My Blog Has a New Home!

Courtesy of 1947Project

One of my goals for 2013 was to transfer the domain and content of my website to a new host.  That has been done, and now I can self-host my blog with WordPress.

I've been using Blogger for over 2 years and it has become like an old friend - glitches and all.  I will hate to go ... I also hate that my number of subscribers and followers will start back at zero.

But there comes a time in our lives when we have to move on, as hard as it is, because we are headed toward something better.

So, after today, my blog can be found here.

Thanks to everyone who has subscribed/followed me for the past 2 years - I certainly hope you'll come visit me at my new place!

~Jenny

P.S. I'll keep this blog active indefinitely in case cousins need to find me - but no new posts will appear after today.

Motivation Monday - 1st Month Goal Update

Wow - one month of 2013 already gone. How does that even happen??

After getting back into the post-holiday day-to-day schedule of my job, and recovering from being sick for an entire week, let's see how I'm doing with my 2013 goals so far:

Learn
1. Complete the NGS Home Study Course by June. This is by far my most important goal for this year.
Lesson 6 has been submitted and Lesson 7 is underway. I just have to find time to get to one of the local churches to do the hands-on survey so I can submit the lesson. Will need to complete through Lesson 10 by the end of February in order to stay on schedule.

2. Attend IGHR in June. I want to finish the NGS-HSC before I do this.
I got in!! I registered for Course 2 on January 22. 

3. Attend FGS in Ft. Wayne in August.
Registration doesn't open until some time in February. But I already have my hotel room reserved! (Fortunately, I'll have until July 1 to register with the earlybird discount).

4. Get into a ProGen Study Group by July.
I was informed that the waiting list is around 4 months right now, so I went ahead and put my name on the list. I received my confirmation email this past Wednesday. I'm already scared!

Research
5. Perform a census survey/census search for each direct-line individual on my tree through my 2nd great grandparents. (See this post for explanation)
I'm systematically working backwards through my pedigree chart, and so far I've done two. Good thing I gave myself a year to finish this one.

6. Obtain DNA tests for my maternal uncle, my maternal grandmother, and my father.

7. Double-check source citations in RootsMagic for accuracy. I'd like to get through my 2nd great grandparents on this one too.
I tried to work this one in with my census survey, but was quickly reminded that I really can't do more than one thing at a time.

Write
8. Blog at least twice per week. I've really fallen off on this and I want to get back on track.
Well, I only have 3 blog posts for January. I really need to stay on top of this.

9. Add 5 new ancestor biographies to my website and update WikiTree accordingly.

10. Contribute at least two articles to society quarterly.

Other
11. Transfer website and blog to new host. This will involve a complete redesign of my website, relinking of all my toolbox links, and transferring my blog to WordPress.
So far, so good. Domain transferred (as of January 1, mind you), and all pages have been transferred! Take a look here. I'm still having a very hard time letting go of my Blogger site and posting solely on my self-hosted WordPress site. For one thing, I can't easily change the color of my fonts, and that is kind of important for me. (So if anyone has any helpful hints, I'd love to hear them!)

12. Join APG - probably the Second Life chapter.
Done!  Now if I can just figure out how to resolve the scheduling conflict so I can attend the meetings in Second Life ...

13. Continue my indexing efforts for FamilySearch. I'd like to index a minimum of 100 records per month. (I know this seems low, but in light of goals #1-4, I'd like to actually be able to meet this!)
Hmm ... so far, NOT so good. I haven't indexed at all this month.

Do we share any ancestors? 

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

SNGF - The Super Bowl!

Randy Seaver is at it again with his Saturday Night Genealogy Fun.  Here is the mission I've accepted - even though I'm a little late to the party:

1) What is your favorite National Football League team? Why are you a fan of this team? How long have you been a fan of your favorite team?

2) What is the genealogy of your favorite team? When did it start playing, what leagues has it played in?

3) Have you worked for the team in any capacity, or attended games? What is your best memory of your favorite team's history?

4) Predict the score of the Ravens-49ers game on Sunday.

Ok - for starters, I'm not really a fan of professional football on any level.  However, I grew up in Atlanta so I guess the Falcons would be my first choice.

But they're boring.

So I picked the St. Louis Rams.  They have quite a history!  They began in 1936 as part of the American Football League in Cleveland, Ohio.  They were called the Rams after Fordham University - as a tribute to the football players that came out of that university.   The following year, the Rams joined the National Football League.  In 1943, the team had to sit out the entire season because of a shortage of players during World War II.  In 1945, the Cleveland Rams won their first NFL Championship over the Washington Redskins.  That was their last year in Ohio.

In 1946, the team was relocated to Los Angeles.  The Rams were the first team to sign an African-American player - Kenny Washington - and ended racial segregation in the NFL.   In 1948, halfback Fred Gehrke painted horns on their helmets, and the professional helmet emblem was born!

