…Heather, who led me to the best place to sip a girl could ever work in:
I came to Napa and found a lot including my fabulous Swanson Soul Sisters. This Alaska or Bust adventure has been a most growing and incredible 5 months of my life. What a way to end it working with you all. I heart you for life chicas. Thank you.
The road trippin’ begins again in 3 days. We’ve been to Alaska, we have busted it. We left from the east coast almost 5 months ago. (Yes, by “we” I mean you all, my peeps, my readers, my friends; all who share here.) Lets hit the road to complete the loop and see what’s around the next corner.
One life. All the freedom and opportunity in the world and things to learn every day. I’m loving that.
See you on the road…
Don’t tell anyone, but I took this photo while I was driving yesterday morning. (Hey, I didn’t want to miss a close-up shot!)
The day before, I snapped these leaf-changing vines at Mumm on my day off:
If you work IN the wine biz like I have been here, you rarely get to run around and go tasting yourself, because you are so busy serving others the good grape juice. I managed to weasel some time in for bubbles, after all- they are my favorite. I love fall, I grew up in Vermont and changing leaves of an kind have always been beautiful to me. In Vermont I’d be drinking cider and eating apple doughnuts looking at the beautiful changing colors through the windows with good company. Here in Napa I have done the same- just with a bit of sparkling instead.
I will never again have a first harvest season in Napa, with a first time working for a winery. I will probably not live in a lot of places where I can see hot air balloons filling the sky each morning or where I’m able pop in on my way home from running errands for a sip of some wine or food that’s known around the world. For these, and many other delicious reasons I am giving my thanks this year.
Cheers to never taking any moments good, bad or bubbly (hee hee…) for granted.
I confess, I occasionally Google myself.
I’m glad I did just now when I can’t sleep at 3am. Look what I found! The Skirt! magazine article from the August Issue. Yay! I have to say a huge thanks to Editor Constance Costas for seeing a story in me more than once.
The U.S Border Patrol knows about Skirt! too. They Googled me when I was coming back into the country from Vancouver this summer. I guess when I rolled up to the booth with a car packed full and no plan as to where I was exploring next, then told the agent I had just driven to Alaska alone he thought I was a criminal or fruitcake. He then sent me inside with an orange slip. I waited in line, went through a bunch of questioning and stood there nervously as the agent typed away on his keyboard. I knew I was good to go when he looked up from his computer monitor and said: “Crushing Oreos in a jar of Nutella?”
All that typing he was doing, he was Googling me. Sure enough a Skirt! story about me that included information about my chocolate habit popped up from 2007. All the guy could do after reading that story was free me laughing and shaking his head. He handed me back my passport telling me: “Be careful Ms. Peacock, Ok? Really, be careful. Safe travels.”
Thanks for saving me at the border and being a cheerleader for my exploration and adventure Skirt!
Um, my ultimate favorite sport soccer combined with Caribbean-style booty shaking dance moves? This class was made for me. The two ways I like to sweat best. I’m in love.
…actualIy, mean the red line. Click on the “Alaska” button above and track where I am going! I head east shortly and you know a cross-country road trip comes with a lot of stories.
I never imagined that when I declared; “2010 is MY year!”- it would mean that all in this quick flash of less than 365 days I would:
1.) Work with one of my best friends helping him to organize his company during it’s wildly successful growth.
2.) Drive alllllll the way to Alaska, alone, to hit my 50th state reaching a 16 year old goal.
3.) Live and work a full harvest season in Napa for a winery owned by the most lovely kind-hearted people I could imagine.
….and then some. And I don’t take one second of any of it for granted.
I still can’t wrap my brain around all the memories and experiences that I have just from this one single year. I look forward to sharing my 2011 with you here. Nothing like following your heart, setting goals and doing what feels right. It always works out. I am so thankful this year for being inspired to follow my dreams. I can do this because of all the friends and family I am lucky enough to have.
In honor of a chuckle and giving those thanks for Thanksgiving, I’m using the term “The Napa 15” (like The Freshmen 15 so many gain in college.) This describes how tight my jeans are after 2.5 months here. I mean, who’s not going to eat cheese and drink wine everyday when you work in a place like this? To add to the wine and cheese, now comes the turkey. Let the buttons pop. I’m going out with a bang.
Happy turkey feasting everyone!
