I’ve never been a great sleeper. My parents always tell stories of how difficult I was to put to bed as a baby. I can remember hating sleep as a little kid and as a teenager I always had problems falling asleep and staying asleep.

I thought my lack of sleep was relatively normal (my parents aren’t great sleepers either) until college when I’d find myself in the dorms wide awake while everyone else was fast asleep. Sometimes I’d pace the halls to try to kill my energy or I’d write in my notebook to try to clear my thoughts.

Over the last few years I’ve gone through periods where I’ve slept a lot more than I ever have before. I always hear how great sleep is and how more sleep indicates better long term health so I figured wanting 8 hours of sleep (or more) must be good.

The way the brain and the body work together is tricky. The more sleep my body wants, the less active my brain seems. For the last several months I’ve had night after night of uninterrupted sleep (6-8 hours) and my brain has been on auto-pilot. I’ve struggled to come up with new ideas and concepts at work and I’ve stopped working on creative projects at home.

Tonight I’ve had the worst night of sleep I’ve had in a long time. Collectively I’ve had about 4 hours of sleep and most of that was in one hour increments where I snapped awake for 30 minutes or so before resting again. During this sleepless time I’ve come up with about a million ideas for home art projects and projects at work. I’ve been up sketching things out and taking notes for the last several hours. It makes me feel invigorated but also a little bit crazy.

Am I the only one like this? Does anyone else work better on less sleep?

When I was finishing up my master’s degree I decided my next project would be to trace my family history. I’ve always been curious about where my family is from and what patterns and parallels I can see between my ancestors lives and mine.

The show Who Do You Think You Are? also inspired me to start my research. If you haven’t seen the show, it traces celebrities on their journeys to find out more about their ancestry. It’s a fascinating show and it has given me some insight on the types of questions i should ask my elder family members in order to get the most accurate information to base my research on.

I’m starting my research with my mom’s side of the family because my grandpa (pictured with me above) already has a wealth of knowledge about his family history. Some of it has been researched before and some of it is hear-say. I met with my grandpa today to get some more details and to find out what unanswered questions he has about his family.

The meeting was extremely helpful; my grandpa loves history so I knew he would know the years things took place and if our family was involved in major historical events, like the Civil War (we were). What we don’t know is what European country we came from; we theorize we came from France. We also don’t know much about his mom’s family. I left my visit with grandpa with a great starting point for one piece of my puzzle and I’m looking forward ton seeing what I find out.

Has anyone else researched their ancestry? What tools did you use and what tips do you have for me?

I had a pretty great 2010 and 2011 seems like it will be pretty awesome. Here’s my recap of 2010 and my resolutions for 2011.

My 2010 highlights:

Becoming an Aunt

One of the biggest highlights this year was becoming an aunt for the first time. My older brother Brandon and his wife Amanda had their first child this year. I’m not really into kids and haven’t spent very much time around babies so I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about the arrival of Mr. Spencer. It’s almost been a year since Spencer was born and it’s been soooo much fun watching him grow and spending time with him. Being an aunt is so awesome because I can hang out with Mr. S when he is a good mood and pass him back to Mom and Dad when he’s in a bad mood. It’s also fun buying presents for him; for his 1st birthday I plan to get him an obnoxious drum set to annoy the hell out of his parents. What kind of a little sister would I be if I didn’t buy an annoying toy for Spencer?!

Traveling to New Orleans

Hess and I went to New Orleans for our friend Maggie’s wedding. We had such a great trip. Not only was the wedding great, but we met up with Crystal, one of my old theater friends from high school. Crystal lives in New Orleans and works for WWOZ New Orleans (download their app for your phone and be sure to donate to the station). She took us out and showed us a great time and some fabulous non-touristy parts of NOLA. If you haven’t been to New Orleans I encourage you to go. It’s an amazing city with amazing people, food, and music. We plan to go back very soon.

