Woohoo!

Well, I did it. I just finished my first of 5 goals for 2011. (This year, for New Years resolutions, instead of doing the general goals that I usually set, such as doing better at my scripture study or being more patient with the kids [two past resolutions that I feel like I’m currently doing pretty well on], I decided to set just 5 very concrete goals that have a definite end point. I picked 5 things that I’d like to get done this year, and I think if I try I really can accomplish all these goals before the year’s up). So, these are the goals I set:

1. finish writing my history
2. finish 2008 blog book
3. enter info into PAF file so I can submit my file to the Pedigree Resource File
4. keep blog updated
5. work on 2003 blog book, etc.

So, in October I was teaching a class on writing your life history, which motivated me to start working on writing my own (I had written basic life sketches in the past, but decided to write something more detailed this time). So, I worked on it a lot during the time that the class was writing their histories, but when the class ended I decided to try to keep going until I was up to date on the history. So, I just finished today – now I can wait another 5 or 10 years to update it again. It’s 120 handwritten pages (I know, I’m wordy, but if it were typed it would be much shorter than that). It feels good to accomplish that goal! It’s something I’ve always thought I’d do some day.

Then for my other goals, I wanted to finish the book that I started making a year or so ago (actually, I finished it almost all the way, but never got the last part done, so it shouldn’t be too big a job to finish it). After making a similar book for Michael at Christmas with all our old emails, letters, cards, and photos from before we got married, (and after Michael enjoyed reading and remembering so much), it motivated me to get our other books done so we would have a printed copy of our family journals over the years. So that will be good to get done, then that 5th goal is just to at least get started on the other books for our family journal over the years, so that shouldn’t be too hard to at least get started working on those too. And then my goal of trying to keep the blog up to date is just so that I won’t get months behind in writing or posting photos (because it can get overwhelming to try to get caught up when I let that happen).

And the biggest goal of them all is number 3. Over the past several years whenever someone has sent me any information related to genealogy, if I happened to not have time right away to add the info into my genealogy software (my PAF file), I saved it to a folder on my computer called “Add to PAF” so I wouldn’t forget to do it at a later time. Through my correspondence and research over the years, this folder has accumulated a lot of information. For some time now I have wanted to submit my genealogy file to the Pedigree Resource File (PRF) on familysearch.org, a database that not only archives the information and preserves it, but also makes the information available online to other people researching their genealogy (thereby making it possible to make more connections with other distant relatives who might be able to add to your knowledge of your ancestors). But I really want to add all the data saved on my computer to my file before submitting it to the PRF, so that will be the goal that takes the longest. But I think that since it’s the only really long goal I set out of the five, it should be something that I’m able to accomplish if I do it in my spare time here and there.

So, one down, four to go.


*Note added 4 February 2011:

Well, I just found out that the PRF will stop accepting submissions of genealogy files within the next few months when the website, new.familysearch.org becomes available to the public. The idea of getting all the info I have saved on my computer (well over 1000 different records to type up) added to my genealogy file before submitting it within the next few months (no, the familysearch support person was unable to give me a more precise date) is overwhelming (and likely impossible). So, it looks like I’m going to have to re-think goal #3. Oh well. So, at this point I guess I need to decide whether to try to add some of the information to my file before submitting it, or just submitting it as is. I’m leaning toward just submitting it with what I’ve got, then going from there. At least I found this software that I quite like called FamilyInsight, which helps to sync a genealogy file with the new.familysearch.org site, so I’ll be able to add my other info that way (even if it is one individual at a time, rather than submitting the large file all at once). Anyways, I know most of the people who read this blog have no idea what I’m even talking about here (or at least don’t have much interest in this topic), but it was on my mind so I thought I’d include it.