Sick Day

I have been super busy lately.  Sure enough, I got sick.  I have been running non-stop, and I haven't been taking very good care of myself.  So, I'm in bed, with the sniffles, ear aches, sore throat, cough, slight fever, and really stiff, sore muscles instead of being at work.  Even though work has called me non-stop all day, and I have to do a few things on my sick day, I also decided since I'm laying around bored, I should blog!

I'm updating my 365 Day Picture Challenge about once a week.  I try to get the week done on Saturday or Sunday.  Sometimes, I'm off a little bit.  I'm really glad that I've stuck to this project.  Then again, we are still early on the 365 Day challenge.  Hopefully, I can keep it up diligently.

I really want to be more disciplined in my posts.  You might have noticed a handy little button on the right side of the blog that says "31 Days to a Better Budget."  I keep messing up my budget.  Not going to lie, I don't think I have a clue to what I'm doing.  But I found this amazing blog - which put creating a budget in realistic terms.  One small task each day and at the end of the month, you've created your own personalize budget.  The best part is that it is doable.  For my next big project, I will master our budget.  Starting on March 1st, I will be doing the "31 Days to a Better Budget."  Please feel free to join me!

In the meantime, I have accomplished a few SIMPLE Pinterest finds.  I will be posting those later today!  I also fixed up our Home Management Binder (which will be posted today too!!).

I hate being sick and not at work - but at least I can occupy my time laying in bed with this blog!! :)

365 Day Photo/Video Challenge 2013

I've always wanted to do this - but never stuck to it.  So, here it is - for 2013 - Travis and I will be sharing a picture or video a day every day for the next year, just for fun.  Click on the tab above and it will take you to our 365 Day Photo/Video Challenge blog.  I am still editing it and formatting the blog, so please be patient with me while it is under construction.

Here is my first post on it:

I know the 365 Day Picture Challenge is supposed to be where the author takes a picture every day from something that day for a year.  It is supposed to be for those who want to work on photography skills or who want to be more disciplined in documenting their life.  Honestly, I'm just doing this for my own personal entertainment.

I will be documenting something from each day as a photo journal simply just for fun.  Why did I not start on January 1st?  Because I didn't think about it.

I started taking at least one picture a day on Instagram.  Sometimes, I'll record a video and save it on my computer.  They don't really get stored anywhere.  Often times, they aren't used for anything else.  Why not share my pictures and videos on our blog?  Our blog is about our life together, right?  What the heck, let's see what happens!

I've actually had quite a few friends tell Travis and I that we need to start documenting our lives.  Some people said we should have a YouTube account to share our daily life.  Let me tell you this...  I think I can be pretty boring.  But life with our family and friends is anything but boring!

Who knows, maybe you will find my life is just the average Joe's boring typical life.  Maybe you will find the events that happen to us funny!  Maybe you will get some entertainment out of it, or maybe it will help pass the time.  Which ever is the case, thanks for stopping by!

Feel free to follow us!

Beautiful Surprise!

I just had to share!

Travis and I have gone a long time without wedding bands.  Originally, we had some.  But because we were seriously budgeted and didn't invest in... um... quality - they both broke.  We didn't bother with buying another set because we didn't see it as a necessity.

The ring doesn't make the marriage, obviously.  But it is nice to have that reminder on your hand that you are loved, that you are special, that you are important to someone in this world.  It's a message to those you meet - saying you are committed through marriage.  It's beautiful.  It doesn't matter how much someone spends on a ring, it's the symbolism that matters.  Some women love to have the bling - and more power to them!  Others are happy with any style.  And some women, like me, prefer to have something small and simple.  I have really small hands, so while I may oogle over the big, gorgeous rings out there, they would not look right on my finger.

The average size ring for women is a 7.  My itty bitty hands - which are my grandmother's hands - contain a petite size of 3.  Any ring I get has to be sized or pre-ordered.  A lot of rings in the case cannot be sized down so far without damaging the ring or loosening the stones.  We figured my ring would naturally cost a lot of money.