Coop's Place Crab Claws - YUM

Finishing my Master’s Degree

The three year process that was my Master’s Degree program finally came to an end. I officially have a Master’s Degree in Liberal Studies with a focus in Sociology. I really enjoyed my time in school but was ready to be done.

What’s to come for 2011?

I’m not sure yet. I have lots of plans, but I’ll need to wait and see what unfolds. I have made a few resolutions.

Spend time away from my electronic devices

I’m on a computer or my phone all day. I think technology is great but I need to work on disconnecting so I’m committing to try to do that for at least a hour or two a day.

Read more

Now that I’m done with school ‘m excited to start reading for pleasure and I plan to do a lot of that in 2011

Become more financially mindful

I’ve gotten in the habit of letting Hess manage all the money. This year I plan to really get to know our finances and to be more mindful of unnecessary spending.

Nurture my creativity

I want to spend more time doing creative activities. When I started graduate school my focus changed to academic projects and I miss the creative stuff I use to do.

I have several more resolutions but I think I’ll keep those to myself. I’m looking forward to seeing what 2011 has in store for me, my family, and my friends. Here’s to 2011!

I can’t believe how long it’s been since my last post. I wanted to start this blog to give a fresh perspective on social media, technology, and sociology. I’m not sure I’m accomplishing any of that, but I’m working on being patient with myself as I develop this site and as I develop my blogging voice. It’s been difficult for me because I’m so use to writing on behalf of someone else or on behalf of an organization; it’s hard to suddenly step out of the shadows and share my own thoughts. The truth is, there are lots of reasons I’ve put off writing and lots of questions that pop into my mind when I think of blogging. Here are just a few:

• Does anyone care what I have to say?
• Will people judge my writing?
• Do I have anything valuable to add?

90% of the time I start a blog and stop because of these questions. Over Thanksgiving my Dad gave me a CD filled with songs he wrote. The album is great and I really enjoy it; it seemed like putting it together was a breeze for him. After talking with him about it he shared that when he initially started writing he felt the same ways I do and struggled with the same questions. As he moved forward in the process he began to realize it didn’t matter if anyone like the work; the album was for him. Is it nice if people like his work? Yes, but ultimately he creates because he enjoys creating. I’m starting to look at this blog the same way; this blog is for me and I hope people find some value it in, but if they don’t that’s okay too.

Fellow bloggers, have you experienced similar feelings when writing your posts? If so, how have you moved past those questions of self-doubt?

As many of you know, I recently took a new job with a Search Engine Marketing company called Bizresearch. As part of my hiring process I was required to take the Google Adwords Fundamentals exam and one of the Google advanced exams in order to obtain my Adwords Certification. These exams are challenging and if you are are like me and have limited experience in the SEO/SEM world they are even tougher. Today, I’ll give you my tips for passing the Google Adwords Fundamentals Exam.

How to Pass the Google Adwords Fundamentals Exam:

1. Study, study, study- This may seem obvious, but a lot of people don’t take the exams seriously. If you want to pass you have to study and Google has created a nice learning center with helpful lessons in a variety of formats to help you retain the information. Make sure you go through each lesson thoroughly and you complete all of the exercises. I encourage you to take notes and even create flashcards to help you retain the info. It’s a lot of work, but going the extra mile will allow you to pass the first time. Remember, these exams cost $50 and you only get two chances per month to pass the exam.

2. Know the layout of the Adwords Menus- Many questions on this exam involve knowing where you can find certain information within the Adwords menu. If you don’t have an Adwords account create one and get to know the menus/layout. It’s important to know what reports you can pull in your account and how you would do this, as well as the type of information you can see in each section.

3. Know the difference between account, campaign, and adgroup settings- Make sure you know what settings are stored in each of these areas. For example, where would you adjust your budget or location and language targeting? (Answer: campaign management). To help me remember, I created a organizational chart that lists what each area has control over.

A good portion of the questions revolve around hypothetical situations so it’s important to know how to apply the content you have memorized.  Passing the fundamentals exam can be a challenge; be sure to study hard, take notes, and focus.  Up next, I’ll give my tips for passing the Reporting/Analysis Advanced Exam.

