Giveaway

Recently, my husband and I flew to Texas to visit my aunt, uncle, and little brother. It had been two years since I’d seen my family, and we had a great time catching up. We went to the beach, went dancing, and celebrated my 29th birthday. One thing that really impressed me is how many vegan restaurants and options had popped up since the last time I visited. I was worried before we left that my husband and I would go hungry while there, so it was a nice surprise. The world is going veg, even in small Texas beach towns!

I think I’ve just begun what is to be the biggest adventure I’ll ever have! I found out that I’m pregnant last week, and I’m realizing that besides everything else that I’m about to embark on being healthier and more alert about what goes in to my body than ever before. Of course I’ve visited this site a few more times than I normally would to read through the abundance of information and look forward to taking in everything in the Kind Mama book too. It’s scary, overwhelming, incredibly exciting and thrilling all at once !

A couple of weeks ago my husband and I took our rescue dog Sofia and packed up our old truck and went up to the mountains for a little get away. We stayed in a rustic cabin overlooking a lake and it was so beautiful. We went down to the lake and walked our dog and I watched and photographed my first ever siting of a weasel and some immature grouse! It rained a lot while we were up in the mountains so it made for a good start to hunting for mushrooms. We recently joined a small fungi group learning about these wonder foods. We had so much fun walking through the woods with Sofia looking for Boletes and Oyester mushrooms. Such a fun adventure as we were disconnected from phones, WiFi and TV! The best way to connect with life, significant other, pooch, wildlife and self. I also read an entire book and we were only there for 3 nights. I hope to do this more often as I felt so much peace in my being.

I am not sure if it is considered an adventure, but I am going through the wonderful experience of raising my 9 month old son and 3 year old daughter. It is so interesting to see how much they already love each other. I love to just sit and watch them together when I can. My daughter sings him songs, helps reach things for him and they have little secret laughs together that I know nothing about! They keep me busy! Although it isn’t always rainbows and butterflies, at the end of the day I try to reflect on this special time in our lives, and be thankful.

My most recent adventure was climbing in a hamster looking ball in water to play with my children. It’s not often that one sees an adult in them. It was so great to find the child within myself and have fun with my little ones. They loved it!

This summer I have been going to the local farmer’s market, and love it every time I go! I love being able to get fresh and healthy food to cook with, and that it comes from the local farms. It is special to go with friends and family and enjoy the summer days and great food together!

Recently my best friend and I got together for a day to hang out. I always look forward to our days together because she’s a huge ball of sunshine and a truly positive person to the point where it is infectious. On this particular adventure we had zero plans about where to go and what to do. We ended up crossing the border into the States and roaming from one small town to the next just seeing where the road would lead us. I love adventures like this where there is no set plan and both parties are cool with getting a bit turned around from time to time. At the end of the 12 hour journey, we agreed that our friendship was special because we tend to always bring our passports never knowing where the day will take us

A few weeks ago, my family and I traveled to Montreal to enjoy the delicious food, beautiful sites, and amazing culture. My favorite memory of that trip was when we went to the city’s botanical garden.

It was so breathtakingly beautiful! As a family, we’ve gone to a few botanical gardens, but this was by far the most varied in species and expansive in size. We saw hundreds, if not thousands, of flowers, herbs, vegetables and fruits — many we recognized, and many we had never even heard of before. Among the highlights of this visit were: seeing the Japanese Gardens, which featured a 350-year-old bonsai; the tropical gardens, which featured plants and vines my mom remembers from her childhood home in the mountains of Caracas, Venezuela; and two small gardens, one hosting a range of some of the most toxic and dangerous plants, and the other hosting a range of medicinal, healing plants.

We learned so much and enjoyed the time we spent together as a family, taking a small break at midday to enjoy some delicious vegan sandwiches and salads in the cafe.

Pictured (from left to right): a view from a bridge, the 350-year-old bonsai, and a batch of daisies.

My latest adventure was taking my ten year old dog, George on a long walk in the evening on Assateague Island in Maryland. We had a fun, and relaxing evening together!