On a whim, Travis and I were running errands today.  On our way home to have dinner, Travis turned down a random street.  Confused, I asked, "where are you going?"  His response was, "Oh, shoot, I made a wrong turn."  And he drove, with a cheesy grin on his face, into the parking lot of Will Jewelers.  We were going window shopping.  We agreed that this year for Christmas, we would buy each other wedding bands.  Nothing too expensive, nothing super fancy.  Just wedding bands.  So I knew instantly why we were stopping.

We went inside and the awesome sales rep, Kelly, helped us.  Before I picked out rings that I liked, I told her my budget.  $200 - nothing more because that's what we agreed to.  She came out with catalogs for me to look at and even pulled out an iPad that took me to a website to choose styles I liked.  We had decided on a sterling silver with cubic zirconia stones.  She went to the back to get more input from other jewelers and sales reps.  She came out with more catalogs to look through.  I was happy with a sterling silver & cubic zirconia ring.  We weren't planning on buying anything today anyways.  I was just showing Travis what I liked and then he could choose.  He also had the opportunity to look at rings for himself and showed me what styles he liked in our budget.

Then one of the jewelers himself came out to show me a ring.  His hands were dirty from cleaning and designing rings in the back and he had a white apron on.  This ring was pretty.  He told us, "A guy just gave this ring to me.  I was cleaning it up.  But, with your budget, I'll gladly clean it up and resize it for you for less than $200."  I put the ring on.  He went on to say, "It's 10 karat white gold with 3 diamonds in it.  Better than a sterling silver ring."  Travis asked me if I liked it.  I could tell he was super stoked.  It looked like it just fit my hand.  So... needless to say....  WE BOUGHT IT!

This was the best picture I could get of it.  The stones represent the Past, Present & Future.  It is perfect.    The jeweler managed to clean it up and resize it just for me within 2 hours!  Talk about serendipity with this ring!  I'm definitely going back to them to get Travis's ring.  I never had any luck with jewelry stores before.  They were always so rude.  Will Jewelers were so helpful, kind, and totally respectful.  On top of that - they gave us a GREAT deal!  I'm thrilled beyond means.

For anyone in the Fort Wayne area looking to buy a ring or any jewelry for the holidays, I highly recommend going to their Facebook page and submitting your love story.  They are giving away a $200 gift certificate every week and you will have an opportunity to read your love story in their upcoming radio commercial!

Discovering Our Roots

Ancient Gaelic Proverb
GenealogyBeginner.com

This post is going to be a little different than the previous ones.  Something I am very passionate about is genealogy.  I love discovering a part of who I am, where my family came from, how their lives crossed paths, and learning that I am not so different than my ancestors.  I love hearing stories about them.  I love the mystery.  And most of all, I love seeing my older relatives light up when talking about their childhood.  I could sit there all day and just absorb every word they say.

My very own
classic family photos
to come in this post!

I am pleased with my family.  My dad's side of the family has always kept great records of the family.  We can date back before my ancestors immigrated here.  My family even published a genealogical/historical book about my ancestors because they were so interesting.  One of my many great grandmothers was even written about in Jesse James's journal.  She treated runaways from war and crimes.  She had a talent for healing.  The deal was that they could stay in the barn until they healed, but then they had to leave.  She saved a lot of lives in that old barn out west.

My mother's side of the family have been known to save pictures, pass on photographs from the past, and even pass along many items from our ancestors down to younger generations.  My mom currently has a trunk FULL of cool stuff handed down to her by my grandmother.  Plus, many cousins, my aunt, and my mom have been very adamant about getting our genealogy.  It's been a real pleasure sharing with my family what we've all discovered.  Family reunions are all about sharing photographs of new ancestors we've discovered, sharing stories about our distant relatives we've found, and clarifying questions we all have about certain relatives.

Travis's side of the family has had some difficulty in tracing their family history.  Not going to lie, it's kind of like searching for a needle in a haystack.  Travis's grandmother was adopted, so it's not easy finding records of her mother and father.  Travis's grandfather on his father's side is getting older.  There are no other relatives his age still alive.  And when I talk to him about the family, he gets confused or lost in conversation sometimes.  Genealogy isn't always linear, so it's easy to get lost when talking.

My beautiful Greats.

Something I've always wanted to create are genealogical books about my family.  I want my children to know where they come from.  I'm proud of our ancestors.  And the more I learn about them, the more I wish I had known them because I grow to love them.  It's like falling in love with a character in a book, except this time, you know the character was once a living, breathing human being in this world in a another timeframe and that they are a part of you.

I haven't found the right albums yet to use.  I'm kind of picky because I want these suckers to last decades.  It'd be like scrapbooks that I can pass on to my children, they can pass on to their children, and so on.  I also thought about making a website for my family tree to help me keep track of information I find at the genealogical library, in microfilms, or from online forums.  That way, I can easily share this information with any of my family members.

My great-aunt Wanda with her brothers (my great-uncles).
I love this picture so much!

People tell me that's what Ancestry.com is for - but to be honest, Ancestry.com isn't 100% reliable.  People connect, share, and end up "barking up the wrong tree" as most genealogists would say.  Being a shared network is great because it opens up opportunities to connect with distance relatives and get more pictures and information about your ancestors than you would have ever gotten in books or research.  But there's a problem with this shared site.... People don't really know how to use it for appropriate genealogical research.  Say someone is looking for a man named Andrew Foster that was in the Civil War.  Can you guess how many men during that time were named Andrew Foster?  A LOT!  Just because you get a leaf about a person does not mean that is the person you are searching for.  PLUS, you get a lot of people writing LNU - meaning Last Name Unknown.  If you type that in for someone named Sylvia LNU - you are going to get a TON of Sylvia's that don't have a last name connected to them.  People get excited about that green leaf and accept every single thing listed for that person they think Ancestry.com found for them - but then they find out that the person was married 4 times - once 10 years before they were born and another 3 years after they died; and they had 18 children, and 3 of those kids were born when the person was only 5 years old or not even born yet!  People don't always pay attention to those details, so it's easy to go "barking up the wrong tree" because it can be incredibly unorganized.  And I cannot tell you how many people I know are related to royalty through the King of France back in the 1400's and the woman that they stem from was his concubine.  I highly doubt that every person on Ancestry.com is related to the EXACT same people.....  And the worst part is that this site isn't cheap - and there isn't anyone regulating genealogical research to help people find their true roots.  If you want that advice, you have to pay additional for it.  As someone that paid for the service, it really isn't that helpful.  They sell to you sometimes - trying to convince you to hire them to do the research for you.

The woman sitting down at the front right is Rebecca.
She is the Native American I was searching for.
My family found more information about her
through long distant cousins, older relatives,
a Native American chief and family friends
 than I ever found on Ancestry.com.

For example, I used this help option and paid for it because I wanted to find out more about my Native American great grandmother, Rebecca.  There is no information about her that I can find.  I was told by the "expert" that all Native American records are housed in Utah.  I had to go there to do research.  However, since I live in Indiana, I could just pay the expert so much money to do so many hours of research for me.  I think I'll save that money and head out to Utah myself where I can speak to genealogical experts there in person for free.

Ancestry.com isn't all that bad actually.  I found a long distant cousin that way.  However, don't believe everything you see.  Cross your T's and dot your i's.  Make sure it's the same person you are looking for.  The best way to get the right person is to work your way backwards.

Say you know the name of your grandfather's dad.  Start with his name and find out where the man is buried.  Grandpa more than likely knows!  You will get his birth date and death date from the headstone and if he was in the military forces, what type he was in.

Start with the death date and look for census records that co-orelate with your grandfather and the man you are searching for.  This will tell you where the man lived while your grandfather lived with him, who else lived with him and how old he was at the time of the census.

Here is the death certificate of my great-great grandmother Burzilla.
She is almost impossible to find because of her unique name.
Notice, her death certificate doesn't even provide her correct name.
Continue reading...

If you know his wife's name, which is probably on your grandfather's birth certificate, find the marriage certificate.

If there are any markings on the headstone for being in the military forces, find his military records.

My great-great-great grandpa "Andy" Foster was involved in the Civil War
but in a guerilla gang with the legendary Champ Ferguson.
Here is a copy of his military prison record.  He was a Confederate soldier.

