Merry Christmas!

Wise Men Still Seek Him

 

End of Year Posts

Just to let you know, I've posted the last of 2011's personal history prompts in my Examiner article.  CLICK HERE to check it out.  Many thanks to Amy Coffin for authoring this series and to Thomas MacEntee at GeneaBloggers for hosting it on his site.

I hope to be launching some new programs and CDs this coming year dealing with healing the pain of dysfunction, heartbreak and stress in families.  For anyone interested in creating positive change in their family line, make sure to JOIN THE QUEST at Family Tree Quest .  When you leave your email, I will mail you a link for the free family tree I designed.  It is perfect for all families--even blended (step) families and single parents.

Also, don't forget to check out lots of heritage-friendly gift ideas by CLICKING HERE.



I hope you enjoy all your holiday celebrations and get-togethers.  I love the sights, sounds and smells of this time of the year!
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation from Amy Coffin or GeneaBloggers for writing about the 52 Weeks to Better Genealogy and History series. I am listed on the GeneaBloggers Blog Roll because I find it to be a valuable, shared community resource. I am founder of Family Tree Quest [dot] com.

Christmas Cards?

I love making connections with old friends at Christmas.  Even tho others have dropped the tradition of sending Christmas Cards, it's one thing I still value.  The expense, however was getting more than I could bear.  I would send a MINIMUM of 75 cards.

Last year, I decided to send most of my cards via American Greetings.
I've also loved receiving photo cards via Smilebox.

I recommend them both.  The free options are nice, but I finally subscribed to American Greetings.  They let me send cards all year for a VERY low price. (I even post birthday greetings to Facebook and love the convenience).

Hope to get my "cards" out this weekend.  How about you?

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OTHER CARD SOURCES I FIND INTRIGUING:

Cardstore.com

Galison, Mudpuppy and HOLIDAY (cards at HOLIDAY).
Private Label designs custom products for your business, non-profit or special event.


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Disclosure of Material connection:  As Founder of Family Tree Quest [dot] com, American Greetings, Smilebox, Cardstore and Galison/Mudpuppy are my affiliates.

Creative Irish Gifts

I got my Shop Irish catalog.  I'm usually drawn toward the beautiful platters or serving dishes (like the Christmas Irish Christmas Blessing Platter on page 4.)  I just love the style.  I think the catalog has pretty classy products. 

This year, I was excited to see "Christmas Crackers".  They look like something we'd use at New Years.  The caption says "An Irish tradition at Christmas.  Each contains a snap, a joke, a surprise novelty, and a party hat."  Box of eight.  HK230 $13.99

We have Irish heritage, and my husband lived in Ireland for two years.  I think this would be fun for the grandchildren!  Please comment:  Has anyone heard of this tradition before? (Wondering if it's really a tradition.)  Click here to check out Shop Irish- The premier store on the web for Irish-themed gifts.

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Other Family History Gift-giving ideas:  Check out:

House of Names. Coats of Arms (Family Crests) and Surname Histories.
 

Candy you ate as a kid. Old fashioned candy from the 1950s, 60s, 70s or 80s, still available after all these years!

Flip-Pal™ mobile scanner –  Portable, easy flip-and-scan-technology.  You can even scan pictures in the frame or while they remain in their photo albums!  I sit on the sofa in comfort and scan to my hearts delight.

Digital cameras, scanners, photo frames, printers, etc. to capture those amazing memories.  I love my Zi8 camcorder. It plugs straight into my USB port.  Great for family historians.  Easy to use.  Pocket-sized.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”  As founder of Family Tree Quest [dot] com, I am an affiliate of Flip-Pal mobile scanner along with House of Names, Candy You Ate as a Kid, Shop Irish, Ancestry.com, Nuance (Dragon Naturally Speaking 11), and Kodak.

Legacy Family Tree announces biggest Christmas Sale ever!

Just this morning, one of my affiliates, Legacy Family Tree, announced their biggest Christmas Sale ever.  Get the details by viewing my article CLICK HERE, or click the banner below and go straight to Legacy Family Tree.

Great gift(s) for yourself or your loved ones.

Relief for family, holiday gift-giving decisions

A few years ago, my girlfriend sent us a "Fresh Balsam Jingle Bell Wreath by Valerie" offered by QVC.  Since we had an artificial tree, we hung the wreath inside as part of our decor, and the smell of evergreen trees filled the air.  It was WONDERFUL!  One of the favorite gifts we've ever received.


Since then, we've made it part of our family TRADITION to send wreaths to out-of-town relatives (mother/mother-in-law, sister/sister-in law, brother/brother-in-laws, niece/nephews, etc.)  Our older children also "chip in" and contribute to the expense.  The out-of-town relatives now look forward to receiving their wreaths.  Last year, we sent a fresh evergreen candle centerpiece for our niece and nephew's family.  It has simplified our gift-giving, we have saved time shopping, wrapping, and going to the mail service.  They're happy, we're happy.  It's a win-win.


