The Store Name That Got Away
SpeakUpLibrarian My son was home for a visit from out-of-state over the holidays. We were having a casual conversation on the couch when I mentioned how much I liked a blanket he had brought with him. He told me he bought it at Bath Pro. I had never heard of that retailer. "Is that a chain like Bed, Bath, and Beyond?" I asked. He gave me a strange look and said, "Yeah, for hunters." T...
Sat, Jan 07 2017

ALDAcon Day Three - part two
SpeakUpLibrarian This is the final installment of my experiences at the national convention for the Association of Late Deafened Adults (ALDA) held in Brookfield, Wisconsin, September 14-18, 2016. Since my last post, I changed my mind about writing about the dinner plans that didn't work out. Instead, I'm going to share about the Saturday night karaoke party and the Sunday morning Far...
Mon, Sep 26 2016

ALDAcon Day Three - part one
SpeakUpLibrarian This is the third installment of my experiences this past week at the national convention for the Association of Late Deafened Adults (ALDA) held in Brookfield, Wisconsin. I was involved in this event as the Newcomers Chair and as a workshop presenter. Saturday, September 17Today was the day for my second presentation of the convention. I was excited to share my mate...
Sat, Sep 24 2016

ALDAcon 2016 Day Two
SpeakUpLibrarian This is the second installment of my experiences this past week at the national convention for the Association of Late Deafened Adults (ALDA) held in Brookfield, Wisconsin. I was involved in this event as the Newcomers Chair and as a workshop presenter. Photo by Ken Arcia On Friday morning, I attended a workshop about the forthcoming ALDA national website. I was int...
Thu, Sep 22 2016

ALDAcon 2016 Day One
SpeakUpLibrarian This is the first installment of my experiences this past week at the national convention for the Association of Late Deafened Adults (ALDA) held in Brookfield, Wisconsin. I was involved in this event as the Newcomers Chair and as a workshop presenter. Thursday, September 15The first event of the morning was the Newcomer's Breakfast. I had prepared a PowerPoint prese...
Thu, Sep 22 2016

Special Report: Support Employees with Hearing Loss to...
SpeakUpLibrarian A free resource for employers is now available from 121 Captions on how employers can assist their employees with managing their hearing loss on the job. This 13 page report is free and available for download. A small amount of the content is specific to American and U.K. employers, but generally the concepts apply worldwide.Topics covered include: How hearing loss ...
Mon, Jun 27 2016

Why It Pays to Attend Convention
SpeakUpLibrarian The Hearing Loss Association of America's convention is taking place this week in Washington, D.C. Although I am not there in person this year, I feel I am present in spirit as some of my friends are there and sharing their experiences online with me. I have been privileged to go to two of the organization's past conventions and one convention of the Association of La...
Fri, Jun 24 2016

I'll Call You from the Car
SpeakUpLibrarian One of the features I love most about my new Honda Civic is that I can place calls hands-free through my iPhone that are transmitted through the car's stereo system. The sound clarity is amazing and I can adjust the volume easily through buttons on the steering wheel.My family is getting quite used to my opening a phone conversation with "I'm calling you from the car!...
Sat, Jun 18 2016

What's Up, Doc?
SpeakUpLibrarian This week I was at the doctor's office for a routine check up. My physician walked into the examining room and said, "When I think of you, I don't think you're ditzy," in a tone that indicated I actually was. "Huh?" I thought to myself. "What did I do?" Then I realized she had said fifty, intending it as a compliment.
Sun, Jun 05 2016

I Did It!
SpeakUpLibrarian Last weekend, I graduated with my Masters of Arts degree in Communication and Training.It took me four years to do it, but I made it to the finish line. While I learned about communication, I learned even more about myself.  Now, it's time to apply this knowledge. I intend to do that in service of others.I am open to new career opportunities that may present themselv...
Sun, May 22 2016

The Library of Congress: Delightful to My Eyes but...
SpeakUpLibrarian As mentioned in my previous post, I had a difficult time hearing at the Library of Congress. When Hollace and I went to the visitors desk, we were directed to view a movie and take a tour. The movie was not captioned. We asked for captions, but were told this was a new film and there had been technical problems and the captions were not yet unavailable. We were given ...
Mon, Oct 19 2015

The Library of Congress: Delightful to My Eyes but...
SpeakUpLibrarian As a librarian, visiting the Library of Congress seems almost like making a pilgrimage to Mecca. It simply must be done at some point in your life. I had been to Washington D.C. once before for a library convention, but had not been able to see the Library of Congress because of their early closing time of 4:30 p.m. I had not expected to visit while I was in D.C. last...
Thu, Sep 24 2015

Librarian Humor
SpeakUpLibrarian This cabinet caught my eye one day in the Library. I wondered what could be in the drawers labeled MT. After puzzling it over, the answer came to me. There was nothing inside. The drawers were empty.
Wed, Sep 16 2015

Ground Zero Search and Rescue Dog Honored
SpeakUpLibrarian In honor of September 11th, here's a video celebrating Bretagne, who is believed to be the last living search and rescue dog from Ground Zero. On a sad day of remembrance, this video lifted my spirits.[Please be aware that the captions are auto-generated.]
Fri, Sep 11 2015

My Visit to Gallaudet University
SpeakUpLibrarian Ever since I wrote a paper on Thomas Gallaudet for my sign language class, I've been interested in visiting the university named after him. When I went to Washington D.C. this summer, Gallaudet University was the only place on my sightseeing wish list. I was hoping I would meet someone who could take me on a tour and I did! HLAA's own Lisa Devlin is a retiree from G...
Thu, Sep 10 2015

What I Did on My Summer Vacation
SpeakUpLibrarian This is the third post in a series about my internship. Photo op with Anna Gilmore Hall, Executive Director (left) and Barbara Kelly, Deputy Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief, Hearing Loss Magazine For my summer "vacation", I spent 4 1/2 weeks this past July/August in Bethesda, Maryland working as a volunteer intern at the Hearing Loss Association of America (...
Thu, Aug 27 2015

Paperwork and a Place to Stay
SpeakUpLibrarian This is the second post in a series about my internship.Finding a place to do my internship was only the first step. Next, I had to write an internship proposal and have it signed by my on-site supervisor and two faculty members in my department. These three will comprise the committee of readers for my capstone report. I also had to have a signed internship agreement...
Mon, Aug 24 2015

Stepping Out by Faith
SpeakUpLibrarian Do you ever feel nervous stepping on a sidewalk grate? Do you ever imagine the grating giving way under your weight? I have had those thoughts and feelings before, but as you can see in the photo above (yes, that's my foot) I've learned to walk on them anyways. The trick is stepping out by faith believing you will make it across safely before you put your foot on the ...
Sat, Aug 22 2015

Lego Art at Morton Arboretum
SpeakUpLibrarian Photos of Lego art I saw at Morton Arboretum yesterday.  Monarch butterfly as seen from tram. Monarch butterfly close up. Peacock Dragonfly  Pansy with bee Wheelbarrow Grandfather and granddaughter gardening Tortoise My favorite was the butterfly. Which was yours?
Sun, Aug 16 2015

Arboretum Advocacy Pays Off with Accessible Communication
SpeakUpLibrarian   Today I visited Morton Arboretum with my local hearing loss support group, ALDA Chicago. This nature preserve was a relaxing, peaceful place to visit on a hot, sunny day. I last visited the arboretum in the fall five years ago when I photographed their tree root sculptures and scarecrows. Today's visit was special because thanks to the advocacy of a group member...
Sat, Aug 15 2015

CDC, It's as Easy as 1,2,3
SpeakUpLibrarian Two weeks ago the Center for Disease Control (CDC) announced the results of a new study on the prevalence of disability and disability type among American adults.  Survey questions asked about disability in regards to vision, cognition, mobility, self-care, and independent living. An asterisk at the bottom of the report explained that questions about deafness and d...
Wed, Aug 12 2015

Blog Break
SpeakUpLibrarian I will be taking a break from blogging until mid-August.Hope you are having a wonderful summer!
Fri, Jun 26 2015

Little Free Library
SpeakUpLibrarian I came across this "little library" and thought it was a clever way to encourage people to read and share books. Have you ever seen a little library?
Tue, Jun 23 2015

Interview with Author Betty Adams
SpeakUpLibrarian I'm really excited to share with you my interview with Betty Adams, a hard of hearing author who has just published her first book, Dying Embers, a science fiction fantasy YA novel with plenty of tears and hope. Betty's novel will be available August 19 upon debuting at Worldcon 2015. A link to order her book will appear at the end of this blogpost.Sarah: Hi, Betty....
Sun, Jun 21 2015

HearAngel
SpeakUpLibrarian I just learned about HearAngel, a new smartphone app that could help protect your hearing. Once this app is released, HearAngel will enable you to understand whether your current smartphone listening habits are safe or not. It will do this by providing information on your audio consumption for review.For a small cost, HearAngel can also be enabled to intervene so that...
Thu, Jun 18 2015

