The R.I.P.PERS Graveyard Rabbit

Well, I've finally done it! I've been wanting to create a blog for the Association of Graveyard Rabbits for a while now, but didn't really have any ideas that would or might prove read-worthy. I think I found an idea that will work, so I created "The R.I.P.PERS" blog at http://www.gyrippers.blogspot.com/. Go have a look, take a stab at the kick-off quiz (pun not really intended), and come back often

99 Things

Julie at GenBlog and Sheri at The Educated Genealogist partook in a new meme called "99 Things About Me". Instructions: From the list below, code the following activities as such: BOLD the activities you've already done; Color the ones you want to do in RED; Leave the ones you don't want to do in plain font.

Since my regular font is bold, I put the ones I've already done in GREEN.

Here's My List:

1. started your own blog
2. slept under the stars
3. played in a band
4. visited hawaii
5. watched a meteor shower
6. given more than you can afford to charity
7. been to disneyland
8. climbed a mountain
9. held a praying mantis
10. sang a solo
11. bungee jumped
12. visited paris
13. watched a lightning storm at sea
14. taught yourself an art from scratch
15. adopted a child
16. had food poisoning
17. walked to the top of the statue of liberty
18. grown your own vegetables
19. seen the mona lisa in france
20. slept on an overnight train
21. had a pillow fight
22. hitch hiked
23. taken a sick day when you are not ill
24. built a snow fort
25. held a lamb
26. gone skinny dipping
27. run a marathon
28. ridden a gondola in venice
29. seen a total eclipse
30. watched a sunrise or sunset
31. hit a home run
32. been on a cruise
33. seen niagara falls in person
34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. seen an amish community
36. taught yourself a new language
37. had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. seen the leaning tower of pisa in person
39. gone rock climbing
40. seen michelangelo's david in person
41. sung karaoke
42. seen old faithful geyser erupt
43. bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. visited africa
45. walked on a beach by moonlight
46. been transported in an ambulance
47. had your portrait painted
48. gone deep sea fishing
49. seen the sistine chapel in person
50. been to the top of the eiffel in paris
51. gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. kissed in the rain
53. played in the mud
54. gone to a drive in theater
55. been in a movie
56. visited the great wall of china
57. started a business
58. taken a martial arts class
59. visited russia
60. served at a soup kitchen
61. sold girl scout cookies
62. gone whale watching
63. gotten flowers for no reason
64. donated blood
65. gone skydiving
66. visited a nazi concentration camp
67. bounced a cheque
68. flown in a helicopter
69. saved a favorite childhood toy
70. visited the lincoln memorial
71. eaten caviar
72. pieced a quilt
73. stood in times square
74. toured the everglades
75. been fired from a job
76. seen the changing of the guard in london
77. broken a bone
78. been on a speeding motorcycle
79. seen the grand canyon in person (hiked down it to boot!)
80. published a book
81. visited the vatican
82. bought a brand new car
83. walked in jerusalem
84. had your picture in the paper
85. read the entire bible
86. visited the white house
87. killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. had chickenpox
89. saved someone’s life
90. sat on a jury
91. met someone famous
92. joined a book club
93. lost a loved one
94. had a baby
95. see the alamo in person
96. swum in the great salt lake.
97. been involved in a lawsuit
98. owned a cell phone
99. been stung by a bee

15 Months DO Make a Difference!

Back in September of 2007, I challenged my fellow geneabloggers to show what their workspaces looked like. It's now 15 months later and I just have one question: Just how did I manage to go from this:

To this:

Guess what's on my "To-Do" list this last week of 2008?

A Site for Sore Eyes

Ever get in the mood to browse new genealogy blogs? I do, though I don't often have time to do it much now. I used to use Google and just type in "Genealogy Blog" and browse. Or browse the geneabloggers' on Facebooks. Which are both good sources. Tonight I found a new source. Well, it's been around for a bit, I guess, but I was re-introduced to it tonight.

I was checking out my Feedjit widget to see where people were coming from to read my blog. I think it's fascinating to see where people come from and, when they come from a search engine, what search terms they used that brought them to my site. One came from the blogfinder from Genealogue.com. That site is written by Chris Dunham, and he is an absolute riot. He has a fantastic site called Genealogy Blog Finder that not only lists genealogy blogs, but categorizes them. Looking for instructional genealogy blogs? They're there. Looking for blogs on specific geographical regions? They're there. Surnames? Yes. Technology? Of course! Photography? Yep.

Head on over to www.blogfinder.genealogue.com and you'll be amazed, too. And check out the "Who's Blogging Where?" Map while you're ... there.

Forty Things About Me (And then about YOU).

Forty things about me and then about you when you do it yourself. (honestly, I'm not sure what this last part means unless it's just saying that you need to post this to a blog or facebook site after you read it?). At any rate, I posted it here so as to avoid forwarding it via email, so if any of my readers that don't blog or facebook wish to participate, answer the questions and email me the answers!

