Tombstone Tuesday: Karl Herman & Caroline Scheider Mosch

These are my 3rd Great Grandparents on my dad's side.  They arrived in America in 1870 from Eppendorf, Sachsen, Germany.  This picture was taken by my cousin Carolyn Mosch Busch when she was in Germania, Pennsylvania this summer.  I thought is was interesting that there is a bee hive on the marker.  He raised bees as a hobby and to make a little extra money.  I'm still learning about this family.  My Uncle Paul scanned all of my grandmother's photos (over 6,000!) and there are plenty of pictures of Karl and Caroline's decendants.  Following are photos of sketches of Karl and Caroline.  I'm not sure if these are the only pictures we have of them, but they're the only ones I've seen so far. (So many pictures, so little time...)

Well, lunchtime is over.  More on this family when I get the chance.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Who is your MRUA?

Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings has issued another Saturday Night Genealogy Fun Challenge.

1) Who is your MRUA - your Most Recent Unknown Ancestor? This is the person with the lowest number in your Pedigree Chart or Ahnentafel List that you have not identified a last name for, or a first name if you know a surname but not a first name.




2) Have you looked at your research files for this unknown person recently? Why don't you scan it again just to see if there's something you have missed?



3) What online or offline resources might you search that might help identify your MRUA?



4) Tell us about him or her, and your answers to 2) and 3) above, in a blog post, in a comment to this post, or a comment on Facebook or some other social networking site.


Let's see if I can find mine!

The MRUA in my tree are #34 & #35 the parents of Elizabeth Ann Wrean/Wren.  According to the 1880 Census of Brown, Lycoming, Pennsylvania, Elizabeth's mother's first name was Minnie and she was born in Scotland.  Minnie was 75 and living with Elizabeth and her husband William N Gamble. (My 2nd great grandparents)  I don't have a first name for Elizabeth's father.

I haven't looked for these people in a long time.  I suppose the first place to go would be my local genealogy library and see if they have any Canadian birth records. Elizabeth was born in Nova Scotia, Canada.  If there are birth records at the library for Elizabeth, then they SHOULD have her parents' names on them. I might also try FamilySearch.  I've not come up with anything on Ancestry.

I have lots of work to do.  I hope I can get some library time in soon.  Thanks for the nudge, Randy.

Struggling...

I've been struggling with my feelings about a family website I belong to.  I've been using Ancestry.com for a few years now and have been building my tree there.  Unfortunately I no longer have a paid subscription, so the sources I have through Ancestry are not available to me.  Anyway, I posted a picture of my great-great grandparents Solomon Turpin Abrams and Louisa Edmonds Gadd which had been sent to me by a cousin of my grandfather.  This cousin got REALLY upset that the picture was posted on Ancestry without her permission.  She wrote a post on the family website letting everyone know how unhappy she was.  Other members of the website chimed in about how people on Ancestry were "pirating" information from others and posting it as their own.  They stated specific names that they had "mentioned" to others that showed up on Ancestry.  They assumed that the people who posted information on Ancestry didn't do any research of their own.  It seemed to me that they thought they were the only ones who'd done any research on this particular branch of my family.

I took the picture off my Ancestry site and posted an apology for posting it without permission.  I owed my cousin that much.  I also had to answer the accusations against people who use Ancestry.  I realize not everyone who uses Ancestry is able to do research outside what they can find on Ancestry, but there are those of us who have done other research.  I live in Fort Worth and there is a wonderful genealogy department at the local library.  I've spent hours there looking at census records and books about the counties where my ancestors lived.  I've tried keeping my tree on my home computer and ended up losing my information more than once because of hard drive crashes.  Even with back-ups, the genealogy program I was using, failed me.  I was using the Millenium Edition of Generations.  If I try to edit a person in that program, it erases the person completely from my file.  I was able to save a GEDCOM file from this program, but I still lost information.  :-( 

Anyway, I explained in my post that the main reason I use Ancestry is to keep from losing my information again.  I also let them know that I don't hold my tree as the final word on ANY of my families.  I have in no way completed my research and I don't represent my tree as being 100 percent accurate.  I have plenty of names on my tree which I've not researched.  The way the others talked, no one should put any names in their tree without doing exhaustive research and making sure the tree is 100 percent accurate.  They also assume anyone who has a name in their tree without any sources is "pirating" information from them.  I've seen the names they were talking about on familysearch.org and other websites.  It really upset me!  Maybe I'm taking it too personally... I don't know.  The only replies to my post talked about using CD's and flash drives to save my data.  No one ever addressed the fact that I apologized or my comments about the "pirating".  Am I wrong for being upset?  I've tried to blow it off, but for some reason it just keeps eating at me.  In fact, I was so upset at one point that I almost took my whole tree off Ancestry.  I'm glad I didn't.  I have had distant cousins contact me to share information because of my tree being posted on Ancestry.  I've gotten close to a couple of them.

I'm not opposed to constructive comments or a personal email telling me I was wrong for posting a picture without permission.  I think I was hurt the most because it felt like a public bashing.  I didn't even get a private acceptance of my apology....

I'm finished ranting now.  If anyone can help me sort out my feelings or has any suggestions about what, if anything, I should do please let me know.

My Husband's Blog

I just wanted to plug my husband's blog.  He's a Ford Mustang enthusiast and we have a 1995 GTS that he is going to restore.  It's a long term project, but if you're into cars you'll enjoy the posts.  His blog is http://www.mustang-fever.blogspot.com/.  Enjoy!!!

SNGF - Ahnentafel Roulette

Randy @ Genea-Musings has come up with another great Saturday Night Genealogy Fun.

1) How old is your father now, or how old would he be if he had lived?  Divide this number by 4 and round the number off to a whole number.  This is your "roulette number".

2) Use your pedigree charts or your family tree genealogy software program to find the person with that number in your ahnentafel.  Who is that person?

3) Tell us three facts about that person with the "roulette number".

4) Write about it in a blog post, in a Facebook note or comment, or as a comment on this blog post.

5) If you do not have a person's name for your "roulette number" then spin the wheel again - pick your mother, or yourself, a favorite aunt or cousin, or even your children.

Here goes!

My dad, Thomas Edwin Gamble, is 66.  Divide that by 4 and you get 16.5 so that rounds to 17.  Number 17 in my ahnentafel is my great-great grandmother Elizabeth Ann Wrean.  She was born in 1829 in Nova Scotia, Canada.  She married William N. Gamble about 1851 in Pennsylvania.  They had 6 children, the youngest being my great grandfather Ulysses Grant Gamble.  She died in 1911 in Cedar Run, Lycoming Co., Pennsylvania.

I don't know anything else about her except her father was born in Scottland and her mother's first name was Minnie.  Unfortunately, I don't have any photographs of her either, at least not that I know of.  I have a whole bunch of unidentified photos on DVD that my uncle gave me.

Thanks for the great blog topic tonight, Randy!

Tombstone Tuesday-William F and Flossie Baker Abrams

William Franklin Abrams

and

Flossie Baker Abrams

These were my maternal grandfather's parents. William Franklin Abrams was born 31 Dec 1887 to Solomon Turpin Abrams and Louisa Edmonds Gadd Abrams in Jackson Co., KY. He married Flossie Baker about 1910. He died 29 Feb 1968 in Franklin, OH.

Flossie Baker was born 7 Aug 1896 to William Houston Baker and Mahaley Jane Malicoat in KY. She died 10 Aug 1982 in Middletown, Butler Co., OH.

I was not quite 3 when William died so I don't remember him. I only remember meeting Flossie once in 1979.

I got this photo from http://www.findagrave.com/ . If you've never been to their website, you should go. I've found pictures of some of my ancestors' tombstones there. If there is not a picture of the tombstone, you can sometimes find the name of the cemetery where your ancestors are buried.

