A Year Sabbatical (But Not Really)

Hmmm ... A whole year, eh?
Honestly, it wasn't a year where I didn't work on my family tree, visit various archives, search on Ancestry.ca or research every moment of my spare time.
Being a elementary school teacher with - what some tell me - is 11 weeks of vacation, you would think I would have more time. But, as my colleagues know, teachers get asked to sit on various community committees, chair events, speak publicly, etc. My "vacations" are really not holidays: I remain just as busy as during the school year.
I think most of the non-teaching public forget that teachers, doctors, lawyers - they help society not just through their jobs but also through their philanthropic and volunteered time spent trying to make the world a better place. On every committee, you will find one of these (and usually 2/3) professionals tirelessly working  to help the less fortunate on their "vacation." We are driven to help others - that's how we found our calling.
But I digress. So my year was busy. Much of my spare time was spent researching - my other calling. I am a question-maker and a problem-solver. I try to make order from chaos. I like to create. Thus, family history research is my outlet for all and more!
One way to make order from chaos - simplify and streamline. Over the years, I have filled up numerous notebooks with information detailing my journey into genealogy. Notes on what I found in archives, leads from fellow researchers and snippets of information, etc. To go back and reflect on what I found never got done. I lost leads, misplaced key documents, and generally have a mess to deal with. So, over the year, I have worked on making order from my own research chaos.
The result: A research journal. In it, are checklists for the 4 focal research lines. Those lines are the Squire R. & Stephen W. HARRIS connection, The Robert MABEE connection to Norfolk County, Ontario, Canada Mabee family, The Charles S. MUDFORD question of where he originally came from in England, and the Emma/Emily Ruth SHELLY/SHELLEY question of where she went after 1910. Each has a divided spot in my binder with a checklist, family group sheet(s), general pedigree chart, and dates notes. In the front is another checklist that amalgamates all of it into 5 or less research questions. When they are solved, they will be posted.
Four research focal points seems like a good number. Not too much, not too little. The aim is to post completed research on the blog. I can't guarantee the frequency of my posts as research is a fluid task. For those that have come to this blog to comment or contact a fellow researcher, I will check at least once a week for posters.