I am a disgrace to the music world...

I feel like such a failure right now. Words can't express how disappointed I am with myself. Luckily, I have justifiable ways to prove why I did what.

You remember that awesome Mendini violin I bought a couple weeks ago, the one that I JUST got Friday? Well... I sold it. I know, I'm a pathetic waste of human and, I'm not sure, but I think Antonio Vivaldi is turning over in his grave as we speak. Like I said, I can justify my actions, even if some may not agree with me. I'm just happy I was able to sell the violin for exactly what I paid for it.

1) I have absolutely NO idea how to handle a stringed instrument. Especially one as complex as a violin. Still, that's not a good excuse as to why I would give up so easily. I was in the same boat with the piano, although it's a much more simple instrument to learn, but I still managed to learn how to play on my own. It would have been so much easier if I had someone close to me that was a skilled violin played and could at least show me the basics.

2) Which brings me to number 2! I'm going to do things right next time around and take lessons. I know it's going to be a bitch to drive up to Saint Louis once a week, but it'll be fun and something worth doing. Since lessons are so late in the evening, LaVaughn and I are just going to stay in a hotel.

3) This is probably the most important... I need to buy a GOOD violin! Believe me, I'm no expert when it comes to violins and the quality of the instrument, but it doesn't take a genius to realize how cheaply made the Mendini violin is. After all, I got that entire package for $60. Violin, bow, case, rosin, extra strings (two of which I had to use), tuner, and extra bridge. I read all over online that you should never buy a violin that costs less than $300. I guess they were right.

So, conclusion time... lessons, violin, lessons, practice, practice, practice!! I'm going to do things right the next time around cause, lets face it, playing the violin is a dream of mind! It's something I'm not fully giving up on and something I will still accomplish.

Okay, in non-violin news, I managed to get so freakishly adorable picture of not only Margie today, but Zoe as well. I took Zoe's first, because she was just being so cute. She was laying in the glider room, sunbathing with not a care in the world. She wasn't too happy about having the camera shoved in her face, but she knows by not that it does her no good to run from me.

After we cleaned (and by clean I mean soaked and scrubbed in the bath) the bottom grates on the cages, cleaned all the wheels, zip-tied all the wheels, and changed all the pouches, I then decided to get some pictures of Margie. All of which are to die for. Not bragging, of course, but they just turned out so damn cute!

It's time to feed the crew, cats and gliders alike. Not to mention, we still have to feed ourselves, so I guess I better wrap this up. Until next time...

Love & Peace

-Megan

Zoe's close-up:

She loves exploring the glider room.

Look at that beautiful face! Black and white cats are the best!

She also looks evil at times.

She looks like Smaug.

And now for Margie's close-up:

Is this face not to die for!?

She is just too precious.

I love sugar glider joeys.

Rondo Alla Turca...

It finally came today! After just a few short days, my Mendini violin finally arrived! I had so much excitement going through my mind at the time, I didn't even bother to turn the computer on for almost 2 hours after I woke up.

Everything was intact and accounted for when I opened the violin case. The strings were all in place, the bridge was up, and everything seemed to be in working order. Unfortunately, the rosin they sent is a piece of broken crap. It's cracked all to hell and barely usable. After about 10-15 minutes of putting rosin on the bow, I finally got it to make some sound. Not necessarily a good sound, but sound all the same.

The tuner they sent is nice, but semi-complicated. I'm not too familiar with metronome tuners, so it took some time getting used to it. After figuring that out, I was finally able to start tuning the violin! This was no easy task, especially considering every time I would get a cord tuned, the peg would slip causing it to go right back out of tune. I think it took me an hour to get them in the right key, even though they were both sharp and/or flat.

I gave up after a couple hours and decided to call it a day. As much as I love the violin, it's not what I expected. It could be that I have absolutely NO idea what I'm dealing with, but it could also be due to the fact that it's a very, very cheaply made violin. I mean, I knew I was taking a chance buying a violin online to begin with, but I figured the quality would be a teeny bit better.

Oh well. You win some, you loose some.

Okay, well, I guess that's all for now. Today has been a pretty boring day, aside from the violin arriving. So, I guess that's all. Until next time...

Love & Peace

-Megan

Well, here it is:

The entire violin set-up.

The metronome tuner.

Shoulder rest.

And the actual violin.

When the lights go out...

For some reason, we lost power around 2 AM. This is like prime movie watching time for LaVaughn and myself, so you can imagine how it put a damper on our night. I called the electric company just after 3 and reported the outage. That's when she began to tell me that there was some type of problem in their Annapolis hub, or something like that.

Around 3:30ish, Sadie, Chloe, and Boone all began taking turns barking. We went in the glider room to make sure everyone was okay and try to calm them with treats, but they weren't having it. They were all so spazzy, especially Chloe! She was jumping all over the place and all bug-eyed.

They barked off and on -- mostly on -- until around 5 AM, just when we were getting ready for bed. That's when everyone kicked their barking into full gear and basically started screaming. This was switching from Chloe, Boone, Charli, sometimes Tyler, and Sadie. I honestly have NO idea what was wrong with them. LaVaughn and I both had to put ear plugs in before we could sleep. I burrowed them as deep as they would go and, luckily, it blocked out everything.

The electricity came on sometime this morning, because I woke up at one point to the hum of the fan. I pulled one of my ear plugs out and went back to sleep. I ended up waking up 12:30 and getting on up, even though I desperately wanted to sleep in a while longer. I hate when I get up early (yes, that's early to me) on the days I don't have to work.

