People Who Do Great Jobs

If you have an online business and are not yet acquainted with the work that a number of young women and men are doing, stop what you are doing and check out their websites now.  Not tomorrow.  Now.

There are numerous successful people on line, but I find that I continually read, watch, learn and enjoy 7 of them in particular.  They teach, they share, they are bright, they are funny, they are living proof of the success you can enjoy if you follow their advice and work hard.  They are:

April Bowles Olin - Blacksburg Belle

Andreea Ayers - Launch Grow Joy

Derek Halpern - Social Triggers

Marie Forleo - Marie Forleo

Mayi Carles - Heartmade

Megan Auman - Crafting an MBA

Rena Tom -  Rena Tom

Each of these gifted young persons brings his/her own experience, personality and perspective to their businesses.  While I am very much older than any of them are,  they make me wish I were young, healthy and just starting out in  business.  Things are SO different today than when I was their ages.  I have had a very successful career and a wonderful life, but I would love to try some of the things they are doing and espousing.

Give each of them a chance to entertain you, enlighten you, impress you, and help you.  I think you won't be disappointed, so let me know what you think.

Malcolm For Tots Is Opening Another Shop

After giving lots of thought and attention to various venues, we have opted to open a goodsmith's shop and will soon have it stocked with a variety of upscale handmade clothing and accessories for babies and toddlers bearing the Malcolm Mousekowitz label.  Their shops are attractive, clean, crisp and easy to navigate.  We will keep our ETSY shop www.malcolmfortots.etsy.com because we also like doing business the ETSY way.  After four years with Volusion we decided to close that website effective February 16.  Since many people and businesses are using, liking and talking about Word Press websites, blogs, and plug-ins we are going to consider building a new website using Word Press because it seems very user friendly.............you don't have to know html code or any of the more technical computer lingo which makes it very appealing (not that you have to know those things to use Volusion). 

There are so many options for doing business today but not enough hours in the day to try all of them or even to educate oneself about them.  The entire way of doing business has changed and will continue to change.  Websites, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, newsletters, surveys, and blogs accompanied by lots of apps on Smart Phones, iPhones, iPads, and even Kindles are allowing consumers to shop the world's marketplaces without ever entering a brick and mortar shop unless they choose to do so.  Although I enjoy the ease of on-line shopping myself and Malcolm For Tots is strictly an Internet business at this time, there is much to be said about actually seeing the merchandise, touching it, or trying it on before buying it.  Hopefully, there will always remain a combination of both online and brick and mortar stores for all customers.  Things are changing rapidly though so we will just have to wait and see what the future holds.    

SuperBowl Was Super

In truth I am not much of a sports fan, primarily because I don't actually understand all the rules which govern the various sports.  However, each year I do watch the Super Bowl; and back in the '80's I actually attended the Super Bowl in San Diego, California.  We had great seats on the 50 yard line and not too many rows up from the players themselves.  Of course, people who knew my lack of interest in and understanding of football agreed with me that it was pretty much a waste of a ticket and a great seat. 

It was part of my job that year to take a number of customers to the Super Bowl, and all of my staff members volunteered to go in my place.  Unfortunately, I had to go myself, but I would have loved to give my ticket to one of them (I had a wonderful staff of young people).  It turned out to not be a very exciting game that year, but still there was something about being at such an event that made it a  memorable occasion for me.

Yesterday I was not feeling well which meant no Superbowl party for me.  Nevertheless, I opted to watch the game because I do understand enough to keep up with which team is winning.    I cannot claim to be a genuine fan of any sports team so I decide which team I want to win by other selective information which has little or nothing to do with the skills and talents of the players and coaches.  I decided yesterday I wanted the Baltimore Ravens to win because one of their players is Michael Oher, the young man whose life story was told in the movie The Blindside.  I thought it would be a wonderful thing for this young man and the Tuohy family who adopted him to experience a Superbowl win.  The Tuohy family did a great thing by giving Michael to chances in life which would otherwise never have been available to him. 

During the first half of the game I was sure the Ravens would win with no problem, but I had forgotten just how quickly things can change.  The last quarter of the game was a nail biter for sure, but the Ravens held on to the win.  Not only was it an exciting game (the power blackout was a bit scary), but the two Harbaugh
brothers coaching the teams were also interesting to watch.  These two men add an additional dimension to the word "professionals" as that is how they behaved toward each other.  It warmed my heart to see the winning brother John immediately make his way across the field to tell his brother Jim he loved him and for John to sincerely congratulate Jim despite his bitter disappointment at losing the game.

The Tuohy family's ability to adopt and love a boy of a different race and background, and the love and respect the Coaches Harbaugh  displayed for each other and their parents exemplify what our world could be like.  We need to all just get over ourselves and make the decision to work together to make this world a wonderful and better place for all of us. 

Who in their right mind would not want to live in a better world?

Are You A Positive Thinker?

During the course of my life I have tried to be a positive thinker and an optimistic person in general.  My children continue to refer to me as "Polly" as in Pollyanna, but I am not oblivious to the negative things that happen in my life or around me.  I just choose to think that my glass is half-full rather than half-empty.

Because these times in which we are living are so troubled, I was pleased to find a way to use a list of positive thoughts, actions, and feelings for two Christmas gifts. The list originated with a man Leo Quinn who has various Internet enterprises and on whose mailing list I am.  I printed out the list for myself.  Then as the holidays came closer for my daughter and my cousin I photocopied the list and cut each word out.  Having at least 365 strips of paper I put each set in an opaque plastic bowl with a red cover (not very elegant but I needed something large enough to hold all the slips of paper).  I told both recipients that I hoped each morning during 2013 they would draw out one piece of paper and focus on that word throughout the day.  Whether they actually will follow through or not I don't know, but I believe if they do that they will benefit from focusing on the positive.  I also gave them other gifts.

Are you a positive or negative individual?  If you are positive, please leave your comments as to how you maintain your positive attitude?  If you are a negative person, what would it take to change your attitude from pessimistic to optimistic?  Share your comments, please.  You never know when what you write will help a person on the other side of your town or on the other side of the world.

Why Do Liquid Medications Have To Taste SO Bad?

Today I am preparing to have both a colonoscopy and endoscopy tomorrow morning.  I don't really mind the procedures (after all, I am sleeping during them), but I absolutely detest the preparation.  After taking four teeny-tiny little pills that always make me terribly sick, having to also drink a gallon of vile-tasting liquid seems like cruel and unusual punishment to me.

When I was a little girl the pediatrician prescribed Cod Liver Oil for my older sister.  Just the smell from the open bottle was foul, and I remember my mother saying she was thankful that it was my sister who had to take it and not me.  My sister was cooperative and did not fight taking it.  As for me, I would and still will take the biggest pill but even a scant teaspoon of liquid medication makes me want to bolt.  When I was a child my mom would have to catch me to give me cough medicine for my annual bouts of bronchitis in the cold Chicago winters.  Sometimes it would take both my father and my mother to accomplish it (one to catch me and hold me still while the other one squeezed my jaws to open my mouth to get the dreaded spoonful of medicine down my throat). 

To this day my own children remember having to take cough medicine during their childhoods in Dallas.
My son is the oldest and he, like my sister, was cooperative and would take it without any problem even though he detested it.  My daughter was always very petite but very strong, and she and I both laugh when we remember the way she would try to escape taking the medicine.  Since her dad traveled much of the time it fell to me to devise a way to hold on to her AND get the medicine in her mouth.  Because she was petite, I would be able to catch her, put her down on the carpeted floor on her back, straddle her to keep her arms and legs from flailing, and then with one hand squeeze her jaws to open her mouth while inserting the spoon with the other hand.  It was always an ordeal, and I knew how awful the medication tasted so I felt terrible for having to force her to take it.  She has long since forgiven me for those episodes which were necessary but never enjoyable.

Now my children are adults with one living on the opposite side of the country and one living on the other side of the world.  They both have visited me recently, and I love them beyond words, but I must admit that I am glad they are not here to see me today as I make myself go through the process of
preparing for tomorrow's tests.............although perhaps they might enjoy a little revenge if together they could catch me and hold me down while pouring that nasty liquid down my throat.  As it is, I must just do what I have to do, like it or not, and know that by this time tomorrow I will be sound asleep on a gurney as my doctor performs both procedures.  I am hopeful I won't require these tests again for another five years and that perhaps in the interim some genius will invent a new prep medication that tastes like a delicious milkshake.  One can only hope...............

Don't You Just Love Clever Ideas?

Perhaps because I don't think of myself as a particularly clever person, I seem to be fascinated with what I consider to be the clever ideas and creations of other people and other cultures.  During my long career at Neiman Marcus I was able to see many clever ideas become merchandise to be carried in our stores and catalogs.  I remember the year the Pet Rock hit our selling floors for the Christmas Season.  I remember the mood rings that were quickly snapped up in the '70's.  We also sold a very pretty gold-tone costume ring that had a hinged domed cage which opened so that any one of six colored stones could be placed inside to coordinate with one's mood or wardrobe on any given day. 

This weekend I received two items which I think are especially clever.  My son and his family live in Tokyo, Japan; and he visited me this weekend.  He brought me a sweet note from my daughter-in-law accompanied by two thoughtful gifts which she had to know I would enjoy.  The Japanese people package everything so beautifully that before I even know what is in a package I am intrigued.  The first item was a packet containing small rectangles of paper.  Actually, the rectangles are paper soap.  I think it is an extremely clever idea because we all know there are many times when using restrooms we find soap dispensers to be empty.  Now I can carry this little packet in my handbag to be prepared when that happens.  While my hands are dry I will remove a single piece of paper, then turn on the faucets and as I begin to wash my hands the paper will turn into soap.  Is that not clever?

The other gift she sent to me is called "fashion paper" and is something I had not previously seen.  The paper is printed with a very pretty, delicate, pastel floral design, and is folded into squares about the size of cocktail napkins.  Each piece is meant to be used to wrap a small gift, and I think it is a very clever idea (especially coming on the heels of the recent holiday season when each time I wanted to wrap a small gift I had to cut into a huge roll of gift wrap paper which was cumbersome as well as wasteful).  So now I am eagerly looking forward to the next gift-giving occasion so I can buy small presents and wrap them in my "fashion paper."

What about you?  What are your favorite clever ideas and items?  Please share them below in the comment section.

Handmade Gifts To Be Treasured

It has been my good fortune in life to know many people who are creative and able to make lovely things.  I had childhood friends who were gifted, and I have adult friends whose talents are amazing.  When a person takes time to create something special and then bestows it on me as a gift, I am truly touched.  My daughter is one of those people.  She is creative, thoughtful, a perfectionist and has given me some of my most beautiful and favorite gifts.

One of the many things she thoroughly enjoys is making gift baskets.  Because she is thoughtful she selects each item with great care and is able to produce themed baskets geared perfectly to the recipient.  During the 2012 Christmas season she designed and produced a beautiful basket to give to a cousin.  The basket theme was Audrey Hepburn, Paris and the film Breakfast at Tiffany's.  Both she and her cousin are avid fans of Audrey Hepburn, Paris, and Breakfast at Tiffany's (as well as Sabrina and Roman Holiday).

I watched my daughter assemble the carefully chosen items, and she gave equal time and attention to selecting the best basket in terms of shape and size.  She purchased specific fabric to line the basket and asked me to make the liner which I was happy to do for her (it gave me a chance to learn how to make basket liners since I had never before sewn one).  She made pink marshmallows to go along with pink hot chocolate and a special mug she created.  She baked and decorated cookies in the shapes of a French Poodle, the Eiffel Tower, and a fleur-de-lis.  She placed them in glassine bags tied with small ribbon bows.   From the color coordination of shredded paper nestling the gift items to pink M & M's, pink icing on the cookies to beautiful  ribbon encircling the basket she gave meticulous attention to every detail.

The gift basket was a beautiful gift and much appreciated by her cousin.  Truth be told, I have always really liked gift baskets so the temptation to not let it leave my house was strong..........but I am content with
this photograph and the knowledge that I have a talented, generous daughter who creates beautiful gifts.