Five.
Today is my fifth blogaversary.
In celebration of this milestone, I want to welcome you to Lemonade Life’s new home, now officially living at www.lemonadelife.com. I have been waiting 5 years to own this domain, and have been suffering with the stupid “lemonlemonade” URL for far too long. When it finally became available last week, I jumped at the chance to grab it. Big thanks to my friend and web designer, Erica, for working tirelessly through the weekend to get everything set up and raring to go for today! I could not have done it with out her.
There are very few things in my life that I have done for more than five years. I did elementary school for six (if you count kindergarten). I lived in my childhood home for sixteen years. College was only four years and my longest stint at a real, “grown-up” job was two and half years. I have only lived on the East Coast for three years and haven’t lasted more than a year at any of my apartments. I have been with my fiance for 19 months (feels longer though) . While much in my life has changed over the past five years, Lemonade Life and this blogging community have been my constant companions.
I have always known a lot people with diabetes. It started at an early age, with my first trip to summer camp six months after I was diagnosed at age 8. It was then followed by a half dozen Walks to Cure Diabetes. Then a couple summers volunteering at the JDRF Chapter office in Portland, Oregon. Which was then followed by a stint as a Children’s Congress delegate, then the founder of a ill-fated “web magazine.” That put me in the position to host of Teen Talk, the only program dedicated to teens with diabetes on DiabetesStation.com (where I was introduced to the legendary Scott Strumello and Gary Scheiner – I’ve known them since high school!). When that closed, I relaunched as DiabetesTeenTalk.com during my junior year in college, which I sold to dLife five months later. Nowadays, I do bits and pieces as a freelance writer and consultant.
In the midst of all that, I launched my online home over on Blogger. A place where I could be me and not worry about saying or doing “the right thing.” Where I could share my burdens and struggles. Frustrations with high and low blood sugars. Irritations with technology and medical professionals. And my triumphs: graduating from college, becoming a working woman, and now, becoming a wife. This was a place where I could both educate and be educated, through the wonderfully insightful comments and supportive messages I continually receive.
When I started writing Lemonade Life, I only knew about ten other diabetes bloggers, and more than half of them aren’t even writing today. There was no way to know when I started plunking down a few random missives about diabetes that it would forever change the course of my life – for the best. In 2005, we had no idea what we were doing. We had no idea what we would become, how pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers and the media, too, would come to think of us as “influencers” and “thought leaders.” Even my colleagues in the public relations community know how powerful the diabetes blogging community is. In 2005, we were simply the “patients” – a group of people to be bossed, lectured and judged. These days, we are helping to build our own health objectives, guiding policy and product development, and creating new goals and ideas for what successful diabetes management should look like. It is a whole new world.
I am, of course, more than diabetes. I am a public relations professional. I’m an Oregonian. I’m a book lover and writer. I am a movie fanatic. I am a thinker and a dreamer. I am more than the sum of my parts, and diabetes is, frankly, just one part of me. My goal with Lemonade Life, in recent years, is to show what a person with diabetes looks like holistically. That we are not sick and miserable people. That we love and laugh and can do all the things that people without this chronic condition can do. But also to show that what we do is difficult and hard and scary. And it’s lonely, even when we are surrounded by millions like us.
But today, I do not feel alone. I feel all at once connected with everyone in this community, and in the other communities that I am slowly becoming a part of. Whether you have diabetes, are a fellow twentysomething, are a neighbor in New York City, found me wandering through Google, are a former classmate or related to me by blood, thank you so much for everything over the past five years.
Cheers.
Congrats on 5 years AND your own domain! Rock on!
YAY for five years (amazing!!) and for finally having your own domain
And cheers to you and your always wonderful writing.
Fantastic! Five years. Wow. My 300th blog post is set to go up later this week. Amazing community we have here, isn’t it? And congrats on the new home!
CONGRATS!! You’ve done amazing things in the last 5 years! Keep on rocking it!
Awesome! Happy 5 years! You are my hero, and in the year since I’ve been “active” in the DOC, you’ve been one of the key individuals proving we aren’t alone on this D-Ride. Thank you for that. Cheers to the newest chapter of your D-Blogging Adventure, and I’ll look forward to updating my blogroll and keeping tabs as the ride continues – Diabetes and otherwise.
That is such an awesome anniversary “gift”! Congrats… twice!
Congrats on the anniversary and your domain
Cheers!
Congrats on five years! Here’s to many, many more.
CONGRATULATIONS!! I remember when…
*victory dance*
Congrats, Allison!!
Congrats on the new diggs!
Congrats on five years! Keep it up…you have an awesome blog!
Definitely nice!
Congratulations – we’re all happy you’ve stuck around for the whole five years!
Many happy returns! (Hopefully one of these future blogaversaries will be the one where you talk about how your blog *used* to be about diabetes…)
that is awesome, congrats on five years! woo happy blogoversary!
Happy Blogaversary Allison!
Congrats on both your blogaversary and your new home on the web!
Congrats on the unique URL and 5 years…awesome!
I am sure happy to have found your blog! And on your 5 year anniversary to boot! Congratulations.
I just wrote an article about a diet plan for diabetics in hopes of reaching the many who need help realizing that yes, you can prevent, delay, and even reverse the type 2 diabetic condition.
If you are interested in reading it; http://ezinearticles.com/?Diet-Plan-For-Diabetics&id=4698318
I have a program where I help people with diabetes and last year I helped over 2000 people with supplies, information and moral support. It is so gratifying.
I will eagerly await each of your posts now that I have found your fantastic lemonadelife site.
Way to go on all of your accomplishments including your own domain!
Congrats on 5 years! I look forward to reading much more from you
You may be interested in my new book, How Sweet It Is: Living and Learning from Diabetes. It examines the illness from a multi-dimensional perspective – namely the physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual worlds. I can be reached at dreamguru36@gmail.com. The book is available online through Ingram.
Congrats and happy anniversary! I know how much waiting for a domain is a big deal, especially when it becomes available! Congratulations again, and may you have many more years at this online home!
Congratulations on 5 years! Woohoo! Best wishes for the next 5 and beyond