books Tag

January 14, 2018 In grow, Links, Live the life you want to live, Photos

celebrate everyday: day 14

Today I celebrate relaxing under a blanket in the sun with a pile of books and magazines in peace and quiet:

Go, go, go? No, no, no.

Less is more. When will we learn?

Here’s a trick on how to keep your sanity:

Take one day a week, whether a week day or week end and schedule nothing besides what you absolutely have to. (Work or school.) No errands, coffee dates, lunches out…nothing. Use the extra time to purge your closet that has the ski boots with 6 inches of dust on them because you haven’t been down a slope in years. Camping gear? You haven’t camped since Boy Scouts. Later, tent. Get all the things out of your house you don’t use or need, and then next time a winter Sunday rolls around, you won’t feel bad about sipping coffee in bed reading until 2PM because you’re less buried mentally and physically in all that crap.

Freedom. It’s a beautiful thing.

What are you holding on to that you know you really don’t need?

#LessStuffMoreFreedomHappyLife #LiveSimpleDoMore #TheYearOfLessCrap

*Feeling stuck or buried in your head or home space? Call me! (804.339.6514) I can help.

May 7, 2017 In Photos, Recommended reading

when the open road is a beckoning

Where will you go?

#BlueHighways #Adventure #WhatIf

April 28, 2017 In Links, Live the life you want to live, Photos, Recommended reading, Today Is The Day

mile high lap dancing

Before getting on an airplane yesterday morning:

…to a destination with warm sun and palm trees (yahoo!), and before knowing I’d be giving not one, but two free lap dances to that person in the middle seat who refused to actually get up and out for just a quick second so I could make it to my coveted window spot, I bought this book:

I’ve been eagerly waiting for this read. Jen Sincero is hilarious and I love her no bs writing style. Her last book made it to a favorites list that I posted about here back in the fall of 2015. I’ve managed to crank through a good amount of pages over the past 24 hours even though I’m still slightly disturbed about Middle Seat Molly not getting out of the way for me yesterday in flight. (You know what I’m talking about; Oh, ok. You’re not going to stand up, weirdo? Great. Awesome. Let me just desperately suck my whole body in as I best attempt to not touch any of my parts with your parts because there’s a whopping three inches to move in row 26. Thanks. I appreciate it. I hope you feel fabulous right now.)

Anyways.

My sweet little fine point Sharpie pen is off to the races:

I dig this book just as much as Jen’s last one. I recommend picking it up. Once again I’m slightly pissed at myself for not writing nearly as much as I want to, because I’m reading far too much lately I feel like I could’ve written myself.

Lessons for today?

1.) What the eff are you waiting for, again? (Yeah. That’s to both of us.)

2.) Take care of yourself before you attempt to take care of anyone else.

3.) If you have the middle seat, don’t act like there’s ever enough space for another human to scootch by. Get yo lazy ass up and let the people pass in peace.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

#LifeOnTheBlueLollipopRoad #TodayIsTheDay #ChangeIsGood

September 25, 2015 In Inspiration, Links, Live the life you want to live, Photos, Recommended reading

read these books

Run, don’t walk- to your nearest library or bookstore to get these books:

Great Books

Can’t run or drive? Log onto Amazon.com and buy them, walk, or ask your friend to pick them up for you.

Seriously.

Pre-2015 my book habits were terrible. My attention span for getting through a whole one was like hiking Everest; arduous, painful, and seeming impossible. A racing mind, not finding good reads or whatever the reason, I was the queen of get through the first 50 pages, 10 times, and throw a book back in the pile. Based on how much I love these 5, I’m thinking that I was ready to receive some good information this go-around, and I really dig eff-bombing, no bs, tell-ha-like-it-is, raw, do your own thing writers and life “do-ers” like the above authors.

I gobbled up each of these paperbacks this spring/summer at lightning speed. (A close runner up I dig from recently is The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. You might want to add that one to your list, too.) I think I’ve found my any and all occasion, any age- go kick life’s ass gift package! (Just add ribbon and It’s a party.)

If you need some inspiration: READ THESE BOOKS.

If you need a reality check: READ THESE BOOKS.

If you’re feeling bummed about anything: READ THESE BOOKS.

If you don’t think It’s important to do what you love: READ THESE BOOKS.

If you want a good laugh: READ THESE BOOKS.

If you’re feeling like you’re living in the drone zone: READ THESE BOOKS.

If you don’t have the slightest idea about what you should do with “the rest of your life”: READ THESE BOOKS

If people tell you you’re crazy because you have a passion or idea that seems a little off-kilter, kindly tell them to shut up and: READ THESE BOOKS. (Then give them your copies when you’re finished, those people will need them.)

If you’re doubting you are capable of going, doing, being, seeing anything: READ THESE BOOKS.

If you need a break from the life gerbil wheel: READ THESE BOOKS.

If you’re searching for a bit of freedom: READ THESE BOOKS.

If you want to feel alive: READ THESE BOOKS.

If you want to learn about 7 billion things about yourself and all that’s possible when you’re ready: READ THESE BOOKS.