For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move. – Robert Louis Stevenson

I have the travel bug BAD. I’ve always enjoyed traveling, but it seems the older I get the more I want to pack my bags and head out on an adventure. This could be genetic; my grandmother LOVES to travel. I’m sure if I called her up right now and said I need a travel companion to _________ she would have her bags packed before we got off the phone.

Our next trip is to New Orleans. We’re going for a friend’s wedding, but will be staying a few extra days so we can explore the city. We’ve never been to NOLA, but always hear what a great place it is. Almost everyone I’ve talked to that has been to NOLA has provided a recommendation on where to go, what to do, and what to eat. I’m starting to seriously plan the trip and am ready to compile all your recommendations. So, if you have been to NOLA and think there’s a place(s) we absolutely have to visit, leave me a comment and let me know where and why.  I’m anxious to read all your suggestions and I’ll be sure to let you know where we actually visit.

A week or so ago our sinks clogged. Hess and I have a house built in 1952 so our bathroom and kitchen sinks are connected and there’s a curve in the pipes that makes it difficult to get unclogged without a professional. Luckily, my parents recommended Brad the plumber who came over and fixed the clog.

We’ve had several plumbing issues this last year and this one was the final straw; we have finally decided to remodel our bathroom. I thought I’d take a before picture and post it here and then post the after once it’s completed (hopefully by the end of summer). Financially this sucks, but I know we’ll be so much happier once it’s done. These pictures really don’t show the full extent of repairs/updates we need to complete.

The floor is stick-on tile and the walls are two different colors right now.

The window in the shower will be a block window when we are finished.

The first day of spring has finally arrived and the plants around our house have begun blooming.  The first crocus to bloom (pictured above) came up when there was still frost on the ground.  It’s amazing to me this delicate flower managed to survive the cold.

The 21 day challenge hasn’t been much of a challenge.  The only time I felt a tinge of upset was when the Oscars were on.  Otherwise it’s been relatively easy.  When the 21 days are up I think my habit will officially be broken. I’m definately more mindful of how I’m using my time.

The next 6-8 weeks will be very busy for me.  I’m wrapping up two grad school classes so I can start my thesis in the summer.  This week I will be immersed in research for a paper I’m writing in my Democracy class on women in the workforce.  I hope to share my questions, thoughts, concerns, etc. here so stay tuned.

Experts say it take 21 days to change a habit.  I’m not sure if this is true or not, but I have an awful habit I need to break.  Most people don’t know this, but I LOVE television.  I can watch hours and hours of TV.  I watch reality shows, sitcoms, talk shows, late night shows, comedy specials, movies on tv, reruns of classic tv…you get the picture. The problem is I often come home from work and immediately start watching TV. In fact, the only reason I’m not watching TV right now is Hess (my husband) has demanded the TV.

I realize coming home and sitting in front of the TV is part of a bad routine.  On weekends I don’t do this and when I’m somewhere without a TV I don’t really notice it’s missing.  In fact, in September 2008 when the electric at our house was knocked out by hurricane Ike for seven days I didn’t even miss the TV.

Ultimately there are only about five shows I really like to see so I’ve decided to try to break this habit once and for all. I’m going to go 21 days with only one hour of TV a day (try not to fall out of your chair Hess).  I’m not cutting out all of my TV time because ultimately I want to learn to manage my time with the TV more effectively.  I’ll track my progress here so you can follow along. Wish me luck!

On February 4, 2010 I became and Aunt for the first time! My nephew, Spencer James Harper, was born to my brother Brandon and sister-in-law Amanda.  I’m very excited to welcome him into the world and look forward to getting to know him.  At Amanda’s baby shower I gave her and Spencer a Bob Marley lullaby CD from local store What the Rock and I guess he’s been loving it.  I knew he would have excellent taste in music!

Here’s a picture of our newest family member & his Daddy: