Quote & Biz Update

Quote

You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.

Collette

Update
I got another shipment of goodies from Argentina. I even got some fun hip new wallets. I vow to have my house jewelry sale within the next two weeks. I will do my price list this week and take pictures of all the inventory. The website should be up and running within two weeks (my web designer went on vacation. This has been a SLOW process). The sale will happen the week after the website goes up. Stay tuned people. I may even have a pre-Mother's Day sale.

Brag of the Day

On my way out of the gym this morning I saw one of the trainers. I said "hi, how are you doing?" and he stopped to give me the following compliment. He said, "On Friday you were wearing a skirt, right?" "Yeah" "Well, you have perfect calves. Everyone behind the desk was talking about it." All I could say was "thank you, I guess I'm doing something right" and beam from ear to ear. If the front desk staff at the gym talks about my "perfect calves" that's a compliment I can take to the bank! :)

I did good

I did one of those things that don't take much effort but ends up having enormous and wonderful ramifications for all concerned. I introduced Pam and Allen to each other. I wasn't sure they'd get along, but I thought they were both super cool people and would maybe hit it off. Boy did they! They called me yesterday to let me know that they're engaged!!! I'm so happy for them.

And I was quite gracious about it... I'm not asking for anything in return. Well, that's not quite true. I am asking for one thing. It's truly just a pittance. They have to name their first born after me. That was the deal from the get-go. I told them that when I introduced them. They laughed and thought I was kidding. Oh no! We have a binding verbal contract. They have to name their first-born after me. It can be a first name and it can be a middle name. It can be Monique, Monick, or Dominick. I'm incredibly flexible. Now, is that a lot to ask for helping you find the love of your life? ;)

My goal

I want to go on Oprah to talk about Hip Girlz. Oprah will ask me about how I became such a huge success. Eventually Oprah will be a guest on my show and we’ll laugh about how we met.


This is from My 43 Things (http://www.43things.com/people/view/monickpaul), but I liked it and wanted to share it here too.

Quote of the Day

"The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it." -Chinese Proverb

I'm a homeowner!!!

It's official! Sean and I moved in on Friday and spent the better part of the weekend moving in. We're homeowners. I love the place and it's been fun. We even had our first house guest. Henry, a friend we'd met in Argentina, came for the weekend. I felt a little badly because Henry ended up having to take his whole vacation to help us move. It was great to have the company however, and he was a huge help.

One unexpected outcome of this housing arrangement is that I seemed to not only have purchased a house, I have acquired a platonic husband. Sean and I are like an old married couple (sans sex). Although, from what I understand of most old married couples, sex doesn't really play a part of those relationships either. It's all good. I love the house and am happy to be going on this adventure with Sean.


Sean and I on our first day in the house. (The art in the window has been our temporary "window dressing" until we buy curtains)

Quote of the Day & Other News

"Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don't recognize them." -Ann Landers

Other News:
One day to move. I went for a run from my house to the beach today. I figured it would be the last time in a long time that I would be able to run from my home to the beach and back. From the new place, that would be a 16 miles round trip run. Maybe when I'm training for that marathon... ;)

I got some pictures of my jewelry and one of the Hip Girlz clutches from Dilek, my fantastic photographer friend. It helps to have a professional doing this, eh?


Red Beaded Clutch -- hand wired clutch of cornelian, crystal beads, silver-coated wire, and raw silk ($175)


"Water Lillies" Necklace -- blown glass pendant on hot pink argentine leather chain ($35)


"Red Cosmos" Necklace -- blown glass pendant on silver chain ($40)

ALMOST THERE...

We signed the loan documents yesterday. All is ALMOST well. There was a slight snag with the homeowner's insurance. We're getting the keys on Friday morning.

Quote of the Day

"You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."

Christopher Robin to Pooh (A.A. Milne)

I'm In Love!

I am in love. I am absolutely head over heels in love with my new house. I never understood before when people would say that. I would think, "It's just a possession! It's just a thing -- some walls on a piece of land. How can you be in love with that?"

I understand now. I have my house as the background on my computer. I stare at it all day. I think about how I'm going to lovingly adorn it. I share pictures of the house like a mother shows off her new born. I've been visiting my house 2 or 3 times a week (luckily it's empty or I might have scared the current owners). I look through the windows and fantasize about when she'll be mine for good. Everytime I see it, I fall deeper. When financing was precarious I felt like a lover potentially torn from her soul mate. I was so distraught! It was the most stressful week of my life.

Yesterday we had our walk through. The house is in beautiful shape. We went appliance shopping. Our kitchen is going to have a gorgeous stainless steel refridgerator and oven. I'm not sure why we needed to spend $3000 on a fridge and stove, but we felt like we needed to. This house was meant for us. I want the best for it.

Personal Trainer

My personal trainer called in sick to the gym today. Luckily by the time I found out I was already dressed and almost ready to run out the door. I still worked out. I did a CORE training class and the Fast Track room (30 minute exercise room). I also am eating better. I did not take advantage of "Ice Cream Sundae" day at the Attorney Dining Room today. (This is very difficult because they have delicious ice cream and hot fudge, nuts, cherries, whipped cream, m&ms, strawberries, and other delicious toppings for the sundae.) I had fruit for desert instead. I also did not eat the very tasty looking bite-sized Twix bar on my desk. I'm going to use it as a reminder to make healthy food choices. Aren't I good? (Angelic smile peers out from under halo)

Just in case you were wondering. The chocolate diet doesn't work. I'm meeting with a personal trainer tomorrow to try to come back from the effects of the chocolate diet and all the other bad food choices I've been making for the past couple of months.

house saga...

House saga continues. This has been one of the most stressful weeks of my life. It makes the bar exam feel like a trip to Disneyland. We were supposed to close on Monday, but bank loan issues have pushed back the loan. It now appears like we'll be closing on Tuesday or Wednesday. My fingers are crossed, I'm knocking on wood, praying, throwing salt over my shoulder, and doing everything else I can think of to get through this. It's hard when you want something soooo badly and silly little obstacles keep getting in the way. For example, I know that everyone messes up my name. "Monick Paul" often becomes "Paul Monick" I didn't know that when Experion did that, it could jeapardize my entire loan! Breathe. Breathe. I'm calmly breathing and accepting the rightness of the situation. Soon I will be sunning in my backyard. Soon I will be sunning in my backyard.

More Argentine Jewelry Pictures

Little by little I'm starting to take pictures of all the jewelry. This is the Turquoise Cuff - wire-wrapped cuff of turqoise stones, blue glass beads, and raw silk ribbon. I'm challenged by my marginal photographic skills. It's very difficult to show how beautiful these pieces really are.





These earrings are part of the "Brilliant Glass" collection.

I miss Argentina and I miss travel. My ex-boyfriend Mark moved to Costa Rica four days ago. I'm so jealous of him. I long for the excitement of a long vacation -- of knowing you have friends soon to meet, incredible sights to see, experiences to have, strange and delicious foods to eat, limits to extend. I miss it and am hungering for it.

Today I received a newsletter from Nomadic Soul (an organization created to promote international travel for americans of color). My friend Henry started the group. It's amazing. In the newsletters there's a series of my travelogues. It's called the "Argentine Chronicles." It's from my year living there. In it, there's a little section I wrote about tango.

"Tango has become my newest love. I love to dance to it, I love to listen to it, and now I love to sing it. Tango is the heart and soul of Buenos Aires and now it has permeated my heart."

I miss tango and I miss Argentina. It's 11:30 p.m. and I'm still in the office. I need to finish this memo, but I'm filled with too much nostalgia and longing. Sigh.

Art

This is some of my art.


"Infinity"


"Mujer Misteriosa"


"Celebration"


"Goddess Dancing"


"Feminine"

Googling Myself

I just tried to google myself. My web presence just lays it out there for all the world to see. The first thing that popped up was an entry that I'd made on 43 Things: http://www.43things.com/people/view/monickpaul. It says "Monickpaul's progress on fall in love and get married." That's not the first thing I want people to see when they search for me... I'm trying to fall in love and get married. I'd love to fall in love and get married, but it's somewhat personal. Serves me right for placing it on the internet in the first place, right?

Well, I then tried to delete the entry.. hide the evidence. Didn't work. Still if you google me, that comes up. Oh well. It's the truth. It makes me feel raw and vulnerable, but that's what having feelings is all about.

Brags

"Lives based on having are less free than lives based on doing or being." E.Y. Harb
"Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen." Robert Bresson Brags

I've decide to share my "brags" -- the little and big things of which I can be proud -- with the world.

I have been slowly taking pictures of all the Hip Girlz jewelry. Some of the pictures are pretty cool and I'm feeling very good about the fact that these are going to sell. The pictures just really don't do the jewelry justice though. When I wear them on the street, strangers come up to me to ask me about them. People are all ready to snatch them right off of my body and buy them right then and there!

Here's a picture of my one of my favorite pieces:

These are part of my "Brilliant Glass" collection. The earrings are sterling silver, blown glass, and swarovski crystals. They're truly breathtaking.

More from the "Brilliant Glass" collection






I am only days away from closing on my place! I have begun looking for tenants for the upstairs and am having some inquiries. I have been freaking out about the delays, but am working on being zen about it all. So far, so good.

I have been on a couple of dates with Michael, the massage therapist. He said that he would love to give me a massage and his massages are a minimum of 2 hours long! He promised it would be the best massage I've ever gotten. Well, I'm certainly ready to take him up on this offer! Just thinking about it makes me love him.

I've been a karaoke queen. I've gone to do karaoke 3 times in the past week and a half! It's been a blast. Karaoke anyone?

I have been making some of my own jewelry. It's been really fun and I and others are enjoying the pieces very much. If I can make enough pieces that I really love, I will begin the SoHaPa line of Hip Girlz jewelry featuring my own designs. :)

I hosted a really fun Easter Party as well as a fun easter egg dying party. There were lots of laughs and good times had by all at each event. It was really fun spending some quality time with everyone who came. Thanks to my beautiful sister I also got some advance orders on some Hip Girlz items... Including a $190 belt!

I've gone on a chocolate diet. It wasn't planned, but I made the mistake of bringing in my Easter candy to "share" with the office. Having such delicious candies within arms reach while also being menstrual has been a dangerous combination. I've been eating so much chocolate that I haven't had the appetite for much else. I don't think this is a very sustainable diet. Nutrients are important and I'm not getting many, but I have lost about a pound or two. When my period and supply of chocolate are over I'll go back to eating healthy. In the meantime, I'm really enjoying it. :)

I gave four days of distance reiki to my friend Christina. It was a real treat for both of us.

Hope you all are having wonderful, wonderful days!