You get the idea.

Tiny Beautiful Things, is by far the biggest and best punch in the gut out of all of these,. As I mentioned in another recent post here- one of the best things I have ever read. (If you read none but 1 of these…please choose Tiny Beautiful Things.)

It might sound just a little bit mad that a few books could’ve changed the course of my life, or propelled me into a place I’ve always wanted to go much faster than I was getting there on my own- but that’s what I feel like happened to me this spring/summer because of these good reads. Perhaps it was just some kind of stars aligning or magic or something else. Either way I’ll take it, and happily pass onto you these words on paper, that’ve shifted many things to the positive in my everyday.

Give them a whirl and tell me what you think.

#GetLost #Think #BooksAndBlueLollipops

February 11, 2015 In BLR Play it Forward 2012, Links, People, Photos, Press, Projects & Organizations I dig

live, uncut, and unfiltered; warn the children

Can I get a whoop whoop?! Tell-ya-like-it-is, soul-sister in not being afraid to throw eff-bombs when necessary, and Author of You are a Badass, Jen Sincero- linked to Blue Lollipop Road in her blog post yesterday!

Boom chicka BOOM!

Naturally I’m thrilled to potentially have some of her readers eyes here on BLR considering they’re probably total badasses, or soon-to-be total badasses after reading her book, but mostly todays linkage is awesome because as I have always said (and Jen writes to this point in her book)- when you take a step towards life, the universe responds. (Translation; Do things you love, are good at, and that feel natural to you, because when you do, traction and movement just starts happening. Period.)

I wrote this blog post on January 19th, because I was genuinely pissed off at myself for not posting here regularly like I used to/not working on my book more, for wasting my time working with a ridiculous client over the past 6 months who was not worth my time or energy, and for being apprehensive about generally writing in the tone I most enjoy; my actual own voice! I’ve been skittish about really throwing my eff-bombs and uber opinions around like I used to, since starting the Blue Lollipop Road Memorial Scholarship Fund and BLR Play It Forward in 2012: What if a parent of these girls applying for my scholarship read my blog posts that are often littered with cuss words and over-the-top-sass and thinks I’m crazy?

As I read Jen’s book it was like she snapped her fingers in my face to wake me up from some kind of filtered trance that I had put myself in when I decided I wanted to launch Play It Forward. The do-gooder in me worried about community members and parents shunning their children away from “Crazy Diane who has that event and scholarship fund.” So I haven’t been living like my awesome badass self as much as I have wanted to, writing freely. (Blasphemy!)

So there I am a few weeks back, reading Jen’s words, getting all fired up thinking Bitch stole my book! I’m the one that get’s on my soap box spewing everything she’s talking about! She took the words out of my mouth! That’s how I usually write! Then I wrote that blog post, giving Jen props because hey- while I’ve been being all sissy and filtering my words, she was taking action actually writing her book, and well- the early bird gets the worm, baby. After writing my post I popped on over to good ol’ Facebook and put the link on Jen’s page with a “Thanks, Jen!” – and didn’t think another thing about it because I was busy focusing on kicking my ass back to myself. Meanwhile, in pops a response from Jen that she was going to share my link in her next blog post (yeah!) and here we are.

I did what was genuine and made me feel good by writing that blog post about Jen’s book, and the universe (Jen in this case) responded with some payback love.

Pretty awesome. That’s how it works!

I decided long, long ago to ride the badass train of living it up after losing 2 of my best friends who all of this Blue Lollipop Road awesomeness is dedicated to. I think I’ve managed to do a great job with that…most of time. As I look back at the past few years, I can see myself falling off that train here and there. Learning big time stuff about your adult self and leaving the younger you behind is no easy task, but now- especially after reading Jen’s book which made me feel like I was looking in a gargantuan mirror of my own words, I’m back to the game plan, laser focus, and reality that was burned into my brain back in 1994; there’s no time to be filtered or afraid. Life is too short for any of that crap.

Today is February 11, 2015 and this day would have been my friend Maria’s 37th Birthday. Here we are in 6th grade before a big field trip, all badass like we owned the world. We didn’t care about a thing (including how ridiculous our hair or fanny packs looked) other than being happy, and feeling alive like we could conquer the world:

6th grade class trip

We were #1 for sure that day. Talk about dance like nobody’s watching. LOVE. THIS. PHOTO. The two of us were always uncut, unfiltered, and having a blast when we were together. That’s how I fully intend to live the rest of my years, inspired by people like my friend, who I wish more than anything, was here to celebrate with today.

Who inspires you to take your filter off?

#BadassBook #BeYou #Unfiltered

October 6, 2014 In Photos

marking up books

Do you ever read a book (or lots of them) and feel like you could’ve written it yourself? I do. Way too much. I’ve gotta get on this BLR book writing, more!

words in books I’m scrolling photos from a summer read and thought this one I underlined was good to kick off this Monday morning. Who do you take advice from that’s walked the walk?

#DreamIt #DoIt #NecessaryBruises