1. Do you like blue cheese? ICK~!!
2. Have you ever done something you regretted? Um, well, yes.
3. Do you own a gun? Nope.
4. What flavor of Kool Aid was your favorite? Grape.
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Depends on what I'm there for.
6. What do you think of hot dogs? Yum!.
7. Favorite Christmas movie? It's a Wonderful Life.
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Hot Cocoa or decaf Coffee (yeah, counterintuitive, I know)
9. Can you do push ups? Maybe a couple of the "girly" kind.
10. Favorite hobby? Genealogy
11. Do you have A.D.D.? More like ADHD without hte ADD.
12. What's one trait you hate about yourself? Too high strung sometimes.
13. Middle name? Erin
14. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? Izzie, Be Quiet. Izzie Be Quiet. IZZIE, SHUT UP!
15. Name 3 drinks you regularly have? Water, Caffeine Free Coke, Hot Cocoa.
16. Current hate right now? Not being heard.
17. Favorite place to be? Home.
18. How did you bring in the New Year? What New Year?
19. A place would you like to go? Ireland, aboard a ship!
20. Name three people who will complete this: Probably no one.
21. Do you have slippers? No. Izzie ate them!
22. What shirt are you wearing? Beige turtleneck with brown sweater.
23. Do you like sleeping on satin? No. Satin is so overrated it's sickening.
24. Can you whistle? A little.
25. Would you be a pirate? I'm too honest to be a pirate.
26. What songs do you sing in the shower? Whatever tune is stuck in my head with lyrics I made up about Izzie.
27. Favorite girl's name(s)? Brenna
28. What's in your pocket right now? Lint.
29. Last thing that made you laugh? An email from my boss.
30. Favorite bed sheets as a child? I don't remember any of my sheets. I do remember one Christmas when I begged for a month for a new pillow!
31. Worst injury ever? Split big toe open while swimming. Made worse by the fact that I was warned there was glass in that spot in the pool five minutes before it happened.
32. Do you like where you live? Right now? Yes. In the middle of summer? Hell no.
33. How many TVs do you have in your house? Four.
34. Who is your loudest friend? Izzie.
35. How many dogs do you have? One living, two in spirit (Mandy and Skipper).
36. Does someone have a crush on you? I wish.
37. What is your favorite book? Hmmmmm. I should be a good Christian and say the Bible.
38. What is your favorite candy? Three Musketeers.
39. Favorite Sports Team? Buffalo Bills. Don't even ask me WHY!
40. What song do you want played at your funeral? Go Rest High by Vince Gill.

Do They Know It's Christmas?

Many of you know that I have a special blog set up for my dog, Izzie. I started this blog the day I brought Izzie home from the shelter. I'm not really sure why; part of me thought that adoption would make a good children's book and perhaps I could use Iz as the main character in the book. It turned out to be one, a creative outlet for me, and two, another method to connect with other dog lovers. Not too long after that, I'd found an online community of dog-bloggers known as Dogs With Blogs (DWB). I'd found that I was just 1 of over 600 dog-bloggers (now over 1,000!).

Anyway, it's quite a community with lots of funny blogs, educational blogs, and daily life blogs. Much like the GeneaBlogger community. Members share their laughter, tears, and joys of raising dogs and reaching out to others. One member, Pappy, created a video of a group of the dogs in the DWB community lip-synching to the song, Do They Know It's Christmas, by Band-Aid. I think it's a cute way to spread a message that reaches beyond the holidays. Since footnoteMaven is recruiting carolers, I present this video.


It's Christmastime
There's no need to be afraid
At Christmastime, we let in light and we banish shade
And in our world of plenty we can spread a smile of joy
Throw your arms around the world at Christmastime
But say a prayer Pray for the other ones
At Christmastime it's hard, but when you're having fun
There's a world outside your window
And it's a world of dread and fear
Where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears
And the Christmas bells that ring there are the clangingchimes of doom
Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you
And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmastime
The greatest gift they'll get this year is life(Oooh)
Where nothing ever grows
No rain nor rivers flow
Do they know it's Christmastime at all?
(Here's to you) raise a glass for everyone
(Here's to them) underneath that burning sun
Do they know it's Christmastime at all?
Feed the worldFeed the world
Feed the world
Let them know it's Christmastime again
Feed the world
Let them know it's Christmastime againr
epeat then fade

(Bob Geldof & Midge Ure)

Happy Thanksgiving

I'm a little late joing Julie Cahill Tarr's Thanksgiving Meme, but it's never really too late to be thankful. I'm thankful for many things, including the continued health and safety of my family.

I'm also thankful for my job, as I was fortunate enough to survive a 33% workforce reduction last month. I'm thankful for our CEO who, when it became apparent in March that we were facing a potential reduction or even extinction, built in a generous severance package for anyone laid off and a retention package for those who waited out the storm and survived the transition. This type of thing is basically unheard of in the human services field, so it goes a long way that she worked so hard to take care of her employees.

I'm thankful for Izzie, my dog who rescued me more than I did him. I'm thankful that he's out of the puppy mill that calls itself a rescue organization, and I'm thankful for the other dogs who have been lucky enough to find homes.

On a more materialistic note, I'm thankful that my couch finally arrived last night so I don't have to make the furniture store one of my stops in my morning shopping trip!

In addition to being thankful, I'm also sending Thanksgiving wishes to all those who have lost their jobs, both at my aagency and around the country. I'm sending wishes to all families that are hurting in any way, that healing may come. I'm sending wishes to all animals living in shelters or worse, puppy mills and abusive/neglectful homes. And I'm sending wishes to all my geneablogger friends, whose hearts are generous and spirits are kind.