You are just the picture of simple
vitality. I absolutely adore you and having you as a guide! The year has gone
so fast that my most recent adventure was almost a year ago, but my older
sister and I went to Rome! We traveled a lot of places in Europe over two weeks
but Rome was a very special adventure because is it so busy and so ALIVE!

My adventure has been learning to be at peace in the calm. I recently had surgery on my foot and am less mobile than I am used to. I have had to find peace in the stillness which has been new for me as I am used to being on the go all the time. This has been quite an adventure for me, and a learning experience as well!

On my journey to create a community around me, some neighbors and I realized we hardly new anyone living around us. Most of the neighbors keep to themselves with just a kind hello here and there. We decided to have a block party and got the city to close off the block. The turn out was great and we met many amazing people with such wonderful skills. I now know who to go to for piano lessons, business management, seamstress, animal grooming, bakery & much more! So great to support local small businesses and I was surprised at how many did have their own businesses. Best of all, I have a large garden and some others do too! We are all trading veggies and inspiring each other to grow more! Feel great!

Through finding an amazing ticket price, I was recently able to go to Norway. Kayaking the fjords is by far one of the best experiences of my life. To feel so small amongst such vast, undisturbed nature was very special. Reminds you just how much there is to see

I have been staying close to home this summer because I have been so busy. However, I recently had some free time and went to local farmer’s market. It was so wonderful because I got to go with my mom and spend time with her. Also, I loved coming home with fresh, local produce. Who doesn’t love summer berries that are grown locally?

Hi Alicia! Thanks so much for this opportunity! My family ( fiancé & 15 yr old son & I ) have been camping all summer. It has been so amazing to be one with nature, sleep under the stars, breathe the fresh air. It’s sad it has to come to an end. We live in CT, so the site will be closing in October. We have access to fresh veggies and loving the fruit this summer.
Love & Blessings to you, Sandi

My latest adventure was on Sunday when i went to the park with my hubby and 2 kids. Being a full time working mom i just love every minute i get to spend with my family. We all played on the swings and took a nice long walk admiring nature around us.

My big adventure is coming!! We’re traveling by train from Vancouver BC to Banff!! I am SO incredibly excited!!

Hi Alicia! Thanks so much for this opportunity! My family(fiancé, 15 yr old son and I) have been camping all summer. Enjoying the open sky, fresh fresh air, and living in nature. Nothing compares to the open moonlit star filled sky at night!!! Eating garden fresh fruits & veggies and loving the freedom of the outdoors. Love & Blessings to you!

My favorite adventure this summer was getting married in Boulder, CO in June. We live in LA, so it was a destination wedding for us. Our guests stayed in cabins at the base of the flatiron mountains all weekend. It was seriously the best weekend of my life. The love and support from our family was amazing (we’re same sex and I’m from the South, so..) and the whole weekend had such a feeling of community. Making the commitment to spend our lives together, to learn about love together, at the base of the mountains was magical. The whole journey towards getting married was the biggest growth inducing transition of my life. I learned so much about myself, my fears and anxieties, and about how to show up for myself. I gained so much self-trust, and it certainly didn’t happen overnight. So I would have to say getting married has been the most special, sacred, transcendent adventure of the summer..followed by a honeymoon in Costa Rica (ziplining through the jungle is the BEST)!

I recently went to the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health
for a 3 day retreat which I spent dancing, drumming, hiking, meditating, and
making friends. I had been in a deep depression for many months before this and
was in desperate need of something to give me a new outlook on life, a sense of
purpose and the reminder that I can experience joy. While the retreat did not
solve all my problems, it did set me on a path of healing, for which I am
incredible grateful.

My husband and I visited the Muir Woods in California just last month. Such a magical place, I felt a direct connection with nature! The pure streams, the ancient trees….So happy I crossed it off my bucket list!

