Ten

Sell yourself in 10 words or less.

Hmm.

Okay.

(Wait. Those don’t count, right? Right? Don’t count those, okay?)

Ten words….

 

love, elizabeth

#notembarrassed

Day 10…Instead of talking about embarrassing moments, of which I have many, I thought today I would talk about the person in my life who lives without embarrassment. Madigan. My dog.

Madigan doesn’t know how to be embarrassed.

“Hey Mom, I got scared and peed on the bed. #notembarassed”

“I like to drink water really fast like maybe all the water on the planet will suddenly run out and because I like to make you feel guilty for forgetting to refill my water bowl but then I drink so fast that I choke and have to hack up a lung for fifteen minutes. #notembarrassed”

“You guys, I totes ate three chicken wing bones out of the garbage and then took a gigantic dump on your living room carpet because YOLO. #notembarrassed”

“Just farted really loud and woke myself up but I am still pretending it was one of you. #notembarrassed.”

“You were ignoring me when we went to bed last night, so I put my giant furry butt on the pillow right next to your face until you acknowledged me. #notembarrassed.”

Case, in point:

This is Madigan laying on top of a heavy box while Kyle is carrying it across the parking lot. All Kyle said was, “Madigan, are you serious right now?” She did not reply.

People, this is what it looks like to live without shame.

 

 

love, elizabeth

PS: I should probably introduce Madigan to some dogshaming but I have a feeling she would not care. At all.

Doing Is the Reality of Being

If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that I work in the theatre. So when I started thinking about the idea of “doing,” I remembered one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite theatre practitioners, a guy named Sanford Meisner.

Meisner was trying to explain his acting techniques to his students and this is what he said: “Acting is the reality of doing.” (What he actually said is “The foundation of acting is the reality of doing” but my way is catchier, Meisner.) Anyway, Meisner really wanted actors to stop trying to act and just start BEING on stage, being honest, being in the emotion, and responding however you do as you live and move and breathe in the world. It’s kind of the toughest acting assignment ever. Just be. Don’t act. Don’t show. Just exist in the space. I love the idea of it.

So when I ask myself, ‘what do I do?’, I can think of a hundred things that I do in a day. Study, write, grade, teach, check the mail, answer the phone, blog, watch television, open the refrigerator, close the refrigerator, walk the dog, update my Facebook, make lists, drink coffee, answer emails, worry about money, worry about time, worry, worry, worry, plan, plan, plan, do, do, do.

Sometimes I really wish I could bring more of that sense of BEING, not DOING, to my day, to my real, off-stage, honest-to-goodness life with all of its stresses and fears and discomfort and weariness. I would like to do more being. I would like to exist more. In this moment. Some moments are more built for than others. And maybe part of existing isn’t forcing myself not to worry or plan or stress. Maybe, in the end, all the doing is part of the being.  If “acting is the reality of doing,” maybe doing is the reality of being.

 

 

Here’s to more being, less doing.

love you guys,

elizabeth

There Aren’t Enough Blog Posts in the Universe to Talk About All My Favorite Quotes

So I’m just going to talk about like four. Or five. Maybe six. But no more than seven, definitely. (I realize that this breaks the strict rule for this prompt but Jenni and I go way back –like back to the 3rd grade back-- so she’ll probably forgive me if she ever sees this).

All of these quotes come from books. I choose to believe that this indicates how deep and intellectual and yet creative and interesting that I am. These are quotes that make me think, I wish I had thought of stringing those words together in that particular syntax and order first because that is exactly how I feel and I would like to be given credit for feeling that way.

(Incidentally, trying to pick a favorite John Green quote is kind of like trying to pick which one of your family members you would save from a house fire. Impossible and heartbreaking.)

I settled on four. Thanks for an awesome prompt today, Jenni.

 

love, elizabeth

Constructive Criticism and other kinds of spam

I don’t know how this bitty blog has done it, exactly, but we have hit the spam jackpot. I made the decision a few months ago to disable the word verification option for the blog but that means that my inbox is flooded with spam comments from Anonymous. Anonymous kind of has a one track mind. Its primary focus is geared around my seeming need for cheap Viagra. I really like feel like Anonymous has a pulse on its key demographic, by the way.

And sometimes Anonymous sends me short messages like this: “Here's a the cheapest down jacket sales.Come on.
canada goose parka”

…No, YOU come on.

