eBay!!

I'm just loving this! I think I'm getting hooked on eBay. I have been selling things on eBay that normally I would have just given away or paid several bucks to place an add in the paper to sell a large item. Not anymore. I need help paying the bills, well it's time to sell some of our old junk that I am finding out is someone else's treasure. I have even been able to sell some of our old exercise equipment here locally and only pay a couple dollars to put it in the auction for a week. Love it!

I think the sell that I was the most amazed at was a book. It was a Nora Roberts trilogy, hardcover. I had a few gals fighting over it. When it was all said and done the winner of the auction paid over $17 for a used book plus the shipping, total $23. The funny thing was that I had got that as part of a book special package where I only paid $0.99 for it! Now how cool is that.

I may possibly getting laid off at UPS for a while. They are reorganizing the Coeur d'Alene hub. So when my mom found out she called me the other morning and asked if I would like a bunch more things to put on eBay to sell. You bet! She decided that instead of having a yard sale she would give it to me so I can sell the items from the comfort of my home in order to help us through while I am laid off. Then if I don't get laid off then it'll help pay a few more bills.

There is always a way out of any hole. It's just a mater of how hard you want to work at it. So those of you cringing after your Christmas splurging think of selling some of your old junk instead of it collection dust in the basement. If you don't need the money then you can sell it on eBay and have a percentage of the proceeds donated to charity. I was happy to see them start that. I may consider doing this eBay think long term, and donate some of mine to charity when I get my family squared away. Family comes first though.

By the way if you need lawn care this summer think about Tri-Cut. They were behind helping make our Christmas special this year. Their business finally started doing good this year and she felt like giving to someone. She enjoyed it so much that she would like to do this each year. She wants to find a family that isn't in poverty persay but who has just had a rough year and make their Christmas special like ours. So remember when you have a need for landscaping, sprinkler systems and lawn care give Tri-Cut a call at 208-704-2490. They give back to the community. Tell them Amy sent you.

Merry Christmas

Another year almost over. It's not been an easy one for me, but there has always been a silver lining peeking out from behind every cloud. It's been another year of three children, less income then before the baby, more bills then before and the stress of how do I take care of it all. But everytime that I have found myself overwhelmed with the troubles in my life I stop and think of the people who haven't even had the luxuries I have this year. At least I have a roof over my head, my family pictures, and every other luxury in my home unlike those who lost it all in Katrina. And most importantly I have my family here with me and healthy unlike many who lost their family member in all the disasters and in the war this year. Looking back I have a lot to be thankful for. So once again I thank God for all that he has given and allowed me to enjoy.

I would say that God has answered my prayers this morning too. I was in tears to my husband a week ago because I wasn't sure how we would be able to give our children a Christmas this year. So I started gathering up old things around the house like books, an exercise bike, some old tools and put them on eBay. We sold enough to buy each of the boys a couple gently used, but really nice and fun gifts with that. That was going to be Christmas for our boys (except for grandparents), that was until my neighbor with her big heart came forward and asked if she could go buy gifts for the kids and stuff their stockings for me. I don't know what I would have done with out her this year. She has never hesitated to watch my children for me when I really needed help.

Then I found out that my best friend has finally made plans and is moving up here this summer. God knows how much I have needed her around. Especially over the last year or two. I can't wait till she gets here.

It's been a rough year, but it's ending on a good note. Here is wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Look, Look, and Look again

For those of you out there who are trying to find your ancestors as I am, just a little encouragement and advice. Never quit looking over the same old notes.

I have recently revisited old website and postings that I thought I had gleaned as much information from as I could, only to discover there was something new that would open up a new door for me.

Also never quit asking your family for stories. Maybe even ask them to keep a tape recorder around, especially if they are like some of my husband's family members who are embarrassed to write anything because of their lack of education. Ask them to record their stories on the tape recorder and you will write them out for them. It's amazing the little details that are buried in our families stories that can shed new light on our heritage.

Happy Hunting!

It looks a lot like Christmas

It looks like we are going to have a white Christmas this year! At least I hope it doesn't go and melt too much, and I look forward to more of that beautiful white stuff.

Well Christmas is just around the corner. Have you gotten your shopping done, or do you even have an idea of what to get the people on your list? If your like me the answer is "NO" and I don't have the money either. Then this morning I saw the Today Show where they were showing free and nearly free gifts. Check this out

Free and Nearly Free gifts

Not only to I have Christmas to worry about, but Jamie will be a year old on the 13th and Justin will be four on the 28th. Then add in there my mother's birthday on the 14th and my parents anniversary on the 18th. When (wiping brow) what a month. What was I thinking having two children in the month of December. I don't think that I was at the moment!

Oh and the latest news. What the heck is people's problem. What is this about wanting to change Christmas Tree to Holiday Tree. Christmas isn't about how many gifts you can get, but it was, is and should always be about Christ. I may not be religious, but I still believe in Christ, God, and something are just sacred to me.

How time flies

My husband and I celebrated our 12th anniversary a couple weekends ago. We finally got a chance to get away from the kids for a while as well. We called up grandma and grandpa to see if they would take the kids for us so we could drive all the way to Spokane for an evening of dinner and each others company (with no kids!). Well grandma and grandpa, stilling having a life, had made plans for Saturday to go to my mom's sisters for the day (party and games I'm sure it was). But good for them, I'm glad my parents have never given up on life. So we agree that Sunday would be fine for us as well.

So Sunday we went to Clinkerdager's for dinner. Had I not had a gift certificate to cover our dinner I would never have gone there. Don't get me wrong I loved it the food was delicious and the view would have been beautiful if it hadn't already gotten dark, but they were so expensive. My pockets don't run that deep. James' plate was $27 alone. But it was great.

Anyway I enjoyed our anniversary. Sometimes I look back and think I don't feel that old, or look that old, so how can I have been married for so long? At times it feels like just yesterday that I married my high school sweetheart.

It was our junior year in high school, at Thomas Downey High in Modesto, CA. I was sitting in the library at school with a friend of mine. In walks this good looking kid wearing a cream and black sweater (which I think I still have) with shoulder length black hair. He walked up to my friend Sarah and they talked for a minute. I remember looking at him and wishing she would introduce us, but she didn't. When he left I slapped her. "Ouch what was that for," she said. "You didn't introduce me!" I replied.

I didn't see him again until the second semester when I got my schedule changed so I could be a teachers aid for a teacher I never had, but really liked her, Mrs Jackie Jones. I think of her quit often. She had a debilitating degeneration of her hips. I know the last time I went back to visit her she was no longer teaching. I hope she is doing well, because she is often in my thoughts. Anyway, I think she knew James and I were meant to be together. She never stopped us from spending time together, and even took pride in the fact that we meet in her class and later were married. Now I remember the last time I went to visit her was to introduce her to our little boy Christopher when he was a little baby. She would have loved to have meet him.

What I didn't know at the time was James had been putting himself in my path many times since our sophomore year, but I wouldn't give him the time of day that year. He finally talked to one of our other mutual friends and found out I didn't like ear rings, his holy shirts, or the long scraggly hair. So that morning when we meet in the library he had trimmed up his hair, lost the ear ring and was wearing that beautiful sweater. Then when I meet him again in Mrs Jones class I was so excited. We had many times to set and visit and get to know each other.

Then on Valentines Day that year he asked me out with a single rose set beautifully in a container with Baby's Breath. Of course I said yes. Our friends and teachers thought we were a perfect couple. It was my parents that we would have the rocky road with. But after I broke up with him twice (parental influence) we were engaged, and then of course I had to hand him back the ring once too, and then take it back and leave home for the weekend. Even my mother-in-law remembers the morning that I showed up to break up with him the last time. He was still in bed and I went in to give him the ring. I was too upset to talk so I just walked out and he went running up after me in his underwear. Talk about an embarrassing moment for mom. Eventually my parents learned to except that we were getting married weather they liked it or not.

A lot happened that year in 1993. I graduated a few days after going to my grandmother's funeral, and then James and I were married on the 12th of November that year.

I won't say it has been perfect or without our hard times, but we have always stuck together and listened to each other, talked out our problems, never fight in front of the kids, actually we rarely fight, and above all we always make up (that's the best part). I think what has made our marriage so strong is that we both have a great respect for each other, we are best friends, and great lovers.

I hope for many more great years.

Stumped

Well I got as far as I could with the new information I had obtained about my husbands mother's family. Now it's time to take another break from the genealogy search. I don't go at this non stop.

If you are on the hunt for your family be prepared for this to take a long long time, maybe even years to find all the lines of your family. Don't get discouraged. I highly recommend when you hit several road blocks and you are feeling discouraged, then put it aside. I've done this several times because I didn't want to get burned out. I have other hobbies as well that I pick up when I need something new. I find that when I rotate my hobbies I don't get sick of them and I tackle them with new enthusiasm each time.

I picked up my daughter's quilt again this morning. As well as some cake decorating I'm going to tackle today. I've got two birthdays around the corner that I need to practice my cakes again for. My middle boy and daughter will both be having their birthday's next month and I'll make both of their cakes. I'll tell you it have gotten rediculouse how much a cake costs now, when I have found that my cakes taste just as good and look well almost as good.

This preciouse little think will be turning 1 year old in about three weeks and I need to come up with a cute cake idea for her birthday cake.

Then our middle boy will be four at the end of December and he has become a big fan of Bob the Builder. So for him I need to practice building a Bob and one of his trusty tractors. That should be a challenge.

Genealogy, Getting Started 2

I stumbled across a list of helpful hints on Oprah.com tonight. By Regina Lewis, AOL Online Advisor

Genealogy Getting Started

This is some of the same advise I gave before and more. As well as a list of more websites you will find useful in your search for you ancestors.

My latest success story has been with my husband's mother's family. Her and her mother visited this last week, and over the last two weeks I have uncovered a great deal about Grandma's Connor family and even about the Martin part of the family we didn't know about. I was searching on Rootsweb again, looking over some of the same notes and research I had seen before when I happened to notice an email of William Conner's great granddaughter listed as a source of information. I emailed her, and to my surprise not only was she willing to share information, but she also shared photos which I spoke about before. So keep going back over old sites and notes when your stumped, and you'll discover something you missed the last time. Don't forget to share with others also researching the same surnames, and in the end it will be a very rewarding experience.

Now if only I can find information on Grandma when she and her siblings were in an Oklahoma orphanage, or information on her mother either.

I have enjoyed the stories some of you have shared with me about your searches for you family. Keep it up, and happy hunting.

Something Special

I have found my genealogy research to be very addictive, fun, interesting, and so much more. But the best part is how rewarding it can be when you can share what you have found with others, especially those close to you.

As a genealogy researcher don't be stingy with you finding. When you share with other it will come back to you ten fold. I recently stumbled across the email of the great granddaughter of my husbands great great grandfather William Monroe Conner. Donna was more than happy to share information with me and I shared what I could with her. Later I got the very pleasant surprise that she was more than happy to share pictures with me. That's the best! It's great to find information and even stories about your ancestors, but to get pictures is icing on the cake!

My mother-in-law Kathy and her mom Estell showed up Saturday for a visit with us. I set down and shared all the new information with them that I had just discovered, some of it while they were driving up here. They were so excited and happy, but the best part was to see how much Grandma looked like an ancestor she didn't even know she had. Rachel E Martin was William Monroe Conner's mother, so she would have been Grandma's great grandmother. Here is a picture of each.




Now Grandma and Mom are on their way to pick up Grandma's Sister to bring back here so I can share all the stories and pictures about their family with them.

Now if we could only find information on Grandma's mother and her family. All we know is her name was Flora Mae Manning, daughter of Tom Manning, her mother's name is unknown. She was born in OK in 1911 and died after child birth in TX in 1940. Grandma was only 10 when she died and wants to know more about her mother than anyone else.

So get on the internet and find other relative. Let's share our stories and pictures in order to preserve the history of our ancestors who weren't famous enough to end up in the history books.

It's free and very helpful.

I have been researching our family genealogy for months now. I have found that my favorite website is

Roots Web

This website is free and I have been able to uncover many lines of our family here.

You can enter simply the name or dates and places if you have them as well. It will bring up anyone that matches that criteria, and hopefully you will find other family member's names and dates related to that person. In some case people have also posted stories and information about people, which I truly love. Not only do I want to find my ancestors, but I also want to know more about their life if possible.

Give it a try. Start with you grandparents and see if you don't uncover something you didn't know, or people you didn't know existed.

There is also Ancestry.com which you can find a lot of information on and is a very useful tool in your search. I have found it really cuts your search time in half, but it costs about $200 per year. I used their two week free subscription and really got the ball rolling on my search, but I can't afford their site right now.

Happy hunting

Beautiful Fall

One of my favorite times of year next to Christmas.

OUCH!!!!!!

My body is screaming ouch this morning! They weren't joking when they said the loading I would be doing would be hard physical labor. I've got bruises all over and so many sore muscles. But I keep reminding myself it's all worth it for the benefits, pay, potential to advance and the added bonus should be the fat it will work off of my ass.

The team I'm working with is great. Everyone is friendly and very helpful. I found out some of them are doing this job as a second night job. One teaches English at a school in Rathdrum and my manager works in security at the hospital. They are all hard workers. I never saw a lazy bone all night. Which is so amazing. I have worked at Lowes, Wal Mart, Office Max, and other small businesses. In all the large places I have worked I have always been very frustrated at the amount of people they hire that don't pull their own weight. Definitely not the case here.

I got to work in the "can" (trailer) stacking boxes all night. It was very fast pace and before I knew it the night was over. My manager called me in and said I was doing a great job of keeping up and that it would get easier, but for the next few nights he would send me home early. He doesn't want me to push myself too hard and not be able to be much use to them the next night, or risk an injury. I appreciated that. As much as I need the hours and money my muscles were feeling like jello, so it was probably a good idea that he sent me home when he did.

I think I have finally found where I can settle in long term, and maybe even retire with this company. I have many skills in sales that aren't needed here, and it may seem like a waste, but I don't think I could find another company in my field that can compete with all the benefits at UPS, the security of a well established company that I can retire with. I'm finally happy where I'm at.

Employees are Assets

If you will remember I did a post a while back about how so many companies treat their employees more as a liability then as an asset. I think I have found an exception to the rule.

UPS definitely treats their employees as an asset to the company. I will be starting at $8.50/hr. Which really isn't bad to start for this area. But what makes this hard labor worth it is the benefits. My family will now have full medical, dental, and vision benefits at no charge to me. The company pays in full all of it! Not to mention the vacation time, sick days, personal days, retirement and much more.

However, they really do work hard to pick employees that they think can handle the hard work and who will dedicate themselves to the company.

By the way you can apply now for UPS online at www.ups.com. They will also be hiring for temporary Christmas help soon.

I spent my first day going through orientation by watching videos and filling out all that fun paperwork. But all the people that I got a chance to meet today had great attitudes and I liked. Let's hope that everyone is like that.

Wal Mart Countdown.

I only have five more days left at Wal Mart. My last night will be Friday. This week however is going to kill me. I work till midnight for the next five days. I am so glad I made Friday my last day so I have the weekend to recover before starting at UPS next Monday.

Sareena, Update

Thanks everyone for your supportive thoughts. I'm happy to report that Sareena is home with us. She is recovering and still needs more rest, but it looks like she will be fine. My pocket book is screaming OUCH! But she was worth it.

I turns out the she somehow displaced her back which caused pressure and swelling in the spine. Therefore pinching off nerves so her back end didn't function any more. They gave her steroid shots and pain medication. She is now up and walking.

We are so glad she pulled through this, even if it did cost me an arm and a leg!

Pets can be costly

We are in the middle of dealing with a dog who may or may not recover and is killing my pocket book. It's almost as expensive to have a sick dog as it is to have a sick child. However, we don't have insurance on the dog.

Sareena became a member of our family about three years ago. We had had a Cocker Spaniel. We eventually realized that dumb dog was not a fit for our family because he would get aggravated and bite at our son. So we found a home for that dog, and then my husband started look for another one. He has always wanted an English Bulldog. He loves all the extra wrinkly skin. However, we knew we couldn't afford one, nor could we afford a dog that is notorious for many vet bills. So he started looking at the humane societies.

He came home one day and said "I found her. I found our dog. I've already got her, and she is coming home tomorrow. I couldn't resist. I took her for a walk and when we came back she jumped up in my lap and I fell in love." I'm still standing there with a dumb founded look on my face. Then it dawned on me; this is my soft hearted husband. Yea, that sounds about right for him. So she came home the next day, and I too fell in love with her in a heart beat. She is so interesting looking that she is kinda cute. She is half Sharpea and half Bassett Hound. But mostly she is just a big lovable, sweet, gentle dog. The boys even lay across her sometimes and she doesn't even move, maybe look at them and then sigh and lay her head back down.

Yesterday she started whimpering, walking funny and just not herself, so I took her to a veterinary clinic near by. We talked about the fact that I had given Sareena cat food the day before just to hold her over until I could get to the store to buy more dog food for her that night. So the Vet. thought that it could be gastrointeritis. So $204 later I have a few pills to give her and a possible not so bad diagnosis. Just a tummy ache mostly. But today that changed quickly. I got up the morning to find that she was almost dragging her butt on the floor. She was definitely in pain as well. So I called the Vet. We talked for a while and determined that possibly she could now be constipated so he told me to give her some vegetable oil in her food to help her and just watch her. But also keep a close eye on her. Worse case scenario she could be experiencing a spinal problem. He told me to watch and see if she gets so bad that she walks like she is drunk almost completely loosing control of her back end.

