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

moh-tuh-vey-shuhn, noun, from the medieval latin mōtīvus

Uhhh, you know how bloggers, lots of bloggers, get into a rhythm and a schedule? Like they post every day and they plan ahead and work it all out? This is not one of those posts. I just needed someone to talk to.

I am really flagging when it comes to my personal motivation lately. I have a reading list the size of Mars and the end of summer is looming ALREADY and I can’t summon the energy to clean the apartment or empty my inbox or study or ANYTHING. I want to be successful, I want to buckle down and get stuff done. But right now I feel like I’m just watching the calendar pages floating away like they do on old Saturday morning cartoons and I just want to stop the clock for another five or six weeks. WHEW.

I just needed to get that out there into the universe. This weekend, I plan to clean the apartment until it squeaks. And then maybe that reading list will seem more manageable somehow. I just can’t think inside the mess.

Alright. Make me feel better. What helps you get re-motivated when you’re in a slump?

love, elizabeth

31 Before ‘13

I know I’m not the first person to think of this but when I just couldn’t bring myself to draw up a list of New Year’s resolutions, I decided to try something else. So here’s my 2012 Bucket List. 31 things to before 2013. Some things made my list because I have to do them, anyway. Some things are on there because they seem easy or fun. Some things made the list because they scare the poop out of me. A few things overlap from my list of winter. I am resolved to attempt ALL of them.

31 Before ‘13

1. Get my solo-performance on its feet.

2. Successfully prepare for my comprehensive graduate exams.

3. Perform at a poetry open-mic night.

4. Read the chronological Bible straight-through.

5. Finish my PhD coursework.

6. Cook a new vegetable.

7. Commit to my one-hour system (see post).

8. Visit a weird museum.

9. Find five new uses for five old/recycled things.

10. Complete (at least) ten weeks of Weight Watchers.

11. Go to an Ohio State football game.

12. Learn to make a pie crust.

13. Take a vacation with Kyle to somewhere new.

14. Read ten books UN-related to school.

15. Visit five breakfast spots featured in Breakfast with Nick: Columbus.

16. Hike in Hocking Hills.

17. Watch all of Alfred Hitchcock’s films.

18. Attend the young women’s small group regularly.

19. Save money every month.

20. Write 300 blog posts.

21. Throw a party.

22. Take a haunted tour of something, using this map.

23. Celebrate Valentine’s Day in an out-of-the-ordinary way.

24. Present a paper at a conference.

25. Go to a Blue Jackets game.

26. Spend a day at the beach.

27. See a new band live.

28. Go on a blate.

29. Learn how to play a new board game.

30. Volunteer for a new charity.

31. Find and use a homeopathic treatment.

 

 

Source: istockphoto.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

So what do you think? What made it onto YOUR list?

love, elizabeth

Inspiration of the Month: Kate

Well, now that October is almost over, it’s high time for another inspiration of the month! Meet Kate.

Kate and I have been friends for eleven very full, very exciting years. We’ve seen each other through some of the worst and best moments of our lives (Kate was my maid of honor five and a half years ago!).

There are so many inspiring things about Kate but here’s a biggie on my list…

Not only is she an amazing career woman and amazing friend, she’s also an amazing wife to a United States Marine. If you’re in the military or married to it, you know what this means.

Long separations, weird hours, lots of moves, some extra worry, and a great deal of sacrifice. I’ve been so thankful to get to keep up Kate and Garrett’s love story over the past few years. As Garrett prepares to deploy, I know they are spending as much time as they can together and preparing for this new part of their love story. Kate and Garrett have a saying that’s been with them since their wedding ceremony…“Stuck together until the end of forever.” It’s become a playful reminder of a very serious commitment. “You married me,” Kate tells him. “That’s it. It’s in the fine print. There are no loopholes. You’re stuck with me!”

Five Fast Kate Facts

- Kate loves dogs but she became a cat person in college. Her cat, Boo, is the second love of her life.

- Her first kiss was in the choir room in 8th grade while practicing a song for the talent show. Uh-huh. Practicing.

- She prefers popcorn to chocolate.

- Kate went skydiving a few years ago. When they threw her out of the plane at 17,500 feet, she cried. She totally wants to go again.

- Halloween has special significance in her love story so she and Garrett went to three haunted houses on their wedding night. Sexy.

You should definitely go follow Kate’s sweet blog, Love Not Distance where she shares her triumphs and struggles as a young military wife. She makes me laugh and I love her honesty and practical applications of love.

Who’s inspiring YOU lately?

love, elizabeth

Inspiration of the Month: Wayne Gilbert

Well, it’s September and I’m pleased as punch to present another inspiration of the month. And in honor of everyone going back to school, I thought I’d feature one of my all time favorite teachers. Meet Wayne.

Wayne was my very first college professor. I took English 101, Introduction to Literature, and two creative writing courses with him in my freshman year. I’ve told him this before and I’ll say it again, he has a way of approaching the students’ heart and work, as if they were equally important. Wayne taught me to look at the whole person, to treat myself and my journey (and the journey of others) with kindness, and to look at writing as a way to crawl inside the soul and shout with joy. Some of my best memories in a college classroom…Wayne jumping up and down, waving his hands, over the moon that he might actually get us to really, truly HEAR a poem. I could write and write about the ways that those first classes with Wayne shaped my views of education but I’ll simply say I would absolutely not be where I am today without him.

 

I also owe him a huge debt for all of the poetry I read/heard in his classes. Wayne is a working poet and has graciously agreed to let me feature one of his poems here.

 

mourning-jazz for my mom

(alice may gilbert, 1929-2010;

“what are human beings that you are mindful of them. . .” Psalm 8:4a)

when we were re-united the last time

my mother was young her head full of mirthful hair

i hear her laughing now behind the door

on my side it’s raining

the cold wind has followed me home

the price of my usual luggage was too high to carry on

the ice has split herself open

my head is full of icelandic ash clouds

i’m waiting

to be

magma borne gaseous plumes

envelopes of post-eruptive matter

job’s god screaming at the inert world his new word order

solar fistulas flying out of the universe

older than the first droplets of sacred water

imprisoned miles inside arctic ice

mother says

the dark for her is sweet now lazy now as chocolate streams in thick milk shakes

she says her body is    light

i’ve walked here without a cane

waiting            waiting i’m

medicinal herbs in a swallowed capsule

the chemical in the head of a match to be scratched

her last exhalation spilled into my brother’s cupped hands

i press my palms against the cold wood

mirth bleeds through the heavy slab into my withered hands

runic syllables bubble up gurgle scat on my tongue

the wind offers a reedy chord

the rain picks up the rhythm

we stand on the dark porch-stage

making     m   u   s   i   c       all night long

 

You can find Wayne’s book, Magma-Mystic, by visiting HERE. He is also available for readings and workshops, especially in the Rocky Mountain area. You can email him at magmapoet@comcast.net. He writes and performs in Colorado, most often under the name Magmapoet with a group of improvisational jazz musicians. Be sure to check out his work! I’ll be posting a link to his new website on my sidebar soon.

What about you? What teachers have made an impact in YOUR life?

love, elizabeth

PS: Incidentally, Wayne’s the first dude inspiration I’ve featured on Love is the Adventure so he should feel preeeeeeetttttttty special. Ha.

Where I’m From

I saw this idea on Kathi’s blog over here at Simply Memories and Musings. I loved her poem so much, I thought I’d try my own. If you’d like to try it out, click HERE for the template. Thanks so much to her for the inspiration!

 

I am from old-winged back chairs and painted globes, the U.S.S.R. still etched across them, from Folgers and sunlight.

I am from the cherry tree house, the mornings on my mother’s lap, the lullaby in her voice, the fish in the pond, and from skylights, the apartments and addresses forgotten.

