Blogging Noob

Hi! My name is Gwen and this is my first blog. I'm a housewife on the backside of 45 with two grown sons and one grandchild. I've been dealing with Chronic Fatigue Immune Deficiency Syndrome (CFIDS or CFS for future reference) since 1985. Hubby is a funeral director/mortician as is our oldest son. Youngest son is an actor and customer service rep. I'm the oldest of 5 children and my life has pretty much revolved around family. Through the enforced bed rest in the early years of the disease, I became much closer to the Lord even though I was saved as a child. During that time, I also learned patience and anyone who has children and siblings knows that's a trait that will always stand you in good stead. For some time, I've thought about using a blog to detail things I find interesting or to rant about stuff that gets on my nerves. I also thought it would be a good place to write about things I've found in my genealogy research; my thoughts on my favorite TV show Lost or just stuff that comes to mind that, most of the time, defy categorization. I'm also addicted to podcasts. Podcasts about genealogy, Lost, pop culture or history are my main interest in that area. I've been researching my and my husband's various families for almost ten years. Yes, we have a few famous people in our families but that isn't what has driven me. The majority of our ancestors were farmers. I love piecing together lives that have been lived with no thought to posterity - they were just trying to survive and maybe even make a better world for their children and grandchildren. Why did they move from a farm they had been on for three generations and move to Washington (or California or Texas, etc.) to farm there? What personality traits and talents have been handed down? What names are common in my family or my husband's family? Why, if they consistently tell the census enumerator that they were born in Illinois, can I not find them by any means in the 1860 and 1870 censuses?? Had they been taken aboard a space ship and nurtured there after their collective births?? How did our families end up here?? So many more questions and mysteries... The cousins I've discovered and the friends I've made have certainly added much joy in this endeavor. My husband and I watched the very first episode of Lost and we haven't missed an episode. We said it was the fastest hour in TV and we still hold to that assertion. In fact, I tape them and re-watch them while I'm resting. Then, when the DVDs come out, I buy those. While he's not as involved in the larger Lost world like I am, he looks forward to each new episode as much as I do. The way they weave character development and an ongoing story that draws you in and makes you think is something that's totally new and, I'm beginning to believe, a unique television experience. I'm also a voracious reader. This can encompass everything from historical romance to history (mostly medieval but certainly not limited to that era) to travel narratives to Christian narratives to biographies. Well, I guess that's enough for now. I hope to add to this blog at least once a month and, hopefully, more often than that.