Ruth Novak Meyer sent me an email from my Find A Grave profile. Her great great great grandfather Benjamin LONG is my great great great grandfather Samuel LONG’s brother! She sent a bunch of information about that part of the family that I didn’t have and I [...]]]>

I just found out I have a new cousin!

Ruth Novak Meyer sent me an email from my Find A Grave profile. Her great great great grandfather Benjamin LONG is my great great great grandfather Samuel LONG’s brother! She sent a bunch of information about that part of the family that I didn’t have and I can’t wait to dig into it!

I love the internet!!

Uncle Bill’s [...]]]>

My Uncle Bill Pedersen passed away last Monday at the age of 82. His first wife was my Mom’s sister Loretta, who passed away in the 80s. He was a quiet, strong, and kind man and raised a strong, outgoing, loving family. He married three times and lived a life full of Love.

Uncle Bill’s passing somehow reignited my genealogy spark! I’ve been a bit out of it since starting my new job at SuperTarget. Between my work schedule, the physicality of cashiering (who knew??), and our money situation, I haven’t felt like doing any research. I had it made last summer/fall when I wasn’t working! (Thank you, Scott!! xoxo) I vowed to jump back on the horse and tie up some loose ends, follow up with the “uber-WAITS researcher”, and get back to researching and documenting that research. Plus, I actually got on Twitter for the first time since I posted this in November:

Just got off the phone with uber-WAITS researcher AH She’s sending me ALL of her research from over the years, and passing the torch. WOWZA!
2:33 PM Nov 23rd, 2009 via HootSuite

She’s 86, sharp as a tack, and I can’t wait to pick her brain! Our conversation lasted all of 7 min. ha! She plays bridge and had to run.
2:48 PM Nov 23rd, 2009 via HootSuite

The “uber-WAITS researcher” was Angeline Harris… and she passed away on Friday.

I was “too busy” and “too tired” from working and meant to at least send a letter, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around my research and where I’d left off. I wanted to have my ducks in a row when I spoke to her again. I do regret not having picked her brain like I’d wanted, there are so many questions that I have about our ancestry. But mostly I regret not getting to know her. I feel like we could have been friends. Maybe it’s the shared love of genealogy like the kinship I have with my fellow geneabloggers that made me feel like I already knew her. Her death struck me to the core.

I don’t know what they’re doing with her genealogy files. I don’t expect to get them, of course, but if they’re looking for someone to take care of them and share them with the world, then I’m up to the challenge.

As an armchair genealogist, I know that we’re only on this earth for a limited amount of time. And while it seems that I have plenty of time left, that’s not always true for those around me. I felt this same regret when I lost my Dad in 2004.

It’s been a big week for me!  I got my first blogging award, started communicating with Angeline Harris (“the” WAIT researcher), and started a new job!  Whew!  My apologies to Regina and Missy for taking so long to get this post up. My cup [...]]]>

It’s been a big week for me!  I got my first blogging award, started communicating with Angeline Harris (“the” WAIT researcher), and started a new job!  Whew!  My apologies to Regina and Missy for taking so long to get this post up. My cup runneth over.

Thank you, Regina De Leon aka: Kinfolk News for awarding me with my very first blogging award!  What a great surprise!

By the time I got around to finishing this entry, I received a second award from Missy Corley at Bayside Research in Maryland.  She was already on my list of favorites, so right back at’cha!

Apparently, I need to write 7 things that you don’t know about me and then nominate 7 blogs of my own.

So here it goes!