Good Vibrations: Enjoying How Music Feels
SpeakUpLibrarian Meet the Beatles tribute band Last night I was at an open air concert staged in a baseball park's concession area before the game began.  The musical group performing was Meet the Beatles, a tribute band (pictured above). My husband Rob, who is hearing, enjoyed the music tremendously and informed me that the "Paul" and "John" singers really sounded like the origina...
Sun, Jun 14 2015

Photo Scavenger Hunt
SpeakUpLibrarian The Man in Sunglasses photo ALDA Chicago recently sponsored a photo scavenger hunt in downtown Oak Park, Illinois. My husband Rob and I went and had a lot of fun. How the hunt worked was we were divided into teams of 3-4 people, given 3 sheets of photos, and directed to a four block area to find each location pictured and take our own digital photo with our team as ...
Sat, Jun 06 2015

Oticon Focus on People Awards
SpeakUpLibrarian I am pleased to share with you the news that Oticon is now accepting nominations for their annual Focus on People Awards. Winning this award in 2011 for Advocacy inspired me to continue working on behalf of people with hearing loss. I encourage you to nominate someone you know who demonstrates that hearing loss does not limit a person’s ability to achieve, contribut...
Thu, Jun 04 2015

Workshop Feedback and Faith
SpeakUpLibrarian [This is a follow up from an earlier blog post in which I shared my struggle to meet my teacher's expectations on an assignment and my family's sage advice to focus on the feedback of workshop participants rather than my instructor's reaction.]I'm delighted to share with all of you, some feedback I received from my Communication Training workshop for ALDA Chicago. In...
Sun, May 24 2015

Never Been "Deaf Kissed"
SpeakUpLibrarian I enjoyed the 1999 Drew Barrymore film "Never Been Kissed" about a woman who had never been kissed passionately. This award winning short film by Charlie Swinborne called "The Kiss" is no chick flick. Instead, it's part deaf awareness and part prank. I thought it was funny and great and wanted to share it, although I must admit I've never been "deaf kissed". Have you?
Tue, May 19 2015

Unwanted Book Sets Become Art Canvasses
SpeakUpLibrarian These photos are from an art exhibit titled "Stories and Stuff" currently on display in my library. Artist Jeff Stevenson used unwanted book sets to create these male portraits. His idea was inspired by the book, The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard. I thought it was a cool idea!
Sun, May 03 2015

Fourth Health Update
SpeakUpLibrarian Salad with dark red kidney beans, diced tomatoes, onions, and artichokes. Healthy eating continues at my house. My husband has lost 32 pounds and he looks terrific! I am so proud of his accomplishment. I have made it halfway to my weight goal by losing 17 pounds.  Spring is here! I've been walking more frequently on my lunch break at work, but we have not g...
Sun, May 03 2015

President's Award
SpeakUpLibrarian At the annual ALDA Chicago birthday party luncheon today, I received the President's Award from Joe Linder and the board in recognition for my volunteer service. Words can't adequately express my love and gratitude for this support group. I have received more than I have ever given. It was an honor to have Joe say that I embody what the group is all about.You may not ...
Sun, Apr 19 2015

Third Health Update
SpeakUpLibrarian Despite the cheerful puppy smiling from my calendar from Canine Companions for Independence, March was a rough month for me health-wise. I got off track with my exercising and did not make my weight goal although I did lose 3 pounds. At the end of the month, Rob and I both caught a cold. It seemed so unfair when we had been eating so healthfully. Here's a pho...
Fri, Apr 03 2015

Workshop Report
SpeakUpLibrarian Last Saturday was my workshop. I had a great turnout with 19 people attending. My target audience was hearing people and eight of my attendees were friends and family members of people with hearing loss. Because CART captioning was provided their loved ones with  hearing loss could attend with them. Many were affiliated with ALDA Chicago.I began by demonstrating what...
Mon, Mar 30 2015

Workshop Development Continues
SpeakUpLibrarian Since my last blog post, I have moved forward on creating my workshop. My mom and my aunt Louise gave me some great advice about dealing with my disappointment. My sister believed in me and gave me a confidence boost when I most needed it. I also received some wonderfully supportive comments on my last post and on Facebook and that helped tremendously.I decided to for...
Wed, Mar 18 2015

Creating a Communication Training Workshop
SpeakUpLibrarian This semester I am taking a class called Communication Training. As part of the class, we are required to do some actual training. I thought I would share with you what I plan to do and how the plans for my communication workshop have been coming along.The topic I selected was "How to Communicate Effectively with Adults Who Have Hearing Loss". I've attended various he...
Sun, Mar 08 2015

Second 2015 Health Update
SpeakUpLibrarian Today was check-in day for me and my husband to monitor our progress towards improved health and fitness this year. Here were our results: Rob and I both lost another 5 pounds this month and met our target weight loss goals. Hooray! I eliminated a daily medication for migraine prevention and my doctor approved reducing my daily medication for asthma prevention to th...
Sat, Feb 28 2015

