• mail merge
    How To,  Something That Could Change Your Life,  Tradition

    A Note To Future Melisa Re: Mail Merges

    Dear Future Melisa, Mail merges, huh? They’re hard for us, for some reason. Each and every year when it’s time to get the holiday cards done and out, we pull up the handy-dandy Excel spreadsheet that has all of the addresses on it, updated throughout the year, and get ready to create labels in Word. And then, we go through an infuriating ritual. Looking it up online and then still messing up the process somehow turns what should be a joyful task (“Holiday cards to loved ones! Yay!”) into an absolute chore (“I am going to scream and possibly toss my laptop across the room if I can’t get this…

  • Confessions,  Roxie

    Happy Halloween! Is It Over Yet?

    If you only know me online and have seen that I’m an optimistic, (usually) happy-go-lucky kind of person, it might surprise you to know that I’m not a fan of holidays. In fact, complaining about holidays is one of my talents. Here’s why: holidays and all of their pomp and circumstance get in my way. They disrupt my routine, my clean(ish) house, everything. I don’t usually mind the actual day of any given holiday; what bothers me most is the period of time in advance of each holiday, time that is spent preparing and decorating and spending money for one “special” day. I have always found much more happiness and…

  • Random Thoughts,  Sending You To My Ad-Free Page

    Holiday Homestretch

    I’m not sure about you, but this week has been absolutely insane for me. It’s unusual in my case: I typically slide into Christmas week nearly stress-free with very little on my plate. This year, for some reason, I’m swamped. (I’m sure it has nothing to do with working and having a few major projects in the hopper at the same time.) We’re in the middle of Hanukkah, which is a minor holiday and isn’t causing any issues for me, so at least that part is normal. I will likely feel much better at the end of today. It’s Friday, and after today my work just goes into maintenance mode…