Not All Blonds Share a Common Ancestor

Up until now, it was believed that blond hair developed in people who were of European ancestry, and was brought to the Solomon Islands after Europeans traveled over and had offspring with the people who lived there. A new study, however, finds that blond hair developed independently in two different parts of the world. Not all blonds share a common ancestor after all. It is rather amazing how much genealogy related information can be learned from taking a close look at at a person’s DNA. Genealogists use it to learn about relatives and ancestors that they did not know about. … Continue reading

Got land? Share it!

Oh, the joy of gardening. This week I was all over manure and straw from head to toe, and I was glorying in all of the muck. This is because I now have a little bit of land to play on, and I’m so grateful! For many years, I’ve been looking for land that is sunnier and larger than my own. We live in a townhouse, which means that our yard space is somewhat limited. We also have a lovely Japanese maple in the yard. While lovely, the tree brings an unfortunate amount of shade to the garden. Enter the … Continue reading

Disneyland Grad Nite

Although Disney World might have decided to convert its decades-old Grad Nite celebrations into Senior Class Trips, Disneyland’s keeping the tradition. We know that Grad Nite will continue there for at least the next two years, as the official Disney Parks blog just mentioned some updates Disneyland is making to its graduate celebrations. Next year, any students partying for their graduation will be able to enter any Disneyland or Disney California Adventure park whenever they want. They’ll also be offered two FASTPASS tickets and a special showing of Fantasmic! before the private Grad Nite parties begin. In 2013 the aforementioned … Continue reading

Adopt a Shelter Dog Month: Share Your Story!

October is Adopt a Shelter Dog month! If you’ve been thinking about rescuing a pet from a local shelter, this is a good time to do it. (Okay, there isn’t really a BAD time to save a pet from a shelter, is there?) There are so many wonderful pets sitting in shelters for various reasons. Maybe their owners had an unexpected health issue and had to surrender them. Maybe a soldier was deployed and couldn’t find a new home for a beloved pet. Maybe an abandoned dog or cat had a litter in the wild and was picked up by … Continue reading

The Pets Blog Week in Review for April 14-20

If the spring in the air has kept you out instead of in more, but you still want to keep up on the happenings in the Pets Blog, fear not. This handy Week in Review will keep you in the loop about Aimee and I wrote about on: Monday, April 14 Aimee covered everything you’d ever want to know about guinea pig cages. Sometimes an inspirational animal story comes along that is just marvelously wonderful. The story of Oscar the naked cockatoo is just such a story. Tuesday, April 15 There is both an art and science to guinea pig … Continue reading

The Marriage Blog Week in Review for January 14-20

In case anything kept you from reading the Marriage Blog everyday last week, here’s a recap of what Lyn and I wrote on: Monday, January 14 When You Do Not Care for Your Friend’s Partner Lyn discussed something I think we’ve all experienced at one time or another, either being the person to not like a friend’s choice of mate or being the one not liked. She gave some suggestions for how to handle such a situation when it arises. Do Fairy Tales Exist in the Congo? I wondered what kind of fairy tales (if any) the women of the … Continue reading

FYI: Cool Pet/Animal Tip Offs Fellow Families.com Members Have Shared With Me

The other day I wrote about My Life as a Pets Blogger Parts I and II, but something I forgot to mention is how sometimes people pass neat stories or otherwise pet-related info my way. (Like Aimee did with an article that I referenced in Michael Vick Learns Animal Lovers Are a Force to Be Reckoned With.) Well, Aimee’s done it again, but so have a couple of others. I’d like to share with you what they shared with me, because you might find it equally interesting. The Michael Vick Pet Chew Toy This one came to me again courtesy … Continue reading

The Marriage Blog Week in Review: April 30 – May 4

It’s the weekend and we’re spending the weekend handling yard work, repairing a damaged fence so that we can keep our dogs contained and sharing the responsibility of looking after our daughter who came down with a bout of stomach flu. Marriage is a great deal about sharing responsibility, sharing commitment, sharing good times and sharing bad. So let’s take a look at our Marriage Blog week in review: Monday, April 30 Negotiation is the Key to a Successful Relationship and whether you are struggling with financial problems, chores or making decisions about what to have for dinner. When one … Continue reading

The Disney Blog Week in Review for April 7-13

It’s been a really interesting week here in the Disney blog between Valorie’s details from her vacation to what’s going on behind the scenes and much, much more. Did you read the Disney Blog this week? If you missed out on anything, here’s your chance to see our Disney Week in Review: Saturday, April 7 In what may seem like a controversial move, Disney Allows Same Sex Couples ‘Fairy Tale Wedding’ discusses what is being lauded in some corners and frowned on in others. This is not a first for Disney as they have long offered benefits to their employees … Continue reading

Blogging Your Baby

In 2005, I received a beautiful journal, complete with leather covering, as a Christmas present from my wife. She bought it for me because I mentioned that I wanted to write a bit about my experiences as a father and have a conversation with my daughter. I did not begin to make entries until May of 2006, and they were sporadic at best. Then within a month or two I had stopped completely. I stared at it every day on my dresser, but the guilt was not enough to pick it up and write. How lazy can I possibly be? … Continue reading