Domesticity.

I know this is quite delayed, topic-wise, but I wanted to say thanks for the inspiration to go Bold with color. A short while ago you were talking about the amazingness of orange and I totally agree! I have always liked orange but never scrap booked/worked with that color. So when my eyes landed on a bright and cheerful orange Kolo book in NYC I hesitated then bought it. I kept thinking I could have gotten one of the "safer colors" but am so glad that I didn't after putting together my mini book! Thanks for helping me see how awesome orange is!

Unrelated to thyroid issues: Ali, where did you buy your butterfly stamps (used in the Kit for a Cause book). Interesting to see the butterfly trend picking up steam in products. What is the backstory on your Kit for a Cause? It's fabulous!

Ali, have you read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver? It's an amazing read.
I want to thank you for posting the thyroid info. It was a total lightbulb moment for me, and I'm now getting tested.

Good for you for taking this all in stride! I thought the story of how you found out about it was amazing. And even more amazing is how well you are responding. Go, Ali!

thought this would make you laugh...
my mom was diagnosed with hyper (hypo?) thyroidism and hashimoto's disease, had a biopsy, and ended up having her thyroid removed because the biopsy came back unclear. (no, don't worry, that's not the funny part!) turns out she didn't have cancer, but is now on replacement hormones to account for her missing thyroid.
so... the doctors tell me that I need to be checked for it, because it commonly runs in families (and in women)... and... here it comes... i PASS OUT during the blood test.
here they were, looking for thyroid problems, and they end up with a mental patient. ;)
that was about four years ago... since then, i've had a baby... and many more instances of passing out due to needles and blood -- augh!!!
best wishes as you work to figure out what's going on and get your body back on track!

Good for you for taking this all in stride! I thought the story of how you found out about it was amazing. And even more amazing is how well you are responding. Go, Ali!

love, love your column today...love anything domestic. there are plenty of us who are still preparing full on dinner meals for our families and it's so great to see someone as cool as you roast a chicken! here's to eating right. through adversity a greater seed of blessing blooms, and perhaps with these medical issues you are moving into areas of your life (domestically, emotionally,
spiritually, etc.) that you have never gone before.
oh, btw, the photo of your tea is way cool!
ali, thanks so much for sharing your creative life as well as your daily. it has really caused me to view daily moments in a different hue.
oh, and one more thing, (i don't know if you really read all these posts) but at the begin of summer we added more health to our diet and i found Kid Favorites Made Healthy by BH&G at the library. it was a good start to help with our four kids meals. just a thot.

I am quite addicted to our local farmers market too! For some really good healthy recipes I have a few favorite places to check out. cookinglight.com and foodnetwork.com (At Food Network go to Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger, Everyday Italian, 30 Minute Meals, Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller). The Food Network has great resources and you can print off recipes that you want to try out. Best of luck...I find it interesting how God works. Just a few posts ago you were writing how you needed to make healthier meals for Simon and now God is saying Mommy and Daddy could benefit too. You're going to be a great example for Simon....have him help you in the kitchen...it gives kids ownership of what they're going to eat. There's alot of "kids in the kitchen" recipes on Food Network too....Bon Appetite!

I love how positively you are approaching this whole thing.
Thanks for inspiring me to look at things differently

Ali...I was totally smiling as I read your post because of the way you were describing things. Nothing like a gentle "nudge" in the right direction, huh? :D And you have such a wonderful farmers market there. So lucky! Someone else already mentioned it, but "Kid Favorites Made Healthy" by BH&G is practically a bible around here...it really helped with the transition with my kids. And I love that skirt!

Ali, I go tomorrow and Friday the iodine test then will go back next week for the radiation treatment to remove the bad parts of my thyroid. Good Luck with your tests! Keep you in my thoughts!

Good luck on all the changes. Like you said...this is the best time of year to have to rely on fresh fruits and veggies. :)
Love to sew. Thanks for the fun link. :)

thinking of you!! good luck on the sewing--I can't wait to find time to start quilting again! :)

You can do it! You are so creative, there is no way you can't!
Come check out my blog for a freebie that is for everyone!!
http://laurawilliamsmusings.blogspot.com/2007/07/carnival-time-giveaway.html

Thinking good thoughts for your test next month. When I was first diagnosed with my Hashimoto's disease, they found 2 nodules on my thyroid. They were determined to be non-cancerous, but still needed to be checked occasionally. My last scan earlier this year, they were gone entirely. Wahoo! Keep the faith, enjoy all the fresh summer goodness, and looking forward to seeing that skirt.

Wishing you the best of luck with the scan. Sadly, they're a very boring process. I always wished someone could hold up a book for me while my head was turned to each side for what seemed like an eternity! I have what is called a "hot" nodule (the good kind to have), and am going in soon to get my regular bloodwork to see if anything is out of normal ranges.

You've probably been tagged with this already but you def deserve the Rocking Girl Blogger banner!! So YOU'RE TAGGED lol
Hope everything is ok with the whole test thing, sending you good thoughts!
Looking forward to your new book too!!
Jane xxx

My mom had the same operation last summer and did great afterwards. There was no cancer. Hope and pray you have the same experience with recovery and all!

All the best on the test. Hope all goes well. Looking forward to seeing your finished sewing project.

Sending all sorts of good thoughts and best wishes your way for your health challenges. I hope everything turns out fine.
Thanks for the link to the fabric website. Some really cool stuff there. Your skirt pattern is really cute. I saw several bag patterns on there that I love. Have fun!