We did purchase from another online company last year and one recipient said the product was falling apart when delivered.  I plan to stick with QVC now.  

I highly recommend checking out QVC for the "Fresh Balsam Jingle Bell Wreath by Valerie" along with their other time-saving, quality, holiday offerings.  Be sure to notice the variety of SHIPPING dates.

CLICK HERE to go to QVC

How to you save time and money at holiday time?  Feel free to comment on some of your favorite holiday gift-giving traditions below.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”   Because of my positive experiences with QVC,  I am now one of their affiliates.   

Aspire by Kevin Hall inspires positive change in family lines

As genealogists and family historians, many of us are consciously creating positive change in our family lines.  Every once in awhile, a book strikes at the heart of inspiring that kind of positive change, by helping shift paradigms and adding perspective to our fast-paced lives.  We use our personal journals to record our own history-in-the-making, and, as we do, we discover the incredible power of words to convey our stories.

I am thoroughly enjoying Kevin Hall’s book Aspire--discovering your purpose through the power of words. SEE WHY. CLICK HERE to see the entire article

"Kevin Hall's Aspire helps family historians create positive change in families"

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” With appreciation, I received a gift copy of Aspire from Kevin Hall. The thoughts and feelings expressed in this review are my own. As founder of Family Tree Quest [dot] com, I am an affiliate Amazon [dot] com.

Memory Lane Monday: Subjects in School

I’m using the ’52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History’ series authored by Amy Coffin as an aid in starting my personal history throughout the year.  See the entire challenge on my Examiner.com article.  I want to leave my OWN story in my own words so my posterity will be able to know me a little better. Perhaps you’d like to do the same.

Here is the beginning of my memories about SUBJECTS IN SCHOOL.

My favorite class in Junior High and High School was English.  At the time, I didn’t think, “Oh, this is my favorite class!”  Actually, I was quite challenged while learning English Grammar.  My Junior High teacher taught me to read poetry with expression –in front of the class, no less!  I carried that love of expression into piano and singing and speaking, as well.  I still love poetry and write poems and lyrics to songs.  I have also won awards for my poetry at the State and National level through American Mothers, Inc.  Grammar came hard to me, but comes in handy now, since I’m a journalist and also write content for my Internet business Family Tree Quest.

My least favorite classes were probably Math classes.  I took French, as well, and I find learning a language is difficult for me.  (I’ve taken ASL (American Sign Language) as well, and I’m now taking a “refresher” course.)  Anything requiring a lot of memorization challenged me.

I'd like to know what your favorite and least favorite classes were.  Feel free to comment below.
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As founder of Family Tree Quest, people sometimes ask what tools I recommend for organizing and recording personal and family history.  Here are my highest recommendations.

Heritage Collector Suite- Your complete Family History Management System  (my highest recommendation)
This has everything you need to get your family history clutter into one, orderly place.  Store and retrieve photos, documents, videos, etc.  Create a PDF for a bound book.  Many bonus items such as storybook and GPS modules.

Personal Historian Software- I love it’s timelines and personal history prompts. 

 Flip-Pal™ mobile scanner –  

Portable, easy flip-and-scan-technology.  You can even scan pictures in the frame or while they remain in their photo albums!  I sit on the sofa in comfort and scan to my hearts delight.

Find the perfect journal at Amazon or Galison and Mudpuppy

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As the Phoenix Genealogy Examiner, I create an article about this series each Monday.  Click subscribe (at the top of the Examiner page) if you’d like to get my articles automatically delivered to your email inbox, or click the RSS icon to read my posts via a feed reader. 

These weekly challenges are authored by Amy Coffin of the We Tree blog and hosted on the GeneaBloggers website.

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” I have not received any compensation from Amy Coffin or GeneaBloggers.com for writing this post. I am listed on the GeneaBloggers Blog Roll because I find it to be a valuable, shared community resource. As founder of Family Tree Quest [dot] com, I am an affiliate of LifeStory Productions, Inc. Flip-pal and Amazon [dot] com.

Old Time Candy Company Discount offered

Get in on the Retro Candy Discount for Halloween
(Old Time Candy Company also offers Sugar Free and Gluten Free Candy)

Keep your family history alive during the holidays. Check out this fun site for Halloween or plan ahead for upcoming gift-giving. 

Get $5 off decade candy boxes for the 4lb Halloween decade boxes at OldTimeCandy.com. use code boo2011

Old fashioned candy from the 1950s, 60s, 70s or 80s, still available after all these years!



  

Memory Lane Monday: Teachers

An apple for the teacher!

I’m using the ’52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History’ series authored by Amy Coffin as an aid in starting my personal history throughout the year.  See the entire challenge on my Examiner.com article.  I want to leave my OWN story in my own words so my posterity will be able to know me a little better. Perhaps you’d like to do the same.

