Thursday, January 31, 2019
Saturday, January 26, 2019
Happiness Is...
Today's adventure was driving to Thatcher with Mom and Julia to see Faith and family. We spent a few hours with them at the house, enjoying the beautiful weather. The kids had fun with Aunt JuJu digging in the mud.
On the way home, we stopped in at The Pickle Barrel in Globe and had a late lunch at Judy's Cook House.
It was a happy day. <3
Thursday, January 24, 2019
1000 names
When you want to break a bad habit, or change a behavior, the best way to be successful is to fill in the time you used to spend doing whatever you want to stop, with something different & better.
In my quest to break the habits I'd formed with social media, I started spending time indexing. What is indexing, you ask? Its an awesome way to get involved with genealogy/family history work that helps people around the world and throughout time. Family Search is the family history site associated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and they work in connection with Ancestry.com to have the biggest database of genealogical records available for research. These records are made available for the public through indexing -- people view digitized images of historical records and extract out names, dates, places and relationships that get entered into a database for searching. You usually do about 10 images per batch and each project has specific information that you are looking for and extracting.
So far this month I've indexed 1000 names! I thought maybe I'd get a few hundred done with the extra time I had. But last night I hit this milestone and I was amazed. The project I've been working on is going through World War I draft registration cards from Georgia and Indiana. It's been really fun. I love seeing all the unique names and places where people work. Some of the handwriting is difficult to decipher, and other handwriting is so beautiful I just sit and look at it for a few minutes.
My family tree has been researched extensively, on both sides, by different people throughout the years. I know there are probably bits and pieces missing here and there, but it is pretty intact going back many generations. We're to the point now where it's getting harder and harder to find information because the records just don't exist...or they haven't been indexed yet! This is my way of trying to do my part. I'm hoping that someone is working on indexing records that may one day be helpful in my family research and I hope that what I'm able to do give someone else that missing piece to their puzzle.
If you're looking for a worthwhile way to spend some time - index! Check it out at www.familyserach.org. You'll be surprised at how fun it is.
In my quest to break the habits I'd formed with social media, I started spending time indexing. What is indexing, you ask? Its an awesome way to get involved with genealogy/family history work that helps people around the world and throughout time. Family Search is the family history site associated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and they work in connection with Ancestry.com to have the biggest database of genealogical records available for research. These records are made available for the public through indexing -- people view digitized images of historical records and extract out names, dates, places and relationships that get entered into a database for searching. You usually do about 10 images per batch and each project has specific information that you are looking for and extracting.
So far this month I've indexed 1000 names! I thought maybe I'd get a few hundred done with the extra time I had. But last night I hit this milestone and I was amazed. The project I've been working on is going through World War I draft registration cards from Georgia and Indiana. It's been really fun. I love seeing all the unique names and places where people work. Some of the handwriting is difficult to decipher, and other handwriting is so beautiful I just sit and look at it for a few minutes.
My family tree has been researched extensively, on both sides, by different people throughout the years. I know there are probably bits and pieces missing here and there, but it is pretty intact going back many generations. We're to the point now where it's getting harder and harder to find information because the records just don't exist...or they haven't been indexed yet! This is my way of trying to do my part. I'm hoping that someone is working on indexing records that may one day be helpful in my family research and I hope that what I'm able to do give someone else that missing piece to their puzzle.
If you're looking for a worthwhile way to spend some time - index! Check it out at www.familyserach.org. You'll be surprised at how fun it is.
Sunday, January 20, 2019
Look Up
This phrase has been following me around over the last week. It first came to me last week when I realized that I'd been going through life the last several years looking down -- at my phone. I've been working on being more aware of life around me and trying to look up more. This thought/idea wound its way through my scripture study this week as well.
In my study of Luke and Matthew chapter 2 this week, I found myself focusing on the Wise Men who came and the word "worship." What does it mean to worship the Lord, and how can I improve my personal worship of Him? I looked up "Magi" in the Bible Dictionary and found this little tidbit:
"They were able to see the star when others could not; they knew its meaning." They were looking up when others around them weren't!
"Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not" (Doctrine & Covenants 6:36). Are we looking up to God with every thought?
"Do not lose your faith because of the people around you, but build a strong relationship with Jesus Christ. Don't look around; look up!" (Elder Choi). Are we allowing others to pull our focus down?
