As we stand here at the doorstep of 2007 and get ready to turn the doorknob, I can't help but poppin' on my iPod and listening to reflective songs from say, Coldplay or The Fray. For some reason I like to make the transition into the new year with a music video created by myself, in my head, using my memories and my music. Ok, I admit, my methods may be strange, but I think the process is still important. It's important to access where you were, where you're going, and where you really want to be. Hopefully the last two things match up. Jason and I did this together over some hot chocolates …
Archives for December 2006
Joy, Peace, and Hope
Here we are three days from Christmas and I'm sure I'm not the only one who has been busy wrapping gifts, checking the lists to make sure nothing has been forgotten, and feeling guilty about not baking any Christmas cookies. I would guess that this has been a stressful week for many. (Or am I the only one?) I had a very anti-"Bah Humbug" joyful experience today, which is just what I needed. I called a hotel group, Choice Privileges, to book some rooms for some upcoming gigs. These days it seems rare and notable to get a real person on the phone. I'm not just talking about automated …
Santa Has a Phone Number
And it is 1-800-972-6242. I'm not sure what his e-mail is. Call that number anytime before December 24th, and you can hear a message from jolly ol' St. Nick himself. (He records a new message everyday!) He reminds children to be good and thoughtful to others and all that jazz. It's perfectly free and perfect for kids of all ages. It would be nice to have a full-blown conversation with the big guy, but I guess he is pretty busy this time of year. …
Delighting in the Round Little Things
I'm not talking about rings, Cheerios, or hula hoops. I'm talking about doughnuts. But not just any doughnuts. The circles of love made fresh from the Daily Dozen Doughnut Company at the famous Pike Place Market in Seattle. If you like fresh doughnuts then you need to get on Travelocity right now and book a flight to Seattle and go get some of these doughnuts. Two Octobers ago Jason and I went to Seattle for some speaking gigs. We happened upon this doughnut stand at the Market and have never been the same since. …
Sleepless in Seattle
No, this isn't some sappy Tom Hanks movie. Kim and I got into Seattle yesterday just before the, um, hurricane hit. I've never seen anything quite like it. We didn't get much sleep because we happened to be on the 29th floor of a hotel in downtown Seattle while the 70+ mph winds whipped through the city. We even slept (or tried to) in the bathroom for a few hours because we weren't sure if the windows would blow out. When it's 1 am in the morning (and your body still thinks it's 3 am), you get all these strange visions in your head, most of them involving bad movie special effects and people …
My Gift to You
Shopping really sucks this time of year (unless you're a glutton for long lines, jammed parking lots, impatient shoppers and clerks who are one idiot away from a complete meltdown). Plus the Mall Santa can be kind of creepy. God invented the internet so you don't have to be out and about this time of year. I wanna do my part to help you avoid the ridiculousness, so if you use the coupon code SANTASCARESME you can save $5 off any order of $25 or more at the Kim & Jason Lemonade Stand. Offer good through the weekend, a.k.a. Sunday, December 17, 2006. (Need gift ideas?) With all of the time …
Seriously
I believe that one of the many lessons children have to teach us -- if we have the wisdom to pay attention -- is to not take ourselves too seriously. Kids are unafraid to run around naked in front of strangers, wouldn't think twice about giggling in a fancy restaurant, and are willing to walk out of the house dressed as a Hawaiian cowboy ballerina at a moment's notice. Do we need to emulate their behaviors exactly? Probably not. (I'm sure your relatives will appreciate you being fully clothed this Christmas.) But we can follow their lead and take ourselves a little less seriously. …
Yahoo! Pick of the Day: Adultitis.org
Well this was just too cool not to brag about: today, Adultitis.org was the Yahoo! Pick of the Day. Thanks to Yahoo! Thanks to all of the folks who have passed the site along to friends. And a warm welcome to all of the new readers of this blog. You can get a quick primer on what we're up to here and here. Digg This [tags]Yahoo!, Yahoo! Picks, Adultitis[/tags] …
Easy Bake Oven Enshrined
During our recent speaking trip to Washington D.C., Kim and I had the opportunity to see the first light bulb invented by Thomas Alva Edison. I am sure that when he was working out the details on this notable invention, struggling through all the not-quites and the near-misses, he kept a vision focused in his mind. "Someday," I'm sure he thought, "if I succeed, little girls and boys everywhere will be able to make tiny and marginally edible baked goods easily and safely. I can't give up now." …
Kindergarten Shopping
When I was in kindergarten my school had one of those shops set up where you could buy gifts for your family. All of the items were a buck or two. I made a list of everyone in my family and my mom gave me a few dollars and away I went. The shop was set up in the school library and they even had older students gift-wrapping the magical gifts for us. I was in awe! I had never been given the freedom to buy gifts for anyone without one of my parents supervising. Unfortunately many of the memories from this experience have faded but a few things still stand out. I was a little unclear about how …