Sometimes, though…Anonymous gets personal:

“I think everything said was actually very reasonable.
But, what about this? suppose you added a little content?
I am not saying your information is not good, but what if you added something that
grabbed folk's attention? I mean "Computer says, cough, cough" is a little boring. You should peek at Yahoo's
home page and see how they create article headlines to get viewers to
click. You might try adding a video or a related pic or two to get readers interested about everything've written. In my opinion, it might make your posts a little livelier. Here’s a link to my site: cheaplaptops.fakewebsite.net”

Dude. Not cool. If you’re going to troll my website, at least have the decency to suck up to me like the valium peddlers and the Nigerian princes who want me to claim my inheritance! Come on. Canada goose parka!

What’s your favorite kind of spam?

love, elizabeth

Help Me Pick!

First things first, I thought you all might like to see the letter I received from RAINN last week: Dear Elizabeth (and all of YOU because you voted/sponsored in June and July), Thank you for your recent contribution […] Your support makes it possible for RAINN to provide critical services to victims of sexual violence. Since 1994, RAINN has touched the lives of millions of Americans. The National Sexual Assault Hotline has provided free, confidential support to more than 1.4 million Americans, and we have experienced record increases in hotline usage in recent months. Your generosity also allows us to educate over 130 million Americans each year on sexual assault prevention, prosecution and recovery; and work with policy makers to improve the criminal justice system and ensure that rapists are brought to justice. […] Sincerely, Scott Berkowitz, President and Founder.

All sponsorship funds earned here at Love is the Adventure were donated to RAINN for the months of June and July.

 

This month, all sponsorship proceeds are going to a charity that helps and protects animals but you have to help me decide which one. Click on the links below to visit each organization’s website and decide who you think we should donate to!

- American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)

- World Wildlife Fund

- The Humane Society of the United States

I still have some sponsor spots open! For just $4 or $6, you can promote your blog or business through Love is the Adventure AND give to a worthy cause. Click here to find out how. All ad spots run for 30 days, regardless of when you begin sponsorship.

To vote, scroll right to the sidebar and check out the current poll!

love, elizabeth

PS: Stay tuned for exciting blog news on Monday…

Where did my spark go?

I feel like I’ve been slowing losing my blogging spark. I haven’t found the same drive or motivation to write everyday. I feel un-creative and sloppy. And it must show because I’ve lost four readers this past week. I try not to be a follower-counter because that’s lame but it’s hard not to wonder what’s making me slip.

I miss blogging. I want my spark back.

What about you? Do you ever lose blog-ivation? How do you get it back?

love, elizabeth

Girl Confessions

None of these things feel like they quite need their own post so here it is, a list of stuff I have been thinking.

Source: advanced.aviary.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

1. This song is pretty much exactly what I’m feeling today.

2. This kid gives me hope. I think he’s a perfect example of a post-technological generation that is not so impressed with the powers of the internets and the Wii that they can’t imagine a world without it. The most creative thing I’ve seen in a long time. Seriously, this video will make you so happy.

3. Big shout-out to my peeps at Video Central on Bethel Road in Columbus (it’s basically like if High Fidelity was a video rental place instead of a record store). It’s a complete time-warp in there. And they always have time to make movie recommendations or just to talk to the sad girl who wandered in at 8:30 with no idea what she wanted to rent. Seriously, Red Box can eat it.

4. Don’t forget to come back for the May Day Followers Fest hosted by Baxtron {Life}, Imprintalish, BrockPaperScissors, and Love is the adventure this coming Tuesday! It’ll be an awesome and easy way to discover new blogs and gain exposure!

5. I really, really wish that a) people would make sure their blogger ids are linked to an actual email address so that I could reply to their wonderful comments and that b) their Google profiles included a direct link to their blogs. Make it easy on me to find and follow you! (Shelley over at The House of Smiths did a really great, easy tutorial on this.)

6. You can’t ever really anticipate how quickly your life will change. It’s a little mind-boggling. There’s some pretty major stuff changing here for me and Kyle so please keep us in your thoughts and prayers! God is in control. God is good.

7. I’ve decided to devote my Saturday afternoon to completely re-organizing my closet. And, of course, I’ll be blogging about it.

8. If anyone out there is still iPhone-less but wishing they could get in on the Instagram photos…I’m currently crushing hard on the pixlr-o-matic. It’s a free photo-editing tool with tons and tons of awesome vintage filters, overlays, effects, and borders. So when you see my “Instagram-ish” photos tomorrow, you know where they came from.