The team made their home at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum until 1979, when they made their first appearance in the Super Bowl against the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Unfortunately, they didn't win.  The following year, they relocated to Anaheim Stadium, just outside of Los Angeles, where they stayed from 1980 until 1994.

1982 turned out to be an especially bad year for the Rams.  The season was shortened by a strike, causing the Rams to have the worst record in the conference - and the Oakland Raiders moved into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, effectively cutting the Rams' fan base in half.  After another players' strike in 1987, the team hired replacement players (referred to as the Los Angeles Shams).  Even when the regulars returned after the strike, the team simply couldn't get it together.

In 1995, the team relocated to St. Louis.  Unfortunately, their record remained the worst in the conference until 1999, when the team achieved their first Super Bowl victory against the Tennessee Titans, in what some call "the best Super Bowl ever."

The team made another Super Bowl appearance in 2001, but lost to the New England Patriots.  It would be their last Super Bowl appearance to date.  Due to management issues, the death of the Rams' owner, sale of the team, and a couple of injury-laden seasons,  rebuilding the team to its former glory is a task that continues to date.

As part of their "genealogical story," I wanted to show the team's migration pattern:

Ok, so now I'm supposed to predict the score of today's Super Bowl.  My scientific analysis goes like this ... the Baltimore Ravens have better team colors (purple is my favorite), so I'm going to say the final score will be: Ravens - 33, 49ers -19.

Do we share any ancestors? 

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

It's a Major (Liebster Blog) Award!

I've been awarded the Liebster Blog Award! (Liebster means "favorite" or "dearest" in German, apparently) The premise behind this award is that when you are nominated, you are supposed to answer 11 questions about yourself (chosen by the person who nominated you), and then nominate 5 bloggers with less than 200 readers and provide 11 questions for them to answer.

Normally, I would ignore this request because (1) it's kind of like spam, and (2) I'm limited to 5 blogs and I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings by leaving them out (because I have WAY more than 5 favorite blogs)!

But since my dear friend Laura is the one who nominated me, I'll play along. Here are the answers to her questions:

1.) What is your favorite saying and where did you first hear it?
I don't really have a favorite one. I guess if I had to pick, it would be "Sometimes you just gotta say ... what the f***" - Joel Goodsen, Risky Business.

2.) Do you remember your first dress-up occasion? What did you wear and why?
The first time that I can remember getting all dressed up was for the Little Miss Valentine pageant at my elementary school. I was in first grade and all the other little girls were wearing cute poofy dresses with little hearts all over them. My dress? Navy blue with big white polka dots. I got first runner up - Little Miss LaBelle. (That was my elementary school). I got a trophy, a sash, and a tiara (see? I really do deserve to wear one!). I cried because I didn't get a goodie bag with candy in it. That was really all I wanted.

3.) Have you been affected by a natural disaster? What was your experience?
When I was in high school in Atlanta, we had a tornado warning and the school sent everyone home early. My sister didn't make it to the bus before it left and had to stay at the school. I was home alone. I prepared pillows, blankets, a radio, and a flashlight down in the room under the basement stairs where we kept all the home-canned food. I was waiting it out when I looked out the window and the sky was a greenish black color and it sounded like a jet was landing on the house. I ran downstairs and locked myself in that little room and didn't come out until I heard my parents come home.

4.) What do you see when you look out your kitchen window?
A giant oak tree and the back of my neighbor's house. Yep, they STILL have their porch light on (it has been glaring into my yard non-stop for the past year).

5.) Are you more comfortable speaking or writing and why?
Definitely writing. I tend to think better with my fingers for some reason.

6.) What did your childhood home look like?
It depends on which one we're talking about. There was an apartment and a house in Portland, Oregon. Then there was a 2-bedroom apartment in Marietta, Georgia. Then a 4-bedroom house in Atlanta. 

7.) Were you ever fired or laid-off? How did you deal with that situation?
Yes. I was laid off from two subsequent jobs when both companies were purchased by other companies. It actually turned out to be a positive thing for me because I got good severance packages with both, and I got a new job right away both times, which provided double paychecks for several weeks.

8.) Do you enjoy your birthdays or do you lament the passing of time?
My birthday is so close to Christmas that I really don't even pay attention to it anymore, mainly because no one else does.

9.) Which is your favorite holiday and why?
I don't really have one, but I have the most fun at Halloween.

10.) Growing up, what your favorite television or radio show?
I think my family can vouch for this ... Charlie's Angels. Who didn't want to be a Charlie's Angel?

11.) Different times of life are satisfying for different reasons; which has been the most satisfying for you and why?
I would have to say that the time since my daughter graduated from high school has been the most rewarding and satisfying for me. I've been able to focus on the things that I want to do with my life, and have succeeded in finishing my degree and am well on my way toward achieving my genealogy certification.

Now ... here are the 5 blogs I'm nominating:

Sweet Tea, Tart Lemons & Memories
A Southern Sleuth
Climbing My Family Tree
Documenting the Details
Nuts From the Family Tree

And the moment of truth ... the questions! (P.S. I totally stole these from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Man blog)

1. What is your favorite time of day and why?

2. How and when did you first discover your passion, whatever that passion is?

3. Hopefully, you’re familiar with The Breakfast Club for this question. When you were in high school, in which social group did you best fit?

4. Where do you write your posts and why did you choose that place?

5. What always makes you laugh and why?

6. If you could appear on a televised talent show, what would your talent be?

7. Which flower reminds you of happiness?

8. What is your favorite book and why?

9. It’s important to eat your vegetables, but which vegetable do you always resist/avoid eating?

10. What is your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?

11. Who is the one celebrity, past or present, you would like to meet — and what would you ask that person?

Now I'm off to notify my nominees!

Do we share any ancestors? 

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

What's My Learning Style?

Last night I was playing catch up on my blog reading when I came across this post from Lorine over at Olive Tree Genealogy Blog.  This post from Midge over at the Granite In My Blood blog discusses Project-based learning versus Problem-based learning, and was the inspiration for Lorine to discover her learning style.

Incidentally, reading Lorine's post made me realize that for whatever reason I was not subscribed to Midge's blog - a problem that was immediately remedied. (Sorry, Midge!)

Well, thanks to Midge and Lorine, I had to find out for myself.  So I went and took this quiz.  Turns out, my learning style is pretty much all over the place.  Note the glaring absence of any Body-Kinesthetic learning.

Sadly, my research style is no different.  All. Over. The. Place. (but always in a chair!)

So what exactly are my strongest learning styles?  Linguistic tops the list at 67%.  What does this mean?  I learn best from written or spoken words.  Okay.  I can see that.  

The next strongest category is Logical-Mathematical.  Essentially, this means I "ask questions, find solutions, and reflect on the problem-solving process."  I guess.  I'm not really sure I spend time reflecting on the process ... I'm more likely to say "okay, solved that one. Next!"

What surprised me was the 56% in the Interpersonal category.  I never considered myself "in tune with the people around me and their motives, emotions, perspectives, and moods."  Never.  I mean, I've gotten pretty good at telling when my boss is ticked off, but that's mainly so I can just steer clear.

Midge also discusses "concrete sequential" and "abstract random" learning styles.  I'm not sure which of these I am, but I'm going to guess that it's concrete sequential - or maybe that's just what I'd like it to be - but it's probably like everything else: a mix of both.

In any case, thank you Midge and Lorine for guiding me toward this insight.  I hope to put this information to good use in helping me study the way my brain wants to, so I can finish my Home Study Course!

Incidentally, this topic goes hand-in-hand with DearMYRTLE's recent blog post about collaborative learning.  Conference planners and speakers may want to start taking a fresh look at their setups with the mindset that everyone learns differently - and plan accordingly.  

On a side note - the first thing on MY agenda would be tables in every conference room ... but maybe that's just me (I have a hard time taking notes on my iPad on my lap in a chair squished between two other people who are also trying to take notes).  What?  It's still about the learning, right?

Do we share any ancestors? 

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

My 2013 Genealogy Goals

2012 turned out to be quite a year!  I attended my first national genealogy conference (FGS) in August, which in turn motivated me to start working toward my certification.  I made several new friends and reconnected with many old friends at the conference too.  

I made it through the first 5 lessons of the NGS Home Study Course, so that's about 30% done.  I gave a presentation on social media to my genealogical society, and wrote two articles for the quarterly.  I was also tricked waterboarded elected as Secretary of my genealogical society for 2013.  Most importantly, I learned a LOT (genealogically speaking) about research, new resources, and citations.

Obviously, there is still much to learn, which brings me to my goals for 2013:

Learn
1. Complete the NGS Home Study Course by June.  This is by far my most important goal for this year.
2. Attend IGHR in June. I want to finish the NGS-HSC before I do this.
3. Attend FGS in Ft. Wayne in August.
4. Get into a ProGen Study Group by July.

Research
5. Perform a census survey/census search for each direct-line individual on my tree through my 2nd great grandparents.  (See this post for explanation)
6. Obtain DNA tests for my maternal uncle, my maternal grandmother, and my father.
7. Double-check source citations in RootsMagic for accuracy.  I'd like to get through my 2nd great grandparents on this one too.

Write
8. Blog at least twice per week.  I've really fallen off on this and I want to get back on track.
9. Add 5 new ancestor biographies to my website and update WikiTree accordingly.
10. Contribute at least two articles to society quarterly.

Other
11. Transfer website and blog to new host.  This will involve a complete redesign of my website, relinking of all my toolbox links, and transferring my blog to WordPress.
12. Join APG - probably the Second Life chapter.
13. Continue my indexing efforts for FamilySearch.  I'd like to index a minimum of 100 records per month.  (I know this seems low, but in light of goals #1-4, I'd like to actually be able to meet this!)

There.  Those are my 13 goals for 2013.  What goals do you hope to reach this year?

Do we share any ancestors? 

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com