Tombstone Tuesday: Emil E Mosch & Wilhelmina Kortz Mosch

My recently found cousin Carolyn Mosch Busch sent me some tombstone pictures that she took when she went to Pennsylvania this summer. The resolution is wonderful! Carolyn contacted me on Ancestry.com. I was so excited to talk to someone from my dad's side of the family, especially the Mosch side. I don't recall meeting any of them in person except my great grandmother Hertha Mosch McElroy. I might have seen them at my grandmother's house at Thanksgiving, but there were always so many people there! Besides, when you're a kid you just want to hang out with your cousins that you don't get to see any other time.

Anyway, Emil Ernest Mosch was born 8 May 1864 to Karl Herman Mosch and Caroline Scheider in Saxony, Germany. The family came to the U.S. in 1870. (I still have lots of research to do on this family, but I did find out they came over on the ship the Saint Louis. I understand it was lost at sea on it's way back to Germany after my ancestors got off. I'm going to have to find the history of the ship!) Emil died of cancer on 25 Oct 1937 in Coudersport, Potter Co., PA.

Emil married Wilhelmina in Wellsboro, Tioga Co., PA on 21 Sep 1885. They lived in PA for the remainder of their lives.

Wilhelmina Hedwig Kortz was born 27 Apr 1866 in Germania, Potter Co., PA to Jacob Kortz and Katherine Pflugfelder. Her parents came to the U.S. in the 1840's or 50's to escape the Kaiser's war. I don't have any information on the ship they were on. Wilhelmina died on 12 Feb 1940 in Coudersport, Potter Co., PA.

Thanks again for the pictures, Carolyn!

Amanuensis Monday: Mosch - McElroy Wedding 1916

Amanuensis : A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

My Uncle Paul spent a couple of years scanning my paternal grandmother's photographs and scrapbooks. She has apparently inherited her mother's photos and scrapbooks as well. My Uncle ended up with a 7 DVD set of over 6000 images which he copied for several members of the family. I was one of the lucky ones to receive a copy of these images.

My post tonight is a copy of my great grandparents' wedding announcement. Unfortunately, no one wrote down which newspaper the announcement was in. The wedding occurred on 21 Sep 1916. The announcement was published on the same day.

THEY ARE WED

Miss Hertha Mosch and Egbert McElroy of Jersey Shore United in Marriage

At eleven o'clock this morning at the home of the bride occurred the marriage of Miss Hertha Mosch, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Emil Mosch of Frinks to Egbert McElroy of Jersey Shore. The mother of the bridegroom and his brother and the immediate family of the bride were the only guests.

The ceremony was performed by Rev. J. V. Sappenfield of St. Paul's Lutheran church. A profusion of asters, golden rod and growing plants decorated the rooms and the bride was attended by her cousin, Miss Emma Mosch, of Germania, while Williams McElroy of Ceres, brother of the bridegroom acted as the best man. Miss Mosch was attired in a handsome traveling suit of dark blue and her maid of honor wore a gown of pink.

Little Margaret, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Metzger of Colesburg, and Marie, little daughter of Mr. and Mrs. T. L. Metzger of Coudersport were the flower girls.

After hearty congratulation and many good wishes a delicious wedding breakfast was served and Mr. and Mrs. McElroy departed for a brief wedding trip that will include Elmira, Rochester and other New York points. They will be absent about a week, after which they will be at home to their friends in Jersey Shore.

Mrs. McElroy is one of Potter county's finest and most capable young women. She has hosts of friends and is deserving of the very best in life.

The day had a double meaning in the Mosch home for it was not only the wedding day of their daughter, but as well the 31st anniversary of the wedding day of Mr. and Mrs. Mosch, parents of the bride.

Guest at the wedding were Mr. and Mrs. I. L. Coats, William McElroy, Mrs. VanMadison and four children, of Ceres, N. Y.; Mr. and Mrs. Robert McElroy, of Myrtle; Mr. and Mrs. M. J. Handwerk and daughter Helene of Galeton; Mrs. Louise Sheldon , of Hebron; Mr. and Mrs. T. L. Metzger, of Coudersport; Mrs. Lewis Webber and Mr. and Mrs. Edward Tucker, of Colesburg; Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Metzger, of Colesburg; Miss Emma Mosch of Germania; Rev. and Mrs J. V. Sappenfield, of Coudersport; Miss Esther Niles and Miss Katherine Stocum of Coudersport.