Seven Things About Me:

1. I am purpose-driven and devoted to improving my quality of life by focusing on things that actually matter. My new job is at Target and it allows me the flexibility to work on my projects without selling my soul.  After suffering from extreme burnout and an eye-opening back injury in 2007, I left my corporate travel job of 11 years to pursue a career in Life Coaching. It turned out that I was better suited to “receive” than to “give” in that field, so I’m no longer coaching but I do stay in close contact with my friend and coach Brenda Rosaaen from Montana. She’s been through a lot with me in the past couple of years and I highly recommend her if you’re looking for a Life Coach.
2. When I run across a quote that I identify with, I like to write it on a colored index card and hang it where I can see it a lot. One of my latest favorites, “Change is the essence of life. Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become.” — Gandhi
3. I like things the way I like them. That’s why my blog has changed at least three times since I started it. If it doesn’t have the right feel, I can’t get past it. I’m a little obsessive like that. So I taught myself how to install WordPress and customize it to my liking. It took me away from blogging for a couple of weeks, but I just couldn’t get past it! I’m now helping Brenda design her new site (slow and steady wins the race, right, Brenda?).
4. I’m deliberately nurturing my inner artist and going through The Artist’s Way program (more about that later).  A few weeks ago, I looked out the window and really fell in love with the way my neighborhood looked with the changing of the season. So I ran outside in my PJs and slippers and took a few pictures of my neighbors trees.  One of those photos is in my header on this site. It’s my neighbor’s tree and I love the way it turned out. Here’s hoping that Santa brings me a new camera for Christmas! And just in case Santa’s reading this now, here’s my Wishlist!  Ho! Ho! Ho!
5. I’m really affected by color. My office is lavender, the living room is a light green, the bathroom is blue and white, the kitchen is in the midst of a paint job right now and will be the same color as the living room!  We’re planning on knocking out the top half of the wall separating the kitchen and living room, so we’re planning ahead!
6. I have a dent in my head. (that explains a lot, right?)
7. Here are some of my current favorites:  Books:  Right now, I have bookmarks in The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan, and Walden by Henry David Thoreau. I also read Johanna Lindsey books on occasion and various personal development authors!  Movies: Office Space, The Princess Bride, and Yes Man!

Seven Blogs I Enjoy Reading:

Amber Dawn Abroad – My friend and former roommate Amber just moved to London!

Davis/Williams Family Tree – A fellow WAIT researcher and awesome new blogger.

Brenda Rosaaen, Life Coach – She hasn’t updated it for a while, but it was one of my favorite reads and I can’t wait for her to start blogging again! I’ll update her link when we get her new blog platform off the ground, but for now you can read through her musings. =)

A Multitude of -sens

Bayside Blog

TJLGENES

Valentino’s Wife

Sue Waite-Langley over at Waite Genealogy is still administering the Waite DNA Project that I wrote about in August, and we’re still looking for participants!

The 37-marker test is normally $149 for our test group (and $169 if you’re flying solo), but for a [...]]]>

Good news!  Family Tree DNA has just put their DNA test kits on sale!  Yessss!!!

Sue Waite-Langley over at Waite Genealogy is still administering the Waite DNA Project that I wrote about in August, and we’re still looking for participants!

The 37-marker test is normally $149 for our test group (and $169 if you’re flying solo), but for a limited time it’s only $119!  This kit will get us in the door, so to speak.

The 67-marker test is normally $239 for our test group (and $298 if you’re flying solo), but it’s now only $209!  This kit is ideal for our test group, because it will show who the TOP ancestor is on the tree.

Don’t have the Y-chromosome?  Can’t afford to foot the entire bill?  Does cheek-swabbing creep you out?

Then Chip In!

Under my photo at the top left part of my site, you’ll see a tally of our donations thus far.  When you contribute to this cause, your donation will be sent to me via PayPal and will be earmarked for this project alone. I will update the meter as we progress to our goal.

FTDNA’s sale is going on through the end of the year.  Let’s raise $209 by New Year’s Eve and get the ball rolling! If 21 people donate $10 each, then we’re in!  That’s pretty painless.

Want to be part of the study?  Not afraid of swabs?  Contact Me and I’ll put you on the list of volunteers for this project.

If more than one person volunteers, we’ll pick the first participant at random.

Thank you in advance for your support!