myHERITAGE HAPPENS

Well, the last couple of weeks have been very different for me. Vacation, of course was wonderful. However since I came back from vacation, there have been a lot of changes, the main one concerning my job. When I came back after vacation, I was informed that hours had been cut in order to not have to lay anyone else off. There had been a few layoffs a couple months back. The company is a small company and was down to fourteen people at this point. My thought was "Hooray" I get a day off during the week, which was awesome as I always need more time. The week after vacation I had Thursday off. So I would work three days, off a day, work one day and then the weekend would be here again. (I spent that Thurday, my first day off taking care of my sick grandson, so it changed all the plans I had made for the day, but I wouldn't have traded that for the world, my grandson comes first in my books!) I have been unhappy at my job for a few years. I had been fighting to stay for one

Hola everyone! We have been home for a few days now. We had a fantastic time in Cabo! I have had a difficult time adjusting to being home again! Going back to work wore me out! Then of course all the laundry, mail, grocery shopping and things to do... I am off from work today and had plans of catching up on everything, however at the last minute I found out my grandson was ill and running a fever, so I am taking care of him, poor baby. He is napping now, so I wanted to do a quick post to let you know we are home. Since being home I have been trying to catch up with blogs and emails. This alone could be a week long project! This morning I was able to finally download pictures from the trip. Still need to work with the camera, but may have some shots to share with you as time permits. The weather was great, nice and warm. I came home with a great tan, but what a waste, within a week it will probably be gone. We shopped, played in the sun, went out on a boat, ate too well, and saw some gr

I will be away from the computer, taking a vacation for about a week or so. In case you missed it, we are heading to Cabo. I am looking forward to it, and the bright warm sun, especially after reading so many other bloggers postings about the cold, snow and misery. I will be holding some of the heat in for you all too, I hope you feel it, it warms you and melts some of that snow! In the meantime, please make sure you read some of the other fine blogs (and leave comments), I have several posted on the side of this blog. Maybe find one you haven't read before! On that note, I would like to mention that there is a new blogger among us that has just posted her first post yesterday! Her name is Gini and you can catch her blog at Ginisology . Please make her feel welcome to the genealogy blogging world! Also, don't forget to check out the carnivals! Either write a blog post for one or if that is not an option, check out the posts written by others! Until later... Thanks for stopping

Week #2: Participate in carnivals. A blog carnival is a showcase of bloggers’ posts on a given topic. Genealogy bloggers LOVE carnivals because there’s something for everyone. To learn about when these showcase-type events are happening, read others’ genealogy blogs. Someone’s always talking about a carnival. From "Jump Start Your Genealogy Blog. 52 ideas. 52 weeks" by Amy Coffin at We Tree ( http://wetree.blogspot.com/ ) Thanks to We Tree ( http://wetree.blogspot.com/2009/01/jump-start-your-genealogy-blog-52-ideas.html ) for the inspiration! Carnivals are one of things that really caught my interest and attention in the genea-bloggers environment. I have participated in a couple of different carnivals, but there are several more out there that I hope to participate in soon. I really enjoy reading all the posts from the participants, they helped convince me that I wanted to blog! I have just participated in the carnival at Smile for the Camera, 9th edition,"Who are you?&

An online friend I have from a genealogy class and ongoing group site we share, informed me she had some additional information regarding Back Ups. I asked her if she would like to prepare something that I could post on my blog, which she has agreed to do. Some of you may remember seeing other guest posts from her on Steve's Genealogy Blog . I welcome and thank Barbara Poole as a guest poster to my blog! Please read her article below! "On Tuesday, January 6, 2009, Msteri wrote an article about Back Up Methods. This is in reply to her column. There were a number of comments about the topic, and I thought some of the readers might be interested in learning that the January 2009 issue of Smart Computing has a rather large section on backing up your data. If you are interested in reading about back ups from this magazine, I suggest you check it out at a newsstand, library or subscribe to it. The link for this magazine is http://www.smartcomputing.com/ Two days ago, when I began

There are couple more gifts I received for Christmas that I wanted to share with you. Both of these things I will be taking with me on my vacation which starts as soon as I am off work on Friday! We are going to Cabo. For a week. Never been there before. We were invited to go with some new friends we met a few months back. They have a time share and go every year. Another couple, friends of theirs, go at the same time every year also, as they have a timeshare too. The ironic thing is that I have known the other couple for about 10 years, I worked with her at two different jobs! There will be a total of eight of us there in two different time shares. Should be a lot of fun and I am looking forward to it. Rest, relaxation and sun. Although this trip won't be genealogy related, I plan to catch up on my genealogy magazines. I also plan to read a book, the first gift I want to mention. The book is "Google your Family Tree" by Daniel M. Lynch. I have only had a chance to read t

Amy Coffin has come up with a wonderful idea, giving genea-bloggers ideas to blog about, one a week for 52 weeks. I am going to try to follow her plan, as I am sure many other genea-bloggers will also do, and do a weekly post on her prompting idea! Thanks Amy! Here is week one! Week #1: Upload your favorite picture and talk about it on your blog. Answer the who/what/when/where/why of the subject matter and explain why it is your favorite.From "Jump Start Your Genealogy Blog. 52 ideas. 52 weeks" by Amy Coffin at We Tree ( http://wetree.blogspot.com ) Some of you may have seen this picture before. It was posted on Dear Myrtle's blog back in July of 2007 here! When I look at this picture I will always think of my "Nana" in her apron and relate that to raspberry jam! If you read the article you will understand why! This is a picture of myself as a baby and my great grandmother by marriage, Augusta Pauline Ochs. She was born in Pennsylvannia August 17, 1888. The pic

The 9th edition of Smile for the camera asks: Who are you? We really want to know! We are asked to share a picture from our collection. The picture should contain people whose identities are not known. Here is the picture I would like to know, Who are you? I have been told that the woman on the far right is Della Welsh Fleming, and that she may actually be pregnant in this picture. I do not have her in my family tree as of yet, but this photo was in my father's collections. I have no idea who the other people in the photo are, maybe from the Welsh Family? I need to make the connection of Della with my Fleming family line and have her entered into my program. It would be wonderful to know who the others in this photo are. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks for stopping by! Wishing you success in all of your genealogical treasure hunts! Msteri

Wow, I have shocked myself! One hundred posts and I am still here! If you would have asked me when I first started this blog a few months ago if I thought my blog would be of any interest to anyone, or if I thought it would last for more than a month, I would have laughed and asked "Are you kidding me?" In the beginning I really didn't think I would find the time to blog very often, I was scared to death to start one, and certainly didn't expect anyone to leave comments about anything I wrote. Yes, I tend to not give myself very much credit sometimes. But what I have found is that I really enjoy blogging! Something you enjoy, you tend to make time to do. Now that I have made it to 100 posts, I am starting to think a little differently on what may be in store for the future. It just may be time to spread my wings... I want to thank everyone who has read my blog and left comments! This has been an added bonus for me. I look forward to the next 100 posts. I hope you will

Thank you Tina Sansone from Gtownma's Genealogy @ http://gtownma.wordpress.com/ ! Tina has surprised and awarded me with the Proximidade Award! What an honor! Thank you again! I have seen where bloggers have been tagged and/or awarded something more than once and it is covered in one blog announcement. This is the second time I have been given this award (the first time I've been awarded something more than once) and I just don't really know what to say! The first award was from Kathryn @ Looking for Ancestors on Dec. 24, 2008. Today, I am awarded again from Tina! The Proximidade Award "These blogs invest and believe in PROXIMITY-nearness in space, time, and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming! These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends! They are not interested in prizes or self -aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this a

Today has been a bit of an emotional day for me. Today is the eighth anniversary of my mother's passing. It is very difficult to believe that it has been eight years already. Seems like yesterday, really. I have reflected on my life as a child growing up at home. I have thought about all of the things my mother has missed since she has been gone. I wonder if the rest of my family is going through the same feelings I am. I reminisce on my mother's life. I try not to think of the things she still wanted to do in her life but didn't get the opportunity to do. I realize everyone has lost loved ones, and have thoughts they go through. But I wonder, if I, with genealogy being such a big factor in my life, think any deeper or differently about the ones I have lost, compared to the average Joe. My involvement in genealogy started before my mother passed. I remember the first things I found on the internet that intrigued me, surprised me and excited me. I remember sharing these with

I have been signed up with Carbonite (an online back up service) for several months, and luckily I haven't had any incidents to have to turn to it for backup. I know though there have been several people who had computer issues last year, and heaven only knows how much genealogy information was lost because of those issues. Hopefully they all had backups! There are several online services available for backing up your research and family information. The two that I am most aware of are Mozy, and Carbonite. From the information that I have read, both seem to be are very good. Dick Eastman has written several articles about Mozy, and I believe that is the program he uses. A few people I know have Carbonite and they all seem happy with their service, me included. You can google either for more information. I have also used flash drives as backups and copies to CD's. As I have said before, I still haven't needed any of my backups, but you never know when that may change! My new

I read this post from Becky Jamison over at Grace and Glory, http://beckysgraceandglory.blogspot.com/2009/01/104-tidbits-about-my-genealogy-habits.html I really liked the idea as it only relates to genealogy. By going through this list and seeing the things I haven't done, maybe it will entice me to get a move on! The list should be annotated in the following manner: Things you have already done or found: bold face type Things you would like to do or find: italicize Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type Belong to a genealogical society. Researched records onsite at a court house. Transcribed records. Uploaded tombstone pictures to Find-A-Grave. Documented ancestors for four generations (self, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents) . Joined Facebook. Helped to clean up a run-down cemetery. Joined the Genea-Bloggers Group on Facebook. Attended a genealogy conference. Lectured at a genealogy conference. Spoke on a genealogy topic at a local genealogy socie

This is a link to the 1990 census job code classifications. Have you ever tried to figure out what those numbers are next to the occupations on the census images? This link may be of some assistance~ http://www.uwm.edu/Libraries/subjects/govinfo.html The following link is to several government information web sites. They include statistical databases, United States executive, legislative, and judicial branch resources, census data, and Wisconsin and Milwaukee government and statistics. It is provided by the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. The free access areas are noted. There might be other university sites in your area of research that has similar information. Be sure to scroll down and see all the information that is available. There are many links to government and other university databases. Many databases are statistics based. http://www.uwm.edu/Libraries/subjects/govinfo.html Interesting information on these links which were brought to my attention by a member of my local ge

I just came across DearMyrtle's January 2009 Organizational Checklist. There are some great suggestions and ways to help everyone get organized with their genealogy! Some of these things I already do, have done and continue to do. But there are some ideas that I haven't done and am considering doing. January's checklist is fifteen pages, with pictures and photos, and it is free! There will be posts each month of the year to help us all stay organized. You can read and download the checklist at: http://blog.dearmyrtle.com/2009/01/finally-get-organized-jan-2009.html . The list was posted January 1st and it is now the 3rd, so we have lost a few days already! Time to head on over, and be sure to let DearMyrtle know you appreciate all the work she put into this for us! Thanks for stopping by! Wishing you success in all of your genealogical treasure hunts! Msteri

Julie over at Genblog, http://juliemc77.livejournal.com/ , and Sheri at The Educated Genealogist, http://sherifenley.blogspot.com have both participated in this and I thought I would follow along! Things you’ve already done: BOLD Things you want to do: RED Things you haven’t done and don’t want to - leave in plain font 1. Started your own blog 2. Slept under the stars 3. Played in a band 4. Visited Hawaii 5. Watched a meteor shower 6. Given more than you can afford to charity 7. Been to Disneyland 8. Climbed a mountain 9. Held a praying mantis 10. Sang a solo 11. Bungee jumped 12. Visited Paris 13. Watched a lightning storm at sea 14. Taught yourself an art from scratch 15. Adopted a child 16. Had food poisoning 17. Walked to the top of the statue of Liberty 18. Grown your own vegetables 19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France 20. Slept on an overnight train 21. Had a pillow fight 22. Hitch hiked 23. Taken a sick day when you are not ill 24. Built a snow fort 25. Held a lamb 26. Gone skinny

I am not very computer literate. Most of what I know I have learned by trial and error, mostly error. And when those errors happen, they can be so very frustrating. Patience is needed at this time, and generally I have quite a bit of patience. I tend to loose my patience when I know the issue is something so simple, yet I can't figure it out. One issue I had for several months. I thought was an issue with my e-mail site. I spent many hours trying to figure it out, and wasted so much time, which is priceless to me. My immediate family is not very computer literate either, so they aren't of much help. However, when my daughter from Tennessee came home for the holidays, she was of great assistance to me! The issue I was having, one of them anyway, was that I wasn't able to copy and paste. I couldn't right click and make it work, I couldn't use the control buttons to make it work. So whenever I did a meme or such, I wasn't able to copy and paste, I re-typed the

HAPPY NEW YEAR ONE AND ALL! I wish to thank you all for following my blog last year and leaving your comments! Although I have only been blogging for four months, I have really enjoyed "meeting" you all, found that blogging is a creative way to express your emotions and feelings. Truly the Genea-Bloggers are a great group of people, willing to share, support and help when needed. Although I didn't post very often the past month, I was busy having fun and making the holidays special for others. Hopefully I helped make some special memories for some of them. If you are thinking about starting a blog at all, I suggest not to hesitate, you will find blogging to be very rewarding! I look forward to blogging in 2009, joining the carnivals and memes when I can and sharing more genealogy and life with you. Again, I thank all of my followers supporting me, and hope you continue following my blog this year. I wish you a safe, sane, healthy and prosperous 2009! HAPPY NEW Y