Blogging and Jogging

Now that fall is here and it's raining--yippeeee--I am feeling a bit more like doing some blogging. I got caught up with Facebook for awhile after coming home from Scotland so I could share the photographs and memories with the people we met there.

I had another goal to help my mom find our ancestors that would get us over the pond to Scotland. I subscribed to Ancestor.com and have been researching a few different branches of my and my husband's family tree. It's so fascinating; something I never thought I would be that interested in, but after I experienced the thrill of the hunt, I was hooked.

My interest really peaked when I discovered a relative named Isobel Muir who was born in Scotland around the same area as John Muir, the naturalist. Our family has spent many vacations around and about the Yosemite Valley and in the high country camping, hiking, and backpacking, so a connection with John Muir would be such a thrill!

Another branch of our family tree, the Sundays, is rumored to be distant cousins to the famous evangelist, Billy Sunday. That's another one I want to figure out...

We also had a full-blooded Iroquois indian gggggrandmother, if I'm not mistaken on the number if greats... I still need to research that.

The main one I have been trying to crack is my gggrandfather, Alexander McGregor, who was born 1820 in the US and died 1902 in Hespillar, Ontario. There are a few Alexander McGregors born in 1820 in the US, so it's important to find the right one. We have been looking at one for years that turned out to be the wrong one! Some nice lady sent me a copy of handwritten pages from their family Bible that showed the births, deaths, marriages--dates and places. Our Alexander didn't match up with theirs! That was so nice to confirm so we didn't continue to look for evidence of that link!

Our other quest is to find my husband's long-lost brother that was given up for adoption a couple years before he was born. We have nothing but the mother's name and an approximate year of birth! My new favorite show is "Find My Family". I know it's hokey and the novelty will probably wear off after awhile, but I just think it's a neat concept for a show. A lot of babies were given away for adoption, so they should be on the air for awhile.

The jogging part of this blog is the balance I intend to have so I don't turn into Jabba the Hut. It's very sneaky that weight gain thing, especially since I am nearing 53 in a month, I have experienced the weight creep that happens when I'm not paying attention and enjoying life haphazardly. So now that we have a running store nearby with running groups and clubs, I'M ALL IN! I jogged/walked 6 miles this weekend! Woo hooo! It's nice to have a group of people to encourage me and to be accountable to. I didn't realize how many people there were that were so dedicated to running; am I the only one? This group I have been invited to join starts at 6:42 in the morning on Sundays and 6 am on weekdays! I guess that's great for the summer heat, but the winter I would think it'd be different. Nope... It does feel good though and even after 2 3-mile runs I can see a hint of my waistline coming back! I guess I need to start going to bed earlier... That's okay, my hubby needs to leave by 6:45 in the morning to get to work now, so we are up at 6 am anyway.

Funny thing about this group I have been invited to join is that most are over 50 and the nice man and his wife that invited me are in their 70's! I got to jog with the man Sunday morning, and he was in better shape than I am... He was sympathetic knowing I was just getting into it and ran at a slower pace than he normally does! I really want to keep it up. Since we are getting into a more rainy season, I asked what they do when it rains. His answer was: get a 33 gallon trash bag and cut a hole in the top and run. Huh? Like that's gonna happen... Hasn't he heard of rain gear?

Well, that's my new goal. I gotta do something! Desperate times mean desperate measures! Go, go, go, get in there and fight--grrrrrrrrrrrrr.......

Until next time, Barb

PS The picture above was taken after my 3-mile jog/walk... A nice man sends everyone e-mails of the people that were at the event from the group I running club. I am the newest "member" and the slowest--waaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!