This article is such a treasure! It gives so much genealogical information! Since I have a copy of the marriage license for Hertha and Egbert, I know they were wed on 21 Sep 1916. The article tells me that day was also the 31st anniversary of Hertha's parents, which makes their wedding date 21 Sep 1885. It also tells me the wedding took place at the home of the bride and gives a detailed description of the bride's attire. She did not wear a white dress, but a dark blue traveling suit! That is priceless information since there are not any photos of the wedding in all of the photos I received from Uncle Paul.

I also have more surnames to search. I know Mrs. I. L. Coats is the mother of the bridegroom from the information I have on his family, but I don't know what I. L. stands for. Since the article said the only guests were immediate family of the bride, the other names are of sisters and their husbands, presumably. Like I said, I have more names to research to find out exactly who these people were.

I hope I can find more articles like this for other members of my family. I know there isn't one for me or my parents, but I'm sure there are bound to be announcements for some more of the older generations.

My 16 Great-Great Grandparents

I decided to take on Randy Seaver's challenge for Saturday Night Genealogical Fun. I am a bit late since it is almost Sunday night, but what the heck! Here are my 16 Great-great grandparents.

1. William N. Gamble b. 24 May 1825 in Cedar Run, Lycoming Co., PA m. Elizabeth Ann Wrean abt. 1851 d. 24 Sep 1904 in Leetonia, Lycoming Co., PA (2nd Generation American)

2. Elizabeth Ann Wrean b. 1829 Nova Scotia, Canada m. William N. Gamble abt. 1851 d. abt 1911 Cedar Run, Lycoming Co., PA (Canadian)

3. William Snyder b. 28 Mar 1851 in Blackwell, Morris Twp, Tioga Co., PA m. Laura Campbell abt 1874 d. 5 Nov 1927 Jersey Shore, Lycoming Co., PA (American)

4. Laura Campbell b. 20 May 1857 in Cedar Run, Lycoming Co., PA m. William Snyder abt. 1874 d. 18 Apr 1931 in Jersey Shore, Lycoming Co., PA (American)

5. James Clinton McElroy b. 19 Nov 1861 in New York m. Angie Clark in 1884 d. 1905 in New York? (American)

6. Angie Clark b. 1866 in PA m. James Clinton McElroy in 1884 d. 20 Jul 1946 (American)

7. Emil Mosch b. 8 May 1864 in Saxony, Germany m. Wilhelmina Hedwig Kortz 21 Sep 1885 in Wellsboro, Tiogo Co., PA d. 25 Oct 1937 in Coudersport, Potter Co., PA (German)

8. Wilhelmina Hedwig Kortz b. 27 Apr 1866 Germania, Potter Co., PA m. Emil Mosch 21 Sep 1885 in Wellsboro, Tioga Co., PA d. 12 Feb 1940 in Coudersport, Potter Co., PA (1st Generation American)

9. Solomon Turpin Abrams b. 22 Feb 1845 in Jackson Co., KY m. Louisa Edmonds 17 Mar 1887 in Jackson Co., KY d. 9 Mar 1923 in Jackson Co., KY (American)

10. Louisa Edmonds b. 2 Oct 1862 in TN m. Solomon Turpin Abrams 17 Mar 1887 in Jackson Co., KY d. 10 Jun 1947 in Jackson Co., KY (American)

11. William Houston Baker b. 1866 in Terra Houte, IN m. Mahaley Jane Malicoat d. 30 Jan 1919 in Three Links, KY (American)

12. Mahaley Jane "Jennie" Malicoat b. 1865 in Jackson Hollow, Madison Co., KY m. William Houston Baker d. 1900 in KY (American)

13. James Marshall Helton b. 10 Jan 1871 in Valeria, Wolfe Co., KY m. Sarah Elizabeth Peck 15 Nov 1892 in Menifee Co., KY d. Jul 1944 in Ezel, Morgan Co., KY (American)

14. Sarah Elizabeth Peck b. 24 Oct 1871 Wolfe Co., KY m. James Marshall Helton 15 Nov 1892 in Menifee Co., KY d. 1 Jan 1914 in Menifee Co., KY (American)

