Monday Musings

To say I've been away for a while is rather an understatement.   But sometimes life gets in the way.   I've been doing genealogy - working here on the stuff on our families, but just not blogging about it.

Sometimes you just wonder if anyone out there is reading?  Sometimes you wonder if there is anyone out there even paying attention?  Is anyone really related?  Am I doing something that really matters?

The interesting thing is - yes, I found out people are reading, people are related and they are leaving comments, even though I wasn't blogging.  So I'm back.  For how long?  Can't say. 

The past year has been a good year for genealogy. I hired a pro-genie to work on my Kreitzer line in Germany and he was very successful with his search.  Perhaps I'll share that soon.  My personal work on my data base is on going.  Moving notes, changing things and researching. 

The grandsons are all growing and wanting to spend time at grandma & grandpa's,  not going to refuse them.  The flower gardens here are so beautiful but they too want our time, and of course we have Mr. Brown Eyes, who does enjoy seeing me step out of this office now & then. Finally throw in my sewing and the start of my Etsy Shop - KarmelleHome.   Lots of stuff handmade here in my home, on my sewing machine.  Sewing has been another of my loves since I started at the age of 7 or so.  My friend Michelle is also a partner in the Etsy Shop.   Stop on in and take a visit.  Maybe you'll find something you can't live without. 

If you enjoy the blog, or have in the past, thanks for reading.  If you find me because of something you see here, drop a note - I'd love to hear from you.  Cousins are always a pleasure to hear from. 

Happy Researching!
   Karen

Monday Musings

This past week I found myself working on several different projects - some very basic some rather detailed, but all part of staying on track with my genealogy.

The genealogy vacations that we took in June & July produced a ton of obits, colonial records, deeds and more.  I think (notice that word think?) I finally have all that scanned and lots of it is linked and typed in to my ancestors files.  A lot of what I had from that trip were images that I collected at various repositories and they need to be cropped and typed in, then linked.  It appears that most of that has been taken care of.

The hardest project I have going on is the stack or two of papers that I'm just not sure what to do with.  Some are small cemetery readings that I pick up here and there.  You know the kind,  its a small family cemetery, the one that PERHAPS one of your great great grandparents is in, only they aren't listed.  But someone else in the family is... maybe the great grandparent is there or maybe not..  but what to do with the listing?  Yeah, those sort of things.  BTW, I ended up putting that in the back of the County Cemetery book for that county that I bought back in 1990.  Not everything is on Find A Grave so those books still come in handy!  But I have a stack or two of those sort of things laying around.  So working on those too!

Lastly,  I am working on a couple of new talks.  For those who aren't familiar with me I also do speaking and I have a list of talks.  A few new ones are in the works.  Hope to get them up on my speakers page later this week.

Take all those genealogy projects and toss in getting the flower gardens ready for the winter,  decorating to some degree for the different holidays, and the sewing projects I'm working on for Christmas...  you get the idea!  But I wouldn't have it any other way.

Happy Researching!
  Karen

So Many Ways - So Little Time (Reunion Software Post)

Let's face it, no two pieces of genealogy software are the same.  It's not that one would expect them to be, but if they could at least make it a bit easier for people switch between two different ones it would make things a bit easier.  But we all know that isn't going to happen right?

One of the things that seems to bug people coming into Reunion, or at least exploring that option is how sourcing works. 

First of all let me say that this is MY opinion.  This is what works for ME. 
Second of all,  to those coming in from FTM,   this isn't FTM and it doesn't work the same or look the same, that's why its Reunion.  And yes, its for the MAC.  Now that we have those out of the way, let me show you how I do the source thing in Reunion. 

First up, this is how you find your source list. 

 Double click it and it will open another window -  this one a listing of the sources that you have.  In the image below, you can sort them by name or by their number.  You can also sort them by type using the box at the top. Double clicking on any one source open up that source.  A great place for editing & "fixing" the sources. 

