My Heart Condition

When I was five I was diagnosed with a heart condition called SVT. I remember the first day I realized I was having an attack almost like it was yesterday. My grandpa was in the hospital and my mom and I went up to my grandparents’ house to check on the animals. I ate a chocolate chip cookie and then went outside and ran with the dog. When mom was ready to go, I thought my heart was beating fast because I had been running, so I didn’t say anything. But the whole car ride to the hospital to see my grandpa, it still was beating fast. Finally when we got to the hospital, I said “Mommy, my heart won’t stop beating fast.” She put her hand on my chest and she got a scared look on her face. She went to someone at either the front desk or grabbed a nurse, I’m not sure, but she had them try to take my pulse. Next thing I know, I’m in a wheelchair and being taken into a room. They hooked me up to all sorts of monitors, wrote things in charts, had me hold my breath, asked me questions and then gave me a shot. And my heart beat went back to normal. I remember my mom finally sitting down when they said it was back to normal. I can’t imagine how worried she must have been. I remember her thanking God that we just happened to be going to the hospital that day. That was the start of many hospital trips. We saw a specialist who didn’t practice in the area so we had to travel sometimes but he would come into town every 6 months or so too. I remember being hooked up to monitors that I had to wear at home for days at a time. I’ve had more EKGs and Echo’s than I could count.

So the technical meaning of Supra ventricular tachycardia is a rapid heart rate (tachycardia, or a heart rate above 100 beats per minute) that is caused by electrical impulses that originate above the heart's ventricles. Supra ventricular tachycardia is also called paroxysmal supra ventricular tachycardia and abbreviated either SVT or PSVT. Supra ventricular tachycardia can be found in healthy young children, in adolescents, and in some people with underlying heart disease. Most people who experience it live a normal life without restrictions. So far I have done so. Throughout my adolescent years I had several attacks but I learned how to control it and I’m even to the point now that I can tell when one is about to happen. Sometimes I have been able to avoid them. I am reminded every day that I have it though through what feels like skipped beats and heart flutters that I experience every now and then.

It limits what medicine I can take and how much caffiene and salt I can have but it never limited what I could/can do. I was very active when I was younger and played basketball and volleyball. I was a little slower than some and got out of breath quicker but it never stopped me from giving it my all. There are some scary aspects to this condition though. If I were unable to get the attack to stop on my own, there’s a possibility I could pass out. There’s also a possibility of my heart going into cardiac arrest if my heart muscle is weakened. But those are things I don’t think about because as long as I take measures to keep my heart healthy, they aren’t things I have to worry about.

Now you know a little more about me than you did a little bit ago! Have you ever known anyone with the same heart condition?

Outsmart the Sun!

It has been SO nice, hot and sunny outside the past few days. And with more and more time spent outside, people are getting burnt and I am one of them! My fair skin burns so easily and I am the first to admit I do not always protect my skin when going outside. I decided to do a little research after getting a burn and got a lecture from a friend who has had skin cancer. Here are some helpful facts I found:

• Dermatologists strongly recommend using a sunscreen with an SPF 15 or greater year-round for all skin types. If you are fair-skinned and sunburn easily, you may want to select a sunscreen with a higher SPF to provide additional protection.
• Using a cream, oil or lotion is a matter of personal choice, but keep in mind that most oils do not contain sufficient amounts of sunscreen and usually have an SPF of less than 2.
• All sunscreens need to be reapplied, so follow the guidelines written on the sunscreen bottle. Gel sunscreens tend to sweat off and, therefore, need to be reapplied more frequently. Remember, expensive sunscreens are not necessarily of better quality.
• You should look for a sunscreen that also protects against ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation, those rays that penetrate deeper into the skin and are the culprits in premature aging and wrinkling of the skin.
• How well the sunscreen stays on the skin after swimming, bathing or perspiring is just as important as the SPF level. The FDA considers a product "water-resistant" if it maintains its SPF level after 40 minutes of water exposure. A product is considered "waterproof" if it maintains its SPF level following 80 minutes of exposure to water.

When should you use a sunscreen?

