Inspiration

June 8, 2016 In BLR Memorial Travel Scholarship Fund, BLR Play It Forward 2016, Blue Lollipop Road Memorial Scholarship, blue lollipops, Do good, Inspiration, People, Photos, play, Strong Mojo, Today Is The Day, Vermont

blr play it forward 2016 kicks off one month from today!

What happens at Play It Forward, you ask?

All awesome things like friends, families, and neighbors, coming together (new and old), lots of socializing fun, honoring people we love who are no longer with us, and gifting scholarship dollars to deserving high school students to help support their travel goals. Doing good and p(L)aying forward to give back, makes everyone smile:

BLR Play It Forward 2015 Screen Shot 2016-06-03 at 11.23.12 AM

We are all hands in for our community kind of gals! So what’s in the hopper for this year? Well check out our event poster:

BLR Play It Forward 2016

…and mark your calendars to join us!

If you can’t join us in some way for this great weekend in Vermont, maybe think about what really matters to you, and make your own community give back wherever you are. Our Play It Forward theme; Remember. Celebrate. Live:

*Remember where you came from

*Celebrate the memories you have

*Live like today is the day

Pretty good rules to live by, right?

Let’s all go and put some more love into the world by being Strong Mojo Warriors. Here we go, year 5!

#RemembercelebrateLive #PlayForwardGiveBack #Community

*(A shout out and huge thanks here to Nicole Sauer for her great photos from our 2015 event, and Tracy Bushee-Boudreau for her continued fabulous logo and poster designs each year!)*

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May 22, 2016 In Inspiration, Links, Live the life you want to live, North Carolina, People, Photos

867 reasons you should have a dance party

Actually, just 1:

Because It’s fun.

I went to the BOB Awards tonight. It was a blast. I went with a crew, one of whom at one point (on the dance floor) said; “This makes me want to take off my boots!…and then he did. It was awesome, we laughed and strangers took photos.

We “snuck” (no one was paying attention to any one or any thing- so why not), into the VIP lounge a few times to get cocktails and treats from the s’mores bar. (Hello dripping, melty chocolate fountain!) We were the group that started the dance party. I personally never need an invitation to get the floor moving and was glad I was with a group that didn’t either.

It’s close to midnight on a Saturday night, and as I type in silence smiling from a great time after my party has ended for the night, I’m hoping everyone is out there in this big world living a little bit of eff-it! – just letting go and having fun. Whether you stayed in or went out, and whether you got wild or stayed calm, remember, there are no rules. What you do with your life is YOUR CHOICE. We should care a lot less about what other people think, we should get that dance floor moving even when (especially when), we’re sober, we should laugh loud enough that our face hurts, and we should sneak into the VIP lounge (ahem…in everyone situation), like we own it. Take initiative, don’t ask for permission, and…

…dance my friends, just dance.

#GetYourGrooveOn #WhenInDoubtBeyonceItOut #Fearless

BOB awards

Bonus fun if you strike a pose with a friend on the way out the door and see how long you can hold your Blue Steel face without cracking up.

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May 15, 2016 In Inspiration, Links, Live the life you want to live, Today Is The Day, Videos

lets just kick the shit out of option b

It’s Sunday morning, May 15th and I just had a much needed long slumber after a busy week. I woke up missing some people I love, some living and some not. This is an everyday thing for me. In the quiet, all snuggled up in my fleece blanket staring at the blue sky out the window I thought for the gazillionth time how strange it is to consistently feel so happy, excited, and lucky, and yet so heavy-hearted, too.

As I sipped my coffee, I texted a few friends about this book, just published. My sweet friend Sam wrote it. This was a huge dream of his, and how I wish he was here to hold the actual printed version in his hands.

This time of year is my favorite; Warm temperatures, lots of exciting summer plans to be outside in the fresh air and sun, BLR Play It Forward is coming soon, and of course, commencement speeches. I never went to college, so I’ve only experienced commencement speeches online or at some else’s graduation. I wish these kinds of speeches happened all year around, and not just at universities during graduation month. I dig inspirational messages from people who’ve pushed through a bit of life’s minefield keeping a hard-earned smile, and then share their lessons.

I got a phone notification this morning as I was snuggled up, about Sheryl Sandberg’s Commencement Speech at UC Berkeley. She talks about grief, loss, and what she learned in death. Well worth the 26 minute watch:

My favorite parts are at around the 9:45 and 18:45 marks and towards the end when she says “Now I celebrate always.”

My Blue Lollipop Road mantra has always been to live simple. That “stuff” doesn’t matter…people and time do. Our theme for Play It Forward is Remember. Celebrate. Live; Remember where you came from, celebrate memories and what you have, and live like today is the day- don’t wait.

I know like Sheryl and many of you, I will wake up tomorrow still missing. I will always miss someone, a hug or holding that hand. I will always miss seeing some certain smiling faces or a laugh I remember that always felt so good to be around. I will also wake up tomorrow celebrating, because no matter what we’ve been through, we’ve got to keep kicking the shit out of option B. I hope all of us continue to love hard and leave it all on the field.

If there were only 11 more days left…what would you do?

#Celebrate #TodayIsTheDay #HopToIt

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May 13, 2016 In Inspiration, Live the life you want to live, Videos

i dare you

So this is a car ad (and who cares about fancy cars), but every time I hear or see the words only those who dare drive the world forward in this commercial, it makes me want to jump up and scream, HELL YES!

I went with a CPA friend yesterday to a local Title I high school to talk to students about basic financial literacy. We tried to be cool, fun, and as current as possible as we shared about thrilling things that every 16-18 year old (ha!) is just chomping at the bit to learn about like credit card interest, opening a bank or savings account, and how best to fill out a job application. As we made our important points about how to kick off life with a few bucks in your pocket and how not to (ahem) eff up your early money life by making mistakes that we (or at least, I) did, we found ourselves circling back to a basic foundation message that has nothing, (but everything) to do with money and creating a healthy, happy life:

Stay curious, figure out how you like to spend your time, trust your gut, and hustle for what you want. Speak up, keep getting up, and never take no for an answer.

Walking out of the school it felt great to know maybe, just maybe, we could’ve made the slightest impact on a young life. I couldn’t help but think though, that perhaps all of us “adults” could use to be a little bit more daring; To remember who we were, what we dreamed about, and the things that made our hearts beat fast back in the day when we first found out the world was our oyster.

I dare you.

#LifeOutsideTheDroneZone #TodayIsTheDay #Dare

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May 11, 2016 In Freedom, Inspiration, Links, Live the life you want to live, Videos

live simple, do more

This video will be just one example in the gazilllion that are coming here on BLR about how living simply and less wasteful is not only good for the environment and your soul, but your pocket, too!

Why do we think things like traveling or using/eating homemade or local products is so unaffordable? Not true! Moving forward, I’ll be sharing a whole bunch on how to live big on a minimal budget. (And how to get yourself unburied from all those bills.) Blue Lollipop Road is all about LESS STUFF. MORE FREEDOM. HAPPY LIFE. It’s not about deprivation, It’s about choices, and being conscious about how, when, and where you spend your hard-earned loot!

Do you want more freedom from personal, physical, and financial “stuff” so you can do more of what you love?

Yes, please!

Awesome. Keep following along here, and sign up to get these blog posts in your inbox. Just scroll to the bottom of the home page and “SUBSCRIBE TO BLOG VIA EMAIL.”

Blog post subscription

Life is way to short to waste so much of our time, energy, or money…on all that stuff that’s weighing us down.

Ready to make some changes? Yeah! I love working with clients who are sick of feeling buried. Drop me a line:

Diane(@)bluelollipoproad.com

804.339.6514

#StopWastingStartLiving #LessStuffMoreExperiencesHappyLife #LiveBigSpendLess

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May 9, 2016 In Do good, Inspiration, Links, North Carolina, Operation Charlotte, Photos

why you should always hold the door open

I love holding the door open for people. While we all live in all too fast-paced reality of the work day, there are few ways we can experience such a happy interaction with a stranger like we can when we wait that extra few seconds to simply hold the door.

Funny I posted about doing good earlier today. Doing good feels so good! I love the look on a strangers face when I hold the door open- the absolute surprise for such a little thing.

I just walked into Starbucks to camp with my laptop for the afternoon, and a couple guys followed me in. I held the door. (I had to count to three-one-thousand for them to catch up to me, so perhaps I looked awkward, but I didn’t care.) I got a big thank you, then walked into the restroom before ordering. When I came out I got behind these same two guys in line as one of them said “…and whatever she’s having for holding the door open for us!”

Whoop!

They thanked me again, complimented my dress, (hello blue!- my favorite color…wink wink:), and I thanked them again.

Thank you fiesta!

I’m still smiling now as I type. That 3 minutes made my day. People being nice to each other. How easy is that?!

I hope you will join me, and hold the door please, (on everything) just for a few extra seconds. Make sure you smile at a stranger when you can. What you put out, always comes back in some form or another. (At least, I keep still believing.)

Starbucks office

Thanks for my coffee, guys!

#DoGood #BeNice #LessHurryMoreDoorHoldingHappyLife

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May 9, 2016 In Be active, BLR Memorial Travel Scholarship Fund, BLR Play It Forward 2016, Blue Lollipop Road Memorial Scholarship, Do good, Inspiration, Links, Strong Mojo, Today Is The Day, Travel, Vermont

get your give on

Hello, Monday!

Today is May 9th. This means exactly 2 months until our 5th Annual BLR Play It Forward Event & BLR Memorial Travel Scholarship award, July 9 2016 weekend. (FIVE years!)

We’ve been doing good on our Remember, Celebrate, Live promise since 2012 and couldn’t be more proud. We love playing forward to give back.

Inspired by us? Well thank you…but we wouldn’t be able to do it without YOU! So how do you get involved?

1.) If you’re MAU Women’s Soccer Alumni, you can register here for just a $35 donation to play in the game, Saturday July 9th at Willow Park in Bennington, VT. 100% of registration fees go to the scholarship fund.

2.) Get an event shirt for yourself or your kiddos here. Shirts come in blue and pink, youth and adult sizes.  Just 20 buckaroos donation! 100% of that loot goes straight to the scholarship fund.

3.) Rally your friends, family, neighbors, former teachers, coaches, strangers on the street, or anyone else you like, to come join/hang out/socialize for our Friday night (July 8th) open Welcome Back Party, and Saturday day and night (July 9th) Alumni game, scholarship announcement, and Celebration Cocktails.

4.) Sponsor! We’d love any sponsorships, and promise if you do, we will give shout-outs and love on all print & social media, along with on the BLR website here and more. (We’d especially like to to find a jersey & t-shirt sponsor this year to cover that huge cost. Please call 804.339.6514 or Diane(@)BlueLollipopRoad.com if you’d like to sponsor.)

5.) Donate! 100% of all donations go straight to the Blue Lollipop Road Memorial Travel Scholarship Fund. This fund supports deserving high school students to travel and do community service work. (Wha?! Yep, students doing good while getting a chance to see outside their everyday world. Exposure! Service! Character building! Building a badass next generation! Super awesomeness:)

If you’re a regular reader or BLR follower, you obviously know this Blue Lollipop Road is my life, my passion, my everything, and Play It Forward is by far the work I’m most proud of. I can’t do it alone, so I present a challenge to you readers who I know and strangers I don’t:

Donate $5 now! 

I figure $5  for 5 years of playing forward so we can give back is not too much to ask. Everyone can afford 5 big ones. Won’t you support what we are doing? Click here to donate through PayPal, it is secure, easy, (and dare I say, fun?), or send a check made payable to:
Blue Lollipop Road Memorial Scholarship Fund
PO Box 34661
Charlotte, NC 28234

…or

…simply pass this post on! My Christmas wish is that some one, some where, some day, who’s big time, will notice what we are doing and say “Hey! You are spectacular BLR Play It Forward! Here’s some ginormous media and/or a million bucks for your scholarship fund! What you’re doing with your event & scholarship fund is like…totally awesome!”

(Hey- it could happen. It WILL happen.)

So won’t you send some love and spread the love? Oh how important it is, to…

Remember where you came from.

Celebrate the memories and time you have have together.

Live like today is the day.

BLR Play It Forward

BLR Play It Forward

BLR Play It Forward

BLR Play It Forward

BLR Play It Forward

Image

Boom-chicka-boom!

Together we can do so much good.

#RememberCelebrateLive #GetInspired #TodayIsTheDay

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May 5, 2016 In Articles, Inspiration, Links, Live the life you want to live

don’t forget your pads

I’ve followed Mark Manson for a while now. Today’s post cracks me up. Read it here.

Basically what he is saying (what we all know but try to deny), is that life’s just one big shit show. This is not a bad thing, it simply means the circus, the roller coaster, that whirling dervish is there and always will be- even when we try to make sense of things. Every single one of us humans is messed up. If you are over the age of 5 and reading this, you’ve been through something (if not a lot), and likely have more baggage than a holiday weekend at JFK.

Thanks for joining the club with me and all of our other homies!

What we do, what we practice, every single day to protect and/or heal our beautifully battered and bruised smiling selves is what makes all the difference in the world.

I say wake up in the morning, (picture you’re a kid here playing imaginary dress up) strap on your football pads and helmet, and run out in the world ready to get it, see it, be it, do it. Remember where you came from, knock some stuff around, get a little knocked around, be a little sore after the clock runs out at the end of the day, but know you have tried your best to make some kind of sense, and some kind of fun out of all the madness in this crazy awesome life.

Yep.

How’s that for a shot (of tequila?) in your arm for Cinco De Mayo?

Cheers!

#DontStopGetItGetIt ##Effort #WhenInDoubtNikeItOut

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