I am working thru all my sources in the above list. One by one cleaning them up and fixing them.  Arranging them by title makes it easier for me to locate them.  The screen below shows how I am writing my sources.  One by one down the list, adding the information I feel I need for either myself or you, to find the book or document I am using.  You can customize this by adding fields you feel you need for each source on your list.  I can NOT stress enough that this is totally up to YOU, customize it to fit YOUR needs.   When I source an item,  This is MY SOURCE.  I list this ONCE. 

Below, you can see that I reference a source, and I've done a citation.  If you click on the image it SHOULD open in a new window for your viewing.   On YOUR left you see the source listing with all the sources listed for the birth of a given birth.  Then to the right of that is the details.  I consider the details to be the information needed to find your information in the source.   So if the SOURCE is the 1940 Federal Census (yes, I clarify as I also use the State Census) and the citation is E.D. 84-62, Sheet 4-B, Lines 48-50, Household #94; John Thomas Ligon household, 167 UP - W. Hollywood Avenue, Block 6, FIrst Ward, Detroit City, Wayne County, Ohio. 

Keep in mind, this is how I DO IT.  That doesn't mean that its the only way nor will I tell you its the best way, its MY way.  I've put this post here to give some who just need more explanation than what is found out there.  

Said it before will say it again - Try all the programs you can.  Compare them, work with them.  How does your information transfer in?  Is this something that will work for you?  Do you like the way it works?  The way it looks?  Regardless of what it is, find one that works FOR YOU!   If you don't like it, if it doesn't work for you, you won't use it and you'll be kicking yourself for a very long time. 

Good luck & happy hunting!
Karen

Wowsers Wednesday!

Earlier this year I switched from the Windows world to the Mac world.  I must admit quite a change.  Yes, there was a bit of a learning curve, which I think I've managed to handle pretty well.  For those times when I hit bumps I had an awesome son to help me over them. 

When I decided to go from Windows to Mac the biggest change was the genealogy software.  My good friend, Diane has been using Reunion for Mac for quite a while, and her help was just awesome.  Its great knowing I can ask and she's there for me.  I've also joined two great groups on FB for help.  One is Mac Genealogy and the other, which is actually my favorite, is the Reunion Software Users group.  Fabulous Reunion support there.

I figure I am about 80% complete with the cleanup and straighten up of my data after the transfer in off all my information.  I find Reunion to be a bit of a learning curve, but then again, nothing I can't handle. 

I know I've been away for a while from my blogging, but the switch over combined with an office makeover, redoing all my files (remember review review review?) and normal day to day activities, I just figured a break was the thing to do. 

For those who have stuck around thanks!  For the those who just signed on thanks!  

Hoping to get back in the "saddle" and get busy with the blogging again!

Happy researching!

Karen

Who Thought Painting An Office Would Be So Much Work?

I knew it would be a big job, I guess I just never thought how BIG the job was.   I was so excited when we moved into this house.  Finally, after raising our two kids and then marrying them off... (LOL), we got our dream house.  I actually could have a room of my own for my genealogy.

Well, its been almost 8 years and somehow time slipped away.  I was so thrilled to have my own space.  I could leave my research books on the desk,  my very own desk, and not have to pick them up so we could have dinner or tax clients could be assisted.  The problem is, who wants to take time out from researching to paint? 

Several weeks ago, Mr. Brown Eyes announced that I was going to NGS for the national genealogy conference.  I'd been wanting to go for many years but the timing just wasn't right.  Well this year, I did go.  While I was gone he had my office painted.  It's absolutely beautiful.  I chose the color and left the paint chip for my painter.  It has blown me away.  WOWSERS!

The only problem is, everything but the desk had to leave.  Even the two lateral filing cabinets.  Which means that all the files had to COME OUT so they could be moved.  Well the paint job is beautiful (Dan the painter ROCKS!)...  but now that I am home I get to put it all back together. 

So I'm going to blog, not about paint or putting offices back together, but about my genealogy.  Won't promise its going to be exciting or anything, but I'll try to get some genealogy up here in the next day or so.