My daily challenge is to remind myself to look up. This week, even though I was constantly running into this theme, I found it sometimes difficult to do. It was a rough week, emotionally and mentally, for me. Hormones are crazy little things that like to try and rule my life sometimes. (I also think I might actually be going through social media withdrawals. No joke.) I had a couple of really low days this week, but I tried to keep my mind from dwelling too long on the negative, and keep my gaze upwards. How?
I went for a couple walks with my sister and found simple pleasures in enjoying and observing nature. Luckily we have a fantastic nature walk area in our neighborhood that is fun to walk through. There are always lots of bunnies, quail, dove, and ground squirrels running around. I love to smell the creosote bushes and see all the unique varieties of cactus that grow here in the Desert Southwest. Look up at the world around you!
I also tried to surround myself with positive and uplifting media: scriptures, conference and devotional talks, and good books. Look up in the media you spend time with!
I spent time doing more family history work by indexing. This week I indexed 460 names working mostly on World War I draft registration cards. Look up at your family tree and help find someone who may be lost!
I also, literally, looked up one evening as I cam home from work and found this guy sitting on the streetlight at the end of my driveway - a big, beautiful hawk:
There are some many things to look up and see! I challenge you to make this phrase your mantra this week. Look up - and see what you've been missing and what the world, and the Lord has to teach you!
In my study of Luke and Matthew chapter 2 this week, I found myself focusing on the Wise Men who came and the word "worship." What does it mean to worship the Lord, and how can I improve my personal worship of Him? I looked up "Magi" in the Bible Dictionary and found this little tidbit:
"They were able to see the star when others could not; they knew its meaning." They were looking up when others around them weren't!
"Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not" (Doctrine & Covenants 6:36). Are we looking up to God with every thought?
"Do not lose your faith because of the people around you, but build a strong relationship with Jesus Christ. Don't look around; look up!" (Elder Choi). Are we allowing others to pull our focus down?
My daily challenge is to remind myself to look up. This week, even though I was constantly running into this theme, I found it sometimes difficult to do. It was a rough week, emotionally and mentally, for me. Hormones are crazy little things that like to try and rule my life sometimes. (I also think I might actually be going through social media withdrawals. No joke.) I had a couple of really low days this week, but I tried to keep my mind from dwelling too long on the negative, and keep my gaze upwards. How?
I went for a couple walks with my sister and found simple pleasures in enjoying and observing nature. Luckily we have a fantastic nature walk area in our neighborhood that is fun to walk through. There are always lots of bunnies, quail, dove, and ground squirrels running around. I love to smell the creosote bushes and see all the unique varieties of cactus that grow here in the Desert Southwest. Look up at the world around you!
I also tried to surround myself with positive and uplifting media: scriptures, conference and devotional talks, and good books. Look up in the media you spend time with!
I spent time doing more family history work by indexing. This week I indexed 460 names working mostly on World War I draft registration cards. Look up at your family tree and help find someone who may be lost!
I also, literally, looked up one evening as I cam home from work and found this guy sitting on the streetlight at the end of my driveway - a big, beautiful hawk:
There are some many things to look up and see! I challenge you to make this phrase your mantra this week. Look up - and see what you've been missing and what the world, and the Lord has to teach you!
Saturday, January 12, 2019
A Personal Experiment
Welcome to my journal of the personal experiment I'm running this year. You can probably guess what it is by the title I gave this blog. I've decided to give up my smartphone and get back to real life. I've traded in my iPhone for a flip phone, stopped playing Candy Crush and signed off of my social media accounts. And you know what?
I feel great!
It's been an interesting twelve days as I've started this experiment. Something interesting that I've noticed so far: everyone is going through life looking down - I was going through life looking down - at their phones and missing so much! There is so much time I've been wasting, and personal interactions I've been missing out on.
No more!
So what have I been doing so far with my extra time, now that I'm not always scrolling feeds, or crushing candy?
I feel great!
It's been an interesting twelve days as I've started this experiment. Something interesting that I've noticed so far: everyone is going through life looking down - I was going through life looking down - at their phones and missing so much! There is so much time I've been wasting, and personal interactions I've been missing out on.
No more!
So what have I been doing so far with my extra time, now that I'm not always scrolling feeds, or crushing candy?
- I've indexed 200 names on www.familysearch.org
- I've read 4 books
- I've journaled
- I've gone tot he Farmer's Market
- I've studied the scriptures and General Conference talks (www.lds.org)
- I've gone on an adventure to the Reid Park Zoo down in Tucson, AZ (see pics below)
Check back often for updates on how this experiment unfolds this year. It should be interesting!
~Cheryl
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