15. William Jackson Landrum b. Jan 1869 in Wolfe Co., KY m. Sarah Ella Lackey 1891 in Wolfe Co., KY d. 14 Jun 1943 (American)

16. Sarah Ella Lackey b Apr 1871 Wolfe Co., KY m. William Jackson Landrum 1891 in Wolfe Co., KY d. 6 Aug 1903 in Powell Co., KY (American)

Most of my ancestors of this generation were born in the USA and with some I'd have to go back several generations to find an immigrant. This was a fun exersize. I learned I need to do more research on this generation to find marriage dates, etc. Thanks,Randy for the suggestion.

Last Saturday at the Library

I was fortunate to be able to go to the Fort Worth Public Library on Saturday and listen to my first genealogy lecture. Terry Meeks of the Fort Worth Genealogical Society was the presenter. I truly enjoyed Terry's presentation about using military records as sources for research. I have at least 1 Revolutionary War veteran and several Civil War veterans in my tree. Thanks to the lecture, I know where to start searching for information on these ancestors! I'm so glad I live near a large public library with a great genealogy department. :-) I can't wait to go back and do some research!

Wordless Wednesday: Gravesite of Edwin D Gamble

Tombstone Tuesday - Oscar and Maud Helton

I took this picture when I went to Florida to visit my grandparents. Oscar Marion Helton and Maud Landrum were my maternal grandmother's parents. He was born on 23 Jan 1894 in Pomeroyton, Menifee, Kentucky to James Marshall Helton and Sarah Elizabeth Peck. She was born on 17 Feb 1897 in Toliver, Wolfe, Kentucky to William Jackson Landrum and Sarah Ella Lackey. They both died in Plant City, Florida. He died 4 Feb 1968 when I was about 3. She died 17 Jan 1991. I remember going to her house for Thanksgiving dinner when I was a kid. She was an awesome cook.

The house they lived in is gone now. I'm trying to find a picture of it for my records. I didn't see any when I was looking through my grandmother's photo albums.

Tombstone Tuesday

This is my paternal step-grandfather's tombstone. He was born Lawrence Lynn Gardner on 16 July 1917 in Corning, Stuben County, New York. He died on 12 Jan 2001 of heart failure. His parents were Leo Frank Gardner (1898 - 1945) and Mary Amy Schoonover (1898 - 1969). He was the second husband of my grandmother Jane Elizabeth McElroy. She was born on 8 Oct 1917 and is still living in Coudersport, Potter County, Pennsylvania. Her parents were Egbert Clark McElroy (1888 - 1950) and Hertha Katherine Mosch (1888 - 1988).

A Four Generations Photo

I love this photo. It was taken in 1931. The ladies in this photo are from l to r: my Great Aunt Kathryn Gamble Mosch, My Great Grandmother Ellen Snyder Gamble, and my Great-Great Grandmother Laura Campbell Snyder. The baby is Barbara Mosch. This is a rare photo of my dad's Gamble side of the family. Kathryn was my grandfather's sister. My grandfather was killed in WWII in the Battle of the Bulge.

Genealogy Blogs

I have been reading some really good genealogy blogs and getting great ideas about how to turn my blog into a genealogy blog. I can't wait to get started! I'm at work right now, so I don't have my information with me. I want to go through my pictures and find some good ones to post. I'm going to visit my maternal grandparents next week and I'm going to see if my grandmother has some pictures I can copy. I'll be going to the cemetery where my great grandparents are buried to get some pictures of their tombstone. I have so much I want to find out, I don't really know where to begin.

Well, better run for now. Don't want the boss to get onto me for blogging during work!

Genealogy

I've really had my head buried in my genealogy lately. On my birthday I bought Family Tree Maker 2009 software. Ever since Haydyn and Austin were born, I've been working really hard on tracing their family histories. I've joined 3 family history websites. Dillingham World is great! Dave Dillingham Wiltshire is the administrator and he is really great. He sent me a 50 page email with information on Gary's stepdad's family back to 1680! I love the pictures on that site, too. I've only seen one picture of a direct ancestor of Gary's on the Dillingham side. I've traced his Sallings side into the 1800's. They were farmers in Texas.