So EVERYTHING is back in the office,  alot of it in boxes, some of it is back but NOT going back in the cabinets - I want to go thru all those files and make sure all is scanned & typed.  So another project is under way.   One day maybe I'll get it all done the way I want it.  Until then I'll just keep plugging away. 

Happy Researching
  Karen

Monday Musings

Yes, I am back.  It felt good to take some time off.  While I was off alot has happened.  First of all we added a new grandson to the pack - Joshua Luotonen was born January 29th.  He's adorable and joins brothers, Jacob (18 months) and Jonathon (7 years).  A full house for sure! 

I just returned on Sunday morning from my first EVER genealogy conference. Man what an experience that was!  The NGS conference in St. Charles, Missouri was a totally awesome experience.  Listening to such awesome speakers as Elizabeth Shown Mills, Warren Bitner, Thomas Jones, and Judy Russell (the Legal Genealogist) and so many more was like a webinar on some serious steroids. 

It felt good to hear them talk about their methodology, their knowledge - It inspired me to come home and just dive in with both feet, like I could solve all my brick walls NOW.  And maybe I will solve some of them with the knowledge I gained there.  The only way to explain it is like drinking at a fountain of knowledge and it just keeps flowing and flowing.  At times I felt as though my brain was going to just fall out of my head...  So much knowledge, so many awesome speakers & sessions and only 4 days to digest it all.  OH MY!

If you've never done an NGS conference you should seriously consider it.  One stop shopping in the exhibitor hall led to so many fabulous books and finds, discounts on software and so much more...  Good thing I took an empty briefcase because I sure needed it when I went to return home. 

I'm really geeked about everything I learned at NGS.  I spent much of time in German research sessions and Civil war sessions, but couldn't resist mixing in a few sessions from Elizabeth Shown Mills.  Her sessions were just fascinating. 

We will be booking our hotel on Wednesday for NGS 2016, May 4-7 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.  Why don't you plan on joining us??? 

Happy Researching!
   Karen

Overwhelmed? Let's Simplify!

I'm constantly amazed at how some people can take something that is basically a simple task and make it difficult.  Granted there are some things that you really need to do in a certain way, and changing that way could change the outcome of the whole project.  There are exceptions to every rule BUT....  99% of the time things can be simplified for the best. 

Sometimes you have to step back and think about how you want to go about it, but once you get it life suddenly gets much better.

Some ways to simplify your life....

• Plan your meals in advance, write them down on a calendar so there's no last minute dash to the land of frozen blobs called a freezer.  It really does help relieve the "Oh my goodness its 5pm and I've done nothing about dinner" panic that you get when you've been sitting doing genealogy all day.  
• Use your crockpot.  Its not rocket science (if you need recipes contact me, I've got several thousand crockpot recipes I can share), use your imagination, you'd be surprised how much you can research knowing that dinner is almost made with very little effort on your part. 
• Believe it or not, you do not have to be "connected" to the phone every waking, breathing moment of your life.  Put it on vibrate.  Trust me, the FB posts will wait.  You've got voice mail.  You don't have to take every call.  
• Turn off the TV.  Goodness,  ever hear garbage in garbage out?  When was the last time the tv did your dishes or washed your clothes.  Save your tv time for something you REALLY want to watch - like maybe Who Do You Think You Are or something like that.  Do you really care who's view they are talking about on The View?  Seriously?
• Taking time to get up out of your chair is good for you,  it also allows you to get things done.  Seriously.  Toss in a load of laundry. Set a timer.  Go upstairs and work.  Timer goes off. Move clothes to dryer. Set timer.  Go upstairs and research.  Timer goes off.  Fold Clothes & put away.  How is that hard?  Certainly manageable by anyone reading this blog I'm sure.
• I know this one isn't for everyone BUT,  I have to toss it here because it truly simplifies things for me.  I asked for and received from my son, a robot vacuum.  I know that people are skeptics but it works for me.  Lets face it, how many people vacuum under the bed, the couch and other hard to get to places every week?  My vacuum is programmed for every Monday morning and it works.  Maybe savings? Maybe a group gift from all your kids?  Either way it simplifies things for me.  
• Organize all your errands on ONE day a week. I do all my errands on Tuesday's.  Its also MY DAY.  I do no housework other than making our bed.  I do what makes me happy that one day a week.  If there are no errands to run I know I can sit here in my office and do this FOR ME.  Usually I run my errands, go to lunch with friends or family, and then work on my computer (I take my laptop with me) while I wait for my Tuesday night hang out with friends to begin. 