I am from the red geraniums my mother potted every spring, the roses left untended, the swing set in the park and long, slow afternoons under trees too high to climb.


I am from Swedish stock and Irish pluck and Canadian innovation, from Hodgemans and St. George’s and Floodbergs and O’ Briens, from a knight who slayed a dragon, a patriot at the Alamo, from Bible translators held hostage. I am from soldiers and sailors and schoolteachers.

I am from the well-read, from the whispers of a hundred libraries, from bad puns and hearty laughter.
From wishing in one hand and spitting in the other, from hard work good for the soul.

I am from a love for God, from Sunday morning pews, nose pressed to dusty hymnals and in between the pages of my mother’s leather Bible.


I'm from Seoul, South Korea and from Texas and California, from rice pudding and baking bread and cinnamon apples.


From the grandmother who beat Lyndon J. in a spelling bee, the grandfather who crossed the ocean in baby clothes, and the brother who crossed the ocean in a uniform.


I am from my father’s croon, my mother’s laugh-till-she-cried, the sick-sweet smell of airplane exhaust, the comfort of my brother’s baby cheek, the ground below us fading, always fading as we rise. 


Write your own “Where I’m From” poem with this template.


What about you? Where are you from?
love, elizabeth

Putting Things Off

So maybe this post is mostly an excuse to mention my favorite summer show, Rookie Blue (and if you’re not watching it, get on that) but the episode that aired last night, “Best Laid Plans,” was a good reminder for me and I thought I’d share it here.

Source: hulu.com via Kyle on Pinterest

In the midst of the usual cop partner will-they-won’t-they tension (c’mon, seriously, just GET TOGETHER already!), Andy takes care of a woman who has been in a serious car accident. The woman tells her that she’s been saving this expensive bottle of champagne for the last six years, until she’s finally ready to celebrate her success. But when the woman dies (sorry, spoiler), Andy has her wake-up call. She’s been making plans for the future but she’s never really living in the moment. She’s been “saving the good stuff” as she says.

Source: healthyfitandtoned.tumblr.com via Kyle on Pinterest

I’m a pretty good procrastinator, in general. But sometimes I think I put off the good things, too. I think I have to wait until some time “really special” to do that thing I’ve been wanting to do. But what exactly is holding me back? Why don’t I do the really special things now? What am I saving the good stuff FOR? What am I waiting for?

Source: tumblr.com via Anna on Pinterest

 

In the spirit of this, I have a few things I’ve been putting off that I really, really want to do. So that’s what this weekend is going to be about. Expect a few posts to follow!

What about YOU? What really good things have you been putting off?

love, elizabeth

PS: If Andy and Sam don’t end up together, I’m breaking up with Rookie Blue. For the reals.

Source: tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com via Barbara on Pinterest

Inspiration of the Month: Beth

It’s August and that means it’s time for another inspiration of the month feature! This month, I’d like you to meet Beth.

Okay, so I talk about Beth a lot on this blog. Because a) She’s one of my best friends on the entire planet, b) We’ve been through more crap together than anyone will ever know, and c) She seriously inspires pretty much everyone she comes into contact with. Maybe you’re sick of hearing me talk about Beth. Beth, Beth, Beth, you’re thinking. If you met Beth…you’d understand.

Beth and I met our freshman year of college where we both majored in theatre. I tell her all the time that the first time I met her, I wanted to be friends with her so badly but was convinced she was way too cool to be friends with me. To which she always replies, “Elizabeth, you are so silly!”

There are lots and lots of inspiring things about Beth but one of my favorite things is her passion as a yoga instructor.

Yoga is one of those things I find super intimidating for some reason but would really love to try because it’s such good physical and emotional exercise. What I love about Beth is how accessible she makes yoga. There is no pretention or attitude about her as a teacher. She loves yoga and she loves helping other people love yoga.

Five Fast Beth Facts:

- Beth is currently in her final year, studying for her Master of Fine Arts in Acting. She once played Cinderella. On opening night, she saved the Fairy Godmother from being crushed by a falling piece of set. (Funny side note: her future husband played the wicked stepmother!)

- She got married last week.

- She knows the words to pretty much every pop song written between about 1952 and 1969. It’s a little freaky. Oh, also…bad 90’s music.

- She does the most incredible “fake drunk” bit I’ve ever seen. We really didn’t drink hardly AT ALL in college but there were a few people who were convinced that Beth was a hardcore partier because she would walk around with a cup of soda all night, stumbling around and slurring her words. People were constantly making sure that no one gave her the car keys. Someone give the lady a Tony.

- Beth also loves to bake. My favorites? Her peanut butter pie and her white chocolate raspberry cupcakes. The year we lived together, I ate more pie than any one person should be allowed to have.

So there you have it. Are you inspired to take up yoga, yet?

What about YOU? Who is inspiring you lately?

love, elizabeth

If I Lose Everything in the Fire

You're going to have to excuse me and my inner fangirl today. I really try not to idolize other couples or relationships, especially celebrity couples. We all know that, statistically, famous people who marry each other don't seem to have a great track for staying the course. But there are a few "high-profile" relationships that I really do admire or think about.

If you don't know me, you don't know my long-standing love for Green Day. That's a totally different post but suffice it to say, I think they're poets and I think they speak for a disaffected generation that desperately wants to be affected. Aaaaand they're probably the most amazing live act I've ever seen. Oh, and I should probably also mention that Kyle and I basically fell in love listening to Green Day. One of the first presents he ever gave me was American Idiot. The only summer we spent apart, I had his copy of International Superhits on repeat. "Poprocks and Coke" was the recessional music at our wedding. My last two birthdays, Kyle has taken me to see them live. Green Day has pretty much been the soundtrack to our love story.

Source: greendaymind.wordpress.com via Kyle on Pinterest

Billie Joe Armstrong met Adrienne Nesser during GD's first tour when she asked him where she could get a copy of Green Day's album. After an on-again, off-again long-distance relationship, they got married in the spur of the moment on July 2, 1994 in his backyard.  The Armstrongs just celebrated their 17th wedding anniversary (a lifetime for a marriage in the entertainment industry). They have two sons.

In an interview about their early years, Adrienne said, "It was a whirlwind. I was pregnant, and his band was everywhere. It was completely overwhelming. We were just trying to navigate it all — it was a bumpy ride for sure. It took years for us to find our footing. ... But sometimes I think it was all those trials that made us stronger and brought us to where we are today."

I think I'm most inspired by Billie and Adie because they have been so open about their struggles to stay committed to each other in spite of some unbelievably difficult things. They've been honest about the mistakes they've made and the continuing fight it is to keep their relationship healthy. I also really admire their commitment to their family and to making the world a better place. Adie, who has a degree in sociology, has worked as an activist, an earth-friendly fashion designer, and an advocate of green living. The whole Armstrong family volunteers together for Habitat for Humanity, among other organizations.

"Adrienne is the only woman I'll ever love." - Billie Joe Armstrong

One of my favorite songs written for Adrienne...

What about you? Anyone have a famous/literary couple they've always kind of liked?


love, elizabeth


PS: Omg, you guys...Two. Posts. Till. Giveaway. Clue #4: Sassy and sun-friendly...

Inspiration of the Month: Emily

Alrighty, everyone! Now we’ve officially made it to July, I’d like you all to meet Emily.

Square Peg Round Hole Photography

Emily and I go back. I’m talking back to the 10th grade back. We happen to have one of the more bizarre stories of friendship I’ve heard. Very long story short, Emily and I “met” online on a fiction writers website when we were about 14 or 15. We became steadfast penpals/phone buddies for…six or seven YEARS before we ever met in “real life.” Then, two years ago, graduate school brought me to her side of the country and we met halfway between our cities for a whole weekend in a little place called Cleveland, Ohio (perhaps you’ve heard of it?).