By this evening that is what happened. James left work to come home and take her, because he had to carry her. So he comes back tonight, $385 later, to tell me they did X-ray's and her back has gone out. They are keeping her overnight and allowing her to rest. With steroids, rest, and some therapy she may completely recover. On the other hand if she doesn't recover with that and surgery is required we may be forced to make a very difficult decision to let her go. It's one I hope we don't have to make. She is the best dog I have ever had, and so wonderful with the kids, even the baby.

Veterinary care is expensive, but when it works it can save another member of your family. However, when it doesn't work it's hard to make the decision to let them go even though you know it's not very humane to let them suffer for your own selfishness. The mood at my house is very solemn tonight. We don't want to loose our beloved member of our family.

Woo Hoo!!!!!!

I got it! Yes, I got the UPS job in Cda! I start in less than two weeks. It is bye bye Wal Mart. No more rude, grumpy, mean customers, although that also means no more fun, livily, enjoyable customers either. But at least now I can work a little less, see my hubby a little more, make more money, and have full paid benifits for the whole family! Wal Mart can't even come close! It has been a great day! I hope your day has gone as well.

"Enough is Enough!!!!!"

In Oprah's words "Enough is enough!" It's time we put an end to this epidemic in our country! I hope everyone had an opportunity to see Oprah's show today on Sex Offenders. I don't know about you, but like Oprah I am sick, sick, sick and tired of hearing about another child being violated by an offender who has violated BEFORE!!!!!!

What is wrong with this country? How many children have to be violated and even loose their lives before we start putting a value on the life and welfare of our children? I like how the one detective classified it "we have a health crisis on our hands." Now does that get anyone's attention? Our children's health and lives are in jeopardy.

Let’s start today and let these people know they ARE NOT IN ANY FASHION WELCOME in our society. Stop making excuses for them, like “oh his daddy molested him and he can’t help it” Bull shit. These sex offenders are sick. Lets shun them from our neighborhoods, not do business with these ass holes, do not give them jobs, let them know they are nothing more then the dirt of the earth, and I say lets put them away for good!!!! I don’t mean the little offenses like a 21 year old who gets involved with a consenting 17 year old and commits statutory rape. I mean the ass holes who rape and molest, who stalk or even choose their victims at random, and especially if they have re-offended.

So where do we start, first at home? Educate your self. I have discovered a website where you should start your search, www.mapsexoffender.com. Put in your address and find out where the offenders live near you. How many times have we heard of children being violated by a neighbor that the family knew? Don’t think it can’t happen to you. Make sure it doesn’t happen to you and your family! If your state does not have a registry then you have a lot more work to do then some of us. You have to some how get your state to start a registry and don’t give up. My mother had a way of dealing with the law when they wouldn’t listen to her and do anything about the drugs and prostitution in our neighborhood in California when I was a girl. She called them every night, sometimes several times. An officer told us later that it was her continued, unrelenting, persistent calls that put them in action. So do not take no for an answer. Your hard work will pay off.

Next, common sense, we’ve heard it many times. Talk to and educate your children on what to look for.  Have your children walk to and from school or the bus in a group. Not one at a time. If your child is the only one who rides the bus in your neighborhood, then meet your child at the bus. If that isn’t possible for some reason then demand that the school districts drop your child off and pick them up at your home. Again don’t take no for an answer. You want to know how to deal with the schools and get your way. Take your child out of school until they do what is safe for your child. My mother did that with my brother and a problem teacher one time. Three days later the school agreed to move my brother to another class if she would let him come back to school. Hit them in the pocket book, and believe me it works.

Yes my mother is a very strong stubborn woman, but her family is the most important thing to her.

Last, but definitely not least. Parents let’s plug back into our families. I may do a separate post on this later. But to scratch the surface, don’t send your children to the mall with some cash, go with them. Parents, monitor what your children wear. When we allow our 12 year old daughters to dress like a 20 year old hooker we might as well call the predator in our neighbor hood up and say “here Merry Christmas, here is my daughter.” I don’t care how much of a fit my daughter throws. She will never dress like some children I see.  Don’t allow your children to be at home alone! We saw what happened to the Groene family. If a sicko like Duncan can overtake a family and do what he did, think about it do you think your twelve year old daughter can defend herself let alone her younger siblings? There is so much more to this I will cover in a future post.

A bad apple in every bunch

This is just a warning. I have been getting posters trying to advertise their crap or their match maker sites on my blog. If this continues I will be forced to require that posters register. I hate to do that. So if you are not posting a comment related to the topic at hand then take your crap else where. I will continue to delete your posts.

Thank you

The Missing Ingredient

I was just talking to a co-worker the other day about something that I feel very strongly about. It's the missing ingredient in our young people today.

Have you ever stopped to think about how much homework our children have? How much book learning is crammed down their throats? Yet so many of our young people after graduating from high school are no where near being prepared for the work force. Why is that?

In our society we are so focused on book smarts and bringing our test scores up to the level of other countries that we have over looked the one ingredient that would help our young people start a healthy productive life after school. It's not college, or a degree, or high grades. It's a combination really of work ethics, common sense, honesty (both to themselves and others), and responsibility.

I remember when I was in high school many years ago. We had a required course called career training. Ha, was that a laugh. Sure you learned pretty much three things. How to look for a job, create a resume and cover letter, and go through an interview. Great so you get the job, now what? How do you keep it? How do you blend with other personalities? How do you take responsibility and be honest about your mistakes? How do you use common sense to deal with issues and avoid big mistakes? These are all things I see young people everyday in the working world lacking in.

I encounter young people who are amazed at how seriously I take my job. Well they are the ones that some day will have a degree, but won't be able to keep a job or move up to a place of leadership. Then they will set back and whine and complain that they are being discriminated against, that their boss is a jerk, that the world is against them, and many more I'm sure you've heard. Leadership, well there is another one that is hardly taught either.

I learned early on that hard work was more important then some education that there was no guarantee that I would be able to use. My first job, I was determined, was not going to be at a fast food joint. Burger grease made me nauseous. So much so that I didn't even like my husband (then boyfriend) to hug me until he had had a shower after work. I finally, after much patients and pursuing just the right job, got a job answering phones and making calls to customers at a photography studio. Two years later I was doing the sales. Then when the studio was bought out I saw they were running it into the ground and left before they fell flat on their face. I got on at Office Max. Again I worked hard even while trying to go to college. With in three months I was the receiving supervisor. It was at that moment that I realized I really didn't need the college education (I was going for a degree in Agriculture business, which I knew I may never use). That the work ethics, dedication, and hard work my dad had taught me was of more use to me then a college education. I was succeeding over other young people my age because they were lazy, constantly complaining, didn't use common sense to solve an issue, and were notorious for doing a half assed job when they did do their job. The list of jobs and then my career of sales goes on. I whole heartedly give my dad the credit for my success today. He created the foundation that I was able to build on. My mother did too, but in other ways, like teaching me not to be a doormate to others. That's a subject for another time. However, it was my mother who use to say "If you can't do a job right the first time it isn't worth doing at all."

Yes parents should create this foundation for their children, and I hope that I can do even half the job my parents did for my children. But in our society it is obvious to me that parents are not building that foundation for their children, and what our school system is doing really isn't preparing them either.

Now don't get me wrong. I think college is a wonderful thing. But if our young people don't first have the strong foundation to build on then their building block of knowledge will only crumble to the ground in the real world.

Time flies.....when your having fun....or not!

I can't believe it's been two weeks since I have been on my blog site. I just finished a nine day stretch of work. You have to love Idaho. I use to work retail in California. You didn't have to work long stretchs like that with out a day off or no over time for it. It sucks! I'm tired and my back is sore from all the heavy stuff people put up on my register.

Tip: most heavy items have a sticker that can be taken off, they have a barcode at the register to scan, and if neither of those apply then we always have a hand held scanner to scan the items in your basket. For Pete's sake please help us save our backs!

Hopefully it will all be over soon. I talked to UPS this week and it's looking promising for next month. I'm waiting to hear back from them next week. The manager was on vacation when I called him, but he did answer his cell phone he had given me the number to and remembered me. No UPS will not be harder on my back. At least there I won't be reaching down the belt of a register for heavy items. Heavy items are not a problem for me when I can lift them properly in front of me.


I've been too tired to concentrate on my genealogy research, so I haven't touched in more then a month. I don't want to start researching and be so tired that I take a short cut and get off on the wrong track. So instead I've played mindless games on the computer and once again picked up my daughter's quilt to work on it. Her quilt may look difficult to most but it's second nature to me. I've been doing cross stich since I was a teenager. Right now I almost have the border done, soon I'll get started on the fun but difficult center.

I'm so happy fall is finally here. I can now quit mowing my lawn since it seems to be going dormant now. Oh and lounging around the house in my sweats working on a quilt while watching the rain fall out side......well it make for a beautiful day.

So speaking of such I am going to go take a shower, put on some sweats, pick up the quilt and watch for the rain to start.

Have a great day.

Jury Duty, Arrrgggg

You got to love it. You get a jury questionnaire in the mail. All of us go through the effort of trying to avoid going. Many of us can't afford it financially, have children, sick elderly, or other very good reasons why jury duty would be a hardship or at the least a major inconvenience. But eventually your "get out of jail free" cards run out. You finally get that little yellow summons in the mail that reads something to the effect of "laying aside all excuses you are hereby summonsed to appear for jury duty....." Now if your not already irritated when you first see the envelope in the mail, you sure are fuming after reading the very rude demand in your face.

So I, being a red head, am ready to blow a top. I call up the number they give you for any questions and tell the very nice gentleman on the other end of the line ..... this is not an excuse as they so rudely state it in the summons, but this is the reality of life. I am a mother of three what do I do with my children while you are only paying me $7 or $10, or what ever it is, a day for jury duty. That won't even come close to covering my cost of daycare. Are you going to pay for the daycare. "Well, no ma'am. They have thought of doing a daycare, but just can't justify the cost. All you can do is show up and inform the judge of your hardship, but it may not get you off."

So anyway, my mother ended up watching the children, which she wasn't to pleased about, because it's hard for her to pick up and hold my 9 mo. old daughter for long. So long story short I did get chosen for jury duty. It was an interesting process to say the least.

THE CASE

I will not mention names here because I think it is done and over with and the people involved should be able to get on with their lives.

The defendant is this case was charged with a felony of willfully causing bodily harm or death to a child, willfully inflicting bodily harm to a child by not seeking medical treatment (I am paraphrasing, as I am doing this from memory) ...........

When I heard the charge my heart sank. I am a mother a three and I would never want someone to hurt my children, and if they did I sure as hell wouldn't want them to go scott free. But as a juror our duty was to find the defendant guilty of willfully causing bodily harm or death to a child, willfully inflicting bodily harm to a child by not seeking medical treatment..... BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT! Let's just say there was so much doubt that we reached a verdict in less than an hour.

THE INCIDENT

I am going to tell the short version. Basically the defendant offered to watch the 7 MO. old boy of a young mother (his neighbor), to help her out on the weekends when she had no daycare and needed to work. When the mother dropped the child off she informed him that the child was fussy, likely due to teething or possible ear infection, and he was........ Some time that morning the defendant was holding and playing with the child ....... he turned, tripped and fell. The baby landed on his right should beside him. The child fused through out that day when he was placed on the ground, (Defendant stated looking back now he could see why) but he just thought that it was due to the teething. He did look the child over later, but saw no signs of injury to the child. In fact mother picked the child up and through dinner with the care giver that night and through the next day didn't see signs either, other than the fussiness which had started Friday night.

The defendant chose not to tell the mother (I feel this was his undoing, but not a crime). He states that he was scared, and embarrassed that he had "dropped the ball" and hurt the child, after he found out that the child had had a broken clavical. He then tells the mother that the child fell from a couch (not his arms) because, in his mind, it wasn't as bad as a child getting hurt when falling from your own arms. The mother then tells the officer, defendant repeats that story to office, but then later comes in voluntarily to tell the offices what really happened.

Almost 48 hours later the mother does finally start to notice a red mark and when putting presure on the area notices a popping noise, and takes him to the emergency room. She tells the doctor that the child had been very fussy since Friday and that the shoulder had been swollen since Friday. She also talks to mother, step mother, sister about the child being fussy on Sunday. They all tell her he's teething. The doctors testify that redness would come and go. Swelling would be immediate, but may not be visible in a child of that age (baby fat hiding it), and that if the child had been thrown or beaten there would be other signs of trauma, such as bruises. Doctors, the mother, and pictures tell and show there are no bruises on him. However, the prosecutor and the detective tried blowing this up into a child abuse case like as if the defendant had purposely beaten the child because he was crying.

When the defendant went back later for a second interview with the detective he got it all off his chest and told the detective what really happened, that the child had fallen from his arms. He then asked the detective if he could be the one to talk to the mother and let her know what really happened. The detective told him no. The defendant then asked for time to compose himself and set there for about an hour because he was upset after what had happened to the child.

DELIBERATION

When we went into deliberation I wasn't yet sure what to decide. I felt that at the least he should have told the mother, but that was the mother in me thinking. That was not the thoughts of a young single man who doesn't want to deal with a mother when she gets hysterical over her child. Of a man who was embarrassed (as he puts it let his ego get in the way) and scared because had (although unintentionally) hurt a child.

Now remember we were to find him guilt if the state proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he was guilty of willfully causing bodily harm or death to a child, willfully inflicting bodily harm to a child by not seeking medical treatment....... Well they didn't prove that.

As jurors we were allowed to right down questions that were asked. There were some things that we asked like why the detective didn't follow up on the doctors notes that the swelling had stated on Friday. The detective stated that after talking to the prosecutor and the defendant he didn't think that was necessary. Well guess what, that was one of the main things that cast doubt. He never even spoke with anyone at the day care. Can you say the detective "dropped the ball."

Another thing was just our life experiences that helped us see how a young man like that would hesitate not to tell the mother, hide the full truth, make it out to be something less than it was because he was scared. But he showed in the video and in person that he was sorry that the child was hurt, and that he cared about the child.

All of us in less than an hour agreed that this trial should never have been brought to trial!!!

THE ENCOUNTER

Through this trial, the last three days, I continued to go to work. I would get up at 5:00 am get the kids around, to school and off to my parents in Rathdrum before going to court then afterwards go to work and work till 10:00pm-12:00am. I am exhausted!!! Then tonight what was an interested, enlightening, rewarding, difficult, challenging......... experience of my life, became one of the most unfair, excrutiating, nerve racking, painful..... moments of my life. The mother came through my line at the register tonight, I believe on purpose. When I politely asked (because I had not closely looked as I was grabbing items) with out knowing it was her, "How are you doing tonight?" She answer "I've had better days." It caught me off guard, and I said "oh, I'm sorry"...paused as I looked up, and probably turned white. She made sure she had my attention and said this is ______________" (I'll leave his name out as he is a child, and I hope both of them can some day put this behind them and get on with their lives). I went blank, all I could think to say is "Hi, _______ how are you? Which he gave me a shy but cute smile. The mother then said something about me working there. I answer that I had come back to work there at night so I could be at home with my kids during the day. She then in a very snotty voice says "oh, so you DO have children" I calmly answer (while my tummy is doing butterflies) "yea I have three." Not much more was said. But when I handed her her change she held it but didn't take it as she made eye contact and glared at me for a second.

As a mother I understand her anger. Someone hurt her baby, and she wants justice. I get it. But as a juror, my job was to find the man guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. There was just too much doubt. Why didn't the officer check out the daycare? Why did the doctors notes say the swelling in the shoulder had started Friday, when the mother testified that she didn't notice it until Monday? If the defendant did abuse the child, then why were there no physical signs of abuse? I was very upset that the mother had done that to me tonight at my place of work. It really wasn't fair! However, if I had another occasion to speak with her I would tell her that I understand, as a mother, her anger. I would probably feel the same way, but the best thing she can do for her son is to let him heal physically and mentally (if he'll even remember it). She needs to realize accidents happen, but that is no reason to ruin a mans life. Maybe he is responsible enough for a civil law suite because the child was injured in his care, but it doesn't make him a criminal. In this country a person is innocent until proven guilty. He WAS NOT proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Genealogy Pit Falls

Finding your ancestors and learning the history of your family can be so rewarding and fun. But be careful of the pit falls that await you. It doesn't matter if you are an expert genealogists or a novice, there is always that unforeseen fork in the road that can take you down the wrong path and have you thinking you are part of a family that you are not even close to being related to.

I did that, obviously. My great grandmother on my father's side is Mary Joanne Williamson. When I started looking for her I only knew that her name was Mary. I soon found along the way that her maiden name was Williamson. Then through using the census records I discovered her approximate birth date. Pit fall number one. Never assume that what is on the census records is correct. Use the census records as a guide to your ancestors past, but not as concrete proof of birth date or place. The only thing that census records are good for really is to trace the migration of your family throughout the decades and to give you potential clues where to look for PROOF. The best forms of proof for birth and death dates and place are birth and death records. Marriage records can also help you uncover maiden names, which are necessary.

So now I had what I thought was her birth date and her name. I then got on Rootsweb.com and began looking for a Mary Williamson born in 1890. I found her! I found a Mary Ellen Williamson born in 1890, a descendant of the Wycoff family, the original Dutch settlers of New York. Wow, so I have Dutch in my family, and I am a part of a family that still has a standing homestead as a witness to their past. This is great! Think again! Pit fall number two. First of all I used information that was only partial corresponding to my information to link up my family with another family. You need to have a few more pieces of proof to rely on making a match. If the information I came across also listed her husband and or children and they match what I had then I could have relied on that being a match. Another mistake you can make with using other peoples posted research is that it may not be correct. You need proof. I do use other posted research, but now I only use it as a clue where to look for the proof I need, such as birth, death, or marriage certificate.

So before you get too excited make sure that you have several matching pieces of information and then get your proof to what you think is your ancestor. After you have you proof then you can celebrate as you move on to the next link in the chain.

Happy Hunting!

It's not always bad

Okay enough ranting about my lousy job. It does have it's perks. Tonight was one of them. As a former Californian it's nice to find someone else that is, but who also appreciates the beauty of this region and brings something to it.

It was near the end of my shift, and this family walks up to my express lane because for some silly reasons all the other big registers were closed. They have a couple over flowing baskets and I was wondering how I was going to do this (express has very little counter space) with out looking like a slow bumbling fool. But get this, they pitch in and help bag and loud the carts. We talked a joked while I helped them for a good fifteen minutes I'd say.

Turns out they are from Monterey, CA. They hope to open a jewelry shop here in the area soon, but for now they go to the fairs and all. They chose this area because of the beauty of the scenery, and because of well all the reasons to leave California, need I say more. Exactly all the reasons I moved up here.

My shift ended late because of the great company I ended with, but it was worth it. On a few occasions now I have ran into people that I could help their business or could become potential customers for our business, and that almost makes it worth being a lousy cashier.

As I was leaving I regretted the fact that I didn't get their business card, or give them mine. But he did tell me to look for them at "Pig out in the Park" this weekend or at the Spokane county fair ground. So if anyone goes to either of these events and sees a nice family from Monterey, CA selling jewelry (charm bracelets I remember) let me know or tell them to visit this blog. I'm sure he will be looking to create some contact in the area for his business, and I just might be able to help.

Good night it's time to crash.

Cell Phones

I have mixed feelings about cell phones. As a cashier there are times when I just want to rip the phone away from the person who is rude enough to continue their conversation on the phone when I am TRYING to help them. On the road, is another time, when I just want to run people over who aren't watching what they are doing because they are on the damn cell. Oh and what ever happened to turn the damn thing off, or put it on vibrate, when you are in a meeting, luncheon, get together, or any event where it can be annoying to have a cell phone go off in the middle of a conversation or speech?

On the other hand I think they are great for emergencies and can be convenient when you just need to quickly get in touch with someone on an important matter.

But people let's get back to being human, for Pete's sake! Think about the other people around you that you are effecting with you rudeness or lack of attention. Gabbing on the phone can be rude and dangerous.

I've had cell phones in the past, but I must say I do like life with out a cell phone. At least I have my moments of peace while I am shopping, out eating, watching a movie, or what ever.

Tired!!

I just got home from a long night of work.

I don't see how some families do it. We have tried for the last nine months to live on one income. We did okay (meaning barely paying all bills, but we were paying them), until we decided to also start our own business. This has forced me to go back to work.

I'm working at night so we don't have to put our three children in day care. I'm tired! I'm not the only mother doing this either. Here is something for everyone to consider. The next time that you go shopping after work think about the mother behind the counter with a smile on her face after a long day of three children, still willing to drag her butt into work for low wages just to pay a few more bills.

She gets up at the crack of dawn to give her baby a bottle. Then crawls back in bed and prays that the three year old Hellion doesn't wake up too early so she can get some more sleep. Then it's up, breakfast for all and some computer time while the coffee kicks in. A little later is vacuuming, sweeping, dusting, laundry, dishes, and the other daily (and I do mean daily chores) around the house. Then at of about 10 or 11:00 it's some form of exercise (maybe the treadmill, crunches for the baby tummy still hanging on, work out routine, kick boxing, or what ever strikes her fancy). What ever she does she can't forget the exercise if she wants to stay healthy and look good. Then it's shower and get around for the day just before she starts lunch. After lunch it's time for some business (at least in my case), more laundry, water the lawn, and other odd projects. Now don't forget in the middle of all that she has to do she is also changing diapers, giving bottles, breaking up arguments and kissing boo boo's. Then she might have a little more time for something she enjoys. By 3:30 or 4:00 it's time to start dinner, so she has enough time to eat before going to work. By 5:00 or 6:00 she's at work until when ever they let her go. Now tell me your day behind a desk, in construction, teaching, fixing cars, delivering, whatever it is you do, was worth giving that mother a hard time or even not simply returning her courteous and friendly "Hello" tonight.

I am going to say this once and for all. Cashiers don't get paid enough to put up with the crap we deal with from people! And these stores wonder why they have such high turn over in cashiers? Shees you think it's because we don't like being the door mate for everyone?!

So the next time a cashier says "Hello. How are you doing tonight?" Try (reach deep down if you need to) and say "Hello" or maybe tell her you're doing great, or not great. But talk to her. Let her know you don't think she is a servant you can shit on. You'll make her day, and I'm sure she will go the extra mile to make your day as well.

Oh, and one more pet peeve. If the place you are shopping at has an express lane, please learn to count. Not only is it rude to the person behind you, but express lanes don't always have enough counter space for a bunch of crap.

Okay I'm cranky and tired. I guess I have said enough, so I will call it a night.

Baseballs, Car Windows, and Driving Don't Mix!

I had the scare of my life last night!

I work oh about a minute away from home now. I was coming home at just after 10:00 last night. To get from Wal Mart to my house I have to go around the corner at Quad Park. Well last night I wasn't even at the corner when I hear this loud pop and feel glass shatter all over my left side. I slam on the break screeching to a halt and the first thought was "who the hell is shooting at my car?!!!" Don't ask me why, but I wasn't thinking about the damn ball park. It must be the California blood in me. Not until I looked over and see this baseball sitting in my front seat. Then it dawned on me what happened.

I was still shaking so hard that I had trouble turning the car around with out hitting the other curb. Then I barely remember sliding into the parking lot. My limbs felt like jello and I didn't know if I was going to be able to stop the car.

Then I got out. Slapped the top of the car a little, while cry (which I couldn't seem to stop) and said out loud "What the hell else can go wrong?" I still didn't know if the park would cover the damages or what. I was afraid that I would be SOL because it happened on the road.

Then coming at me through the parking lot are two young men (about 15 but they behaved like young men). They came up to me. Looked at me, tears, blood, and bundle of nerves, and asked "are you okay?" I was able to calm down, blot the blood off my arm, and answer "I think so. Is there someone here I can talk to about taking care of my car?" They told me that yes the guy who owned the park was there and they would take me to him when I was ready. The other young man offer his cell phone too me so I could call my hubby and let him know why I'd be home late, so he wouldn't worry. The boys took a moment to look my car over while commenting "nice car and cool car." That helped to sooth my nerves and help me smile because I love my car, it's a bright yellow Trans Am.

So I get up to the park a little more composed by now and meet Bob. He was a nice man, and didn't argue with me or question the damage. Again like the boys his first comment is "are you okay? Do you need to go to the Immediate Care?" I answer with a smile that I've got nicks and cuts on my arm, but nothing deep. That other then being shaken up I'm okay. Then we discuss who to call about replacing my window. Turns out to be someone I know and trust to take care of my window, Kim and Eric at Reliabel Auto Glass. They do a great job! When we were done he said "thank you for your understanding." I'm sure he gets people yelling at him for something he can't help.

We'll look back some day and think it was funny, but it wasn't so funny last night.

Genealogy, Getting Started

Sam said...
Amy, but what if we don't have the elderly to go off of?What tools should we use?Or are we at a standstill?
1:48 PM

Sam, thanks for the questions. I haven't been doing this long, but I hope what I list here for you can help you get started. Where to start and where to look?

• Family; they are the best starting point. Family members can fill in at least one or two generations of at least names and hopefully dates for you. However, the best part are the stories they will tell you. Write down all of the stories. They may come in handy later in finding your family members. However, don't just take there word for all of it. You may need to get documentaion because as I experienced they can give you incorrect information that sends you on a wild goose chase.
• Certificates; the next best thing. There are many types of certificates or government papers you can use to help you with you family tree. Birth certificates can give you the persons date and place of birth, but most importantly the maiden of the mother. Without the mother's maiden name you won't be able to go any further on her lineage. Death records will give you birth and death information as well as parents names if the person filling it knew that information. Social Secuity can tell you a little, and may even give the mothers maiden name. Landrecords, military and tax papers may also give you clues as to who your ancestor was and were they lived.
• Census Records; one of my favorite forms for genealogy. If you can aford it you can access the acctual forms on www.ancestry.com. It's about $199 per year subscription. They also have a two week free subscription which is what I used. They were started in 1790, but it wasn't until about 1870 that all the family members names were listed. Prior to that it was only the head of houshold listed. Census records will tell you where your family was living every ten years. Their ages, marrital status, place of birth, parent's place of birth, occupation, and more. With Census records you can write a little story about your family member.

These resources will get in you started on the next two to three generations. It gets a little more difficult past the 1870. I'll go into what you can do to contiue your research beyond that point in another post.

Happy Hunting!

Our Jesse Chisholm Connection

When I meet my husband I was told, proudly, by his family that they were related to Jesse Chisholm, a famous Oklahoma Indian trader. Well I wasn't so sure of it, and became even less convinced when in my genealogy search for his family I found no connection. Then I found it! He is a descendant of Jesse Chisholm. His Great Great Grandmother is Mary A Chisholm. Here memories are even posted on websites such as http://www.chickasawhistory.com/cooke.htm

What I was told by his family is that his Great Grandmother was a Chisholm. Well she was in a way a Chisholm. However, her last name was that of her father COOKE. Until I was able to decipher that incorrect information I was unable to make the connection.

Here is the Chisholm family going back to 1755. They were Scottish however, I have yet to find when they migrated to the USA.


Descendants of John D Chisholm


Generation No. 1

1. JOHN D1 CHISHOLM was born 1755, and died 1818. He married (1) BETSY FAULING. She was born Abt. 1760. He married (2) UNKNOWN. He married (3) MARTHA HOLMES. She was born Abt. 1770. He married (4) PATSY BROWN. She was born Abt. 1760.

Children of JOHN CHISHOLM and BETSY FAULING are:
2. i. IGNATIUS2 CHISHOLM, b. 1778.
ii. JOHN D CHISHOLM, b. 1776.
iii. ELIZABETH CHISHOLM, b. Abt. 1780.
iv. DEBORAH CHISHOLM, b. Abt. 1782.
v. ELIJAH CHISHOLM, b. Abt. 1784.


Child of JOHN CHISHOLM and UNKNOWN is:
vi. JAMES2 CHISHOLM, b. 1770.


Child of JOHN CHISHOLM and MARTHA HOLMES is:
vii. THOMAS2 CHISHOLM, b. 1793.


Generation No. 2

2. IGNATIUS2 CHISHOLM (JOHN D1)1 was born 1778. He married SISTER OF CORN TASSEL, daughter of CORN TASSEL SR.. She was born Abt. 1780.

Notes for IGNATIUS CHISHOLM:
Ignatius was of Scottish descent. He worked as a merchant and slave trader in the Knoxville area in the 1790's.

Sometime around 1800 Ignatius married a Cherokee woman, the sister of Corn Tassel. Her name is unknown. They had three sons. The last child William was born in 1815, and sometime after Ignatius separated from his mother and moved to Arkansas Territory. When Tahlonteskee's group moved west to Arkansas in 1810, Jesse's mother joined them.

No one is quite sure what happened to Ignatius.

Children of IGNATIUS CHISHOLM and SISTER TASSEL are:
3. i. JESSE3 CHISHOLM, b. 1805; d. 04 Apr 1868.
ii. JOHN CHISHOLM, b. 1810.
iii. WILLIAM CHISHOLM, b. 1815.


Generation No. 3

3. JESSE3 CHISHOLM (IGNATIUS2, JOHN D1)2 was born 1805, and died 04 Apr 1868. He married (1) NANNIE BOWLES. He married (2) SAH-KAH-KEE SARI MCQUEEN. She was born Abt. 1810. He married (3) ELIZA EDWARDS 1836, daughter of JAMES EDWARDS. She was born 1810, and died 1845.

Notes for JESSE CHISHOLM:
Jesse came to Arkansas with his mother and two brothers in 1810. He moved to the Cherokee nation in the late 1820's and settled near Fort Gibson in what is now eastern Oklahoma.

Jesse married Eliza, the daughter of James Edwards in 1836. Jesse's father in law ran the trading post near what is now Hughes Co., OK. Jesse took supplies into the plains. He learned many languages and was highly sought after as a guide and interpreter. He interpreted treaties for the Indians in Texas, Indian Territory, and Kansas.

He was known as an honest Trader and peace maker. He was respected by the US Army and the Indians. He was adopted into many tribes. The Comanche's knew they could sell children they had captured in Texas to Jesse. He would then try to find their families, and if he couldn't he'd adopt them himself.

Jesse died of food poisoning after eating buffalo meat that had been cooked in a copper kettle at Left Hand Spring, near present day Geary, OK on April 4, 1868

His tomb stone says a lot about who he was. It reads:

"No one ever left his home cold or hungry"

Child of JESSE CHISHOLM and NANNIE BOWLES is:
4. i. JOSEPH4 CHISHOLM, b. Abt. 1835.


Child of JESSE CHISHOLM and SAH-KAH-KEE MCQUEEN is:
ii. JENNIE4 CHISHOLM, b. Abt. 1830.


Child of JESSE CHISHOLM and ELIZA EDWARDS is:
5. iii. WILLIAM EDWARD4 CHISHOLM, b. 15 Sep 1837; d. 19 Nov 1880.


Generation No. 4

4. JOSEPH4 CHISHOLM (JESSE3, IGNATIUS2, JOHN D1) was born Abt. 1835.

Child of JOSEPH CHISHOLM is:
i. JOHN5 CHISHOLM, b. Abt. 1875; m. MARY MURPHY; b. Abt. 1880.


5. WILLIAM EDWARD4 CHISHOLM (JESSE3, IGNATIUS2, JOHN D1) was born 15 Sep 1837, and died 19 Nov 1880. He married (1) JULIA ANN MCLISH. She was born 1846, and died 1883. He married (2) HESTER BUTLER COCHRAN. She was born Abt. 1847, and died Bet. 1894 - 1896.

Notes for JULIA ANN MCLISH:
It is noted by Chris Robbins in the Robbin/Saunders Family Tree that Julia was Cherokee Indian.

Children of WILLIAM CHISHOLM and JULIA MCLISH are:
i. MARY A5 CHISHOLM, b. 01 Jan 1868; d. 30 Mar 1946; m. WILLIAM VAUGHN COOKE, 09 Mar 1887; b. 1859.
ii. ELIZA E CHISHOLM, b. 29 Mar 1864; d. 18 Feb 1886.
iii. ANGELINE BIDDIE CHISHOLM, b. 14 Jan 1866; d. Feb 1894; m. SAM SILAS LEE; b. 21 Sep 1866; d. 03 Jan 1921.
iv. ALICE CHISHOLM, b. 12 Feb 1870; d. 19 Oct 1911; m. ALLEN STOKE ASBURY; b. 25 Apr 1867; d. 22 Apr 1950.
v. CORA ANN CHISHOLM, b. 23 Sep 1872; d. 06 Jan 1926; m. JOHN F MCKEEL.
vi. STELLA "ESTELLE" CHISHOLM, b. 06 Jun 1875; d. 1946; m. WILLIAM THOMAS WARD; b. 23 Oct 1870; d. 1936.
vii. JULIA ANN CHISHOLM, b. 15 Jan 1878.
viii. WILLIAM CHISHOLM, b. 1880.


Child of WILLIAM CHISHOLM and HESTER COCHRAN is:
ix. CAROLINE5 CHISHOLM, b. Abt. 1860.



Endnotes

1. Geocities.com Chapter Bio of Jesse Chisholm.
2. Handbook of Texas Online, Jesse Chisholm III.

And as they say the rest is history. Mary Chisholm married William Cooke. They had a daughter, Stella Cooke (my husbands great grandmother). Stella married James Rubin Ward, and they had my husbands grandmother, Ruth Ann Ward. She married Earl"Porter" Crooks. (Hince the Crooks name I have today) Well I'll pick up the history of the Ward and Crooks lines another time. We could probably write a book about Porter alone. LOL. He was a character.

Keep in mind when searching for your family. Names change spelling, our elderly realtives don't always have the most reliable memory, records can be incorrectly maintained, and there are many other things that can get you off track or keep you from pursuing a correct lead. It's like putting together a puzzle. You have to try the information several different ways until it fits or you know for sure it doesn't fit.

Happy Hunting

Once again a new direction for me.

After talking to a few blogger pals of mine I have decided to change the purpose of this blog. Not to say I won't still discuss things about great customers service and such, but I am going to take this blog in the genealogy direction. No one seems to be interested in sales, but I have grown a great passion for genealogy. I have always loved history, and now I am apply history to my family. So I will be posting information on here about my family history, and feel free to share information about your family as well. Maybe we have a connection we don't know about.

Working for a Living

Well I started work last night. I couldn't avoid it any longer. We were just not able to make it on one income for a family of five. Yes, there were a few things we could have done with out, like starting our own business on the same income, but what do you do when you have two feet in the door, and the bills are already piled. Some day it will take off, but in the mean time I'll have to work.

I had to find something working nights in order to avoid paying over $900 for daycare, so there goes my profession. That left nothing available using my skills. In the end it came down to two choices. Both interviewed me and offered me a job. Wal Mart needed help now, and UPS had to put me on a waiting list (hopefully for a job in the next one to two months). So I started with Wal Mart last night. Now to put this into perspective what I will make there will not even be enough to cover my grocery bill for the month. It's part time at barely above minimum wage. But at least it will give us some extra money to try to catch up on our bills until UPS calls. Now here is the difference. UPS offers full benefits for the entire family for part time employees and pays a deal more. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!!

But Wal Mart is no easy job either. These cashiers work hard and they put up with a lot of crap from customers. If you have never done retail you should try it for a couple weeks. You'll learn to appreciate what they do for very little money for their efforts. Now I don't doubt there are lousy cashiers, I won't argue that, but there are a lot of demanding and rude customers who have never had to work in retail who need to show more respect. Just my opinion! So far though I would say Wal Mart isn't a bad place to work. I understand the low pay, really. It's a great way to weed out the lousy employees, and promote those that do a good job. Some of the Wal Mart employees who have done a great job and moved up do make a pretty good living I hear.

So in the mean time I'm still home with the kids during the day, and dad takes care of them at night. I don't have to stress over lousy Idaho daycare, or pay them more then my damn mortgage to watch my kids while making barely more then I pay them (that is if I went back to my profesion, I won't even make that at Wal Mart).

By the way Dad survived and did a great job last night. He didn't even complain! I do love him, even when I want to ring his neck.

Paterson Principle 8

8. Planning Prevents

Wandering and

Provides Direction

As a salesperson I'm sure you have had days when you weren't sure by the end of the day what you had really accomplished, but you felt like you were running around like a chicken with your head cut off! Been there done that.

The problem with days like that is they were not planned out and you didn't have a clear direction that you and your associates could stick to. It's very important that you are very organized and plan out everything you need to do ahead of time. You also need to be very clear with your co-workers when you are and ARE NOT available to take phone calls. You need to set aside time each and every day for making phone calls with no interruptions. I can't stress that enough.

So here is where you start set down and design a form that will help lay out everyday what you must accomplish, what you would like to accomplish and what needs to be done in the near future at least. Then create another form that will help you keep track of everything you do that day on a points system. Give yourself credit for what you do, even the little things. This will help you see the whole picture. What areas you are strong in, where you are week, what you tend to neglect or procrastinate on, and more. Set a daily points goal. Don't go home until you have achieved your goal.

So now you have a form, right? Don't know where to start? Contact me I'll be glad to share what I have used and help you design yours. Once you have the form you need to lay out a weekly schedule. I don't mean a detailed who you are going to see schedule, but one that sets aside a couple hours for phone calls, couple hours for visiting prospect, time for customers, and most importantly 30 minutes to an hour first thing in the morning for planning each day. That will be your weekly highway. Then each morning set down during the time you have set aside. Turn off the phone and shut your office door. Plan out every one you need to see, call, email, do quote for and anything else that pertains to your business for that day. This is your daily city map with every little detail and time allotted for each action. Another way to plan even in advance is a software program I use called ACT! It's great at helping you organize you contacts and your schedule.

Think of this. You wouldn't go on a road trip with out mapping out a plan and a direction you are going, right? If you did you'd probably go in circles and never accomplish what you set out to do. The same applies to sales. Don't set out on your day with out a clear plan of where you are going, who you are seeing, what you want to accomplish with each person, who you will call that day, etc.

I would be glad to help any one that needs one on one help with their sales career. Just let me know.

Paterson Principle 7

Oops! My week got away from me. Sorry this is late.

7. Your Library is

the Artesian Well of Knowledge

"You determine how much of a fortune you want to earn by how much you decide to self-educate" - Jeffrey Gitomer

I love that quote. Another one I believe in is "Your life is what you make of it." We are as successfully in life as we make ourselves. Some people may not agree with me on that, but I truly believe that most people who have nothing in life have done nothing. Those who are successful in life have worked hard to get there (of course there is the occasional child born with a silver spoon in their mouth).

The best way to succeed is to self-educate. How many books do you have in your library? What kind of books make up your library? How much time do you set aside DAILY to read? You can't learn unless you have books to read. True there is the library, but to invest in a book will give back to you ten times more, because you won't just read to book once (quickly) and then return it, but you will continually refer to it for reference or clarification. You may have a friend who is very successful. Ask to see that friends library, and you'll see why. Maybe you do have a lot of educational books, but what good are they if you do not set aside time DAILY to read them!

This is your task this week. Get a good educational book to read. Here is a list of books that I highly recommend for success:

1. "How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success" by Frank Bettger. Frank sold Life Insurance during the Depression and was the highest paid salesman in America. (This is also the book we are studying at Selling North Idaho book club on Thursday mornings at 7:00 at Z-Spa in CDA. Come join us, and learn!)
2. "Rich Dad Poor Dad" Highly recommended by associates of mine, but I have not yet had the chance to read it.
3. "The E-Myth" also highly recommended by associates of mine.
4. "The Paterson Principles of Selling" revived and revised by Jeffrey Gitomer (the book I am using for this study)
5. "The Sales Bible" by Jeffrey Gitomer. One of my favorites. I also HIGHLY recommend his seminars. Also go to his website wwwbuygitomer.com and sign up for his Caffeine Ezine. He is highly motivational for sales people. I have worn my book out because I constantly go back to it for new ideas.
6. "The complete Idiots Guide to Cold Calling" by Keith Rosen. If you have trouble making that first call to get the appointment with a prospect this is a very easy book to follow and get ideas from. Many different styles to try out until you find what works for you.
7. "101 Way to Promote Yourself" by Raleigh Pinskey. Also one of the books for our book group. Many great ideas. I'm still working on this one.

How many of these have you read? Are you saying ouch, or patting yourself on the back? Well don't pat yourself too fast if you don't use your books regularly for reference or continue to educate yourself further. There is one concept that I see so many sales people struggle with, but if you want to be successful you better wrap your brain around this "you will never know it all." So set aside an hour a day to read and learn. If it is hard to make yourself read a sales book, then start with something you are interested in. Get yourself in the habit of reading an hour a day, and then it will be second nature.

Welcome to Success

Employees Assets or Liabilities

I'm kind of interested in what you think on this subject. I have worked for companies that treated me and payed me like I was an asset to the company. They asked for and respected my ideas and oppions. Many of them I have remained friends with, and I have always considered them a part of making me the woman I am in business today.

However, on the other hand I have worked for companies that saw their employees as disposable liablities. They didn't pay worth a darn and had the attitude "if you don't like it there's the door." Why is this? I understand there are some people who aren't good employees and are unreliable, but why treat everyone that way. Why not hire and treat people as though they were an asset to the company? Then if they just aren't working out, let them go? I just think you would get more out of your employees and they will be more willing to go the extra mile for you if you simply showed them so respect for their contribution to the company.

I'm just thinking out loud, but feel free to put in your ideas on the matter.

Paterson Principle 6

6. Studying.........

The First Discipline

of Knowledge

I more or less touched on this principle last week. Basically "practice makes perfect". You can read how to books on improving you selling, but if you don't practice the techniques you learn you are dead in the water.

The thing to ask yourself is "Do I have enough discipline and desire to work my butt off for my accounts, or do I expect my charm and good looks to land a few here and there for me?" If it's the later, then you are in the wrong business! You might have better luck as an actor(ess)! If it is the first then keep it up and you'll get there. But don't forget one way to improve yourself it to work with and help others to improve.

Take one technique ever week and work on only that technique, master it for that week. After that I can guarantee you it will come more naturally. But don't forget it. You skills are just like a motor, if you give it regular maintenance and use it regularly then it will treat you well. But if you forget to maintain it and you let it set for a long period of time with out use, it becomes rusty and unusable. So work hard to learn and maintain your skills.

Starting next week I'll give you things to do! So go back and read all six principles up to this point and motivate yourself to dedicate yourself. Then next week you'll be raring to go!

Selling is not for the lazy!

Paterson Principle 5

5. Survival is a Combination of

Knowing and Doing

"All sales people know what to do. Problem is they don't do it" - Jeffrey Gitomer

Isn't that the truth. So many of us, myself included, know many styles and techniques for selling. The problem is we get comfortable, get in a rut, or just get plain lazy. In this business you can not do that. You must stay on your toes and be ready for changes and new things all the time.

So here's an idea, become a mentor. Find someone in your own business or in another business who is new in sales and is open to learning more from your experience. Volunteer to mentor that person, and while you are training and mentoring that person challenge yourself to look at yourself and go back to the beginning. Start doing the things you have quit doing because you think that you are above that or you don't have time. Then hold on and watch your sales career come alive again! I guarantee you this will work.

If you are new in sales and would like to learn more, find a mentor, join us at Selling North Idaho Toastmaster (also a sales book group), or send me an email. I'll gladly help you in your sales career. It's always a good idea to have a mentor. Someone who can teach you, be your support when things aren't looking so good, or celebrate with you when they are going great.

Here's another idea. Try everything you hear of. Don't discredit any technique until you have tried it. Educate yourself, don't expect someone else to tell you what to do. The Television and useless use of the internet are your enemies. Turn them off, get books on sales (I highly recommend Jeffrey Gittomer's Sales Bible, and Frank Betgers How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success), find a mentor, try new things, dedicate yourself to your career (although don't forget about your family, they come first), and watch your career take off!

My career took off when I started reading sales books (thanks to Gitomer's seminar), found a mentor, dedicated and disciplined myself, and started networking with different groups.

Sunshine!

It's so beautiful outside that I find it hard to check in and add a post to my blog lately. I've been watering my yard like crazy and tending to it. I am actually getting a lawn this year. The last couple years have been awful. I don't have the money to poor into my yard, so I've got to struggle to get any lawn at all to grow. This year it's happening!

I'll tell you it's not easy living on one income. Since the birth of our third child in December I have been home. Well, I'm now looking at trying to go back to work, but finding work in the evening is very difficult as well. I don't want to work during the day because I really DO NOT want to put the kids in daycare anymore. They are so much better off with me home, and I enjoy it too. Yes, even during those moments when I just want to scream too. Plus I need to be at home during the day in order to run our business.

Speaking of daycare's I'll have to tell you about my daycare hunting experience one of these days. But I will say it is so amazing to me the conditions people will leave their children in, and the kinds of daycares that are allowed to operate. I'll have to come back to this story later.

Well this weekend is my oldest boys birthday. He'll be eight, and my hubby and I have been married for over 11 years. My nieces and nephews in California are teenagers! Okay stop it! I'm making myself feel old. Then again I have a seven month old too. Whew! Okay that feels better, I'm not so old after all, at least I don't feel old.

Yes, I'm still burred in the search for my ancestors too, although I spend fewer hours on it lately. The one part that is irritating me is our connection to Daniel Boone. I have heard all my life that I am related some how to Daniel Boone on my dad's side of the family. I have yet to make the connection. However I have discover other famous settlers and explorers that I am a descendant of. It's really interesting to find out that you are related to people in history, life Simon Sackett, one of the six original settlers sent over by the King to settle Newtown, Mass. (now Cambridge), or his grandson Cyrus Sackett who helped to blaze the way, fight the Indians (not a part I'm proud of), and settle Kentucky. I also found that my dad is a descendant of the Wycoff family. The Wycoff (the American spelling they took on in America) family were Dutch settlers who original settled the Flatlands of New York.

The Wycoff house was built about 1652 and occupied by Pieter and Grietje Wycoff about 1655. It remained the home of Wyckoff descendants for about 250 years. The Wyckoff House is the number one Landmark in New York City as well as the oldest house in New Your State It is also a National historic Landmark. In 1982, it was restored as a living museum to honor the Dutch presence in America. When the English took over New Amsterdam (renaming it New York in 1664), they made all Dutch take surnames, which had not been Dutch custom. Our Dutch ancestor chose the name "Wycoff" Most Wyckoff's (in any of the various sixty three spellings) in the U.S. today are descendants joined together and saved the origin all Wyckoff house in the Flatlands from destruction. Pieter Claesen, founder of the Wyckoff Family in America, came to Fort Orange, Province of New Netherlands, April 7, 1637, on the ship Rensselaerswick. In the log of that ship is the following: "This ship sailed from Amsterdam, Holland, 25 Sep 1636, anchored off the seaport, The Texel, 8 Oct 1636, reached New Amsterdam, New Netherland, 4 March 1637, and Tuesday 7 April 1637, about three o'clock in the morning we came to anchor before Fort Aeranien, the end of our journey upward." The Rensselaerswick was outfitted by Killian Van Rensselaer, a diamond merchant of Amsterdam, who had a speculative contract with the Est India Company for the grant of a large body of land near the headwaters of the Hudson River, under which he was required to transport men and animals to the new country. There is no complete list of the passengers on this ship, but among those named are Pieter Corneliseen from Monnickendam, North Holland; Pieter Claesen Van Norden, And Simon Walischez. These three did not remain in New Amsterdam, but went on to Fort Orange. Her Pieter Cornelissen became prominent in the affairs of the colony. He may have been an uncle of Pieter Claesen, although the two are not mentioned together in the records of the Van Rensselaer estate. These records show that Pieter Claesen was on of the thirty-eight laborers sent on the Rensselaerswick to be assigned to various farmers on the Rensselaer estate, and that under the date 3 April 1637, he was assigned to Simon Walischez. According to a scorched fragment of the records of the estate, saved from a fire in the State Library at Albany in 1911, he was to receive 50 guildres per year for the first three years and 75 guildres for the last three years. About the time when the contract matured, Simon Walischez' lease was canceled on the grounds the he was an unsatisfactory tenant and the final settlement was made by the Van Rensselaer Estate. According to the report, Pieter Claesen was 18 years old when he made his settlement with the van Rensselaer estate. Soon after this he rented a farm for himself and married Grietje van Ness, the daughter of a prominent Citizen of the colony. Their two eldest children were born in Renselaersweck, but the church in which were kept the records of their birth and the marriage of their parents, was burned and the records destroyed. With his wife and two children he went to New Amsterdam in 1649. Here he remained until 1655, when he signed a contract "to superintend the Bowery and cattle of Peter Stuyvesant in New Amersfoort" and moved into the house on Canarsie Lane in Flatlands, Brooklyn, now known as the Wyckoff Homestead. Pieter Claesen prospered and became one of the most influential citizens of the little frontier settlement. He had bought.

Okay so enough history for today. I just love history, especially when I find out it's part of my ancestory. It makes you feel like you came from something. Although with that comes the parts of history you don't want to admit you are a descendant of, such as slavery. Most of my roots are from the South, so it's a part that I'm afraid did exist in our family, I've just yet to uncover it.

Paterson Principle 4

4. Boot Camp Separates the Salesman

from the Wana-be Salesman

"Industry is cheap. It is laziness that costs. It has cost many a bright man a bright career" - John H Patterson

Business owners, here's something for you to think about. Are you having trouble finding salespeople who really know how to sale, or that have the right personality? Try this, hire your next employee with the right personality and then train that person to sale. It is easier to train a salesperson with the right personality and desire then to train an old salesperson set in their ways who thinks they know it all.

Salespeople, keep this in mind. You will never know it all! There is always room for improvement. So train yourself daily! Set aside 30 minutes everyday for your training, and 30 minutes every morning to plan out your day. If you are new in the sales field start networking and find a mentor to help you. I have my mentor and I call on him regularly to help me. If you have been in the game for a long time then search out someone new with the desire to learn, and mentor that person. Amazingly my mentor says it even helps to motivate him when he works with me.

I have a couple forms that can help you organize your day and one to help you measure your daily progress. Send me an email if you would like a copy at amyrebba@adelphia.net. If you have a sales team that really needs help or your just one sales person looking for a mentor let me know. I would be glad to help out other salespeople and business owners to improve their sales.

Sex Offenders among us

This is so disturbing to me. I'm very grateful that Shasta Groene was found, thanks to someone paying attention and responding quickly. However, it got me thinking. Who am I living near? Who are my neighbors, really? So I pulled up Idaho's sex offender registry. I was shocked to find that we have 58 offenders living right here in Post Falls, another 78 living in Coeur d'Alene, and no telling how many in Hayden. I was too discussed to keep looking.

Then I got to thinking, it's not enough just to find out how many are in my town. I needed to look further and find out how many may be living near me. That's when I became really disturbed. I live over by Wal Mart and found that there are two living just under the Highlands Golf Course, three living in a trailer park near by, one living just behind us, and few others on a near by street. Then I looked around the school. Now I thought these sicko's couldn't live within a certain distance from the school. Well a couple block away from the high school are two offenders and a couple more down the street from the elementary school my son goes to.

I thought you know this is just to close for comfort and considering that my neighbor has four girls I took my findings next door. I shared all of it with them, and just my luck another mother from down the street was there. They recognized one man as someone that worked for a family member. Then they recognized another man as one that lives two doors down from their friend. And to think their children may have been around these sicko's and they didn't even know who they were.

I left California seven years ago because I didn't want my children to grow up in the gang infested town I grew up in. But at least with gangsters you can see them coming. Sex offenders, some of them, look like the everyday guy next door.

If you have children. Don't be foolish enough to think that it'll never happen to you, or that it can't be the nice family guy next door. Because it sure as hell can.

I agree with Steve Groene. I read somewhere today that he thinks these people should be REMOVED from the street. I agree. Put them in a control environment where they won't be tempted by the child they see walking down the street. I'm not saying put them in prison per say. But create an environment for only such people. Sterilize them and put the on an island. Heck that's how Australia got started.

Just don't waste anytime finding out who your neighbors may be. Get on the Idaho Sex Offenders web site. Then take the time to map out where these people are. Inform your children about these people and show them the faces of the ones that live near by you or their school. Don't take any chances. The lives and well being of your children are too important and should be your first priority! Do it today!