On a fine summer day, two years ago in July, I sat down in front of some blogging software. Blogger, it was called. “Why don’t I start my own blog!” I said to myself. I figured it would be nothing more than an online journal where I could entertain my family and my friends.

Blogger prompted me to select a name to be part of the www.—–.blogspot.com domain. I wanted something unique, something easy to remember and something that would stand out.

“Putzworld!” I said to myself. “There’s not too many people out there with a last name like Putz!”

And that’s how www.putzworld.blogspot.com was born.

Ok, so that wasn’t exactly a brilliant move back then, but you have to admit, it was memorable, wasn’t it? Who forgets a Putz?

In the last two years, I’ve been having fun with this blog. I’ve been able to share bits and pieces of my life, such as my family’s story of discovering a deaf gene, or how about some waterskiing memories and the fun of raising my kids.   When I had the drive-thru window closed in my face and service denied at the Bolingbrook Steak ‘n Shake, I shared the frustration here on this blog and it spread to many other websites and blogs.

Along the way, the blog became a little bit of something more. I met so many wonderful people, both online and face-to-face as a result of this blog.  Every morning, I get the chance to Twitter to hundreds of people.  It’s like having a virtual water cooler conversation– something that I don’t normally have access to when conversing in groups without an interpreter.

The blog opened up some writing opportunities for me. I worked for a writing company for a year, dipping my toes into a whole new kind of writing.  I went to work as a copywriting freelancer for a real estate company, and lasted through just one project and a tiny grammar mistake before I was kindly “let go.”  I still see that real estate company looking for copywriters all the time.

Last fall, out of the blue, I was contacted by an employee of a new, soon-to-be launched website, Disaboom. Would I come and write for them, they wanted to know. I’ve been writing for Disaboom since they launched and I regularly write feature articles for the site.  Having my own blog also lead to writing for Parenting Squad and the Chicago Moms Blog.  My recent article at Chicago Moms Blog, Camp is Over, It’s Back to the Real World, was syndicated in several newspaper websites.  I also have another blog that focuses on deaf and hard of hearing people in different Jobs, Careers and Callings.

So here it is, two years later and I love writing more than ever and I plan to continue this blog for many more years.   So I’m turning to my readers to learn more about you.  What brings you here?  What keeps you coming back?  Is there something you’d like me to share more of? 

Let’s talk!

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The hubby apparently forgot my birthday early this morning before he went to work. He remembered around 9:40 this morning, when he sent a text message. He came home for lunch and left a nice note in front of the computer. My friend Beth took me out to lunch and we did dinner with the in-laws.

This morning, I was tweeting about my favorite birthday cake, the Red Velvet cake. That cake is a staple in my family and my Mom has made it for many, many birthdays among my siblings and the grandkids. I promised Genevieve Hinson a peek at it:

Those of you who read this blog faithfully (what do you mean you don’t?  Subscribe, baby!) know that I bought myself the ultimate birthday present recently.  For those of you who don’t know, let me tell you about my present.  It’s a big, gleaming hunk that I can wrap my legs around and ride.  It has different speeds and even accessories that allow me to decide when it goes fast and when it goes slow.  

Oh no, no, no–get your head out of the gutter.

Here’s my new toy:

  I figure it’s a lot more satisfying than having an affair.  John Edwards should have bought one.

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I took the kids back up to Christie Lake on Sunday to grab the last full week up here.  My cousins came up from Missouri  again and my husband’s friend and his kids joined us on Wednesday.  Mike and his kids only planned to stay two days, but it’s Sunday morning and they’re still here.  We are sitting in the kitchen having omelettes and getting ready for a final boat ride before we head home.  That’s the lure of lakeside living–good food, good friends and lots of fun.  It’s hard to leave.

Yesterday, for the fun of it, we drove around the lake to see the few homes that are up for sale.  Housing prices on the lake have soared in the last five years.  We stopped at a house that was priced at $900,000 last year and is being offered at $649,000 this summer.  It’s a beautiful piece of property but the house looks like it will require some work to update it.  Also up for sale is a pair of houses that my friend Tammy rented for several years.  The two tiny houses perched on a very tiny lot are going for $349,000.   There’s also another small ranch home up for sale for nearly 300 grand.

