What I’m Doing Now 3.2.22

As of today, it’s been exactly one month since I’ve written an update on What I’m Doing Now. The last one was 2.2.22. Since then I have been back active on the blog, but still not as active as in the past. Again, there is just a lot going on. So, let’s jump right into it.

CEMP Certification

In my last update, I shared that I had been working on my CEMP certification. It took about two and a half months to complete which included four hour and a half long discussions on the material, study time, and a final exam which consisted of about three or four long essays. It was quite intense, but I am extremely proud that it has been accomplished.

What I have learned from this process is that if there is professional development that you are interested in on the job, definitely have the courage to ask for it. Had I never believed in myself and asked, I would not have accomplished this.

Outstanding Staff Nomination and Award

Aside from the work that was put into that certification, I was recently awarded the Outstanding Staff Green Award at work. There are two awards, green and gold. Green is for those staff members that have been on board for under five years, while the gold is for those who have been with the institution for over five years.

So, I must say that it took me by surprise! However, I am so grateful for the recognition and the fact that my hard work does not go unnoticed. On the day that the award was announced, I received a traveling trophy with my name on it, as well as some beautiful flowers from our Director. Later, I’ll receive a plaque and some other goodies.

I am forever grateful.

Genealogy

Recently, I have had intense urges to work on our family history and get as much as I can documented and into some family binders and boxes in an organized way. A few nights ago, I woke up in the middle of the morning with the idea to get started right away. That morning at 4 AM, I was laying in bed scrolling Pinterest for the best ways to get started and organize what I have and search for what I lacked.

In just two days, I have most of the information that I need and only need to organize all that I have. So, over the next few weeks, I’ll be spending time organizing a few family history binders and photo boxes with memorabilia in them.

If you are looking for a few tips to get started, here are a few.

First, prepare the questions that you need answers to and ask your family. Next, search for obituaries in archived newspapers. Finally, join ancestry.com to fill in the gap. Remember, everything online is not factual and internet information changes often.

Once all of this is complete, grab you a few binders that are the same and can be easily stored, along with a few small photo boxes or boxes of the same size that can be used for items collected. For example, I have something from every grandmother that I have had such as gowns and jewelry that I would like to protect and store.

Travel Albums

Speaking of binders, my youngest son has requested memory books of his life. Random. I know. He specifically asked for a travel album of our travels, along with a memory book of his life as a baby.

Printing the photos wasn’t a problem because I have them all, especially the travel photos that are on the blog. The problem is printing hundreds of photos at one time can get expensive. Then add on photo albums, stickers, washi tape, etc.

Psst. Michael’s has nice photo albums for $9.99. You can also use your 20% off coupon.

Nevertheless, I completed the travel album last night and had the baby photos printed today. Those should arrive by postal mail within a week. Once those come, I’m going to simply place them in a small 4×6 album just for him to have.

What I have learned from this…

What I have learned from this is that I should have been printing the photos along the way and not waiting until 17 states have passed to suddenly decide to print some photos. Since there are so many states and photos to cover, I only chose to print two to six of each destination to make sure I was able to get everything into one album. But from here on out, I’ll print photos upon returning from our travels.

Emergency Go-Bags

The other project I have been working on is our Emergency Bug-Out Bags. Please check out the post. Since that post, I have added other items to our bags and created an emergency tote. Inside of the emergency tote is a camping stove and fuel, utensils, a small tent, some solar lights, a mallet, a lantern, and our go-bags.

And, on Monday, I finished making copies of our personal documents, so that there is a handy copy available in the event of an emergency. My hope is that we will never need this, however, if we do we are good to go. And, if we don’t use it, we can always use it for camping.

Does your family have an emergency plan?

Final Thoughts

Well, these are just a few of the things that have been going on. I haven’t been taking many photos lately, so I don’t have any new ones to share. These are all old. So sorry. In the meantime, check out the following posts!