Days of fall fly faster

The fall colors have been incredible in Ohio this year and so Kyle and I snuck away to eat lunch at the park and play in the leaves. I’m really glad I didn’t forget my camera because the light was so great.

I needed a little bit of sunshine this week. ESPECIALLY because…according to the forecaster…we may be seeing our first SNOW next weekend. I don’t know if I’m ready for that.

Madigan was such a funny fuzzball the whole time we were there and I took so many pictures of her that I’m going to give her her own post.

Are you getting to spend any time out of doors before the real cold hits?

love, elizabeth

Making My Own Sunshine

Source: Uploaded by user via Elizabeth on Pinterest

Yesterday, I talked about suffering from seasonal affective disorder (you can read that post here).

I want to talk about fighting it. I have to consistently remind myself that while the weather is out

of my control, I can exert control over some pretty important things. I call it my battle plan.

Eating right. Part of my effort to fight SAD this winter is to make a conscious effort to eat good,

high-nutrition food instead of blowing through empty carbohydrates in an effort to control my

mood (especially in the evening). I started Weight Watchers just before the new year and so

far, I’ve felt really successful at managing my mood swings and cravings. WW is great for me

because I don’t feel like I have to deny myself when I’m hungry but it’s great for helping me

determine portions.

Creating safe refuge space. Keeping the apartment neat and the clutter to a minimum keeps

me from feeling overwhelmed at night (when I’m more likely to be depressed and anxious).

Comforting scents. Along with some woodsy, cozy candles, I’ve been using more scented

lotion this winter. I’ve noticed that smell has a lot to do with my mood. And though I tend to

stay away from fruitier or more tropical smells, I’ve been using lotion with coconut in it because

it reminds me of sunscreen (and inevitably, the beach).

Strategic lighting. I avoid fluorescent or harsh lighting at night and instead opt for softer lamps

and candles after dark. I’m also trying a combination of grow/sun lamps for short intervals in lieu

of actual sunshine. Eventually, I may have to try professional light treatment through my doctor

but I’m going to try this for a little while first.       

Not leaving important decisions/difficult work for late at night. As a grad student, this is difficult

but I’m trying to change my study habits to manage my depression.  

Making fun plans with people. It gets easy to isolate myself in the winter but I’m working hard to stay

involved with friends and make time for fun outings with Kyle and other couples.

And if all else fails…fantasize about how amazing spring break is going to be in Myrtle Beach.

If I close my eyes tight enough, I can almost feel the rays. March can’t come fast enough.

Source: imgfave.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

love, elizabeth

Throwing the Switch: Seasonal Affective Disorder

Every winter, like clockwork, I. get. sad.

Like really sad.

It’s most difficult at night or on overcast days. Last winter, it was so bad, I started attending counseling. And I couldn’t figure it out. I didn’t understand why it was impossible to feel motivated, why I felt like curling up in a ball and crying in the evening hours, why all I wanted to do was eat or sleep, why I gained weight so quickly. I didn’t understand it, at all.

Until one day last February, when I woke up to the sun shining and the birds tweeting and an unseasonably warm winter day and I had the best day I’d had in months. I was singing in the shower. I was smiling at strangers. I felt like I had energy zinging from my fingertips and the ends of my hair.
It was like someone had flipped a light switch.

And when other people comment on the change in me, I knew there was a connection.
I feel a little like a mad scientist somewhere is screaming, THROW THE SWITCH, IGOR! THROW THE SWITCH!

Photo credit

Like any other kind of depression, seasonal affective disorder stems mainly from things outside of my control. I can’t send the heavy Ohio clouds away or keep the sun from going down by 5 pm all winter. Sometimes it feels like I’m stuck in a fog or weighed down by a heavy load of bricks. For someone like me who is constantly moving and doing, this lack of motivation is confusing and frustrating and disempowering.

This year, I’m trying to be more proactive about my SAD. I may not have control over the weather or the sun. But I do have some measure of control and I am determined to find it. More on that, next post.

Source: tumblr.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

Anyone else suffer from seasonal depression? How do you take care of yourself?

love, elizabeth

GIVEAWAY: 100th Post!

In honor of our ONE HUNDREDTH BLOG POST, I’d like to announce our next giveaway! Each item was chosen especially for this occasion and I’ve been itching to finally tell you all about it.

I’ve been talking this one up for about a week now. I hope it’s been worth the wait! I am giving away to one very special, very lucky person…

The Don’t Worry, Be Happy Giveaway!

A white floppy sun hat and a pair of cherry red sunglasses (H&M) and a brand new copy of one of my favorite books, The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun. It’s a pretty awesome book. To read a review, CLICK HERE.

 

Okay, so if you want to win this summery little gift, here’s what you have to do to enter…

Mandatory entry: Be an official follower of this blog with Google Connect. Leave me a comment telling me that you are.

Extra entries: (leave a comment for each extra thing you do)

Tweet about the giveaway and include a link.

Like “Love is the adventure” on Facebook.

Grab our button and put it on your blog sidebar.

That means you can enter to win up to four times! The giveaway will close on Sunday night at midnight. The winner will be chosen via random.org and announced on Monday.

Hope you’re having a great Wednesday!

love, elizabeth

PS: I wish you all could have seen the looks on my neighbors’ faces as I traipsed around the apartment complex with the giveaway items and a camera on a huge flippin’ tripod trying to find the best light. I think I’ve finally cemented myself as the weirdo in apartment c.

Summer is Like Being Seven Again

This last weekend Kyle and I indulged our inner kids a little.
Saturday night, I made s’mores over the stove…because we were too lazy to go outside and fire up the grill. I think they tasted better with the two of us, barefoot in the kitchen, eating over the counter, and giggling like 2nd graders. Kyle made a lot of fun of me because my method of toasting marshmallows is basically setting them on fire and blow them out, instead of patiently toasting all sides. Because that takes too long and I like them crispy.
I love how smooshy and messy and delicious they always are…



And then Sunday, after church, we decided we needed to get out in the sunshine so we went to one of our favorite outdoor spots in Columbus, the Park of Roses. Which, in case you didn’t know, is a park. Of roses. It’s actually a really big park and we had a lot of fun walking around and snapping pictures.



And spying on this very large, very bizarre expedition of people with gigantic butterfly nets that piled out of a van and set off for the woods. We, uh, we kept our distance from THOSE people. I was a little afraid of the guy in the safari hat.
We had a picnic under the trees, complete with basket, blanket, and our very own picnic ants!


Madigan really wanted a sandwich.

I think we took over a hundred pictures but here are a few of our favorites…







There’s a huge weeping willow tree in the middle of the park that hundreds of people have carved their initials in. Maybe someday I’ll be feeling rebellious enough to add ours.









What does your inner kid love to do?
love, elizabeth
PS: Start the countdown…just NINE more posts till our next giveaway! Tell your friends, tell your fellow bloggers!

Mad for Madigan: Summer Beauty Edition

Dear Readers,

If you haven’t been keeping up with Mad for Madigan, CLICK HERE to read past features!

Today I’m talking summer beauty. Obviously, I am pretty much an expert on being beautiful. And since Mom is pretty clueless, I thought I’d share 3 indispensable beauty tips to bring out your inner babe:

1) Drink plenty of water and leave the makeup at home. Mom thinks I just lick her face because I like the taste of her foundation. Puhleeease, girlfriend, you need to wash that gunk off and let the summer air do the rest!

2. Get outside with your pets and enjoy the sunshine. Nothing to put color in your cheeks and a spring in your step like a walk with your furry pal. Trust me. I’m GORGEOUS.

3. Accessorize with kindness, not trends (think: smiles, not purse dogs). It’s hot outside and people are in a hurry. Take that extra minute to hold a door open, thank a grumpy salesperson, pick up that stray piece of trash, offer to help your neighbors with a chore, and give your people and puppies kisses. There is nothing more beautiful.

Stay excellent.

Madigan

PS: If you own an Etsy shop that offers pet accessories, I would be happy to review and advertise any product you would like to send me or to host a pet-friendly giveaway!

PS2: Have a topic you’d like Madigan to cover? Submit your suggestions to loveisadventure@gmail.com.

Flower clip: Goody

Collar: Bow-Wow Couture on Etsy

Gorgeous fur coat: Mine, all mine.

Be Kind to Yourself: The $7 Vacation

It’s that time of year, isn’t it? It feels a little like everyone and their grandma is taking a vacation.

“Where are you going on vacation?” we usually ask.

“Oh, nowhere special just the Bahamas/Hawaii/a Caribbean cruise/St. Barts/a fill-in-the-blank-exotic/tropical-locale-that-you-would-kill-to-visit.”

I know that’s not really true. A lot of us are really struggling to afford lots of things these days and a lot of the people who ARE taking exciting trips have been working and saving to make those happen.

But it was a conversation with some friends about our summer vacations (or lack thereof) that prompted…the mini-vacation. We are very thankful to have a pool in our apartment complex but I was realizing how little time we spend in it. Also very thankful that yesterday brought an entire day of sunshine to the city of Columbus! Back in Colorado, we have more sunshine than air and so I, the eternal sun baby, have learned to take it for granted. But in Ohio, you apparently have to do a special dance and sacrifice some chickens to get the sun to make an appearance (not that I tried that).

I just had this silly little epiphany that being kind to ourselves was not just the big grand week-long vacation or the tropical destination or the money we sometimes have to spend but about the peaceful hour I am fortunate to find in the day-to-day. And I thought, Hey! I can make a frozen drink and sit by the pool for next to nothing!

So yesterday, I ran over to the two cheapest places on earth, Wal*Mart and the Dollar Tree (where, in case you hadn’t heard, everything is exactly a dollar…which is, you know, crazy town for someone like me) and spent about $7 or so for an afternoon at the pool.

Strawberry margarita mix: $2.88 (in case you’re not a margarita girl like me, these babies cost about $8-14 each in a restaurant).

Drink glasses, bendy straws, leis, and tiny umbrellas: $4.79

The book I brought to read, Flapper. This one has been keeping me up late and I think it’s a great “beach read,” too! Click here to check it out on Amazon!

It took a considerable amount of cajoling (enough to make the use of that word in this post necessary) to get Kyle to wake up (after all, he didn’t get home from the night shift until after 9 AM that morning and he was exhausted). And it took all of my feminine wiles to get him to wear that lei for all of the five seconds I needed to snap this picture. And that was also the sum total of time he spent actually wearing it. Dollar. Well. Spent.

It’s a testament to how much I like all of you that I am posting a bathing suit picture. I can’t remember the last time I allowed something like this to happen!

So now I want to know…what kind of mini vacation have you taken or are planning to take? How are you being kind to yourself THIS week? And if you ARE lucky enough to be taking an extra special vacation to somewhere amazing, where are you going and what are you most excited about?

love, elizabeth

PS: If you haven’t already, click here and enter to win the Teeny-Tiny Spa giveaway! And feel free to share the link with your friends and fellow bloggers! I’d love to share it with anyone who is interested.