Blue Lollipop Road

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Push fear away in 2012 and go full steam ahead for what you want!

I’ve watched someone stuck in cement shoes of fear for my entire life. It’s incredibly heartbreaking and painful to watch a person you love more than anything live like this. I hope when I ring in 2013, she will have made the changes she needs and deserves to live a happy, healthy, full life.

There’s one promise I can make to you all out there: Absolutely nothing is as scary as we think “it” will be. Allow yourself to jump, even if you feel like you have no parachute. You will create your own without even realizing it, and wonder what the heck you were doing all those years waiting, being afraid, and wasting precious time that you will never get back.

Here’s to trusting and respecting yourself as much as you’d advise the ones around you to.

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I’m here!

Holy company in town and busy holiday time! I’ve been playing tourist around Chicago with my company and not had a minute to spend online.

Lots of photos, updates and fun stories from this fall coming. More? A big fat announcement for something incredible for 2012!

By some miracle, Chicago has remained in the 40’s with no snow STILL and it’s almost January. Someone is clearly looking out for me for the one winter I spend here. That’s my continuing Christmas present!

More soon…

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line from reader email today

Those kinds that come unsolicited and out of nowhere from a stranger that make your day and give you yet another reason to know you are doing exactly what you’re meant to do:

“…I have to admit you’re the only blog I’m following and your posts are inspiring! Keep up the good work!”

Thanks Mark! YOU just inspired me. I’m so thankful to have you as a follower!

 

 

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“what’s been going on anyway?…

…I notice that your posts have been just sporadic over the past couple moths.”

That’s a question I’ve gotten a lot lately and of course I understand! I went from posting every single day for 3 years to every few days at best this fall. Oh the things I have been working on while I’ve been sporadic here.

I can’t tell you yet, but I will tease you by sharing that a dear old friend who I saw in September put an idea in my head that for some reason hadn’t dawned on me over these past few years. That created a stir with some other thoughts and transitions I’ve been planning for BLR and something utterly fantastic has been born. I will make the official announcement after the new year.

I love those stories of people who end up creating something amazing and when asked later about how they got there, they reply: “For years and years I just plugged away, I worked on this because I was so passionate about it even though it seemed endless and exhausting at times. I could never get myself to stop because while I wasn’t sure what it all was going to turn out to be- I always knew it was going to be something…”

Well my friends, dear readers, supporters and followers- Blue Lollipop Road is going to be that kind of story, and change lives. I believe that more than anything. I’m incredibly thrilled to bring it all back to where this journey began years ago.

I will leave you with that for now and share more soon…

 

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my badass friend

As I was thinking about a friend this morning, who has recently blown my mind with her strength- I was reminded why it’s Ok that I’ve been accused my whole life that I expect too much, I am too hard on myself, that people can’t “keep up” with me, and that I am intimidating. I need to take more compliment than insult out of those observations. Why do I want to always be, see, do more, follow my heart and go for all my dreams? Why do I always fight for what I believe in and to live the life that I want to live? Why do I want to be a badass?

Because of people like my friend.

Over the past 6 weeks, I have watched this friend first hand, live through a hell that I cannot imagine. The kind that could easily debilitate, destroy or buckle any human- even of the strongest kind. She has not only picked her head up and functioned as a normal person in the everyday routine, but she has taken on even more responsibility than she had 6 weeks ago, she’s kept an incredible attitude and she’s just this week finished a huge personal goal that would be difficult for the average joe with no “problems” to finish. Even more? She’s been smiling through it all. Have there been tears?- Yes, lots. Have there been occasional fits of “why, why, why did this happen? I just don’t understand!”- Sure. I’d be worried if there weren’t those outbursts. 90% of the time though, she’s been positive, hopeful and fought to stay in the mindset that she has so much to look forward to, and cannot/does not want this recent tragedy to define her life.

She (like me) has also been accused of expecting too much, being too hard on herself, that people can’t “keep up” with her, and that she’s intimidating. If being the above means that when I am faced with more tragedy in my life I will handle it with the grace and courage that she has- I will roll in those compliments and take them every day.

We are all a product of our collective experiences, but often forget where we came from/what we’ve been through or chose not to think about it because it’s too hard, too embarrassing, or we just don’t know how to deal with certain things. I so admire the honesty and transparency of my friend. For the rest of her life she will have to respond to one of those common questions we all take for granted with an answer that would make anyone gasp. She’s straight up owning this terribly sad hell she’s been handed to live through. It is an incredibly humbling sight.

Who inspires me? Who makes me want to be a badass and hard to keep up with? Who defines resilience?

This girl.

Who do I want this post to inspire?

Anyone out there who thinks they just can’t get through something. Believe me, you can.

I am so lucky to know you G. Congratulations on this week. You are the ultimate in badass. We’ll always have Corcoran’s. Love you Mamma 🙂

 

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for all the world’s jonah’s

I saw this video on CNN yesterday during a work meeting. There was a TV on silent near where we were all sitting. Choking back tears as I was supposed to be listening to my boss, my heart just hurt for this kid and the millions of others who ever feel alone, misunderstood, or hated for just being who they are. I did a little poking around on the web, and there seems to be some speculation as to whether this video is fake or not. If this video is fake, this young man is one of the best actors I have ever seen. I’m not sure how you could fake pain like this:

Fake or real, it ultimately makes no difference. This video brings attention to a serious issue, and if it does nothing more than make a single person stop and think before they wanted to hurt themselves, I am a huge fan.

Jonah, you do have a million reasons to be here, and we all think you are perfect just the way you are.

Let this video inspire us all today, to show a little extra love to someone you know who might be going through a tough or lonely time.

 

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brunch at m. henrietta

Mmmm…

Here’s our order of sweet potato flapjacks from both angles before we devoured them:

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That’s fluffy sweet potato hotcakes layered with maple mascarpone crème, roasted pecans and drizzled with a light sorghum molasses. Step aside plain pancakes!

We shared the bacon wrapped backed eggs too: A ring of applewood bacon filled with creamy polenta, topped with two eggs, sharp wisconsin cheddar & fresh thyme, baked & served atop a mixed greens salad. Both so good. It was hard to choose from all that sounded delicious on the M. Henrietta menu, but I think we did a very good job.

 

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