• Sunscreens should be used daily if you are going to be in the sun for more than 20 minutes. Most people will receive this amount of sun exposure while performing routine activities.
• They can be applied under makeup. There are many cosmetic products available today that contain sunscreens for daily use because sun protection is the principal means of preventing premature aging and skin cancer. Sunscreen used on a regular basis actually allows some repair of damaged skin.
• Because the sun's reflective powers are great - 17 percent on sand and 80 percent on snow - don't reserve the use of these products for only sunny summer days. Even on a cloudy day 80 percent of the sun's ultraviolet rays pass through the clouds. Skiers beware, ultraviolet radiation increases 4 percent for every 1,000-foot increase in altitude.
• You should apply sunscreen to your dry skin 30 minutes BEFORE going outdoors. Pay particular attention to your face, ears, hands and arms. Apply sunscreen liberally using one ounce to completely cover your body. Be careful to cover exposed areas, a missed spot could mean a patchy, painful sunburn.
• Lips get sunburned too, so apply a lip balm that contains sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher.

Crochet Away

When my husband and I first started trying to have a baby 3 years ago, we thought it would happen rather quickly. (It has yet to happen.) To kind of commemorate the occasion, I started crocheting a baby blanket. It wasn't the first blanket I've crocheted but it is by far the best. I put alot of love into this one.

I crocheted all of the grey to the size of blanket I wanted and then I trimmed it in the green. Now, the elephants aren't crocheted even though they look like it.

I found the elephants style I wanted online, printed it off, traced it on the plastic, cut it out and wrapped the yarn around them. I reinforced all the edges with the same colored yarn. There's little square holes in the plastic so I got a big plastic yarn needle and 'sewed' around all the edges.

I wrote about our troubles conceiving here and we are still hopeful it will happen, in God's time. :)

Oh & PS: Crochet does not look like it should be spelled crocheted when used as a verb. But I spell checked it and it said it was right so I believe it. =P

Happy Mother's Day!

My momma and me, the day we met and the day she became a mom. :)


This is a day late. I had it scheduled to post ON Mother's Day, but evidently I messed my dates up when scheduling it! Turned out to be okay since it gives me a chance to post pictures from the dinner we had. It was so much fun, I think we laughed and joked the whole time.

I don't know if you see what I see in these pictures, but my mom and dads love for each other is what inspired me to find once in lifetime true love of my own.

We ate at Cheddars for dinner, they just built it not too long ago and it was my mom, dad and sister's first time eating there. We ordered SO MUCH food! I mean seriously. But you cant go to a new restaurant and try not try everything that tempts you! We got two appetizers, two orders of buttered crescent rolls, the actual meals we each got were more than enough by themselves, and then a dessert. Needless to say, we had leftovers...

I hope all of my readers who are mothers, moms or mommies had a Mother's day full of love! :)

Painting from the Past

 When I was in highschool I was always drawing, painting and making pottery. By the time I got to my senior year I had already gotten most of the classes that I had to have out of the way and I had a lot of 'filler' classes, in which I took as many art classes as I could. I painted this that year from a drawing I had previously drawn. I thought I had lost that drawing and have always been a little sad about it because I thought it was better than the painting.

 Well, turns out all you have to do is look right in front of you. Or...behind whats in front of you. Evidently all I've had to do all these years was turn the painting around!

Yes, I know the heel on the one is a little crooked. But I love this drawing none the less. I can remember sitting down and drawing this 6+ years ago. I really want to get back into drawing again. I used to draw so much, it was so relaxing and I need a little more relaxation in my life. Who doesn't? :)

My Not-So-Green Thumb

When I got home from work today, I noticed my plant came back up! Every year I think I have killed this plant and every year it keeps coming back. Bigger and more beautiful each time. I always think I've killed it because when the seasons over and it starts to wither, it looks so unhealthy I'm sure theres no way it will ever come back. I go every year on Mothers Day to buy flowers with my mom and I just buy what I think is pretty. I pay no attention to what can be in sunshine or not or anything important like that. (Thank goodness my mom knows what shes doing and has the greenest of thumbs!) I  have a hard time remembering to water my poor flowers. My hanging plants never stand a chance for long. Its sad really. So naturally I never expect that plant to come back each year. But it keeps proving me wrong.  I kind of love it for that.  I wish I could remember what its called! I had the little label stuck in the ground next to it when we first did our landscaping but it has since disappeared. See? I'm not a good gardener by any means!

If you have any idea what it is, please comment and let me know!

Oh, and look at the cute shoes I wore today and my new cute nail polish...

Today was a good day! How was yours??