In the long run, we can all find ways to simplify our lives, to make things easier for us.  These are just a few things I've done to simplify my life.  Simplifying makes more time for me to do the things I have to do, but still allows me time to do the things I want to do, whether its genealogy, sewing, reading or working in my flowers. 

How do YOU simplify?

Wedding Wednesday - Elopement!

Hopkinsville Kentuckian, Pg. 12 SEP 1908, Pg. 5

      Madisonville Soldier
  Captures A Trigg County Bride

   Another romance has resulted from the stationing of troups in Trigg County.  Two or three months ago, a Middlesboro Soldier married a pretty girl at Golden Pond.  Amos Winstead, a Madisonville soldier, lately on duty at Cerulean, is the next of the military boys to capture a Trigg County bride.  On Sept. 2 he eloped with Miss Sarah Nabb, a pretty daughter of C.T. Nabb, and they were married in Nashville.  Parental objections made the elopement necessary.  The couple met first a year ago, while the bride was a schoolgirl at Georgetown.
   The Cadiz Record says the groom is an electrician in Madisonville, and is said to be a splendid young man and of a good family.  He has been given a discharge from the State Guard and is now out of the military service.
  The Bride is a very beautiful girl of sixteen and very popular.

Wedding Wednesday - A 50th Wedding Anniversary Celebration

 Golden Wedding

  Fifty years ago, October 32, 1863, Lewis H. Zehring and Miss Elizabeth Gebhart, daughter of Emanuel Gebhart, were united in marriage by Rev. C. Albrecht.  For a half century they have resided in Miamisburg, excepting a brief period, when they resided in the country near town.

  Squire Zehring is one of the best known men in the county, and has always been active in the life of the community.  For over thirty years he served as justice of the peace, and for over forty years has been a notary public.  He served three years as county commissioner.  He is still a director in the Mutal Building Association, in which he was secretary.  For ten years he was mayor of Miamisburg, and is now a member of the Board of Education, and a cemetery trustee.  Industrious, genial and faithful, Squire Zehring counts his friends by hundreds, and though past three score and ten, is still a young man in thought and action.

  Handsome invitations have been issued to many friends for a reception at the Zehring home on Linden avenue this afternoon and evening, when an opportunity will be afforded to extend congratulations and best wishes to the happy couple, who have enjoyed fifty years of life in unbroken wedlock.

  Their two daughters, Dr. Blanche Zehring of Wells College New York, and Mrs. Laura Zehring Dosch of Elizabeth, N. J., are both at home visiting with their parents for the happy anniversary.
**The Miamisburg News (Miamisburg, Ohio), Thursday, 23 OCT 1913, Front Page; Copy in files of Karen Krugman.

Monday Musings - As The World Turns

The leaves on the trees are starting to show their beautiful colors.  Nothing more beautiful here in SE lower Michigan than fall.  Beautiful colors everywhere you look.  What does that mean for me?  More time in my office and less time out in my flower gardens.

We returned from vacation and our daughter was in an auto accident.  Pretty bad when you consider she was doing 15 when hit 1 the other driver running an out of order traffic light doing 50. But she is doing very well,  baby Jacob bit his tongue but it hasn't stopped him smiling, and that unborn baby she is carrying,  its fine too!  We are blessed!

We have discovered that we are to have another grandson! Yep, that baby that was so well protected by his awesome mom by staying away from that exploding airbag is a bouncing beautiful baby boy!  I am excited.  We are blessed!

Hard to believe that Jacob will be a year old in the next week.  He's into everything, he's so busy ALL. THE. TIME.  He wears me out.  I guess that's why 50 something women don't birth babies (usually?).  He's just beautiful like all my grandsons are.