Now that you have important documents to verify who it is you are searching for, search for a census record for every year the man was alive.  Start with the year he died and work your way backwards until he was born.  You will find his parents' names as well as his siblings, their ages, and where they lived.

The farther back you date your family, the harder it will be to find this information.  The headstone may not exist anymore.  If one does, you might not be able to read it (which is why you bring a paper and pencil to trace over the headstone).  If you still cannot read it, or no dates are listed on it, then you can resort to church records to find this information.  And don't forget, family friends are a resource!  We've met complete strangers that remembered our ancestors and told us stories and shared pictures of our own relatives.  It's amazing what family friends can provide about your own family.

Here is my great-great grandfather with his son (not my great grandfather).
This photo was given to me by this son's family line.

Another not-so-helpful tip - back in the day, not many people could read and write.  So names could possibly be spelled differently or entirely incorrect.  For example, my grandmother's name is Oleda.  It's spelled Oleta, Olida, and Oleda.  The one with the d is actually correct, but I research all spellings.  Another example is my great-great grandmother - whose headstone reads "Sylvia."  However, her name was Zilpha.  My family didn't have the money to change her headstone with the correct name.  With a deep southern accent, Zilpha sounded like Sylvia - and her nickname Zilph sounded like Jeff.  Totally confusing - but always be open to unique spellings of names and talk to family and friends about these individuals to find the correct names.  Remember, family knows best.  In the case of remembering those who have passed - your family will know who you should be researching.

Here is a great picture that my great-aunt Wanda gave to my mother
who then passed on a copy to me.  This is one of my favorite pictures
of my great-aunt Juanita with her husband, my great-uncle Keith
from when they were my age currently.

It's time consuming, but you will know first hand that the people you are tracing are your own flesh and blood.  Not someone who happens to have the same name....

If anyone has any questions about researching genealogy, feel free to ask me.  I love it - and I'll love to help in any way I can.  I don't know everything about genealogical research, but I know who to ask and where to go to help find that information.

For my birthday, people bought me gifts that would contribute to my genealogical albums.  I cannot tell you how excited I am.  It's going to take some time because I have about 1000 or more photographs to scan to put into these albums.  Then I have to organize all of my information into a legible book/scrapbook/documentation about each individual with photographs.  It's not going to be easy - but it will be so much fun!  I can't wait to get crackin'.

P.S.  If someone shares with you a professional picture - you cannot get a copy made at CVS, Wal-Mart or any other photo lab.  They require documentation from the photographer saying it is ok for you to make copies of the picture.  I know, it's ridiculous when you have a professional picture from 1880, but it's the rules to prevent copyright and to protect photographers.  As my mother put it when they denied her access to copy photos, she asked, "What do you want me to do?  Go dig him up?"  Haha - sorry mom, it's the rules.  You'll have to scan those and print them out at home.

This photo of one of my greats could not be printed
through a photo lab without permission
from the original photographer.

I'll end this post there as I could go on forever talking about my family history.  I am so excited to start putting my "Family Volumes" together.  It's going to take a while before it will be "perfect" enough to share with all of you.  Please be patient with me.  EEKK!

Bumps in the Road

Trying to become established in this kind of job market and economy has really proven to me to be a vicious circle.  I feel so stuck sometimes.  Here I am, working full time for no benefits - but with a chance to move up in the company.  I don't really have any idea where this is going to take me and for how long I will have to work before I get advanced.  I know two women in the company have been waiting to retire, but they have been so short-staffed and overworked, that the possibility to retire is not available to them.... That is until I arrived.  So I am being trained for their jobs.  But with my previous work experience and with my degree, I have no idea where I am going since other opportunities are arriving every day.  I'd hate to say it because I love everyone I work with, but all of my coworkers have told me this regularly:  I'm over-qualified for all the jobs in this company.  I have to agree.  However, I'll do whatever I need to in this economy to build my experience for a better future for my family.

Travis is working hard in school.  He finished his math class 2 weeks early, which is no surprise to me. He loves math.  It's his Art History class that he can't seem to grasp.  I guess that is the engineer in him. Luckily, his fall semester is mostly math and science.  Travis also got a manager position part-time to work around his school schedule at a place that specializes in kayaking, boating, hiking, and extreme sports (mostly water sports).  Throughout the summer, they have a variety of sporting events.  I know Travis will love this.

I cannot lie and say that I'm extremely happy with where we are.  My student loans are going to get more expensive and I am not sure we can afford it.  Paying off the credit cards has become an endless feat.  We still have one more medical bill to pay off, granted it is only $500.  Some people may think we are careless with money because my credit isn't that great.  My credit has been hit multiple times for multiple reasons.  First, when I was sick, the medical debt almost destroyed my 680 credit score.  I have only had 1 credit card my entire life, and the max amount on it was $500.  I had to use it to pay rent one month, so it maxed out.  I tried to get another credit card to use only for gas so that I could increase my credit... but I was denied.  Travis only has one credit card, and it's debt is only $200.  When Travis and I were seeing opportunities with his company and he was promised a promotion, we began house hunting because Travis's credit score was great.  Due to my student loans and our limited income, we qualified for $70,000.  Not long after that, Travis was laid off.  So, needless to say, we didn't buy a house.  When I graduated, we moved in with family in Fort Wayne.  As I job searched, majority of companies were hitting my credit score even more.  It seemed like every time I applied for a job, I had to agree to a credit check.  When asked if I could print off a copy as to not hit my credit score, I was told no.  We wanted to get an apartment or a house or some place to live, but out of fear for being denied based on our credit scores, we don't want to risk more hits to our credit.  I've heard many people say that bad credit is better than no credit.  While that may be true, having bad or no credit still feels impossible to get established.  It looks like our goals of buying a home this year are not going to happen.  Next year, when my student loan payments rise, I'm afraid that we still are not going to be able to buy a house, especially with the income we both produce.  And to look for a new job, I'm afraid my credit will only get beaten up more just for applying.

But on a brighter note, Travis was able to sell his old car!  It only sold for $350, but it sure helped.  We hadn't gone on a date, so we used the money for a nice dinner, movie, and because I absolutely love fairs and festivals, we spent about $20 towards a day at the Three Rivers Festival.  At the festival, Travis gave me a brilliant idea!  I should start a blog about sweet stuff.  I love sweets!  I have a horrible sweet tooth.  So I am going to give it a try.  When I put the blog together, I will definitely post a link when it is ready for its debut.  So keep a look out for the Sweetest Blog on the Block!

365 Day Picture Challenge

I came up with an awesome idea yesterday.  I know this isn't relevant to this particular blog... but maybe it is.  I've always wanted to do a 365 Day Picture Challenge.  I'm debating to start this challenge either on my birthday (November 2), or to start this challenge when I graduate in May 2012.  I think it would be cool either way.  So who knows, maybe I'll start this little hobby on my birthday.  Maybe I'll start it as the first year after graduation.  But I feel like if I started it while I'm in my senior year, I'll be able to watch a transformation.

Stage 1: the last semester in classes and on campus.
Stage 2:  the internship.
Stage 3: life after graduation.

To me, that sounds like more fun.  So once November hits, look for a post with a link to my 365 Day Picture Challenge blog.  And I promise, I'll update it daily. :P

Cheap Date Night!

So, one thing about saving up for money means less time going out and spending it!  Obviously!  Well, what about having a date night with the other half?  Looks like we'll be getting creative!

Tonight, we are having our first cheap date night!  What are we doing?  We have strawberries and sandwiches packed, and we are going to a "secret place" that my hubster won't tell me where it is to watch the meteor shower!!  I'm super excited!!

The weather alert says there is a thunderstorm watch for tonight.  I'm not too excited about that.  Sorry mother nature, you are not ruining date night!  And you better not be in my way from seeing cool meteors!

UPDATE:


Mother Nature decided to be cruel.  We went to Morgan/Monroe State Forest, and the storm pretty much pushed us out.  The clouds were so thick and heavy, it was impossible to see the stars.  And the lightning pretty much freaked me out.  So, we came back home.  Oh well, at least we managed to enjoy our time watching the storm roll in over the lake.  It was quite beautiful.