Just Melancholy

One of the great thing about planning a wedding, or anything for that matter, in this day and age is the ability to do all your research online. It saves a lot of time because you don’t have to make the phone calls or drive around to each spot to speak to each and every person. When planning your wedding, look into finding some of these online to save you time and stress. Eventually you probably should meet with them in person just to make sure.

• Photographer: This is a great one to look up online because you can browse through their photos and their pricing without someone hounding you; you are free to go at your own pace.
• Caterer: Searching for a Utah caterer online is such a cinch. Again, you can browse through the picture of the food and their prices in your pajamas. What’s not to like?
• Venues
• Even Dresses!

Good luck and have fun planning your wedding!

Music can be a very inspiring medium as many music teachers and music lovers know. An equally powerful medium is through the spoken word. Here are a few of my favorite quotes by famous composers. I absolutely adore when people are passionate about what they do.

•  ”I sit down to the piano regularly at nine-o’clock in the morning and Mes dames les Muses have learned to be on time for that rendezvous.” –Tchaikovsky
• “Youngpeople can learn from my example that something can come from nothing. What I have become is the result of my hard efforts.”–Haydn
• “Whether I was in my body or out of my body as I wrote it I know not. God knows.”–Handel
• “To play without passion is inexcusable!”–Beethoven
• “The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.” –Bach

Sometimes it is so hard to get everything done in the day that we need. It is either we don’t have enough time in the day or we just don’t have enough energy to accomplish all our tasks and goals.

One of the ways that I have found to help is occasionally taking a Zantrex energy pill. This gives me the boost I need to make it through the day. It is also great to take when you are starting a new exercise routine. It is a great jump-start. Once you get over the initial near-death feeling that always accompanies new workouts, you will have loads of natural energy. Just remember, it is all a process.

So, if you don’t mind, I am going to rant a little bit. At work, the whole building shares two bathrooms (don’t worry, it is a very small building). At least once a day, I’ll find the toilet paper mangled. You know you’ve seen it before. It is because of those certain people who can’t figure out how to use the serrated edge on the toilet paper dispenser. Not that hard! It looks like Tarzan himself was swinging from the end of the toilet paper. No doubt, yelling his jungle call. So either we have Tarzan as a new employee, or someone doesn’t know how a toilet dispenser works.

picture courtesy of Disney.com

who doesn’t concern themselves with data backup! But seriously, some people don’t realize how important and crucial it is. It is equally important to back up your data, whether you are a business exec or for personal use. Just think, in a blink of the eye, all your financial records, tax files, everything could disappear. So, this is just a friendly reminder: Do it! And do it today!

On Valentine’s Day, I had written a post about how I had broken my mother’s china dish. I had really wanted to find a way to replace it. Well, the good news is that I searched and searched around online for discontinued china trying to find the exact type my mom has. I actually found it! I can’t believe it. She bought that china over 20-25 years ago while she was living in Japan. Let me tell you, my mom was ecstatic! The bad news is that they don’t have it in stock, but they will email once they do. I can’t wait to give them to my mom. Finally redeemed!

OK. These aren’t my mom’s dishes, but this is the closest I could find.

I accidentally broke some of my mom’s china. I made it through my entire childhood without even scratching one. Now that I am a college graduate, I break one. Argh! I felt so bad. It was really rare china that she got when she was living in Japan. As a result of my clumsiness, I am currently looking for a china replacement dish. Maybe for her upcoming birthday, I can give it to her.

So, I finally made it through college and received my B.A. I thought I was done with school. I was tired. But about six months later, I decided that I wanted to go back to school and get my M.A. degree. I researched and researched which schools, which programs, cost, housing. You name it, I looked it up. It is a pretty extensive process. Lots of things needed to be compiled and what not. Well, in the middle of all this commotion, my computer crashed. I lost EVERYTHING! All my undergraduate papers which I needed in order to apply for Graduate School were gone! I was devastated. After that, people kept asking me, “did you have it backed up?” Nope. I didn’t. I’ve learned my lesson; computer backup is so important. So this is just a warning for everyone: backup all your important documents, pictures, music, and everything else.

My mom  has a little four year old girl. While she was still a baby/new toddler my mom, who lives in Utah, would drive to California for a few weeks for work. My mom is an interior designer and still had all her Californian clients. She had to do this every few weeks because my step-dad apparently didn’t find it a necessity to support his new wife and child. But that is a whole other can of worms. So, when my mom would come back to Makela, my little sister, she would be angry with my mom. I think she developed abandonment issues. Now, at four years old, whenever Makela hears the front door shut she runs to see who left. If it is her mom, she panics and screams, especially if my mom didn’t give her a hug and a kiss before she left.

A few days ago, Makela woke up around 6a.m. and ran downstairs to make sure my mom was still there. It just breaks my heart. Sometimes when my mom leaves to go to the store or anything trivial like that, Makela will cry and say that her mom is never coming back. So sad! Does anyone have any advice on how to help her get over this?

Since I am getting married, I was looking through pictures of myself growing up.  Unfortunately, my Mom has never taken the time to organize all our pictures into albums.  My sister put them in boxes, but they are in random order.  I don’t blame her, since she works full-time and travels all the time, but it does make my job a little harder.  Looking through pictures is hard enough, since I try to avoid the ones of me with glasses or braces when I’m in middle school, that awkward age that no one thinks they look good.

I’d like to organize all our pictures into scrapbooks or at least just albums, but I’m not very artistic.  Does anyone know a good place I can get tips for scrapbooking? I need something that’s easy to read and apply, as I don’t have a lot of time or money to spend on it.   My sister and Aunts did a book for my Grandma, which was beautiful with gold trimming. However, I don’t expect to be that elaborate, just as long as it looks nice.  Some help?