There’s even a beautiful lot for sale for…are you ready for this….$345,000.  This lot is on the same part of the lake that my two brothers owned land many years ago.  They bought the lot for ten grand back then and sold it a few years later for a very small profit.   It’s hard to believe that land has soared that much in price but Christie Lake is a private lake, one of the few private lakes in Michigan with no public access. 

For the last couple of years, I have been talking about buying a jet ski.  I started looking at used ones earlier in the summer.  I came close to purchasing a few of them, but someone else always beat me to the offer.  “Why don’t you look at a new one?” the hubby suggested.   I stopped at Leader’s Marine in Kalamazoo on the way home from dropping off a Redbox movie and looked at the new ones.  Sea Doo was running a special with low cost financing and a $800 gas card.

I went to talk to Dick, a 74-year-old neighbor who owned pretty much every toy there is.  He had some ski lifts sitting in the water and I wanted to see if I could buy one.  They’ve gone through three used jet skis.  The most recent one was purchased by his son earlier in the summer and it was already out of commission just a few weeks later.  I was apprehensive about buying used vs. new.  I was leaning toward the new Sea Doo, mostly because it had a key that wouldn’t let a user go over 35 mph.  I could use that for the kids to keep them from going full speed at 50-60 mph.

“Life is short, go buy it!” Dick said.

Life is short.  How many times have I said that to other people?

And that’s how I ended up buying a Sea Doo for my birthday.

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So what happens when you’re not comfortable being deaf or hard of hearing?  You hide it.  You do everything possible to “fit in” and “look normal.”  You develop an impressive arsenal of social bluffing skills.  You nod along in conversation, figure out when to put in a thoughtful, “hmmm,” and ask questions that might lead you to a clue in the topic that is firing back and forth in a group.

When I became deaf at the age of nineteen, I changed in many ways.  I learned American Sign Language and discovered many new deaf and hard of hearing friends for the first time in my life.  Slowly, I tapered off the bluffing.  I learned to take pride in being deaf, to be open about it, to rejoice in this whole journey.  I can’t even begin to describe the differences.  For one thing, you’d never catch me showing off my hearing aids on public television.  Yes, those are my blue earmolds on ABC– aren’t they purty?

I love stories like this one:  Social Bluffing, by Katie.  In her post, Katie shares:

I have decided to be more honest with myself and with people I don’t know re: my hearing impairment.  I’ve decided that it is perfectly OK to tell the cashier, the waitress or whomever I’m speaking to that I have a hearing impairment, and could they please talk slower and speak up for me? 

and:

In my experience, I’ve also discovered that when you are honest with people and tell them why they need to repeat what they said or word it differently for you, they are more than accommodating in the request.   I am learning to give people more credit than I did in the past, which has allowed me a more positive view of the world.

In her guest post, Katie shares that she recently began this journey of becoming hard of hearing just a few years ago.  So taking the action to assert herself is part of the path of learning to become comfortable about being hard of hearing and getting the communication access that is needed.  Little by little, confidence comes from taking baby steps and then one day, you find yourself asserting your communication needs with relative ease.

Just the other day, I received this comment sent via the contact me form on this blog.  I received permission to share it here:

Hi there Karen

I am Elias and I am 34yo from way down under

All my life i was in denial of my impairment and sort of closed myself from the deaf community. It wasn’t until a personal crisis that forced me to take a deep look inside myself.

I looked up on the internet for inspiration and help and  i came across Stephen Hopson and it was what i needed. I was amazed to learn he is a pilot and motiovational speaker. The more i read about his life the more inspired i became. He woke me up so much and realised that I can do more for myself. I realise i finally knew what i wanted to do for myself and the world.

Then i came across your blog and for the past few months i read as many as i can from your blogs. All i can say is wow.

I wish to say a big thank you for showing me that it is okay to be deaf. I found your blog through Stephen
When i decided to check out your blog, i was amazed by your life experiences. Thank you for showing me that it’s okay to be deaf.

I plan to enter the world of Blogging hopefully soon.

Again thank you!

Elias

Thank you, Elias, for sharing your journey with me.  I look forward to reading about your venture into the blogging world.

You’re right, Elias, it’s ok to be deaf.

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Last night, the hubby and I broke out the Blackberry wine from St. Julian’s Winery and we watched TV in bed, sipping the fruity stuff.

We didn’t even have to lock the door!

This is the fourth year my kids have gone off to the Lions Camp.  It’s only the second time for my youngest son.  The Lions Camp is generously funded by the Lions of Illinois Foundation.  Every year, my kids look forward to their week at camp.  They come home with reams of pictures and stories about their fellow campers.  All of the campers are deaf or hard of hearing, and for some of them, it is the first time they’ve used American Sign Language or hung around other deaf and hard of hearing kids.

This is the second full day that I get to blast my John Denver music without someone complaining that it is interferring with their TV program.  The second day that I don’t have to order someone to pick up a half-filled glass and an empty wrapper.  There’s no one around to holler at.  Clean your room!  Empty the dishwasher!  Take the dog for a walk!  Stop body-slamming your brother to the floor! 

I have lots of good intentions of getting work done this week.  The house also needs a serious cleaning and I’m working on an e-book.  I expect my readers to hold me accountable to this.  At the end of the week, be sure to ask me if my house is clean and if I’ve written 5,000 words.

However, as much fun as I’m having dancing around the house without someone snickering at me, I realize that this is a taste of life to come.  Haven’t I said that before?  This house is gonna be too empty without kids.

So, kids, go have fun at camp this week and Mom is gonna do the same.  But when you come back on Saturday, it’ll be back to the grind!

 ”Hang up your wet towel! How many times do I have to tell you that the maid doesn’t live here?”

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Holy Moly!

I went on to read another news article about it:

Jilted Bride Awarded $150,000 after Wedding Called Off

Jilted Bride Calls $150,000 Settlement ‘Justice’

I have mixed feelings about this lawsuit. On one hand, life is messy. Feelings change. Relationships can change from one day to the next. People get cold feet about marriage all the time. Does this lawsuit now mean that jilted others can sue left and right for “breaches of promises?”

The gal’s attorney, Linda Sartain, believes the case will change the way people look at engagements:

However, on the other hand, I can understand the gal’s reason for the lawsuit– she gave up her life and moved to be near her fiance–and gave up a job with a nice income. In the article, she says that her fiance never intended to marry her.

Now this makes me think of a guy that I know who plays with people’s feelings on the internet all the time. He makes up all kinds of stories, telling women that he loves them and wants to marry them. He leads them to believe that he’s very sincere and he plays with several women at the same time.

So if this gal’s pal is like the sneaky guy I know–then I’d say she deserves even more money from the guy.

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Visiting St. Julian's Winery

It definitely rained.  We decided to go to the St. Julian Winery in the morning.  We left Dennis behind with the kids, and they took off in the rain to go swimming.  I hadn’t been to the winery since I was a kid, sipping grape juice at the bar.  It was fun to sample the wine and try unusual ones.  We ended up buying a blackberry wine and the Niagara.  

After the sampling, we took a tour of the winery.  The tour guide slowed down his speech and faced us while he spoke, so the tour was pretty accessible for us.  Unfortunately, the short movie in the beginning wasn’t captioned.

When we arrived back, the rain slowed down.  We grabbed lunch and then decided to go tubing with just the adults first.  The kids were taking a break from all the swimming they did. 

As I whipped Dennis and Steve around, I tried to make sure that Steve didn’t fall off too hard or crash his head into Dennis.  I didn’t want to jar his cochlear implant internally and be responsible for sending him back into the hospital for a re-implant.  When Steve climbed into the boat, he thanked me for the wild ride.  “That was me being cautious!” I laughed. 

Steve brought up his kayaks so we all took turns kayaking around the lake.  On Sunday, the sun came out in the afternoon so we took the pontoon out and swam in the middle.  We took the kids tubing and kneeboarding the rest of the time.

