A Very Nice Surprise – “One Lovely Blog” Award!

Today I received some very exciting news and a very nice surprise. I was chosen by my friend Valerie Hughes as one of the 15 bloggers she admired - and that she had nominated for the “One Lovely Blog” award! Thank you so much, Valerie. What an honor!

Here are the rules for this award: (There are always rules!)

  1.     Thank the person who nominated you and link to that blog.

  2.     Share Seven things about yourself.

  3.     Nominate 15 bloggers you admire - or as many as you can!

  4.     Contact your bloggers to let them know that you’ve tagged them for the “One Lovely Blog” Award.

So first of all: Thank you once again, Valerie, for nominating me for this lovely award. I truly appreciate it.

Here is the link to her blog: http://genealogywithvalerie.wordpress.com/

Seven Things About Me: (Only seven?)

1. I spent over 40 years serving in the field of education: as a history teacher for over 25 years, as a French teacher for two of those years, and as a Middle School Coordinator for over 15 years. (I also had to teach geography every now and then, which was always lots of fun for a person who is never sure where she is!)

2. I generally began the year in my history classes with a unit on family history so that the students would be able to understand their own place in the great scheme of history. (Sometimes that actually worked!)

3. When I was a much younger teacher, I was a soccer coach for two years. (Don’t fall out laughing, please!)

4. I play the piano; was 1^st chair clarinet soloist in my junior high school band; switched to the choir in high school; and majored in vocal music for two years in college. (I changed my major when I realized that everyone else spent hours in the practice rooms, and I was always running out to some sorority meeting or other social event…oops!)

5. I was told all my life that I was a direct descendant of General Thomas Gage, and that I was a cousin of General Robert E. Lee. (I never believed the one about Lee even though Lee is my middle name.)

6.  My 4^th great grandmother was Hannah Gage, who is not the daughter of Thomas Gage, but I am the 4^th cousin, 5 times removed of General Lee himself! (Who knew?)

7.   I am the lucky wife of a wonderful and loving husband, the mother of three fantastic sons, the grandmother of two beautiful granddaughters and one handsome grandson, and the great-grandmother of the most beautiful little boy in the world! (I’m sure that bit about being a ‘great-grandmother’ is some kind of typo!)

Fifteen Bloggers I Admire: (Oh, mercy, this was a hard one, and it doesn’t include Valerie’s, which would definitely be included!)

1. The Legal Genealogist by Judy G. Russell

2. Jana’s Genealogy and Family History Blog by Jana Last

3. Ancestral Journeys by Jen Baldwin

4. Are My Roots Showing? by Jenny Lanctot

5. 4YourFamilyStory by Caroline Pointer

6. The Sanford Family Misfit by Cassie Clark

7. Your Genetic Genealogist by CeCe Moore

8. Appalachian History by Dave Tabler

9. Genealogy Gems by Lisa Louise Cooke

10. The Enthusiastic Genealogist by Dana Stewart Leeds

11. Barking Up the Wrong Tree by Loretta Gillespie

12. Finding Our Ancestors by Terri O’Connell

13. Mississippi Memories by Janice Tracy

14. Always Anxiously Engaged by Peggy Lauritzen

15. West in New England by Bill West

(Of course, I had to leave out everyone’s favorites: Dear Myrtle, Dick Eastman, Randy Seaver, Thomas MacEntee, GeneaBloggers – and many, many others whose blogs I love! This list needs to be longer. I know I’ve left out some friends - not good!)

Contact Bloggers:

This may take a while, but I’ll begin shortly and keep on until I’ve finished!

Thanks so much once again, Valerie, for nominating me for this “One Lovely Blog” award! J

@2014 Copyright by Carla Love Maitland