There’s about a million and eight nice things to say about Emily but I’m going to focus this post on her current job, working for the American Cancer Society. I asked her for a quote about her job and this is what she had to say:

“I wanted to work for the ACS because I knew the work that I would do there would allow someone else's mother to survive her battle with cancer. And because very few fundraising events are as fun as a Relay For Life. My favorite part of my job is that I get to work with college students. I was a sophomore at CUP when my mom was diagnosed and I feel so blessed to be able to be there for some students who are--unfortunately--in my same position. Plus, they are full of so many creative ideas and it's awesome to see them realize the scope of what they're doing.”

I’m not sure there’s anything I can say that won’t sound trite after that but let’s just say Emily continues to challenge me as a writer and a friend and a person (and I love her for that!).

To learn more about Emily’s pursuit of health, happiness, and love (she’s getting married this October to an amazing guy who happened to take both the pictures featured in this post!), you should definitely visit her at her blog, Full Figured and say hello!

Square Peg Round Hole Photography

Five Fast Emily Facts:

- She gets really excited about brushing her teeth.

- Emily has a great love story: “Jeremy and I…have the sanest and silliest life. And I know he's the one for me because he leaves me without words to describe how I feel.”

- She thinks her bicycle is sexy and misses her nose ring.

- Thrifting for trinkets is her favorite form of retail therapy.

- Someone once told her she was their reason to do Relay for Life. She calls it one of the greatest compliments of her life.

 

If you haven’t had a chance to see past inspirations of the month, CLICK HERE and scroll down to read the posts from March, April, and June.

Inspiration of the Month: Jill

Hey everyone! I’m back to blogging regularly and now that it’s June, it’s time to introduce another inspiration of the month!
I’d like you to meet Jill.

Jill is a current PhD student in the theatre department. I’m actually struggling to find a way to express how much I look up to Jill as a scholar, an artist, and a friend. Jill is not just a brilliant (and hilarious) writer and student, but she’s also an actress, a comedian, and one of the finest teachers I have ever known. As a scholar, Jill is passionate about comedy (“People should laugh with someone every single day,” she told me). She also researches the role of wheelchairs on stage, as well as actors with disabilities and accessibility in theatrical staging. “I stuck with performing because I am terribly afraid of it,” she said. “I’m much more interesting on stage than offstage.” (I totally disagree with her. Jill is never boring.)

I find myself especially inspired by her attitude towards her students. “They live in a world where no one communicates with them,” she said. “So if they can feel when you come into the room that that’s where you want to be, they’ll become different people.” I am so encouraged as a young teacher to hear Jill speak so highly of her students. It makes me want to be a better, more compassionate teacher.

Five Fast Jill Facts
- Jill is a trained fencer (and her only fencing injury was sustained in a stage combat class)!
- When she was 13, she won a Beatles trivia contest and beat two grown men who had seen The Beatles perform live.
- Her wheelchair is named Chitara and she’s awesome. (Funny story: Chitara is NOT motorized but the first time Jill used a motorized chair, she accidentally stole a lady’s purse that got caught on one of her canes. The lady started screaming that someone had stolen her purse and Jill realized what had happened!)
- She used to write a column for The Antioch Record. In one issue, she interviewed her mother’s one-eyed cat, Dante, about his experiences of living with a disability.
- Her stage name as a comedian is the Wood Nymph.

Alright, everybody! Stay tuned – Madigan is posting tomorrow!
Love, Elizabeth

INSPIRED: Ships

So the image of the ship that we're planning to paint is going to be traveling through the water from left to right. We're looking through images of old wooden ships to find the most important features, as well as structure, material, coloring, and position. Here are some of my favorite examples so far.

The first image is of particular note: A Ship in Need in a Raging Storm, Willem van de Velde II, 1707.