE rod iron chandelier in the kitchen. Rod iron mirrors and the stars.... I love the stars. This is what happens in my mind when I am inspired and it can be exhausting! So enough is enough, grabbed the magazine and to the register I went.

This project will be a long one with lots of DIY and saving our money to pay cash for any and all upgrades. As of now we are paying a pretty penny for my doctoral degree, saving for a new bed, and saving to pay off Mike's truck next year so needless to say this is not our financial priority but I feel like a have a good starting point and most important I HAVE A DECORATING DREAM! I will post updates big and small!

I am looking for a couple people to partner with.....

Hello,
I have been busy busy making cards and I am looking for some people to partner with to sell my cards.  All the cards are $4 or 6 for $20 and you will earn 25% of all that is sold.  I will deliver the cards to you in a box and you and I can settle at the end.

A friend of mine is a teacher and she has set some cards up in her teacher workroom.  This may be good for teachers, hair dressers, people who sell things like jewelry and candles, or if you sell products and farmers markets and such.  Please see the set up I provided for my teacher friend below and some of my cards.  Please let me know if you are interested.  I would love to work with you!

Mommy and Tommy Date!

I love love love three day weekends because it is extra time with my little man!  Tommy and I went to the movie theatre to see the Muppet's today.  The basis of the story line is that the Muppet's had not been together for almost 30 years (I am 31 years old) and now they need to reunite to raise money for their Muppet studio.  This hit me right in the heart because it was probably 25 years ago I was going to the movies with my parents to see the Muppet's and now I was taking my little guy!  My favorite line of the movie was "growing up is becoming who you always wanted to be".  Being Tom Henry's mother is more than I could have ever imagined being!

Christmas Scrapbooking with Kiwi Lane Template

Well it's that time of year again, time to get all your wonderful Christmas memories in your scrapbooks.  This year I discovered Kiwi Lane templates and I wanted to share my Christmas Eve page and how I made it with each of you.  If you are not familiar with Kiwi Lane check out their web page here.  They are amazing and they have tons of tutorial that show how to use their products.

 The first thing I did was cut my craft card stock to the size of my photos.  You may even notice I labeled each of the frames so I knew what photo was going where.  Next, I used my Kiwi Lane templates to frame the rest of the page.

 Next, I took the templates and traced them on paper and cut out each piece as I was replacing the template.

 I order my photos from Walgreens and if I am looking for a smaller photo I will add a thick border and it creates a photo that is 2.5 x 3.5 inches.  This size photo is perfect for scrapbook pages.

 The next step was to get all my photos down on their frames.  I did not tape them to the actual page yet.

 The next step, distressing is very important and something I live by in scrapbooking.  I just take my dober (you can see it there in the photo) lather it up with ink and distress the edges of EVERYTHING!

I taped everything down and added the bling and tada!  

Weekend Project Complete

Well I did it and the rest is going to have to be left to the professionals!  It is not pretty but is it very functional and that it just what I need.  With time I will get some shelves and bookcases and maybe on day I will have a pretty scrapbook room.  And now friends it is time to get down and scrappy!

 Walking in the scrapbook room.

 I really need some shelves of some type.

 Not sure I can put anything more in this closet.

 Work space

My mom made me this for Christmas.  It is for holding Christmas cards but I am going to leave it in my scrapbook room all year long because I love it so much!  I should also add I have another organizing "thing" from IKEA to put together but when I realized the directions did not have any words, I quickly decided it would be a great project for my husband!

Weekend Project

Besides reading about 17 chapters for school this weekend, I have a little project on my plate.  Maybe not a little one, actually and huge one and I am really not sure where to even begin!  I need to get my scrapbook room organized!  This is not so easy for a creative girl who is domestically challenged!  So I have decided to post photos of the chaos and hopefully you will all see some updated photos by Sunday night.  Wish me luck and if you have ANY advice I would really appreciate it!

Going into the scrapbook room!  Can you see the cute project Lindsey is working on for her baby girl?

 The closet!  I love the closet in this room!

 The other side of the closet!

So there it is folks!  See you tomorrow with some updated pics!