This summer, after never being off the continental US, I traveled to Israel on a birthright trip and cruised to Alaska with a stop in Canada. These trips were the time of my life. They encouraged me to make the opportunity for myself to travel more so I will be an au pair in Germany for a year starting in January :)))))

Earlier this summer, I skipped my law school graduation to volunteer at an elephant sanctuary in Thailand. Everything about it was an adventure: the week began with an intense earthquake, which hit in the middle of a “blessing ceremony” by the village shaman (he didn’t stop chanting, by the way). During, I cut banana trees using a machete, road on the top of trucks full to the brim with elephant food down curvy Thai highways, was headbutted by a very strong and mischievous baby elephant, and I got to give elephants baths in a beautiful, muddy river every day. This adventure was special to me because it served to re-affirm my passionate commitment to public interest environmental work… much more than any graduation ceremony ever could!

My latest adventure involved exploring the area I moved to and finding this incredible hiking trail I stumbled upon. I spent 3 hours just walking alone and being in nature. It was one of the most peaceful days I had had in a long time and came at a time when I really needed to find some calm. Sometimes reconnecting with the simple things-with nature- reminds us what is most important.

A recent adventure I had was camping outside with my nieces and nephew. They range in age from 6-14 and had never camped out. They were so excited to have this adventure and it is important to me to have these experiences with them. We had a bonfire and told scary stories. I am hoping it is something they always remember.

A couple of weeks ago, we (coaches) took our cross country team on a day trip to run in the beautiful hills of western Wisconsin. We swam, and then went for another run through a wildlife reserve. We bonded in the beauty of nature, and saw many lovely sights that day. I’ll never forget it.

My latest adventure was with my bestie, my 8 year old daughter walking through the Redwoods. So lovely and peaceful, such a great place to explore, looking for bugs & fairies all kinds of nature. After we finished hiking we sat down in a world of our own and had a wonderful vegetarian picnic. That she even made, we enjoyed each others giggles and silly stories <3 For I know someday very soon she will be all grown and on her own. So these are the moments I will cherish and hold on too FOREVER!!

wish I had an adventure to post – these days I take care of my dad everyday (he’s 94) so my adventure is listening to his stories of the past. He is probably the only living person left of the first junior rodeo.

I recently went out into the woods with my three year old. We watched the birds and collected stones, leaves and sticks all day. when we got home we made dream catchers out of our findings and we put them away for family christmas gifts. It’s very important that my little girl be connected to the outdoors and learn how to be creative with random things nature provides for us.
I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed and my thoughts possitive <3
namaste.

I make everyday an adventure!

My latest adventure was spending a week on a lake with my mom, stepdad, sister, husband and kids! Mom came across country to visit us and rented an awesome house where we got to take the kids kayaking, paddle boating, caught lots of fish, played in the sand till the sun went down then sat around the fire telling stories and eating s’mores, we got to cook together, laugh together, just be together. It was a very special week with my mom and step dad who we miss so much since moving across country from them last year.

My husband and I went to the National Harbor for our 2nd wedding anniversary and celebrated by catching the cirque de soleil show there. It was our first time visiting the harbor and our first cirque de soleil experience. We had a fantastic time.

Renovating our entire home was quite an adventure (and it still is!). It’s showed us to pick our battles, to find out about the other’s creative process, to let go of our occasional control freak ways. The process has provided what adventures do best : It’s taken us out of our comfort zone AND thought us about ourselves and to be more patient people. Now I could use a new comfy & cute outfit

My youngest child is 12 and is a mini me. Don’t tell him that
though..it’s not cool to be like your mom. But he is. He is my joy. And I
just love the fact he is so open to all the wonderful “spiritual”
earthy ideas I throw his way. Like “grounding.” We were just introduced
to that and just love connecting with the earth. So, we had a wonderful
Adventure filled with earthing/grounding along the ocean. He took it all
in. I love that he is still so open, so curious…eyes wide filled
with wonderment. I am taking this time I get to spend with him all in because soon enough..he will be to old for mom and me time. Sad but true.

My son and I have started running together and found some really cool trails at a local park we didn’t know existed. What I found was these trails were so much fun that I didn’t know who the kid was-me or my son. It was really cool to share this with him and be able to let him see me so excited about something. I was also special because I think I found a love of running.

My latest adventure, parasaling in Lake George, NY. It was so beautiful and the air was so fresh! It was truly breathtaking. Our seven year old son also did it. We felt like we could fly

My latest adventure is my 35th week of pregnancy! Staying as kind as possible with my first baby! Can’t wait to show my son the world!

My adventure has been cooking with all of my surprise CSA goods this summer – it is my first time trying a CSA and I absolutely love it! My first time ever seeing sunburst squash

My last adventure was in Forest Park, Portland OR. I planned to go for a 30 minute walk, but I found so many pretty things to look at, it ended up being 2 hours!

On Saturday, August 9, 2014, my husband & I went on a spontaneous all day date by simply taking public transportation to Downtown Chicago. What made it special was the fact that we explored the beauty of nature together, which in itself, is an inmate experience. We power walked for hours and miles, along both the city streets and beautiful beaches of Lake Michigan, stopped in the Lincoln Park Conservatory to look at the beautiful plants, took pictures, and refueled at the end of our adventure at Whole Foods Market, where we each got a huge meal, sat at the counter, and watched people walk by. <3

Or latest adventure was moving across the country to a rural area. I get to stay home with my children and slow down.

Wish me luck

I went back home to Colorado for a visit with my dear friends. While there, I fell in love with an amazing MAN!!! I’m taking a leap of FAITH and moving back to Colorado; quitting the hustle bustle of Corporate America and am going to start course study in acupuncture. Keep your FAITH strong!! My motto is PRAY ASK BELIEVE and GIVE THANKS!!! Let the adventure begin p.s. Although all your closet give aways are amazing.. this is MY FAV OUTFIT so far.. You have great taste girl!!! xoxo

This isn’t an adventure of “going somewhere”, it is an adventure in learning something new! Last week I bought a bushel of peaches and the adventure began! I canned for the first time! I made peach pie filling, peach BBQ sauce, peach jam, peaches and peach infused vodka! It was so much fun and can’t wait to have fresh peaches out of the jar in January!

I didn’t have any grand adventures such as travel or events, but I did go to the hair salon and have my shoulder length blonde hair cut into a pixie cut and dyed a beautiful cherry red. I was terrified at first but I absolutely love it. I feel like a new person ready to move past recent tragedies. I never thought something like that could be so liberating and instill so much more confidence. I suppose it’s the start of a new adventure, I have so much I want to do in life I now feel like the girl that will jump in with both feet smiling and laughing.

My husband and I are in the process of adopting an infant in
Michigan. One of the things I am doing to raise money for our adoption is
training for a full marathon (Yes! A full 26.2 miles of craziness)!! On Sunday,
I ran the longest run of my life—16 miles and it took 3 hours to do it! Most
moms get to tell their child that they spent 40 weeks carrying them and 12+
hours in labor….my story will be I trained for 26 weeks and ran 26.2 miles
for you!! So my running 16 miles on Sunday was my latest and greatest
adventure—so far 😉

I just took my 2 year old daughter to the beach this past Saturday. She loved splashing in the water and making little sand molds.

Last weekend my best friend took me down to Cape May, NJ & Wildwood. It’s only an hour & a half drive for me but the beaches and boardwalk are a bit different from the one’s in my Toms River town. Life is always so hectic and overwhelming so to go away for 5 days with a special friend was wonderful. We watched the fireworks from the top of the lifeguard stand under the full moon, it was really neat. I got to go on my favorite things in life amusement rides & enjoy delicious local seafood. We visited the best Zoo in Jersey “Cape May Zoo” the animal were so hot though, I felt bad for them. I am thankful to have great people in my life who I get to spend good memories with them. Last weekend was calm & extremely special for me.

Everyday is an adventure, but the first thing that comes to mind is flying alone my 2 year son to meet Daddy, who was in NYC on Business, for his birthday. I was nervous about flying alone with him, but we had the most amazing time. He loves exploring and loved visiting the big city and flying on a plane to get there. He keeps asking to go back.

We recently went nature hiking and caterpillar finding with our son. We really enjoyed teaching him about science and nature.

I was at the ALS walk for my Father who has been suffering from this horrible disease for years. My father and two others in wheel chairs let the walk. As we started walking red balloons were set free in memory of those with ALS who were no longer with us. I felt so happy my father was still here.

Every day is an adventure. Vegans rule!

My most recent adventure was spending a weekend at the lake with a group of friends without any of our kids.

My adventure is having to move back in with my mom last month, because I am going back to college. I couldn’t afford rent and tuition at the same time, so I am a 24 year old living with my mom, and finishing my bachelor’s at University of North Texas. Hopefully I’ll land a good job with my degree and be back out on my own again soon. On the plus side I get to be living with all my dogs again (as I couldn’t have all of them in my apartment). I start classes next week!

Best adventure I had recently was organizing a mudrun team, the DIRTY DOLLS!!! We are all around 40y.old, 1/2 of us are moms & we had a blast!!! Best sport I’ve ever participated in. It was exhilarating! We’ve doubled our team size for The Damn Mud Run coming up in October. Girl power all the way!

My latest adventure has been transitioning from a carnivore to a vegan. I was watching the documentary Earthlings, and something finally clicked in my head. I was instantly repulsed by the thought of ever eating something made from animal byproducts again. I know that this is going to be a difficult journey, but it’s one I’m ready to make

My 21 year old daughter and myself now consider ourselves professional roadtrippers! We drove almost across country twice this summer. My daughter had an internship in Scottsdale in this her last summer before college graduation. Needing a car for the summer, we let our hair fly and tune roars as we drove back roads hitting all the roadside stands, diners and local landmarks we could in our travels. Historic Route 66 was a highlight. Laughing, crying, talking until hoarse are memories that will linger long after she is out of the house creating her own home! A true adventure with my now adult daughter!

This summer we took the children (3&6) in a 1976 VW camper van called Douglas around the North west coast and north coast of Scotland. I grew up in Dorest, but my grandparents had a house in Scotland which we love going to and i studied in Glasgow which is where my husband and i met. He is Norwegian and we now live in Oslo so we have dreamt for many years of showing them some of the places we loved as students and also as a family to discover many new and wild places together. The weather was luckily beautifully sunny and hot every day and we camped beside these stunning white sandy beaches every night so that we could swim and explore during the day. The children just loved the adventure of it and our youngest got over excited at the sight of horses and sheep roaming free (as he’s grown up in Oslo) and finding all kinds of things in the rock pools. It was hands down THE best and most relaxing holiday that we have had as a family and it far surpassed the romantic ideas that we had had about it. We got to spend time together every day, to build camp fires on the beach, to climb and build and swim and to read long stories and play games at night by torch light. Heaven!

We recently took my 73 year old father on an adventure to his favorite place on earth – MAUI! He has always loved the island, but has been battling 4 different cancers over the last 8 years so he hasn’t been able to go. Well, this year he was healthy enough to make the trip and we had an AMAZING trip full of memories we will all cherish forever. We saw more Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles (his favorite animal) this year than EVER before (we’ve been going to Maui for nearly 40 years). We learned from a marine biologist at the Maui Ocean Center that the program they are part of (raising hatchlings to 2 years old and then releasing them, having volunteers wait near known turtle nests 24/7 until the eggs hatch and then ushering the hatchlings into the sea – away from distracting lights on the roadways and hungry birds, etc) has been so successful the Hawaiian turtles are almost off the endangered species list! Well, that just made my Dad’s face light up like I haven’t seen in a very long time. We saw this little turtle in a bay off West Maui.

I had an “adventure” of becoming sick and hospitalized for pneumonia in May. The reason? Not listening to my body, overworking myself. Immune system crash! The lesson? Listen to my body, breathe deeply, meditate and pray daily… remember what’s important in life, time with family and dear friends…all things I already knew–but now a much deeper meaning. Eat more plants for immune health, follow people who inspire me!

We’ve been on a few great adventures this summer My husband and I traveled to Danmark and Norway to reconnect with my extended family who I hadn’t seen in years for which I felt a serious amount of contrition. I was nervous, but didn’t need to be! Regardless of my fear, from the moment we first arrived, we were both fully embraced by my family and we loved and felt loved for every second of our visits. A lot of vegan talk too, as my family was very unfamiliar with veganism. It’s not easy eating a plant-based diet in Scandinavia, so we made most of our own meals – a lot of tortillas and wraps! On our way home, we made one more stop to spend some much needed quality time with our nieces and brothers. That was also wonderful and fulfilling This summer of adventure was important and so memorable because we were making those connections with family. Love, love, loved it!!

I went to New Orleans for the first time last week. It was amazing! We kayaked down the big lake in City Park! What made it special? It was just me, my husband of 9 months and my 13 year old son. Having an entire week with my son was wonderful. At 13 I just don’t see him enough anymore:)

My husband and I went for a day trip from L.A. to Oxnard last weekend to escape the heat of the valley! This has been a super tough year for me, culminating in my grandfather passing away recently. I’ve totally let the stress get to me and it’s been taking it’s toll on my mental health. Going up to Oxnard, riding bikes on the beach, having lunch and spending the day in the cool sunshine with the love of my life was JUST what I needed. Then cuddling up to watch Clueless (!) ended the night perfectly. I’m looking forward to doing it again soon, maybe while wearing that super groovy shirt! 😉

My husband and I went on a small road trip to see Tom Petty in concert. I’ve always wanted to see Tom Petty and it was a spur of the moment decision to attend. It was such a nice surprise to be spontaneous and have a fun little adventure.

I went on adventure to st louis recently to take my son to a doctor appointment at the childrens museum and learned that he no longer needs to take his medicine, yay!

I got to take my two children to Myrtle Beach in June for our first family trip alone since becoming a single mom. My 5 yr old boy got to hold a baby shark and my 3yr daughter got to fall in love with the ocean for the first time. It was incredible to witness the pure joy in my children from being so close to nature It was hopefully the beginning of our many adventures as a little family <3

We hiked Mt. Marcy, the highest peak in the state of NY. It was special because my 5 year old hiked all the way to the top. She fell in love with hiking and we’re looking forward to more trips. Family time <3

We had the amazing chance to go to cabo san lucas!! It was so special because it was just a weekend of relaxing and sightseeing!

what a fun giveaway. Recently I went camping in the middle of no where in the mountains…it was pretty intense as we saw lots of wild animals not use to seeing humans. But it was so fun to play in the woods and unplug for 3 days!

Hi Alicia and all kind eaters :). I’ve just begun the greatest adventure of my life, on August 11 my kind diet-fueled baby girl was born! The best part of my adventure as a new momma is breastfeeding her.
My little angel, when placed on my abdomen (after a rough 17 hour labor and 4 hours of exhaustive pushing) began zestily nursing. I cried tears of joy because I’d dreamed of this moment for the last 9 months.
What a rush of love and bliss we shared at that moment and every minute since we have cuddled as I give her my delicious kind milk– It tastes like watermelon and berries!

One adventure that I have had recently was my journey after college to move to California. Throughout this adventure I was really able to learn about myself and what kind of person I aspire to be. A person who values humanitarianism, continued learning, activism and love. During my short stint in CA I lived in a dark living room for 7 months with no sense of community, encompassed by the unfortunate feelings of loneliness, depression and no real direction. California, although it is one of the most populated states in the US, can be one lonely place at times. I battled addiction and depression, which I would never wish upon anyone. It wasn’t until I learned about the conception of THREE babies in my family that were about to enter the world in 9 short months. As I became overwhelmed by a new sense of purpose in life, I decided to put on my white hat and utilize the knowledge that I forgot I ever had in order to land an amazing job back home in Phoenix to be with my family. I ended up getting the job I knew I deserved, moved home and am now able to experience the birth of my two nephews and niece. I, for the first time in a while, finally feel like my life has a sense of purpose, a reason to go on, and I have never felt more inspired to succeed for not only myself, but for my family as well. Although battling depression and addiction was not only hard, but borderline impossible at times, I can honestly say that the reward of achieving what I have today was 100% worth the journey.

I just commented on your recent give away post but love this bracelet even more! 😉 My biggest adventure this year was moving to the other side of the country for moving in with my boyfriend. An amazing adventure which I still enjoy every day :):):)