9. Monday night we’re going to a Clippers’ game at Huntington Park with Danny and Janelle. I’ve really missed baseball so I’m especially happy about this.

10. This.

Source: google.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

love, elizabeth

Girl Confessions

1. Here’s my favorite picture of the week, taken by my friend Charlesanne.  If this picture doesn’t make you happy to be alive and grateful for sunshine, nothing will. So sweet.
 

2. I have TWO new features coming up on the blog…a brand new link-up called Reality Check (stay posted for more details!) and a new series on local thrift stores…I’m super excited. 

3. There are finally new shoots on my lucky bamboo. Maybe there’s no such thing as luck. But if you knew the survival rate of any plant in my apartment, you’d think it was a lucky bamboo, too.



4. Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the May Day Follow Fest! It’s a great way to discover new blogs and build your readership.




5. I'm giving in to the James Cameron charm and going to see Titanic 3D IMAX this weekend. I expect it to be even more terrifying and kleenex-worthy than usual.

6. My mom just sent me this snapshot from her days in the Navy…isn’t she beautiful?



7. Sometimes it’s hard to stay in the present moment. Especially when I have things to look forward to like pay day or Green Day’s new album or a road trip with my dad this summer…To be at peace with today, this minute, this second…that takes concentration.

Stay posted…Chapter 2 of our love story will be up tomorrow!

Alright, lay it on me. Confessions this week?

love, elizabeth

Love Stories

Tomorrow I am posting the first chapter of our love story. It’s been a really interesting experience writing it all down for the first time. Kyle and I have spent hours this last week trying to remember the little details, the chronology of events, the words we used. I’ve always enjoyed reading other bloggers’ love stories but I’ve been nervous about sharing ours.

Source: etsy.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

 

(If you like this print as much as I do, you can order yours here.)

Telling the story feels like another way of being brave so that’s why I’m doing it. I hope you’ll read it and I hope you’ll share your stories with others, too.

love, elizabeth

Girl Confessions

More girl thoughts today…

1. I’ve pretty much cut foundation out of my make-up routine entirely. Instead, I’ve been using a lot of this. My skin is so happy.

2. Ryan Gosling just saved a woman from being hit by a car, further proving himself worthy to be my movie husband. I have talked about before.

3. I can’t stop messing with my blog header. It’s like a pimple.

4. I watched this episode of New Girl last week and I cannot remember the last time I laughed that hard. Seriously perfect dialogue. If you aren’t hooked on this show yet, Dermot Mulroney’s guest appearance will sell you. I embedded my favorite clip for you.

5. This video makes me want to time-travel. Although I’d probably be just as uncoordinated in the 1920’s.

6. When I went into Starbucks this morning and saw my husband behind the counter, I got all tongue-tied and shy ordering my caramel latte. And then he wrote this on my cup. Love of my life.

What about you? Got any girl confessions today?

love, elizabeth

Sponsor for Free

Are you interested in some ad space for a button or shop in the months of April and May? I am offering button-swapping and guest-posting opportunities…I will also offer one to two free shared posts featuring your blog if you are interested in participating in that.

The only requirements: I need a 200 X 200 size button to post on the sidebar. You can snag mine on the sidebar, as well (email me if you need a different size).

Email me here if you’re interested in either trading buttons or guest-posting!

Who, I ask you, doesn’t love free blog advertising?

More vacation pictures from Hatteras Island tomorrow…

love, elizabeth

Don’t Mind the Mess

Just a quick note – the blog is going through some construction/re-design right now and it’s going to be changing a lot. The current header is just a placeholder while I finish building the new one so…don’t mind me!

love, elizabeth

Please Let This Mean Something

“Better yet, folks, we can combine[social networking websites] all into one site called “knowny” which records every interaction, every movement of every person on earth and posts them online like a storm of random data points that shouts out to the blind, indifferent universe, “WE EXIST! WE EXIST! PLEASE LET THIS MEAN SOMETHING!”

- Stephen Colbert

 

Source: google.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

 

I’m starting to feel the weight and responsibility of social media pressing down on me like so many tons of html-coded brick.

I wonder about myself and the role of things like Facebook and Twitter and sometimes even this blog in my life. What part of my identity is really revealed in these things? This probably goes hand in hand with yesterday’s post about sharing too much of your heart with the world but…I am beginning to question my attitudes toward social media.

Facebook feels like a chore and yet, I continue to log on, incessantly almost, to see if people have liked my status or tagged me in a picture or commented on the YouTube link I just posted. And then I think, What is wrong with me? Why do I care? What about all of this do I truly find self-affirming? Helpful? Healthy?

Let me be clear. This is not an attack on anyone who is totally plugged in to their Facebook and Twitter and Google Plus and Flickr and Tumblr and Pinterest and YouTube and Blogger and Instagram and so on. I can easily see all of the amazing benefits and unbelievable assets that come with living in this internet-powered decade. It’s kind of mind-boggling how connected to the world I can be with just a click of a mouse (or sometimes less). I see the advantages and I am blown away by the advances in technology that allow us to learn and grow and move with the globe in exciting, revolutionary kinds of ways.

I’m just not sure if it’s really good for me anymore. I actually find myself more and more unhappy with the role of all this stuff in my life. I don’t even want to count the hours I while away, automaton-like, moving between three or four websites like some kind of deranged robot. 

Source: google.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

 

I find myself torn between the desire to keep up with all the cool and new and hipster and deep well of desire to shut it off, shut it down. I long to drive to the library, not for the list of books I downloaded from the online catalogue but to browse the card index, to revel in the Dewey decimal system, to press my nose to yellowed library book pages and wonder about all the people who checked this book out before me. I dream of meeting each of my Facebook friends, instead for a cup of coffee (my treat) to look them in the eye and say, “How are you? I’ve missed you.” I imagine taking my rolls of film to the Walgreens and leaving them there, sometimes for a week, before receiving a set of prints, often blurry and disappointing and unedited, but fully tangible. I remember when I didn’t text or email, what it was like to call my friends or write them a letter, to hear their voice, to trace the line of their scribbled cursive across the page. I miss that. I miss the part where people had to ask you what your favorite movie was or what you did on Saturday night. Now it’s a click to my profile and you can read a list, a summary, a form meant to condense my entire personality and self – my faith, my politics, the books I’ve read, the quotes (not mine) that are somehow meant to express my depth and worldview and profundity. It’s a strange thing.

I guess I’m looking for balance in my own existence. This is not meant to be an answer for anyone else or even for me. I will keep blogging because I love it. I will keep my Facebook because I want to keep in contact with my family far away. I will Tweet because I enjoy quipping. I love my social media. I kind of hate it, too.

What about you? Do you struggle with this? How have you chosen to find balance in your life?

love, elizabeth

Listlessly

I’m having a disjointed, unorganized Friday and obviously, the blog is going to reflect that. And honestly, I have been feeling funky, blog-wise. And what do I do when I’m feeling disjointed and unorganized?

I make a list.

This is going to be lame. You have been warned.

List of Things coming up on Love is the Adventure

(Don’ t look at me like that. I warned you.)

1. A post on St. Augustine – I read something from Confessions this last week and it just cut me to the quick, you know? Say what you will about S.A. of H. but the man had a way of just completely opening his heart on paper. Or papyrus. 

2. Valentine’s Day giveaway. Um, I am so excited about this. I kind of wish I had the magical ability of giving this away to EVERYONE but since I don’t…I hope you’ll come back and enter.

3. DIY project for the sweetheart in your life. I’m sensing a theme this month…

4. Sun-lamps. This is a thing and we’re gonna talk about it.

5. Movie review of One for the Money. I’m going to see it tomorrow and so help me, if they have screwed this up, I am going to be mad as heck. Heck, I tell ya. If you too decide to indulge in le cinema weekend, be sure and tell me what you see!

6. Re-vamping my About Me page. It’s lacking.

Oh, yeah, AND I’m wondering if anyone is interested in guest-posting over here. I am going to be at a conference the third week of February and I need someone to babysit LITA! If you have an idea for a post, email me.

What kinds of blog plans do you have?

love, elizabeth

A Reason for Blogging…

One of my favorite bloggers, Alana, recently wrote about why she blogs. You can go read about it here. Her post had me asking myself the same question. Why do I blog?

Source: annieee.tumblr.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

 

Here’s a little list of reasons:

1. Having a blog is a good excuse to take pictures of everything.

2. My blog is my safe place. I work really hard to make sure it stays that way.

3. Blogging makes me a more adventurous person. (Hence the name of the blog…) I want to try new things and visit new places so that I have something interesting to write about!

4. Being a blogger has helped me practice introspection. Being able to confront my fears and struggles and the good stuff, too, is making me more self-aware (I hope).

5. My blog has given me the opportunity to connect with other writers and artists and creative people and I think it’s made me more open to learning about new things or ideas.

 

What about you? What keeps you blogging?

love, elizabeth

PS: Thank you, Alana, for prompting this post! Be sure to stop by and visit her at mrs. alana’s miscellany…

Courtney from Life with the Baxtrons

Today I’d like you to meet Courtney from Life with the Baxtrons. Courtney is so sweet and she shares wonderful pictures and stories from her life with her beautiful family in New York City. This is what she had to say about her blog…

I'm Courtney: wife to Jerry and mama to Zion.  While I have learned to thrive on the witty sarcasm and hustle-bustle of NYC, my soul longs for the Pacific Ocean, organic fair trade coffee and the laid-back crunchy granola-ness of my home in Seattle, my spirit belongs neither here nor there, indulgently abiding in the love of my savior.  I love meeting new people, experiencing new things and overcoming obstacles in life.  Life with the Baxtrons is my place to share life, encouragement and the day-to-day adventures of our family of three living in New York City.

Be sure to stop by and visit her blog and check her out on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, too!

Maybe we can even convince Courtney to stop by and do a guest post for January...(cough, cough).

Happy almost-Christmas!

love, elizabeth

Recommend a blog?

I’m looking for new blog recommendations! What should I be reading? Anyone have a blog they can’t live without? This includes your own! If I don’t have your blog listed on my regular reads or you’re wishing I would swing by to comment, leave me a comment and let me know…

 

Source: etsy.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

 

Lay it on me. What blog am I missing?

love, elizabeth

Rite of Passage: The Day My Blog Became a Woman

Dear sweet blogging community o’ mine, firstly…I have to apologize for my absence. I wrote a week’s worth of posts last weekend and they’ve been posting themselves all week but I have been so swamped with finals and grading and work in the office that I have not had a moment to do much (including eat and sleep). Despite my super lame-ness, many of you have thoughtfully commented and I have loved every single one! Now that my quarter is actually OVER, you can expect many emails/comments/etc. to catch up on all I have missed.

Secondly, it’s time to celebrate because, my friends, officially…today…(choke) my little baby blog became a woman. I checked my email tonight and found (are you ready for this?) my very first…mean comment. OMG, you guys. I thought only super popular, awesome blogs got mean anonymous comments! It was like being tweeted by a famous person. Because who, on the internet is more famous than Mean Anonymous Commenter? He/she/it is seriously everywhere and even though you have no idea what it’s wearing or how it pimps its pad or where it buys those fabulously flattering cyber monikers like “usucksohard92” or “MANPOWER,” Mean Anonymous Commenter definitely has staying power.

And I’m not even going to go into the validity/lack thereof of the succulent little paragraph MAC decided to bestow upon yours truly and her lil’ ol’ blog because really, it’s not the point. We’re not going to stop to ponder how MAC found such an old post (perhaps Googling “women are stoopid”?) We’re not going to question MAC’s motives for the early Christmas gift. We’re not even going to patiently explain the many hiccups in MAC’s logic/reasoning as stated in aforementioned comment. We’re just going to say THANK YOU, Mean Anonymous Commenter. Thank you. Truly. We wear your scorn as it was meant (though surely not intended): as a freaking badge. of. honor.

I took the liberty of drawing up such a badge and I display it here for all to see. Perhaps I shall move it the sidebar where all may enjoy.

Wow. Love is the Adventure is growing up so fast…it seems like just yesterday, she was just an innocent little thing with a readership made up of my mom and my dog. I mean, you all know what’s next! She’s going to want a car and then there’ll be boys…They say you’ve got to give them their wings. Fly, little blog. Fly away. Just stay away from MAC. I know you’ve got a thing for the bad boys but…you can do so much better.

love, elizabeth

Let it…drizzle?

The weather here hasn’t exactly inspired visions of sugar plums in my head. It’s kind of just been blahblah drizzly fall. Which I will probably be longing for come February in Ohio. But with the tree and the lights and the Christmas carols blaring…I guess I was just hoping for a little snowflake. I was thinking this December might be a bust until I saw THIS.

Now THAT’S what I’m talking about. Bring it on, December.

Oh, and if you haven’t stopped over to enter Ashley’s adorable holiday giveaway at A Recipe for Sanity, you need to go there right now! If you haven’t had a chance to read and follow Ashley, you should probably get on that. Because she’s seriously an awesome cook and an awesome writer AND one of my favorite blogs out there. Stop by and say hello!

love, elizabeth