Genealogy?  Family History?  Those are all family history.  Our family history and such an important part of our lives.

On the genealogy front, I've been cropping and naming images, I have about 1200.  Its coming along quite nicely!  Also working my friend Jim in Ft Wayne in publishing some cemetery records and the one family line that we share.  Add to that the three new talks I'm working on and you've got alot of typing going on.  I'm inspired by the blogs I read, so many productive women do so many great things.  Such an opportunity to learn.  I am in awe!

Enjoy your day!

Monday Musings

Been a busy few weeks here and an awesome weekend to top it all off.   We've been staying busy with yard work.  This past winter was so cold here in Michigan and the snow amounts were so bad...  I know I've not seen this much snow here since I moved here 21 years ago.  That said,  our roses took a major hit.  After much research and discussion we opted to cut them back drastically and see if maybe over the next few months they will come back.  I'm pretty sure that at least two are done.   We have many flower beds here at Karma Gardens and keeping up with them at times can be a daunting task.  That's okay, the beauty they provide more than outweighs the work we do to keep them up.

Took a break from the upkeep of the property and went to Lansing on Friday and Saturday for the Summer Seminar put on by the Abrams Foundation & the Michigan Genealogical Council.  What a great job they did.  A wide variety of speakers covering a wide spectrum of topics.  I think all the attendees really enjoyed themselves.  Friday night was the lock in,  38 lucky persons were "locked" in the Michigan Archives for an evening of research.  What a great evening.

There will be another seminar at the library on Saturday November 1st.   All the details are in process but from what I saw at this past weekends seminar, the focus will be German & Pennsylvania research.  Mark your calendars!  I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Happy Monday everyone!

Karen

Monday Musings

This weekend Mr. Brown Eyes and I returned from a week of researching and hanging out with friends in Ohio.  We had a great time researching, chatting and porch sitting with some great friends from the Darke County area of Ohio.

As usual when you spend a week researching you return with lots of great information.  We enjoyed some research time at the Montgomery County Records Center & Archives,  Garst Research library and the Brethren Heritage Center.

One of the fabulous things that happened was that the Brethren Heritage Center had just gotten a donation of funeral home records and we were given the opportunity to go thru those.  What a gold mine of information that was!  We had great weather for our entire time away.  As usual its great to go away but always so wonderful to return to our home here at Karma Gardens.  (Yep, we named our property! Been pondering that for a while now.)

On the home front,  we are to be grandparents again in January!  Our daughter and her husband recently announced they are expecting baby #3. This will be grand baby #5 for us.  Needless to say we are so excited.

The construction is now complete on the kitchen redo that we were working on.  Its so nice having all that dust gone and the new kitchen up and functioning.  We are so blessed to have been able to get that major project done.

The Michigan State Archives is sponsoring a two day genealogy seminar on July 18th & 19th (wow! Only two weeks away!).  You can read more about it here.  I do know that the lock-in is already full, but I'm sure there are plenty of good seats open for the rest of the seminar.  I will be speaking there on Saturday the 19th.

I'll be spending lots of time typing over the next few weeks.  How are you spending your summer?

Happy Researching!
Karen

Back In The Saddle Again!

Its been a while since I blogged.  I must admit I was worried I wouldn't get back to blogging.  But here I am.   Its been a busy month or so, with a kitchen remodel and our daughter announcing the arrival of a new branch to our tree in Jan 2015.

Now that all the "dust" (literally) has settled (and been removed) its time to get back on track with the genealogy.

Last weekend, we made a research trip to Medina County, Ohio.  I'm completing my work on Mark's family that were in that area.  They arrived as early as 1832 and remained there even today.  This is Mark's grandmother, Mabel Reusch's family.

Over the next few weeks I'll be blogging featuring all the "stuff" I found there as I get it all entered in my database.

Happy Researching!
  Karen

Monday Musings - Are There No Limitations Anywhere?

So here we are!  Day three researching in Ft Wayne.  I've already found quite a bit of stuff.  Good stuff.