Here is the beginning of my memories about TEACHERS.

My favorite teacher was my ninth grade English teacher, Mrs. Storvick (Hortense Cornelia Storvick).  At the time I thought she was quite eccentric, yet, over time, I have been able to see her great influence in my life.  She was an older woman with short, gray hair.  She was “all business”, yet seemed to really care about her students.

I learned a lot about English grammar from Mrs. Storvick.  As difficult as the daily exercises were for me at the time, I’m now a writer/journalist.  She also made sure we all knew about current events and helped us take an interest in our world.  She also helped me discover my ability to speak in front of others and use expression when I spoke.  This came from memorizing poems and reading them in front of the class.  They were hard to memorize, and it was somewhat embarrassing to get up in front of my peers and speak with
expression, but OH what joy I found in poetry.  I now write poetry and lyrics and won 1^st place last year from the AZ American Mothers for my poem “My Sparrow” and 2^nd place in the nation from American Mothers, Inc.

I believe all teachers can have a far-reaching influence in our lives.  Those who prepare themselves to share what they know (in a way that impacts their students for good) are among the unsung heroes of the world.

Who was YOUR favorite teacher and why?  Leave your comment below.
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As founder of Family Tree Quest, people sometimes ask what tools I recommend for organizing and recording personal and family history.  Here are my highest recommendations.

Heritage Collector Suite- Your complete Family History Management System  (my highest recommendation) This has everything you need to get your family history clutter into one, orderly place.  Store and retrieve photos, documents, videos, etc.  Create a PDF for a bound book.  Many bonus items such as storybook and GPS modules.

Personal Historian Software-  I love it’s timelines and personal history prompts. 

 Flip-Pal™ mobile scanner –  Portable, easy flip-and-scan-technology.  You can even scan pictures in the frame or while they remain in their photo albums!  I sit on the sofa in comfort and scan to my hearts delight.

Find the perfect journal at Amazon or Galison and Mudpuppy

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As the Phoenix Genealogy Examiner, I create an article about this series each Monday.  Click subscribe (at the top) if you’d like to get my articles automatically delivered to your email inbox, or click the RSS icon to read my posts via a feed reader.  These weekly challenges are authored by Amy Coffin of the We Tree blog and hosted on the GeneaBloggers website.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” I have not received any compensation from Amy Coffin or GeneaBloggers.com for writing this post. I am listed on the GeneaBloggers Blog Roll because I find it to be a valuable, shared community resource. As founder of Family Tree Quest [dot] com, I am an affiliate of LifeStory Productions, Inc. Flip-pal and Amazon [dot] com.

Memory Lane Monday: Trouble

I’m using the ’52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History’ series authored by Amy Coffin as an aid in starting my personal history throughout the year.  See the entire challenge on my Examiner.com article.  I want to leave my OWN story in my own words so my posterity will be able to know me a little better. Perhaps you’d like to do the same.

Here are some of my memories about TROUBLE.

As a child, I was not inclined to trouble.  My dad and sometimes my mom would be stern with me.  Sometimes I even got a spanking.  In general, however, I did not want to disappoint my parents, and that was motivation for me to behave.

I do have ONE memory that stands out above the others, though.  I was about five and my dad had just finished painting our very large living room.  He distinctly told me not to touch the wet paint, but I did.  Right next to the doorway was MY HANDPRINT.  I had paint all over my hand, but wanted to hide it.  I don’t remember all the specifics now, but I do remember my dad was kind about it, and I was okay.  I was so mortified that I’d done such a thing that seemed so permanent, that I was very grateful to receive a kind and understanding response.
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As founder of Family Tree Quest, here’s my recommendation for keeping your personal history up-to-date.

Personal Historian Software- I love it’s timelines and personal history prompts. 

 Flip-Pal™ mobile scanner –  Portable, easy flip-and-scan-technology.  You can even scan pictures in the frame or while they remain in their photo albums!  I sit on the sofa in comfort and scan to my hearts delight.

Find the perfect journal at Amazon or Galison and Mudpuppy

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As the Phoenix Genealogy Examiner, I create an article about this series each Monday.  Click subscribe (at the top) if you’d like to get my articles automatically delivered to your email inbox, or click the RSS icon to read my posts via a feed reader.  These weekly challenges are authored by Amy Coffin of the We Tree blog and hosted on the GeneaBloggers website.

Please leave a comment and let me know YOU stopped by for a visit to my blog.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” I have not received any compensation from Amy Coffin or GeneaBloggers.com for writing this post. I am listed on the GeneaBloggers Blog Roll because I find it to be a valuable, shared community resource. As founder of Family Tree Quest [dot] com, I am an affiliate of Flip-pal and Amazon [dot] com.