My weekend was so exhausting. I've ended up having to stay over on both shifts, which is normal for the fast pace months. I was so dead Saturday night when I got home, pretty much the same last night, except my shift was 2 hours shorter yesterday.

I've been out in the back window, or 'The Hole' as they like to call it, for the past 3 days I've worked. I actually don't have anything bad to say about it. It's quieter back there, you don't have to deal with customers as much as you do upfront, and I'm alone! I love the fact that I'm not bothered as much back there.

In music new... I finally made the plunge and bought a violin! I actually found the one I wanted with all the same accessories for $7 cheaper. I know it's not a huge savings, but it's $7! Considering there's no mail today, it wont be shipped out until tomorrow. Probably not received until next week, or at leas on a day that I'm working and can't touch it. I'm so excited to finally start playing!

I contacted a violin teacher and music school about possibly lessons. The lady I found gives private lessons for $25/30 minutes. Not too shabby. The music school I found, where the same lady originally worked at, gives lessons for $21/30 minutes. These are both great prices, but they're all the way up in Saint Louis! I would have to spend $20-$30 in gas every time I went, plus the $20 for the lessons, so you may as well say $50 lessons.

Believe it or not, there is a downside to living in the boonies.

My poor aunt has to have surgery on her hand tomorrow, in Cape Girardeau of all places. LaVaughn and I are going to take her, because she can't very well drive home with a bum hand on her own. She has to be there at like 10:30, so that's going to make us have to leave at... 8 AM!

I do not do well with mornings. The mere thought of having to go to bed early sends my anxiety into overdrive. It's not so much the going to bed part, it's the being able to fall asleep part. If I have a night when it takes me a while to fall asleep, I get anxious. I know, I'm a weirdo.

I'm afraid that's what's going to happen tomorrow. I'm just going to try and got to bed around 3 AM and hope for the best. I'll be dragging my ass all day tomorrow, but a few hours sleep is better than none. Just keep your fingers crossed for me... or shoot me a xanex.

LaVaughn and I actually have new sewing to do today, if you can believe that! We got all of our paid orders done Friday and sent out Saturday. We have Kyan's set that we still have to sew, but he hasn't paid yet, so there's no rush there. We still need to start on Taylor's stuff, but hopefully that can all be done later this week.

Oh, I'm not sure if I mentioned it or not, but our mealies came Friday! We didn't really get around to feeding everyone any, we ended up going out to eat with our aunt. Then, of course, I had to work the next two days. Hopefully we'll get around to worm snacks today.

And on that note, I believe I'm going to call it a day. I need to go outside and enjoy a little bit of the warm air. Until next time...

Love & Peace

-Megan

Here are some random pictures from the past few days:

Our mealies! I LOVE how they came packaged!

A fleece/cotton cage set we made for someone.

Another cage set we made for someone. I LOVE this fleece. Good choice, Kyan.

(not Kyan's set, btw)

A creepy full moon behind the weeping willow tree.

A crane LaVaughn photographed.

Our demon goose.

Our other demon goose.

Heart of glass...

I can't believe my little brother is 18 today!! It seems like it was only yesterday when he used to spend his summers with us when he was just 10! Where the fuck did time go? Can someone please send me back to 2006 or 2007? I don't like this whole aging process that people are forced to do. Anyways, this Valentine's boy is finally an adult.. so to speak. He's still a baby in my eyes, whom I love dearly and would kill to see. It's been too long!

Okay, next subject!

You know the worst part about ordering things online? Waiting for them to arrive in the mail. LaVaughn ordered a bunch of cosmetics from E.L.F. (eyes lips face) a few days ago. That I'm not excited about, considering it's all hers and I like never wear makeup. I know, how modern of me. It's the little things I'm looking forward to. Like The Walking Dead season 3 and our mealworms.

We also ordered our first Mayday food bar. I'm BEYOND excited to try it! We just ordered one of the 400 calorie (2 servings) ones. If they're decent, which people say they are, then we're going to order a couple of the 3600 calorie (3 day) ones. I'm sure I'll post all about it when we get it. Which will probably be tomorrow, when I'm at work. Sigh...

I've been contemplating ordering that violin, but I'm just not sure how I feel about it. I mean, if I order any, it'll be that one, I'm just not sure if I want to drop $70 on a instrument that I've never played before. It's like, for example, spending $160 on those tablets of ours that haven't been touched since the first week we bought them. What a waste! Those things need to be sold somewhere.

Anyways, I just wish I had a violin teacher in my area that I could go to. I would LOVE to start lessons. If that were the case, then I wouldn't hesitate to buy it. I need advice from a violinist.

We had Kira out day before yesterday because her belly looked kind of lumpy and sure enough... she has two more joeys IP! These little guys are tiny, though. Like maybe a week old. So they should be April babies. I'm so excited! I can't wait to see what they have. I know it's pathetic, but I always get excited to see their joeys.

Speaking of joeys, Charli and Violet are both getting huge! Their joeys have about a month or so of stewing to do before they come OOP, time to start the nauseating task of waiting.

Well, I suppose that's all for now. I honestly don't have anything else to blog about. Not to mention, LaVaughn and I are going out to dinner with our aunt shortly. Until next time...

Happy Valentine's Day!

-Megan

Some packages for the mail lady:

Some adorable little pictures of Margie (Lily):

Some sets that were cut out yesterday that need to be sewn today: