Sue

My pal, Hashimoto’s

July 19, 2011 by Sue 4 Comments

We’ve been living together for almost 3 years now and we’re getting to know each other quite well. I’m now able to discriminate between hyper- and hypo-thyroid symptoms which helps me to deal with them better and not think I’m crazy. This is good news. I struggle every day with the effects of thyroid disease and how to deal with it and I keep talking to more of my friends who are being diagnosed with various thyroid diseases. It’s amazing how many women in my personal orbit are dealing with similar issues: 6. One of the daily battles we’ve all mentioned is trying to keep our spirits up when it’s discouraging or when new symptoms emerge. Currently, my migraines are under control but I am having numbness and tingling in my arms and hands which has been diagnosed as cubital tunnel syndrome. It always something……

I figured that if my IRL friends are struggling and need support, there must be some cyber friends that could help us, so I went a-searching. And found some blogs I’d like to highlight in this week’s installment of “Pay It Forward”. I’m enjoying Hypogirl, who has some stories to tell about Hashimoto’s and life. There are more. One is called Dear Thyroid and encourages people to submit their writing about thyroid disease in an effort to help with healing. (If you visit, click on Who We Are on the right sidebar and find out about the pin-ups!) I Am the Face of Thyroid Disease.org has resources and patient-submitted videos, some of which made me cry.

Every day seems like a small mountain to climb, and it’s nice to know there’s a support community out there with people who are experiencing the same kinds of things. It gives me hope.

Adventures in quilting

July 12, 2011 by Sue 4 Comments

For Christmas, Scott gave me a stack of fat quarters in fall fabrics for a Thanksgiving quilt I want to make. I have a landing that’s prominent in my living room and I like to hang a quilt on it to soften it and dress it up a bit. So far I have a patriotic one and last year I made a Halloween one, which was my third finished quilt. (Did I mention that I’m a novice quilter? Hence the need for more time to quilt. I’ve made 3 finished and hand quilted, one that’s partly hand quilted, 2 pieced tops for charity that someone else finished, and a UFO pieced top made from scraps leftover from the quilt that I’m quilting now. That’s my entire inventory. I’m not counting all the tied quilts I’ve made over the years because what I really wanted to learn was how to piece and hand quilt.)

OK, back to the fall fabric. I’ve been looking through my books and magazines for a pattern that I want to use to make this quilt and so far I’ve been underwhelmed. On July 2 we went to lunch at Archibald’s Restaurant and did some shopping at Historic Gardner Village because it was my birthday weekend and I wanted to. 🙂

Scott sat on a bench outside while I browsed around Pine Needles, looking for bargains and inspiration. I found both! Cute Moda charmpacks 1/2 off and a quilt sample done up on the wall that I just fell in love with. The quilt had a sign on it saying the pattern was “Off the Grid” from Moda Bake Shop so I called over a saleslady and asked her about getting the pattern. Discovery: Moda has oodles of free patterns online using their products. Who knew? Well, all the savvy quilters knew, I’m sure, but I discovered a gold mine when I got home.

So I looked up the pattern, printed the instructions, and found the designer, John, has a blog of his own called Quilt Dad. Which brings me to the Pay It Forward section of my post. (You were wondering when I was going to get to that, weren’t you?) His blog is packed full of cool ideas and I’m linking to one of the best parts: his charity quilting. He participates in quilting bees where members contribute blocks to make charity quilts. Check out his blog!

Back to me. Last week I cut out the pieces to my Thanksgiving quilt and here they are. I can’t wait to get started sewing.

Wherein I come to a bend in my road

July 5, 2011 by Sue 5 Comments

Life has a way of throwing us curve balls, taking twists and turns, sending us on a roller coaster ride…….you get the idea. We try to plan and organize our lives but things change, we make choices, and one day we end up at the end of our forties with a new vista spreading wide and free before us. This is where the bend in my road has brought me: to an open meadow full of a multitude of beautiful choices. How to decide?

After 17 years of PTA volunteering, my elected position as Utah PTA Education Commissioner has come to an end and I have chosen not to go for another term. I have left the Board and some other related positions and am free to pursue other things. I have some friends who have been noisy cheerleaders for this action and a long-suffering husband who is happy to see me at this bend in the road.

So where to go from here? That’s the big question, isn’t it? I found Deb’s blog and want to Pay It Forward to her this week because she has the idea I want to embrace. Her blog profile says “I am a lifelong learner exploring new adventures after 32 years as an educator.” I’ve always thought of myself as a lifelong learner AND an adventurer, so her blog was fun to click around and see what she’s doing with her life.

My One Little Word for 2011 is BALANCE and here are the things I want to balance in the last half of 2011 as I step off on my new path, in no particular order.

quilting
reading
scrapbooking
gardening
family history
service to family
service to friends
some child advocating
learning Photoshop Elements
blogging
practicing piano
exercising
organizing and cleaning out my home
crocheting

Let the adventures begin!

Our date night to 17 Miracles

June 27, 2011 by Sue 1 Comment

Scott and I went to see the movie, “17 Miracles”, last Friday on the recommendation of a neighbor. It is in limited theatrical release and is a touching story of the Willie Handcart Company that left Iowa late in the season to travel to the Salt Lake Valley. They encountered harsh winter conditions, ran perilously low on food, and many died along the way. It was quite interesting and we enjoyed it, although my historian antennae were up during parts of it. But it’s wholesome entertainment and it does a pretty good job at entertaining. I was disappointed that the rescue was glossed over, but on the whole, I think people will be touched and get an idea of the hardships. Maybe it will inspire them to “read more about it” and find some first-hand accounts by those who were really there. The filming is lovely, the makeup and costumes are great, and I can listen to Dallyn Vail Bayles sing all day long.

I was looking up some info on the movie and found an interesting blog written by Karen, an extra in the movie who is also a descendant of one of the women highlighted. She tells what it was like to be behind the scenes and her emotions at portraying a member of the company in which her great-grandmother crossed the plains. There aren’t many posts, but I liked reading her account, so I’m Paying It Forward to Karen!

Utah Women and Education Project

June 7, 2011 by Sue 4 Comments

I was asked to be involved with this project in a small way and one of the outcomes of the research and summit were three videos that are hot off the press and now available for distribution. They detail the drop in college attendance and graduation rates by Utah women and explain some of the benefits of college. You can read more about the project here. I was interviewed for the videos last February and my wisdom was edited down to a couple of brief snippets, but you can see me in the following videos.

Making College a Priority at 2:10, 7:18, and 8:00.

Pieces of the Puzzle at 1:06.

I don’t appear in In Their Own Words, but it’s great and you should watch it, too!

Please make an effort to encourage the young women in your sphere of influence to attend and graduate from college, because research shows that your example and encouragement are one of the main elements that help women to stay the course. And a big shout-out to two of favorite women who are going to college this fall: Leslie, who will be doing a post-baccalaureate program for teacher licensure, and Holly, who will be starting a baccalaureate program from scratch. Both of these women have grown children and it takes a lot of courage to do what they’re doing, but I know they’ll reap big rewards of personal fulfillment!