I spent all day Saturday with my mom and her family in Beaver, Minersville, and Adamsville, Utah, learning more about my Gillins line (maternal grandfathers family. I photographed over 100 grave sites to put on findagrave.com, but I also caught some neat shots of my early family's Adamsville stomping grounds. Some photos for your enlightenment:

The old family own. My fifth-great grandfather built this home after immigrating from England, living in Philadelphia for several years, and then crossing the plains to join the saints in Utah. This home is amazing, there are four large rooms on the main floor, each with a fireplace. I was so impressed with the beautiful brick, the simple layout. It was a very large home for the 19th century. Heck, it's still a big home! Wish I had a good chunk of cash, I'd pay to move this house and restore it...

What. The. ...

I stole this from Cakewrecks, but it was just too horrifying to not share with all y'all... all.

An iPad wedding.

Eck, I just threw up a little bit in my mouth.

Darn you, iPad! Imma take you down, foo!

Sometimes a girl needs a little work done...

Okay, I disagree intensely with this post title. However, the blog was a little blah. Thank you Simini for addicting me even more deeply to the internet.

So, will be door 1, 2, 3, or 4?

Two Nice Thoughts from Daddy-Long-Legs

I finished Daddy-Long-Legs today. It's a super-quick read, but... I only ever managed to read it during class, and thus was limited to Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10 AM to 2 PM, whilst attempting to look attentive and studious during lectures.

Anyway, the book is written by Jean Webster. Check out this genealogy: obviously, the famous Webster family; her mother, Annie Clemens, was Mark Twain's niece; her father, Charles Luther Webster, was a member of Mark Twain's publishing firm; also in her family tree were the notable Daniel Boone and Eli Whitney. Awesome!

Ironically, no one really took her seriously in the beginning. She was also a terrible speller.

Anyway, her very likable protagonist Judy (Jerusha) has two killer quotes. I know they'll seem ridiculous, but they struck a chord with me.

1. "I don't agree with the theory that adversity and sorrow and disappointment develop moral strength. The happy people are the ones who are bubbling over with kindness. I have no faith in misanthropes."

2. "It isn't the great big pleasures that count the most; it's making a great deal out of the little ones - I've discovered the true secret of happiness, Daddy, and that is to live in the now. Not to be forever regretting the past, or anticipating the future, but to get the most that you can out of this very instant."

Nice, huh?

Bonus Thumbs Up

POMPLAMOOSE!

Best lyrics of this "Single Ladies" cover are when Nataly Dawn sings, "Don't make me sing this part of the song, the lyrics are so bad, so we're going to skip ahead to the single ladies part instead!"

Props. Make sure you watch the video because their music is very much a visual experience. Bought their CD Tribute to Famous People and the 3 More Songs Woot! dealio.