One Lovely Blog

I am excited to be included in this award. I was nominated by Heather Wilkinson Rojo, author of Nutfield Genealogy, one of my favorite bloggers. Thank you for thinking of me, Heather! 

The rules for the "One Lovely Blog Award":

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 think of!)
4. Let your bloggers know that you've tagged them for the One Lovely Blog Award

Seven things about myself:

1. I credit my Carter and Cotton family lines for helping me grow up with a sense of history. The farm settled by my 4th great-grandfather, Dr. Timothy Carter, has been in my family for seven generations. I grew up surrounded by my family's history. I could wander around the house and meetinghouse he built and see the names of my ancestors on stones in the cemetery behind the meetinghouse. My Cotton line is linked into the Ellingwood surname. There was a book about the genealogy of the Ellingwoods that was updated after I was born so I could peruse a book of ancestors while visiting my grandparents. I thought it was fascinating. 
2. I teach U.S. History and psychology at Windham High School and this is my twenty-first year of teaching. I love the teaching part but could do without the work that comes before and after my classes. I've even found some cousins amongst my students as they work on family history projects. 
3. I have four sons from my first marriage and my husband has two daughters from his first marriage. Together we have children spanning the ages of 22 to 32 - one every two years. Nick 22, Katie 24, Rachel 26, Ben 28, Josh 30, and Steve 32. The middle names of my sons are all in honor of family members: Stephen (for my favorite uncle), Thomas (for my father and grandfather), John (for my only male Carter cousin and my former brother-in-law), and Carter (my maiden name). 
4. I was lucky enough to know three of my great-grandparents and many great-aunts and great-uncles. 
5. I love horses and learned to ride using the saddle that my 2nd great-grandfather, Augustus Carter, used in the Civil War. My family still has his uniform, spurs, and sword too. 
6. I love to travel. I'd love to be able to go more often. England is my favorite and I'd like to see more of Scotland. I've never been to Ireland or Wales and I'd love to go there too. 
7. I really like to cook and I credit my grandmothers. My dad's mom made the best rolls, biscuits, baked beans, and molasses cookies! My mom's mom worked as a pastry chef at resorts in Florida and New Hampshire. Her cakes were amazing! 

Many of my favorite bloggers have already been tagged but figuring that some of my readers may not have seen them, I will list some of them again. Here are a baker's dozen to check out. 

1. Shakespeare's Mom by Kate Parlin is not a genealogy blog but a parenting blog written by a good friend and amazing writer! She has three girls under the age of 5, including a set of twins! She's starting to gain national attention for her writing and I have no doubt that someday she will write a great American novel. 
2. Some Pig by my friend Caroline is another parenting/teaching/modern woman blog written by one of the best writer's I've ever met. If you like snarky, wise-cracking, wit, this is a blog for you. 
3. Life from the Roots by Barbara Poole is a great blog with awesome photography. 
4. Digging Down East by Pam Schaffner
5. Boston 1775 by J. L. Bell is a great place to dig around and learn more about the American Revolution. I've found several ancestor stories here. 
6. Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog by Jana Last in awesome in many ways but it's one of my favorite sites to check out for her Fab Finds posted every Friday with great topics I might have missed. 
7. Acadian Ancestral Home by Lucie Constantino is not only and interesting blogger but a great speaker. Check out her blog to see if she is speaking in your area. 
8. Granite In My Blood by Midge Frazel is a great collection of all things genealogy and Midge is a great inspiration to always keep learning. Some day I might be half as organized as she is! 
9. One Rhode Island Family by Diane Boumenot. I especially enjoy the posts where she elaborates on her process as she searches for information about her ancestors. 
10. Of Loons and Lady Slippers by T. K. Eldridge is a blog I discovered through the 52 ancestors challenge. I love the name too! 
11. Maine Genealogy by Chris Dunham has been a great resource for me. Not only the blog but the entire site with many features. 
12. West in New England by Bill West has already been nominated but Bill is my inspiration and the person most responsible for starting my blog so I can't leave him out. 
13. Genea-Musings by Randy Seaver is a blog I always check out and a previous nominee. 

I will be contacting the bloggers above but don't expect those who have already done the challenge once to do it again.