Another of the sites I joined is the Abrams Family website. The people there are very friendly. One of the ladies is a cousin of my Papaw. She sent me a picture of my great great grandfather Solomon Turpin Abrams and his second wife Louisa Edmonds Gadd. It was taken sometime around 1920. Turp, as he was called, passed away in 1923. He lived in Horse Lick, Jackson County, Kentucky so I also joined the Jackson County Family website. There are so many pictures on that site that I've only been able to go through about a fourth of them. There are some really precious old, old pictures along with new ones of the people of Jackson County. Anita Maggard is the administrator of that site and she is really sweet. She has posted hundreds of the pictures that are on the site. I need to get in touch with my great aunt in Ohio to see if she has any old photos of the family. I've never seen any at Granny and Papaw's, but I'm going to visit them this month with Mom. I'll ask Granny if I can see what she has. I haven't seen them since 2005. It will be a bittersweet visit. Papaw is 87 and very sick. He's got Alzheimers and a host of other physical illnesses. I don't even know if he'll remember me, but I'll try to always remember him. That's another reason doing genealogy is important to me. It helps me preserve the memory of my ancestors. I want my grandchildren to know from where they came.

Our third workout in one week

We did it! We finally did 3 workouts this week! I'm so proud of us for sticking to our guns and getting our third workout in. We are starting to see a little bit of progress, too. My husband's stomach is getting smaller and he's getting definition in his arms and legs. He told me this morning when I was getting dressed for work that my butt is starting to look rounder. :-) I think we're starting to get to the point where going to the gym is becoming a habit. We made sure not to let anything get in the way of going tonight. No excuses! We're looking forward to the days when we are both below 150 pounds. I weighed 177 when we met almost 13 years ago and I've just been getting fatter ever since. I desperately needed to do something to get out of the rut I was in. It's wonderful to finally be doing something about my weight and health instead of just talking about it and feeling sorry for myself. It's my own fault I'm this way. I know better. I saw my mother struggle with her weight all my life.

I did really well with my eating today. One of the staff members brought donuts to work this morning. I usually can't resist a blueberry cake donut. They are so yummy. I didn't even eat half a donut! I felt so good about myself for not giving in to the temptation. Those cake donuts are hard to resist. I've loved them ever since my Grandma made them for me when she was visiting us for my high school graduation. That was 25 years ago! Wow! I won't even attempt to figure out how many of them I've had since that time.

I better get some rest now. I'm wiped out!

I Lost Almost 4 Pounds!

Great news! I lost 3.7 pounds this past week! I stepped on the scale and it read 210.3 down from 214 last Wednesday. I was so excited. It's about time I had a good weight loss. We are starting to follow the old Weight Watchers Selection Plan for our diet. It has been the plan that has helped me the most when I've been seriously trying to lose weight. I like it because it's real food; not those pre-packaged meals you get on other programs. Those plans are expensive, and money isn't exactly something we have a lot of right now. I think the combination of going to the gym and eating better is the key.

Gary and I stepped up our exercising this week. He found a workout plan in a body building magazine that we are following. I'm glad to have a routine to follow. It really helps me make sure I work all parts of my body. I haven't had much pain from the strenuous exercises, but last night was the first time we did the new routine. I usually don't feel anything until the 2nd day after a workout. I may be hurting in the morning.

I got a fitness magazine, too. There is a great quote in it from Plato. "Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it." That is so true. It's exactly what I've been doing to myself. I've been sitting around for the last 10 years getting lazy and fat! I want to preserve my life. I can't chase my grandbabies around the house while I'm in this condition. I think I'm on the right path to a healthier me.

My granddaughter is so cute. She's starting to move around a lot more. My daughter will prop her up on her pillow and she kicks and moves her arms like she's running or swimming. She's also making more sounds. She loves to sit in her bouncy chair and kick and wiggle. She even grins sometimes when we play with her. I can't wait until she starts laughing. It's so precious to hear a baby laugh. It's music to the soul. It always makes my mood better when I hold my granddaughter. She is such a joy. I'm going to enjoy these moments while they last. I know all too well they grow up quickly.