*You think about it everyday. Even if you are insanely busy, stressed or otherwise pre-occupied
*You sometimes put it before yourself
*You feel like if it’s not a part of your day, your day is incomplete
*You feel lost without it
*If you never got to see it again, your heart would be broken in two
*If a someone proposed the question; “If you could do anything in the world, what would if be?”- it would be that thing
That’s how I feel about Blue Lollipop Road and sharing my life, in all the glory and madness here; I’m in love with it. It makes me feel free. Not writing here even for just a whopping few days was a much needed space and break, but has made me feel like I lost my love, my puppy, my best friend. I have too much to say to keep my mouth shut for long. There’s all that cool and funny stuff that happens during the daily bs that I can’t wait to share too, so here I am again. What can I say, I just can’t stay away.
If you know me or if you’ve visited here more than once, you know I am more comfortable sharing and being wide open than hiding things. This sometimes gets me in trouble. I have no problem telling people when or why I love them or when I think they suck. This sometimes gets me in trouble. I can stomach and be smiles and rainbows even to the biggest of jerks, but cross me or someone I love and I will go postal on your ass. This sometimes gets me in trouble. Living life open on the world wide web sometimes gets me in trouble, but it’s worth it and then some. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I have said it before and I will say it again; I won’t change who I am, being truthful, or how I write because I am afraid that someone won’t like me. (Yes, this includes any current/future employers, boys, in-laws dogs, chickens or other.) Sorry.
I took this cute (bad) photo (with my phone) at a wine event in The Marina today in San Fransisco:
I only have ICE for you Blue Lollipop Road!
In more news; I just saw the New Kids on the Block perform with the Backstreet Boys on the American Music Awards. I’m not even sure what to say about that, but I do have another announcement that will come soon. Don’t you just love surprises?
Apparently when I say I am taking a sabbatical, the world really wants me to take one. I just found out that my email inbox has been bouncing back all the messages people have been sending me for a week. Nice when I’m working my tail to connect/network, send resumes and all that good stuff huh? Life always seems to have that perfect timing. The email issue is fixed now, but if you have emailed me in the past week- please resend to diane (@) blue lollipoproad.com -Thank you and sorry!
Now back to my sabbatical. Happy weekend. I’ll be back soon with a vengeance. Promise 🙂
…whatever you want to call it. I am taking one from here. Overwhelmed? Not really. Stressed? Nah. Feeling like I don’t want to share my every thought, decision and move with everyone, every second of my day so I can actually have a clear head and worry about only me? YES. Totally.
Absolutely I realize sharing everything is what I signed up for. I love transparency, most of the time. My life has been one big transparency-fest. I’ve turned myself into a giant piece of Saran Wrap and I’m feeling like I need to be more of a tarp right now. (Yes, like the blue thick ones you buy at Lowe’s and Home Depot.)
I want to live in a big fat city. That is SF, Chicago, DC, NY. If I can’t live in one of those I want to make enough money to be able to go to them as much as I can. In order to figure out how I can do this when I have like negative zero dollars in the bank, I need more time to game plan, brainstorm and all that fun stuff even more than I already do. Blue Lollipop Road is my life and my love, but makes me no loot so right now it must take a bit of a back burner to things that make me loot so I can actually live where I want to live. If I keep moving to places I really don’t want to, or making peanuts for money just because a job falls in my lap, I will never be at my best and I’ll have to keep moving to stay interested, engaged. I will also never have $2 to my name. That’s just silly. I’ve loved my time being a professional vagabond. Change is good, but I have moved 96 million times in the past 14 years. I have learned a TON, but now I’m flippin’ tired. I am way too talented and capable of having my own business or working for someone else who will pay me a decent amount for my talents and experience to not be funneling all my energy into a great concept or company in one place/city/state. I’m ready to put that 14 years of being a professional vagabond and trier of all things to good use.
So?- I’m funneling right now. If you hear nothing but crickets here, on Twitter, Facebook, email, phone, etc.- don’t be surprised. I’m fabulous, I’m healthy, happier and more confident than I’ve ever been. I’m just taking some extra time to make major headway on my future.
I promise I’ll show back up here, bounding and smiling soon enough. As I sit in San Fransisco today, it seems a perfect time to quote The Governator:
“I’ll be back.”
