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HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY, BLR!!!

Like a mother, I feel incredibly happy and proud of this being I’ve created that means everything to me. Time flies far too fast, and my “baby” is all grown up. It’s odd to say a blog/website could feel like a living thing, but that is the truth. Blue Lollipop Road has been alive and active now for exactly 7 years, and I can honestly say that my life changed forever on 10/16/08 when I wrote my first blog post. It’s as if I grew up a little more that day, ready to share myself, and pass on love & lessons within this next generation of me.

That indescribably and overwhelming never-the-same feeling people talk about when they have kids!

Amazing.

This month is graduation time for my sweet, sweet, BLR- to version 2.0. The next adventure begins on 10/26, as I give this larger than life entity a complete makeover. So excited!

Like all things or people worth it in this crazy life, hard work is required, we are likely to shake fists in the air with frustration, shed tears occasionally, and then spin around in pure bliss, too. For anything or anyone worth it, exhaustion is part of the package, disappointment will creep in sometimes, and heartbreak is unavoidable. With all the bad, comes so much good, though- and blows every last icky feeling we may have ever experienced out of the water. Ahhh…those moments It’s all worth it; those undeniable joyful seconds of purity you feel when that “thing” you have put every once of your being- your complete heart and soul in, looks up and says I love you. 

Well, I love you, too Blue Lollipop Road.

Thank you for motivating me, teaching me, making me sad, happy, confused, proud, frustrated, and for helping me to continually believe in everything possible. Thank you for holding my hand so I’m able to remain fearless and love hard. Thank you mostly, for making me feel completely alive. Because of you, I can be best version of myself and feel like I have a purpose on this planet. That is the best feeling ever.

My sweet, sweet, BLR! What a run (or should I say, drive), we have had together!

Here’s to a billion more years of the good madness that is the life roller coaster, and hoping that together, we can inspire and light good fire inside everyone we meet.

#Love #Mojo #Believe

*Took this photo a couple days ago, full on filthy in work pants at a client job in Virginia. Good times geeking out at the view and always sporting a BLR tee!

Happy Birthday BLR!

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shutting up and being grateful

I ran across this today. A good read. I’d like to hang out with the author, Mark.

On my soap box, especially lately, I’ve preached the word practice a lot, and still don’t understand why yoga seems to have stolen that word from everything else in the world. Why don’t we think about practicing every aspect of our lives, not just yoga, or sports in general? Shouldn’t we be practicing everyday, to be a good sister, daughter, friend, employee, neighbor, or just a good, fun, productive & generous human who’s nice and friendly just to be nice and friendly?

I just walked into Starbucks to hunker down for an afternoon of work and was greeted extra cheerily by a very overweight, nerdy, scruffy, awkward-looking barista guy. This particular Starbucks is in the center of the city and never fail, is always 110% filled with the most strapping looking fit businessmen you could imagine. (Occasionally these groups of men are sprinkled with an equally gorgeous high-heeled business woman or two.) It looks like the J.Crew or Abercrombie & Fitch catalogs exploded in here and the people on the pages came alive. So here’s this barista guy with the biggest smile in a scene of go go go perfectly coiffed, seriously focused executives, who aren’t smiling- throwing in his cheery personality, clearly practicing to genuinely enjoy his work and not be intimidated by this otherwise potentially intimidating scene.

As it becomes my turn to order:

Him: “Hey hey hey! How are you today?!” (in the cutest, upbeat tone)

Me: “Im great- thank you, that was the nicest greeting! Thank you!”

Him: “Why, you’re welcome- what can I get for ya?”

I order, he asks for my name, I tell him Diane, he thinks I says Diana and I roll with it.

Him: “That’s Wonder Woman’s Name! Spin around!”

To his surprise, I spin around.

We both laugh.

Me: “If only I could spin around like that and fix all the problems in the world!”

We laugh again, and agree “yeah…”

I thank him, turn to walk away, and he exclaims- “Have a great day, Wonder Woman!”

So totally adorable.

By a landslide, this very overweight, nerdy, scruffy, awkward barista guy is the most attractive, impressive, magnetic man, in this otherwise model-looking crowd I’m among right now.

In the article above, the author writes “I’m the last one to pretend everything is unicorns and rainbows.” I’m with him on that. It’s often hard to see the forest through the trees, and even harder to be grateful during sad times. It’s not easy to shut up (at least it hasn’t been in the past for me), It’s not easy to keep thinking your minutes will add up to something when you’ve felt like you’re getting nowhere fast. It’s not easy to say goodbye, It’s not easy to feel alone/lost/stuck – most things are not easy, but we all must push and motivate to practice each day, being grateful for the tiny beautiful things.

Let’s practice together!