Hearing Aids Aren’t Just for Parties…The...
SpeakUpLibrarian A guest post by Dusty Jessen, Au.D.As an audiologist, I’ll often have patients tell me that they are ready for hearing aids, but they only want to wear them when they leave the house or when they plan to be around a group of people. I will admit that I do not personally wear hearing aids, so I can’t speak from personal experience on this matter. But I can relat...
Thu, Feb 05 2015

Fun in the Snow 2
SpeakUpLibrarian I woke up to this Winter Wonderland today. The dogs were happy to go out and play in the real snow, as they were thoroughly bored by now with indoor snow. Last year they had so much fun romping in the snow when Melody was a little pup. Here's the original Fun in the Snow video I made back then: I made a Fun in the Snow 2 video today to show how much Melody ha...
Sun, Feb 01 2015

First 2015 Health Update
SpeakUpLibrarian A healthy salad I made with white beans, tomatoes, olives, avocado, & lettuce with home made dressing. Today was the first day of reckoning to track the progress my husband and I have made towards being healthier people. Here were our results: I have not lost any more weight since the 5 pounds I reported in my last post on January 18. My husband has lost about 13 ...
Sat, Jan 31 2015

A Prescription for Patience & Other Encouragement
SpeakUpLibrarian After a few trying days this past week, I opened my Bible to James 1:2-4 for encouragement and read these words: Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy, for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. So let it grow, and don’t try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, ...
Thu, Jan 29 2015

First Night of Class Discoveries
SpeakUpLibrarian On the first night of my new class, Communication Training, my professor had us take a Myers-Briggs personality test. I was very interested in this activity because I had taken one about 25 years ago and remembered my result was ESFJ. I was able to remember that distinctly because it was around the time I was in library school and the typical librarian is an ISFJ. I w...
Sun, Jan 25 2015

Jury Service Jitters
SpeakUpLibrarian When I got a standby jury summons notice in the mail, I knew what to do based on my past experience. But this time my experience was slightly different, so I thought I would share what happened to me. When I emailed the jury accommodation staff regarding a CART request, I was told I could either confirm with the office that I was coming in that day or request a postp...
Fri, Jan 23 2015

HLAA Comment on CMS Decision
SpeakUpLibrarian Here is a response from the Hearing Loss Association of America on the CMS decision that resulted in Sonitus going out of business as reported in my last blog post.According to Lise Hamlin, HLAA Director of Public Policy, “HLAA opposed CMS’ (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services) proposed rules on bone-anchored hearing devices. In our comments, we supported r...
Thu, Jan 22 2015

No More SoundBite?
SpeakUpLibrarian My friend Donna received the following email from Sonitus, the company behind SoundBite. You may remember Donna from this previous post where she shared her experience with getting a SoundBite. Donna forwarded the email to me and gave permission for me to share it on this blog. She wants me to get the word out about this unfortunate turn of events.From: Sonitus Custom...
Mon, Jan 19 2015

Sláinte
SpeakUpLibrarian In 2015, my husband Rob and I are focusing on our health. We both are sick and tired of feeling sick and tired and want to lose weight. For Christmas we purchased work out equipment - a bike and a treadmill so that we could work out together while watching Netflix in our basement. Don't let their shiny appearance fool you, I have worked out every day except one so far...
Sun, Jan 18 2015

My Visit to the Audiologist
SpeakUpLibrarian I see my audiologist about every 6 months to get my hearing aids cleaned. I also buy supplies at that time, which in my case includes batteries, dome tips, and wax guards. My hearing aid batteries generally need replacing every 7-10 days and the other items are replaced on a monthly basis. Sometimes I ask the audiologist to change my hearing aid settings. For example,...
Sat, Jan 17 2015

Indoor Snow
SpeakUpLibrarian Happy New Year, everyone. It's bitterly cold where I live and my two dogs are only going outside for short periods of time. I put an old comforter on the floor for them one night for warmth. By morning, Melody had chewed on it and pulled out blobs of fluff from the stuffing. I told my husband to consider it "indoor snow" since she can't have her usual extended outdoor...
Thu, Jan 08 2015

A Mom's Holiday Joy
SpeakUpLibrarian Christmas came early for me this year. It arrived on December 20th when my son Charlie came home. This year's highest moments for me included watching him graduate from high school, celebrating with family and friends at his military send-off party, and seeing him graduate from basic training earlier this month. I'm so proud of him! In the photo above, he is placing t...
Wed, Dec 31 2014