This was a rare weekend for all of us together but I was really thankful for it.  There’s nothing like spending some time with friends and family, sharing good food and good times.   

So how’s your summer going?  Are you finding enjoyable moments to kick back and enjoy?  Share them in the comment section!

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No, I didn’t get another dye job.

Gaze your eyes upward and you’ll find my new banner design.  I won the banner design from Meryl Evans, who was giving away five grand in prizes to celebrate her blog’s eighth birthday.  I can’t wait to see what she gives away at her tenth birthday!

The banner was designed by Harry, the talented designer from Men with Pens.   When I first received notification that I won a banner design, I was thanking the stars for aligning in my favor.  One of the things I wanted to do after the SOBCono8  was to customize my theme, but being the ultimate procrastinator, I kept putting off the search for a designer.  Lo and behold, I now had one at my beck and call.

It sure was fun working with Harry.  Harry, do this.  Harry, can you try that?  Harry, can you make it darker?  Harry, can you airbrush 40 pounds off and make me look like Christie Brinkley?

We had a little problem with geography and I ended up first in Canada, then in Michigan.  Harry was working off the logo I created all by myself, from scratch at the left.  Considering I spend half of my summers at Christie Lake in Michigan, I thought about leaving it there.  But it was too much fun to order Harry to make more changes.  So Harry’s slaving away and moving me to Chicago soon.

 Harry also went above and beyond duty as he helped me install the banner on my blog.  We worked through instant messaging and I asked him to walk me through the whole process.  He could have easily installed it himself, but he was willing to take the time and guide me by the hand.  Navigating the code was like walking through a minefield, and Harry kept me from blowing my blog up. 

Would I pay money to have this done by Men with Pens?  You betcha.

In other news, A Deaf Mom Shares Her World made it to the very top of Alltop in the Disability section.  I’ve been quoted in Car and Caboodle and Diversity, Inc. recently.  And the most exciting news of all: I’ve been asked to become a regular blogger for Momlogic and Chicago Moms Blog.

But if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to run.  I wish I was jetting off to an exciting blog conference or hosting a book signing, but there’s something more urgent to take care of.

The toilet’s clogged up.

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Beth Donofrio and I headed out to Breckenridge last Thursday for the annual Hands & Voices Leadership Workshop.  Beth is a close friend of mine as well as an Illinois Hands & Voices board member.  She’s a mom of five kids, with lots of experience in assisting parents of deaf and hard of hearing kids throughout the years. 

Each year, the workshop has grown, and this year, we had folks from as far away as Saipan joining us.  On the left, you can see the states that are involved with Hands & Voices.  We are spreading wordwide as well.  It has been amazing to see the growth– from a few chapters a few years ago to nearly every state with a chapter or a start-up.  There are a lot of us out there who believe “What works for your child is what makes the choice right.”

On Friday night, I teamed up with Erin, a mom from the Pennsylvania chapter to host an icebreaker.  You’ve heard of “speed dating?”  We did “Speed Greeting.”   Everyone left with a new best friend that night.

There were several of us there raising three deaf/hard of hearing kids and it was nice to bond with those families.  Everywhere I went, moms would share bits and pieces from their lives, wisdom was exchanged and ideas explored.  I wanted more time– there’s never enough time!  The weekend went by way too quickly.

In the photo on the left, is our team from Illinois.  Left to right:  Leeanne Seaver, Executive Director of Hands & Voices, Beth Donofrio, myelf and Ginger Mullen, the EHDI Coordinator for newborn hearing screening.  We are working together to set up a parent-to-parent program in Illinois that will provide parent support after a diagnosis.

Someone asked me once, why does Hands & Voices appeal to me so much?  From the time I first set eyes on their mission and their stance on communication modes, I knew I had found my “home.”  I wanted a safe place to explore answers for my kids, a place where I could learn advocacy skills and a place that was going to roll up the sleeves and help me make changes in the way that families receive information upon diagnosis.  I love the variety– I’ve had a wonderful opportunity to meet families using all kinds of communication modes. 

I came across a quote over the weekend that I thought was really profound:

“A community that excludes even one of its members is not a community at all.”  –Dan Wilkins

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