Day Three! Finally!

I don't have much to say today because it has been a typical boring Saturday of cleaning & working. But, I went to the gym today and it felt really good. I wasn't feeling great when I woke up this morning and I almost talked myself out of it. But knowing I had to explain myself on the blog if I didn't go got me out the door. My walking started out a little slow, but after 12 min or so, I started to get into it. It also helped that Transformers was playing in the Cardio Cinema. I love that show! Towards the end of the half-hour I even pushed myself to walk at 3.6 and run at 4.2. It also wasn't hard to recover from my running periods. I think I only had one or two walking periods that were longer than 30 sec. It shouldn't be too much longer before I can go the whole workout with 30 sec walking periods! I also did some arm weights, now that my right arm isn't sore. It will be interesting to see how sore I am tomorrow. My eating today hasn't been terrible. I had pancakes this morning with apricot syrup around 11 AM and didn't feel hungry again until around 5 PM. I ate a Twix bar while I was shopping this evening, and decided to get takeout at Olive Garden. I ordered the "light" Capellini pasta with olive oil, salad, & about 4 breadsticks. The breadsticks were my weakness, but I was really careful not to overeat. Because I ate 4 breaksticks, I didn't eat very much of the Capellini & have lots of leftovers for lunch tomorrow. :) Well, I guess this is the end of week one. Sundays are my day off, so I'll check back on Monday.

The Treasure Hunt Begins!

Today, I went to the Family History Library for the first time! I figured, if it was open, I would take the time I had before the Sugar Bowl and go check it out. The only thing I wanted to accomplish today was to familiarize myself with the library, so I wouldn't be so scared to go back! I had trouble finding a parking space and finally had to settle for a 2 hr meter on the street. When I walked into the building, I immediately had three missionaries by me willing to help. I told them it was my first time and they had me sign in, gave me a "First-timer!" badge, and wisked me into an orientation room where I watched an 8 min. video about how everything works. After the video, I told the sister missionary I was looking for information on my Scottish ancestors and she directed me to the 2nd level of the basement, where the British records were kept. When I arrived on the level, I had two more missionaries asking if I needed help. One British missionary had me sit down on the computer & started looking online data bases for records verifying Alexander McLachlan Sr.'s parents. Apparently, it was a difficult task because the information didn't just pop up. After about 10 min. the Elder sat at the computer next to me and really took off. I got so lost trying to follow what records and websites he was looking at. After about an hour, he had printed two 1910 US census records that showed Alex's mom Mary Johnstone living with Alex in Springfield and Alex's Dad, John Sr. living with Alex's brother, John Jr. in another house. We had some trouble verifying their immigration & naturalization records and there wasn't alot of information that showed John was really Alex's father. I was beginning to think I had the wrong information on my family group sheet. Eventually he pawned me off to a girl who was my age. The girl, I can't remember her name, looked really familiar. I ran into her once before in the temple. We both thought we looked familiar to each other, but we couldn't figure out how we knew each other. Anyway, she was a big help because she made me search myself instead of doing it all for me. We decided to start by verifying Alex Sr. birth in the Scottish registry. Apparently these records had recently been extracted by members of the church. I had to look up the microfilm number, look through the film and take it to a 19 yr old Elder to copy. By this time, I had to run to my car to fill the meter. I had enough change for one more hour. On the birth registry it mentioned John McLachlan & Mary Johnstone as the mother & father & verified their marriage date. It also mentioned a grandmother's name of Ellen Johnstone as a witness to the birth. I assumed Ellen Johnstone was Mary's mother. After I made a copy, I wanted to verify John & Mary's marriage date. This search lead me to a microfiche that listed several family history books that mentioned several McLachlan's and family histories. I realized this was going to take me longer than the half hour I had left, so I cleaned up and headed home. When I got home and started to explain my experience to my Mom, I realized that the information we had for Mary Johnstone's mother wasn't correct! We had Alice Reed listed as her Mother, not Ellen. I just found a new person! That was pretty cool! Anyway, I will need to go back and do some more research, but it was a great learning experience. Next time I will need to go on a Saturday when there is free parking, I will need to have at least 5-6 hrs of time to devote to the search, and I will need to bring more cash to make copies with. But overall, it was a great way to spend the afternoon!

Marley & Me

On a personal note, Mom, Dad, Collin & I went to see Marley & Me today. It was a great movie and I recommend everyone see it. It is the first movie that made me cry in a LONG time. I recently bought the book & when I find some extra time :), I will need to read it.

Gathering Info on the McLachlans

I spent most of the day on Wednesday and most of the evening on Thursday looking through the information Mom & Dad have on the McLachlan side of the family. Collin has done some of the same research that I have done and it was fun to talk with him about it on Wednesday. We have alot of information about Alexander McLachlan Sr. (my great-grandfather) & his wife, but the trail of information practially stops after that. I found some pictures of the family that my aunt Linda gathered & copied for my Mom & Dad. In the photo album there are some pictures of Alex Sr. and his wife, Grace, and Alex's father John McLachlan and his wife Mary Johnstone. I found some personal histories of Alex and Grace McLachlan, including their conversion stories and their patriartical blessings. I found a timeline of the life of Alex & Grace that somebody constructed. It has been a huge help in learning what their lives were like. John McLachlan & his family immigrated from Scotland & settled in Springfield, Ill. in 1902. I found a copy of their Naturalization records dated 1909. Alex met Grace in Springfield and got married in 1908. By 1916, they had 4 kids. In March of 1917, they had their first meeting with the Elders and were bapitzed 10 days later. Both Alex and Grace received lots of persecution from their Catholic family and friends in Springfield for being Mormons and eventually they moved to Arizona to be closer to members of the church. In 1929 they were sealed as a family in the Mesa, Arizona temple. As their children get married, they moved all over the west. Eventually Alex & Grace move to Salt Lake City to be closer to family. Alex dies in 1953 and Grace dies 1971. Both are buried in the Bountiful Cemetary. In all the years I have been to the Bountiful Cemetary, I can't remember seeing their grave sites. I will need to go again sometime this week and check it out. I have been retyping the histories I have found so I can have electronic copies. Once I have organized this information, I will need to go to the LDS Family History Library and see if I can find more information on John & Mary McLachlan.

Day Two & Now I'm Sore!

The quest for health continues! Wednesday I worked out on the treadmill in the Cardio Cinema room, watching The Day After Tomorrow. I kept my speeds the same as yesterday, but I think it was a little easier to recover after my 30 sec of jogging periods. My right bicep is really sore from lifting weights on Tuesday...just another sign of how out-of-shape I have let myself become. My arm loosened up a bit as I worked out, but is still really sore. I can't even extend it out all the way. After my cardio workout, I did some leg weights. I tried to push myself a little, but not too much because I didn't want to be too sore to work out tomorrow. I also ate a lot less on Tuesday than I did on Monday, but I still ate out at Crown Burger for dinner. I won't even mention what I ate on Wednesday (New Year's Eve). I don't think I could even remember.

New Years Day I didn't workout. I woke up still sore from my previous workouts & Mom had plans to go to a movie & stuff. Eating today hasn't been anything really crazy, but not good either. I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, a second breakfast for lunch (bacon, eggs, & toast), lots of popcorn and Diet Coke at the theater but NO BUTTER! (yippee), and Burger King for dinner. I think taking the day off has been good for my sore muscles & I have plans to go to the gym tomorrow for Day 3 of my training program. Maybe next week I will have to get serious about regulating my diet, especially since I balanced my budget and I discovered I spent too much for Christmas and I don't have any money left for eating out!

A New Hobby....

On a separate note, I got off on a tangent today that has led me to find a new hobby. Most people know my surname is Scottish and it has always been my dream to go to Scotland. I would love to see the country and learn more about my ancestors. I spoke with a cousin of mine over Thanksgiving who recently returned from Scotland and he says that most people in Scotland know their family history & can tell you most of your's too! I have heard there is a McLachlan Castle and I would love to see it and do some research.

Anyway, this afternoon I was flipping through channels and saw a news story about Donald Trump's plans to build a multibillion dollar resort & golf coarse on the shores of Northeastern Scotland, and I naturally got upset. Apparently it is a done deal, because most of the locals are excited about the revenue it will bring to their town, regardless of how it changes the picturesque landscape. That got me wondering how far away this resort will be from where my ancestors are from. I haven't completely found the answer to that question yet, but it has renewed a desire to work on the McLachlan family history line. I will also start making plans to go to Scotland. I have always said I will go before I die, why not now?? This way, when I finally get to Scotland, I will have all the information ready to understand exactly where my ancestors came from. I have decided to dedicate a new section of blog posts, updating everybody on how my research and travel plans are coming. So far, I have decided to apply for a passport in Feb (when I have money for the fee), and start looking into how much it will cost & what my travel plans will be. Family: I'm hoping you will be able to come with me, cause I don't think I will go alone. Honestly, I don't know when I'll go; maybe a year, maybe two. I think the soonest I will have the money will be summer of 2010. Anyway, I started to make a binder that I will put all of the family information in. I created a cover page with the McLachlan coat of arms on it. I have posted the coat of arms I found on the Internet. I wanted to post it below this writing, but I can't figure out how to do that. I guess I'll have to ask Megan or Tory.

Repentance

I'm sorry! Now I feel really guilty. Tory asked about my blog over Christmas & I guess I was surprised that anybody cared. Thanks Tory for keeping me honest. I promise I will update this blog much more regularly. Thanks to the rest of my family for the comments you have given me, even though I have only posted three times. :) Thanks for your support.

Well, needless to say, my 5k Training was nonexistent the past two weeks. With Tyler & Tory in town, I was a little distracted, but I can't use them as an excuse for every day I missed. Basically, I ate whatever I wanted and didn't work out once. Well, unless you want to count the day we went sledding. I climbed up the hill about four times before I decided it was more fun to take pictures. If we can get the pictures recovered off the memory card, I can say it was worth it.

So, this week is suppose to be a fresh start, and I'm starting a week BEFORE the new year! Since I didn't get a good start last time, I think I will start over. Today is Day 1. I went to the gym and worked out on the treadmill. Usually I like to use the treadmills in the Cardio Cinema room, where I can watch movies. But today it was "out of order". I was a little disappointed, but I discovered that Gold's Gym has added personal 15"? HDTVs to some of its equipment on the main floor. That was pretty cool. It definately helped the time fly by faster than before. I worked on a repeat of Day one on my 30/30 5K training plan. I walked for the first 10 min.; jogged for 30 sec on 4.0 speed and walked at 3.5 speed until I recovered. I found it was easier to recover if I didn't jog as fast (go figure). Anyway, I think I will keep steady on those speeds until I can recover my walk in 30 sec. intervals. After my cardio training, I did a few arm weights and some crunches. I felt weak from previous workouts & struggled getting started, but at least I was there. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. I also weigh 234.3, gaining about 1 lbs. over Christmas. That was better than I expected, actually. However, I usually weigh myself in the evening and today I weighed myself in the morning. Anyway, I think I will plan on getting to the gym by 9 AM this week so I can watch The Price is Right on my personal HDTV. :)