But I've got to ask - Are there no limitations anywhere?  I remember growing up and when we were in school and went to the library, we were always told that people were reading or studying and that we were to be quiet.  Fast forward XX years.  Doesn't seem that way anymore.

It would  seem that anything goes anymore.  I will admit that I do my best "studying" when its at least semi-quiet.  Granted you can't always get that.  I do understand its not always possible.  But in a library?  Really?

It seems that some of the "offenders" are people who work here.  One reason I sit where I sit is because I want to avoid alot of chatter.  I want to be able to focus on what I am reading.  On Saturday  a lady managed to make her way into the area where I have set up camp.  She was older and a little slow moving.  She was SO LOUD,  she sent her "son/nephew/grandson" to get a desk worker to help her.  HUH?  She walked right past the desk to get here...  anyway the desk worker was even more loud.  It was impossible to even hear yourself think.   When I went to the desk to inquire about the racket, I was told "this isn't a hush hush library"...  So let me get this straight,  Its okay to be loud and noisy, doesn't matter at all?  Seriously?  I had headphones on and I could hear those two.

Now today, chatty Cathy and her co-worker who are typing in city directories have been chatting quite vocally now for over 45 minutes.  Desk works go by and no one seems to care.  Its almost like the library has taken on a coffee shop type atmosphere.  I must say I'm disappointed.  Cell phones going off, people holding conversations, desk workers who talk so loud you  can hear  them in adjoining rooms?  REALLY?   Maybe that's why alot of people stay home and research on line... they don't want to deal with these sort of things.    I dunno...  what do you think??

FYI - the desk worker did come and apologize for being overly loud.  Apology accepted.

Happy (and noise diminished) Researching!

So What's Next ?

On Friday I wrote about how I finally had the paperless office!  Took me a year and I will admit I still have images to crop, link and transcribe on the flash drive.  While that all was in process I started to look at the information that I do have.

I've come to the realization that there are quite a few things I need/want to do in my data base.  In doing all this linking & transcribing you see holes.  Sometimes in places you really don't want to see them.  Like maybe in the direct line.

I've always told the people who attend my talks that doing your "census homework" was a primary to do for working in genealogy.  While I was cropping & linking I was adding to my to do list.  Simple things like a death certificate here,  an obituary there....  and then it hit me!  So many were still missing some of their census.

I follow all the lines of my ancestors, not just the direct line down to me, but the siblings of my ancestors and their down lines as well.  I find so many times that when I can't find MY ancestor if I go looking for his siblings or other relatives that I find the ancestor as well.  Although I don't consider the census primary (that's another discussion!), I do consider it important.

So my next project is to get on top of all the census I need for those who are missing them.  This should be interesting!

Happy Researching!
  Karen

Really? A Month? Yeah A Month! BUT....

It was worth it, at least for me.  I have gotten so much done in my office.  I've now gotten EVERYTHING that was laying around all scanned.  Much of it is named, cropped and linked.  But there is SO MUCH MORE to do yet.

I do have some "non genealogy" stuff around that needs to get put elsewhere.  I did get my closet all re-organized which I've been needing to do since I moved in 7 years ago.  I love my plants so there's probably way too many of them in here as well.  Everything in this office is "me"... plants, photo's ... you know, STUFF.

How much stuff do you keep in your office that isn't genealogy?  We won't even go into the book shelves, full of all my genie books.  I need to go thru those next...

NEXT?  Yes, there's always another project in the works?  Mine include cleaning up my sourcing and  going thru all my books to see if I missed any gold mines since my last flip thru.

I "attended" the Legacy Family Tree Webinar on sourcing in Legacy.  I never knew it was so easy.  My sources were done on my own, and now after seeing how easy Legacy has made it,  I want to convert all of mine over.  Sadly, that project will be one slated for another time, as it will be a major undertaking.

Maybe all this is the forerunner to my spring cleaning - with all the snow we had its made for a long winter here in Michigan.  I'm looking forward to spring SOON!

Thanks for waiting for me to return!  What have you been up to while I was working on my project??

Just Another Day

I've spent the past few days working on learning how to edit my photo's in Picasa3.  Not that difficult but different than what I have been used to in the past.  A bit of a challenge but manageable.

Right now I am working on the SHANKLIN images I pulled at the Hopkinsville Public Library while we were there the end of December.  Editing the photo's, transcribing the obits and them moving them and linking them to their persons.  Time consuming but well worth the effort.

Little by little, one byte at a time it all gets done!  With tax season kicking in this weekend, I'll have plenty of time to work on this project while Mr Brown Eyes does taxes.  Managing the office & phone is nothing compared to his job.  So maybe I'll get this project done before 2015?

What are you working on?

Monday Musings

Last week was just a long week.  I can't say I did alot of genealogy because to be honest I didn't.  A week ago my dear friend Micheal passed away.  I can't say we were bosom buddies or anything.   The three of us often shared dinner together when we were in Dayton.  We spent hours discussing genealogy - the process, the successes, the brick walls, mostly we talked about how much we enjoyed doing genealogy.  We laughed so much sometimes I cried.  Michael's passing is sad, really sad.  It's always sad when you loose someone dear to you, but Michael's loss was a big one for the genealogy world because he was the most sharing person I've ever known.  He shared his research with anyone who asked, anyone who was researching what he was researching.  No strings attached.  He just shared.

I'll miss him,  I'll miss his laughter, his gentle spirit, his sharing.

RIP Michael.

What Do You Mean I Can Attend Classes In My Bunny Slippers?

Its snowy and cold here in the metro Detroit area.  I mean its so cold you really don't want to go out.  So here I sit in my office, surrounded by my genealogy books,  my computer and so much I want to get done.  I've always heard that when you stop learning you die.  Learning seems to be the key to longevity - keeping your mind active.

Well, now you don't have to go out in the snow and cold - you can stay home at your computer in your bunny slippers and learn! Yes, I said LEARN!  Webinars are just the greatest thing!  What better way to learn new genealogy stuff than in the comfort of your home, with your slippers on, a cup of tea or coffee and you're ready to go.

I'm excited (and registered) for the long list of webinars that Legacy Family Tree is sponsoring.  It doesn't get much easier than this!  Not only at home, but FREE.   Did I mention FREE?

It's so easy - first you go to LegacyFamilyTree and check out the fabulous line up of webinars on tap for this year.  They've made it easy to register, you can even do it for multiple webinars at once!  Once you register they send you a notice and then a reminder the day of the webinar.  It will even walk you thru setting it up.  Its a no brainer! 

If you don't see anything that you want in the current year there's an entire batch of archived webinars you can get into.  These are on DVD and available for purchase at very reasonable prices.  You can even attend a live webinar and get the coupon code for a discount on merchandise which could be used on something in the Archive site.

No, you don't have to use Legacy Family Tree Software to attend.  There are a few that are "Legacy" specific, but most are genealogy specific rather than software specific.  Take a second and check it out.  You'll be so glad you did!

Resolutions....

I know that alot of people make all sorts of new year's resolutions.  I've personally never put much effort into it, usually because I have so much going on I remember sometime around Jan. 5th or 6th.  Not good right?

So this year I thought I'd put a couple of New Year's Resolutions here.  Then come back next year and see how I did.  Dangerous but what the heck. 

1.  Continue the quest to go paperless in my office.  Make a focused effort to keep as few papers in my office as well,  bringing home scans instead of piles of papers.
2.   Learn more about Evernote and make a more concentrated effort to use it efficiently.
3.  To be more consistant with my blogging.  Making a concentrated effort to blog Monday thru Friday.  Every week. No excuses. 

There, that's it.  Next year this time we'll check back and see how we've done.  I've been following my good friend & fellow blogger, Anne over at Gene Notes and I'm inspired by her ability to make resolutions, remember what they were, and actually be able to go back and show progress.  Congrats Anne!  That rocks!  Now lets see if I can do it.... 

Did you make any resolutions?