New Diet

Tuesday's wellness check was a mess! My good cholesterol is too low (36), my bad cholesterol is too high (121) and my triglycerides are too high (137)! It was pretty depressing. When I came home and told my husband about it, he started us both on a diet. Lots of vegetables, less red meat, and cut back on the sodas. I was told that more vegetables would help my good cholesterol go up. The new diet and working out three days a week should get me going in the right direction.

We went to the gym on Tuesday and worked on the elliptical and upper body. I went for 3 minutes on the elliptical before I had to rest. I'm trying to add at least 30 seconds each time. I want to get up to 5 minutes in the next couple of weeks. I'm up to 28 crunches. I can't do them all at once, but I don't have to stop for very long in between.

My granddaughter is so cute! She is getting so big already! She gets the hiccups a lot. I can't believe she's almost 2 months old already! It won't be long and she'll be running all over the house getting into things. I want to be ready when that time comes. I'm sure I'll be getting more energy and stamina soon. I can't wait to be a "smokin' hot grandma". My husband is anxious to see some results, too. He's starting to get some definition in his abs already. We'll both be "smokin hot" in no time.

Tomorrow's Wellness Check

Tomorrow at work we are having a wellness check. We are all getting weighed, our height measured, and our cholesterol levels checked. It's an insurance thing. My company gets a better rate if we all go through this little "check up". The cholesterol check isn't really that accurate, but it gives us a base line. Last year it showed my good cholesterol was a little low, but my overall was fine. I'll see if it improved. I hope I've lost some more weight.

I did okay with my eating today. I had oatmeal for breakfast, a Subway sandwich for lunch (Ham on Honey Oat bread, yum!) and 2 all beef hot dogs for dinner. In a moment of weakness, I had a 3 Musketeers bar and 4 Thin Mints. I was feeling bad and I use food for comfort. It's a terrible habit and that's part of how I got the way I am. I need to get on a plan and stick to it. I did Weight Watchers years ago when they were using dietary exchanges. That plan worked well for me. I lost 25 pounds on that one about 14 years ago. I don't know why I didn't stay on it. I think I got really lazy. No, I know I got really lazy. I hate to cook. I don't know if it's because I don't feel I have the time or if it's because I had to cook when I was a teenager because Mom worked outside the home. Either way, I hate to cook. My husband is a really great cook but low fat is not his style. That's another reason I'm fat. I love to eat his cooking! ARGH!!!!! This is frustrating! I've got to stop being lazy and start cooking healthier, lower fat meals. I'll never get below 200 if I don't.

My First Weight Loss Goal

Where has the time gone? I can't believe I'm 43 and both of my kids are giving me grandchildren within 3 months of each other. My daughter gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on my anniversary in December. My son and his wife are having a baby boy in March. If you'd asked me a couple of years ago which one of my kids would be the first to have children, I would have told you my son. He had a steady girlfriend and they were planning to get married. My daughter was planning to go to college to study English and have a career as an English professor at a university.

All of that changed when my daughter found out that she was pregnant at the age of 18 and at the time was really mad at the baby's father. I sure didn't know what I was going to do. She was so scared. So was I. I never expected to become a grandmother at 43, but I wouldn't trade my granddaughter for anything. She's been an absolute joy! I can't imagine my life without her.

I've come to a realization. I'm getting lazy, fat, and old and I have to do something about it. A couple of weeks ago my husband and I have started going to the gym and working out. I've lost 3 pounds since we started! I weighed in at 215. I can't wait until I get below 200. It's been years since I've weighed less than 200. I don't like the way I look and feel. I'm posting a picture of me from this summer. I really don't like to have my picture taken. This is my incentive to keep on working out. I can't continue to be this way. It's not good for my health. I want to be able to keep up with my grandbabies when they are able to run around. I have to be ready to take them to the park and Six Flags and other places. I won't be able to do that like I am now. I want to be below 200 in 2 months. That's my first major hurdle. Wish me luck.