It’s true: my mind is an ever-collapsing sand dune of ideas, inspirations, needy rants and buried treasure in the form of secret, detailed amazing memories that may or may not be completely fictitious. It is subject to the merest hint of a breeze, reshaping thoughts and feelings and plans. It simply cannot focus, instead sniffing and somersaulting into new territories like a greedy ferret.

Recently I have been extolling the virtues to anyone who would listen – and many who weren’t – of OneNote. It comes free with the Microsoft Office suite (2007 onwards, or you can buy it as a standalone package), and has quietly revolutionised my burgeoning collection of ideas, quotes, favourite words, things to do, places to go, secret recipes…everything in fact.

OneNote is an application that allows you to create multiple online ‘Notebooks’, linking pages, ideas and research together. I dabbled with it a few years back but was wary of its ‘handy hints’ and offers of help. Wasn’t a simple word document just as good Actually, no.

I stumbled into OneNote again recently and was re-inspired by notes and tit-bits I had collated in my initial foray, and subsequently forgotten about. I could pinpoint the exact dates too – OneNote automatically saves that information for you. Not just a snappy name then.

*** Disclaimer – I am in NO WAY associated with Microsoft or working on commission *** Read more …

3 Comments | In: Lifestyle, Wannabe Journalist, Writing | tags: brainstorm, creativity, docs, files, google, google docs, microsoft, mind map, mind mapping, notebooks, one note, onenote, organising, pages, planning, tabs. | #

So, it has to be said, I’m not sure what all the panic is about seeing as I have nine-whole-months to plan my wedding. A baby could be born in that amount of time (not that we’re planning that anytime soon)

I mean, the key things are done – venue, photographer, rings – and more importantly, the groom! However I woke up this morning at the crack of dawn (around 8.30am, which is pretty early for me at the weekend), and couldn’t stop thinking about wedding plans. By 9am I was sitting at my laptop searching for florists, bands and delighting at the many styles, colours and shapes of wedding cake available to me.

Within an hour I had booked a beautiful hotel for myself and my bridesmaids to stay in the night before the wedding (complete with pool, spa, spacious rooms and stunning views), contacted a prospective music supplier, narrowed the search for footwear down to two choices, contacted the local florist and enquired about a cake! Phew! I also have a bridal appointment next week at my chosen dress boutique – the second viewing of a dress I coveted from the moment it encased my hips and turned me into a 1950′s hollywood starlet.

It’s all suddenly happening in the ‘wedding zone’, so I must get off and write up all my latest plans in the wedding planner…

1 Comment | In: The Wedding | tags: boutique, bridezilla, cake, florist, planning, wedding. | #