Aaaarrrrgggh!

As you can probably tell I LOVE Social Media!

I love documenting all of the successes we have at glamjulz and I love sharing them with you.

I also adore platforms like Snapchat and My Story on Instagram because I think it’s interesting to give you glimpses of what happens behind the scenes as well.

My strategy with social media has always been to make you feel good!  I want you to look at our posts and get energized, know that you are unstoppable and you can create a world that is fulfilling and joyful.

Sometimes I worry about perception.  It would be a nightmare for me to find out that I alienated someone or made them feel like their life was not meaningful or fulfilling.

This is a common problem with Social Media, we tend to show people what we want them to see and then perceptions get skewed.

So, I thought it might be fun for me to get REAL with you for a moment and share what happened to me last week.  Thinking about it all now I really wish that I had snapped some pictures.

I’m not sure if it’s the full moon we had last Saturday but I felt like I was spiraling into a black hole last week.  Nothing was going my way.  Yup, I dragged myself through the week.  My energy was drained, my creativity took a holiday and seriously all I wanted to do was snuggle under the covers with Boink.

I confided in friends and of course they all advised me to slow things down and take a holiday.  After all that’s what everyone else is doing!

Well . . . this just made me more anxious!  A holiday? I don’t have time for that?  Resting? What the?  I need to work harder now and push myself to the limit!  glamjulz is in it’s last quarter and we need to bring it on home!!!

How do you like that for some healthy self-talk?  So with all of that pressure my week simply followed suit.

Treat Yourself Tuesday was quiet, everyone was out of town.  Wednesday I was faced with TO DO lists all over my desk….trying to organize and consolidate them felt hopeless.  Emails were coming in and I just didn’t have the energy to answer them, in many cases they were creating another thing for me to think about and make a decision about.  Hellllooooo??? Did no one notice that I could not be an adult this week?

Then came Thursday and the rain!  Oh dear God, the rain was relentless!  My Mom and I were making our way up north for the weekend.  I had a show at Little Black Bow that started on Friday so getting up the day before was a good plan to be well rested.

The plan was to hit the road by 10am Thursday morning.  Boink and I were up at 7:30 and the rain was teaming down.  I worked on my lap top and kept checking to see if it had slowed down.  By 9:30 I finally gave up and walked the dog in the rain.  We got SOAKED!! Dried off, got upstairs to finish packing and the rain stopped!! AAAAAAHHHH!!!

Finally, the car is packed, the doggie is settled and I forget one last bag with clean sheets and a glass jar!  In the car it goes and CRASH…the glass jar shatters into a million pieces right behind my car!  NOOOOOO!!! In the house I run, plastic bags, paper towels and the clean up is under way!

Next, it was off to the accountant’s to pick up the pay cheques.  There was only one parking spot left and it was in a puddle up to my ankles.  YUCK!  I had my old plastic flip flops on, so I decided to just take the spot and wade through the water.  Before I got out of the car I gathered up a few empty Tim Horton cups to throw them into a nearby garbage bin.  Wading through the puddle, balancing these cups, not one but both flip flops decide to completely fall apart.  I am now standing over the garbage can, barefoot and wanting to scream!

I quickly made a temporary fix on the stupid flip flops and squeaked into the accountant’s office.  No makeup and hair half drenched and half frizzy.  I thought it would be a quick in and out but my accountant was there!!!  “Hi, Monica!  Time for a quick chat????” . . .

Next stop, over to the studio to pack everything I needed for the show, hand out the pay cheques and the girls had a few questions.  Normally the kind of questions I can handle and love to answer but today I felt like running away.

Now our departure up north was delayed significantly and there would be no way of avoiding traffic.  My Mom, always patient and understanding said nothing but I felt horrible for making her wait.  Our four hour drive calmed me down a little because I was with my Mom but Boink was,of course, barking at all of the cars beside us in the bumper to bumper traffic!

We finally arrived at the cottage by 5:00pm.  I still had about 6 hours of work ahead of me but decided that Mom and I should first sit on the deck with a glass of wine to unwind from the trip.  You guessed it!  I broke the first wine glass.

I honestly wanted to leave the mess and go lay on the couch and wake up the following week!

So . . . none of these mishaps are anything horrible, they are all kind of funny actually, what’s even more hysterical is how they keep going and going.

I’m trying hard to let go.  I’m working on it, I promise!  I’m not perfect.  No one is, we all have our ups and downs and an inner voice that drives us nuts.

When I post happy stuff it’s because I know you have struggles as well.  I know that because I do too!  I really just want you to feel good again.  Maybe one of my posts will get you out of your slump and back on track. Let’s be here for each other.  Let’s be strong in this together.

I’d LOVE to hear about something that you struggle with.  If you haven’t been able to overcome that thing yet, who cares.  Life is all about the adventure and this is another part of it!

BINGO!  Let’s re-name our struggles, adventures!

Who’s coming with me?

Monica XO

7 Comments

Catherine

A while back I was overwhelmed by a deal and waiting for news. Sleep deprived and a little shaky. Thankfully it was a Tuesday ; ) Stopped in to get a gift for a friend, walked out with a hug, a treat, great gift and feeling less shaky. The bad days and/or weeks pass. Thanks for sharing my bad day that Tuesday and your experience since it is always nice to know we’re not alone ; )

Reply
Monica Graves

Catherine!! I remember that day and it gave me tremendous joy to know that you decided to come see us! It’s easy to support people but it’s always hard to reach out when you need it most! We were just as happy to see you as you were to see us!! Love ya XO

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Elizabeth Plouffe

Oh Moni, Moni, Moni …

You are refreshing on every level. Just when I think you can’t get more real and generous, you share on this personal level! As a fellow entrepreneur (and just all around human being), I can totally relate to weeks like this. Not the broken flip flops mind you. My Birks wouldn’t dare let me down 😉 I think we all need reminding that weeks like this will end. That what we’re building sometimes needs a bit more mortar than we have to give. And that taking time off to recharge our brains is crucial to being able to create the next brick 🙂

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Monica Graves

Elizabeth!!! Thank you so much for this comment! One thing I left out of this blog was the enriching convo I had with you that dreadful Thursday morning! You made me laugh so hard and I quickly realized how important it is to surround myself with strong women who are not afraid to be vulnerable! Thanks for the get up and go! XO

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Barbara Crowder

Thanks for your wonderful stories. This latest just made my day! I still can picture you marching though the puddle with wrecked flip flops! You do Everything in such a Big Way! Love you Moni!!!!! Barbara xo

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