"SB 2K13"

St. Patrick's Day -themed font!

Not that I actually get spring breaks anymore, this week I was able to attend my last round of training for work in Irvine, CA.  Situated just behind a curtain of small mountains, Irvine is almost on the coastline near LA.  Having never been to southern California (or the Pacific Ocean for that matter), I was pretty excited at the prospect of spending 5 days studying near the ocean.

This last round of training incorporated the final skills required for me to be a full "hybrid."  I learned techniques to use timing and voltages of the electrical signals in the heart to make a detailed map of the arrhythmia in the heart chamber of interest.  Here's a quick snapshot of one of the maps I made, if you're interested.  

Not only does this require a full understanding of the minutia within the anatomy, but also the electrical conduction system and its deviations in abnormal hearts.  Now that I've finished my last set of classes, I have about 60 days to become fully certified to do cardiac ablation mapping procedures on my own.  

Enough about work.  I flew into Orange County on Sunday evening, and my lovely friend Bonnie picked me up from the airport, birthday cupcake complete with a lit candle in hand.  We decided that since it was St. Patrick's Day, we should hit a few fun spots around town before checking into the hotel.  Needless to say, read yelp reviews carefully.

Bonnie and I stopped at an Irish pub and made up our own rules to darts-and ended up tying!

The first few days of class were pretty normal; we were at the office from 8-5 and had a few assignments and quizzes tossed in to review during the evenings.  I enjoyed seeing some classmates from previous courses as well as making new friends (there were only around 12 of us). 

On Wednesday, I had the fortunate pleasure of getting to see my favorite (girl) cousin, Amanda.  She moved to CA late last year and I hadn't seen her since she came to visit Darren and me last summer in St. Louis.  Amanda picked me up and took me to one of her most favorite places in the area, Huntington Beach.  We drove down the "PCH" (Pacific Coastal Highway) and I got my first glimpse at the ocean.  After catching up over a yummy Italian meal, we stopped at one of her favorite little souvenir shops for me to pick out a little gift for Darren (poor guy, being stuck with Lenny all week).  It was so lovely to get to see family, and especially Amanda since we both just celebrated birthdays.

As it was our last night in CA, a group of classmates and I decided to go to Laguna Beach at sunset and then eat in a restaurant with an ocean view.  I was very surprised by how chilly the beach was...being from Texas where the Gulf is rather warm, I guess I expected Southern CA to be the same.  Despite the cold, I rolled up my jeans and kicked off my sandals in order to feel my toes in the sand as the waves crashed over them.  I took a few moments to breathe in the salty air and even tried to call Darren so he could hear the ocean (I don't think it worked very well).  Here are a few pictures I took on the beach.  

Friday morning brought our final exam and practicals, which were no trouble at all.  A quick goodbye and trip to the airport and I was ready to be back in St. Louis...that is, until I read on my weather app that we're expecting 5-8 INCHES OF SNOW THIS WEEKEND. When is it going to end?! Be ready for more "I can't believe it's this white" pictures very soon....

To change subjects, thank you so much to all of you who wished me a happy birthday!  Physical distance doesn't feel so far when people like you take the time to make me feel special.  I got some very sweet cards in the mail, and I wanted to let you know they are very appreciated as each one felt like a nice little hug. 

Darren and I celebrated my birthday and St. Patrick's Day by baking some very green cake items. If you would like the recipes, I'd be happy to share. Both the cake balls and the cake itself were quite delicious (all stemming from a green velvet cake recipe).

I also wanted to include in here what one person in particular did to make my day special.  Way back when I started with St. Jude in STL, a lovely lady named Pam introduced herself to me as a fellow St. Jude employee in the cardiovascular division.  Very quickly, we become friends and bonded over our common faith.  It is Pam's church that Darren and I have been attending and really like, and Pam was instrumental in getting us involved there.  Well, on Sunday morning after class Pam gave me a "birthday in a bag," trying to help me have a wonderful birthday despite the fact that I am so far away from family.  How unbelievably kind.  I am truly blessed by those around me and I just wanted to share how wonderful she was to me. 

All in all, I've had a great week. I'm finally sitting on my couch, waiting for my wonderful husband to come home from work.  I was only gone 5 days, but there's something about being married that makes you want to stay with that special person you've grown so comfortable with... he's on his way home, and I can't wait to see him :)

A Date Night on... Everyone?

One of my favorite things about birthdays is all of the mail that you receive leading up to the big day...by that I mean everyone from your dentist to your insurance salesman to any store chain that you've signed up with will send you a sweet little note wishing you well.  Within that note, if you're lucky, is typically a little coupon for x dollars off on your purchase of x or more.  I LOVE these.  It's almost like a challenge, what item can I find that I'll actually use that's JUST over the amount I'm given?

