I don’t know about you, but I have had it with winter. These past few months have been brutal: rainy, snowy, gray and bitterly cold. Now that March is here, I can sense spring on the horizon. The temperature is warming up a little, the trees have buds and the daffodils are starting to poke their heads up. All of these little signs are making me crave summer even more; I long for the days when I can leave the house in flip-flops and leave my jackets at home. Unfortunately, we still have a few more months before shorts and tank tops will be appropriate, so I’m at least getting in a summery mindset. I created an iTunes playlist with songs that evoke summer for me. I hope you enjoy it – preferably with a piña colada.

When I was in college (11 years ago!), I was diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma. Essentially, this means that I don’t have normal asthma attacks, but I can be prone to them when I work out. The doctor’s solution was to give me an Albuterol inhaler and send me on my way. However, the inhaler never really helped me with my lung capacity, and the Albuterol made me jittery, so I quit using it. Now I simply focus on building my lung strength via cardio and doing slower-paced exercises that don’t strain my lungs as much. If you are a fellow asthma sufferer, here are some tips I found on Fitsugar to help:

Exercise during times of the day when your breathing is at its best. If you tend to wake up not being able to breathe, then a pre-work run may not be the best idea for you.

Don’t forget the warm-up. Going right into a 10-mile bike ride may be too much for your lungs.

Avoid exercise that makes you out of breath.

Along the same lines, avoid extreme interval training, especially if you suffer from exercise-induced asthma. While moving at different paces is OK when it comes to your breathing, you don’t want to move too fast so that you’re huffing and puffing and taxing your respiratory system. Stick to consistent speeds, or if you like varying your speeds, just do so at a pace that your lungs can keep up with.

Always keep water nearby to stay hydrated. It’s also good to sip in case you start to wheeze or feel a tickle in your throat.

Many people who suffer from asthma experience runny noses when exercising, so be sure to keep tissues on hand.

For exercise-induced asthma, my doctor recommended that I take a puff of Albuterol (rescue inhaler) before exercise to open my airways and prevent an attack. Talk to your doctor to see if they recommend that for you as well.

If cold weather triggers your asthma, exercise indoors in the Winter months. If you’re determined to exercise outside, start off slow. Run a few minutes outdoors at first, and gradually build up your time to let your lungs get used to it. Also, wearing a neck warmer, scarf, or other protective layer over your nose and mouth may prevent symptoms, since it keeps the air you’re breathing moist. Dry air tends to cause a burning feeling and can trigger an attack.

Don’t avoid exercise. If you’re worried that working out may trigger an attack, find a low-impact type of movement that’s easy on your lungs such as walking or yoga.

I’ve never been an especially outdoorsy person. I like the idea of fresh air and sunshine, but aside from the occasional hike or walk in the park, I tend to stay indoors. I’m a homebody, and I’ve become accustomed to my comfy bed, climate-controlled house, luxurious bathroom, etc. I’m just not the type for roughing it.

However, I’m really making an effort to become an outdoor enthusiast. It’s good for the body, good for the mind, good for the spirit, and if I can get my husband to join me, I think it will be good for our relationship. I’d like to amp up the frequency of our hikes, as well as go canoeing, white-water rafting (I did this in Bali and it was one of the most fun experiences of my life), biking and more. I already have an SUV and a bike rack, so it’s simply a matter of finding the time when the weather is good. I even recently agreed to go camping, something that I’ve never been interested in doing. Roughing it overnight in the great outdoors doesn’t seem like it would be fun, but I’m willing to give it a shot — as long as we can stop by REI first and stock up on lots of cushy gear.

Number one on my shopping list: a pair of good trail shoes, like the Adidas Kanadia. They’re cute, rugged and my favorite sports apparel brand!

I’m a size 9 if anyone wants to send a pair my way!

This morning I saw a link on Twitter – Lonely Planet had retweeted this article about how to travel the world for free. And while I don’t think it’s as easy as the author makes it sound, it did get me thinking. I love to travel. My family was fairly nomadic when I was growing up, and although most of our journeys were confined to the United States (with one brief foray to Mexico) I caught the travel bug at a young age. By the time I was 20 I had lived in five states (Louisiana, Washington, Texas, Kansas and Florida), and had visited many of the others.

After I got married, the travel trend continued. My husband also loves to explore new places, and because we have a lot of far-flung family and friends, we have had ample opportunities to see new places, even if it’s just for a weekend (among the places we’ve stopped, however briefly: Pittsburgh, Boston, Washington D.C., San Antonio, Austin, St. Augustine, San Diego and Los Angeles).

In 2007, my parents moved overseas for job purposes. The expat lifestyle afforded them the opportunity to experience many new places and cultures, and they extended the opportunity to us. Since 2008, I have been to Singapore (twice); Bali, Indonesia (twice); Phuket, Thailand; Oahu, Hawaii; and Paris, France.

Among the places I still want to visit? Argentina, Costa Rica, Belize, Spain (particularly Barcelona), Vancouver and Toronto, NYC and more! Where would you like to go on your next vacation (domestic or international)? Any recommendations for places I need to see?

Here are some of my favorite shots from around the world (the hovertext contains caption info; click for full size image):

I have two: Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose or Cobbler’s Pose) and Viparita Karani (Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose).