Jewl Of The Lotus

the sound that strengthens compassion in all enlightened beings. om mani padme hum.

 

10 Years Ago, Today: A Story From My Life

My Dad There’s something about my life that many of you do not know. Something that I’ve not been very open about. I’m not even sure how to talk about it now, because I never really have. But… it’s been 10 years, so now seems like a good time to start. My dad killed...

 

RootsTech 2012 Recap

Well once again, RootsTech was a huge success. With registrations up over 30% from last year, we had over 4000 genealogists and developers in attendance. And if I had to guess, there were probably twice as many developers as last year. Maybe it’s because I’ve been up since 5am, have a cold, and generally...

 

I Won the Ancestry.com 15 Days of Discovery Grand Prize!

Wow. So, who knew those online contests where you can win trips and meet celebrities ever paid off?!?! It turns out, the grand prize is not a lie. Because I won it!! No joke. Each day for two weeks, I submitted my basic contact information to the Ancestry.com 15 Days of Discovery sweepstakes hoping...

 

Wow, 2011 Was Pretty Awesome

I can’t believe 2011 is over… seriously… I can’t. Fastest. Year. Ever. 2011 was phenomenal. Insane. Exhilarating. Awesome. Joyful. Busy. Just all around generally incredible. Probably my favorite year in my <27 years of existence. Here’s just a few reasons why: Marriage – Best day of my life. We did it!! And it was...

 

Weekend Genealogy: Headstone Hunting in Chicagoland

If you’ve been following my blog / twitter / facebook, then you probably know that I recently bought a new car. Well this weekend, I travelled back to the land of Illinois to acquire said car. While there, I took the opportunity to seek out a few ancestors who I knew were in the...

 

Weekend Genealogy: Walerja

Going to try this out and see how long it lasts… This weekend, I discovered my 3rd great grandmother, Walerja. Walerja was born in Polish Germany around 1868 and emigrated to the U.S. in 1886 at the age of 14. She married twice; first, around the age of 20 to my 3rd great grandfather...