Search Results: holiday

DNA tests: The gift that keeps on giving

By Hazel Thornton | May 23, 2022 |

Have you had your DNA tested? How often do you revisit your results? (This post is for people who have tested, or who want to test, their DNA for genealogy purposes. It’s not for those who don’t want to, or who are more interested in DNA for health purposes or traits.)

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Reviews & Interviews

By Hazel Thornton | May 14, 2022 | Comments Off on Reviews & Interviews

Reviews: Click here to read (and leave) Amazon reviews. — Thank you all so much! Click here to read (and leave) Goodreads reviews. — Your reviews are very much appreciated! 10 FREE Ways to Support Your Favorite Authors — This Org4life blog post includes helpful tips on how and where to write a review.  …

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What the heck is a second cousin once removed?

By Hazel Thornton | February 27, 2022 |

This question — How are we related? — might arise when you gather with relatives during holidays. Or anytime. Most people just laugh and change the subject. But, next time, YOU can be the one who knows the answer! (PRO TIP: Keep this post handy for reference!)

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10 FREE Ways to Support Your Favorite Authors

By Hazel Thornton | February 7, 2022 |

I know a lot of authors! And I know even more readers! Naturally we’d all like you to buy our books. But even if you can’t — and we’re so grateful if you have! — there are lots of no-cost ways to support your favorite authors. (And, author friends, there are a few tips in…

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Luminarias at the Cemetery

By Hazel Thornton | December 20, 2021 |

(This story originally appeared in a Facebook Note on December 24, 2012.) Luminarias are a New Mexican Christmas Eve tradition with religious origins. (Scroll down to learn more.) They are also one of my favorite family holiday traditions. But… in the cemetery? Let me explain.        

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Gifts for Genealogists and their Families

By Hazel Thornton | November 22, 2021 |

Someone asked me for a list of gifts for family historians. They had in mind gadgets and other tangible things you could wrap up with a bow. But I thought, “Most of the things I want don’t cost money and can’t be wrapped.”

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Parallels between the 2020 and 1918 pandemics

By Hazel Thornton | October 18, 2020 |

In April I wrote a blog post called Our Ancestors and the 1918 Spanish Flu, not realizing there would be more. But…of course, there’s more! This is a marathon, not a sprint, and COVID-19 is not going away anytime soon. Note: The 1918-1919 flu pandemic was often referred to as the “Spanish Flu” because of…

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Time Management Resource Roundup

By Hazel Thornton | May 25, 2020 | Comments Off on Time Management Resource Roundup

Organizers like to debate whether time can be managed. Well, of course, it can’t! Because all we can really manage is ourselves. But if we don’t simply call it “Time Management” what are we going to call it? “Managing oneself in relationship to time, with the goal of being productive while also satisfying one’s creative,…

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Are You Getting to Good Enough?

By Hazel Thornton | June 2, 2019 |

Janine Adams and Shannon Wilkinson don’t know it yet, but I’ve become obsessed with their podcast, Getting to Good Enough, which recently aired its 52nd episode! That’s a whole year of 30-minute weekly episodes of “a podcast to help you let go of perfectionism so you can do more of what you love”.

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The guest-worthy & stress-free home

By Hazel Thornton | November 26, 2018 |

Do you enjoy house guests? Or avoid them? Is your home guest-worthy? Does the thought of having people over cause a small panic attack? In New Mexico the holidays start with the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in October! Many of us host visitors during that time. Some of us have friends and family who visit…

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