Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween




Image created with My Memories digital scrapbooking software. It was easy and fun! Save $10 on the My Memories Suite by using my discount code: STMMMS53057 at check out.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Tombstone Tuesday BAUDERMANN

 
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Photo courtesy Laura Cosgrove Lorenzana. Taken at Calvary Cemetery Chicago, Illionis.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Tombstone Tuesday BAUDERMANN

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Photo courtesy of Laura Cosgrove Lorenzana. Taken at Calvary Cemetery Chicago, Illinois.

Monday, October 10, 2011

We Have A Winner

My Memories Digital Software Suite v2 is a winner in my book. I was hesitant at first about hosting a contest but now, I am so glad I did! The software is everything they say it is and more. Can you create scrapbook layouts in a snap? Yes! Can you download FREE templates and embellishments to jazz up your designs? Yes! Can you create t-shirt transfers? Yes! The limit is your imagination.

I spent time looking through their site (I've added a lot of their kits to my wish list), and watching the tutorials. I also joined their My Memories Community and have been reading the forum posts. There are some VERY creative people out there that love to share with others what they have done. If you think of My Memories as only a digital scrapbooking tool...you will be missing out on all of the possibilities.

So, who was the lucky winner of my contest?  Who is the lucky person that gets to explore and expand their digital scrapbooking horizons? Who is the going to be able to design their own blog header to fit their personality exactly? Did I mention you can design your blog header with My Memories? No? Well you can!  So, Terri O'Connell what awesomeness are you going to create with the free download of My Memories Suite v2 that you just WON?!? :) Terri I hope you enjoy getting to know My Memories as much as I have, Congratulations!


For those who did not win, do not despair, I have something for you too...if you use my code STMMMS53057 during check out on the My Memories site, you will save $10 off the price of the software. That means you can purchase the software for $29.95, regularly $39.95. That's not all, you will also get a $10 gift certificate to use towards any purchases you make from their online store!


Thank you to everyone that participated in my contest, and thank you My Memories for allowing me to demo your amazing digital scrapbooking software! I love it!

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Saving Memories of the Little Gobblins is Easy

Do you have little Gobblins around your house this year? Adorable grand kids, nieces or nephews that will be trick or treating you? My Memories makes it easy, fun and affordable to capture those fun times and share them.


I created this page in less than 10 minutes and that includes editing and cropping the photo which you can do right in the My Memories software. It was also free! The background was a free download being offered for Halloween and the spiders I added were also from a free download. My Memories is very generous with their customers and offer multiple free layouts with the software plus free downloads throughout the year from their Facebook page and email newsletter.

I told you about the contest I am hosting here. The contest ends on October 10th, 2011. If you would like a chance to win the My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Suite just leave a comment on my original contest post and you will be entered. If you don't win the My Memories software, you can use my discount code (STMMMS53057) to receive $10 off your purchase on their site.


Good luck and have fun.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Events in Genealogy

Genealogy Calendar of Events for October 2011


       (We encourage you to submit your event)

October is Family History Month

It's Family History month and I plan on spending it trying to make sense of all this!


In previous posts and for my 2011 Genealogy Goal I told the story of Una/Viola and Mary/Martha, my grandmother and great-grandmother who were proving to be very elusive to me. When I set my ONE goal for the year, to find Mary, I felt that I was being a little lazy. I don't feel lazy about this any more.

I finally have some promising evidence that is pulling the pieces together and a family is starting to form. Actually, at this point I'm in information overload mode! I have 28 pages of probate records, from Illinois, including documents from two of the heirs contesting the will. The best part...the papers list the daughter's married names! I also have two sets of marriage registers, from Nebraska, that list the father and the mother with a maiden name. All of these pieces are allowing me to tie two generations together. I am waiting on additional documents before I feel comfortable enough to unveil my family, but I'm certain I have them.

This journey to find these women and their family has brought several points home for me. We get fixated on what we THINK we know and where we THINK a person should be based on one piece of information we have or one story we were told. That doesn't help and we need to keep an open mind:
  • Families did move around, but seldom was it random and seldom was it solo. There was a reason, a person or a thing that motivated them.
  • Just because a person was born in Ohio then married and died in Illinois doesn't mean she didn't live in Nebraska at some point in her life.
  • If you find someone that fits your person, in every way, don't automatically dismiss them because you think they couldn't have possibly lived in California. Check it out further.
  • Sometimes you have to eliminate families from the picture before you can move on.
  • And most of all...you intuition knows more than you think it does!
I am looking forward to the month of October and discovering more of my family history, particularly on this line. Stay tuned, if the remaining documents I am waiting for confirm what I've found I will have Una/Viola Mary/Martha's story ready for the holidays.