Best Of Shades Of The Departed Guest Columns Posted!

The best of the Shades of the Departed guest columns has been posted! You can read it here. Enjoy!

I Love Your Blog Award ...

Was I awarded another Award? Well, not really. Lidian of The Virtual Dime Museum was awarded this award, and after listing seven blogs, she mentioned that those on her blog roll could also consider themselves tagged. Since I'm listed on her blog roll, I figured I would go ahead and give this award to other genealogy blogs.

So, what are the rules? Give this award to seven other blogs (with links) and let them know that you have picked them. Also, link back to the person who gave you this award.

So, here are my seven choices:

• Midwestern Microhistory: A Genealogy Blog
• Little Bytes Of Life
• All My Branches
• Small-leaved Shamrock
• Creative Gene
• Genea-Musings
• AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors
• Steve's Genealogy Blog

Even though I have listed seven blogs, I read and follow many genealogy and history blogs, so if anyone from my blog lists, who was not listed above, that wants to participate can do so also. Enjoy!

55th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 55th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here, and the next edition will be hosted by Lori Thornton. The topic for the next will be on "the ten essential books in my genealogy library." Enjoy!

Added A Follower's Button ...

I just happened to notice that a blog follower's gadget had been made available, and I've decided to include it on this blog. If you are a reader or follower of this blog, you can now do so with this option. If you would like to become a follower of my blog, you can sign up on the link on the lower right hand of the page, just below the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy Button. Enjoy!

Update, 4 September 2008 at 10:15 P. M.: I have moved this gadget up the page. It is now below the copyright notice.

Light Blogging: Back To School ... Again!

Classes start up again for me tomorrow after the Labor Day break, and since classes will be resuming, I will not be posting as much due to the lack of time I will have. I do have several posts that I am working on at the moment, and I hope to post some of those in the next few days. Other than that, blogging will be pretty light for me. I don't know if I'll be posting any more than once a week at the most. So, in case you notice that I haven't posted anything in awhile, that is the reason. I will probably resume a more normal amount of posting around Christmas break. Until then, happy reading!

I've Created A Back-up Blog!

I just created a back-up blog for this blog at http://jesshistory2.wordpress.com/ in response to Jasia's post on another genealogy that was deleted. I will be updating and posting almost all of my posts on there. I probably will not be posting the posts on my blog changes since it would not make sense. (Or should I?) As always, you can leave your thoughts in the comment section.

Google Analytic Statistics For August 2008

Yes, it is that time again. Here are the statistics for this blog for August 2008:

The top ten countries, in number of visits, are:

1. United States - 535 visits


2. Canada - 25


3. United Kingdom - 15 visits


4. Germany - 7 visits


5. Australia - 7 visits


6. Ireland - 4 visits


7. New Zealand - 2 visits


8. Finland - 2 visits


9. Croatia - 1 visit


10. Malaysia - 1 visit

The top ten U. S. states, in number of visits, are:

1. Michigan - 113 visits


2. California - 70 visits


3. Texas - 51 visits


4. not set/unlisted - 39 visits


5. Illinois - 38 visits


6. Washington - 21 visits


7. Ohio - 19 visits


8. Virginia - 17 visits


9. Indiana - 16 visits


10. Wisconsin - 12 visits

The top Michigan ten towns, cities or locations, in number of visits, are:

1. Whitmore Lake - 43 visits


2. Kent County - 31 visits


3. Redford - 12 visits


4. Utica - 5 visits


5. Berkley - 3 visits


6. Oak Park - 3 visits


7. Grand Rapids - 3 visits


8. Lansing - 3 visits


9. Livonia - 2 visits


10. Fraser - 1 visit

The top ten articles read this month are:

1. One of my Favorite Photos ... - 53 views


2. 10th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy - 40 views


3. FamilySearch Lab Adds More Databases To Record Search - 20 views


4. Tombstone Maker Website - 19 views


5. I've Been Tagged! - 11 views
6. Summer Reading Challenge: A List of the Books I Read - 10 views
7. To Join Or Not To Join? That is the Question ... - 10 views
8. Update On that Lake Ontario Shipwreck ... - 9 views
9. 54th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted! - 9 views
10. My Two Cents on Ancestry's Internet Biography Database - 8 views

Well, that is it for this past month's statistics. (I can't believe it is September already!) Again, to my readers, I just want to say, "Thank you for reading!"

Happy Labor Day!

I just want to wish everyone a happy Labor Day! Enjoy the holiday!

Still Looking For A Host For The October Edition Of The Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy

I'm still looking for a host for the October edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. If you are interesting in hosting that edition please e-mail me at: jess_history at yahoo dot com. Thanks.

Also, I just want to remind everyone that submissions for this upcoming carnival edition are due on September 21st. Steve Danko will be hosting the September edition. Also, you can submit your article by clicking on the image I made for the Carnival. It will take you to the submission form.

Blog Changes ...

Yes, I've changed the template of my blog again. Why? I'm just trying to find something that is unique. So, I just want to let everyone know that I am still resetting everything back up again as I had it before. (If anyone knows of some unique templates, please let me know.)

The Music That Defined Me ...

Tim Abbot started this meme by asking, "What music defined you during your formative years?" In other words, what music defined you in your teenage and college years. To be honest, I think this might be a little difficult for me to answer, but I'll still try. Since I'm still in college, I might have to go back a bit farther than my teenage years to answer this question.

I like several different types of music ranging from classical music to classic rock to country music, and that is probably due in part to the music my mom and dad played in the house and in the car. The primary reason why I like classical music is because my mom played (and still plays) the piano, and I always loved hearing her play the piano as a child. (Actually, I still do.) Of course, in the car, my parents primarily played classic rock and soft rock radio channels (and later, CDs), so I ended up liked to listen to the Eagles, Journey, REO Speedwagon, etc.

I don't exactly remember when my parents started listening to country music. I really can't remember either one of them listening to country until the mid-90s when we first got CDs. One of the first CDs we had was a CD of the Country band, Alabama. Alabama became my first favorite band that I liked to listen to, and the band is still one of my favorite Country bands. I still do listen to country music at times, and a few of the many Country artists that I like are: Toby Keith, Faith Hill, Rascal Flats, and Montgomery Gentry.

As for Christian music, my first exposure to Contemporary Christian music was probably from the Amy Grant piano music that I would hear my mom play. As for listening to the actual artists, I think my first exposure occurred around the same time as my exposure to country music. The first two Christian CDs that I can remember my family having were of Michael W. Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman. Even though these two Christian singers are still among my favorite Contemporary Christian artists that I like to listen to, I also like listening to Casting Crowns, MercyMe and other groups whose names that I can't think of off the top of head at the moment.

Currently, up at college, I primarily listen to Contemporary Christian and Country music, although I spend more time listening to Contemporary Christian music more than anything else. As you can see, my interests in music have a large range of difference between them.