Right at this moment I’m grateful for the luncheon I just went to with delicious food, the new people I met and connected with. I’m grateful for the notes, check-ins, and congratulations during the past few days from friends & family about a big event I had yesterday. I’m grateful to be able to work from anywhere and do what I love. I’m grateful for the huge challenges I’ve faced during the past 6 months and the lessons I’ve learned. I’m grateful for the few late hours I spent with a good friend last night scrubbing, vacuuming, and sweeping out the last bits of her apartment for a move, as we both exhaustedly and filthily stuffed our faces with a pizza-on-paper-towel party, and laughed about the chaos. I’m grateful that I could still laugh at myself, and this crazy life, as I sweat my butt off in my little car, looking like The Clampetts yesterday while talking to my little brother and almost getting pulled over by the police:

Moving…again

I’m even grateful for the wrinkles around my eyes in this photo. They mean I have smiled a lot:) Mostly today, which kicks off Breast Cancer Awareness Month- I’m incredibly grateful to have called Kaitlin McLellan not only a tried and true friend, but a very best one, and for many, many years.

Lucky, lucky me. So, so, very grateful.

Enjoy it now, and be grateful my readers- this life, this amazing, nutty life…is far to short not to.

Thank you, Mr. Barista, for making me spin around and bringing extra sunshine to me on a day I’ve been missing my dear friend. I won’t forget it.

#AlwaysLearning #AlwaysAdventuring #AlwaysGrateful

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this is how excited I am this week

New beginnings, new offerings, new people, and BIG things for BLR!

Sometimes things pop out of the sky that you never expect and It’s like boom. Add that with what you’ve been working your tail off on for a while and…magic happens.

After what has been a most incredibly challenging summer,  Mr. silver lining has come to visit, on a bright, shiny silver platter.

Holla!

I cannot wait to share more here soon. Here we go, life 2.0!

What are you excited about?

#Believe #FindYourPassion #DontWait

Good things are coming

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stop screwing, start doing

This TED Talk popped in my inbox this morning. (Thanks, M!) I watched it as I sipped my coffee on the porch, cheering YES! and laughing through the whole video.

This woman is awesome. I’m a big fan of people who cut straight through the bs:

TED Talk

This makes me think of one of the books I just wrote about in my top 5 read this now list; The War of Art. I wholeheartedly agree with the theory that every single one of us has incredibly special things about us and unique ideas that can change the world.

Let’s all keep forcing the covers off to spend our days going for what we want.

“Get outside! That’s where the magic is.”

#Jump #CarpeDiem #BeMoreThanJustFine

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lucky me to have held this hand

This weekend brings a sad ending, but inspiration for new beginnings, too. I have so much to write and share here, about a very special person. This is just a preview…

Sam was my boyfriend years ago. I saved this photo, through many iPhoto edit sessions when clearing my computer, even though we never stayed in touch after we parted ways. I never knew if I would ever talk to Sam again even though I stayed in touch with some of his close friends. I never knew if he and I would reconnect in any way, but this photo always made me smile so I never deleted it:

Sam Shelby

Boy am I glad I kept this. I will cherish this photo forever. I’ve had a Sam Shelby blog post brewing for months now, and it will come, very soon.

It’s beyond surreal that I will attend a service for this man on Sunday. Lung cancer is a nasty, nasty, bitch. It took this super healthy, non-smoking, happy-go-lucky person who we all loved so much- out of nowhere, and so quickly.

It is so hard not to curse and hate this world, sometimes.

Please, as soon as you read this, go hug, and get all love-y, up on anyone you think is amazing and tell them what they mean to you. Love hard, don’t be afraid to speak up and say whatever’s on your mind, and take a chance on anything. Let Sam’s sweet, big smile, be your inspiration.

#YallRelax #MojoWarrior #ThankYouSam

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get unstuck

Feeling like you have a 96,000 pound boulder super glued to your chest, stinks. Having too much “stuff” is debilitating, whether that”stuff” is physical, financial, or internal. How do you tame the beasts of “stuff” that are in the way of your happiness?

Here are 9 great options to try. I’m a big fan of actually clearing out/downsizing/cleaning out your living and working spaces as well so you’re able to function at full capacity. Those are big ones. Clutter of any kind creates major unnecessary suffocation and stress, and keeps your freedom at bey.

Feeling trapped is a total bummer. Freedom is sweet. Oh sweet, sweet, freedom:

Find Freedom

*(I took this photo at a 4th of July parade. What a cute kid. What a great outfit.

Clear out some mental, financial, and physical real estate, and remember- you are in control of this life. You can do it!

#FindYourFreedom #GetUnstuck #TodayIsTheDay

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hope floats

I went floating today. Blue skies, perfect temperatures, peaceful setting, poofy clouds…as nice as it could be. It was great to just lean back, breathe, and be in nature on the water, taking in the scenery:

Floating the river

I kept looking up and thinking of a certain few people I know, who would’ve given anything to be spending a beautiful day on the river.

Here’s to never taking any days for granted.

“Beginnings are usually scary, endings are usually sad, but it’s what’s in the middle that counts. So when you find yourself at the beginning, just give hope a chance to float up. And it will.”

~Steven Rogers

#Thankful #CarpeDiem #Remembering

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this guy is incredible

The timeliness of this TED Talk popping into my inbox today is, really something else.

Just when you think you have some perspective, or have faced adversity! Listen to someone like this and it makes you think in ways you never have before. Wow.

TED Talks

So unbelievably intelligent, interesting, articulate, and humble. (Not to mention good looking.) What an impressive human being.

#ThingsThatMatter #Perspective #LiveWhileYoureLiving

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