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I’ve been writing for Epinions.com for six years now and I want to take a moment to share this site here. Epinions covers thousands of reviews of every imaginable product and you will find un-biased reviews by a variety of consumers. You will find information about which vacuums actually suck (ahem, pun intended), movies to avoid, and which strollers are good for two kiddos.

I started writing there as a way to make money. Back in the early days of Epinions, one could easily make a grand per year. Today, free-flowing money has dwindled to a trickle, but I still enjoy the community there. My articles have received an average of 300 hits per review, and my review of a trampoline has racked up thousands of hits.

So the next time you’re looking for a new gizmo, check out the product reviews at Epinions before you fork over the money.

I received this little ditty in my email box yesterday and I just had to share it:

ATTITUDE
by Charles Swindoll

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on my life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts.
It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.
It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.
It will make or break a company … a church … a home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.
We cannot change our past … we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.
We cannot change the inevitable.
The only thing we can do is play on the string we have, and that is our attitude …
I am convinced that life is ten percent what happens to me and ninety percent how I react to it.
And so it is with you … we are in charge of our attitudes.”

In my email box today, I received a link to the story, “Baby Sign Language–Gimmick or Early Voice?” and of course, I wanted to share a thought. I work with families with children who are deaf and hard of hearing, but I taught two courses in Sign With Your Baby at a local hospital with babies who had normal hearing.

The whole point of teaching sign to babies is not about raising IQ levels or smarter babies, it’s about communicating. It’s about giving little ones the tools to be able to tell Mom or Dad that they’re hungry, that they want to play, that they want some juice, and so on. Infants have control of their hands before the natural development of speech, so they are able to develop signs at an early age. This early communication can be visually measured and seen, which gets everyone so excited about the budding genius before them.

So if you’ve decided to teach sign to your little one, kick back and enjoy the learning process together. American Sign Language is the fourth most common language in the world. Have fun with it.

I turned 41 today. What a strange age. I wasn’t happy turning 40 last year– I was bummed at leaving my thirties behind. 40 sounds so mature, so…responsible. 41 is just nine years away from 50. And 50 is just a drop away from 60, which is totally mature and you sure better be responsible by that point!

I swore that I was going to stay in bed all day and watch tv, which is a rare treat. So I took in all my landscaping and cooking shows and by noon, I was itching to do something else.

For some reason, I headed out to the compost pile and started working on a new section in the flower garden. I pulled weeds, mixed up compost with peat and spread it around. Everything looked pretty good after a few hours. The hubby and I worked on another section near the side of the house, which was overgrown with clover and thistle. Our neighbor’s house is smack next to this area and I’m sure they appreciated seeing the hostas instead of the the thistle. I even experienced a Zen moment while taking a break and sitting in the swing and taking in the flowers. I told the hubby, “We need more moments like this…”

We ordered pizza tonight and I went for a bike ride with the kids– the first time that I actually used the bike this summer.

Definitely a productive day– maybe 41 isn’t so bad after all.

On July 22nd, Lauren and I went to see the play, “Wicked” along with two other friends. It was an interpreted performance. When we arrived, we discovered that the so-called accessible seats were more than halfway down the theatre. After calling the house manager and requesting seats closer to the interpreters, we ended up in seats right in front, but off to the side. There was no time to change it, as the play began and we had to settle in.

For the first half, I had a great view of the interpreters, but couldn’t see a thing on stage unless the actors came forward. The kids fared a little better as they were able to take in more of the view. What a disappointment.

Needless to say, we ended up with a full refund…

I work in early intervention as a Deaf Mentor, providing information and resources to families with children who are deaf/hard of hearing. I also teach sign language to families who request that mode of communicationwith their kids. This position is unique in the early intervention field because it provides role models to deaf and hard of hearing children from birth to age three. Deaf Mentors can share their perspectives and experiences of growing up with hearing loss and give parents an understanding of how to access communication in various situations.

I’m always asked, “What is it like to be deaf?” I wrote this Epinion to introduce a bit about my life with hearing loss: http://www.epinions.com/content_4738687108.

There are five generations of hearing loss in my family. My great-grandfather, my grandmother, my mom and all four of her siblings and all of my siblings, plus my kids and one niece all have various levels of hearing loss. All of us were born hearing.

Welcome to my little spot on cyberspace! I’m Karen, and I’m married to Joe and we have three kids who are deaf and hard of hearing. Joe and I are deaf. David, Lauren and Steven are the light of my life. Oh yeah, the hubby too.

I work in early intervention as a Deaf Mentor, helping families with babies who are deaf or hard of hearing. A lot of my work involves teaching sign language to families and various ways of communicating with children who are deaf/hard of hearing. It’s a fun job– I get to play with babies and then go home! I teach a course called “Conversational Sign Language” at a local community college. I also substitute teach in the elementary and middle schools when I can.

I am the Chairperson of Illinois Hands & Voices, a state chapter of Hands & Voices National. I am also a board member of Hands & Voices and I contribute articles to the quarterly newsletter. I joined Hands & Voices because it is a parent-driven organization that believes “What works for your child is what makes the choice right.” Hands & Voices works to bring families together regardless of communication mode.

Looking forward to making this blog a fun place to be!