Yesterday was the day I selected to meet the challenges.  I had to spend from 7:30-3:30 at work on Saturday (more on that later), so Darren and I decided that when I got home we would go out on a date to the mall & have a nice dinner after that.  However, this wasn't just your typical date.  Since beginning our finance class at church, we've really budgeted our eating out and entertainment spending...and therefore haven't really gone on many typical "dates" in 2013.  We are fortunate enough to still have some gift cards leftover from Christmas and the lovely Valentine's day box that my mother sent, so we decided to plan out our date night with one goal in mind: spend as little money as possible.

Our first stop was Bed, Bath, and Beyond, where my Uncle Chris had given us a gift card over Christmas.  We always get lost in that store, but ended up finding some things we really needed (like a 9x9 pan for cookie brownies so they'll cook all the way through!) and some things we know we'll use (an all-weather picnic blanket in its own zip up tote).

Next, we headed to the mall with my birthday letters in hand, ready to find great deals.  From Vera Bradley, we spent a GRAND TOTAL of $1.51 on these two items (both originally retailed over $34.00):

Then, at Banana Republic, I got $15 off this little treasure (it goes so well with multiple outfits!):

By this time we were pretty hungry, so we decided to head across the street to Maggiano's, a pretty nice Italian restaurant chain that Darren and I have visited only twice before.  The first time was for my senior winter formal in high school, so obviously we were excited to eat here using gift cards.

All in all, we had a lovely evening and spent only about $20 total.  So much fun meeting the challenge. And thanks everyone for a date night on you!

Now, for those of you who don't have weak stomachs, I'll tell you a little bit about what I did earlier in the day.  St Jude is very invested in partnering with hospital labs to educate staff about our field: electrophysiology.  Yesterday, we hosted almost 60 local/semi-local staff members at a lecture series and heart dissection focusing on EP concepts of arrhythmias, ablation, and anatomy.  My dear friend and coworker, Megan, was there to join me (as were most of the rest of the STL St Jude team).  She and I, however, got to actually sit through all of the lectures and participate in the dissection while the others were leading it.  Here we are at the beginning, full of energy (well, coffee) and focus:

There are two main hospitals that I've been working at, Mercy and Missouri Baptist (MoBap).  Both of them came to join in the fun, and I wanted to show you the people who I absolutely adore and get to spend all of my time with at work.  Not everyone was in these pictures, unfortunately, but here are a few!

Some of the beautiful ladies of Mercy

Some of the wonderful staff at MoBap

Here is my favorite shot of the heart before I started to mangle it up:

Somewhere about 5-10 minutes into the dissection, Megan and I got kinda silly (hey, it was post-lunch and pre-nap). So, we took advantage of the fact that we had a bloody heart and a ready camera.

Pre-dissection pose

Post-dissection pose

We want to drink your blood!

Okay, so finally, one of the COOLEST things about our heart dissection yesterday was that our heart had a Patent Foramen Ovale. Look it up if you want more details, but basically it's a hole that remains from when a fetus had blood flow from the left to right side of the heart before it was born.  When you were born, that hole naturally closed up and became a thin layer of tissue called the Fossa Ovalis.  For some people, it stays slightly open and could potentially lead to some troubles. To make the up-close views not so hideous, I made them sepia for you (you're welcome).

Right below Megan's pointer finger is the hole 

I put a straw through it to show you that it connects the right and left atria

Megan is shocked by this discovery!

Anyway, we had a great time and were very thankful to not only the leaders in St Jude for putting this together, but also all of the people who took time out of their Saturdays to come learn with us.  It was pretty fun and I'm glad to have the opportunity to participate in events like this.

March Wreath

As some of you know, I absolutely LOVE to craft.  Even more than that, I LOVE the month of March.  Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that it's my birthday month, but even more than that I feel like it is the month when the world starts to smile again.  We get beautiful spring weather: sunshine that kisses your skin without making you sweat and warm breezes that reaffirm that summer is on its way.  For most people, March brings a week when you can lay back and take a breath as you enjoy a hiatus from school and work.  March also signifies a transition from being cooped up indoors to finally being able to play outside without a coat.

As we are nestling into this little townhouse, Darren and I have tried to decorate our home with the seasons on a budget.  One of the first places a guest will look is, of course, the front door.  Naturally, I wanted something to welcome them to our home. Thus, the wreath!

I'm a frequent pinterest user, and have seen multiple posts of burlap or yarn wreaths, which look easy enough to make.  With the help of a gift card to Hobby Lobby from my dad (thanks, Dad!), this whole wreath cost less than $20 to make and I still have some supplies left over. I've never done a how-to blog post, so bear with me.  This wreath was extremely simple to make, it just took some time (we popped in the Sound of Music and I was finished by the time Captain Von Trapp and Maria returned from their honeymoon).

Here is a list of the supplies you will need:
-scissors
-hot glue gun and glue sticks
-ribbon (mine is green checkered, 1")
-colored burlap (green)
-jute
-one wreath made of twigs/sticks from Hobby Lobby
-3 sheets each of green and ivory felt
-one wooden letter of your choice
-paint for the letter (green)
-paintbrush

My supplies

The first step I did was I painted the "C" so that by the time it dried, I would be finished with the wreath and ready to attach it.

Next, I started to make my felt flowers. There are plenty of options to choose from as far as how you make felt flowers.  Since I'm not a seamstress, I decided to pick ones that wouldn't require any stitching. I made the same exact flowers in both the ivory and the green, but took pictures of just the ivory ones so you could see how each type was created.

First take a strip of felt and fold it in half, glue those edges together, and then cut slits in one side. On this first one I cut the strips at an angle. I'll show you the difference between the angle and straight cuts later.

Put a drop of glue on one end and tight-roll this, adding glue as you go. Here is how it should look once it's all rolled together:

Now, here is what the straight cuts look like and then the two side-by-side:

Obviously there are ways to add variation.  If you want the petals to be thinner, cut the strips thinner. In order to have a smaller diameter flower, make the strip shorter like these two:

Next are the rosettes. I really like these since they're simple and cute. Cut a circle in the felt, and then cut a spiral within that circle.

Roll the felt from the outer edge in (yes, seems counter-intuitive), gluing as you go.

And voila, here is your rosette!

A variation on this one is a wavy rosette, where you cut the felt in a wave and roll it up to get this:

Finally, one other felt flower I chose is this little ball of wavy petals. You start by cutting 9 equal circles and one smaller one for the base.

Take the first circle, put a dab of glue on it, and fold it in half. Then do the same and fold it again to be a fourth.  Glue that to the base.  Do the same with 3 other circles until you have all four like this: 

Keep in mind that you want the open ends to face the same direction.

Add the next 4 circles the same way, only off the creases from the previous ones. Then take your final circle and loosely roll it, placing it in the center. Fluff up your layers and this is what you get:

So, I made all of the flowers in both ivory and green for this wreath. Here's what I had to show for it...

I took a break from the flowers and used my green burlap to loosely wrap around the wreath. I glued the beginning spot, then again at the end to hold it in place. You may want to add some glue on the back where the burlap comes close to the wreath just to hold it in place.

It's time to finally start putting your flowers on. Now, I didn't have any rhyme or reason for the order of my flowers, just glued them where it looked good. 

After adding the flowers, I felt like there were some holes on the ends and in the middle, so I took my ribbon to add a little bit of color in those holes. I cut strips about 4" long, folded them in half and put a dot of glue on them. In some areas, I wanted more than one little ribbon, so I would glue 2 or 3 together like these:

I tucked them into the holes in the flowers.

Next, I took my dried "C" and wanted to give it a background so I glued the jute on the back. I started at one end, then continued to fold and glue in the shape of the letter like this (ignore the maroon sweatpants):

Here's how the letter looks with the jute behind it:

I put a ridiculous amount of hot glue on the "C" and added it to the wreath.

Finally, I made a quick ribbon holder around the top of the wreath so it could hang on the hook of my front door. 

Here it is, the final product!

I enjoyed putting this together and now will be able to display it every March...and all in time to sing along with the Von Trapp Family Singers before they are chased by the Nazi's!

I hope this helps inspire you to make your own :)

Silver White Winters that Melt into Spring...

February has brought an abundance of one thing: snow.  Apparently, last winter was not an accurate portrayal of what to expect in St. Louis during the months of December through March.  Darren and I have trudged through what seems to be a never-ending downfall of fluffy white stuff.

Each morning, before I do anything else, I peek out the window to determine the amount of effort it will take for one of us (Darren) to clean off my car so I can get to work on time.  Bragging moment: despite the fact that he absolutely doesn't have to, Darren wakes up each and every morning to help clear off my car and make my lunch while I get ready. How sweet :)

About a week ago, St. Louis had its biggest winter storm for the year (well, let's hope so anyway).  I had a pacemaker implant to do in Jerseyville, Illinois (about an hour north of where I typically work), and began my drive right as the "wintry mix" began falling.  That drive only took twice as long as it should've, and I was able to make it to the hospital on time. However, I was not so lucky when it came time to leave.

Only about an hour and a half later, I came out to my car to find this:

That's roughly 4 inches of new snow accumulated on my car. To those of you who are not from Texas, this isn't that strange to you.  To everyone from home, you can imagine my horror at the thought of driving on roads that I couldn't see! Look at how buried my wheels were!!!

The unfortunate part of being so new to snow, is that I didn't realize there's an art form to driving in it: wait long enough for the snow plows to clear the roads before you head out.  I needed to return to St. Louis (the storm was supposed to only get worse as the day went on and I didn't want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere), so I figured the sooner I left, the quicker I would make it back and try to beat the storm. Ha.

Here is my new favorite phone snapshot of what my driving conditions were as I trudged along at a 10 mph pace:

I called my mom (seeing how I wasn't driving very quickly) and tried to explain to her what it was like to drive when you couldn't even see where the road stopped and the farmland started. Fortunately I had those trucks to follow or else I probably wouldn't even have known which direction the road went.

By the time I made it back to the St Louis area, cars were all over the place: ditches, parked along on/off ramps; people were abandoning ship and just walking across the highway. It was a mess! I was very fortunate to only spin out once (turning into the neighborhood) and get stuck literally at my parking spot. 

So naturally, Darren and I decided to have a snow day when I got home from work! It was about 30 degrees (not that cold) and the wind wasn't too strong, so we knew we would be able to play outside for a while without getting too chilly. We stuck to our neighborhood and had hoped to build a snowman/snow fort/igloo, but the snow was so powdery it wouldn't stick together. Instead, we just drew things on the rocks that are on the big hill as you approach our neighborhood. 

Gotta show that Aggie pride!!!

My car- nice and stuck 

Excited to play in the snow

February not only brought us snow, but also some wonderful visitors; Darren's Aunt Donya and cousin Sheldon came to visit to take a look at a local university. Sheldon is interested in set/makeup design for theater shows and was looking at potentially attending Webster University.  We had the great pleasure of getting to spend some time with them and catch up while they were here in St. Louis! We took them to Fitz's on The Loop on Friday night and then went to the Budweiser factory to see the Clydesdales on Saturday.  It was so wonderful to see family and show them our town while catching up. Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures with my phone (Aunt Donya has them all!). 

Here's to hoping for a warmer March! 

Love is something if you give it away, You end up having more

At about 7am on January 2, I walked through the biting wind into one of my main hospital's lobbies. It was a typical day, I was dressed in scrubs and huddled up in a coat, carrying a few things for work. An elderly lady, probably about 70 or so, stopped me by the information desk. At first, I jumped to the conclusion that she needed directions (this happens multiple times a day), so I was ready to direct her to a set of elevators or the emergency room.

But this lady was different. She asked if I could spare a minute, to which I said I could. Then she proceeded to set her purse down on the counter, reaching for something inside. She pulled out her wallet, fingered around for a bill, and handed me a $20. I just looked at her with a puzzled face and she proceeded to say, "I do this every year and I haven't done it yet. I hope God blesses you with this." At first I couldn't believe it, I mean it's pretty obvious that I'm not exactly poor. I have a coat, I'm well fed, and I am employed. But then I remembered the joy that one can only find if you give wholeheartedly to someone else. I looked her in the eye and asked for a hug, and told her thank you and that I hoped God would bless her as well. We went our ways, and I stuffed that $20 in my pocket and went into work.

For those of you who grew up singing church of Christ nursery rhymes, do you remember this one?

Love is like a lucky penny,
Hold it close and you won't have any
But give it away and you'll have plenty;
You'll end up having more.

It seems rather silly, kind of a fun little tune for the kids to sing and learn about "love" and "pennies." The irony is, of course, that those of us who need that lesson the most are the adults in the room, not the toddlers.

Darren and I have been going to a Crown Financial Bible class at the church we've been attending this month.  While we got some great ground rules on financial topics in our marriage prep class back at A&M (thanks Kelly and Foree), there's still plenty of work to be done on figuring out where our money is going and how we want it to be spent. Without getting personal and uncomfortable, let's just put it this way: we want to use the money God has given us wisely and the way He would want us to.

Now to some people, as I recently learned, that concept is extremely foreign. Why on earth would you ever give 10+% of your income to someone or something that you don't even know for sure will use it wisely? Why would you be so dumb as to hand a beggar a couple bucks when you know that most likely they will turn around and use it to fuel some sort of addiction?

Let's think about this for a second. If God chose to give you a great job so that you could afford to live a certain lifestyle, does He not also expect you to turn around and bless others with the very things he chose to bless you? He has selected you as a steward of His money, so you have responsibility of deciding how to spend it. That's the key: you are spending it, one way or another. So if you decide to buy that new piece of furniture you really want or if you decide to save it to send someone on a mission trip, you've spent it.

I realize this topic can go way beyond that which I really want to talk about, so I'm going to reign it in here a bit:

 How are you using what God has given you?

I realize that some of you are still in college, and your current assets aren't even your own. Some of you, like me, are just starting out and have more student loans than fingers and toes combined. Some of you are established, some of you are very well off. Here's the kicker: it doesn't matter. God has a plan for you, you are in the midst of that plan, and He wants you to still find some way to give what you can.

I am teaching this to myself more than to anyone else, because without access to AFC I haven't found many avenues to donate time or money. But that's no excuse.

Here's the thing: there is no joy quite like that of giving something with your whole heart. You have a financial freedom in knowing that you are using your resources for God's purpose, and it's a freedom that many people struggle with and are never able to find. The nursery rhyme is right: it talks about giving the penny away, but really it shows how giving love away brings back even more.

So, here's what I'm going to do with this. I'm going to find a way this week to give, and give with my whole heart. And after the fact, I'm going to savor the freedom and joy that it brings me.  I hope you do the same.

Meet US in St. Louis?

Oops, it has been quite some time since I updated my blog.  My apologies, I'm sure you're all just dying to know how life has changed for me in over a year since my last post. To keep the catch-up short, I'll give you the top 5 things you've missed since October 28, 2011:

1. Darren and I got married

2. Darren moved to St. Louis

3. Darren and I moved from the loft downtown to a quiet condo in the suburbs

4. I became fully CRM (Cardiac Rhythm Management) certified and began training for the ablation mapping software with my company

5. A TON of my friends got married (and we enjoyed attending the weddings we were able to make)

Phew. That almost covers 14 months of lost time.

Why the sudden interest in posting again? Well, I realized how much I enjoyed catching up with you, my long-distant friends and family, over the holidays and wanted to maintain some sort of connection so you wouldn't feel so far away. It's a new year and with that comes new resolutions. One of mine is obviously to try to maintain this blog a little better than I have been. We'll see how long it lasts!

I would like to quickly give a shout out to those of you who have recently traveled all the way up to the middle of the country to see our little Cannon family. To Kacey & Brian for coming over Thanksgiving, to Alex & Stephanie for stopping by before Christmas, and to Svenja, Lauren, Robert, & Hunter for coming before New Years:  It may not seem this way when you're here visiting, but it means the world to us that you took the time to drive up here and say hello. 

You see, I've relearned an important lesson recently. There are friends you make and keep while you're in a certain time of life such as high school or college and then as you are separated by distance and circumstance, those friendships fade away.  Then there are friends who you personally work hard to maintain but they, for whatever reason, do not put forth as much effort to keep close and eventually they, too, fade away.  Finally, there are friends that no matter what you do, you just can't seem to rid yourselves of them. Haha, just kidding. But really, there are those people who become an integral part of your life that you just cannot imagine life without. Instead of mourning over the loss of friendships that were and no longer are, I am trying my best to continue fanning the flames of those that have the potential to burn on through anything. To you, I say thanks for sticking with us even if we do live in the smack-dab middle of the country. 

If there is anyone who happens to read this and thinks, "Man I wish we had kept in touch." PLEASE say something! This sounds silly, but maybe I've been thinking the same thing and it's time that we reconnect. 

Here's to good friendships and maybe some rekindled ones in the coming year!

Okay, enough serious talk. Can somebody PLEASE give me a WHOOOOOP for this amazing season of Aggie football? If Darren and I are having this much fun with it 14 hours away from Kyle Field, I can't imagine what campus has been like! We watched the Cotton Bowl with a group of friends and spent almost the entire game explaining some of our crazy traditions. From the corps to kissing when we score to how we've got a mascot who is a dog but we're called the Aggies and also part of the 12th man, I tried to decently cover the Aggie basics. Everybody was floored by how much passion and tradition we have. This is really something, having the opportunity to explain the spirit and tradition of A&M to people who literally know nothing about it... and at the end of one conversation they can already feel how special our school is. All I can say to that is how proud I am to be an Aggie. We are the Aggies, the Aggies are we (even in Missouri)!!!